How a Second Life Knight Lives

40. Who could have interfered with your plan?

Patson’s barony is one of the three baronies bordering Count Kalmar’s territory.

The Dalaben River, which crosses one-third of the Holy Marsholm Empire and ends at Count Kalmar’s territory, only slightly touches Patson’s barony for a very short section, so it doesn’t mean much to Baron Patson.

However, a significant portion of the Salt Road, which ends at the beginning of the Lund Mountains, passes through Patson’s barony.

A vast amount of cash and goods pass through Patson’s barony.

Where money flows, people flow.

Count Kalmar’s territory and Patson’s barony have naturally shared a deep relationship for a long time. Marriages and financial transactions between the influential people of both territories, as well as among commoners, were as common as if they belonged to the same territory.

So the looting and destruction committed by Baron Patson was a great shock to the people of Count Kalmar’s territory.

It was the same for the villages located not far from the looted village.

“Since it’s a neighboring village, there are quite a few relatives between us. Among the vigilantes who died this time, one of them is my cousin.”

One of the guides who had been waiting clicked his tongue and shook his head.

It was a gesture that showed he really didn’t like it.

“And according to what the relatives said, there are a few people who have disappeared. We don’t know if they were taken away or killed in some secluded place where we can’t find them. It’s not like they’re giving us false hope.”

So they stepped forward, hoping to find any traces of the missing people.

He was a peddler who regularly traveled back and forth from the city of Kalmar to the village of Seongha in the Patson Barony, selling various goods.

He mainly received items such as combs, mirrors, and cosmetics from the workshops in the city of Kalmar, took them to the regular market in the village of Seongha located below the lord’s castle, and sold the remaining items while traveling around nearby villages.

The person waiting with him was a licensed hunter who often crossed the border of the Patson Barony. Of course, it was illegal, but people living near the border of both territories seemed to turn a blind eye to each other.

They were all people who were familiar with the geography of the Patson Barony and had reliable physical strength.

What about loyalty?

Well, you can’t read people’s minds, so how can you trust them? But instead, you can trust the generous upfront payment and the promised success reward, right?

After preparing to transport Baron Patson, I led the guides and three knights who came with me and crossed the border of the Patson Barony.

At first, the hunter guided us.

After traveling quickly along the mountain path known only to the hunter for three days, we arrived at a place where we could see the lord’s castle in the distance.

Next, the peddler took over.

With his guidance, we were able to approach near the lord’s castle without any problems.

It was a splendid and large lord’s castle that didn’t seem to fit the Patson Barony.

It was so large that a first-time visitor might get lost.

With that size, it would be impossible to build and maintain with the typical income of a baron.

They say the profits from the salt road over several generations were enormous.

So, they might have gotten bold.

I checked the map and documents that Master Johan had handed over once again.

They were several well-organized floor plans that allowed us to see at a glance the structure of Baron Patson’s lord’s castle.

There were also documents summarizing the places Baron Patson mainly used, such as his residence, office, and hobby spaces.

Looking at these, it was clear that the Kalmar Count’s family was a historically and traditionally powerful family. This is not something that can be done with just a few years of investment.

There must be someone among the baron’s servants who is connected to the Kalmar Count’s family.

While the guides were assembling the tools to be used for the escape, I confirmed our tasks with the knights one last time.

“As planned, I will enter the lord’s castle alone and come out. I will set a fire when I come out, so follow the pre-arranged plan accordingly. If it gets noisy without a fire, consider that I have failed and retreat to the designated place and wait for my return. If I don’t come after a day, consider that I have failed to return and go back to the count’s territory without any regrets.”

The knights all indicated that they understood.

At first, the knights vehemently opposed the idea of me entering the lord’s castle alone, but after showing my skills once and convincing them that it was better for one person to sneak around, they reluctantly agreed.

If I succeed, they will take care of the remaining sentries and secure the escape route.

To prevent noise, I wore shoes with deerskin soles and changed into tight-fitting clothes.

I organized two sets of twelve throwing daggers into dedicated leather sheaths, one strapped to my thigh and the other to my arm.

Then, I secured five close-combat daggers all over my body.

With this, all preparations were complete.

It’s time to go.

Perhaps because of the impending war, the soldiers’ vigilance was more diligent than expected. This means they weren’t getting drunk and sleeping in unseen places.

But that was all.

The characteristic loose and slack atmosphere of the rear was inevitable.

In fact, it’s not hard to understand since the war hasn’t started yet.

It’s rather surprising that they managed to maintain this level of discipline by pushing the soldiers.

I moved along the shadows of buildings and walls.

The burning bonfires and flickering shadows under the moonlight seemed to belong to a different world from mine in the darkness.

Only the faint noise when I climbed the wall intermittently connected the two worlds.

Hanging from the third-floor window, I gently pulled the wooden shutter and inserted a dagger to unlock it.

Then, like a snake, I slipped inside along the window frame.

My night vision had certainly improved.

