Three days later.
The chaos finally ended.
The Knight Order found the last of the traitors trying to escape over the borders. It was the count and his family. There were also many people from the villages who joined his cause. People were just too unhappy with the new tax they implemented.
The peddler usually came around villages to announce news to everyone. Newspapers weren’t in this world so they had to resort to telling the news by mouth. Maybe the Magic Empire did since they were far more advanced than any other kingdom on this continent.
I didn’t know much about them even after reading all the documents about the kingdom. They were an independent nation who cut off all ties with the other nations. They’re pretty similar to North Korea.
Anyways, the body of that woman(who was that boy’s mother) was gone when I went back to find it. I wanted to at least bury her. It’s unknown where the father was. I saw a few other corpses near that site but I couldn’t be sure if his father was amongst them.
The soldiers killed many people that it took at least two days to clean all the corpses. They littered the streets as if a massive pandemic hit the villages. I could describe it the same as the French Flu’s era. There were hundreds of bodies that littered the forests as well. I saw workers dragging bags when we returned to Harz village with the carriage.
Carriages arrived from the church to pick up all the corpses which might have caused diseases if left as is.
My father actually won against that gorilla guy. The Knight Order arrived before he could deal the finishing blow though. My father was in tears when he arrived home. He was even worse than Eleanor when she bawled her eyes out and kept telling me to never go anywhere dangerous again.
I never got that magic book with high ranking spells though. It was a shame but I’d need to wait for awhile before I get one. Even the magic store of that town was destroyed. We may have to go to Hurge city to find one next time.
That aside, after I visited Brielle earlier in the morning to check on her training, I came to the usual hill to watch the knights fight.
“Hm?”
I spotted someone swinging a sword on top of my spot, imitating the shouting recruits.
It was a boy.
He had gunmetal silver hair and wore rags for clothes. His expression looked determined as he kept swinging his sword.
Wielding that sword only made him look cute.
“Hiya! Ouch!”
“Heh...”
He hit his leg and crouched down with a hiss.
As if hearing my laugh, he turned around with tears in his eyes.
“Oh, hey. I didn’t mean to spy.”
“...I-I-It’s you...?” He got up and looked at the ground, “I–I was just...”
He hid the sword behind his back. I noticed cracks on the sword’s blade. He might’ve taken that from one of the dead soldiers.
“I was just–“
“You want to become a knight?”
He nodded with his head still lowered.
“That’s kind of cool.” I sat down on the grass. The manor of our fief lord entered my view. A massive manor with the design of those middle age European houses.
“Y-You think so?”
“Yip.”
The recruits were sparring with the knights of the territory.
“You see that handsome guy with the brown spikey hair?” I pointed at my father beating down multiple knights, “That’s my old man.”
I remembered the form the kid used.
“Weren’t you copying my father just now?”
“...Yes.”
“He’s amazing, isn’t he? Although his fatherly skills could use some work.”
Back when he got home, he offered to mother to bathe me.
It was horrible. He talked about the monsters he hunted with his old adventurer buddies and the women he courted when he was a young man. Do fathers normally tell such things to their toddlers? Couldn’t be, right?
He even had beer in his hand.
By the time we were done, he was already snoring in the bathtub.
‘What a shitty father.’
“They call him our territory’s strongest knight. He even stood up against the soldiers who....who invaded my village...”
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“You were still there? I thought you ran away.”
He shook his head.
“I was just surprised when you fought those bad people. You face also looked scary.”
‘Really?’
My heart lost all emotion in those few moments that I had that power. That was why I felt nothing hurting those guys.
“Did you bury your mom?”
“...”
He looked towards the training grounds in silence for a few seconds.
“...Yes.”
“O-Oh.”
I didn’t know how to talk to a kid since I’m a grown man inside.
“By the way...” He turned towards me, “I’m Arthur. 5 years old.”
“Clyde. I’m four years old.”
We sat in silence and watched the recruits train.
“Oooh~”
A beautiful lady came out of the house with a few maids following close behind. She wore a white dress and had blonde hair underneath her sunhat.
Edith Bentinck.
She’s the wife of my father’s employer.
‘Look at that smile.’
She walked up to my father first and offered him a drink, ignoring the other people. The maids gave the recruits beverages.
