The Second Son of the Count Is Too Good

“That sir is Norman’s grandson?”

“Oh my God, that knight was not an ordinary person!”

The villagers who had been hiding and watching so far whispered. Luke shouted in a moderately relaxed atmosphere.

From noble mtl dot com

“Nice to meet the people from my maternal grandfather and mother’s hometown! Is there anyone who can tell them their old stories?”

The villagers shuddered and stepped forward. It seemed that the fear had faded compared to before, when he couldn’t even dare to come close.

Several of them approached Luke and opened their mouths.

“Sir, I’m a guy named Heine.”

“Ah, I heard that the skill of fixing things is useful.”

“Have you heard of the name Roy?”

“I heard you proposed to your mother and got dumped.”

“No, Mister, why did you do such a thing… … .”

Once the water of the conversation was opened, the next time it was a breeze. People came from all directions and surrounded Luke.

When Luke started to get a little noisy, he untied the money bag.

“It must be difficult to have a conversation like this. Someone buy me wine and meat! I’ll give you the money!”

– Wow!

The cheers of the villagers resounded, and soon the village turned into a party.

* * *

Unlike Falun, Elmholt is a territory with quite active trade. Thanks to that, there was no problem getting meat and alcohol to serve to the people.

As the plates of wine and meat were returned to the people, Anders raised his glass and shouted a toast.

“For Lord Luke, the grandson of Norman, the son of Lyria, and the descendant of the Dragon Slayer!”

-for!

As the alcohol entered, what followed was a storm of questions. The villagers gathered around Luke and made a fuss as if they were scared.

Each time, Luke gently pretended to know me a little, and answered with a mixture of half truth and half pleasant to hear.

‘I’m glad I came before the return.’

Luke’s visit to Elmholt was pure whim. I only visited once because it was said to be the hometown of my maternal grandfather.

What I didn’t expect was that the villagers treated Luke pretty well. As it turned out, my maternal grandfather had considerable benevolence.

“I can’t believe that Uncle Norman is gone. He was a very nice person.”

“I was caught stealing a game, but they let me go as if I didn’t see it.”

“I even threw a piece of leather at a cold house, saying that I had come and picked it up.”

Luke smiled as he watched the townspeople brooding over bitter memories.

‘Anyway, it’s a world apart from Brick Village.’

At least the villagers clearly remembered the kindness their maternal grandfather bestowed upon them. The memories that started like that continued all night.

Eventually, dawn approached, a time when most people had fallen asleep. Luke glanced over at the dozing lookout and whispered.

“Okay, how are you lately? Is it worth living for?”

“Is it worth living?”

“After that lord came to office. The lord doesn’t look very nice.”

The villagers who were still awake at those words were frightened. To be punished for swearing at the lord carelessly.

I don’t know if it’s Luke, but it was obvious that they wouldn’t let it go. But not everyone was quick to notice.

“I will die. The devil doesn’t catch things like that, what are you doing, Won.”

“Hey, hey!”

“Don’t stop. No one is listening anyway.”

The old man tried to stop the grumbling middle-aged man, but the man did not stop. Looking at his face, he seemed quite drunk.

“Even if you ask me to work, my back is about to bend because of the taxes. My God, does it make sense to double the head tax in 10 years?”

“You raised it that much?”

This surprised even Luke. The head tax actually accounts for the majority of taxes. In other words, the entire tax rate has doubled.

“It’s not just that. A small tax cuts off a huge amount again. In the old days, we had occasional festivals and ate generously, but these days we can’t even dream. Whoa!”

When the middle-aged man let out a sigh, the old people around him lowered their heads. It’s because they couldn’t bear to say it, but it was a word they could sympathize with.

Luke’s eyes sparkled in the dark atmosphere.

‘I think this will work out better than expected?’

In fact, Luke thought it would be best if only a tiny fraction of the villagers cooperated. However, when I looked at it, it seemed that all Young Ji-min were quite dissatisfied.

Even before the return, the lord had changed, and there was no mention from the villagers, so I thought it might not be a good lord.

“That is unfortunate. If I were the lord, none of that would have happened.”

“But sir, can’t you be the lord here?”

Even though he was an uneducated commoner, he was vaguely aware of the right of succession itself. However, Luke shook his head lightly.

“No, it can be. I have some rights too.”

“uh? Is that so?”

“Yes, if I were the lord, I would have cut the taxes in half. But now, the lord seems to be doing the opposite.”

“… … !”

People around them widened their eyes at Luke’s words. The original tax before the increase is cut in half.

In fact, isn’t it the sound of cutting one-fourth of the current tax? Someone swallowed dry saliva.

“Yeah, but you can’t do it now, can you?”

“It could be right away.”

“yes?”

“You must have heard that there was a war this time, right?”

“I should have listened… … .”

I heard that one of the villages in the village has rebelled. It was only yesterday that I lamented that I was going to war.

“That’s actually the army I raised.”

“yes!? Suck!”

The old man, who raised his voice for a moment, covered his mouth. When I turned my head, I saw a guard who was still cool.

Among the people who breathed a sigh of relief, Luke continued.

“I heard that the lord of this place was not good at managing his maternal grandfather’s hometown, so I raised an army. Rather, I thought it would be better for me to become a lord.”

“Well, then what will happen now? Are you going to attack this place?”

“I knew how to fight without moving, but wouldn’t the story be a bit different if you guys cooperated?”

