Neigh!
The galloping cavalcade gradually slowed until it came to a complete stop.
“Viscount, you should come out and see this.”
Baron Tate’s slightly flustered voice echoed.
Click.
Opening the carriage door, Viscount Jaden stepped out and first looked up at the blue sky before turning his gaze to the castle wall.
‘Tsk.’
Clicking his tongue, he strode confidently towards the front of the cavalcade.
Whoosh.
Standing atop a small knoll about 300 meters from Conford Castle, he crossed his arms and spoke.
“Send a messenger.”
“Wha-what should we convey?”
“We should at least exchange greetings.”
His voice was calm, but his bulging back muscles, tensing beneath his cloak, betrayed his agitation. Viscount Jaden’s demeanor as he watched the soldiers and knights densely packed along the castle wall was anything but relaxed.
***
Creak.
The castle gate opened slightly, and a cavalcade of fifty mounted knights slowly rode out onto the field. From Viscount Jaden’s side, a group of thirty knights also began to ride slowly toward the castle gate.
In the middle of the two forces. On the hot, windy plain, the two cavalcades faced each other.
“Who represents your side?”
Interim Commander Waylon stepped forward slightly and asked. On the opposite side, baron Tate stepped forward to initiate the negotiation.
Naturally, Viscount Jaden’s side demanded that the gate be opened to allow them entry into the castle, while Waylon reiterated that no armed forces would be allowed inside. As the fruitless conversation continued, Viscount Jaden finally stepped forward.
“Your name is Waylon, correct? Your determination to defend the castle is commendable, but you should know your place. I fail to understand what justification you have for blocking my path.”
“It’s not appropriate for someone leading armed forces into the Count’s capital without permission to question that. And let me be clear, the acting Count has issued orders to restrict entry to all but authorized personnel. Please cease your commotion and leave.”
At Waylon’s firm response, Viscount Jaden’s expression darkened, and he shouted angrily.
“How dare a nobody, who isn’t even a blood relative of the Count’s family, tell me to leave! And the bedridden Count is my brother! Authorized personnel? Stop the nonsense and open the gate immediately!”
When he drew his greatsword from horseback, the knights on his side also drew their weapons in response, and the Count’s forces mirrored their actions.
Hum.
A tense atmosphere crackled between the two sides, with an imminent battle seeming likely. At that moment, a knight from the Count’s side, with his hood up, stepped forward and spoke.
“I’m sorry, but you cannot enter the castle, Viscount Jaden.”
“Who are you?”
Viscount Jaden’s hostile reaction turned to surprise as the knight pulled back his hood, revealing himself.
“You…you’re…!”
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Raul de Ashton, third son of the Count, lord of Calix, Bates, Francois, and Louisin, and the acting lord of Conford Castle.”
“…….”
Viscount Jaden stared at Raul with an expression of disbelief, his eyebrows raising in anger as he shouted.
“How are you here? And how dare you! When meeting a family elder, you should show proper respect. Where do you get off glaring at me with your head held so high? Melvin has done a terrible job raising his children!”
If his intent was to unsettle Raul, he utterly failed. The standoff only deepened the tension, with both sides ready to clash at a moment’s notice. Raul’s expression remained unchanged, and his demeanor was anything but respectful.
“If you wanted to be treated as a family elder, you shouldn’t have betrayed the family with that disgraceful act 16 years ago! What’s the real reason a traitor, whose name has been erased from our family records, dares to show his filthy face here now? Viscount Jaden.”
“What did you say! How dare you, you insolent brat! The order of the Count’s family has truly fallen to the ground. Do you wish to die by my hand?”
Mana blades erupted from Viscount Jaden’s sword, but Raul did not flinch and instead shouted back.
“Silence! You dare to raise your voice, you scoundrel who betrayed the family and sought personal gain amidst its crisis? There’s no place for garbage like you in the Count Ashton’s family. Leave this land at once!”
“You, you, insolent…!”
Viscount Jaden, reduced to speechlessness by his sixteen-year-old nephew’s fierce rebuke, had veins bulging from his reddened face. Meanwhile, Raul continued, disregarding Jaden, and pulled out a decree from his coat, reading it aloud.
“Baron Jerrod! Baron Esteban! Baron Kian! … Ban! The named lords are guilty of betraying their oath to the Count’s house by bringing external forces into their territories and moving troops without permission, causing chaos. By the order of Acting Count Dylan de Ashton, I command the named lords to disband their forces and present themselves at the Count’s castle unarmed within a fortnight to clarify their involvement!”
Viscount Jaden’s men visibly flinched upon hearing their names called out. They likely had not anticipated the situation would escalate so quickly and unpredictably. Consequently, several individuals stepped forward from the ranks, pleading their innocence.
“Young master Raul, there’s a misunderstanding! Rebellion? I merely escorted the Count’s brother to the castle.”
“Rebellion for such a minor issue? What have we done wrong?”
“I only followed orders. How could a mere baron refuse the viscount’s request?”
Raul, with cold eyes, responded strictly.
