A Border Count Without a Border
“Ah, I see. So you had a card up your sleeve after all.”
There were three ways to become a knight in the Kain Kingdom.
First, you could graduate from the military academy and be commissioned as a Lower Knight, serving as an officer. That applied to Joren Tamer.
Second, you could earn great merit for the kingdom and be knighted directly by the king. If the person being knighted was a civilian rather than a soldier who had distinguished himself in battle, it was closer to an honorary title.
“You didn’t even graduate from the academy, and there’s no way Her Majesty would knight a wretch like this... So the one who made him a knight was that baron, then?”
Third, a noble could appoint a vassal as an Associate Knight.
“Exactly so.”
Because knighthood was a post, not a peerage, that was possible. In form, the appointment had to be reported to the king, but it was almost never rejected.
Associate Knights enjoyed many of the privileges of knights, as their name suggested, while being effectively free from the obligations imposed on actual knights. They were nothing more than privileged retainers.
“And what of it? He’s still only a baron. I’m a count.”
“My lord is a young, newly risen noble, but the Kihara Barony has a long history and ties to influential people in the capital.”
Duonoraong, who politely conveyed the meaning of, You may be a count on paper, but why are you picking a fight with a local power-broker when you’re basically an exile?
“Hmm.”
Perhaps his persuasion had worked. Ho-yeong let go of Shrakhim’s arm.
“H-heh. Border Count, you’ll regret this.”
Dragging his heavy body upright with difficulty, Shrakhim staggered backward.
“What can you even do when you’re a count with no backing, no real power, no nothing?”
First he provoked Ho-yeong, then he pointed a finger at poor Duonoraong.
“You got some backbone to lean on? Some backwoods hicks you can strut around in front of? What good is that?”
Then he sneered at the guards outside as well.
“Or is it those regular troops of yours, fewer than two hundred men? Yeah, that little Red Banner Company or whatever must’ve had its glory days. But soon enough they won’t even be getting paid, starving their asses off, and won’t have the strength to hold up that fancy banner of theirs.”
“Enough with the crap.”
Ho-yeong could no longer listen. He strode toward him.
“I don’t know what words may end up becoming your last.”
“U-uh...”
Forced backward by the fierce surge of aura, Shrakhim retreated a step at a time.
“P-please calm yourself. I spoke too rashly.”
Slowly, Ho-yeong reined in his aura.
“Backing? Yeah, I don’t have some fancy backer like you do. I don’t carry around some designer handbag everyone else has, only an eco bag stuffed to bursting.”
“Eco... ? I don’t know what that means, but a man should know when to give ground. Let us resolve this amicably.”
The dispatched guard captain, now with manners forcibly instilled in him, had grown a long tongue.
“That’s right. You can’t just keep charging straight ahead. Sometimes you have to back off.”
“You’re making sense. Heh-heh.”
It had looked like the Border Count was finally yielding.
“But you know what? I don’t have backing, but to someone, I am the backing.”
“What... do you mean?”
Ho-yeong pointed at Peach, who was trembling all over.
“Like you said, Peach is just a maid. She has no wealth, no family. To her, I’m the only support she has.”
Hot drops slid down her pink cheeks, warming the tea kettle that had gone cold.
“You just went on about backwoods hicks, didn’t you? Fine. I’m also the backing of the people who can’t bear to abandon that backwoods and keep holding on there.”
Duonoraong’s edification had climbed past 80.
“And needless to say, I’m the backing of the soldiers who followed me all the way out to that backwoods.”
The guards stood frozen, forgetting even the relief of their long-awaited shift change.
Vassal edification has risen dramatically! The vassals’ loyalty toward their lord surges hot and fierce.
“Th-then surely you should be even more concerned for their safety, should you not? As the one who has become their lord. Ahem. This can still be resolved peacefully. My uncle will also listen to what this nephew has to say... ”
“Nephew.”
Ho-yeong muttered the word quietly.
“That’s right. It depends on my lord. If you meet our demands, I’ll speak on your behalf.”
“You’re the nephew.”
“Yes, I’m the nephew of Baron Kihara, aren’t I? You already heard me. Why do you keep repeating...”
Shrakhim, puzzled by Ho-yeong’s repetition, soon began bleeding from one ear.
“Neeeephew!”
A lion’s roar, packed with aura.
“You filthy piece of garbage, trying to lay hands on the person you’re supposed to protect, and you call yourself a guard captain? An Associate Knight, was it? What, are you better just because you were born sucking the right spoon? So nobles can beat people and it’s fine? Wait, you said you’re from your mother’s side, didn’t you? No family name, which means you’re a commoner in the end! I’m a noble too, so I guess that means I can beat you, then?”
Furious, Ho-yeong kept spewing words without pause.
“What do you think your uncle would say if he saw you acting like the nephew? Strutting around like a thug, shaming the family, and then mouthing off about backing and support on top of it.”
Shrakhim flinched.
“You’d be told you’re full of crap, nephew!”
An angry shout sharpened by emphasis.
