A Knight Who Protects His Enemies Chapter 6

Pre

Chapter 6

The guards halted me in front of a long, rectangular stone building.

Was it called the Penal Unit?

Sure enough, the place where they stayed gave off the impression of a massive prison.

The barracks of the Penal Unit were not far from the castle.

Considering we’d be summoned here and there from time to time, I suppose that was at least something good.

“This place used to be an armory,” Scholar Crellin said as he guided me.

“As you know, Rondor was once powerful. This armory was packed with weapons. Of course, those weapons are now buried in the muddy fields of various battlefields.”

Since it was easy to guess which family had buried Rondor’s weapons, I wondered if Scholar Crellin was saying this to hint at me... but judging by his expression, I felt no malice.

“Thinking about how to utilize the empty space, well, I thought having a Penal Unit would solve all problems.”

As he spoke, Scholar Crellin puffed out his chest proudly. This man, who seemed about forty, had eyes full of passion.

“After the men of Roctana were massacred and the crime rate soared, we were already in a difficult situation regarding petty criminals... By putting the criminals into the Penal Unit and making them work, we could punish them and solve troublesome problems—a clever strategy.”

“...You established the Penal Unit?”

“That’s right. It came from my head... Ah.”

He belatedly noticed my gaze and swallowed his words.

We maintained silence in an awkward atmosphere.

Anyway, as expected from the name ‘Penal Unit,’ I seemed to be entering a den of criminals.

Since there were plenty of enemies in Roctana anyway, it might not be much different, but still, the thought of living with such scoundrels made me feel repulsed.

Would anyone have thought that I, the eldest son of a great northern family, would be sharing rooms with criminals?

What a strange fate.

I missed my mother.

Following the guards’ guidance, I entered the building of the Penal Unit.

As soon as the door opened, the stench of men hit me.

A curse naturally escaped my lips.

Inside, there was a small makeshift space.

A soldier who had been sitting there, chatting with his comrades, stood up and saluted.

“Scholar Crellin, what brings you here...?”

“Under Lady Vivian’s orders, I’ve come to introduce your new brother.”

The soldier scanned my black hair and black eyes and quickly grasped my identity.

“...Kylo Allen?”

“Is Sir Burger here?”

“Ah, yes. Shall I guide you?”

“I would appreciate it if you could.”

The guards who had escorted me here turned and left, and now I was being guided by the soldiers of the Penal Unit.

As we walked, Scholar Crellin continued his explanation.

“The Penal Unit is divided into two groups: the Penal Unit that you will join, and the Surveillance Unit that watches over the Penal Unit to prevent them from escaping or committing crimes. The Surveillance Unit consists of knights or squires preparing to become knights. They’re good at fighting.”

“...”

“Think of it as a slightly different form of criminals and jailers. Accordingly, the Penal Unit’s freedom is restricted. They can’t go out as they please.”

“...”

“Ah, of course, Kylo, you will be different. Since you are Lady Vivian’s escort, you can go here and there as you wish—”

“—I know.”

Whether he was teasing me or not, I was getting annoyed at Scholar Crellin’s words, which kept rubbing my reality in my face.

“...I’ll find out on my own, so please be quiet.”

“Ah...! Yes.”

Fortunately, Scholar Crellin immediately agreed and bowed his head.

He seemed to be a timid and tactless person. He might not have any malice, but he was the kind of person who was bothersome to be around.

Before long, we stopped in front of a room. Scholar Crellin lightly knocked on the door and entered.

“Sir Burger.”

“Scholar Crellin, what brings you here...?”

The man called Sir Burger was as big as a bear.

He was shorter than my father but much broader.

Not only was he wide on both sides, but he was also thick from front to back, making me feel like I was facing a giant log.

His head was bald, and his face was full of scars—the face of someone who had fought in numerous wars.

He, too, immediately recognized my identity upon seeing my black hair and black eyes.

“...Kylo Allen, is it? Are we to be in charge of you?”

As Sir Burger asked, a faint smile appeared on his face.

“It’s Lady Vivian’s order.”

