Fallen Noble House (2)
Lawrence propped his chin on his hand.
“Isn’t there another way?”
“If we can’t find a sherpa, there’s only one option left.”
Cedric pointed at the wall map.
“We enlist the help of the Watchers.”
“You mean the Watchers of Winter.”
The Watchers of Winter who guarded Saint Wall.
Like the mages of the Magic Tower, they dressed entirely in black, and rumor had it they carried the crest of the White Fang.
“Aside from sherpas, the Watchers are the only people who know the entire northern region. If the rumors are true, they even have maps of the lands beyond the wall. If a Watcher truly agreed to serve as your guide, traveling the north wouldn’t be all that difficult.”
“Then the first step is contacting the Watchers.”
“In my humble opinion, that’s the best course. But reaching out to them recklessly would be dangerous.”
Cedric moistened his throat with a swallow of butterbeer.
“The Watchers of Winter were once spoken of as proud warriors who defended the northern wall. Eternal guardians of winter. But now, after immeasurable time has passed, that honor and tradition have been stained black with disgrace.”
His tone carried a bitter edge.
“The north is the farthest region from the royal capital, Corintos. The idea of barbarians invading Saint Wall is no more than a fairy tale, so naturally military funding and support from the center dwindled year after year. What began as a gradual decline in aid eventually stopped altogether. By now, the Watchers have been reduced to the point where there aren’t even enough soldiers to stand guard on the wall.”
“I understand their situation is dire. But why does that connect to disgrace and danger?”
“No matter how few volunteers there are, you still need at least some force to defend the wall. Let me ask you something, Lord Lawrence. How do you suppose the Watchers have maintained their army after the funding was cut off?”
Lawrence fell into thought for a moment.
No volunteers meant no one to fill the ranks.
And if support from the center had ceased, then even with an army, there’d be no equipment or supplies to arm and feed it.
He remembered something Francois had once told him.
An army that can no longer function as an army will slowly rot from within. Dissatisfaction spreads through the ranks at a frightening pace. And if the problem still isn’t solved, deserters start to multiply. It’s rare for things to reach that point, but war always leaves room for the unexpected.
Lawrence remembered what she had said after that.
“Plunder?”
Cedric gave a heavy nod.
“Exactly. From what I’ve heard from the center, it’s the minorities who are bearing the brunt of it. It may be called the Watchers of Winter, but behind the curtain they’re doing things no criminal would dare.”
“That’s hard to believe. It’s completely different from what I heard at the mercenary guild.”
People spoke of the Watchers of Winter with respect.
They were said to descend to Winterglen from time to time as well.
But if Cedric’s account was anything to go by, they were a band of armed criminals with no equal.
“Of course, I’ve only heard that such things are done by soldiers who have strayed from the Watchers’ path. But the problem is that most of the people making up the Watchers now come from backgrounds where common sense simply doesn’t apply.”
He drew another figure on the map.
Countless circles overlapped one another.
Beneath them, Cedric wrote: Watchers.
“Right now, the people filling their ranks are prisoners. Criminals who can no longer survive in the kingdom by normal means. Noblemen from fallen houses. Commoners framed for crimes they never committed. Orphans with nowhere else to go. The Watchers of Winter, assembled by gathering up anyone they could get their hands on, are the ones standing guard over the wall.”
“How does that even make sense?”
“That’s how desperate the Watchers must be. I’m told it’s to the point where, without resorting to something like this, they wouldn’t be able to function as an army.”
“……”
“You said it yourself, Lord Lawrence. How could an army made up of criminals possibly function normally? The Watchers’ reputation has already fallen into the abyss, and what’s circulating in the center is little short of the worst possible rumor. And now, with more time having passed since then… things can’t possibly have improved. If anything, they’ve likely only gotten worse.”
The inside of his mouth turned bitter.
Was this what reality looked like?
There were no noble warriors standing guard over the north.
No proud order carrying on an ancient dignity.
“And yet, because the situation is so dire, I do think you can ask the Watchers to guide you. With discipline already loosened, a suitable payment should be enough to secure a guide.”
