The Blood Knight’s Villains

My Villains Episode 238

49. Visitors (1)

Ten days have passed since the fog disappeared and the autumn sky revealed its face.

We were still staying at Raven’s Cliff.

Of course, he wasn’t living in the count’s castle. The fort on the ground collapsed under Ellen’s fireballs, and the underground was too cold and humid to be a place for people to live.

In the end, the party chose two of the least intact buildings in the nearby castle town as lodgings.

One was a guild hall used by the herbalist guild, where ten people including myself stayed. The other was the ‘Singing Black Bunting’ tavern across the guild hall, where the rest of the party stayed.

Meanwhile, there was not a single survivor in the castle town. They must have all been eaten by Tenbjerma, the vampire lord and lord of the region, or jumped out before being harmed.

We came to stay in this empty castle town for three reasons.

First, supplies were in short supply.

The last time we bought food was about three weeks ago at a gate in the Royal Territory. They had eaten everything, even a piece of jerky, a piece of biscuit, while wandering through the fog, so they had no spare food.

So they were hunting deer, wild boars, rabbits, etc. at random in the forests at the southern foot of the mountain, searching nearby villages and stocking up on food.

It wasn’t just food shortages.

It is already November 17th. Winter was coming soon, so I had to stock up on a fur hat, fur gloves, and a thick cape to double as a sleeping bag and blanket.

Second, it was because of the people who gathered in the castle town.

The mist that flowed from the Dream Manor once covered most of the Gistol region. However, not all life swallowed up there met death.

So, some of those who disappeared into the fog returned, and the territories hiding here and there also appeared.

but. The area of Gistol is quite wide. Even if there were about 3,000 people sacrificed for Tenbierma’s throne, it was only natural that there were still people left.

We saved some of the meat we got from hunting. It was smoked using salt and firewood, and thirty people were drawn to the smell.

Also, after the fog disappeared, those who were chased by the greenskins who roamed the territory to their heart’s content were roughly over thirty.

Lastly, the survivors we encountered while searching the surrounding villages also joined us. The number was about sixty.

In this way, well over a hundred people were added to the castle town. Even this number continued to grow.

The territories, weakened by starvation, were virtually no different from refugees. They crowded around and begged for food and even for their lives. It was impossible to ignore this situation and leave the road.

In the end, I decided to help the gathered territories until the situation was somewhat settled.

The last reason we stayed in the castle town was because of Heila’s advice.

Six days ago, around the evening, Heila came to my room and said something out of the blue.

“You can’t leave.”

“…What are you talking about all of a sudden? Why can’t I leave?”

“Because you killed the high lord, Count Martianber.”

“What kind of bastard vampire was the high lord?”

“It is a fact unknown to the world. If we disappear like this, rumors may spread.”

“Is that bullshit?”

Heila gave an example in her usual calm tone.

“Around the time when terrible things were happening in Gistol, I saw a bloody swordsman and a red bear fire witch nearby. After the Bloody Swordsman and his men stopped at Raven’s Cliff, the citadel collapsed. A bloody swordsman killed Count Mattianver. Like this.”

“…no way.”

“The odds are pretty high. Zacharys, the real ruler of the capital, hates Ulkar, and you are Ulkar’s knight.”

Zacharis.

His full name is Zacharys Lionelson of Zeore. The eldest son of Lionel III, the current king of Milanol.

He was the king’s successor and at the same time, as a high-ranking civil servant, he was also a powerful man who took over the kingdom on behalf of his old father.

“……O uh”

—S’.

There are probably hundreds of reasons why Zacharys hates his brother, who is twenty years younger than him. If I had to pick just one of them, it would be because of ‘reputation’.

The third prince, Ulkar, has been on the battlefield since he was 17 years old, earning all kinds of cool nicknames such as ‘Kingdom Guardian’, ‘Silver Lion’, and ‘Warrior of the Weak’.

On the other hand, Zacharys is called the ‘lying lion’, ‘the tailless lion’, and ‘the golden pig’. These are shameful names earned thanks to laziness, cowardice, and a generous belly.

“…Maybe they could frame me for killing the good lord. To fuck Prince Ulkar.”

“that’s right.”

“Then what? Should we jump in and spread the news to the capital?”

“That is not enough. Call Max.”

“……Max?”

Max is a merchant from the West.

During the series of events, he hid in Oressa’s tavern with his men and joined us after the fog lifted.

I wondered why I was looking for him all of a sudden, but Heila seemed to have an idea, so I dutifully called Max.

After exchanging brief greetings with the bewildered Max, Heila went straight to the main course.

“Didn’t I say the destination was the royal road?”

“Yes, lady.”

“Spread the story along the way. We have to tell the bloody swordsman that Count Marty Anver was a vampire and that he died.”

Despite the sudden order, Max quickly lowered his head. His attitude was very polite, probably because he owed us his life.

“I will do as you say.”

“and.”

Heila pulled out three letters from her bosom. She handed Max the first of the unstamped letters.