“Lady Vivian... She is wise. There is no place more suitable for the eldest son of the Unbeaten Knight than here.”

Thud, thud—Sir Burger approached me, shaking the ground.

As he got closer, he felt even larger.

Scholar Crellin introduced Sir Burger to me.

“This is Sir Burger. He is the commander of the Penal Unit and also the commander of the Surveillance Unit. You can think of him as the overall head of the Penal Unit’s knights.”

“...”

It was a moment where I should have greeted him, but I kept my head held high.

I couldn’t bow my head to someone who had gone to war against the Allen family.

Sir Burger looked at me and spoke.

“Your eyes... they’re alive. It’s like facing a young Jade Allen. I guess blood doesn’t lie?”

“...”

“Your new brothers are going to love you, Kylo Allen.”

“Brothers? What brothers... we’re of different birth.”

“Do criminals care about birth?”

“I didn’t commit any crimes to end up here.”

Scholar Crellin warned Sir Burger, who seemed excited.

“Sir Burger, be cautious. Kylo Allen is a guest of Rondor. If anything happens to him...”

“...I know. Jade Allen would come running, right? Don’t worry; I have my own plans.”

The mess hall of the Penal Unit was filled with commotion.

Curses and scuffles echoed everywhere.

The sour smell and the damp air were a bonus.

I followed Sir Burger into a place devoid of any dignity.

Long tables were lined up, and people sat like cockroaches, gnawing at their meals.

The dining hall was divided into two areas: on one side sat grimy and dirty men, and on the other were cleaner people with red bands around their arms.

As Crellin had said, one side was the Penal Unit and the other was the Surveillance Unit.

Numerically, there seemed to be about one member of the Surveillance Unit for every three in the Penal Unit.

Just counting the people in the dining hall, it was a unit composed of about 200 people.

“Attention!”

—Smack!

“What the—! Ah, Burger...”

Burger knocked over the bowls of the men who were enjoying their meals, creating a small space on the wooden table.

—Thud!

Then he climbed onto the table with his muddy boots and pulled me up.

The eyes of about 200 people focused on me.

“You know who this is, right?”

Burger said as he lifted a few strands of my black hair.

“He’s the new brother of the Penal Unit. Welcome him with love.”

Only silence responded to him.

The once noisy dining hall became so quiet you could hear a fly buzzing.

The only thing breaking the silence was Burger chuckling beside me.

Swallowing my fear, I met the gazes directed at me.

Not a single one looked like they would welcome me with love.

I clenched my teeth and thought.

Vivian Rondor.

...That damned woman.

****

A few days passed.

Vivian Rondor was sitting by the window again today, gazing outside.

An everyday routine of sitting blankly and letting time pass.

Often, when she came to her senses, tears were streaming down her cheeks, or it was suddenly night.

Normally, she would visit her ailing mother and spend the day there, but...

...Now that her mother had passed away, she didn’t know what to do.

When she sat alone in the quiet room, loneliness frequently found Vivian.

Every time she realized that her respected father, dependable brother, and beloved mother were truly no longer in this world, she felt an unbearable fear.

Even though her father and brother’s deaths were two years ago... they felt as vivid as if it were yesterday.

Then, just how much time must pass for her to accept her mother’s death?

When would she truly feel that she was left alone in this world?

She didn’t know whom to rely on when times were tough.

Her uncle, Robert Rondor?

Head butler Pippin?

Treasurer Brynden?

First Knight Commander, Sir Baelor?

Intelligence Officer Nestor?

Or should she trust the viscounts and marquises who swore loyalty to Rondor?

But for that...

“...”

Vivian Rondor remembered all of them from her mother’s funeral.

She had clearly seen the strange greed and desire flickering in their eyes.

She also recalled those who erupted in anger when she declared she would forbid a regency, per her mother’s last wishes.

Their gazes had been utterly terrifying.

Hadn’t her mother warned her? Not to trust the vassals completely. That loyalty without compensation is a fictitious concept, and that she must govern them through benefits and profit.

...But how?

For Vivian Rondor, it was an exceedingly difficult task.

There was no trustworthy adult by her side to teach her how.

