NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 45
Episode 45: Knight, Persuade the Mercenary
“Lord Raoul, explain yourself. What was the meaning of your behavior just now? Are you looking down on me?”
The mercenary, gripping his sword which dripped blood with a splat-splat sound, approached step by step.
The murderous intent that pierced through his heart was of an intensity that bore no comparison to what was shown at Angila’s gateway. Even Raoul, who had survived countless battles, exuded cold sweat down his spine at its potent ferocity. It was as if it was proclaiming, ‘I’ll kill you if you give me a poor excuse,’ freezing even Renald and the apprentices who had just stepped out of the carriage.
This man—this person—has killed others.
And quite a number at that. An incalculable number.
It’s abnormal, even for a mercenary. ..!
Raoul judged that allowing him to come any closer would be dangerous and stood before Renald, holding his spear.
“… Lord Cross, please calm down. What is this sudden outburst? We have no intention of belittling you. To start with, would you at least sheathe your sword?”
“That’s… that’s right. We don’t understand the reason for your anger. What exactly was wrong with the behavior from earlier—?”
We approached him with respect, based on the warning we received from Saria. We even trusted him after witnessing his capabilities. There is absolutely no reason for him to direct hostility towards us.
“Are you seriously just chatting away here with the enemy approaching? If you’re going to feign ignorance, it ends here. I’ll withdraw from this commission. I’ll leave the horse behind, so you can do as you please from here on.”
Cross wiped the blood off his sword and began to march back along the route he came.
“Lord Cross, please wait! There must be some great misunderstanding!”
“W-we never intended to insult you in any way! Please forgive us!”
The apprentices stood in Cross’ path, attempting desperate persuasion. Considering the distance to Navar, it was completely unimaginable that they could make it through the rest of the journey alone. His leaving would mean the mission’s failure.
“You’re not the ones I’m talking to. It’s those two over there. Trying to test a man in the heat of battle is extremely disrespectful. A guard who has no intention of protecting, and a protected subject who expects no such thing—it’s a farce I don’t intend to keep company with.”
Cross tried to push past the apprentices and move forward, but he stopped in his tracks when he heard a solemn voice from behind.
“Lord Cross, I implore you, please listen.”
“Master! Please stop! Such a thing—!”
Turning back, there was the lord, prostrating face-down on the ground—an unthinkable act for a noble. Pina tried to stop him by gripping his shoulders, but he remained bowed, unmoving.
All eyes in the scene were drawn to Renald.
“As a member of the Angila family, I have a duty to reach Navar no matter what. Your strength is necessary for the journey ahead. Please—!”
“……………………”
Whether moved by the sincerity of the desperate gesture, Cross paused for a few seconds before letting out a heavy sigh.
“I don’t know much about the nobility of this country, but whether noble or not, men don’t lightly lower their heads without reason. …… I accept your apology. However, whether I continue with the commission or not depends on your explanation.”
……………………
Cross’s murderous intent dissipated, and he was seated in a chair. Raoul then explained that there had been no intent to test him or insult him.
“Weren’t you just hearing bad things about me from some little girl at the mercenary guild?”
Though Raoul felt he had conveyed his sincere truth, Cross still maintained a suspicious expression.
“No, from Lady Saria—”
It would be foolish to hide anything and risk aggravating him further. The apprentices laid out, without any concealments, the entirety of the warning they received from Saria.
“There may be some omissions… but overall, what you say doesn’t contradict the facts.”
Cross had planned to head straight to the northern battlefield after this task to claim Saria’s head, without returning to Angila, but he agreed to reconsider his decision.
“However, I still don’t understand. Lord Raoul, surely someone of your standing wouldn’t flinch against enemies like that. Why were you so alarmed?”
“Ah… that’s…”
At Raoul’s hesitance, Renald took over the conversation.
“Lord Cross, this concerns a family secret as well, so allow me to explain.”
What Renald recounted was a background story not known to the public—a truth that was almost a disgrace to the nobility.
In the Pharas Kingdom, it has long been believed that magical talent is a blessing from the gods. Over time, this belief has been distorted to imply that ‘the strength of magic reflects how much one is loved by the gods.’
And now, among the royal and noble elite, a close-to-elitist ideology predominates—that ‘a noble’s rank is determined by his divine-gifted magical talent.’ This trend is particularly pronounced among land-owning nobility who safeguard the country’s borders. Those without magical talent are mocked as failures and even branded as unworthy nobles.
In the midst of this, Renald, who was born into the renowned Angila family, lacked any magical aptitude unlike his other siblings. After his age-appropriate testing at the church, he was given Pina, a beast-person slave child who worked as a maid, as his caretaker, while his parents and siblings treated him as if he didn’t exist at all.
Though he was never physically abused, the words directed at him from family members consistently carried indifference and disdain. As his brothers attended the Noble Academy, Renald alone was secluded within the mansion under the tutelage of a private instructor, rarely allowed to venture outside. Gradually, his presence began to fade from the memories of the surrounding nobility and the residents of Angila.
Looking back, one might say he never even lived a life. It was that deplorable. The mere act of living grew unbearable.
Around the time Renald reached adulthood at fifteen, Raoul was assigned to guard him.
Raoul was renowned as the captain of the knight squadron, wielding powerful physical enhancement miracles in battle. But one day, his magic disappeared. This condition, known as ‘magic loss disease,’ a supposedly incurable ailment among magicians, is called the ‘illness of those who have lost divine favor due to acts of desecration.’
Even after losing his magic, Raoul attempted to fulfill his duties as captain. Yet strangely, as soon as his magic was gone, he found himself unable to move properly, his body freezing, his mind dulling at the sight of enemies. The famed warrior, once known for his invincible nature, began hesitating even before a meager handful of enemies.
The fallen hero was ridiculed by other noble families and knights. Unable to endure the disdain, Raoul resigned from his post as captain and offered to abdicate his knighthood, but the lord, seeing this as bad publicity, reassigned him to Renald instead.
Since that day, he was told to assist in the administration because he had a guardian. And so he was given various dirty tasks to handle. The trio traveled far and wide, facing numerous dangers. Despite Raoul’s desperate pleas for more reinforcements, the lord grudgingly supplied only two young squire apprentices.
……………………
“Therefore, it’s not even a question of intending to be protected. I view myself… as someone not worth risking another’s life to protect.”
Renald, with a somewhat despondent demeanor, debased himself while Pina, by his side, silently shed tears. He had been disparaged for years, and his heart had hardened to the point where he no longer suffered from its cruelty.
“I depended too much on magic it seems. Losing my magical power led to losing my position and even my confidence. I can no longer move properly, and I have developed the habit of overthinking every time something happens. It’s not unjustifiable for you to think I’m slacking.”
Raoul’s face held a self-deprecating smile. No matter how much he tries to conduct himself as a knight in front of others, he knows he has become a hollow relic, a man who embarrasses himself in public. Occasionally, he catches himself clinging to the shadows of past glories and sinks into self-loathing so deep he wants to die.
“……………………”
The apprentices, who had been silently listening from the rear, were left speechless. They had served Renald and learned from Raoul solely because their fathers told them to, knowing nothing of their situations.
They never questioned their circumstances. They were too preoccupied with their own training and never once considered the positions of their lord or mentor. Filled with inexplicable guilt and shame for their shortsightedness, the two could not lift their eyes, remaining lost for words.