“If you believe you are wronged, come to the Count’s castle and prove your innocence. If you intend to keep things from escalating, return immediately, disband your forces, and comply with the orders!”
Seeing Raul’s firm stance, they realized that resolving this matter would not be easy.
“If you push us like this, things will not end well for you!”
“If you continue with these false accusations, we won’t stand idly by either!”
They glanced at Viscount Jaden for guidance before reluctantly retreating back into their ranks. Raul felt no regret. He had no intention of persuading those he considered trash that needed to be sorted out.
A tense silence hung in the air between both sides for a while. The silence was broken by a hearty laugh.
“Hahahaha! It seems I’ve been outmaneuvered! Hahahaha!”
Viscount Jaden sheathed his mana blade and secured it behind his back as he spoke.
“There’s no clear solution like this, is there, nephew? So, let me make a bold proposal. How about we settle today’s matter with a 5-on-5 knight duel?”
A knight duel.
It was a form of trial by combat, used to resolve disputes that couldn’t be settled by law. It fell between personal duels and territorial wars, often used for disputes among landless nobles or lesser issues that didn’t warrant full-scale territory battles.
“Where does a man without honor dare speak of a knight duel!”
Waylon shouted angrily, but Viscount Jaden kept his eyes fixed on Raul and spoke.
“What do you think? I don’t believe it’s a bad proposal.”
Raul wanted to firmly reject Jaden’s sly-faced proposal, but it wasn’t a bad idea, as much as he hated to admit it.
“And if I refuse?”
Raul asked with a stern expression, to which Viscount Jaden wagged his index finger side to side.
“If you refuse, we can still fight it out here and now. But are you really sure about that? I don’t think you’re foolish enough not to understand the situation.”
He spread his arms wide and slowly turned his head from side to side, surveying the Count’s domain.
‘Damn, this cunning fox.’
Raul cursed Jaden inwardly.
「Wouldn’t it be better to just fight and wipe them out? I’ll lead the charge!」
Jake, itching for a fight, proposed through the guild communication. Raul wanted to do that too, but it wasn’t a decision he could make lightly. Kane explained Raul’s hesitation.
「Avoiding a direct confrontation is wise. We can win, but our losses would be significant.」
「What are you saying, Kane? We have twice the number of soldiers and hidden knights!」
「We lack the most critical asset. All 200 of their knights are Armor Users.」
「……!」
That was the issue—Power Armor.
Since the Gate incident, Raul had done his best to secure more Power Armors, but in over nine months, he had only obtained about 30 units.
New production was out of reach, and he had succeeded in acquiring just a dozen used units at ten times the cost. They had managed to repair about twenty armors salvaged from downed Imperial Hounds with minimal damage.
Thus, the First Knights only possessed about 60 Power Armors. With over 400 Expert-level knights, the number was woefully inadequate.
Moreover, only around 120 of the current Armor Users in Conford Castle, including the 60 from the First Knights, had power armor. The absence of the Golden Bear Knights and the central forces was profoundly felt.
‘Even though I’m confident we could win in a fight right now, it would heavily damage the First Knights we’ve painstakingly nurtured. And since the walls mean little against Armor Users….’
If they decided to wreak havoc within the castle, the casualties among regular soldiers and civilians could be enormous. Raul didn’t want to incur such losses if he could avoid it.
‘The real battle should be fought on my terms, at the place and time I choose.’
Viscount Jaden’s camp likely felt the same. Their plan to have insiders support them from within the castle had failed, making an immediate assault on Conford Castle, despite the high cost, much less appealing in the face of the Count’s troops and knights.
Even if they managed to take the castle, they wouldn’t be able to fend off the returning central forces and the Golden Bear Knights without maintaining their strength.
Eventually, Raul asked again.
“What is it that you want?”
“If we win, only a few lords, including myself, will enter the inner castle to meet the Count. If we lose, we will quietly withdraw our forces. How about it?”
Even without taking the castle, Viscount Jaden needed to achieve his publicly stated goal of ‘visiting and protecting the ailing Count’.
This would clear the allied lords of any treason charges and provide him a legitimate claim to the Countship.
‘This isn’t over yet, you young brat!’
Though currently branded a traitor and an outsider, the situation would drastically change once Count Melvin died.
Vassals would act in their own interest. Despite Dylan’s appearance as the firm successor, many lords, like those already allied with Jaden, would side with him.
Thus, it was crucial to re-establish his title as the Count’s brother now.
“Agreed. We will accept the knight duel. Shall we follow the Continental Law?”
‘Yes!’
Jaden was internally elated. The young man’s pride as a knight made this outcome predictable, whereas refusal would have been problematic.
Despite the concerns murmured by Waylon and several knights beside Raul, the words once spoken couldn’t be taken back.
‘Today, right here, I will prove that the outdated ways of the Count Ashton’s family are wrong.’
With key figures like the Golden Bear Knight Commander and the Supreme Commander absent, Viscount Jaden was confident in their victory.
He failed to realize who he was truly up against.
(To be continued)