Ch#60
Knight Order (5)
Time flowed like water, and soon it was the end of the first month of the new year.
Despite the confidence with which Elric had spoken to Tiria, it took quite a long time before he could finally face Beron.
It was exactly one week before the knighthood appointment ceremony.
He had claimed he needed time to prepare his heart… but in the end, it was just an excuse.
Ultimately, he had been a coward.
Elric realized this truth the day he finally visited old man Herman’s blacksmith shop alone.
“Squire, do you truly wish to do this?”
He had thought it would be such a difficult thing to say.
Yet, while keeping the shadows of his past by his side had seemed so terrifying, once he actually did it, it turned out to be nothing at all.
It was because he had tried to run away from his own words that it had felt so much more frightening.
Beron was not that boy soldier.
The realization brought a hollow sense of relief.
“Really…?”
Beron wore a dazed, dreamy smile, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Then, his amber eyes lit up with clarity.
“Do you dislike the idea?”
“Dislike it!? I love it! I love it so much! Grandfather!!!”
“Yes! I heard you, you rascal!”
The sight of the grandfather and grandson embracing each other in joy was truly heartwarming.
As Elric watched them, they jumped around so much he worried they might fall backward.
A laugh escaped his lips.
Now, Elric saw something else in the boy’s face.
Instead of a boy soldier dying filled with resentment on a battlefield, he saw his own younger self, who had once harbored the dream of becoming a knight.
Yes, this was the kind of sight that suited Elric Portman, the prodigal son of Wibin.
“Oh! Elric hyu… no! Lord! I should attend the ceremony next week too, right? What about my outfit? Do I get to wear armor as well?!”
“The old man probably knows better than I do. Old man, bring your grandson to the ceremony looking his best.”
“Ha, leave it to me! And I’m not just saying this because he’s my grandson, but this boy has the perfect build for armor!”
“I’ll look forward to it. Well, I’ll be going then. See you next week, Beron.”
Elric stood up, leaning on his cane.
His steps as he turned away felt remarkably light.
Was it because his knee had entered a full recovery phase?
‘…No.’
It was because he was finally able to face it.
It was because he intended to live for tomorrow with shameless determination, even after having killed that boy, his father, and countless others.
He had come to wish for such a thing, however brazen it was.
Elric toyed with the dagger inside his coat.
Would the day ever come when I can throw this away?
Would the day ever come when the past no longer holds me captive?
He had thought such a day would never come in his lifetime, but for some reason, that thought was changing.
His pace quickened.
Because his heart was constantly racing toward one person.
“Wife!”
In the distance, he could see Tiria standing by the manor’s flower bed.
Elric let out a hearty laugh.
Tiria gave a short nod.
“Did you finish your business well?”
To her question, Elric replied:
“I’ve finally been able to finish it.”
It was an answer delivered with a smile, like a young child boasting of an achievement.
Time passed again, and it was now the day of the knight appointment ceremony.
In Wibin Territory, which had spent a rather tedious winter, a grand festival was taking place—the likes of which hadn’t been seen in decades.
Knights.
Though their luster might have faded with the changing times, the name still carried a lingering majesty.
The Lord’s sword, the people’s shield, and the strength of the territory.
Who in Wibin wouldn’t look up to that romance?
As such, the central plaza of the territory was packed with people.
Everyone was preparing to welcome the territory’s new knights.
On such a pleasant day.
If one had to pick people who were displeased with this festival, there were two.
The first would be the Wibin family, the former lords, and to add one more…
“Oh, what a life.”
It would be the very people being appointed as knights.
“Aigoo…!”
Thud! Thud! Danal beat his chestplate, letting out a pained groan.
He wasn’t the only one.
The assassins of the former Wolyeong Ferdin branch, who were about to be knighted, all wore miserable expressions, creating an atmosphere like a funeral home.
It’s finally here!
The day they would complete their slave contract with their own two feet had finally arrived!
“Commander…!”
Danal, who was now truly becoming the commander of the knight order, felt his nerves fray at his subordinates’ calls.
Anger welled up, but he couldn’t take it out on his innocent men.
In the end, what could he do?
“Boys, we must survive.”
He closed his eyes tightly and left them with words that sounded like a final will.
Danal thought:
‘Ah, just how will that atrocious Sword Demon Kasha treat us?’
How many times would they actually get to do knightly things under the name of a knight?
He couldn’t help but envision only a terrifying future.
What is a lord!
Even if they act as wise leaders caring for their territory on the surface, they are ultimately a collective term for politicians who wage filthy wars beneath the waves.
In that struggle, the chances of the work they’d be doing being ‘knightly’ were slim to none.
