Chapter 38
Soon the three of them trained together every day.
Even though Morty was on the outskirts of the Empire, Karls always had rumors or gossip to share. The stories he had were enough to stimulate the interest of young knights.
The three developed stomach pain while cooking and eating unknown meat in the field. Leonard ran, delirious, like a swamp monster, and eventually came back, embarrassed and dirty.
For the first time, the Morte people sincerely respected the young Duke, who was having problems with his peers.
Despite all the harm he caused, he was only reprimanded once. That was when they went up the mountain, in the middle of winter, to get the griffin feathers.
He easily located Griffin and went after him, but...
“How did we know that griffin meat was poisonous?”
The three of them roasted the griffin over a fire and rolled over with a stomach ache, eventually having to be carried on the backs of a search party that found them.
Mortheon, who led the search party, bore and pestered Victor himself throughout his career.
“How can you do such reckless things in the middle of winter?”
“I'm sorry, brother.”
Morthion sighed.
“I'm not saying this to make you feel bad.”
His voice was warm.
“Even if you are not, your friends may be in danger. You must protect your people, Victor. Your colleagues, friends, and allies. This is the duty of a strong man like you.”
Victor remained silent for a while and nodded. Mortheon adjusted Victor's position onto his back and sighed deeply.
“When did you grow up? You’re so heavy that I can’t even lift you anymore.”
“I'll carry you on my back next time.”
Morthion laughed loudly.
“Stop making trouble, you bastard.”
Victor smiled.
***
Those were the days
With the affection of his brother, his knights, and his friends, Victor Morte laughed louder and louder.
A few more years passed, and he grew into a cheerful young man.
Everyone loved the little Duke, who was tall and strong. The apprentice knights admired Victor as if he were a god.
Spotting some of the trainees secretly watching Victor practice, Karls was immersed in nostalgia.
“I used to be like this too”…
“Used to that? You're still rude to him.”
“What do you mean by rudeness? It’s called friendliness.”
Karls leisurely picked up the dried fruits that the attendants had brought as a snack.
Leonard, who was swinging his sword, clicked his tongue at Karls as if he was pathetic.
“Did you know that the official entrance exam is coming soon?”
"Leonard, do you think we'll fail?"
The first Murti test was different each year, relating to important issues within the territory.
This year's mission was to chase down Griffin. This was because the griffin herd had multiplied greatly, making travel difficult.
Carls shrugged.
“As long as I don't grill it and eat it, I'll be fine.”
“Did you forget that Victor was the one who killed Griffin at that time?”
“That was years ago! However, the Little Duke is coming with us.”
Carls raised an eyebrow subtly.
“If you do that, you'll take care of everything, right?”
Victor was silent for a moment before answering.
“I won't go.”
“What? Why?”
“Well, Brother Theon… doesn’t think I should take the test.”
Leonard and Carls tilted their heads in unison.
Morthion was reluctant to treat anyone in a special way, and Victor was as careful as possible to enter the order through the same process as the other knights.
It was strange that he exempted his little brother from the higher test.
But Victor's skill was beyond doubt, so they shrugged their shoulders.
“If you go with us, we won't be able to do the testing.”
“We won't even have to draw our swords.”
Then they started talking loudly again.
Victor sighed.
He had a reason for not taking the entrance exam, but he couldn't tell his friends.
He actually passed the exam in a different way. By defeating Morthion.
***
On the day the entrance exam was published, his older brother came to him.
“There is a way to become a great knight without testing. Do you want to try it?”
Victor nodded without thinking about it too deeply. Many years later, he fought with Morthion with a real sword.
After clashing swords several times, he realized that his brother was no longer stronger than him.
“As expected.”
Mortheon, feeling that Victor was deliberately controlling his power, sheathed his sword.
“Great, Victor!”
Victor looked at his brother. He was smiling, but there was an undeniable bitterness in his eyes.
Mortheon was the next Grand Duke, Victor's older brother, but above all, a knight.
No knight was happy to lose.
Victor asked cautiously as he sheathed his sword.
“Are you angry?”
“I can't be.”
Mortheon shook his head. The bitterness in his eyes suddenly disappeared.
Speak with conviction.
“I'm proud of you. I always will be.”
“…”
“Now that you have defeated the Vice General, you have now become a Grand Knight of the Morty Knights. Congratulations, little brother
His older brother grabbed his shoulder.
Victor, looking at Mortheon, felt a mixture of indescribable emotions.
As he got taller, his brother looked smaller than he did before.
However, the hand on his shoulder was large and warm. It was the hands that raised him.
Victor nodded, trying to suppress his beating heart.
"Thank you"
Viktor concealed Morthion's defeat, and the apprentice knights went in pursuit of the griffin without him.
Leonard and Carls came back with the best results.
All three were officially ordained Grand Knights.
Viktor felt Morthion's blade on his shoulder*, and made a firm decision.
“From now on, I will protect you.”
[*E/N: This refers to the ceremony of a master knight tapping the would-be knight on each shoulder with his sword, usually while giving a speech.]
***
But the days of peace did not last long.
Rumors of war began to emerge from the capital.
It seemed that the Southern Nobles, who traded almost exclusively with the Southern Kingdom, were threatening to take action as the trade dispute between the Empire and the Southern Kingdom became more serious.
Carls had a lot to say on this issue.
“There is a lot of greed. They trade with unequal revenues, so they are not cooperative.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The trade treaty with the Southern Kingdom is preferable to the Empire, because it is a more powerful country. So why would the Southern Kingdom want to deal with them?”
He clicked his tongue angrily.
“See now, we call that country the Southern Kingdom. But it has an official name, ‘Land of Indigo.’ So, how do you think Southerners view empires?”
Victor and Leonard looked at Carls in surprise.
They knew that Karls read a lot of newspapers, but they did not expect him to have such a high-level understanding.
Seeing their expressions, Karls raised an eyebrow.
“What? I’m from the south.”
“I thought you just played and ate there.”
“Hello! I am the son of the Southern Count!”
Leonard and Carls began bickering, sending their discussion off track.
Victor returned their conversation to its original topic.
“Will there be a war?”
Karls' excited expression quickly distorted.
“I think it is very likely. Recruitment orders have already been issued. When the harvest season is over, an expeditionary force will be formed.”
“Do you think it would be dangerous?”
Their eyes turned to Victor.
He tried to be as expressionless as possible, but in reality, Victor was worried. If an expeditionary force was formed, the leader would be the Grand Duke of Morte*, who was in the capital.
[*E/N: This refers to Mortheon and Viktor's father, not Mortheon. Morthion is the successor to the Grand Duchy, but since their father is not dead yet, that is all he is.]
No matter how little he knew, the Grand Duke was still his father. He couldn't help but worry.
Leonard spoke quickly, as if he had read Victor's mind.
“It will be fine. Because the power difference is too big. Morty Knights need to fight.”
"The Knights of Morte may not even have to join the battle."
Carls also spoke.
“Well, personally, I don’t think war is perfect, but… is it really such a big deal? Your father is a very powerful knight!”
... “I know.”
Victor agreed quietly. Although he had never seen him fight before, his father was a fairly powerful knight, on a similar level to Mortheon.
Even if he wasn't as strong as Victor, he was skilled enough that he wouldn't be killed easily.
Victor cleared his thoughts and swung his sword silently.
That was all he could do.
Train hard to become overwhelmingly strong.
He needed to protect his people in case he went to war.
He secretly hoped so.
***
• End of chapter •
To be continued •••
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