Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Qualities of a Ruler
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The next day at lunch.
The group climbed back up the mountain where the old man lived.
While ascending, the elf Jane tugged repeatedly at Duke's cloak.
"Boss, boss. So what did the old man mean yesterday during the day? What does the empire's fall have to do with you?"
Her question left the group speechless.
It had been so natural that they had forgotten.
The upper echelons of Providence territory knew Duke's past.
That he was one of the main culprits behind the empire's destruction.
However, their trust in Duke was so profound that their treatment of him hadn't changed even after learning the truth.
In contrast, Jane belonged to a rank that shouldn't know the secret yet.
It was like a junior officer stumbling upon state secrets.
Thanks to that, the group froze, glancing warily at Duke.
Duke broke the silence and rebuked Jane.
"I told you prying into others' pasts isn't a knight's virtue."
"Eek."
"When we get back, you'll do 200—no, 300 laps around the training grounds."
"Gyaak!"
The elf Jane protested, shouting "Down with tyranny! Down with military abuses!"
Leaving her behind, the group continued up the mountain.
Upon reaching the summit, the blind old man, who was sweeping the yard with a broom, welcomed them.
"You've come?"
Of course, the fact that Duke and the old man had met the previous evening was a secret between just the two of them.
There was no benefit in letting the guests know that the ground they now stood on had once quenched its thirst with blood.
"Sniff sniff. Master, doesn't it smell like blood?"
"How would I know?"
"Why does it smell like blood?"
Ari, with her keen sense of smell, had noticed something off, but
"Just yesterday, after our guests left, we hunted a rare beast. The smell must be from draining its blood in the yard."
Peter's quick thinking smoothed things over without issue.
They had a simple lunch of beast meat and resumed the interview from the day before.
"So, have the two of you found your answers?"
Like an elder handing out New Year's money during the holidays, the old man sat cross-legged while the two lords knelt politely before him.
It seemed the positions of liege candidate and vassal candidate had swapped, but the desperate one had to dig the well.
"How many children do you have in mind?"
Of course, the questions coming from the old man's mouth were far from a normal interview.
But now, even the lords weren't flustered.
After pondering deeply at their lodgings for a day, they had concluded it was Peter's advanced strategy to unsettle their composure.
As expected, one raised her hand first to this question too.
"I think d-"
The moment she started to pronounce "d" or the letter D, the old man recoiled in disgust and cut her off.
"That's not what I asked."
It was an answer not even worth considering.
Hana's face flushed red as a ripe persimmon, aware she had overreached.
Next was Rex's turn.
"I'll pass for today."
But Rex shook his head and forfeited his chance to speak.
He still hadn't grasped the old man's intent.
"I just came to see your face today, elder."
Rex's words left a favorable impression on Peter.
It showed Rex's consideration: he respected Peter's convictions and didn't want to coerce him with flattery.
Rex +1 point.
"My liege, this man isn't as noble as you think."
And -1 point courtesy of Duke.
In the end, Rex was back to zero.
Thus, on the second day as well, the group merely bantered with the old man and parted ways.
And the next day, and the day after that, the pattern continued.
Hana kept wasting her one daily chance with wrong answers, unwilling to squander it.
In contrast, Rex didn't even attempt answers, just chatted with the old man and descended.
This difference left distinct impressions on the old man.
"You're back again today."
As everyone descended and the dark night filled only with cricket chirps fell,
Duke visited Peter's house as usual.
He brought out Peter’s favorite baekju, shared grand toasts, and discussed the two lords.
Peter muttered, wetting his corn silk-like mustache with alcohol.
"Tch. I hate to admit it, but your eye for selecting a liege is spot on."
"Hm."
"Lady Sneria is undoubtedly a good person... but not a good liege."
Duke neither agreed nor strongly disagreed with the assessment of Hana.
However, Peter, who had some rapport with Duke, sensed displeasure beyond the inscrutable helmet.
There was no way he'd feel pleased hearing his favorite criticized.
But it was also fact, leaving nothing to say.
Peter interpreted that silence differently.
'Judging others isn't becoming.'
Gossip is an arrow tipped with poison, praise a blade coated in honey.
It was a reminder that voicing judgments on others was an act of hubris.
Still, Peter felt he had the right to evaluate the two lords he might serve.
"Then I'll just talk, and you listen."
"..."
"Lady Sneria's sense of responsibility is outstanding, but she lacks dreams. She's not chasing dreams but being chased by responsibility. That way, she'll end up not at the horizon but at a cliff's edge."
Duke didn't deny it.
He knew the end of her sense of responsibility.
Peter drained his final cup.
"In contrast, your liege balances ambition and responsibility. He's not clinging to this old man but weighing him on the scales. Even the prince couldn't meet my eyes!"
Duke didn't deny this evaluation either.
Gamer-brain Rex was simply calculating if recruiting the old man was a profitable hero unit,
but overall, it wasn't wrong.
Duke left the old man enjoying his buzz and rose.
He straightened his cloak, turned his back to Peter, and asked,
"So, have you made up your mind?"
The old man nodded.
"Before slaving away under a liege for life, a little wandering isn't bad, right? Gives me time to prepare before groveling to your face."
"Understood. Don't go too far."
Duke turned from Peter and vanished into the darkness again.
A few days after that conversation.
"Please take good care of this old bag of bones, Lady Sneria."
