Chapter 345: Act 113 – Duke Toniger and the Young Lord (Part 13)
The soldiers saw the young man straighten up and hurriedly came over to push him down. They looked at their lord with questioning eyes and asked, “My lord, should we hold this guy down?”
Brendel looked at the young man. He knew this was Sir Minate’s second son, and the fact that the old gentleman had such an interesting son amused him.
He changed his mind and shook his head: “Let him go.”
Let go? The soldiers were taken aback and exchanged glances.
“Let him go,” Brendel repeated.
Only then did the soldiers release the coarse hemp rope binding Carglis’s hands. The young man frowned, gritting his teeth as he rubbed his wrists—though the soldiers hadn’t beaten him up, they hadn’t been particularly polite either.
Looking at the angry red marks on his otherwise pale wrists, he couldn’t help but frown.
However, more than this, he was concerned about Brendel’s intentions. He raised his head and stared at Brendel with his light gray eyes, asking, “Are you really…?”
“Are you trying to say, ‘mob leader’?”
“I wouldn’t dare.” The young man laughed awkwardly.
In fact, he was quite surprised; Carglis only then realized that the other party was just a young man around his age. Not only did he far exceed him in swordsmanship, but he was also the leader of such a large group of people.
He looked at Brendel and felt more and more that the past ten or so years had been wasted, just as Parsons had solemnly told him. Hiding in this small place called Toniger had ultimately limited his own abilities.
“But I’m curious,” Carglis rubbed his wrists and asked, “Why did you let me go?”
“If I said it was so you could serve me, would you believe me?” Brendel asked.
“No.” The young man shook his head: “Why would I serve you?”
“Then what if I said that I am a secret envoy sent here by Princess Grifian Corvado Odrefice to establish a secret base in order to counter Count Rendener? Would you believe that?”
Not just Carglis, but even Kuran beside him stared at Brendel in disbelief. The young man clearly seemed entirely unconvinced, looking at Brendel as if he were a madman. But the old man’s expression had a hint of awakening—thinking about the relationship between Tobas and the Corvado royal family, and considering Brendel’s actions these past few days, he increasingly felt that the young man’s words might not be entirely unreliable.
At least a part of them wasn’t a lie.
“That joke isn’t funny at all,” Carglis frowned and said. “But considering you are the lord here, I’ll say it’s barely acceptable…”
Brendel smiled slightly, taking out a silver brooch from his pocket: “This brooch is called the Silver Shield Emblem, a token of the Royal Knights’ Order.”
The young man was taken aback: “How do I know you’re not tricking me?”
Kuran was also somewhat dubious, having heard of the Silver Shield Emblem, but unsure if what Brendel held was real. The deeper his doubts grew, the more he felt that Brendel was likely telling at least part of the truth.
Otherwise, what a coincidence it would be that this well-trained mob had just taken down Grudin?
Brendel put the brooch away; in fact, it was genuine and was sent along with a private letter from the princess. The letter itself was simple, mainly just informing him that the royal family appreciated young men like him, without mentioning anything else.
It was merely a routine response, and that letter was essentially useless unless Brendel had this so-called handwritten note from Princess Grifian.
Yet this young lord treasured it like a precious item, carefully keeping it safe. Antinna expressed great confusion over this, complaining that only someone as foolish as him would overlook the royal family’s stinginess.
But how could Brendel not see through this? After all, that regent princess had once been the dream lover of many homebodies—they all ultimately realized with age that such infatuation was merely youthful yearning, yet they could not part with the most sincere memories buried in their hearts.
Especially when the handwritten letter from the now-late princess once again lay on his desk, to say he wasn’t moved inside would surely be lying.
“Well then, let’s put this aside,” Brendel continued, “I’ve heard some things about you. They say you initially planned to head north with a few servants to respond to the princess’s call for the revival of the Corvado dynasty?”
Carglis paused his movements: “It seems you know quite a bit.”
“You are more exceptional than many people I’ve met. Toniger cannot limit your abilities,” Brendel said as he recalled this young man’s experiences in another timeline. Unfortunately, he was left with nothing.
