The Rebellion Begins
Monica is pointing a massive ceremonial sword at me. "I, Monica Rystein, declare that Sir Edward Mountbern shall become a knight of the House of Rystein, which protects and rules over this North." I was slightly worried she might strike me with the blade, but fortunately, she didn't. With all the vassals of the Rystein family watching, my knighthood ceremony concluded just like that.
This morning, the three of us—Vera, Monica, and I—were having a normal meal. Vera looked more tired than usual, as if she hadn't slept well. "Monica. Have you ever laid a hand on Sir Edward?"
"...Yes."
Perhaps remembering how I looked last night with one cheek swollen, Vera asked Monica. Monica, seemingly deciding to be bold, didn't deny it and admitted it calmly. She even looked at me as if to ask why I couldn't hide something like that, but what was I supposed to do? A swollen cheek isn't something you can just hide.
"Why did you do that?"
"I heard that when performing a knighthood ceremony, you're supposed to strike them a few times. It was a simplified version, so I intentionally only hit him once."
"But you're holding the official ceremony today with the vassals invited."
"...It was practice."
Did I have a separate knighthood ceremony? In my memory, I don't recall receiving anything as grand as a formal ceremony. After some time passed following the marriage, it just sort of faded into the background. I do remember getting hit by Monica a few times, but I'm not sure if it was because of a knighthood ceremony. Was it because I didn't win the tournament before my regression? Seeing as she invited the vassals, it seems to be proceeding on a much larger scale than I thought.
"He is the man who will be your husband from now on, so let's not intentionally humiliate him in front of the vassals. It's a matter related to your status as Sir Edward's wife. If nothing else, it's a bit difficult for me to watch."
Thanks to Vera's earnest request, my knighthood ceremony was replaced with the modern style usually performed at churches in the capital. Monica looked dissatisfied, but she had always listened to Vera. The method of touching the shoulders and head with a sword without violence is a style that doesn't become popular until more than ten years later, so it feels surreal to be on the receiving end of it.
Since I couldn't participate in the vassal meeting after the ceremony, I left the hall and walked down the corridor. Still, there were two things I confirmed through this ceremony. The first was Baron Enixon, the traitor. The person who made me feel certain that I had returned to the past. He was sitting there with his head firmly attached to his shoulders, even though he would start a rebellion shortly after today. Seeing him looking strangely anxious, it felt certain that the rebellion would happen. I don't know if it only looked that way because I knew the fact that he would start a rebellion.
'This time, I'll make good use of that rebellion.'
Before, I suffered quite a bit because Enixon's rebel army invaded right up to the doorstep of the earldom, but this time, I will take the initiative and suppress them before that can happen. The number of times I get scolded by Monica for being incompetent will decrease, and by achieving merit, my voice will carry more weight. It's a situation where I can completely turn a crisis into an opportunity. Now I just need to seize that opportunity, but...
'How do I persuade Monica...'
If I say that man is going to start a rebellion without any evidence, will anyone believe me? It would be a relief if I didn't just get scolded for slandering another noble after bringing up the rebellion to Monica. If I acted on my own, I could be the one punished for treason before Enixon.
'That red stone is also bothering me...'
Another person I encountered at the ceremony: Viscountess Melbourne. She's a person known for being a recluse in her own mansion, so I hadn't seen her face many times, but for some reason, she participated in my ceremony. Perhaps it was because of the vassal meeting that would follow. Around the neck of that woman, known as Monica's close friend, a red stone was hanging from a string.
'Farewell, nameless warrior.'
Recalling the memory, I feel a vivid, splitting pain in my head. That stone was definitely the same one as the barbarian's stone that had split my head open. It wasn't even a gemstone; it was just a rock, and it's unlikely that something with such a vivid blood-red color would be common. I've never heard of the Viscountess carrying something like that around. I seem to recall hearing rumors that she was a witch, but could it be one of the strange tools that witches use? She, who rarely shows herself, appeared before me wearing that red stone—I can't even guess the reason.
As I was walking down the hallway lost in thought, a maid came running toward me, calling my name.
