Chapter 271: 271 Nice Evening (Requesting Monthly Tickets! Requesting Subscriptions!)
Reiger was unaware that, in the eyes of Saint Charia and others, he had already become an admirer of Yuri.
He had just returned to the Franzel estate, waiting for news from Saint Charia while making some preparations.
Saint Charia did not make Reiger wait too long.
It was the next day that the communication magic crystal—unused until now—suddenly emitted a faint light and began making pleasing sounds.
Reiger took out the magic crystal and, following the predefined method, infused it with Magic Power. Shortly after, Saint Charia’s voice could be heard from the magic crystal.
"Can you hear me? Lord Reiger!"
Saint Charia’s crisp voice, akin to a skylark’s, emanated from the crystal.
"I can hear you," Reiger replied, getting straight to the point, "What’s the situation? You have news?"
"Yes," Saint Charia responded with evident delight. "We have found the people sent by that mad dog. They indeed brought Baron Cafereld and others back, and they are now staying in an abandoned house close to the capital’s walls."
Saint Charia informed Reiger of the location.
Reiger took out a map of the capital Yerulf and, following Saint Charia’s description, located the place.
The location was a secluded area rarely frequented by people. Originally, it seemed to be a residence of court nobility with no low title. Later, that noble ceased to serve in the palace, was granted lands instead, and became a landed noble. Consequently, he moved from there, leading to the gradual dilapidation of the area, which since went unnoticed.
"Typically, a property left behind by a noble of no low rank—even if unused—would be sold off to amass a great wealth, but no news of such a sale has ever spread from here, and it just became desolate," said Saint Charia. "At first, we thought the noble was reluctant to sell for some reason. Now, it seems that he likely sold or even gifted it to that mad dog.
According to Saint Charia, the noble in question was a traditional royalist. While at the capital, he constantly sought favor from several royal offspring, especially Prince Solok; rumor had it that the two had a close relationship.
With that in mind, it was indeed plausible that upon leaving the capital, he had gifted his residence to the third prince as a present.
Saint Charia added this as well.
"If we’re not mistaken, that place is probably where that mad dog hides his private soldiers."
This conjecture from Saint Charia left Reiger slightly taken aback.
"Private soldiers?" Reiger said, surprised. "Does that mad dog even have private soldiers?"
"He does," Saint Charia asserted confidently. "Even though it’s not allowed, that mad dog surely doesn’t care, does he?"
The kingdom of Ginas had strict regulations forbidding everyone except the nobility from maintaining their own knight orders.
Even for nobility, the allowed size of a knight order was strictly limited.
A duke could have a knight order of no more than a thousand men.
A marquis could have a knight order of no more than seven hundred men; only someone exceptional like Yuri would be permitted to expand her knight order to eight hundred.
An earl was allowed five hundred men.
A viscount, three hundred.
A baron, one hundred.
These were strict boundaries set by the kingdom, and exceeding them meant even a duke could face punishment.
Besides nobility, no one else was permitted to have private armies, or they would face the kingdom’s sanctions.
Of course, that was the official stance, but there were many loopholes to be exploited.
For instance, wealthy merchants, concerned for their safety, needed to hire a number of guards to protect themselves and their property, or risk being raided at any moment.
Similarly, noble offspring without titles needed bodyguards or attendants to protect them when traveling, lest they fall victim to malicious attacks.
Consequently, many hired or employed guards and attendants under such pretenses, while others would buy combat-capable slaves for protection.
The kingdom could not ban such practices outright without causing widespread chaos and difficulties in governance.
Therefore, as long as they were not recruiting under the guise of establishing a knight order, and the number of combatants recruited did not exceed certain limits, the kingdom would typically turn a blind eye and ignore these matters.
This led to many opportunists exploiting this situation, ostensibly hiring guards or attendants, or purchasing slaves, but secretively training them for combat to serve as their soldiers.
With careful consideration and efforts to conceal their actions, these individuals could privately train a sizable and formidable troop.
This approach was tantamount to skirting the edges of the law.
But someone like Solok surely wouldn’t mind testing the limits on this fine line, provocatively hopping back and forth, testing others’ tolerance.
After all, he was a prince, a royal family member. If discovered, could he ever be sentenced to death?
If not fatal, then recklessness knew no bounds—and that was precisely why he was known as the mad dog.
