Chapter 14: The Forgotten Knight
“Ismael, how many years ago was it that he was appointed as a senior knight of the Harm Knight Order?”
“About three years ago, I heard.”
“Three years.
Then that means it took two years for a friend who started as a regular knight to be promoted up to senior knight, and three years from senior knight until he was demoted to the fortress guard unit.”
“Yes.”
At those words, my curiosity about Ismael grew even deeper.
Ismael’s path of promotion, which had been on a steep rise, had hit a reef starting from the moment he was incorporated into the knight order under Belkent.
‘Belkent is petty, sure, but he’s the kind of man who can at least recognize a useful piece on the board.
So why would he do something like that?’
The more I thought about it, the less I understood.
And that fact only stimulated my curiosity even more strongly.
“Alright.
And there’s one more thing I’m curious about.”
I, Hein Reichart, asked Emily, who was standing in front of the cart carrying my breakfast.
“Where did you hear such information?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking how a maid of the annex like you knows every little detail about a knight assigned to the fortress guard unit.
It doesn’t seem likely that the man himself would have told you all about his life.”
“Th-that is…… I thought it might help carry out the order you gave before, so while I was waiting for the breakfast to be prepared, I gathered information on my own.”
“An order I gave?”
“Yes.
Because last time, you gave the order that I was to report without missing anything unusual that happened inside the inner castle, I…….”
I paused for a moment at Emily’s initiative—remembering my command precisely and carrying it out faithfully.
“Of course, I didn’t directly ask the people of the fortress guard unit.
I obtained the information through an acquaintance who handles meals for the fortress guard unit…….”
Perhaps she took my silence as criticism toward her, because Emily, her face reddening, earnestly explained that she had gathered information without causing a disturbance.
“Alright.
Looks like you put in some effort.”
“Huh?”
“Thank you for paying attention.
You may leave now.”
After expressing my gratitude for Emily’s effort, I folded my arms and closed my eyes.
I began checking what I needed to confirm when I met Ismael.
But then,
“Young master, if you permit it, may I add one more thing?”
“If you have more to say, say it.”
Had my praise given her courage?
Emily opened her mouth in a cautious voice.
“I’m a little worried to say this because it hasn’t been confirmed as fact, but…….”
“Alright, so whether it's a rumor or anything, just say it.
It seems there are other rumors related to him?”
“It’s not about Sir Ismael himself, but in fact, it’s said that he has a younger brother.
And that younger brother…….”
As she mentioned the rumor about Ismael’s ‘younger brother,’ Emily’s voice dropped even lower.
The more Emily’s story progressed, the more my eyes glittered.
***
After obtaining various bits of information through Emily, I sought out Ismael with great expectations in my heart.
“Ismael Belianov of the fortress guard unit greets the young master.”
“Alright, it’s good to meet you.
Ismael.”
And the Ismael I met in person was a knight with far more strict bearing than I had expected.
‘At this level, three-star, no, maybe even four-star.
If he’s a commoner, he wouldn’t have received systematic education, yet at this age he’s reached this realm.’
I admired Ismael’s bearing inwardly.
“Please forgive my rudeness in asking someone so esteemed to visit such a shabby place.
Normally, I should have requested an audience with the young master through formal channels, but the situation…….”
“You don’t need to worry about that.
I understand.”
Ismael trailed off, but I could guess what he meant.
With everyone’s attention focused on me after what happened to Alain yesterday, Ismael likely didn’t want to draw unnecessary eyes.
“So, what did you call me for?”
“I wished to tell you that I am grateful, young master.”
“To me?
This is the first time I’ve seen you today, so is there something I should be receiving thanks for?”
“You may not know it, young master, but I must give you my thanks.”
‘Let’s probe what he’s really thinking.’
Having made up my mind, I threw out a deliberately provocative question.
“Gratitude?
Fine.
But isn’t this all just a nice-sounding excuse anyway, so what does it matter?”
“Did you say excuse?”
“Yes.
An excuse.
Shall we be a bit honest?
You want to attach yourself to me right now.”
“…….”
Ismael’s expression hardened.
He must have felt an intense insult at my contemptuous tone.
“Ismael, since we’ve met like this, should I give you one piece of good advice?”
But I continued speaking with an expression as if I didn’t even care about Ismael’s face.
“Do you know why a promising knight like you, who placed in a swordsmanship tournament at an age not even twenty, has done nothing but get demoted instead of promoted for the past five years?”
“…….”