‘That bastard. Are you cheating or something?’
They looked so intimate laughing and talking with each other.
‘Huh?’
Another little girl came out of the house and started pulling on her dress. Miss Edith put her hand on her cheek as if troubled.
“Does he see us?”
Arthur squinted his eyes. I followed his eyes and saw father looking at us.
‘What the heck. We’re so far away.’
He waved and then shouted.
–Perfect timing, son! Come on over!!
All the other recruits also waved at us.
*
“This is my son, Clyde.”
“Oh, my. So you’re Lord George’s son. What a cute boy.” Miss Edith took me into her arms and hugged me.
My face was squished into her boobs. The scent of roses entered my nose.
“Hehehehehe~”
“And who is this fella?”
One of the senior knights patted Arthur’s head.
“I’m A-Arthur.”
“So you’re the boy who always watches our sparring from that hill?” My father asked.
“You knew, father?”
“His warrior cry is loud so how wouldn’t we notice? Seeing him practice his swings so diligently shows us he’s got the potential to become a strong knight.”
The recruits gathered around Arthur who was blushing and fidgeting.
“Oho, his muscles seem to be growing a bit even though he’s a kid!”
“Your swings were excellent! Don’t feel down when you see other knights fight. You have the room to grow as well!”
Arthur looked dizzy from all the people who surrounded him. All of them started talking to him and praising him.
“Haha. What a good kid.”
My father then turned towards me who was still in Edith’s arms. I was gripping her chest and acting as a normal baby.
‘Lady, if you knew I was a grown man then you would freak out.’
She only went “Oh, my” and chuckled while patting my head.
“I have someone to introduce to you, Clyde.” My father spoke to me, “This is Diana. She’s the heir to the Bentinck household.”
He lifted the little girl who was wearing a cute pink dress.
She tilted her head while looking at me.
“Ah, yes. My husband said he wanted the two of you to meet. I wonder why~”
The girl’s brown hair was made into pigtails which looked cute on her. Her mother’s hair was a dark green.
“Yes. He said so to me as well. Why don’t I leave him here for a bit? Surely the lord won’t mind.”
“Of course not. He wanted to meet his best knight’s son. Maybe the son is as amazing as his father?” Was that flirting?
The girl, Diana was chewing on my finger. I sighed inwardly.
We left the training grounds and headed into the manor.
The Bentinck household may be of an Earl status but their wealth exceeds their status. Mason Bentinck owns several territories across the continent which he bought throughout his lifetime.
He’s a 56 year old man with greying hair but a fit warrior’s body. My father said that back in the day, Mason was a martial artist who practiced several arts he learned over his younger years.
And due to being such a strong person back in the day he was able to perform excellently in war and managed to raise his household’s status from Count to Earl.
“Hohoho! So this is Georgie’s boy!”
Georgie?
I looked over at my father and saw him smiling awkwardly.
The old man was walking on a cane. It seemed his old age was catching up to him.
“He definitely has his father’s eyes!” Mason said with a hearty laughter.
“And handsome face.”
‘Um, miss Edith?’
“Let’s go to the study room. There is something I want to discuss.”
My father nodded and took me into his arms.
“Come.”
We walked down the hallway and up the stairs until we reached the end of the corridor.
“Do not disturb us unless it is important.” He said to the knights who stood at both sides of the door.
“Come on in.”
◇◇◇
“So, sir may I know why you wanted to see me?”
I was seated on miss Edith’s lap along with Diana. She doesn’t speak much. Despite being a toddler, she doesn’t speak much. Toddlers would annoy the crap out of you by shouting random things.
Diana only continued playing with my hair and fingers.
“Ah, about that...” Mason sat down on his chair and poured two glasses of whiskey. He offered one glass to my father and chugged down his in one gulp.
“How long has it been since you joined my personal army?”
He was looking at my father.
“Ten years.”
Mason nodded with his eyes closed.
“My son is currently a commander on the border to the Holy Kingdom. I can’t expect to see him anytime soon. His mother keeps sending him letters to come home already and spend time with his family. Do you know what he sent back?”
Mason poured another glass.
“He said in his letter-‘I must defend our house’s honour and not throw dirt on my father’s name by abandoning my post’.”
