Chapter 167: The Honorary Knights
Borien and the other eleven Honorary Knights were in an awkward position.
‘The bravery of Knight Borien and the others is something I would admire as well, but in the end, they were conferred by the barons. Now that these barons have entered the Senate, it is no longer appropriate for them to command the Lord’s warriors,’ Piero told Wolf.
So after Wolf’s body was healed, he once again took command of the territory’s warriors.
Although he had always been the de facto commander, sometimes a title was necessary.
The Senate had been established to fill the power vacuum within the territory, and among its members were three barons.
They would assist Piero in managing the territory, much like the Monastery supported Piero.
Although Piero did not desire such assistance, it was not for him to decide.
As for the Senate seats, they were offered in gratitude for the three barons’ help in welcoming the hero.
Of course, those in the know understood that the seats—and the limited freedom they came with—were granted because the three barons were sufficiently obedient.
But such words were only spoken behind closed doors; when encountered in person, people still respectfully addressed them as “Senator.”
No one cared what the three barons truly thought, as long as they responded with smiles when so addressed.
However, once the three barons shed their identity as guests and assumed their roles as senators, Borien and the twelve others found themselves in an awkward spot.
Nominally, they had been conferred by two of these three barons, so by rights, they were supposed to be loyal to the barons.
But in reality, at that time, the barons were merely Wolf’s puppets. Now that the barons had gained their freedom, where did that leave them?
Wolf no longer involved himself with them, and the barons wished them dead as soon as possible. Yet, they were unwilling to relinquish their knightly status.
After some discussion, they decided to pledge themselves to the Church.
Given the strange power dynamics currently in York Territory, aligning with the Church was at least a way to ensure they wouldn’t be killed by Wolf—or fall victim to the schemes of the three barons.
They had accepted being conferred by captured nobles, so pledging to the Church didn’t pose a significant psychological barrier for them.
After all, by joining the Church, they could more justifiably fight for York Territory—and they used this reasoning to convince themselves.
However, the Bishop remained vague. Even when Borien bluntly expressed his willingness to pledge loyalty to the Church, the Bishop merely allowed them to station themselves in Glory Fortress and gave them no formal titles.
In private, after a few drinks, they even mocked themselves as “wild knights.”
But once they stepped out of the drinking hut, they referred to themselves as the Honorary Knights Order.
This time, Piero had invited them to receive Baron Belair, which naturally implied a reception befitting a noble.
With the Lord absent, Piero not being a noble, and Wolf along with the two other border-guarding knights being beyond Piero’s command, the only option left was this ambiguous group of knights led by Borien.
No matter what, Honorary Knights were still knights.
Borien did not refuse. He brought with him three knights who, like him, had firmly pledged themselves to the Church to greet the baron.
Yes, though there were only twelve knights now banded together for survival, there were three distinct stances among them.
One group was like Borien—firmly loyal to the Church, viewing the Church as their lord.
Another group stood in contrast—merely residing temporarily in the Church, waiting for the Lord’s return to pledge loyalty. But only three knights held this mindset.
The last group was neutral—the largest in number. They pledged to no one, seeking only to preserve their knightly titles.
Even as Honorary Knights, they retained certain knightly rights—such as recruiting Knight’s Squires, possessing their own family crests, and having their families recognized as knightly houses.
A Viscount’s territory receiving a Baron required at least two knights. The presence of four knights made Belair somewhat envious.
Though he knew these four were Honorary Knights, Honorary Knights were still knights—George was one, after all.
Even after seizing an entire Marquisate, he could only confer five knights. Fearing that Knight Julian, who was in charge of military affairs, might rebel, he had even brought him along to York Territory.
It was tradition for Local Gentry to wrest power from the lord. So once the gentry began to stabilize their influence, they made a subtle move—and Belair’s lack of confidence was fully exposed.
Belair lacked sufficient military strength, had no protection from Mystery, and did not even have personally trained family knights and warriors.
He held nothing but the title of Baron.
He didn’t even dare trust the knights he himself had conferred—after all, the families behind those knights had also participated in the power grab.
Except for Knight Julian—because Knight Julian’s family had been wiped out.
But even then, Belair could not fully trust Knight Julian.
For the knight was now more than just a knight—he commanded the most elite army and could, at any moment, point his sword at Belair, kill him, and usurp his noble title.
At the very least, if Knight Julian became a noble, he would be far more stable than Belair.
It was precisely because humanity had begun to fight among themselves that the neighboring Werewolves launched their invasion.
Without trust among them, how could they resist the assault of the Nation of Werewolves?
Thus, the power of the Werewolf Priests summoned dark clouds to cover the sky overhead, allowing the Werewolves to move freely even during the day.
The Werewolves invaded in full force, triggering the Wolf Catastrophe.
Belair’s forces suffered defeat after defeat. Now, he had no choice but to seek aid from York Territory.
Naturally, he brought Knight Julian as his escort.
As for the other knights seizing this opportunity to divide up command over the warriors, this was something Belair was more than happy to see.
Having the warriors divided among three or four knights was better than concentrating them under one.
Only by maintaining a certain balance could he preserve his noble title among them.
And with his noble title, other opportunities might arise.
The party said little. After a brief greeting, Knight Borien and the three others led their squires ahead.
Julian rode his warhorse close to the carriage.
Leaning down and lowering his voice, he said, “Except for the leading Knight Borien, the others will only be a nuisance to me.”
Belair nodded without speaking.
He was a noble, not a knight, and could not control his voice the way Julian did.
But Julian understood what Belair was thinking and continued speaking.
“They are far inferior to Knight George. In front of Knight George, I feel that if I dared to swing my sword at him, I would be killed in an instant.”
“But those squires are quite good. It seems the food here is plentiful enough to raise such squires during this period.”
“However, they did not bring warriors belonging to York Territory.”
Without warriors, it meant they were not aligned with York Territory—or rather, not with the Lord’s faction.
A thoughtful look appeared in Belair’s eyes.