Chapter 22 - The Value of Pride
Good morning, everyone. Happy New Years 🎉🎉🎉 Here's an additional chapter to celebrate. Enjoy your day.
"When I arrived at the site, Elder Brother's main forces were setting up a defensive line while gradually retreating. The main forces, composed of elite soldiers, were managing to hold on with flexible responses, but my brother continued to lead from the front. He wielded a short spear with his non-dominant hand, his body covered in wounds."
"...His life?"
"By the skin of his teeth."
"He didn't die, then?"
It felt like all the strength drained from my stiff body. The worst... had been avoided. My beloved older brother's life was still intact. That’s what mattered. Therefore, I could cast aside despair. As long as he was alive, things could be handled. Yes, as long as he was alive. But... it seemed my second brother couldn't see it that way. Quietly, he spoke.
"The wounds were almost fatal for a warrior. A third of our elite knights, the pride of our family, was lost. I struck the monster from the side and even managed to injure it, forcing it to retreat deep into the forest. When the threat was gone, the panicked beasts, though battered, retreated as well, following the pressure from the soldiers. Somehow, the danger was repelled, but the cost was high. No, it was far too high."
"Is Eldest Brother irrecoverable... as a warrior?"
"His dominant arm was bitten by the monster, losing his strength. His body was covered in cuts and bite marks. The field medic administered an antidote for monster poison on-site, and they managed to protect his almost severed dominant hand while retreating. When we returned to the village, thanks to the work of the priest and the apothecary, his life was saved. But his dominant arm can no longer wield a sword. It also hinders his daily life. Many of the wounds on his body were severe as well."
"And now... how is he now?"
"Thankfully, he wasn't poisoned. Well, the antidote must have worked. After returning to this town, thanks to the medical priest at the cathedral, his wounds slowly began to heal... but his heart... you see."
Indeed, after enduring such a hellish battle and being covered in wounds, one's heart would also suffer. Especially when those injuries left him as good as dead as a warrior, it was understandable that he would become despondent. But Eldest Brother wasn't only a warrior; he was also appointed as the heir. He would be an incredibly capable ruler of this land. That’s why I couldn’t understand it. No matter how severely he was injured, I couldn't fathom why his heart was so deeply wounded.
"Granduncle, he hurled insults at Elder Brother, calling him a weak and feeble heir, saying that the elite soldiers are a thing of the past. On top of that, he pressured Father to abdicate the knightly title. He trampled all over my brother's pride and honor, and spat on our knightly family without a second thought. My brother has an immense sense of responsibility. He says that all the blame is his... that’s what he says."
"......That’s absurd. Granduncle's arrogance has reached its peak. So, how did you respond?"
"Nothing... has been decided... yet."
"What?"
I was stunned. Truly, I had been so shocked that an odd sound had escaped me. While a knightly title had been at the lowest rung, it was still part of the nobility. Unlike a baronetcy, it was a hereditary position. Granduncle had held the status of a "retainer," "vassal," or "follower" under the knightly family, but he had not possessed a noble rank. Nor had he held any sub-titles that could branch off from the knightly family.
In other words, in this world, Granduncle could only be considered a commoner with fighting power.
I tried applying this situation to a baronial family, which also held hereditary rights. It would be akin to a commoner without noble status, yet related by blood to the main family, rising in rebellion against the baron's household. This was a clear case of a takeover of the family estate.
In the frontier regions, maintaining the lineage of a noble house was directly tied to ensuring the safety of the region. Near the royal capital, changes to the bloodline of the head of a household might involve the judgment and authority of lords or related high-ranking noble families, but such changes required significant groundwork and preparation.
When the head of the family proved to be incompetent, threatened the peace of their governed region, and allowed the decline of their territory to persist—evident in the significant exodus of their subjects—it was customary to prompt a change of leadership to a close relative, with the primary goal of preserving the family bloodline. Commonly, the title would pass to the son or daughter of the inept master. If that option was deemed infeasible due to the circumstances, the responsibility often fell upon a cousin from the same family line.
It was an absolute requirement that those who sought to reform the current state of affairs out of concern for the condition of the territory gained the support and agreement of those around them.
Looking back... Reflecting on the actions of Granduncle, they did not align with this at all. In the face of a territorial crisis, his role was to defend the town after deploying the main forces to its fullest extent. Furthermore, if the main forces fell into danger, he should have dispatched reinforcements to aid them and worked to resolve the situation or, alternatively, initiated evacuation preparations for the town's residents. At the very least, it was imperative to deploy additional scouts to assess the progression of events.
From the way Second Brother spoke, it seemed that none of these measures had been taken. In other words, it could be definitively stated that Granduncle displayed negligence unbefitting someone in his position. Furthermore, he neither praised the heir of the knightly house for overcoming a dire crisis against a formidable monster, even after sustaining serious injuries, nor acknowledged his efforts. Instead, he spouted nonsense such as, One without strength is unfit to be an heir. Such words were nothing less than grounds for being labeled a traitor or even a usurper.
In a legitimate noble house, acts of treason and usurpation were utterly intolerable. Such offenses were sternly admonished under the laws of the kingdom. Perpetrators could be sentenced to death without question, leaving no room for complaint. As the foundation of noble houses, showing resolute punishment was essential; otherwise, the very core of the kingdom's aristocratic system could be jeopardized.
Yet, despite this, Father did nothing. The magic of Granduncle, along with the combat strength of his subordinates and one-third of the knightly family’s fighting force, was a significant power. Moreover, many of his subordinates were veteran followers. It was likely that separating and punishing Granduncle would have incited defection among these powerful individuals and potentially jeopardized the cooperation of their relatives.
In the frontier, the forces maintained by the knightly family were, after all, nothing more than private soldiers. Furthermore, the harsh reality was that we couldn't even pay many of the soldiers enough in wages, relying instead on their patriotism and love for their homeland.
Thus, my father was troubled.
"I’ll be stepping away for a bit. I cannot proceed with matters that concern Eldest Brother without him."
"Elder Brother is ill at heart. He’s locked himself in his room. Don’t say that his heart is weak. After the intense battle, he was gravely injured, and on top of that... he was subjected to harsh words and insults. We didn’t leave him to suffer without doing anything. We were concerned and tried to help, but the shock was greater than we anticipated. The influence of our Granduncle is something we cannot ignore in this town. You must understand that as well."
"Therefore, considering the matters ahead, Eldest Brother’s wishes must be strongly reflected. Fortunately, I can be considered almost an outsider in this situation. I can also present the excuse of having returned from the royal capital to give my greetings. Father, Mother, is that acceptable?"
"......"
"You've grown, haven’t you? Very well. I’m sure he has his own thoughts on the matter. We must listen to his will. I permit it."
"Thank you. Then, I’ll see you later."
In situations like this, it was clear from my childhood that Mother had more resolve than Father. When Father faced such mental blows, he became weak-willed. His decision-making ability would drastically decrease. While he possessed an unmatched courageous heart when it came to direct threats from monsters or magical beasts, he became easily discouraged when faced with intangible crises.
Mother, though of low status, coming from a "merchant’s family," was incredibly strong-willed, especially in times of adversity. I believed the previous Lord Knight, fully aware of Father’s temperament, chose her as his wife for that very reason. She was the great mother of us three siblings.
The meaning of marrying into a knightly family in the frontier...
...must have been something deeply etched into Mother’s soul.
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