Circumstances of a Fallen Lord

Chapter 104

When the demon worshippers left, the battle outside the mansion also ended. The ghouls stopped their fierce attacks, moved slowly, and began to wander aimlessly. They were like puppets with no one tugging their strings.

The soldiers were bewildered by the sudden change of behavior but soon pushed away the ghouls under the direction of the Eastern Great Lord. The ghouls moved docilely in the direction they were pushed.

The Eastern Great Lord stared at the scene before him. He wore a calm expression, but inwardly the noble was incredibly startled.

     ‘Duke Anies was right.’

As he was guided out of the banquet hall, Luisen had advised the Eastern Great Lord. Attacks wouldn’t be of much use against the ghouls, so they should focus on defense and wait for the enemy to retreat on their own.

When he finally emerged from the mansion, he was half-dubious as the vigor and bloodlust of the ghoul corps were so fierce, but he had followed the young duke’s advice. It really played out just as Luisen had said. Thanks to that, they had managed to avoid the attacks of these undead enemies that wouldn’t stay down.

‘I can’t believe that a day would come when I’m glad I heard Duke Anies’s advice.’

One really experiences all sorts of things during a long life.

As the sun rose, he could begin to see last night’s horrors more clearly. The surroundings were so utterly gruesome–surpassing the terrors he had imagined in the dark. The Eastern Great Lord had a hunch that if he had misstepped, he could have expired here. Evil energy lingered everywhere.

The older noble quickly guessed who had attacked them. His wisdom that came with age could penetrate through to the truth without Luisen’s separate explanation.

‘Was heresy this strong in the kingdom? They seem to have a particularly bad relationship with Duke Anies as well.’

Apparently, these folks were called demon worshippers. Demon worshippers… They were vicious people whose names alone were disrespectful and insulting to God.

One could assume that these demon worshippers had plotted some huge conspiracy, weaving together Luisen, himself, and even the other nobles into their scheme. They were meticulous and well-versed in aristocratic ecology.

Though they had all felt something off–just a little–from Viscount Boton, they had all pretended to be ignorant for various reasons. The Eastern Great Lord wanted to show off to his people, and the nobles were perceived the Eastern Great Lord’s actions and desires, etc. Because of this, until the banquet hall had filled with dark red fog, no one had noticed they had walked into a trap.

‘They were dividing the aristocracy into two categories; one group would be spared, and the other would be killed.’

One could imagine that these demon worshippers were trying to use their deaths to bring about greater chaos. If they had succeeded, a crisis that not even the Eastern Great Lord could afford would have emerged.

Feeling a bit dizzy, the Eastern Great Lord drew a holy symbol in the air.

‘If it weren’t for Duke Anies, who knows what could have happened…’

It was no coincidence that Luisen had achieved fame by pretending to be a pilgrim and solving various problems. He was saving the world from the touch of darkness by continuing to bump into and hinder the demon worshippers’ efforts.

The Eastern Great Lord was deeply moved at the thought of Luisen, who remained in the banquet hall to clean up the mess.

That man knew about the attack before anyone else, so Luisen could have run away alone, without alerting anyone else. However, he jumped into danger to save the people remaining in the mansion. How noble and sacrificial of him.

Moreover, his party figured out their opponents capabilities and, in a short amount of time, devised a way to turn the trap back on their attackers. It was so clever…so bold… so startling. The older noble couldn’t hide his surprise.

The Eastern Great Lord had no choice but to admit that Luisen was not the weak young man he once knew. He wasn’t a child the older noble had to teach and lead. He was an adult with the power to pioneer his own path–a decent noble who could lead his people well.

‘I’ll have to treat him accordingly, now. And… Carlton. Him too.’

Until now, the Eastern Great Lord thought Carlton was a terrible but competent man who had earned the first prince’s trust and protection. However, it turned out that the mercenary was a fine warrior who fought virtuously against demon worshippers. He was a valiant warrior who helped Luisen–the spearhead to the church’s cause.

The older noble knew nothing about Carlton and simply believed in hearsay. He had undermined and ridiculed someone who followed God’s will. For someone deeply faithful like that Eastern Great Lord, he had exhibited incredibly shameful behavior.

 The unusually intense sunlight seemed to reprimand his foolish self; his heart felt heavy.

 At the very least, he now told the servants to treat the mercenary wholeheartedly well, but that felt somewhat insufficient. The Eastern Great Lord called for his attendant again to prepare a special gift for Carlton.

