Episode 7. Rebellion (1)

Monica is pointing a huge ceremonial sword at me.

“I, Monica Yulstein, declare Edward Mountberne-kyung to be a Knight of the Yulstein Count Family, who defends and governs this Northern region.”

I was slightly worried she might whack me with the sword, but thankfully, she didn’t.

With all the retainers of the Yulstein Count Family watching, my knighting ceremony ended just like that.

This morning, Vera, Monica, and I were having a normal breakfast. Vera looked more tired than usual, as if she hadn’t slept well.

“Monica. Have you ever laid a hand on Edward-kyung?”

“…Yeah.”

Remembering my swollen cheek from last night, Vera asked Monica. Monica, having decided to go out strong, didn’t deny it and calmly admitted it. Rather, she looked at me as if asking if I couldn’t even hide that one thing, but what could I do? A cheek isn’t a body part you can just hide.

“Why did you do that?”

“I heard that when you do a knighting ceremony, you’re supposed to hit them a few times. I only hit him once on purpose since it was a simplified version.”

“We’re having a formal knighting ceremony today with all the retainers present, aren’t we?”

“…As practice.”

Did we have a separate knighting ceremony? I don’t remember receiving anything grand like a knighting ceremony. After getting married and some time passing, it just kind of fizzled out. I do remember getting hit a few times by Monica, but I’m not sure if it was because of the knighting ceremony. Was it because I didn’t win the championship before the regression? Seeing that she’s calling the retainers, it seems like it’s going to be a bigger deal than I thought.

“He’s going to be your husband, so don’t deliberately embarrass him in front of the retainers. It’s also related to your status as Edward-kyung’s wife. Even if it’s nothing else, it makes me uncomfortable.”

So, due to Vera’s earnest request, my knighting ceremony was replaced with a modern-style ceremony like the ones held in the capital’s churches. Monica looked very dissatisfied, but she’s always listened to Vera. This method of putting the sword on the shoulder and head without any violence is a trend that will only become popular more than ten years later, but actually receiving it myself makes me feel strange. After the knighting ceremony, I couldn’t participate in the retainer meeting, so I left the meeting hall and walked down the hallway.

Still, I confirmed two things through this knighting ceremony. The first is the traitor Baron Enicson. The person who made me feel certain that I had returned to the past. He, who will start a rebellion not long after today, was sitting in his seat with his head still attached. Seeing him looking subtly uneasy, it seemed like the rebellion would definitely happen. Maybe it just seemed that way because I knew he was going to start a rebellion.

‘This time, I’ll make good use of that rebellion.’

Before, Enicson’s rebel army had invaded right up to the edge of the County, so I had a hard time, but this time, I’ll preemptively suppress them without giving them a chance. I’ll also reduce the chances of Monica chewing me out for being incompetent, and I’ll gain more say by earning merit. It’s a situation where I can completely turn a crisis into an opportunity. Now, I just need to seize that opportunity…

‘How do I persuade Monica…’

If I tell her that that bastard is going to start a rebellion without any evidence, will anyone believe me? I might as well just get an earful from Monica for slandering another noble if I bring up the rebellion. If I act rashly, I might be dealt with for treason before Enicson.

‘That red stone is also bothering me…’

Another person I encountered at the knighting ceremony, Viscount Melbourne. Originally, she was a recluse who stayed in her mansion, so I hadn’t seen her face much, but for some reason, she attended my knighting ceremony. Maybe it’s because of the retainer meeting that will follow. That woman, known as Monica’s close friend, had a red stone hanging from a string around her neck.

‘Goodbye, nameless warrior.’

Recalling the memory makes me vividly feel the splitting headache. That stone was definitely the same stone as the one the barbarian used to split my head open. It’s not a jewel, and it’s unlikely that a stone with such a clear blood color would be so common.

I’ve never heard of Viscount Melbourne carrying something like that around. I think I vaguely heard rumors that she was a witch, but could it be one of the strange tools that witches use? For her, who doesn’t show herself easily, to appear before me wearing a red stone, I have no idea why.

As I was walking down the hallway lost in thought, a maid ran up to me, calling me.

“Knight-nim, Edward-kyung!”

