How to Live as a Wandering Knight

Chapter 183: ๐๐จ๐›๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‚๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ฅ (1)



Chapter 183: ๐๐จ๐›๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‚๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ฅ (1)

Saying that something should not be taken away in front of a noble was itself an insult to the other personโ€™s honor. Originally, she should not have spoken without thinking.

However, if the other person knew the mysteries of magic, the story would have been different. It would not be strange for them to covet the wand made by Jyanina.

โ€œ. . .I wonโ€™t take it away.โ€

Of course, that was just Jyaninaโ€™s thought. From Johanโ€™s perspective, who was listening, it was just absurd. Johan looked at Jyanina with a look of contempt and absurdity. Jyanina blushed and avoided his gaze.

โ€œWhat kind of magic can you do by putting the heart of a manticore like this?โ€

โ€œThere are usually two ways to control and manipulate monsters. Either scare and subdue the other party, or seduce and befriend them. The manticoreโ€™s heart is. . .โ€

โ€œThe former, right?โ€

โ€œYou know it well.โ€

โ€œBut weโ€™ll soon arrive at Vynashchtym. Is it okay to carry such a sinister item around?โ€

โ€œOh, Your Grace. You seem to not know anything.โ€

Jyanina smiled and shrank back under Johanโ€™s stern gaze. She cleared her throat and said,

โ€œUm. . . Itโ€™s not like Iโ€™m openly carrying it around. As you can see, itโ€™s hidden well, right? Most people wonโ€™t even know what this is.โ€

Magic often had ambiguous parts. Unless you were a wizard who could sense the mysteries within, it was difficult to recognize them. Ordinary people thought things were magic if they looked peculiar or strange in some way.

From that perspective, Jyaninaโ€™s wand was just an ordinary, nondescript wand. Even if you uncovered the heart attached inside by peeling off the silk and leather, people still wouldnโ€™t know what it was.

โ€œIs that so? If you say that much, I guess itโ€™s fine. Vynashchtym is different from the Holy Empire, so be careful. If a problem arises inside, I may not be able to help you.โ€

Jyanina didnโ€™t really take Johanโ€™s words to heart. The Holy Empire and Vynashchtym were both empires, and nobles were nobles.

And when it came to dealing with nobles, Jyanina was a wizard with experience. She knew well what greedy, arrogant nobles wanted, what words they liked, what magic they desired.

โ€œ. . .So if I just have the appropriate status backing me up, I can handle them no problem.โ€

Johan asked in pure puzzlement at her words.

โ€œThen why couldnโ€™t you make use of your skills in my fiefdom?โ€

โ€œ. . . . . .โ€

Jyanina cursed Johan in her head.

๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ

Emperor and Johan left the fiefdom with a splendid send-off. The knights of the order voluntarily followed the emperorโ€™s procession to see them off.

It was natural for knights to see off precious people, but their attitude was strangely polite and devoted, which made the emperor uncomfortable.

Those guys who donโ€™t even do well usually. . .

โ€œCanโ€™t they at least wave their hands to the ones waving flags from afar?โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t really feel like it.โ€

Even if there were thousands of soldiers, they would move fragmentedly when on the move. Moreover, they were even more fragmented when moving along the avenue.

After the advance party passed by, the emperor and Johan moved quickly with only dozens of elites. Johan waved at the knights who came out to escort them nearby.

As they raced down the avenue and got closer to Vynashchtym, Johan began to worry about what he had to do.

โ€œSo what did you usually do?โ€

โ€œWell, thatโ€™s the thing. . .โ€

The emperor had various imperial guards and personal guards around him. There were imperial guards protecting the palace, personal guards dedicated to the imperial family, security guards in charge of capital security, or aristocratic personal guards made up of nobles from Vynashchtym.

But the most trusted by the emperor were the Draconian personal guards with history and tradition, and the ones he had been taking care of for a long time and could trust. They were composed of outsiders who had always shown unwavering loyalty.

As such, to ask what Johan had to do as the captain of the emperorโ€™s personal guard, it was best to ask the captain of the personal guard nearby.

โ€œYour Excellency, I really. . . I really donโ€™t have any advice to offer.โ€

The burly captain of the guard with a thick, bushy beard spoke awkwardly, not matching his stature.

If he had asked the aristocratic personal guards instead, Johan might have gotten the answer he wanted, but the Draconian personal guards did not know much about the politics of Vynashchtym.

