Chapter 552
My Villains Episode 552
68. To the capital(25)
“……Who came??”
“This is Lord Ojori of House Longcliff, my lord..”
The woman blinked her eyes blankly..
She was sitting in front of a wooden desk neatly lined with parchment scrolls and various paper documents. This is the usual working posture, squatting on a large chair with one's knees in one's arms, holding a quill and stamping a signet ring..
Of course, it wasn't a very dignified appearance. Just by looking at this appearance, not many people would have realized that she was the head of the great family Mullin and the real loser of the southern part of the kingdom..
“Ojori Af Longcliff?”
“It's an orb. It's not painful.”
“Ozori of Longcliffe. You're northerner..”
“yes. I'm from Winland..”
“Winland… … . You come from a very nasty place..”
As the woman scratched her knees with an annoyed expression, the middle-aged female knight who was standing like a stone statue could not stand it and opened her mouth..
“Please correct your posture, my lord. The one who rules over a million people is sitting like a snail shivering in the cold. You have to keep your body..”
“I mean this is convenient. For some reason, things are going well. And no one is watching, so what are the body weights?.”
The female knight's face was slightly distorted. The fine wrinkles cast deeper shadows under the flickering candlelight..
“I see it. I see soldiers standing guard in front of the door, servants serving documents, and maids serving tea..”
“Sigh. Okay, I understand.-”
“What would you do if your back got crooked at a young age? The wedding is only half a year from now, so will Prince Aglas feel better if he runs away after seeing his master's bent waist??”
“My back is still fine. And if he runs away, I'll be grateful. How can you marry a kid with no armpit hair?-”
“lord.”
“Ugh.”
The woman's shoulders shrank at the female knight's soft but powerful and firm shout..
“A person who puts off even a light walk, let alone horseback riding or archery, using work as an excuse, can't even have a good sitting posture. What use is it to have so many knights and soldiers guarding your quarters day and night, when your lord is sitting there harming himself?.”
Despite the fact that her neatly tied-up hair was gray, the female knight's spirit was indeed something to be proud of as Marva's best..
In the end, the woman, Count Clarissa, spread out her hands with a tired face..
“……Yes, I understand. I was wrong, stop it, Lord Esselda..”
Esselda's face, which had been severely distorted, softened only after Clarissa adjusted her posture and sat down..
“By the way, Lord Ojori. It's a very familiar name. who was that?”
“Of course you will be familiar with it. He was a knight under the command of Prince Silver..”
“……The prince's? ah. ‘Die Dog’ Oh Jo-ri?”
“It's called that too..”
It's a familiar name.
It has to be that way. This young countess thoroughly knew the details of the 24 knights under Prince Ulkar..
The reason she couldn't immediately think of Ojori was because everything outside the window was already dark. It was natural that I did not expect that a driver I had never seen before would visit me at this late hour..
“He said he was in the highlands recently.?”
“yes. After the Red Knight's oath, they split from the Silver Prince Army and are currently known to be following Lord Ankir..”
At that time, the man commonly called the Red Knight, Phoenics von Depelken, declared to avenge the Silver Prince. Ariad, the 'shining-eyed adder', Lyam 'on the wall', 'painter' Hylterre, 'prince's commander' Harold, 'of the waterfall' Lymond, and 'shield maiden' Grania are the mainstays of the Silver Prince's army. Most of the worthy people joined the Red Knights and remained in the Prince of Depelken, or Imperial Territory..
However, not all groups followed the Red Knights, and Langbolt the 'Howling Wave', Ankir the 'Giant', and Gisella the 'Bird Knight' were the representative defectors..
“Was it around this time last year that Lord Ankir became the lord of Whitestone following his father??”
“It was November the year before last. Lord Ojori is known to have a small cavalry unit under his command..”
“hmm. Then, can we say that there is no connection with the Red Knight??”
It was natural for Count Clarissa to be wary of red knights. He was an excommunicator, an apostate, an enemy of the royal family proclaimed by the king, and a traitor. Even though Clarissa was a great lord, there was no telling what kind of trouble she would face if she got mixed up with a red knight..