I flinched reflexively, but I didn’t show it and asked.

“What’s the matter?”

My heart still pounds whenever I see that maid uniform. They were like Monica’s hands and feet. Whether it was because of Monica’s orders or because they wanted to insult me, they relentlessly ignored me, calling me illiterate and saying my mother was lowborn. When I stared at her without saying anything, the maid flinched and looked scared.

“Um, I did the investigation you asked for earlier, so I came to tell you the results…”

I quickly relaxed my expression. I had asked her to find out where the knight with the blue helmet was yesterday. She’s handling things very quickly, faster than I thought.

“So, where is that knight?”

“It’s written down here on this paper…”

The maid gives me the paper with the address and tries to run away. I can’t read. I can’t let that show.

“No, you guide me there yourself.”

“Me? I have other duties…”

“Ehem, are you ignoring my words? How can a noble leave the castle without an attendant?”

“If it’s an attendant, I’ll bring another child.”

Leaving those words behind, the maid quickly returned with a boy. It’s a familiar face.

“This is Johnson Mayville, the page from the Mayville Family who was originally scheduled to attend to you from today. He’s a bright kid, so you’ll find him easy to take around, Edward-kyung.”

This guy’s name is Johnson Mayville. He was my page in my past life too, and he was quick-witted and sociable, so he was a good guy to take around. He always treated me with respect and took my side, so I cherished him like a younger brother.

‘He was hit by an arrow in battle…’

Well, that’s something that hasn’t happened yet. If I take him around carefully so he doesn’t die, I can use him as a pretty useful knight. He’ll also take my side when Monica’s scolding me.

The maid, who passed the guidance onto Johnson, disappeared at a fast pace. It shouldn’t be that busy at this time, but it seems like she really doesn’t want to work. I should have asked her name.

“So, can you guide me to this place? I don’t know the way.”

Fortunately, Johnson can still read.

‘Shit! Shit!’

The knight with the blue helmet was hurriedly packing his luggage in the room he was staying in.

‘I have to leave right away.’

This was all because of what happened in the room next to his last night. He had gotten a room in a nice inn with the runner-up prize money he had received, but there was a constant noise coming from the room next door. He went to the next room to complain, but he stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of a knife tearing flesh coming from outside the door. It was suppressed, but he could clearly hear the sound of blood bubbling.

“If it seems like it will hinder the great cause, we have no choice but to silence them. We can’t ruin things for such a trivial reason. Don’t have unnecessary sympathy for worm-like commoners.”

“…Is this okay?”

“We’re about to become members of the Count Family, who would care if we killed one bug?”

He didn’t know exactly what they were talking about, but it was clear that he had heard something he shouldn’t have. The word ‘great cause’ and the people who ‘will become the Count Family’. Those two pieces of information and the atmosphere quickly swirled in his head, leading him to the conclusion of a rebellion.

The knight with the blue helmet walked as quietly as possible, gently opened his door, and closed it as gently as possible. Since then, he had spent the night wide awake, and only one word was clear in his mind.

‘I’m fucked.’

They’re people who would kill a witness without a second thought just because they’re a commoner. If they felt even the slightest suspicion from the room next door, they might even try to kill him. Normally, he would have thought about ditching two of them and running away, but it would be difficult to shake off two healthy noble men who were well-fed and not even healed from the injuries he sustained in the tournament.

After the sun rose and he confirmed that there was no sign of anyone in the next room, he started packing like crazy.

‘Where should I go? The lord’s castle? Or another County altogether?’

He worried as he packed, but it wasn’t easy to decide. If he had his way, he would have tried to get into the guards or the standing army somehow, even if he wasn’t a knight of the Count Family, since he was the runner-up in the tournament. If he left the County for safety now, all those opportunities would be gone. He was finally able to settle down!

‘Will I be able to see the lord?’

Even if he tried to inform them of the rebellion, there was no guarantee that the lord would meet him. Would a noble meet a commoner who was a self-proclaimed knight and not even a formal knight? Even if he met and talked, he’d be lucky if he wasn’t punished for insulting a noble.

Knock knock-

Someone knocked on the door of the knight with the blue helmet as he was worrying.