Eternally Regressing Knight Chapter 849

849. The Son of a Traitor

It all started during the city wall repairs. The rain was so heavy that the slums were flooded.
It was a dangerous situation, and people were about to drown. Moreover, on days like these, the so-called “Drowning Man” often roamed the city.
There was much to do. The castle lord wanted to rescue those in immediate danger, whether poor or not, but things never went as smoothly as planned.
Let’s say he rescued the drowning people.
Where would they stay, and how would he feed them?
A strange air hung over the city as the rainwater rose. Anxiety soared. If death was inevitable, wouldn’t it be better to become a thief? Such words rang out among the crowds of poor, and some citizens took up arms.

“Give me ten soldiers and the authority to be in charge of the wall repairs for one day.”

Edin Molsen arrived then. He was a man with wet blond hair and a faint glow from the wound on his cheek that hadn’t yet healed.

“What should I believe in to do that?”

Seongju was a man of deep compassion and concern, but he wasn’t a fool. He couldn’t foolishly believe the words of someone who suddenly appeared.

“It’s not like there’s going to be any immediate trouble if those ten soldiers are missing, is it? All I need is twenty hands and twenty feet to follow my orders, and for one day, they’ll be fooled.”

Edin didn’t show any emotion. He spoke calmly.

“If I have deceived the lord, then behead me later. There is a child over there whom I cherish more than myself. Leave that child behind.”

He placed a beautiful woman in the castle, claiming she was his younger sister.
Unbeknownst to the lord at the time, Edin had placed his younger sister in the safest place in the city, where riots might break out. He was truly clever.

“Okay.”

The lord had few options. Cross Guard was closer to the Border Guard than to Azpen, and it relied more on the Border Guard than on the homeland. Furthermore, political reasons made it difficult to receive help from the homeland.

‘If we leave it like this.’

The city of Crossguard itself would be destroyed.
The lord needed city architects and laborers. And a lot of them.
Would postponing the work for a day or so stop the riots? Surely not.
But there didn’t seem to be any other way to do it. The lord nodded.

“Do as you wish.”

Edin immediately drafted ten soldiers. All of them had wives and children within the city. He knew how to use his men with precision.
The lord later learned that Edin had rushed into the storm, which was practically on the verge of a riot.
He questioned and answered those who could understand him. Meanwhile, the rainwater had risen, reaching up to his calves.
He led his ten soldiers and, using force, killed five people. All the poor watched.
They were members of a criminal guild or the leaders of the riot. Even so, the fervor, once ignited, did not subside.
The torrential rain poured down, and those who were certain to die were left behind.
Among them, Edin persuaded a few to collapse a section of the castle wall under renovation.

“You crazy bastard, we’re all going to die to the lord.”

The man who represented the poor spoke. He was the man who ultimately prevented the riot. He was the one who helped break down the wall.

“Even if I die, I’ll die. I’m in charge of the maintenance work today.”

Edin deliberately destroyed a section of the wall, then gathered men and dug a channel for the water. It took a full day for the water to recede.
Sure enough, a drowned man emerged from the breach. A gap had opened in the wall, meant to keep out the demons. Despite his tireless efforts all day, Edin gripped his sword.

“Would all who are able to fight please come forward and ask Lord Del for support?”
“Yes.”

It was a day spent half-risking his life. Soldier Del moved forward, trusting Edin.
Some people prove themselves by holding a sword and protecting everyone. Others assert their will through eloquence and speech, and then prove themselves by acting accordingly.
Edin risked his life alongside his soldiers, sweating and proving himself. He earned their trust.
The results weren’t all that impressive. The drowned
were easier to deal with than the rain. While the Crossguard lacked a city architect, they had ample troops.
Destroying part of the wall to drain the water was easy, and the troops would block any drowned men who entered through it.
Of course, it was easier said than done; moving this far in a short period of time and persuading people was difficult. Edin had accomplished that.
After fighting on the front lines, Edin returned to the lord.

“It’s my fault the walls were destroyed. If that’s what you need, then cut off my neck.”