“...”

When Vivian came to her senses, she realized both her hands were trembling.

At her own foolish state, tears welled up and burst forth.

She stammered like an idiot and couldn’t even move her body as she wished.

How could someone like her possibly govern this vast territory and lead her family?

She felt so hopeless and suffocated that she couldn’t breathe.

She needed her family.

She desperately craved someone she could lean on and embrace.

Her sorrow soon turned into anger.

Vivian gritted her teeth.

...It’s all because of the Allen family.

If only they didn’t exist, she would still be spending happy days in the arms of her family.

There would be no starving subjects staring holes through her, no vassals sizing her up from head to toe, and no crushing pressure weighing down on her.

...It was to the point where she wondered if dying might be better than this.

Her family members were all meeting together in heaven without her.

Maybe it would be better for her to join them.

‘You must live, somehow, Vivian. Somehow...’

Her dying mother’s words echoed in her mind... but she had always been a child who didn’t listen well to her mother.

Should she, just once more, not follow her mother’s words?

-Knock, knock.

‘Lady Vivian, it’s Pippin. Madam Linne has arrived.’

Madam Linne.

She was the mistress of the Rommer family, who would be in charge of her education.

She was also her mother’s wet nurse. Her mother had learned various things from Linne Rommer—manners, etiquette, politics, and more.

Vivian quickly blinked away her tears and replied.

“Pl-please, let her in.”

-Creak.

Madam Linne entered the room and gave a brief greeting.

“It’s been a while, Lady Vivian.”

White hair and deeply etched wrinkles showed her age. Yet her back was still straight, and her spirit seemed unbreakable.

“Y-yes... yes.”

Why had she forgotten?

Madam Linne was the very person her mother had relied on.

As soon as she saw her, Vivian felt her uneasy heart melt away.

Just as her mother had, she could rely on Madam Linne.

“Have you... mourned enough?”

Madam Linne asked gently.

“Ah... no.”

At Vivian’s honest reply, Madam Linne nodded with a bitter expression.

“I feel the same way. For the Duchess, whom I’ve known since she was a nursing infant, to leave like that... No matter how much I mourn, the pain doesn’t go away.”

“...I-it’s all because of the Allen family. After losing Father and Brother, she became ill at heart...”

“...”

As if she didn’t hear her words, Madam Linne took a deep breath, lifted her head, and said,

“But Lady Vivian, you cannot continue like this forever.”

“Yes?”

“You are now the head of Rondor and the lord of Roctana. I hear that when you opposed appointing a regent, there was some backlash from the vassals... I’m concerned. You need to grow up quickly. It seems we don’t have much time.”

“Y-yes... yes? I... Wh-what do you mean...?”

-Clap! Clap!

When Madam Linne clapped her hands twice, the door opened, and several people streamed in.

“These are the tutors who will be responsible for your education until you come of age, Lady Vivian. Economics lessons, history lessons, music lessons, etiquette lessons, social dancing, and so on. You will have to learn many things in a short period. We’ll ensure you have appropriate breaks, so don’t worry too much.”

Vivian stared blankly at the people who had entered her room.

Isn’t this too much, no matter how you look at it...? It hasn’t even been five days since her mother passed away.

The pain is still too fresh to focus on anything.

While she was at a loss for words and couldn’t respond, Madam Linne pulled something out from her waist.

It was a long iron rod.

“Lady Vivian, the Duchess of Rondor asked me to teach you strictly. You will be taking regular tests, and if you do not meet the standards, there will be punishment. The same applies if you utter weak words.”

Madam Linne approached Vivian one step at a time.

Vivian didn’t understand why she felt suffocated again.

She had believed that Madam Linne was someone she could rely on emotionally... Was that a mistake?

She would be punished for uttering weak words… what on earth did that mean?

Madam Linne, now right in front of her, spoke.

“And I plan to correct your manner of speaking, Lady Vivian. Stuttering... really makes you look bad.”

“B-but I, I—”

-Smack!!

“Ah!”

At the blinding pain, Vivian recoiled.

“...What?”

It took Vivian some time to comprehend what had just happened.