“Of course not, my lord..”
Esselda said in a very firm tone..
“It is not clear whether they really split because of different opinions, or whether they are just using a trick to blind the eyes of the Geunwang faction..”
“……well. No matter what Prince Ulkar's knights had in mind, Lord Ankir is now a traitor to the king. Will it be a problem to meet his knight??”
“hmm.”
The female knight sighed softly..
“I see you are curious about Dire Dog..”
“It's probably worth taking some time..”
The Count leaned back and yawned. And I glanced out the blackened window..
“Still, it's a bit unusual for an article. I'm going to have a meal close to midnight..”
“The guard also recommended visiting again after daylight. However, Lord Ojori said that Hansi was urgent. They say we have to leave before dawn.”
“You're a northerner. But there's no need for me to join in on that rhythm, right? Tell him to go and wait patiently..”
“But he said something strange..”
“strange words?”
The young count narrowed his brows, and the middle-aged knight hesitated for a moment before answering..
“I came here to tell my lord about Prince Silver’s fate.…….”
“maintain? His Majesty the 3rd Prince?”
“They say he said so.”
Clarissa was silent..
Her worries continued for quite a long time, and eventually she opened her mouth again without being able to organize her thoughts..
“…… Diredog was the prince's tenth knight. You can't say it's a small thing, but it's definitely not a big thing like Chamcheolseon or Red Knight. Did you leave something for me to someone like that? Your Majesty?”
Esselda did not answer. Because she knows it's not a question she can answer, and the Count doesn't want to either..
“……Where is he now??”
“I was asked to wait at the Iron Gate. In order to confirm his identity, we are looking for someone who knows his face in the stronghold and the manor house, but since it is Marva's first time traveling, we are probably looking for someone who is familiar with him.-”
“That's it. You'll find out if you talk about it. Bring me alone.”
“I obey orders.”
Esselda retreated with a restrained movement, and Clarissa called the maid and put on her clothes..
There was no need to rush. Not only Esselda, but also many of Mullin's vassals were not gentle enough to show outsiders before their lord, so it was okay to prepare leisurely..
Ojori, who was permitted to enter, was only able to enter the Iron Gate, the entrance to the inner castle, after depositing his weapons. At the gatehouse, he briefly took off his armor and had his body searched..
When passing through the courtyard, cathedral knights and battle wizards sent their detection gaze, and one also had to pass a small stone palace tower built solely for the purpose of monitoring the inside of the castle walls..
The atmosphere in the hall we reached after passing through the corridor, where heavily armed soldiers stood guard every fifteen steps, was similarly tense..
As it was close to midnight, there were only two officials left in the residence. Instead, knights wearing plate armor filled the empty seats..
“……Hmm.”
Although the atmosphere was somewhat intimidating, Oh Jo-ri, who entered the hall after being guided, showed no sign of being agitated at all. He just glanced at the vassals of the Mullin family with a calm expression. Seeing that effeminate appearance, the knights of Mullin wondered, ‘Is this really the silver prince’s knight?’ and did not let down their guard..
It wasn't until 15 minutes after Ojori entered the hall that Count Clarissa appeared..
“May the light be with you. Ojori, Knight of Longcliff, meets with His Excellency Count Clarissa, lord of House Mullin and Marva..”
A concise yet formal greeting. Clarissa thought it was surprising. I expected him to be a common rude northerner, but the man I met seemed to know how to be polite and had a pretty decent appearance..
“……Nice to meet you, Lord Ojori. I'm glad to meet such an unknown knight..”
“It's an honor, Your Excellency..”
The Count, who was sitting on the lord's throne, looked closely at the figure of the knight kneeling on one knee..
His muscular physique and brown, mottled blonde hair were the epitome of a northerner. On the other hand, the pale tanned skin, long limbs, and thin waist compared to the shoulders felt a little foreign..
Count Clarissa was curious at first glance, but it was not noble to ask about her appearance or ancestry when they first met..
She ended her greeting briefly and asked a question in earnest..
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