episode_0132

Lisia rested her chin and watched my training.

The most active time I went to war zones was when the girl was in college, so it was probably something I hadn’t seen in a long time.

The enemies I’ve faced so far have mainly been poorly armed thieves and barbarians.

But in the end, the knight’s nemesis is the same knight. In particular, I did not know what kind of people would be standing guard around Rudolph, who, although he called himself the emperor, was in fact the emperor.

What he lacked in strength on horseback he made up for in speed. It was an option that was excluded when walking.

Although you can step on solid ground and swing with all your might, it does not give you the acceleration power of a horse.

This kind of practice was necessary when fighting knights on the ground or engaging in hand-to-hand combat with armed and determined men.

Just like we fought in Villach before. However, at that time, I only had to worry about one person in a narrow street, so it was a shame, but now I didn’t know how many people would be dealing with me at the same time.

There are countless tactics in the world, but there is nothing like beating them with numbers.

Enough to elicit the most brilliant praise on the battlefield: ‘You make fighting dirty.’

Therefore, it was necessary to learn skills that could be used when necessary. For example, a technique such as holding a blade and striking it with the handle.

Because a situation could arise that could not be overcome even with superconductivity-sword techniques that cut without resistance.

“… … .”

“Phew.”

-widely

I thought this was enough and put down my sword.

Lisia, who had been looking at me intently earlier, slowly approached me and said.

“You know I turned one year older today.”

“Is it already that time?”

“Yes, there hasn’t been any talk of marriage so far?”

Lisia used to ask questions like this these days. It wasn’t very often, but I asked about once a week.

“I’ve heard the story a few times.”

“… Then, what did you answer?”

“I said I wasn’t thinking about it for the time being.”

“… Heh.”

“I was the one who told you to wait in the first place, so I have to take responsibility.”

And when I answered like this, he smiled slightly and looked satisfied.

Recently, Lisia seemed to be in an unusually good mood. I knew very well what it was for.

“So, your age now is-”

“-Age.”

“… … .”

“Don’t lower your age, Raven… … . I’m just saying this just in case.”

Because there was only one topic that reacted so sensitively.

I thought it was a conversation I heard a lot about somewhere, but Priest Pippin… It felt like this. What on earth has he been fighting with me since I was young?

I stopped for a moment and looked at the back of Lisia as she led the way to the kitchen. It must have been about 5 years ago, but it seemed like it had passed in the blink of an eye, and it had grown so quickly.

Although I understood it in my head, it was inevitable that I felt awkward about that reality even when I saw it with my own eyes.

The time when I was raising children has already passed. The days of helping me by telling me what I needed were actually over by the time I entered college.

Things that cannot be learned in school, such as common sense and morals that are useful in living in the world.

As I was thinking about it, there was only one thought that came to mind.

‘Time flies so fast.’

Even when I told her that Lisia had grown up a lot now, she no longer showed any reaction.

This is not because it is a characteristic worthy of recognition by anyone, but because it was true even when viewed objectively.

Maybe that’s why my interest was gradually shifting to what I would do when I became an adult.

I fully responded to the interest and, as I mentioned earlier, I declined the requests for engagement that often came my way.

If you look at it as an opportunity, it was nothing special.

In the late fall of last year, while I was resting and rolling around for a while after the battle, Lisia ran up from behind.

Then he looked at the scroll rolling in front of me, then at my face, and asked:

“La-ben! What are you looking at?”

“Letters addressed to me.”

“Who wrote it? The Count of Canossa or something like that is all I can think of.”

It was reasonable to think so. I usually heard news from the south of the Alpine Mountains, including the Pope’s movements, through him.

But this time was a little different.

“Just a letter from a noble family asking if you are interested in getting engaged.”

“Yes… … ?”

From the moment power was questioned, the private and public spheres tended to become mixed.

The culmination of such mixing was marriage. It becomes such an event where the opponent is decided based on the needs of the family and the head of the household, regardless of the individual’s preferences.

The strength of Lisia, who wrapped her arms around my back, grew slightly stronger, but soon relaxed.

After that, we ended up talking about other topics without any nutritional value.

But it happened when I was about to go to bed at the end of the day.

Lisia, who had made it a habit to go to bed early, saying that she needs to go to bed early and wake up early to grow quickly, came in first and lay down in bed.

