Rising Shadows: The Fight for Freedom I

Chapter 14: Under Noble Duty

As a noble with a fief, the foremost duty is to protect the subjects within his territory and ensure the safety of his lands. Based on this principle, when faced with an external invasion, a noble must never evade or retreat, nor can he use any excuse to abandon his fief. To do so would be to forsake his obligations and lose the fundamental values of nobility!

If a noble were to act in such a manner, even if the king did not punish him, he would be forever disgraced among the noble class, unable to hold his head high. A noble stripped of honor is, at best, merely a figure with a mocking title!

Viscount Norman's fief lies within Rutania. If the orcs invade, the viscount, even if he does not actively arm himself to participate in the war against the orcs, will undoubtedly be summoned by the provincial governor to serve as a member of the provincial defense forces!

However, if there is a special appointment from the provincial governor, that changes everything!

It must be so; my father has given Viscount Norman an excuse to leave Rutania, and this coward has seized the opportunity to relocate his entire household. I can be certain that this Viscount Norman will never return to Rutania again! What a coward! How strange that my father would grant such an opportunity to someone like him!

The commotion caused by the orcs on the Naglan Prairie this time will surely be significant; otherwise, my father wouldn't have arranged for me to study at the capital's Magic and Martial Academy! Just how much trouble will the orcs cause this time? These detestable beasts come to plunder every year; it's truly infuriating... With Rutania's high and thick walls, those barbaric orcs should find it impossible to gain any advantage!

In this rare moment of serious contemplation, the carriage Dahn was in traveled further and further away, distancing him from his home...

Each day began with an early start, resting for one to two hours at noon, and by afternoon, the entire convoy would halt to camp before sunset. During this monotonous journey, Dahn passed through village after village and town after town, finally exiting the Rutania province on the fifth day.

"Too slow, it's just too slow! At this rate, we'll take at least a month to reach the capital, Beneto!" After yet another brief midday rest, Barb complained. In just a few days, the previously enthusiastic chubby boy had lost all his vigor, appearing utterly fatigued and dispirited.

"A month!? Barb, either your tutor has failed to teach you geography and culture properly, or you simply weren't paying attention!" Dahn, equally lacking in energy, lifted his head to give Barb a disdainful look before responding languidly.

"Isn't it a month? How much longer do we have to go!?" Barb asked, hopeful for a definitive answer to escape this ordeal.

"At our current pace, we should have about seventeen or eighteen days left!" After a brief estimation of the convoy's speed and recalling the maps he had seen, Dahn provided a rough estimate.

"Seventeen days!? That's still so long! This pace is just too slow!" Both Barb and Ranjilo sighed in frustration. As the pampered son of a Rutania official, Ranjilo was equally suffering from the bumps of the journey.

"Slow!? Not at all! We are far superior to those travelers who rely solely on foot. If you ask me, we cover at least sixty miles a day, while on foot, they would manage at most half that distance!" Dahn spoke confidently, his spirits lifting as he unexpectedly found himself in a position to speak on travel and camping.

"Sixty miles? We only travel sixty miles a day! And you still say that's not slow, Dahn!?" Both friends sat up, their eyes wide with disbelief, "You must know that when hunting in the outskirts of Rutania, my mount can cover that distance in just an hour, and now we only..."

"Fool! That was hunting, with no gear, just a bow and a sword! If you had a tenth-tier mage skilled in spatial magic with you, you could zip across space and arrive in Beneto in an instant!"

"And now? We are burdened with a massive amount of luggage! Let me calculate; just your two sets of clothes alone must fill six carts!" Dahn remarked, glancing at his two friends.

"Well... you brought no less luggage than we did! Hmph!" After a moment's pause, the two noble youths slumped back lazily.

Crossing the border of Rutania, the large convoy Dahn was part of entered the Ditlan province, another region of the Kingdom of Bailins that borders the Naglan Prairie. However, unlike Rutania, which is surrounded on three sides by the Naglan Prairie, Ditlan only faces the threat of the prairie orcs from the northwest, while the province of Madvina, located to the southeast of Rutania, only borders the Naglan Prairie to the northeast.

Due to facing threats from only one direction, Ditlan's population is significantly larger than that of Rutania, and its prosperity and number of towns far exceed those of Rutania.

Thus, when Viscount Norman's large convoy entered Ditlan, it passed through two sizable towns in just half a day. That night, Dahn, Barb, and Ranjilo finally had the luxury of not having to sleep in the carriage.

The feeling of a proper bed was delightful! As they resumed their journey the next morning, Dahn, having regained much of his energy, thought to himself. By the third day, Dahn and his two friends were filled with the spirit of adventure, eager to explore and indulge in mischief!

A loud whistle pierced the air, followed by another. Leaning out of the carriage window, Dahn spotted a graceful figure in the distance, his face alight with excitement and anticipation, while Ranjilo and Barb watched the young woman with mischievous grins.

The object of the noble youths' attention was a girl of around fifteen, seated sideways on a sturdy horse, tightly embracing the waist of a burly man in front of her, glaring fiercely at the noble youths who were staring at her with impudence.

The young men, on their way to enlist, were merely two commoners who had encountered the convoy at a fork in the road, accompanied by several robust men armed with weapons. After a brief inquiry from the viscount's servants, the noble youths learned that these chance travelers were new recruits for the Ditlan province.

However, the noble youths' focus was not on the men heading to the military camp but rather fixated on the only young beauty among the commoners, the sole flower they had encountered on their journey.

"Oh, great supreme deity above, surely my piety has moved the divine, sending me a flower to brighten my lonely journey..." Ranjilo was the first to notice the girl, and that was his immediate reaction.

"Bah! A man who has already seduced two maidservants should not utter the word 'piety' in my presence; that is an insult to my purity!" Dahn retorted, unapologetically taking the best vantage point and immediately directing his gaze toward the flower Ranjilo had mentioned.

"Hey, Dahn, should we go for a ride, just like we did in Rutania!?" The chubby boy suggested, whistling as he admired the fiery rose.

"Good idea!" Dahn readily agreed, and three minutes later, the three noble youths were mounted on their fine steeds, galloping freely around the rose.

"Damn nobles! Don't they have anything better to do!?"

Watching the three arrogant youths, the young men heading to enlist clenched their fists in anger. However, considering that the trio were clearly just boys and nobles at that, and that their behavior, while brazen, did not constitute any real provocation, the future soldiers had no choice but to suppress their fury.

Yet, not becoming the protectors of the flower did not mean the young men would allow the three noble brats to continue flaunting themselves in their sight. Soon, with the sharp crack of whips, the alluring rose was left far behind as the galloping horses sped away from Dahn and his companions.