As a result, what the captain of the guard did was simple.

Train in the barracks near the capital when ordered, lead the subordinates and move. If itโ€™s not a big enough issue to mobilize everyone, pick some excellent sub-captains and dispatch them.

These were people who did not mingle well with other personal guards or imperial guards, and the emperor did not want that either. Mixing them would mean losing their value.

The problem was that Johanโ€™s chest felt stuffy when he heard that.

โ€˜๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด, ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜บ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ. . .โ€™

It was too difficult a task to demonstrate military prowess as a warrior as well as political prowess. Most knights could not do that.

Itโ€™s always harder for competent people. Clicking his tongue, Johan said,

โ€œNever mind the advice, just tell me what you know so I can get a feel for things.โ€

Even if he couldnโ€™t get direct advice, he thought he could figure it out by picking up bits and pieces here and there. The captain nodded and said,

โ€œFirst of all, His Majesty usually sleeps near the barracks.โ€

โ€œ. . .Donโ€™t tell me he keeps doing that even in the capital?โ€

โ€œOh no. Of course he doesnโ€™t sleep in the barracks. Thereโ€™s a palace next to it.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s a relief. . . I guess?โ€

โ€œYouโ€™re asking the wrong guy. . .โ€

The capital was very large, and befitting its history, there were many palaces inside. Although he usually stayed in one of these palaces, the emperor had a small palace built near the outer wall of the barracks and stayed there.

โ€œWhen he wakes up, he trains the soldiers, inspects equipment, examines the training status of the soldiers. . . I guess thatโ€™s about it?โ€

โ€œDoesnโ€™t he do anything else?โ€

โ€œOccasionally he rides a horse. . .โ€

โ€œAt least tell me he summons nobles and goes hunting or something.โ€

โ€œ. . .He goes to other barracks to check on the soldiers. . .โ€

Johan sighed. Of course, treating his soldiers well was a good thing. The loyalty that money couldnโ€™t buy came from parts like this.

But still, he couldnโ€™t only care about soldiers in that vast capital. If he didnโ€™t care about the nobles and citizens, a rebellion would be a natural occurrence.

Seeing Johanโ€™s face darken so much, the captain of the guard hastily defended himself.

โ€œBut donโ€™t worry, Your Highness. His younger sister, Her other Majesty, takes care of those duties.โ€

โ€œOh right.โ€

Vynashchtym had two co-emperors. Come to think of it, the emperor wanted a captain who could take care of external affairs so that he could focus on the military. Upon arriving at the capital, there was a high possibility that Johan would mingle more with his younger sister.

โ€œYour Majesty. Do you by any chance plan to attend some noblesโ€™ banquets, go around theaters, and watch gladiator fights?โ€

โ€œNo.โ€

โ€œQuite a firm answer. . .โ€

โ€œDidnโ€™t I pay a lot of money?โ€

When he asked the emperor, he got a very firm answer. Johan gave up. He had to respect the emperorโ€™s stubbornness after receiving such gold and privileges.

Thatโ€™s the power of gold.

Johan asked the captain of the imperial guard again.

โ€œYounger sister. . . Gaoalkana was it? What kind of person is she?โ€

โ€œUh. . . Um. . . That. . .โ€

The captain pulled at his stiff beard as if he was going to pluck it out, hesitating. Johan felt a very bad feeling from that reaction.

Usually when a subordinate hesitates like that, something is up. . .

โ€œDo you have anything to say about my younger sister?โ€

โ€œNo, Your Majesty! I didnโ€™t say anything!โ€

โ€œYou can be honest about my younger sister. I permit it.โ€

If it was Johan, he would have been honest, but the captain had a lot to lose and was a loyal man. He could not do it.

โ€œIโ€™ll say it. Sheโ€™s a cheerful and easygoing younger sister.โ€

โ€œOh. Is she easy to handle?โ€

โ€œWhether sheโ€™s. . . easy to handle, I donโ€™t really know?โ€

The young emperor tilted his head. He was his younger sister, but whether he was easy to handle was questionable.

โ€œSheโ€™s a bit stubborn.โ€

โ€œHmm.โ€

โ€œWhat does that โ€˜hmmโ€™ mean?โ€

Johan was a little surprised by the sharp point, thinking โ€˜๐˜๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บโ€™๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ?โ€™

โ€œWell, since weโ€™ll have to live together, I was just a little worried that sheโ€™s stubborn.โ€

โ€œUh-huh. Thatโ€™s certainly. . .โ€

The young emperor seemed to not have thought that far as he frowned.