“Every time you pass a church, make a copy of this and give it to the priest. If the opportunity arises, even to the monks of the Norik Order.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The other two letters were stamped with plain seals, but they were different in shape and could easily be distinguished.

“This is the royal palace. If possible, convey it to an official belonging to the Imperial Household Department, but if that is not possible, a royal guard is fine. No court aristocrats or guards.”

Max responded to the calm command with a cautious nod.

“Finally the cathedral. Find the bishop, ‘Ian-Baptiste’. If you say you brought a letter from across the narrow sea, I will meet you.”

As Max carefully packed the three letters into his arms, Heila added:

“If you finish everything well, the bishop will give you a gold coin. a lot.”

“Thank you, ma’am. Another thing to ask “If there is a caravan heading west, guide them through here. Don’t overdo it, just hint that you have a rich hukou.”

“Yes, I understand.”

As Max left the guild hall to hurry up his preparations, I scratched my eyebrows before opening my mouth.

“Ian-Baptiste? who is that?”

“I’m one of the representatives of the Church of El Ganore.”

“Does he have a leash?”

Heila picked up the coals with tongs and threw them into the furnace. As the flames intensified, she placed the silver kettle on the hearth.

“huh. Until I went to the royal capital to be ordained, I was my grandfather’s concubine.”

“grandfather?”

I looked through the complex family tree of Zaharkar and Baluin, and confirmed that Heila’s grandfather was Phoenix’s great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather.

“wait for a sec.”

w……2”

“Only men can be ordained priests, right?”

“O” Heh.

“By the way, you said you were your grandfather’s concubine?”

“O” huh-

Heila said ‘why? What’s the matter?’ He blinked his eyes with an innocent face. Looking into those black eyes, I decided to forget what I had just heard.

“Oh, then Max. He seems like a nice guy on the outside. Can I trust you so easily?”

“I don’t believe you.”

“…You don’t believe me?”

“huh.”

I was speechless at the quick and decisive reply.

“Even if Max is not working, there are people who will fill in for him.”

“Who?”

Heila, who sat across from me, laid out a tea set on the table.

“Yount is talkative and likes to drink. When I get out of Gistol, I’ll run to the bar and tell the people the news here.”

“…Who is Yount?”

“Alyosha’s bodyguard.”

“Who else is Alyosha?”

“merchant.”

“Max’s subordinate?”

“no. He is lower in rank than Max, but not subordinate.”

The kettle boiled quickly, as if the warm water had been brought in in the first place. Heila brewed tea with tea leaves and cinnamon in a cotton cloth bag.

“Zerbo is a young merchant, but a faithful follower of the Kwangmyeong Church. I saw an ominous sign near the ruins of the castle a few days ago, so I want to go to church.”

“I will tell the priests here.”

“huh. I have entrusted the money to make offerings on behalf of you, so you will be able to meet many priests.”

A small cup was filled with tea water and a spoonful of honey from Trosher was added.

Haila set the cup down in front of me and began to prepare her portion of tea.

“Bzo is a porter. I entrusted you with a letter to go to the cathedral.”

“letter? Will it be okay?”

“huh. It was written in Spacht, and even if you interpret it, it will be difficult to understand the meaning.”

She silently drank the tea with three tablespoons of honey. My eyelids, tightly hanging eyelashes, blink slowly, as if I was very satisfied.

“Is that the end?”

“The palace has given up. If the letter reaches only the cathedral, there won’t be any big problems.”

I stared at her and burst out laughing.

“How many people have you laid your hand on?”

“All three.”

“There are only three horses, but Max’s ascending party only has ten people. Aren’t you busy?”

“no. I haven’t been very busy.”

It was none other than Heila who was managing the hundreds of villagers gathered in the castle town. I was going to do it myself, but the monster subjugation was a bit urgent, so I asked her to manage the territory.

Distributing food, arranging temporary shelters, identifying the need for repairs to buildings, assigning work according to ability, selecting healthy men from among the dogs, training them as mercenaries, and so on. In the meantime, to enlist Max’s men. Because he’s a really great guy.

Even for her, who is good at observing and handling people, it must be tiresome and tiring. Even so, he seldom shows his expression. One-eyed Simos and heavy duty mercenaries, such as Dervish, were about to stick out their tongues.

“……Huh”

TZf.

Of course, if you looked closely at Heila, you could read her tiredness.

His shoulders drooped slightly, his eyes closed and opened a little later, his waist slightly twisted…

But those subtle signals disappeared without a trace around the time the cup was empty. I was leaving my room fully recovered.

I noticed that Heila, who prides herself on not being too observant, was using her time with me as a so-called ‘recharger’.

I didn’t feel bad. Far from being in a bad mood, she felt cuter as she quietly sipped tea.

“Heyla.”

“huh?”

“Tell me whenever you have a hard time.”

“O” Heh.

Heila nodded and focused on the car again, so I burst out laughing quietly.