Tale Of A Knight

"Apparently you do, bro"

"Shut up Blue! Now is a horrible time for you to have a conversation with me!"

"So you want to keep me a secret?"

"Yes, at least from her"

"I understand"

"Thank you!" Bakit muttered with a tone full of irritation.

"Uhm, Lord Bakit, what did I do that deserves thanks?"

They were currently drinking tea that she prepared; apparently she used the limited kitchen ware inside Meros"s house.

"I did not mean….Blue….I mean, the tea is nice"

"Thank you, Lord Bakit"

"Wow, I almost got found out…"

"So, do you mind me asking…why did the Aristan Household send you to spy on me?"

"Not spy on you…Not exactly, but follow you everywhere you go"

"That"s stalking and it"s even worse!"

"My apologies, but I must obey Lord Lonrow"s order to watch over you in Lady Sulu and Lord Leon"s absence."

"Absence? What do you mean?"

"They left for the frontlines this very morning, as the members of Holy Swords, they have duties they must fulfill for the kingdom. As such, they are tasked with many tasks, such as exterminating monsters, demons, and enemy soldiers, keeping the kingdom safe in the process"

"So they are currently on a patrol duty"

"That is correct"

"Yay! They are outside the city! That means, if I ditch this maid, I can escape, but where can I go….I need to have a source of income if I plan to be free of these bothersome people….Of course! Why did I not think of this sooner?!"

Bakit remembered Rainir telling him about her past as an adventurer.

It was a very dangerous job but it had its perks.

One of them was the fact that Bakit would be free.

"Besides, Mekros is grooming me to become a knight, and soon I will end up being sent on the frontlines…With the countless monsters inside the kingdom to exterminate, I will not have any freedom, I will end up another one of battlefield casualties….Like h.e.l.l I am letting that happen! My motto is to live free and live free I will!"

"I see, in that case…See ya!"

Bakit ran as fast as his legs would carry him.

* * *

Current situation within the Tazak kingdom was somewhat complex.

The current king was ailing, but it was kept secret from the general public.

However, those of the prominent families knew perfectly well about the situation.

Due to what happened to the entire royal line of kingdom of Kizilalem, now the king is no longer chosen as the heir of the previous king, but as the most suitable candidate from one of the n.o.ble families who produced kings in the past.

As such, Sala of the House Rondeleia was up against the other candidates from Houses of Buwurus, Locustus, Venlander, and Zainos.

It wouldn"t have been a problem if their candidates were decent enough, then Sala would have stepped aside to bow to his new king.

However, the intels and rumors he gathered pointed out that the Buwurus and Venlander n.o.ble families were connected with criminal organizations that dealt with countless atrocities, most dangerous organization being the Salvation Bringers.

Salvation Bringers was a radical organization, containing many branches. One of their most heinous crimes were the acts of human sacrifice, which were used in order to summon demons.

But that was not all, according to the most recent rumors, the Salvation Bringers were responsible for abductions of countless children, to use their bodies for their nefarious experiments.

The main goal of their organization was to collect power for themselves, by any means necessary, and to become G.o.ds.

As messed up as it sounds, they worship the Dark Lord as their symbol, they believe in following in his footsteps in overthrowing the natural order.

Many of the members of the Salvation Bringers were ma.s.s murderers, Demon cultists, and smugglers. Currently, aside from the monsters and demons, they posed the biggest threat to the kingdom.

If a house allied with Salvation Bringers were to take charge of the Tazak kingdom, countless deaths will follow and the kingdom might fall. That was an outcome that Sala could not let happen.

The Locustus and Zainos n.o.ble families were suspected of allying with Salvation Bringers as well, but unlike Buwurus and Venlander n.o.ble families, Sala did not have concrete proof. But what he knew was the fact that they embezzled themselves to such a degree that they have landed themselves in ma.s.sive debts. Their spending is utterly ridiculous.

They show absolutely no restraint when it comes to spending, and Sala feared that if they were to become the ruling family then the Tazak Kingdom would economically collapse.

Locustus and Zainos n.o.ble families were well known for exploiting people and running the black market slave trade, considering they traded members of other races as well, it would be disastrous to leave them in charge, as it would mean they would be in conflict with the Sacred Kingdom led by demi-humans and the Elven kingdom.

Zainos n.o.ble family even declared their intention to wage war with the Sacred Kingdom if they ever to take the throne, a war was not something Sala could afford happening.

Locustus n.o.ble family is known for discriminating against elves, owning many elven slaves, and treating them as nothing more than objects. Sala knew without a doubt that if they were to take charge, all the attempts at negotiating with neighboring kingdoms will be set aflame.

As such, despite not wanting the throne, Sala was forced to partic.i.p.ate as a candidate for the throne.

Sala refusing to take a bride was merely an excuse by the other n.o.ble families in order to undermine his candidacy, but the ten elders agreed with them, due to the fact that Sala did not have an heir of his own or at least a wife to have an heir with, his standing as a candidate was rather weak.

Other n.o.ble families had multiple members, heirs, and next of kin. If the king were to suddenly pa.s.s away, then the mantle could be pa.s.sed on to someone who was a member of the royal family.

But in Sala"s case, he was the only remaining heir of the ailing king, with no other siblings or heirs.

If Sala were to take the throne and suddenly pa.s.s away, the Tazak kingdom would be thrown into disarray and disaster, and within the time frame it would take to choose the next king, the other kingdoms might invade the Tazak kingdom.

However, if a n.o.ble family with multiple members is chosen, then even if the current king pa.s.ses away, the next one can be immediately chosen from his family and given the crown the very next day.

As far as the stability as a candidate goes in terms of having a next of kin, Sala was a very shaky ground.

