123th Chapter
Alesya occasionally displayed behavior that seemed a bit lacking. However, Alesya wasn’t completely oblivious.
Rather, she was quite adept at assessing situations and adapting to circumstances rather quickly.
Thus, Alesya realized that she couldn’t keep Ray by her side alone and instead enthusiastically recommended the idea of concubinage.
She bundled herself and the orphanage members into a set menu.
However, even though concubinage had been permitted, this situation was unacceptable.
“My knight! Even so, isn’t it inappropriate to have your eyes meet with a concubine first?”
“I won’t speak to you if you do all sorts of things with me and then fool around like this with someone else,” said Alesya, despite having resisted his advances repeatedly in the past while Johanna was rolling around in bed with him.
The shock was indescribable.
As Alesya grumbled, Ray hastily shook his head.
“Miss, th-this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.”
“Did you say it’s a misunderstanding?”
Alesya muttered under her breath with a deflated expression.
“You’re making lame excuses while tangled up on the bed…”
Realizing Alesya’s sudden appearance, Johanna stiffened with confusion before belatedly becoming aware of her disheveled state as she was wrapped in Ray’s arms. She began to struggle.
“Let go, let me go! Let me go, you pervert…!”
“Not so fidgety now, will you?”
“Don’t whisper in my ear!!”
Johanna flailed in panic, elbowing Ray’s abdomen repeatedly.
Ray groaned in pain as he flipped Johanna onto the bed, and Alesya watched the scene unfold with a mix of fascination and frustration.
After calming Johanna down following a long period of persuasion, pleading for cooperation, Ray then spent another extended time explaining himself to Alesya to clear up her misunderstanding.
Exhausted from the ordeal, Ray slumped onto the bed, furrowing his brows in exasperation.
“Ugh, why is dealing with kids so difficult?”
“Are you one to talk?”
Jenkins, who had followed Alesya into the room, responded with an utterly exasperated face.
*
At the Osiris Count’s Manor, nobles and gentry often visited for matters related to trade.
Therefore, various amenities were provided for their convenience, including a tavern where conversation and dining could take place together.
Jenkins and Ray visited the manor’s tavern alone.
Similar to the training grounds, as a space accessible to nobility, it was lavishly decorated.
The atmosphere of the tavern, bustling with exchanges, was free-spirited but not raucous like those frequented by street ruffians.
Jenkins and Ray ordered drinks and food and sat at a table located centrally.
Passersby occasionally glanced at Jenkins and Ray.
Given their notable performance in the previous sparring match, attention was naturally drawn to them.
Ignoring the gazes around them, Jenkins and Ray exchanged casual banter while passing the time.
When the food arrived shortly after, Jenkins lifted his glass alone.
Though there were instances where knights and squires shared drinks, it was customary for squires to remain vigilant and guard their surroundings in potentially unsafe locations.
Moreover, today held another purpose beyond mere dining, so only Jenkins was meant to indulge.
As the meal progressed, a tipsy haze gradually settled over Jenkins’ face.
Perceiving the mood had ripened appropriately, Ray subtly asked during their idle chatter,
“Master, how skilled were the knights of Duke Matthias’ family?”
Suddenly, all eyes focused sharply.
While everyone appeared intrigued, the stories that could emerge from Jenkins’ lips were limited.
He would likely claim slight superiority but compliment the opponent, maintaining modesty.
Sensing the attention, Jenkins drained his cup with a smirk.
“Hmph… You ask about the skill of the duke’s knights? All glitz and no substance, really.”
The clinking sounds of utensils ceased abruptly.
All faces turned toward Jenkins in stunned disbelief.
But Jenkins, either drunk or unaware of his slip, continued muttering.
“Wearing flashy armor, strutting around flaunting their authority… what kind of knights are they?”
Jenkins took a few more drinks.
An amount that would ordinarily floor a robust man.
“Knowing nothing but posturing… these fools mistake the power of the house they serve for their own abilities…”
This faux pas was part of the plan.
However, as Jenkins emptied his cup, sincerity began to seep through the act.
With intoxication came the resurfacing of suppressed past wounds.
Jenkins had devoted his life to the duties of a knight.
Dutifulness meant he never fully showcased his youthful vigor, letting several opportunities pass him by.
No matter how beautifully packaged, Jenkins’ history as a knight was steeped in resignation and sacrifice.
Yet Jenkins bore no regrets.
“I am a knight of the Philip Count’s family.”
Reaffirming his identity, Jenkins clenched his fist.
“That is my honor… my integrity. I’ve always been proud of myself… and never once regretted my choices.”
Allowing the alcohol to flow unchecked, the thoroughly drunk Jenkins mumbled.
“We simply didn’t show off…”
Comparing to anyone, they were never inferior…
“The most knightly of knights.”