“If you ask for cooperation… … .”

Luke laughed at the village youth who was blurting his horse’s tail.

“There are many ways. Aren’t all the soldiers from here?”

Usually, lords hire mercenaries when fighting. However, this war happened so suddenly that there was no time for that.

The current soldiers are all conscripts gathered from the territory. There are endless things you can do with just kissing.

“For example, just opening the gates, or surrendering right away.”

I flinched, and the villagers’ bodies trembled. It’s not an easy choice. If you move, you can get hit by the knight’s sword from behind.

Luke understood that, so he waited patiently for an answer.

‘If possible, I’d like to hold the spear upside down or start a rebellion.’

If you go to that level, you will get scared and no one will step out. Luke decided to cut at just the right time.

“Well, think carefully.”

* * *

After that day, Luke stayed for two more days and met the villagers. Then I asked about Baron Philippe’s policies.

“What is the tax rate?”

“This is enough.”

“I can’t! I would never do that!”

Most conversations were like this. I was surprised if there was anything that was overpriced, and added the process of ‘if it was me’.

Those who did not know the circumstances of the previous day only smiled bitterly. However, those who heard Luke’s temptation flinched every time.

“Thank you for your words.”

“I am so sorry. I mean it.”

I repeated that thing several times. On the last third day, the tail was eventually caught by the knight and blocked.

The fairly old knight glared at Luke and blocked his way.

“Stop it.”

“What do you mean?”

“It is about blaming my lord’s policies.”

“I was just expressing my feelings.”

“You are causing confusion in the estate.”

Seeing the knight not backing down even an inch, Luke licked his lips and stepped back. I couldn’t do anything that day, but it wasn’t a big deal.

Because enough seeds have already been sown. On the day they left after three days, Luke met Philip for the last time.

“Have you thought about it?”

“Just go.”

“You will regret it.”

“I told you to go!”

After blowing a snort at Philip, who was huffing up, Luke left the castle gate. When Luke returned, Bjorn came running.

“Lord.”

“I have been.”

“Have you had any results?”

“Before that, how are the soldiers now?”

Luke looked around. Unlike the relatively stable interior of Elmholt, it was filled with a spleen atmosphere.

Bjorn replied with a bitter face.

“The morale is high, but everyone seems to think the sacrifice will be formidable.”

“Because of the last name?”

“Yes, actually I think so too.”

In a word, is it a state like ‘I will give my life here’? It’s good not to waste your life, but it’s trouble if you keep doing this.

What Luke wants is to keep those powerful soldiers alive as much as possible and make them Bjorn’s elite.

“It’s just fine.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think I will win this battle easily.”

“… … !”

Leaving the surprised Bjorn behind, Luke looked at the soldiers. Shall we show a miracle to the death squad who do not know how to waste their lives?

* * *

Two days later, Luke mustered his army. It was only a small army equipped with swords and columns, but the spirit alone was enormous.

“Are you attacking?”

“No, we march slowly to the gate.”

“I will shoot an arrow.”

They’re conscripts, not a professional army, so there may be few of them, but there should be archers. A skirmish with such a small army is lethal in itself.

However, Luke shook his head with a smile.

“No, I won’t shoot.”

“Are there no arrows?”

“The archer has no desire to shoot.”

Leaving Bjorn wondering what the hell he was talking about, Luke stepped forward. Reluctantly, Bjorn gave the order to march.

The order itself was followed faithfully, probably because it was a death-dealing squad.

‘It’s the range of arrows.’

‘Damn it, how many people will die.’

Everyone knew the range because they had experienced a few battles. Everyone swallowed and waited for the arrow to come flying.

It was when he held on to his shield and made his way to the gate.

“… Aren’t you flying?”

The soldiers tilted their heads. Now, it’s not an arrow, it’s a distance that can be hit even if you throw a spear. Still, there was no attack at all.

Surprised soldiers mumbled and looked at each other. However, what surprised them several times was the commander inside the castle wall.

“Why the hell are you not shooting arrows!?”

The knight who had driven out the previous Luke turned to one of the veterans in amazement. The senior soldier was stumped and answered.

“That, that’s not going to shoot everyone.”

“Order again!”

“I’ve said it many times, but it’s the same.”

“Have these all gone!?”

The spirited knight shouted at the top of his voice towards the place where the archers were placed.

“Shoot! Shoot everyone! What are you doing leaving the arrows intact!?”

“… … .”

There was no response to the article’s brushing. Even though the archers were sweating coldly, they could not bear to pull the bowstring.

The reason was simple.

“Aren’t you supposed to shoot this?”

“If we shoot, the master will also try to kill us.”

“I heard that if you become a lord, you’ll get a tax cut, too.”

One-third of soldiers betrayed by their own will.

-Son, you must never shoot an arrow at Nari.

From noble mtl dot com

-If the order comes down, you can’t shoot! I’m dying!

– You stupid thing! I must think of the time when Nari became a lord!

One third of the soldiers were at a loss due to family requests.

“Never shoot! Everyone bow down!”

“Hey, if the others shoot, only we die!”

“All our neighbors have already joined. Do you think you wouldn’t have done another house?”

The soldiers who were instigated while standing still accounted for one-third of the rest. Because of this, of course, there was no way the battle would go smoothly.

After the order was ignored several times, the knight drew his sword with a red face.

“Do these guys dare to protest!?”