Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Advancing Calmly Step by Step (2)
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"You must be tired from the journey."
I descended the stairs slowly, arms spread wide.
Thud, thud.
As my footsteps echoed, Conrad and the other knights slowly lowered their gazes to follow.
A variety of emotions flickered across the weary faces of the knights: bewilderment, embarrassment, confusion...
Most weren't positive reactions. It was because of the image they already held of "Abel Kindriel."
"About fifty of you came. Is that the maximum you could muster?"
I scanned each knight's face before stepping fully down to the floor. I walked slowly to stand before Conrad.
"Vice Captain Conrad."
Conrad stared at me intently, as if observing me. His deep green eyes, sunken like a swamp, held complex thoughts.
"...It's been a while."
At last, he spoke in his characteristic gravelly voice.
"Have you been well?"
"There's no reason I wouldn't be."
At my brisk reply, one side of Conrad's brow twitched.
*He must have heard the situation from Diego roughly.*
If so, I could roughly guess what actions he would take.
*With this man, probably...*
Conrad Mueller.
A former mercenary who earned Diego's trust and rose to vice captain. His skills were undoubtedly top-tier.
When Diego was away from the borders, he filled that role. Normally, he served as Diego's right-hand man.
*Just as I heard.*
Thick eyebrows, cheeks covered in faint scars, a rugged appearance like a jagged mountain peak.
The moment he scowled, he could freeze everyone around him.
"So, what happened to Yonas?"
At my casual question, Conrad's expression clouded slightly.
"...After receiving the Lord's reprimand, he returned to the Knight Order."
It was a question he clearly didn't want to answer, but lacking any reason to refuse, he responded reluctantly.
"That's it? No punishment?"
"I understand that you already administered the punishment, young master."
It was a roundabout way of saying, *Didn't you make him that way?*
"Does your subordinate's failure sting a bit?"
"..."
"Doesn't this thought cross your mind? If Yonas had gone, could he have achieved the results I brought back?"
Conrad fell silent, as if at a loss for words. The slight dip of his chin meant he was shaken by my words.
*Just as expected.*
If he were a musclehead swordsman like Diego, all the way to his brain, he wouldn't react like this.
Despite his fiercer-than-bandit looks and seemingly crude nature, he was actually...
*The voice of reason in the Ovest Knight Order.*
A stubborn-as-a-corpse captain, knights increasingly resembling that captain. Monsters charging in every day, a relentlessly harsh situation.
Amid it all, Conrad pondered how to preserve his position.
He was surprisingly sharp-minded and excellent at rationally assessing situations, despite appearances.
*That's how he's climbed this far and endured.*
Having a superior like Diego meant no one could have peace of mind. Either fawn like Philip or adapt with flexibility like Conrad.
"...This isn't the place for such a response."
Conrad gave a heavy, subdued reply. With his subordinates behind him, he couldn't speak freely.
"I suppose so."
I chuckled lightly and snapped my fingers.
"Then let me ask something else. Is Father well?"
"...Yes."
"Did he have any message for me?"
Conrad's lips moved for a moment before he spoke.
"For now... he said, 'I read the letter.'"
Much seemed omitted after that, but it wasn't for this setting either.
"And?"
"He entrusted the knights to me and ordered me to carry out the mission per His Majesty the Emperor's command. And also..."
Conrad's gaze deepened.
"...to bring back the seal. By any means necessary."
It implied violence if the seal wasn't handed over willingly.
I smirked and curled one corner of my mouth.
"Are you threatening me right now?"
My low voice was sharp, like a blade at his throat. Sensing it, Conrad's face hardened.
"It depends on your choice, young master."
As the air between us grew colder, the knights glanced at each other.
"Pfft."
I let out a small laugh to break the frozen tension.
"Why so tense?"
"I wasn't particularly tense..."
"The seal will end up in Father's hands anyway."
I crossed my arms and leaned casually.
"I'm planning to return to the territory after the subjugation campaign."
Conrad's stiffened expression eased slightly.
"I see. Then we can escort you back once we return from the north."
"No? We're going together from the start."
At the unexpected answer, Conrad raised one eyebrow.
"Did I hear that wrong?"
To make him understand clearly, I emphasized each syllable deliberately.
"I'm taking full command of the Knight Order for this subjugation campaign."
"..."
Wrinkles creased Conrad's nose bridge sharply. His face showed suspicion that his ears had betrayed him.
"Did you hear that too? It wasn't just me, right?"
"What does he know about battlefields to say such things?"
"He's never even shown his face at the western border."
The knights murmured among themselves, stifling their voices. Their formation held from training, but the atmosphere was in disarray.
"Quiet!"
Conrad bellowed forcefully, and the knights shut their mouths. They straightened up and stared into the distance as if nothing had happened.