The lord didn’t cut Edin’s neck when he came in with his feet swollen and soaked.
He continued to assist the lord. He advised that rooting out the criminal guilds should come after clearing out the slums, and urged him to bring in the Temple of Abundance.
Everything—the Border Guard’s assistance, the trade with the Lochfrid Merchant, and the trading towns—was his handiwork.
If he had to walk a tightrope on a cliff, he had to. Edin did the unthinkable.

“I don’t think they’re going to starve the people inside the walls just because there’s no help from their home country.”

He was right. Even though all of this would later become his political weakness and ultimately cost him his life, the lord refused to expel Edin. He had no choice.
Instead, he gained a future for the people of the city, so he had no regrets.

* * *

Encred asked and waited for an answer. The context made it clear. It wasn’t the lord’s handiwork. Given the favor he showed Edin, the guess was easy.
The lord closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them. He knew this day would come. Still, he had no regrets. Without Edin’s help, the number of deaths in the city would have been several times higher.

“I asked you to do so. Edin Molsen acted according to my orders as the lord of the castle.”

It was a duty, no, a repayment of a favor. The lord considered everyone within the walls as his family.
Whether poor or noble, everyone was precious. He was a faithful follower of the temple’s teachings.
While Encred stared at the lord in silence, the two guards couldn’t even blink, their eyes tense with tension.
Had they brought in the son of a traitor? In reality, no one but the lord and a few others knew Edin’s true identity.

dripping.

A knock broke the brief silence. Someone knocked on the reception room door. The door creaked open immediately.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

It was Edin Molsen. The son of a traitor.
He came in, looking immaculately dressed, as if he’d just washed up. He had already anticipated what would happen inside.
The lord was too weak to be a ruler. He lacked the venom to rise to power by killing others. He also didn’t know how to betray a person’s heart.
Well, that’s why the two mercenaries standing behind him gritted their teeth and refused to run away even when called traitors.
Those two were loyal to the lord.

“Generosity.”

Edin said. He was about to unravel the meaning contained in those two words. He
meant that he would spare his younger brother, and that the lord’s heart was genuine. The Encred he knew would grant that much.
What Edin overlooked was that Encred’s madness was such that even a normal lunatic would be struck down.

“Pass.”

Encred spoke.
Edin, who had tried to explain, fell silent.
What did he mean by “pass”?
Krys had said Encred was better than he at discerning the true meaning of others’ words and reading their intentions.
It was true. At some points, Encred was truly superior to Krys.
He had now read a part of Edin’s mind. He didn’t even need Yongin’s help.

“What have you been doing?”

Encred asked. Edin frowned and said.

“I dug up the railroad on Mount Demp and wandered around. I also hung around the eastern part of the country.”

Encred nodded. Edin is a resourceful man. A resourceful man with exceptional administrative skills and the ability to take action.
Could such a man not find a place to live anywhere?
So why is he here? Why is the son of a traitor here?

“Come to the Border Guard. I’ll prepare a place for you.”
“……What do you mean?”

Edin Molsen is a man of tragic fate. He acted desperately to protect himself and his younger brother under his father’s care, and only after he finally escaped his father did he find the dream he longed for.
He wanted to use his abilities and instinctively sought out where they were needed.
His cross guard is small. He solved most of the city’s problems. Yet, he still felt a thirst.
He ran day and night. It was partly to relieve his frustration, but also to ensure that whenever the moment came when his abilities were needed, when such an opportunity presented itself, no matter how fleeting, he wouldn’t miss it.

“Go work there.”

Encred spoke.
It was obvious that his hands could no longer reach the crossguard. The city was stable, and he had nothing else to do but run.
This was not the stage where he wanted to fully display his abilities. That was the implication behind Encred’s words.
Edin’s eyebrows trembled incessantly. Cinnar showed unusual interest. Encred’s work always had meaning, but this was different.
She was an elf, but she knew humans. That man was the son of a traitor. The kingdom would not look kindly on him.
Frock puffed out his cheeks slightly. Luagarne also understood the political strife. He had seen it while protecting the queen.
Still, neither of them took any action. They would simply watch as Encred wished. As always, his will was firm and his resolve high.

“Good.”

Yong-in muttered. Encred’s words now were filled with an unprecedented purity of will.