To Reiger, it seemed that even if one were not of royal blood, anyone with such privileges would likewise indulge in outrageous behavior.
Otherwise, why would so many noble offspring exhibit such arrogant demeanor? Isn’t it because regardless of the troubles they cause, others dare not touch them?
Since they could not be touched, these individuals naturally grew more unbridled.
Solok was just one among them.
"All right, I understand," Reiger confirmed.
"Then shall I anticipate some good news from Lord Reiger here?"
Having concluded their conversation, Saint Charia didn’t inquire about Reiger’s plans; she simply curved her lips into a smile and offered those words.
"Mm."
Reiger nodded, then cut off the magic connection, causing the light on the communication magic crystal to fade away.
Turning his head, Reiger glanced at the sky outside the window.
The sky outside was gradually darkening, soon it would welcome the night.
There weren’t many clouds at the horizon, indicating that tonight, the beautiful moonlight should be visible.
"Not bad."
Reiger’s voice slowly rose.
"It’s a night suitable for murder and arson."
......
Night gradually enveloped the entire royal capital of Yarulf.
Despite it being night, the royal capital of Yarulf was still bathed in bright lights, with the glow from magic lamps seeping out of every household’s windows, illuminating the streets.
In an era akin to the Middle Ages, to turn a city into a modern, brightly lit metropolis that never sleeps, one couldn’t help but marvel at the convenience of magic.
Magic lamps, these magical devices that only required a thumb-sized piece of magic crystal to create, granted humans the freedom to move about at night as they pleased.
The royal palace in particular, even late into the night, was lit by countless magic lamps, allowing it to exhibit the majesty of a chalk castle under the moon, like a commanding general overlooking the entire royal capital’s scenery.
In the dead of night, a carriage quietly set out from the royal palace.
The knights charged with guarding the gates initially wanted to stop it, but upon seeing the coat of arms on the carriage, they immediately acted as though they had seen nothing.
The carriage traveled out of the royal palace, and then, taking a more secluded path, came to a derelict house near the city wall of the capital.
Solok got off the carriage.
This mad dog of a prince had sneakily slipped out of the royal palace, violating the king’s edict.
"Your Highness."
Several figures stealthily swept out of the house, landing in front of Solok and kneeling on one knee before him.
"Where are they?"
Solok asked coldly.
"Below ground."
One of the people kneeling before Solok said, with their head lowered.
"Take me there."
Solok didn’t waste words and issued a direct command.
"Yes."
The group immediately stood up and led Solok toward the direction of the derelict house.
Upon closer inspection, in the shadows and dark areas around this derelict house, there were figures in black clothing lurking.
After Solok entered the derelict house, the interior wasn’t as dilapidated as it seemed from the outside but was evidently being maintained, showing no sign of neglect.
Solok then arrived at a vast hall where all the furniture had been cleared away.
In the hall, there were not only many fully armed knights but also several people thrown on the floor, shivering there.
"Your Highness!"
The knights around immediately knelt down in unison, bowing their heads to Solok.
The few thrown on the floor shook even more violently and, in a hurry, awkwardly knelt on the ground just like the surrounding knights.
"Prince, Prince Solok!"
One of the middle-aged men, dressed distinctly different from the others, even crawled to Solok’s feet, bellowing loudly.
"Don’t kill me! Please, don’t kill me, Your Highness!"
The loudly bellowing middle-aged man was obviously a nobleman, with a pair of small mustaches and a large belly, dressed like a noble, giving off the air of a nouveau riche.
"Don’t kill us!"
"Spare our lives!"
"I don’t want to die!"
The other few, dressed in tattered clothes like peasants, desperately kowtowed and begged for mercy.
They were a total of three, one an old man of advanced age, and two middle-aged, a male and a female, a couple. From their facial features and looks, one could easily discern the fact that they were a family.
Solok eyed the three with a look of seeing something filthy and then turned his attention to the nouveau riche noble in front of him.
"You are Baron Kafferld?"
Solok inquired.
"Ye-Yes, Your Highness!"
Baron Kafferld quickly revealed a fawning smile.
"Good if you are."
A smile also emerged on Solok’s face.
However, that smile, no matter how one looked at it, was vicious.
The next second, Solok suddenly made his move, kicking Baron Kafferld into the air.
"Cough..."
Baron Kafferld was kicked to the ground, coughing up blood.