As I lay down next to him and was about to go to sleep, I heard Lisia’s words in a low whisper, like she was talking in her sleep.

“Promise… While doing it.”

“… … .”

“This Raven… Because it’s bad… … .”

The Licia I know was actually a thoughtful child, even though she seemed like she didn’t care.

It was a thought that had not changed even now that I had grown much older than when I picked it up from the ruins.

Anyway, I never really thought about marrying someone for political purposes.

Of course, if I had been the head of a long-established family, I might have been foaming at the mouth, but since I lived like an orphan at birth, there was no person called the head of the family.

The next morning, I woke up first and woke up Lisia and told her my thoughts.

Although I was wondering what I was dreaming about at the time or because I was drunk from the lingering sleep that never went away, there was an attempt as if he was holding both of my hands and pressing them with force.

“Now… Because I can’t help it.”

-Kwaak

“Did you have a nightmare?”

“Ack… Mong?”

Even in a half-asleep state, the girl, whose strength had been strengthened by magic, was calmed down well.

So, after being reassured, the situation is now.

Although I kept getting a subtle yet uneasy feeling that I was missing something.

“Hehe… … .”

“… Yes, as long as you like it.”

When I saw a girl who purely said she liked her, I thought it was an illusion.

This is why I thought there were no parents who could beat their children.

*****

Children should not defeat their parents.

This was a threat to the family’s existence before it was a question of morality.

As Conrad began to contact various nobles and creep into control of the army, Henry had a hunch:

Ah, this guy is trying to start a rebellion now. They are trying to dig into the cracks in the authority that has been damaged thanks to the Pope.

So, when he raised the club he had used to beat up nobles and gave notice, Conrad jumped up exaggeratedly like a cat seeing a cucumber and struck the player in a bewildered tone.

“How could I do something like that, father?”

“Hmm… I’ll let it pass for now. Just don’t forget that I’m watching.”

“Anyway, is there any?”

“No matter how you look at it, it looks suspicious… … .”

The idea that children succeed their parents by force was not a particularly unfamiliar concept. Rather, it was closer to a tradition with a long history.

However, the problem was that it was not anyone else, but the successor himself. It hasn’t been a day or two since the imperial family’s behavior has changed beyond words, but at least nothing this bizarre has happened in the past.

Heinrich honestly didn’t understand. If you just wait quietly, the throne will come into your hands on its own, so why bother scraping it and making a mess?

Anyone else would have spent their childhood playing a lot of mafia games with their siblings.

But having other thoughts… It could only be seen that the imperial family’s discipline had become loose due to the absence of competitors. Therefore, Heinrich came to the conclusion that measures were needed to create tension.

‘Heine is still too young and has no power. In the end, do I have to trample it myself?’

Ironically, it was the civil war initiated by Rudolph that put aside the worries of spending his days wondering whether or not to bring discipline to his family.

Since his position as emperor and the immediate prince was at stake, Conrad had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

Thanks to the time I gained, I was able to prepare to set the trap in advance.

So, as soon as I sent the threatening letter to Heine, I was able to drag my son away.

“Are you saying you are going with your father?”

“Yes. Shouldn’t we discuss future plans and talk about after the war?”

“Haona… … .”

“I heard you sent a letter to Heine. Would you like me to read the content yourself?”

Although he tried hard to persuade him, Conrad showed faint dissatisfaction.

Heinrich decided to wait and see for now.

‘If you had listened to the warning, you would have taken care of it yourself.’

If not, then you will have to personally discipline them again to see who has the upper hand.

Even if it means using somewhat drastic measures.

So, we spent about 4 months so close together that I wondered if I had ever lived with a father and son like this in my life.

Spring was just around the corner.

I did as much as I could.

I held on to Conrad well throughout the winter so that Heine, who was a latecomer, could progress well. All that remained was to evaluate the performance.

“It’s almost time.”

“Your Majesty, that means… … !”

“Make sure you send a letter to everyone. The place is… Here, to Elster.”

The weather was getting warmer, and the army, which had been melting down like a mountain camp, was roughly rebuilt.

The news that the rest was over spread widely through the mouths of messengers and merchants.

Heine wandered around the empire with his knights.

Rudolph managed to complete the favorability strategy by capturing the nobles all winter.

Even Heinrich, who had an intimate time with father and son.

Everyone gathered at Elster Plain.