“Because you’re stupid.”
There was still no answer, but Ismael’s expression was growing stiffer and stiffer.
“I don’t know what kind of story you’ve got, but you failed to catch the eye of Belkent, one of the Vispon Family’s influential figures, and you ended up roaming around the fortress.
You probably spent your days in deep despair.”
Ismael’s sharp eyes twitched.
No matter what, it was true he had lived through days of despair.
“And then you saw me last night.
Sure, the rumors about me aren’t exactly good, but I’m still the son of the Family Head.
And seeing me last night, I looked different from the rumors—like I had some nerve.
And you realized that the bastard son of the Family Head is a loner with no faction backing him.
So you probably decided.
Ah!
Let me stake my road to success on that bastard son of the Family Head.
In other words, you decided to gamble.”
I stepped one pace closer to Ismael.
“It’s not a gamble with high odds, but what can you do?
Your situation isn’t good enough to calculate probabilities, so you have to grab even me.”
“That is not the case.”
Ismael, who had said nothing until now, spat out a single sentence as if chewing it.
“Even if the situation is urgent, if you’re going to attach yourself to a line, you should at least check the condition of that line.
Even if last night felt satisfying, you’re going to get drunk off a single moment and bet your life?
It seems you’re foolish enough that you can’t even guess how great the power Vispon holds.”
But I ignored Ismael’s protest and did not stop my contemptuous words.
“Unfortunately, with that kind of judgment and political sense, you’ll never escape the guard unit for the rest of your life.
From the looks of it, your swordsmanship is decent, but I don’t want to keep company with a foolish friend who can’t even see the tide.”
“……Is there nothing more you wish to say?”
Right after I finished speaking, Ismael asked in a leaden expression.
“No.
But you look like you still have something you want to say.”
“No, young master.
Thank you for sparing your precious time.
I will not commit such rudeness toward you again, so please forgive me with your broad generosity.
Then I will take my leave.”
Suppressing the emotions surging up, Ismael greeted me and immediately turned his back.
“Hey, Ismael.
Still, I’m saying this because it’s a shame about your swordsmanship.
If you want, I could put in a word with the Vispon Family for you.
How about it?”
Toward Ismael’s turned back, I tossed out another provocative remark.
“I!”
At that moment, Ismael’s voice, which had been suppressing emotion, grew loud for the first time.
“Even if I’m from a commoner background, I at least know who the rightful master of this land is!
I am a knight of Reichart, tasked with protecting this land.”
In that instant, unable to contain his agitation, tremendous momentum rose from Ismael’s back.
‘Hooh.’
Watching him, I let out an admiring exclamation inwardly.
“My chivalry is not filthy enough that I would join hands with vile groups who covet what is not theirs and engage in underhanded collusion!”
The resentment Ismael had accumulated over years finally burst out beyond restraint.
Through the ‘sincerity’ Ismael could not help but spit out, I understood why a knight as capable as him had been repeatedly demoted under Belkent.
‘He got culled.’
Belkent wanted to prevent it.
The growth of a rigid, capable knight who was prepared to pledge loyalty not to Vispon, but to Reichart’s Family Head.
‘At first he tried to win him over.
But when it looked like he couldn’t, he chose to shove him into a corner to block his growth, is that it?’
Ismael’s shoulders, still unable to calm down, heaved violently.
After organizing my thoughts, I spoke toward his back.
“Ismael.
I never said you could leave yet.
And there’s still something I need you to explain.”
I moved and stood directly in front of Ismael, then asked the young knight filled with resentment.
“Tell me.
Why did you say you had to thank me?”
***
“You have a younger brother who aspires to become a knight, and you’re saying he received a heavy punishment a year ago because he committed rudeness toward Belkent?”
“That’s correct.”
“And because of the aftereffects of that punishment, only now—after a year—has his body finally reached a state where he can barely resume basic training.”
“In truth, he should not be training yet.
Originally, the doctor said it would take a full year just for my brother to be able to walk.
But his zeal was so strong…….”
Perhaps thinking of his younger brother hurt him, because Ismael’s expression, which had been steady until now, wavered intensely.
“And you think the reason Belkent punished your brother was because of the swordsmanship tournament six months ago.
To prevent your brother from participating in that tournament.”
“……That’s correct.”
In Ismael’s eyes, which had carried a faint air, a hatred so vivid it could not be clearer formed in an instant.
“What evidence supports your guess?”
“There is none.”
‘So this was the rumor Emily mentioned about the younger brother.’
