The Bandit Suppression Era (1)
The mood soured at the same time. I couldn’t help recalling my pathetic figure standing before Olivia—who had never truly been a bandit—boldly declaring, “I will reform this bandit group! To survive the knights, let us become a mercenary company from now on!” It left a foul taste in my mouth, as if I had been toyed with in the palm of her hand. I wondered how much she must have laughed at me while I earnestly tried to save the bandit troupe.
“So you’ve been living as a bandit in the countryside these past few years, unseen?”
“She would never have infiltrated a bandit group without reason. She must have been plotting something truly wicked. That insidious woman.”
Perhaps the bad blood between their fathers had carried over to their children. Seeing the way Adelia bared her teeth at the mere mention of Olivia, it was clear the two shared a deep-seated rivalry. Yet one thing still didn’t add up.
Back when I lived among the bandits, I had told Olivia I wanted the Lion Heart Unit to coexist with us, and she had gladly given her permission. That was the part that confused me. If Adelia and Olivia were such bitter enemies, Olivia would never have allowed it. So why had she?
She couldn’t possibly have been unaware that Adelia commanded the Lion Heart Unit. Was the hatred one-sided, with only Adelia despising Olivia? Or had Olivia been harboring some other scheme?
Ah, this is getting unnecessarily complicated. It wasn’t even my business. I decided to stop caring. What did the feud between Adelia’s and Olivia’s families have to do with me? As long as I kept my distance from Olivia and stayed close to Adelia, my future remained bright. That was all that mattered.
Still, the situation felt incredibly tangled. The moment the vanished Olivia reappeared before me, my relationship with Adelia would become a headache. She would surely demand to know how I knew Olivia and fly into a rage. Unfortunately, Olivia had once told Unia that she would come see me soon. I really wished she wouldn’t. I was finally making a fresh start, clinging tightly to Adelia as my lifeline. Please, Olivia, just stay away and stop interfering.
“By any chance… do you know a woman named Nancy?”
I asked just in case. Nancy had seemed to know Olivia’s true identity from the very beginning. I had a hunch she might be a knight or hold some special status herself. As expected, both Adelia and even Sinclair shook their heads. They clearly had no idea who Nancy was.
After the meeting ended, I stepped outside the building, thinking of returning to the mercenary company, only to find an unexpected figure waiting for me. Orlando smiled brightly in my direction.
“A pleasure. Since we’re already acquainted, I suppose no introductions are needed. Might I have a moment of your time?”
What could the lord’s son possibly want with me? After a brief moment of thought, I followed him without protest. We reached a small pond within the barracks grounds, sat across from each other at a table beside it, and faced one another.
Could this be related to the trial held a few days ago? Orlando opened his mouth with a good-natured smile on his handsome face.
“Don’t people often tell you that you’re handsome?”
The first words out of his mouth were so absurd that I doubted my ears. Surely he hadn’t called me here just to have this kind of conversation?
“Well… I don’t think I’ve heard that very often in my life.”
“I find that hard to believe. From what I see, the ladies wouldn’t leave you alone.”
He added with a laugh, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Feeling embarrassed, I asked directly, “May I ask why you wanted to see me?”
“Ah, yes. I wanted to thank you for your help during the recent trial. Thanks to the substantial evidence you provided, we were able to reach a just verdict. That’s why I wished to meet you. There is also something I wanted to tell you personally, which is why I came to find you like this.”
“As for that trial, I believe I was the one who received great help. It was thanks to Lord Orlando’s wise and prudent judgment that the victims avoided the unfair situation of being mistaken for the perpetrators. Though belated, I sincerely thank you.”
“Haha, protecting the people of the territory is the lord’s duty. As the next lord, I merely did what was expected of me.”
Orlando laughed in a carefree manner. A relaxed, informal atmosphere radiated from him. After exchanging light pleasantries, we moved on to the main topic.
“You mentioned there was something you wanted to tell me personally. What is it?”
“Well, you see…”
Orlando took a deep breath, as if steeling himself, then let it out slowly. Was it that difficult to say?
“Here and now, I swear upon the honor of the Nobern family and declare it to you without shame. I, Orlando Nobern—”
He suddenly raised his voice in a grand confession.
“—am in love with Lady Adelia!”
He wore the expression of what might be the last romantic left in this era as he made his declaration. Strangely, I wasn’t particularly surprised. Nor was I flustered. I was simply dumbfounded. I stared at him blankly for a while before asking in a calm voice.
“…May I ask why you’re revealing such a personal matter to me?”
“It’s simple! I wanted to let you know that the lovely Lady Adelia already has a man she has chosen! To be honest, the two of you have seemed far too close lately!”