“Please give me just one day.”

Edin said.

“I’ll just stay for one day.”

Encred spoke, looking at Edin.
The lord didn’t fully understand the situation, but he had a general idea. He answered.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Encred received the best room from the lord. He also borrowed the lord’s training hall.
Edin is eager to prove and demonstrate his abilities. In some ways, his temperament resembles that of the late Count Molsen.

‘But I know where the right direction is.’

Encred sat lost in thought, not even drawing his sword. The funny thing is, everything boils down to swordsmanship.

‘condensation.’

Waiting. How about adding condensation to the explosion of points while using Will? It’s like pressing and then detonating.
Waiting for the opportunity to come someday.

‘What if I create that opportunity too?’

Edin did so, taking care of the cross guard.

‘Waiting with a calculating sword.’

He struck with a condensed, swift sword strike.
It was a simple movement. I could
just add this to my swordsmanship, Flash. He was so absorbed in his swordsmanship that he returned home. Two women were waiting for him in front of Encred’s room.
One had golden blonde hair and green eyes, the other had faded blonde hair.

“I caught him because he was trying to enter another man’s room without permission.”

Sinar said.

“You went in first.”

The woman spoke calmly. Shinar must have been waiting in the room while she was gone. It was nothing serious.

“I don’t know the name, but I know who it is.”

Encred also approached and spoke. The woman’s eyes barely reached Encred’s chest. She wasn’t tall. She raised her head and met his eyes.
The son wasn’t the only one who resembled his father.

“Please accept Edin.”

She was the daughter of Count Molsen. She was Edin’s younger sister.
They had met once before, disguised as men.
She spoke of the times she had passed, standing still. She spoke of working as a miner in the Demp Mountains, being chased, and nearly dying while helping someone.
Edin hadn’t just wandered. He had seen the world.
Naurilia and Azpen on the continent, two city-states that championed divinity and trade, a small nation guarded by a single knight beyond the barely surviving West, the East, the Empire, and the southern fringes.
Encred listened, standing still. It was a fascinating tale.
It confirmed his suspicion. Edin was a man obsessed with showing off what he had.

“There’s always a shortage of talent. I’m dying right now.”

That’s what Chrys always said. He used to joke that if he had two more men as clever as he, he could conquer the continent.
So, if I take Edin, will I conquer half the continent?
Encred returned and decided what to say to Chrys.

“Edin doesn’t have to be tied down because of me. If necessary, I’ll take responsibility for my father’s sins and die.”

This woman is also smart. What she meant by that was that she would return as the daughter of a traitor and face the judgment of the royal family.
She left out Edin.
They’re an interesting pair. And now we know that Edin’s actions weren’t his alone.
Encred changed his words to Chrys.

‘You weren’t planning on opening a salon and conquering the continent, were you?’

Okay, let’s say this: conquer all, not just half.

The next morning, Edin came to visit.

“Have you forgotten who your father is?”

He asked right away.

“no.”

Encred answered.
Today, too, three of the other races were observing the two with interest.

“It will be a problem.”

The area under his eyes was dark and his skin was puffy, as if he’d stayed up all night. Encred nodded. Any normal person would think the same. Encred offered an answer.

“Chris will take care of it.”

He does what he wants. He can leave the training to him. He learned this from his previous visits to the Gilpin Guild, and he did it again when he dealt with the Salamanders, when he couldn’t tell Shinar’s condition. He still does it now.
Encred liked this man. That’s all. No, he liked both his siblings.

“It’s time to meet the man whose dream is to conquer the continent.”

Encred spoke, and Edin stared intently into Encred’s blue eyes for a moment. He heard something strange, like something about conquering the continent, but ignored it and continued.

“I am the son of a traitor.”
“At least it seems like a better nickname than heartbreaker.”

Encred joked. The Molsen siblings joined the group.

* * *

“He, he’s not coming?”

The messenger waited a full day before asking. He had eaten and slept well, but Sir Encred had not arrived.

“……That’s right. He’ll come. Are you lost or not, Ragna?”

Christ didn’t really have anything to say. He wondered what he’d done when he’d been told to at most take a half-day city tour.