But unlike the other candidates, if he were to rule, then there would be no wars with the other kingdoms and the criminal organizations will not be able to have free reign.

Each candidate had to present themselves in the best light, and originally the time given was six months, but the ten elders extended the time to be the beginning of the next year.

By then, they will choose the most suitable candidate for the throne. Until then, the five candidates were competing against each other in terms of their worth.

If Sala could expose the other n.o.ble families for their involvements with the criminal organizations, then his candidacy to the throne would be secured.

Sala being the only safe choice for a king would force even the most stubborn of ten elders to acknowledge Sala as the rightful king.

However, dealing with the criminal organizations is not easy.

Sala currently had his hands full with the important doc.u.ments concerning the negotiations with the Sacred Kingdom.

Apparently, they sent out their princess escorted by her faithful knights to meet the candidates for the Tazak kingdom"s throne.

If Sacred Kingdom approves of one candidate, then the possibility of war will be far less likely, thus making the ten elders more likely to favor the candidate who is on good terms with the Sacred Kingdom.

"I just hope she arrives safe" Sala muttered.

The princess of Sacred Kingdom should arrive within a month, until then Sala could only patiently wait.

Due to his father"s ailment, even though he was not the official successor to the throne, but a mere candidate, Sala was tasked with taking care of most of the paperwork his father otherwise would be burdened with.

Aurelia and Desti help was rather invaluable, with Desti"s help, Sala"s workload became far more manageable.

"Still, if another candidate were to take the throne, at least I will not need to worry about paperwork anymore….Snap out of it, me!"

Sala found himself thinking such things after being buried in doc.u.ments for the last few days.

Then, someone barged in through the door

"Yo, Your highness, Bakit is here, right on schedule!"

"Uh, it"s you…." Sala couldn"t help but utter in irritation.

Bakit, a squire in training under Mekros, and Sala"s reluctant servant.

Had Bakit not found out his secret, Sala would have been ok with Bakit being left to his own devices, but now, even with the contract placed on him, there was a chance Bakit could expose Sala, jeopardizing his candidacy to the throne.

He was someone that Sala had to keep close eye on.

"If I were send Bakit to the frontlines, he will most likely die, then my secret will be safe…."

Sala already planned out sending Bakit out to the frontlines.

Before, Sala did not know what to do with Bakit, so he sent him to under the watch of Mekros, who apparently grew fond of Bakit enough to instead of just keeping an eye on him, he personally trained Bakit.

During this time, Sala had Aurelia monitor Bakit for the suspicion of being connected to the other candidates or the Salvation Bringers, but so far, there was no such obvious connection.

But one thing that did surprise Sala was the fact that Bakit apparently had a connection with the House of Aristan, a family of Sword Maisters, the family that protected the Tazak Kingdom ever since its establishment.

According to Sulu, a member of Holy Swords, and the mightiest person Sala knew in person, Bakit beat her in a duel.

"I can"t imagine someone like him ever besting Sulu….But if he did, then he is not someone simple. Yet, he is too dangerous to keep around. As soon as the troops organize, I will send him with them, and by the power of the contract, he will not be able to disobey. If he is not the person Sulu thinks he is, he will definitely die, and then it will be one less problem for me to take care of, but if he survives….perhaps he could be of some use to me."

"Bakit!" a girl in a wheelchair greeted Bakit with open arms, hugging him as he approached her.

"Hi Desti, how have you been?"

"I have been well, Bakit, I missed you so much!"

"Me too!"

Watching such a strange scene before him, Sala couldn"t help but sigh.

Bakit may be someone who Sala though was very troublesome to deal with, but the girl he rescued from the base of Salvation Bringers, Desti Laran… Sala actually came to like her very much.

Almost like a little sister he never had.

Then, Sala"s eyes caught sight of someone unexpected.

It was a maid with very light blue hair, almost of silverish grey shade. She arrived after Bakit, standing behind him.

"Bakit, care to introduce me to your friend?"

Sala asked.

Bakit, in turn, looked behind him, before saying.

"Why did you follow me?"

"Lord Bakit ran off so quickly, it took me some to put on my clothing and catch up to you"

"Put on your clothing… what do you mean?"

Desti asked, Bakit could tell she was afraid of the answer she would get.

"Because I was naked after sleeping with Lord Bakit"

"Hoi! You totally made it sound like something else!"

"But it is true, Lord Bakit, we did sleep together, and you even examined my breast, squeezing it tightly… telling me that "your fingers are true to your soul"…"

"Did I say that out loud?"

"…I can still feel the sensation on my…"

"Bakit, you didn"t…." Desti began, but was cut off by Aurelia.

"You swine! I should have known leaving you alone for even one second was a bad idea!"

The elven maid brandished her ax.

"Time to run!"

"Yes, Lord Bakit!"

"Who said you can follow me?!"

"I will follow you to the end of the earth if I have to"

"That does not make it better!"

Bakit, chased by ax wielding Aurelia, followed by the blue haired maid, was running for his life. Desti, after finding out Bakit apparently was having an affair, ended up with visible tears bubbling in her eyes. Meanwhile, Sala, who watched the scene unfold, could only think.

"What just happened? That maid…she bore the crest of the Aristan Household, so they already made contact with him….But still….that b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Sleeping around with many women! That is exactly why he needs to be sent to the frontlines right away or better yet, killed on the spot!"

Sala recalled the time when he found Bakit sleeping in the same bed as him. As such, Sala"s impression of Bakit was rather bad to say the least. But Sala could not resort to murder, lest end up sullying his name and candidacy, so reluctantly he was forced to keep Bakit alive.