Peter headed to Hana's territory.
Rex and Hana's recruitment contest ended in Hana's victory.
- "I'll find someone to succeed my position."
After repeated wrong answers, she finally gave the correct one first.
Rex, even then, had only chatted with the old man and never stated the right answer.
"Heh heh. To find a liege to serve at this age."
Peter stroked his long beard and bowed to her.
Upon hearing Peter would join their ranks, she and her shadow vassals cheered.
He was the old man who had crossed blades with Duke.
With such an unquestionable character and formidable strength joining the territory, they no longer needed to worry about defense.
They could focus purely on growth without eyeing neighboring territories.
"Thank you, elder. I'll ensure you're never neglected."
Seeing her bow repeatedly, Peter smiled warmly.
Once Peter officially joined Sneria territory, Rex cleanly gave him up.
"It was fun while it lasted, old Peter."
Following the Confucian spirit flowing in his veins, Rex bowed politely to the old man who had become another's vassal and bid farewell.
Peter returned the courtesy to Rex.
"Lord Rex, I hope we meet again soon."
Thus, Rex's group, having neatly relinquished Peter, descended and boarded their carriage.
Duke mounted his horse in silence as always, and Jane, playing with his cloak as usual, earned 100 extra training ground laps.
As the carriage moved a suitable distance from the mountain, Ari comforted Rex, who was deeply bowed in the carriage.
"Don't be too disappointed, Lord Rex. It seems he wasn't fated for us."
"I'm not disappointed..."
"Then why are you bowing your head like that?"
"Motion sickness..."
"Ah."
Rex only regained some composure using Ari's lap as a pillow.
On the way back to the capital.
With his ear pressed to Ari's lap, Rex tapped away.
[Duke.]
"Speak."
[Was my choice right.]
"I don't know what you mean."
[Letting old Peter go. I'm the lord of our territory—shouldn't I have been more selfish.]
Duke fell silent for a moment before replying.
"I wouldn't know. But the empire's imperial family was that selfish and still fell, so perhaps another path is correct."
Only then did Rex relax and close his eyes.
While Ari secretly fondled the sleeping Rex, Duke gazed toward Sneria territory across the mountains.
'Old Peter better do well.'
Meanwhile, on Hana's group's way back to Sneria territory.
The vassals who had been hiding in her shadow until now wouldn't leave Peter alone.
"Elder! How did you come to meet Sir Duke, by any chance?"
"Elder, do you have a favorite liquor? Our territory is famous for its wine too."
They fawned over him because they knew this liege-vassal contract stemmed purely from the old man's goodwill.
The old man's caliber was at least equal to—or above—their liege, Hana.
With no leash to hold him, flattery was necessary.
However, Hana's vassals didn't feel卑微 about their situation.
Compared to currying favor with less humane lords of other territories, flattering this noble old man felt unobjectionable.
Especially considering the war deterrence he brought, it was far better value.
Amid the relentless flattery from the vassals, Peter enjoyed it like watching his grandchildren play.
"The mountain was lonely with no one around, so treating this old bag of bones like this leaves me at a loss."
In the midst of this cheerful journey, the old man slipped away from the flattery shower and addressed his new liege.
"Lady Sneria."
"Yes?"
"This old man has lived secluded in the mountains, so I'm ignorant of current affairs, but I do have ears from listening to passing merchants."
The old man half-opened his milky white eyes.
It was a sight that might disgust the faint of heart.
However, Hana flinched for a different reason.
The aura emanating from the old man felt ominous, though she couldn't pinpoint why.
The old man fixed his pupil-less white gaze precisely on Hana's eyes.
"Merchants say purchases of wheat and iron have surged in nearby territories lately."
"..."
"And considering how much you wanted me..."
"That's why I recruited you, old Peter. I thought you could prevent war."
"Is that so. If that's the case, this old man will do his best."
Peter didn't bring up the topic again after that.
On the way back, Hana and her vassals learned that Peter disliked fish—especially freshwater fish—and hated fishing despite his appearance.
On the contrary, he enjoyed swinging a sword, drinking, and wandering far and wide.
"Guess my patience has waned with age, heh heh!"
While projecting an image of a kindly yet active elder before the vassals, Peter smiled bitterly in his heart.
'I'm sorry, Lady Sneria.'
He deeply apologized to her inwardly.
'If one old man like me could avert war with effort, the empire wouldn't have fallen.'
The old man mocked himself.
He knew his homeland was rotting away yet couldn't rise because he cherished what he had.
He couldn't even block those who rose against the wrongs.
In the end, an indecisive old man who wandered, abandoned training, and accepted aging without action.
In that sense, he and Sneria might share similar plights.
An old man with convictions but lacking resolve.
A woman with convictions but lacking ability.
The old man repeatedly apologized to the optimistic young woman about the future.
'Your vision has narrowed, chased by responsibility, young lady.'
She overlooked one fact.
That one person's presence preventing war
meant, conversely, one person's will could start it.
Thus, her approach was merely an unstable expedient.
And that was why he chose her.
Out of pity for the perilously unique woman.
A final act of irresponsible compassion before ending his wandering—self-compromise.
And...
'Sorry, my friend. I can't be as strong as you.'
Hoping a certain knight would scold this sentimental old man.
Well, with effort, he could delay it a few years.
The old man swallowed his bitter smile and followed behind Hana.