“L-lord, it was you who assaulted me! Kicked me! Twisted my arm!”
“You idiot, have you still not come to your senses? You were the one trying to hit Peach. I just stopped you. Self-defense, plain and simple!”
He tried to argue against the attack on his family name, but not a single word got through.
“I-I merely raised my arm. That woman was speaking recklessly...”
The finger he used in his flimsy excuse ended up poking Peach’s chest, as she had moved closer without him noticing.
“Eek!”
“What, what. Since when were you... oof!”
Startled, he hurriedly tried to pull his hand away, but his feet tangled with Peach’s, and in his scrambling he shoved her in the chest.
“Ah! My, my leg...”
Peach was pushed back and sat down hard with a thud.
“You bastard, that’s blatant assault this time! And you just touched her chest, too? Sexual harassment!”
The tray she had been holding fell, and the teapot and teacups shattered.
“Add property damage to the list!”
“W-what! I didn’t mean to do that on purpose!”
Ho-yeong approached the limping Peach and supported her, whispering to her.
Are you actually hurt badly?
Not at all.
Good.
“Anyone there! Take Peach to Priestess Rubia.”
Ho-yeong sat back down in his chair and crossed one leg over the other again.
“A lord definitely has judicial authority over the people in his territory. Couldn’t I just execute this bastard?”
“What nonsense is that!”
Grinding his teeth while rubbing his wrist, Shrakhim snarled.
“Duonoraong! You incompetent fool! What are you doing? Your lord is trying to do something insane, and you’re not stopping him! Once I return to my Kihara territory, I’ll report every last detail of this!”
He latched onto Duonoraong, who had been trying to resolve the dispute peacefully.
“Hmm? Have you finished speaking?”
Starting with the “hmm” he had kept sealed away in order to honor his promise to Ho-yeong, Duonoraong cast a black shadow over his glasses.
Ho-yeong caught that and casually handed the turn over to Duonoraong.
“What do you think, treasury officer?”
“Hmm... as you said, a lord can exercise legislative, administrative, and judicial authority over his territory and its people. There are limitations, however.”
From a man who had risen from the lowest rung of the twentieth grade to the fourteenth, it was clear this was no empty résumé as he rattled off the law with ease.
“And what kind of limitations?”
“Hmm. Put simply, you cannot execute just anyone on a whim because you dislike them. Kingdom law takes precedence over the ordinances of any city or territory. As for punishments, any sentence of imprisonment of one year or more requires approval from His Majesty the King before it can be carried out.”
“So, in other words, I can’t just run roughshod over everyone as I please. Tch. Uh... wait. You’re saying I need permission only if it’s more than a year?”
Only briefly disappointed, Ho-yeong suddenly thought of something.
“Then if I lock him up for eleven months, it’s a free pass, right?”
“Most wise, my lord. Precisely so.”
Duonoraong’s lips curved into a smile as well.
“W-what?! You must be joking! That’s absurd!”
By contrast, Shrakhim’s face darkened at once.
“Hmm. The problem is that Shrakhim is not a territory resident...”
Just when his expression seemed ready to brighten again.
“But treasurer. That man entered into a dispatch contract with the territory, and he caused an incident involving a territory resident while inside the territory, did he not? I’m sure this kingdom has a principle for that. As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do... what was that called again?”
“If you are referring to territorial jurisdiction, hmm, that is indeed correct. An excellent point.”
“Anyone staying in Tamer Territory must abide by Tamer Territory law. Yes, this is proper governance.”
His face continued to pale and brighten in turns.
“L-law? What law! This territory was only founded recently!”
His sluggish mind squeezed out a shred of wit in the face of danger.
“R-right. It was the city of Auphocalypse that signed the dispatch contract with Kihara territory, not this territory of Tamer or whatever! Hah, haha.”
“Hmm. Now that I think about it, that is true. You have not even established ordinances yet.”
Duonoraong looked flustered by the unexpected counter.
“I’d forgotten that in all my panic. The reason I came to see the lord in the first place was...”
“That the dispatch contract is invalid, so you’ll be returning. That’s what you were about to say.”
Ho-yeong cut off Shrakhim’s words and stared at him coldly. Shrakhim fell silent.
“H-how did you know that?”
“Because it’s written all over your face, and your status window, too. Good. Let’s do this by the book. Treasurer, bring me the contract for the dispatched guard detachment. Guards outside, take this man out for a moment.”
Once he was alone, Ho-yeong asked Daliha,
“Hey, Daliha. That barony or whatever it is, the Kihara one. Would getting tangled up with them be bad for me?”
He was definitely angry at Shrakhim’s behavior, but he wanted to avoid unnecessary friction if possible. The territory’s residents might suffer for it otherwise.
Disputes with neighboring territories or cities interfere with quest progression. Raising the edification of nearby powers can turn them into friendly forces that provide the Guardian with material and manpower. Otherwise, they may resort to slander and similar tactics to reduce RP, or even try to drain the resources of Tamer Territory.