The Earl’s eyes seemed to glisten with tears.
“Honestly, that boy of mine should’ve become the head instead of a captain for the Knight Order.”
“He’s a good man.”
Mason nodded as if agreeing with my father.
“He is. And hey, he protects our family name while you protect our lands. If I remember correctly... he saved you and your wife from dying on a battlefield, didn’t he?”
“Ah, yes. He even offered complete strangers like us a place to sleep.”
“Well, the Republic was very active during those years so the battlefield was dangerous. I might sound crazy but I’m glad the two of you ran into each other.”
“On a battlefield, huh. Yes, that does sound crazy.”
“Huhuhu. But, that aside...” He looked at me and smiled, “Let me get to the point. Knight George...”
“Yes, sir.”
My father’s expression turned serious as he straightened his back.
“I will give you your own territory. This comes with a promotion.”
“A promotion!?”
The earl nodded with a smile.
“I will appoint you vice captain of the knight order. Since I own enough shares, I ought to be able to get you in.”
‘The knight order...?’
I looked up at my father. His eyes were wide as he looked at his lord.
“B-But to bestow such a title upon me...”
“That cocky little bastard, Clark will leave the 1st unit anyway so I was chosen to appoint a new vice captain. Who better to choose than a man who I trust with my life? Plus, the 1st unit is under my control anyway.”
“Sir...” Tears collected in father’s eyes.
‘Stop that. I don’t want to see a grown man cry.’
The earl looked at me.
“As he is your son I will also take care of the fees needed for him to go to the academy. This is not a loan. It is a gift for your long years of service.”
“Y-You’d do that, sir? Isn’t the academy expensive...”
The earl then puffed out his chest with an arrogant harrumph.
“Who do you think I am? My pockets are more than enough to support your boy’s future and the rest of your children, if you choose to have more.”
“Wow...”
My father’s eyes sparkled.
“Okay... but there are some conditions, sir. This title requires me to be away from home a lot and face many dangers.”
“Excellent. You may let me know what those conditions are later on. For now, sign this. Read carefully now. The captain of the knight order, Elsa will be moving to get everything ready as soon as your name is on that dotted line. She will guide you once you are under her leadership.”
The earl slid over a scroll and a feathered pen.
My father dunked it in the ink after he finished reading.
The earl got up with a big smile on his face.
“Welcome aboard, Captain George Astley.”
“I am honoured to be the one to receive such a title.”
My father and the earl shook hands.
“Tell everyone it’s a day off tonight! We’ll celebrate tonight like there’s no tomorrow!”
He hugged father with a hearty laugh.
“Oh, dear...” Miss Edith shook her head at her husband. “You really shouldn’t drink at your age.”
◇◇◇
“You’re still here?”
I came back to the hill and saw Arthur cleaning his sword with a dirty piece of cloth.
“You’re back.” He pit the sword down and got up, “Where were you? Those soldiers told me they’ll offer me lessons if I come every day!”
“Really? That’s nice of them.”
Arthur went back to cleaning his sword.
“Hey, Clyde!” I heard my father’s voice and saw him calling out to me on his horse, “Let’s go!”
I looked at Arthur again.
He’s a five year old boy who lost his family in a skirmish they had no control over.
“Your dad is calling you...”
He said with his head lowered.
I couldn’t see his expression but I could, however see tears fall on his hands cleaning the sword. There was a sling bag next to the tree. I saw clothes sticking out of it.
I looked at my father who was waiting for me. My gaze landed back on Arthur again.
“EH!?”
I then grabbed his hands and looked into his eyes.
“Come live with us.”
“H-Huh? W-What?”
Arthur became flustered and his eyes darted all over the place.
I spoke again.
“Join our family. I’m sure my parents won’t find that so difficult to accept, right?”
“But...”
He looked at my father down the hill. He was still smiling while looking at us.
Arthur is all alone. Isn’t he quite similar to me? Only the fact that he’s all alone now. I lived on the streets for months before Clementine found me and gave me a helping hand.
“Come.”
I pushed his bangs aside and saw his face properly.
I was sure he’d become a handsome man in the future.
–What’s the hold up!? Lets go, boys!
Arthur’s eyes opened wide.
I smiled.
“Let’s go home.”
“...Y-Yes...”