On a night with a half-moon, even an ordinary person could manage outside, but not indoors.

However, I felt no discomfort. Although it’s incomparable to night vision goggles, this level was enough to move and fight without much inconvenience.

I learned another thing about what it means to use the body’s abilities to the fullest.

The room I entered was empty.

A few pieces of furniture were neatly arranged and well-maintained, but there was no one there.

The minimap also showed no one, but I was always cautious and prepared for any eventuality.

I tied an escape rope to the window and prepared to descend.

If I were alone, jumping from this height wouldn’t be a problem, but considering I had to carry another person, I needed to secure a proper escape route.

If I had to go out somewhere else, I might have to roughly estimate the weight and throw Baron Patson.

That entirely depended on Baron Patson’s weight.

The guards were gathered at the mansion’s entrance and the stairway entrance.

There were guards in the corridors on the second and first floors, but only two people were guarding the entrance to the bedroom on the third floor.

Fortunately.

If there was no one in the bedroom, I would have had to search the entire mansion to find the baron, but I saved myself the trouble.

But there’s one more person in the bedroom?

I heard that Baron Patson hasn’t officially remarried since his injury, so is he with a lover?

I turned off the minimap and walked out into the hallway.

Then I slowly walked 30 meters to the first target.

The shoes with deerskin soles made no noise.

The ones guarding Baron Patson at the bedroom entrance were two knights.

They weren’t fully armored, but they were properly equipped with armor, including helmets, and they were all armed.

But that wasn’t enough.

Seeing me suddenly appear from one side of the hallway, the knights’ eyes widened as they reached for their weapons, and I threw daggers at them in quick succession.

A properly thrown dagger can fly 200 meters.

The impact hit their faces, and the result was obvious.

The two knights, hit in the middle of their faces, collapsed almost simultaneously.

Instant death.

The metal armor made a loud noise as it hit the wooden floor.

With that sound, I broke down the door and entered the bedroom.

There were two people inside.

One was a slightly chubby man with a broad, round face,

And the other was a person wearing a black robe and hood.

That broad-faced guy must be Baron Patson,

Then who is this guy?

He’s not a lover, but some suspicious guy?

*

Baron Patson had a headache.

This was definitely not the original plan!

The Patson barony had always been part of the Maximilian duchy’s faction.

Of course, there was the Kalmar count’s family right next to them, but they always declared that they would never join any faction.

And it was dangerous to get close to them.

The Patson barony relied too much on the Kalmar count’s territory.

That place was where cash, salt, and goods flowed all year round.

It was a different kind of land from the Patson Barony, which felt a brief abundance in the fall after a year’s farming.

For the people of the Patson Barony, it was common sense to go to Kalmar City for day labor if they needed cash.

Therefore, the heads of the Patson Barony had deliberately kept a proper distance from the Count of Kalmar, fearing the possibility of losing their independence and being devoured.

However, it has been ten years since the emperor vacated the throne,

Common sense was no longer common sense.

Duke Maximilian tried to bring the Count of Kalmar into his faction, but when his intentions did not work, he turned to pressure, and the Patson Barony acted as his enforcer.

Of course, the Patson Barony had its own intentions.

Their plan was to pressure the Count of Kalmar with the backing of Duke Maximilian to forge a marriage alliance.

However, the plan they initially devised had already gone so awry that it was unrecognizable.

When he lost his wife and suggested a marriage alliance, Master Johan flew into a rage, threatening to kill him, and only his dignity was damaged.

Was the timing bad?

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The plan to create chaos along the Dalraven River by using Kaal also failed.

He was confident that once Kaal was in place, everything would roll on its own without further intervention, but it was suppressed before the snowball even started rolling.

Even though they had manipulated things from behind!

And what about the bandits who plundered the caravans off the Salt Road?

Why would they leave their own backyard to do something crazy like jumping onto the Salt Road?

Did someone order them to do it?

Even the knights and soldiers of the territory got involved, and the whole world knew who was doing what.

Now, the act of plundering caravans on the Salt Road was over.

At the same time, the relationship with the Count of Kalmar was also over.

It was clear that the Count of Kalmar would soon invade.

There was no way to win, so it seemed inevitable to pay a huge indemnity.

Moreover, Duke Maximilian wanted to win the favor of the Count of Kalmar more than he wanted to mediate.

Coincidentally, several influential figures in Kalmar, who were close to the Duke of Glen’s faction, had fallen from power, and Duke Maximilian began to have high expectations.

Thanks to this, even if Duke Maximilian mediated, it was obvious that a biased mediation plan would come out, as clear as day, leading to a huge indemnity after losing the territorial war.

Always being discreet,

Being so cautious as to be considered sly,

Planning and managing the territory with long-term benefits in mind rather than immediate gains,

At some point, when he came to his senses,

Everything was in a complete mess.

Was someone following his plan and interfering?

It felt like he was possessed by something.

That’s when they approached.