Johanโ€™s political ability and military force were unquestionable, but come to think of it, for various events, it would be his younger sister accompanying him. It could cause problems if they donโ€™t get along.

โ€œI should have thought of that beforehand. . ?โ€

โ€œHow can you think that far when recruiting talent?โ€

The emperor clicked his tongue. Embedded in those words was a firm trust in Johanโ€™s abilities, and Johan felt a little proud.

The emperor had various shortcomings, but he had a definite strength in aspects like this. Once convinced, he pushes forward unwaveringly.

โ€œIf youโ€™re worried, Your Majesty should make efforts in socializing with me. . .โ€

โ€œAh, I said no.โ€

The emperor refused outright, even putting on a serious face. It was clear he genuinely didnโ€™t want to do it. Johan was about to say โ€˜๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ช๐˜ง ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถโ€™๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ช๐˜ง ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ?โ€™, but held back.

Honestly, from the emperorโ€™s position, itโ€™s not Johanโ€™s business and he could say โ€˜๐˜โ€™๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜โ€™๐˜ฎ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ฉ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ, ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ?โ€™.

โ€œThen. . . Iโ€™ll make efforts to get along with your younger sister.โ€

โ€œHmm. Iโ€™ll ask him to.โ€

The frugal emperor who liked the military, training, and tactics got along quite well with Johan, but whether his opposite younger sister would as well was questionable.

Johan wondered what he should do when he arrives at Vynashchtym.

โ€˜๐˜š๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ?โ€™

๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ๐Ÿ”ธ

As they arrived at the mountain peak after galloping along the road, the group stopped in their tracks. Both centaurs and dwarves were at a loss for words. The majestic sight of a gigantic city, larger than any they had seen in their lives, was revealing its splendor before them.

For the centaurs roaming the meadows, even a town of a few thousand was considered big, and a city of over ten thousand was regarded as a metropolis. But Vynashchtym dwarfed those metropoleis over tenfold.

Even the dwarves who had seen some cities in the Holy Empire with populations surpassing tens of thousands were not much different from the centaurs. Stroking their beards, they kept letting out exclamations of wonder.

Seeing their reactions, the people of Vynashchtym, from the highest nobility down to the lowest commoners, all felt a sense of pride for their city. This was Vynashchtym, the successor of the ancient empire.

โ€˜๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ. . .โ€™

The emperor looked expectantly at Johan, but there seemed to be little change in Johanโ€™s expression. He didnโ€™t appear to be too surprised either.

โ€œHave you been here before by any chance?โ€

โ€œNo.โ€

Hearing Johan say he had never been here, the emperor grew even more puzzled. Of course, deep down Johan was quite impressed.

โ€˜๐˜”๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ.โ€™

The architectural feats of the ancient empire had often left Johan in awe. The long, imposing walls majestically enveloped the city, and countless ships gracefully traversed the sea above.

This alone could pass for a small kingdom, not just a city.

โ€œThe palace is near the eastern Gate of Cadal. Letโ€™s head that way.โ€

The walls were endless, and the gates were too numerous to count.

As they rode down the road, the emperor pointed to the distance. Near the city walls stood a small palace and drilling grounds for the armies. Having traveled long, the emperor planned to rest there, catch up on work, and summon the nobles to update them on matters that had piled up.

โ€œWonโ€™t the nobles complain if you summon us to the palace?โ€

โ€œThey might.โ€

โ€˜. . .๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ซ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ถ๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ?โ€™

It could turn into an awkward situation. . .

Seeing the emperorโ€™s banner, the guards at the gate hastily showed courtesy and pushed back the bystanders. As they passed the gate, a lively celebration unfolded on a nearby field.

Several large jars were filled to the brim with wine, which people poured into their cups as if sprinkling around. Already heavily drunk, their clothes were stained the color of wine.

Some sang boisterously, some recited poems, and some mimicked short skits.

Among them, a tall female dragon beastman with lush golden hair climbed onto a horse sculpture and bellowed, imitating the unique harmonics of centaur voices.

โ€œI shouldnโ€™t say this, but donโ€™t centaurs have a rather negative image in Vynashchtym? To mimic them like that seems either fearless or foolish. . .โ€

โ€œAhem. Thatโ€™s my sister.โ€

โ€œ. . .On second thought, she seems valiant beyond measure.โ€


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