This was not surprising; there had been many young people like Erluin back then, but not every name ultimately shone brightly. Many faded away in the sands of time, and many lacked fortune, encountering misfortunes on the road to Vlada—
Robbers, monsters, cultists, and malicious lords; the countryside of Erluin was far from safe in this era.
“That sounds like mockery coming from you,” the young man frowned.
“No,” Brendel shook his head: “I mean it. What do you say, are you willing?”
“What do you mean?” Carglis looked stunned.
“I need a deputy.”
“Are you joking?” The young man’s eyes widened.
Brendel shook his head: “I’m serious. I believe your abilities are suitable for this position, and the key is that you have this willingness—”
“Wait,” the young man interrupted him: “I never agreed.”
“Are you willing to stay here in Toniger for life, missing out on this time of upheaval, ending up just as a provincial lord and becoming a grumpy old man?”
“Why do I sound like you’re indirectly insulting my father?” The young man frowned, now behaving less like a captive and more like a guest of Brendel’s. “But why would I believe you?”
“I’m giving you a chance to test it out.”
“But once you’re on a pirate ship, it’s not so easy to get off. I understand,” the young man said warily. “If you want to convince me, you’ll have to show me some benefits. If it’s just empty-handed trickery, wouldn’t that show I’m a bit too incompetent?”
The young man’s words betrayed that he was already tempted. He had never been one to settle down, whether it was to ally with the princess or follow this young man; he just hoped not to live as bland a life as his father.
The force behind Brendel’s words made him feel that this young man might fulfill his dreams.
He thought for a moment and tentatively asked, “Who exactly are you, and what do you want to do?”
Silence fell in the courtyard, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop—
Even Kuran thought the question was a bit abrupt.
But Brendel replied: “Who I am, I’ve already told you.”
“As for what I want to do…” The young lord smiled slightly; his smile appeared somewhat significant under the rare warm sunlight of the winter afternoon.
“If I said I wanted to pull Duke Anlek’s beard and give that old bastard a good beating, then go find Madara’s skeleton to settle accounts, would you believe me—”
Carglis stared for a moment, then brightened up with intense enthusiasm. He vigorously nodded his head: “Good idea!”
Kuran watched the two madmen and finally felt that he really was getting old; he remembered how fearless he and Tobas had been back in the day, their unit was the demons of the November War that made all enemies on the battlefield tremble in fear.
But times had changed, today was different.
The old swordsman saw the young man’s eager expression and quickly pulled Brendel aside, lowering his voice to say: “Are you crazy, Brendel? He’s Sir Minate’s son. If you take him away, that old curmudgeon will come after you. You need to think this through.”
“Come after me?” Brendel replied, both amused and exasperated: “Let him get out of my dungeon first.”
“You don’t plan to let him go?” Kuran suddenly felt that this young person was just a bit too ruthless; on one hand, he had taken away someone whom others had cared for for over a decade, while on the other, he was keeping the other party locked up. It seemed uncharitable from any angle.
“Whether to let the old lord out is up to him,” Brendel pointed at Carglis behind him.
The old swordsman turned to look at Carglis and shook his head; Sir Minate would probably be furious when he found out his son had gone on board a pirate ship. The young man couldn’t be unaware of this, and if Brendel were to suggest taking things slow, the other party would certainly agree wholeheartedly.
“The youth these days…” He looked at Brendel with a bit of helplessness.
“Alright, don’t worry. I will take good care of that old lord; I have great expectations for Carglis, he will surely achieve greatness in the future.”
Kuran shook his head: “Brendel, were you serious about what you said before?”
“About what?”
“Stop playing dumb,” the old man said fiercely: “I mean about the princess.”
“False.”
“Get lost!” Kuran kicked at him, but Brendel had long been prepared and dodged. He shook his head with a smile and replied: “Master Kuran, even if this is true, it’s classified information. How could I possibly just say it casually—”
Kuran paused, and suddenly realized there might be such a possibility. But having seen this young man’s tricks, he couldn’t take everything at face value and could only bury his doubts deep in his heart.
However, Brendel looked at the old swordsman and interrupted his train of thought: “Old sir, are you interested in going on a trip?”
“Travel?” Kuran was taken aback, looking at this young man oddly, wondering what scheme he was trying to pull now. (To be continued. For more chapters, support the author and read legally!)