“You said the danger was high. Does that mean the guide we worked so hard to find might turn on us?”
It was an army made up of criminals.
Dragging someone who knew nothing about the north into a dangerous area would be nothing for them. If a guide intended to do that, Lawrence would have no way to stop it.
Of course, there might also be Watchers who weren’t like that.
Surely there had to be at least one among them who still carried honor and pride in his heart. But would a proper Watcher really agree to serve as a guide for money?
Lawrence didn’t think so.
“That’s why I warned you. Going as far as Winterglen might be one thing, but beyond that, the danger rises sharply.”
“……”
“But you’re not going to give up, are you?”
“You know me too well.”
There might be a Lost Sanctuary somewhere out there.
Now that he had a clue, giving up was not an option.
“Don’t you know anyone personally, Cedric?”
“I do know a few people, but... even if I gave them my name, they wouldn’t help. In fact, I’d say there’s a good chance they’d stab me instead.”
“What on earth did you do in the north?”
“I’ve always stood by the lady who’s being mistreated.”
Despite himself, Lawrence let out a snort.
He had a pretty good idea what had happened up there.
“Don’t lose hope just yet. Not all Watchers are the same. It’s true most of them are criminals, but among them are people who genuinely carry out their duty. Watchers who came from fallen noble houses.”
Cedric’s hand moved to the drawing.
It pointed to the smallest circle among the many.
“Would a fallen noble family ever reach out a hand to a commoner? And would a family already brought low even keep their promises?”
“Just as not all Watchers are the same, not all fallen nobles are the same either. If they come from a house once considered distinguished, I think there’s a chance.”
Cedric went on.
“A family already ruined. Glory long passed. And yet even if they’ve been reduced to Watchers, a noble house is still a noble house. If they remember the duties of their bloodline, there may be room for compromise.”
Lawrence turned the two names over in his mind: the sherpa and the Watcher from a fallen noble house.
Then he sank into thought.
***
The next day at dawn, Lawrence finally returned to the monastery too late and slept until noon before waking.
His head felt foggy, as if he were still drunk.
He hadn’t even had any alcohol, and yet a headache was creeping in all the same.
It felt uncannily like being intoxicated by the atmosphere of a room where drinks had been passing from hand to hand.
A miserable sensation, not quite a hangover but close enough.
Lawrence heated some water and soaked himself in it first.
There was less than a month left until the request.
He was glad he had met Cedric before heading north.
The bitter reality of the Watchers.
The north’s dependence on sherpas.
Everything he had gathered so far had amounted to nothing more than false hope.
If he had gone north without knowing any of this, he would have wandered around helplessly for who knew how long.
This wasn’t just a mercenary job to complete a request.
Escorting the caravan as far as Winterglen was only a process, nothing more.
The true objective was the palace somewhere in the north.
To reach a place that might be the Lost Sanctuary.
It was the same as when he had searched Ulbazar Swamp.
He needed someone who could guide him through harsh terrain.
But how was he supposed to contact a Watcher from a fallen noble house?
This time, even the mercenary guild wouldn’t be much help.
The guild could provide information about the northern terrain or the monsters there.
Even the information they had on the Watchers was riddled with mistakes.
No, the mercenary guild only knew the surface-level story.
It might be better to ask around through the Mistra Merchant Group instead.
With the scale of the company, they were likely connected to nobility as well.
But taking on a debt to the merchant group didn’t seem like a good idea.
Lionel aside, Oswin was a man with greed baked into his bones.
If he carelessly created a debt, who knew what would happen later?
Not all debts were the same.
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed better to go through someone other than the troublesome Mistra Merchant Group.
After washing up properly, Lawrence got dressed.
He would have to meet Cedric again to settle their next course of action.
Cedric was staying at an inn on the outskirts of the city.
This time, too, he had the finest room available.
He had returned in the early hours just like Lawrence, but somehow, between then and now, he’d managed to drag a woman into his room. Lawrence could only click his tongue at that level of skill.