I recalled the swordsmanship tournament from six months ago, the one Alain had taken first place in.
In the Reichart territory, swordsmanship tournaments were held periodically for certain age groups.
And the winner of the most recent tournament for the minor division had been Alain Vispon.
But…….
‘To eliminate a competitor who could become an obstacle to Alain’s victory, that bastard Belkent pulled this filthy trick…….’
Of course, as Ismael said, there was no clear evidence that Belkent’s punishment had been for Alain’s victory.
But I could be certain.
That Belkent had definitely carried out a dirty scheme.
‘That bastard Alain, he was filthier than I thought.
Maybe cutting his neck would’ve been better than cutting his arm?’
Feeling regret suddenly rear its head, I lightly shook my head.
It seemed the Vispon Family had been expanding its influence with methods more petty and vicious than I had thought.
“So that’s why you wanted to thank me.
Because I avenged your younger brother, who suffered an unjust wrong.”
“That’s correct.”
“Oh dear, that won’t do.
You, do you not even know that a knight must not carry private feelings?”
I made a joking remark on purpose, but Ismael shook his head with a firm expression.
“I did not give you thanks as a knight.”
“Not as a knight?”
“Yes.
Today, I only wished to thank you as an older brother who has a younger brother who suffered an unjust wrong.”
“Ha!”
At Ismael’s bold answer, an exclamation burst out of my mouth.
‘He’s got a more interesting side than I thought.’
Hiding the interest I felt toward Ismael, I spoke in a calm voice on purpose.
“If you want to live long here, you should study a bit more about hiding your true feelings.”
“I apologize.”
“It seems my judgment that you have a fairly stupid side wasn’t entirely wrong.”
“I will carve the young master’s advice into my heart.”
“Still, if your brother learns that there’s an older brother who chooses to become a fool for his sake, he’ll be very happy.”
With those words, I moved away from Ismael.
“If there are medicinal ingredients your brother needs to recover his body, tell me.
If it’s something that can be obtained, I’ll get it.”
“Thank you for your words, but I cannot burden you that far, young master…….”
“Let me be clear, I don’t particularly like hearing this kind of self-congratulatory praise. But I’ll accept your thanks. Do you have anything else to say?”
“……No.”
However, unlike his answer that he had nothing more to say, Ismael did not step back for some reason.
“Young master, I believe the words you said to me earlier were not sincere.”
“The words I said?”
Ismael, wearing a resolved expression, asked me again.
“The words you said about putting in a word with the Vispon Family, and that I should find a line on that side.”
“Ah, that.
What, is something wrong with it?”
“You weren’t sincere, were you?”
“No.
I was sincere.”
I shook my head with an unbothered expression.
“And even if I weren’t sincere, what would change?
I’m a bastard who’s practically abandoned by the family, and you’re just a centurion of the fortress guard unit with the Vispon power-brokers’ dislike stamped on you.”
“…….”
“I told you earlier, didn’t I?
That you need to learn a bit more about how to conduct yourself.
From the looks of it, you’re still lacking in study.”
“Young master!
I, I mean, I…….”
Ismael tried to continue in a choked-up expression, but I cut him off with a firm face.
“Let me make it clear.
In this situation, my sincerity isn’t all that important.”
“…….”
“But just hypothetically.
If I gain enough power to restore you not to this position, but say, back to the place you used to serve in the past…….”
“Young master!”
“If your heart is still the same then, it could get a bit more interesting.
Of course, right now it’s all just an assumption.”
Leaning my body against a tree stump, I wore an expression that was hard to read.
“Come to think of it, Alain ended up like that, and Belkent will be punished, so there will probably be a knight order personnel reshuffle soon.”
“……!”
I spoke like it was just a soliloquy, but Ismael did not miss those words.
“Until then, take care of yourself.
Centurion.”
“Understood, young master.
I will certainly carry out the young master’s command!”
I had not given Ismael any separate command, but that fact did not seem important to him.
“Then.
You may go.”
After finishing my words, I leaned against the stump of an old tree at one side of the training ground and closed my eyes as they were.
After watching me for a moment, Ismael bowed his head in a respectful posture and returned to his post.
Ding-ding-ding.
As I had my eyes closed for a short while, I rose upon hearing the sound of the bell tower ringing.
It was the time we had agreed upon in advance.
‘Then shall I go meet the Family Head?’
With a light stride, I set out.
The place my steps headed toward was Redin’s Family Head’s office in Reichart.