"Sir Knight, Sir Edward!"
I flinched reflexively, but I didn't show it and asked, "What is it?"
My heart still races whenever I see that maid uniform. They were like Monica's limbs. Whether it was because of Monica's orders or because they wanted to insult me, they ignored me until I was sick of it, calling me illiterate or saying my mother was lowly. When I stared at her without a word, the maid flinched and showed signs of being scared.
"I-I have finished the investigation you asked for before, so I wanted to tell you the results..."
I quickly relaxed my expression. I had asked her to find out where the knight with the blue helmet was yesterday. Her work is much faster than I thought.
"So, where is that knight?"
"It's written on this paper here..."
The maid tried to hand me the paper with the address and run away. I don't know how to read. I couldn't let that show. "No, you guide me yourself."
"Me? I have other duties..."
"Ahem, are you ignoring my words? How can a noble leave the castle without an attendant?"
"If it's an attendant you need, I will bring someone else."
The maid who left after saying that returned shortly with a young boy. It's a face I remember.
"This is Johnson of the Mayville family, who is scheduled to serve you as a squire starting today. He's a bright boy, so he'll be worth taking with you, Sir Edward."
This guy's name is Johnson Mayville. He was the guy who became my squire in my previous life, and he was a sharp and sociable guy who was good to have around. He always showed me respect and took my side, so I cherished him like a younger brother.
'He was hit by an arrow in battle...'
Well, that hasn't happened yet. If I take care of him so he doesn't die, I'll be able to use him as a quite capable knight. He can also take my side when Monica insults me.
The maid who passed the guidance duty to Johnson disappeared with quick steps. It shouldn't be that busy at this time of day, but she seems to really hate working. I should have asked for her name.
"So, can you guide me to this place? I don't know the way."
Fortunately, Johnson could still read.
'Damn it! Damn it!'
The knight with the blue helmet was hurriedly packing his belongings in the room he was staying in.
'I have to leave right now.'
This was all because of what happened in the room next to his last night. He had finally gotten a room at a nice inn with his runner-up prize money, but there kept being noisy sounds from the next room. He went to the next room to complain, but he stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of a blade tearing through flesh leaking out from the door.
It was muffled, but the sound of blood bubbling was clearly leaking out.
"If it seems like it will hinder the great cause, I have no choice but to silence them. We can't let a trivial reason ruin the work, can we? Don't have unnecessary sympathy for bug-like commoners."
"...Is this really okay?"
"We who will soon be members of the earldom—who would dare say anything just because we killed a bug?"
He didn't know exactly what they were talking about, but he was certain that he had heard something he shouldn't have. The word "great cause" and the person "who will become part of the earldom." Those two pieces of information and the atmosphere rotated rapidly in his head, leading him to the conclusion of a rebellion.
The knight with the blue helmet walked as quietly as possible, opened his door as gently as he could, and closed it as gently as possible. Since then, in his head as he spent the night wide awake, only one word was clear.
'I'm screwed.'
These were people who killed without a second thought just because the witness was a commoner. If they felt even the slightest suspicious movement from the room next door, they might even try to kill him. Normally, he would have thought about luring two of them away and escaping, but it was difficult to fend off two healthy noblemen who were eating and living well while his own injuries from the tournament hadn't even healed.
After the sun rose and he confirmed that there were no signs of life in the next room, he started packing his bags like a madman.
'Where should I go? The lord's castle? Or a completely different territory?'
He agonized while packing, but the decision wasn't easy. He had been the runner-up in the tournament, so he had hoped to somehow scrape by into the guard or standing army, even if he couldn't be a knight of the earldom. If he left the earldom for safety now, all those opportunities would fly away. He had finally thought he could settle down!
'Will I be able to see the lord?'
Even if he tried to report the fact of the rebellion, there was no guarantee that the lord would meet him. Would a noble meet a commoner who is a self-proclaimed knight, not even an official one? Even if he met him and talked, it would be a relief if he didn't get punished for insulting a noble.
Knock, knock.
Someone was knocking on the door of the knight with the blue helmet, who had been agonizing like that.