‘He’s a man who executes God’s will, so I should treat him accordingly.’

As a faithful servant of God, the Great Lord swore to the burning sun that he would support all efforts to punish the demon worshippers.

And, though Luisen and Carlton were ignorant of this, the Eastern Great Lord became their strong, reliable supporter.

***

In a guest room in the mansion:

Luisen paced around as he looked out the window. He watched the Eastern Great Lord’s soldiers clean up around the estate grounds.

‘Should I go down and help now, at the very least?’

He was told to rest because he had worked hard all night; Luisen washed up and laid down on the bed, but couldn’t sleep. He thought it would be better to go out and run errands rather than to simply hang around in the room like this.

When he laid still, eyes closed, he kept thinking of Ruger’s death. The sight of the fallen body rising again, moving around and turning black, was so utterly creepy no matter how many times the young lord revisited those memories.

Black armor, black helmet, eyes gleaming through the pitch, and the energy of death hanging around him… It exactly resembled the Death Knight the young lord saw before his regression.

‘I thought it was all a delusion.’

The one-armed pilgrim also confirmed that they were illusions–people are known to hallucinate when they’re in so much pain. When he met the one-armed pilgrim, the Death Knight also disappeared; Luisen believed that was the case because he had gained peace of mind after meeting the saint.

But now, after looking back at his memories knowing the Death Knight could exist, doubts arose. Perhaps the knight did not disappear because his anxiety had been laid to rest but instead because the pilgrim had somehow done away with the Death Knight.

 ‘What came first? My peace of mind or the Death Knight’s disappearance?’

 If it was the latter, then why did the one-armed pilgrim lie to him? Did he know about the demon worshippers?

Luisen clasped his hands tightly. ‘Either way, the fact that I received the man’s help doesn’t change.’

Even if the man extended a hand for some other purpose, that was the dying Luisen’s only salvation at the time. He didn’t want to doubt that.

‘I began to see the Death Knight after I was kicked out of Count Doubless’s land, before I left the South.’

Before regression, Ruger must have died and somehow became a Death Knight. From what the demon worshiper had said, it seemed like some condition had to be achieved in order for one to be born. Does that mean there was a situation similar to last night in the previous timeline?

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Suddenly, Luisen recalled what had happened when he was chased out by Count Doubless. 

Luisen had managed to reach the count’s mansion alone, carving a path through the forest. After meeting the count, he was briefly confined in something that resembled a warehouse. A little while afterwards, a knight fetched the young lord. He forcibly dragged Luisen away and chased him off; he threw the young lord a small sum of money and threatened to kill him if the young lord ever stepped foot in the South again.

Luisen was frightened and ran away without looking back. He had thought, of course, that because the count’s knight had driven him away, that was the count’s will.

But, now that he thought about it, perhaps it was another ploy made by Ruger and the demon worshippers; however, the young lord couldn’t understand, then, why they had let him go so easily.

‘Perhaps, was that Ruger? Did he allow me to run away…?’

As he imagined it, Luisen gave a wry smile.

‘Impossible. Why would the man who tried to kill me, save me?’

It was ridiculous–there was no reason for Ruger to behave in such a manner.

Besides, if the Death Knight he saw in the previous timeline was Ruger, then Ruger also died without living a long life. What a fool. If he was going to betray others, then he should at least live well. Luisen clicked his tongue.

Knock Knock–

He heard a knock on the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s me.” Carlton opened the door and entered.

The mercenary was somehow more attractive after washing away the traces of battle. Luisen quickly noticed the changes; Carlton wasn’t wearing what he usually wore but instead wore nice clothes–the quality that Luisen might wear. The soft cloth wound around his solid figure, highlighting the man’s build even better. Carlton didn’t look like a prince, not like Luisen would, but he gave off the aura and charm of an attractive, successful man.

“This was given to me by one of the Eastern Great Lord’s servants. He’s so enthusiastic with his care; it’s as if his attitude flipped like one would flip their hand.” Carlton shrugged his shoulders. Though he grumbled, he didn’t seem to mind this treatment. He had two glasses and a bottle of wine in hand, “I thought you wouldn’t be able to rest, so I brought these. It’s the best treatment for when someone is upset.”

Carlton shook the bottle. Luisen smirked before bursting into laughter. Alcohol was merely an excuse, and he felt happy that Carlton had come to console him.

TL: Sorry guys, hand is acting up again so I’m doing a little less formatting than usual T_T

Let me know if it’s too bad though, and I can edit it later.