By Zephyria “Don’t block the road in a pointless place, and diligently ride around on your horses. If you’re all gathered together like idiots, do you think that guy who ran away will come and get caught?”
Meterion scanned the knights and muttered in a cold tone. His expression was even more ferocious than when he was fighting with Hugo.
His eyes, as if he was very angry, were about to force the knight in front of him to kneel on the dirt floor at any moment.
Of course, he didn’t go that far, but the fact that he threw the finished cigarette butt at his feet clearly showed that he was ignoring the other person. He approached one of the men standing at ease, brought his face close, and quietly threatened him.
“It would be best if you don’t appear in my sight again. If you block my way again, I’ll strip you of all those fancy uniforms.”
His hand, clenched into a fist with only his index finger half-raised, pressed gently against the knight’s chest with his knuckles. The knight, unable to resist, held on with only the strength of his legs, but eventually staggered backward.
He quickly regained his balance and stood properly, but he gritted his teeth and dared not confront him. Next to him were two knights in the same posture, and behind them were colleagues who could only roll their eyes and couldn’t step forward.
Not much had happened to bring the situation to this point. He had only mentioned the authority of the Imperial royal guard a little, saying that even nobles could be punished, to the battalion commander of the Council who was being rude to his face.
But that was a big mistake in the knight’s life. He had overlooked the fact that the other person was Meterion Kleinder, who was famous for his twisted personality.
If it were an ordinary noble, no matter how much power they had, they wouldn’t be able to treat the royal guard, who had the Emperor on their back, carelessly. But he was a guy who always sneered at the leader of the Imperial Faction, so there was no way that the royal guard, with its good-looking name, could inspire fear.
The knight’s petty authority only provoked Meterion’s anger and couldn’t resolve the situation. As soon as the knight finished speaking about the royal guard’s priority in their duties, the scattering cigarette smoke strangled his neck in an instant.
It was fortunate that the adjutant and the commanders of the 3rd battalion all rushed out and stopped him, but Meterion said, “If a dog barks at a person, you have to train it,” and for a moment, he was truly about to cut off the knight’s breath.
The knight, recalling that murderous intent, had a fire blazing in his eyes even while taking a humiliating posture. Just in time, his senior colleague next to him nudged him with his elbow. He raised his head and saw Meterion looking down at him coldly, as if telling him to answer.
“Ah, …I will keep that in mind.”
The other person was a noble full of authority consciousness to the bone, a noble among nobles in a bad way. Who would have known that he would accidentally provoke a well-known crazy person from the Noble Faction and this mess would happen?
On the other hand, he was just an ordinary knight from a humble background, even though he was called a royal guard. Even if he opened his eyes wide and confronted him here, it was obvious who would take off their clothes first.
After the knight answered as if he would comply and kept his head down, Meterion, who had finished the Ideological Education with a fierce gaze, ordered the driver of the lead vehicle.
“Depart.”
“Ah, yes!”
The frozen driver answered quickly and started the engine again. Meterion then returned to the vehicle he was in. The commanders of the 3rd battalion also followed him.
No matter what, the other party was the Emperor’s loyal watchdogs. Humiliating them could lead to challenging the Emperor’s authority.
But Meterion’s behavior, as if he didn’t care about such things, made those who had been working under difficult superiors feel a sense of accomplishment. To think that they would see a brilliant halo on the back of the battalion commander as he boarded the vehicle. After all, it’s worth holding out for a long time.
However, the commanders and members involved in various factions were subtly concerned about the Legion Commander, who was at the very back of the line and had not said anything.
It was said that a mood of restraint from clashes in the Imperial Faction had spread because of the recent unusual movements of the Noble Faction. The fact that the 3rd battalion commander was so confident not only because his family was powerful, but also reinforced the rumor that it was true.
The member guarding the passenger seat of the lead vehicle checked that all the commanders had boarded and then got into the vehicle last. Then, he closed the car door tightly and glanced at the knight outside the window, who was still standing as if he was being punished.
“Could you please remove that?”