So, she’s taken, so back off, was that it?
“You needn’t concern yourself. The reason I visit Lady Adelia so often is purely for work. To subjugate the bandits, we must coordinate strategies together…”
“I know that very well! That’s precisely why it’s dangerous!”
Orlando shot to his feet, cutting me off mid-sentence. Despite his refined appearance, his tone and gestures carried the passionate energy of a hot-blooded protagonist.
“The truth is, I was reluctant to send Lady Adelia away to another territory, so I deliberately delayed things by not assisting with the bandit subjugation until now! However!”
He clenched both fists tightly and shouted with vigor.
“Ever since you appeared—looking like an elf—my heart has been restless! From now on, I too will lead our family’s pride, the Blue Arrow Unit, and participate in the bandit suppression! Let the three companies join forces: our Blue Arrow Unit! The Lion Heart Unit led by Lady Adelia! And the Kether Mercenary Group led by you! Together, we shall crush the bandits! And here I swear—I will never yield to you in my pursuit of love!”
I once read in a book back on Earth that medieval nobles would duel their rivals over the woman they loved. Was this to be taken in the same sense?
When news spread that even the lord’s forces—the Blue Arrow Unit—would join the bandit suppression, the bandit leaders fell into an uproar. With the Blue Arrow Unit, which knew the local terrain well, joining the fray, their activities would be severely restricted and the discovery of their strongholds would be only a matter of time.
What terrified them most, however, was the scale of the force—over seven hundred soldiers. That was more than ten times the current size of the Lion Heart Unit, which numbered only around seventy.
“Why couldn’t you stop the Blue Arrow Unit from moving?!”
During the leaders’ meeting attended by multiple bandit chiefs, Nirgof— a high-ranking vassal of the Nobern family—was also present. He endured a barrage of curses and accusations from the chiefs.
“We told you to stop the Blue Arrow Unit at all costs! How much money have we given you over the years?!”
“It was all for nothing!”
“All contact with the Blue Arrow Unit’s insiders we’ve been communicating with has been completely cut off after this incident! Ever since their commander, Kutars, began tightening discipline, they’ve all gone into hiding!”
While receiving everyone’s resentment, Nirgof sat with a calm expression. In the eyes of the middle-aged man already gleamed the cunning of an old fox.
“Now, now, everyone calm down. Even I did not anticipate that the Blue Arrow Unit would move. I had Lord Roton firmly in my grasp, yet who could have predicted that his foolish son, Orlando, would run wild on his own?”
“Then go stop that son of his right now! Throw a woman at him so he can’t crawl out from under her skirts!”
“That won’t be easy. Once Orlando decides on something, he won’t rest until he sees it through. No matter how much I try to persuade him, it’s obvious he won’t bend his stubborn will.”
“So are we just supposed to give up like this?! Think of all the money we’ve poured into you! Before we all die together!”
Were they threatening to expose his collusion with the bandits to the lord? Nirgof understood it that way and let out a small chuckle.
“It’s not as if there are no options at all, so trust me and wait. I will resolve this by the end of today.”
After calming the agitated bandit leaders, Nirgof returned to the castle and headed straight for the lord’s bedchamber.
“It is Nirgof.”
Lord Roton, who gave no response even after being announced, lay in bed with a naked maidservant. Already aged and recently fallen ill, his condition was dire. His face had grown gaunt, his wrinkles deeper. Dark age spots had bloomed across his skin.
The naked maidservant clinging to him had been sent by Nirgof under the pretense of treating the lord’s illness with yin energy. In truth, she was a trap designed to keep Lord Roton from escaping the clutches of pleasure.
Just two months ago, Lord Roton had been remarkably healthy despite his age. But Nirgof had ordered the head maid to secretly drug the tea he drank every day in order to cloud his judgment. Some days it was an aphrodisiac, other days narcotics. On yet other days, he was fed substances that lowered his intellect.
As the days passed, Lord Roton began displaying a sexual appetite unfit for his years. He fell into obscene pleasures with the maids, developed alcoholism, and his ability to distinguish right from wrong and make rational decisions deteriorated sharply. That was when the illness took hold.
Once his body weakened, Lord Roton gradually came to depend on Nirgof. In the end, he became like a child who could do nothing without him.
“Did you administer it today as well?”
“Yes.”
After sending away the head maid who had entered the bedchamber with him, Nirgof approached the bed.
“My lord.”
The sleeping Lord Roton weakly opened his eyes.
“Oh… is that you, Nirgof?”
In a feeble voice, he reached out a hand. Nirgof gently took the trembling hand and offered a warm gaze.
“I have something to report.”
“Speak of anything… You are a loyal subject of our house. I can trust you…”