Especially since their lord was that Sword Demon Kasha.
They would likely just be worked to the bone again.
Danal, unaware that Elric wasn’t thinking anything of the sort, felt like hanging himself right then and there.
It was at that moment.
“Sorry I’m late!”
A thunderous voice echoed through the tent.
Turning their heads, they saw a boy in full plate armor with a youthful face but a massive frame, entering the tent with a bright smile.
‘Ah, that boy is the squire.’
What exactly was the plan?
Did he want them to turn this kid into an assassin too, or was he telling them to move secretly behind the boy’s back?
No, wait, was this kid actually a spy?
Danal was seized by paranoia.
“Oh, you’re here.”
“I am Beron, the one who will be the squire! My grandfather is the best blacksmith in Wibin, and…!”
He was introducing himself without even being asked, looking perfectly disciplined.
He was passionate.
In Danal’s mind, the possibility of this boy being Kasha’s ears dropped slightly.
“It is an honor to serve you! I look forward to working with you!”
Beron bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
The former Wolyeong members exchanged glances and continued their silent discussion.
‘What do we do?’
‘What else? This kid is the only pitiful one here.’
‘He’s so young, shouldn’t we at least get him out of here?’
‘And what if Kasha hears that we bullied him?’
‘I-I’m not saying we should bully him…’
‘Stop it. You know how vicious that Kasha guy is.’
Should we just try to get along for now?
Just as they were reaching that conclusion.
“But everyone is truly amazing! You all seem so young, yet you’ve become such wonderful knights! The armor looks great on all of you! Will I be able to become someone who suits this armor one day?”
Passion, longing, and admiration.
The hearts of the former Wolyeong members wavered under the light of the innocent country youth, Beron.
It was mostly out of pity.
‘Commander… he’s too kind.’
‘The possibility of him being Kasha’s spy is…’
‘Spy, my foot! If it’s that wicked Kasha, he’s definitely going to make us give this kid assassin training! This kid is a sacrificial lamb!’
Ricky, who had a particularly soft heart among the subordinates, pleaded for a reconsideration.
Danal’s heart softened.
‘…Right, if he really put this kid under us to give him assassin training…!’
They had already washed their hands of the assassination business.
Could they really continue the cycle of evil again?
They couldn’t.
Danal was seized by a strange sense of justice, the source of which he himself didn’t know.
One might call it the wicked human habit of only being able to empathize with others once they themselves have become the weak.
Danal stood up and placed a hand on Beron’s shoulder.
“Boy.”
“Ye-yes!”
“Run away while you still can.”
“…Huh?”
“Painful days await you. You might regret today for the rest of your life. So, I will give you a chance. Run.”
Danal’s expression became quite stern and solemn.
However, his way of speaking became a problem.
“Commandeeer…!”
As the saying goes, one sees what one wants to see; Beron saw a knight’s sense of responsibility in his solemnity.
Beron’s chest burned with emotion.
“Even if that is the case, I will endure it!”
Thud!
Beron knelt and looked up at Danal.
“Because that’s what a knight does!”
Danal’s heart filled with pity.
“…You stubborn fool.”
He turned his head away, unable to look Beron in the eye.
He had no way of knowing that this, too, appeared to Beron as the solemnity of a knight and the cool bitterness of an adult.
The misunderstanding was deepening.
Elric had come out to the town plaza and was proceeding with the knighthood appointments for the former Wolyeong members.
The procedure was simple: finish a tedious speech and show a grand appearance to the gathered townspeople.
And then the long-awaited appointment ceremony—ending with placing a sword on the shoulder of the one to be knighted.
That was the current step.
Elric felt a bit uncomfortable.
‘Why are these guys twitching and trembling so much?’
Do they think I’m going to eat them in front of all these people?
Every time he placed the sword on a shoulder, their faces turned pale and they flinched, which was not a good look.
It might not be visible to the townspeople, but if they kept reacting like this, Tiria, who was standing behind him, might get suspicious.
Elric pressed the sword down a bit more firmly as a sign to compose themselves.
“Eugh…”
Danal’s lips trembled.
Elric let out a sigh.
‘I wonder if these guys will be able to do their jobs as knights properly…’
Clicking his tongue inwardly, Elric had no idea.
The reason they were so terrified was the genuine fear that their heads might actually be cut off.
Regardless,
“With this, the appointment ceremony is concluded! As of today, I declare the official founding of the Seolyeong Knights, the knight order of Wibin Territory!”
“Waaaaaaaah!!!”
In any case, the appointment ceremony came to a safe conclusion.
The Wife Waited in the Wheat Field (Serial)