"You must know this is utterly unreasonable."
Conrad calmed his emotions and spoke steadily.
"Captain Diego sent me because of my frontline experience. Surely you don't think you surpass me in that regard?"
"Of course not."
"That's a relief. The northern monsters are as ferocious and savage as those in the west. In some ways, even harder to deal with."
Emboldened by my agreement, Conrad continued.
"Stay in the capital until we return from the subjugation, or go back to the territory first. This is for your sake, young master."
"No thanks."
"Young master..."
"Does the Knight Order need two heads?"
I cut off Conrad's lengthening words sharply.
"It's just making an already difficult subjugation even more tangled."
My voice was cold, like ice crystals embedded.
"You handle frontline command. But final decisions are always mine."
Conrad clenched his jaw, staring at me. Other emotions crept over his dark, swamp-like eyes.
"A very tempting option comes to mind right now. Subduing you here and taking the seal."
"Yeah?"
"It'd be best not to choose that. That way, we can preserve your safety and dignity. How about it?"
It was a question: *Will you really force me to use violence and return humiliated?*
*Trying to intimidate me, huh.*
Though he said it, Conrad drawing his sword was unlikely. If he truly intended to, like Diego's outburst of "This brat!", he would have drawn first without hesitation.
Unlike his vigorous appearance, he didn't particularly enjoy bloodshed.
"Your thinking is a bit shortsighted."
I chuckled and patted my chest.
"If you're so eager, come take it yourself."
I indicated the seal's location and drew my sword from my waist with a *shing*. Pointing it at Conrad, I said,
"If you can."
My smile was cold, as if laced with venom, stained with blood.
"..."
Conrad inhaled sharply, looking flustered.
"Vice Captain! What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
"We don't have time to waste here!"
"No need to draw swords! Just overpower him physically!"
Finally, angry shouts erupted from the knights.
*How desperate they must be.*
In their eyes, a bloodied novice who had never seen battle or taken a life was spouting nonsense and causing a scene.
After a long journey, they were eager for rest and preparations for the next leg.
"I said be quiet."
Conrad glanced back at his men once, then turned to me.
"Young master, sheath your sword."
A stern warning came. Conrad's hand went to his waist, his gaze intense.
"If you keep acting so unreasonably, I can't overlook it anymore."
"You're the one mistaken about who's overlooking whom."
I shrugged mockingly.
"Isn't it really about protecting *your* safety and dignity?"
At my bold provocation, the knights' faces twisted in fury, while
"..."
Conrad didn't blink.
Having lived roughly as a mercenary since childhood, he seemed accustomed to such insults.
*I'm starting to like him more.*
Beyond the practical reason of fully seizing the Knight Order before the subjugation—for provoking Conrad like this,
*The renowned Conrad Mueller.*
There was personal curiosity and competitive spirit about his skills.
Second only to Diego in the Ovest Knight Order. Defeating him meant getting very close to surpassing the current strongest swordsman, Diego.
I was always curious how much my skills had grown, where I stood against the strong.
Proving my strength brought reassurance along with it.
"I'll say it once more—"
*Whoosh!*
A swift sword strike flew at him, forcing Conrad to cut off mid-sentence and leap aside.
"Not bad."
I smirked where he had stood moments ago.
"Young Master Abel!"
"What are you doing?!"
"Are you insane?!"
Screams rose from the knights. They looked shocked, never expecting this scoundrel to actually swing his sword.
"Didn't Father teach you?"
I said to Conrad, who frowned in distress.
"When to bow your head to someone."
That line, recalling when Diego and Conrad first met, changed his complexion.
"...Haa."
Conrad rubbed his forehead.
"I don't know when you heard that story or why you're escalating this, but..."
*Shing—*
Finally, he drew the sword from his scabbard.
"...This is on you, young master."
The broad blade gleamed fiercely under the light.
"I'll end this quickly."
As it went exactly as I wanted, I smiled faintly at him.
*How shall I play with him?*
No worries about victory or defeat in my mind.
Just thoughts on how to make him kneel most humiliatingly, how to make the knights obey my words.
Respect for an opponent comes from fear, after all.
*They only listen after you crush them.*
The infamous history Abel Kindriel had built still clung to my ankles.
But it didn't matter.
*I'll smash it legally.*
I enjoyed tearing apart that infamous history.
"..."
Conrad didn't charge recklessly, cautiously observing me. I too held back, facing him off.
Step, step.
We circled each other, scrutinizing closely. After a full circle,
"What? Am I seeing things?"
"Is that...?"
The knights began murmuring.
"—Hah."
Conrad sighed too, muttering unconsciously.
"I heard you never learned the sword..."
My entire form embodied the perfect Ovest sword stance, overwhelming everyone.