“What brings you here so early in the morning?”
Still suffering from a hangover, apparently.
Cedric narrowed one eye and asked.
“I’d like what I’m about to say to stay between us.”
“A secret?”
“I have something I want to ask you, Cedric, and I’m trusting you with it.”
“This is the first time since we met that you’ve spoken to me so seriously. Very well. I don’t know what you want to say, but I’ll treat it with the same weight as a lady’s secret.”
Once Cedric straightened his posture, Lawrence spoke.
“Do you know the Valentina Family?”
The moment he heard the name, Cedric’s expression changed.
“I do. It would be stranger if I didn’t.”
So this man really had been the right person to ask.
At the very least, among the people around Lawrence, Cedric knew nobility better than anyone else.
“The Valentina Family. A distinguished house that believed nobles existed to uphold honor and duty. An old and venerable family that once wielded strong influence in the center of politics.”
Once. It seemed he knew what had happened to the Valentina Family too.
“I’ve heard they’ve fallen now.”
“Living power is bound to decline one day. Reality isn’t kind enough to live on ideals alone. You can’t survive in noble society by spouting only the right words.”
That, he seemed to be saying, was the art of scheming and maneuvering.
“Do you remember what I told you before? Any powerful house that exerts influence in politics will inevitably make enemies who seek to keep it in check. And yet, a distinguished house is still a distinguished house. The Valentina Family endured through the connections their ancestors had built over generations, but in noble society, where even blood relatives can’t be trusted, there is no such thing as eternal unity.”
His voice took on a lonely shade.
“And so a noble house that once upheld honor and pride fell from grace. I’m told the branch that barely escaped that fate took to the north in order to preserve their bloodline however they could. Is that rumor what brought you to ask me?”
Lawrence nodded quietly.
It was a little different from what he had expected.
But if that was the case, the conversation would be easier than he’d feared.
“What do you think, Cedric? If we could contact that Valentina Family, do you think they might help us?”
“Hmm. I can’t say for certain. But I think the chance is more than enough to be worth considering. At the very least, comparing them to other criminals who happen to be Watchers would be an insult to their name.”
That answer was enough.
After thanking him, Lawrence left the inn behind.
***
That night, in the library.
Lawrence stood before the Valentina sisters and opened his mouth.
“I have something important to discuss with you two today.”
“If it’s an interesting story, I’m all ears.”
“If it isn’t urgent, can’t we talk about it another time?”
The sisters reacted differently.
Angela wore a look of annoyance.
Francois, on the other hand, looked genuinely eager.
Unfortunately, today Lawrence would have to disappoint them both.
“This is going to be a serious conversation. I’d appreciate it if Angela would listen as well.”
“……”
At Lawrence’s grave tone, the sisters looked at each other.
Angela, seated beside Francois, gave him a look that said, Go on then.
“The two of you already know that I’m a pilgrim.”
“Yes. Well... you never really hid it, did you?”
“Pilgrims search for holy sites. And now I’m thinking of leaving Mistra next month to head north.”
“You mean you’re going to Winterglen? But the north isn’t under the Church’s influence, is it?”
As if agreeing, Angela nodded at Francois’s words.
“I knew Lawrence visited only the holy sites located in dangerous places, but going north doesn’t sound like a good idea.”
“Strictly speaking, I’m planning to go a little farther than that.”
“Farther than Winterglen?”
“I can’t be sure the place is truly a holy site, but I heard from someone I trust that it might be.”
It was time to get to the point.
Lawrence brought his hands together and spoke.
“That’s why I’d like to ask for your help with this.”
“If it’s about the north, I can tell you what I know.”
Did she think this was just the continuation of their usual conversations?
Francois went on in her usual tone.
“There’s quite a lot recorded in books about the north’s environment, the animals there, and monsters you need to watch out for.”
“No, sis. That’s not what Lawrence means.”
Angela’s voice, low and quiet, had gone rigid.
As though she had understood his intention, she lifted her head.
“This isn’t about the Church.”
“I want the help of the Valentina Family.”