The member pointed to the barricade ahead with a nod. The knight, who had been watching Meterion before turning his head, glared at the other with a fierce look.
It seemed that the words ‘move it’ had offended him, but the knight walked towards the barricade without saying anything.
Soon after, he began to manually push and remove the obstacles placed in the middle of the road one by one. The member, with a smile on his face, pressed the transmission button and quickly reported.
“We’ll depart.”
The convoy, which had been stopped for a while, started their engines all at once, taking the voice as a signal. The knights silently watched the convoy, which was raising dust and following one another, with expressionless faces.
“That son of a bitch… I’ll get you later.”
The knight, who had been severely beaten by Meterion, muttered to himself, biting his lip. The surrounding knights glanced at him, hearing the hateful voice that squeezed out from his tightly closed teeth.
“Hey. Watch your mouth. It’s not over yet.”
His senior, the highest-ranking knight among them, let out a word as if it were advice. He was the one who stopped the vehicles first, and he couldn’t say a word in front of the Council commander. His clumsy advice only aroused resistance in the knight and had no weight at all.
Just then, an unexpected horse’s whinny was heard from the bushes. Soon after, an armed knight suddenly appeared from behind a tree, riding a horse.
Appearing with grass on his armor, he looked back at the already departing convoy with a bewildered expression.
Then, he found his colleagues nearby and jumped off the saddle, rushing towards them.
His shoulders rose and fell busily, as if he had run a long way. He approached the highest-ranking knight in the group and whispered something in his ear.
“…What?”
Meterion, who was staring out the car window, caught a glimpse of the guy who had blocked the lead vehicle looking surprised after hearing something.
However, he closed the curtains and leaned back in his seat as if he wouldn’t pay any more attention. He stared at the front windshield, which was just passing through the checkpoint, and then frowned.
“I’ve been properly used.”
“Yes?”
The member in the passenger seat asked reflexively, but Meterion didn’t answer and only closed his eyes.
The knight outside the car window glanced at the continuing procession, then lowered his voice and asked the subordinate who had brought the urgent news.
“So, you’re sure he’s not here?”
“I’m not sure about that, but first, it’s better to leave half behind and move on….”
“Ha… seriously.”
He scratched the back of his head irritably and looked back at his subordinates. He counted the number of heads with his fingertips, divided them into two groups, and then instructed the knights.
“You guys follow these guys without getting caught after they pass. The rest go the other way.”
After briefly exchanging the situation, they nodded and quickly climbed onto their horses. The knights, except for four, turned their direction and all started running in the opposite direction from the convoy.
The members ridiculed them inwardly, saying that they were nothing special, as they retreated so easily that the name ‘checkpoint’ was meaningless.
Meanwhile, the vehicle guarding the very end of the convoy, right in front of the baggage train, urgently turned the steering wheel to the right, blocking the knights’ path.
Screech―
As the front bumper was threateningly pushed forward, the surprised horses screamed and raised their front hooves.
“Ah, shit, seriously!”
The knight, who was already in a bad mood because of Meterion, complained with all sorts of annoyance and hurriedly regained his balance. The driver of the vehicle blinked the lights as if to apologize and then turned the steering wheel again to go his way.
The knight glared at him, wondering what kind of guy he was, but he also had to go his way, so he grabbed the reins and diligently drove the horse.
Dellua, who was in the car, smiled wryly as she looked at the driver’s back.
“He’s got guts.”
It was clear that he had deliberately interfered. The driver didn’t answer but only shrugged his shoulders.
“Is it okay to leave them like that?”
Turning her head to the rear, she stared blankly at the knights moving away, towards ‘the two people’. After a moment of silence, the driver glanced at the rearview mirror and turned his head away again without answering.
Dellua manipulated the fallen leaves on the ground to chase after the knights. The leaves, swirling like a whirlwind, successfully settled into the gaps in the armor.
Occasionally, they flew up as if fluttering in the wind. The fluttering leaves relentlessly poked at the eyes exposed between the helmets.
Only after seeing one of the knights fall off his horse did Dellua look ahead again.