By the time Jenkins finished speaking, his upper body swayed unsteadily.
Even in this state, Jenkins continued drinking, seemingly unsatisfied.
Due to rapid and unrestrained consumption, Jenkins eventually collapsed onto the table.
Kung!
Ray moved the plate aside just in time as Jenkins fell forward.
Facing the sniffling Jenkins, Ray chewed on the remaining meat on the plate.
It was rare to witness such a spectacle of a knight getting drunk.
Having cleared his plate, Ray spoke up.
“Well, then…”
Amidst the icy silence brought on by Jenkins’ repeated slips, Ray chuckled alone.
“So, the knights of other noble houses are all cowards, huh?”
Clattering forks could be heard around the room.
Using the sound of Ray adjusting his knife handle as background noise, he hoisted Jenkins onto his shoulder.
Meanwhile.
Johanna was carrying out Ray’s request in her own way.
The task Ray had asked of Johanna was not overly burdensome.
In fact, it was straightforward enough that Johanna approached the usual gathering spot for squires without hesitation.
Upon arriving, she found four squires from different houses casually chatting.
Being a notable presence at the Osiris Manor, Johanna’s arrival prompted the squires to approach her warmly.
During their conversation, Johanna mentioned:
Lately, she felt a thirst for knowledge. She wished to explore higher-level swordsmanship and, if possible, learn from other knights.
She conveyed this sentiment with an air of dissatisfaction.
The next day.
News of the events at the tavern and Johanna’s statements spread among most inhabitants of the manor.
Harris Matthias and the knights of the Matthias Dukedom were enraged upon hearing Jenkins’ drunken remarks at the tavern.
“Such an insolent brat…!!”
Whether sober or drunk, Jenkins’ words were unforgivable.
Knights, being an elite class with immense pride, needed to prove they weren’t cowards by any means necessary, even if it meant smashing someone’s mouth shut.
Other houses’ knights felt similarly.
Furthermore, defeating Jenkins might provide an easy opportunity to recruit Johanna, a talent of great value.
Numerous duel requests poured in for Jenkins.
These so-called “duel requests” were practically challenges, and if refused, the challengers vowed to employ tricks to teach Jenkins a lesson.
“Things are going according to plan…”
Ray murmured.
A few days prior, after lengthy discussions, Ray and the knights decided on the optimal timing to steal the artifact.
Not when the artifact was stored in the warehouse, nor after it reached the Tarannis Family, as both scenarios would complicate matters.
They concluded that the best moment would be after the Matthias Dukedom transported the artifact to the port for trading.
Technically, if Ray pushed hard enough, stealing the artifact at any point was feasible.
To stop Ray directly would require a squad-level force of average graduates.
To decisively defeat Ray in a one-on-one fight would necessitate a Lord-tier level, an exceptionally rare caliber even within the Empire.
However, revealing too much of his true strength could jeopardize the operation and create innocent victims.
Moreover, although his body had stabilized somewhat with growth, Ray still had to exert significant strain on his heart to unleash his full potential.
Thus, Ray opted for a strategy mimicking a mage’s abilities to swiftly snatch the artifact.
Since the Matthias Dukedom didn’t highly value the artifact itself, this seemed like a viable attempt.
Nevertheless, to ensure the plan’s success, it was crucial to weaken the knight-level forces guarding the carriage en route to the port.
For this reason, Ray and Jenkins deliberately provoked the knights of the Matthias Dukedom and dangled Johanna as bait.
Currently, six knights accompanied Harris Matthias.
One had already sustained injuries in a sparring match with Jenkins and required rest.
If two or three more knights from the Matthias Dukedom lost to Jenkins’ provocations, the defending force would be halved.
Of course, for this to happen, Jenkins must triumph against every knight challenging him.
“Quite the crowd has gathered.”
When Jenkins and Ray arrived at the training grounds, people were already buzzing.
As Jenkins stepped onto the grounds, a knight from the Matthias Dukedom silently drew his sword.
This was less a friendly sparring match and more a battle fueled by knights’ wounded pride, sure to draw blood.
Though they wouldn’t engage in unnecessary cruelty as knights, neither would they hold back for fear of injuring their opponent.
Without formal greetings, their swords gleamed with visible Sword Aura as they clashed intensely.
Jenkins, standing here due to Ray’s request and prepared for severe injury, curled the corners of his lips upward.
Jenkins didn’t dislike this situation.
This was a place for proving oneself.
Jenkins would defeat the knights of the Matthias Dukedom and continue to conquer all challengers from other houses.
Through these victories, he would definitively prove that the knights of the Philip House were far from weak and had no reason to bow their heads.
“Haaah!!”
With a fierce shout, their swords collided fiercely, shining with pale light.
Thievery (4)
