Chapter 370: My Lord Has Lost His Way on the Path of the Eastern Expedition
「Then what about you? What do you think of this policy?」 Jeremiah looked at Gregor with a calm gaze.
Gregor hesitated. He wasn't sure whether Jeremiah's words carried any hidden meaning.
But seeing Jeremiah's expression, he still honestly said,「I don’t think the policy is very good. It’s too overbearing. If those not evaluated by the Knight Guild are not considered knights, then what about my Doyle Knight Order? Do they also have to be evaluated by the Knight Guild?」
Golden light flickered in Jeremiah’s eyes as he looked at Gregor and continued asking,「So, you actually know your Doyle Knight Order cannot pass the Knight Guild’s evaluation, am I right.」
Gregor slightly lowered his head, his voice somewhat heavy,「Yes.」
Gregor was a marquis, a marquis with noble bloodline passed down from the Old Testament Era. Even if he was foolish, he could not be compared with the bishops meticulously trained by the Church of the Sanctuary like Jeremiah.
He had led the Doyle Knight Order for three or four years already. How could he not know the true condition of the knights under his command?
「You still bear a grudge against Marquis Richard,」 Jeremiah said.
Gregor didn’t argue. He said,「Back then he claimed it was a friendly negotiation for borrowing land, but he descended upon my castle riding his Dragon-Eagle. I didn’t even say a word of refusal, yet he dragged me out to fight a knight’s duel. I was a mere earl at the time, having just inherited the title. Many nobles within the earldom were unhappy with my succession. So, under the gaze of my knights, how could I refuse? I accepted the challenge—and he beat me senseless.」
Jeremiah said,「Then indeed it was Marquis Richard's fault. So, all these years you've been expanding the Doyle Knight Order, was it to utterly crush him in this regard?」
Gregor said,「He is a powerful Dragon-Eagle Knight, a revered Tier Six Hero. If I were to duel him, I would never win. But by rallying knights and forming a knight order, I must not lose to him. He is, after all, the disgrace of knights—Richard.」
Jeremiah said,「That was only his title before becoming a marquis. Now, he has become the aspiration of knights. In many knights’ eyes, he, like Knight George, can be considered the embodiment of what it means to be a knight.」
Gregor’s expression turned irritable. He said,「Yes, I know. He is the paragon of knights—Richard. Even the proud Dragon-Eagle bows before him. Even though the Doyle Knight Order far outnumbers the Oath Knights, when people speak of the Three Great Knight Orders, it’s always the Oath Knights first, followed by the Virtue Knights. As for the Doyle Knight Order, no matter how many we are, we’re just the third name filling in the list.」
「Even if it’s not the Doyle Knight Order, even if it’s the Ironhoof Knight Order or the Duel Knight Order, it makes no difference. In the end, the Doyle Knight Order only exists because of the wealthy Doyle Territory and because I, a marquis, can provide for the knights’ survival.」
「Greenwood has been steadily recovering its population these years. In five, ten, or twenty years, when the children born after the Eastern Expedition grow up to become new knights, and the nobles entrusted with lands make them prosperous, will those knights still choose to join my Doyle Knight Order?」
「No, they won’t. They definitely won’t. Even now, most of the Doyle Knight Order’s members are people who couldn’t get into the Oath Knights or the Virtue Knights. They are all castaways.」
His words seemed to suppress something within.
The golden glimmer in Jeremiah’s eyes flickered. Through his vision, he could see a chaotic energy emanating from Gregor.
This was the manifestation of Gregor’s will in Jeremiah’s Revelation Sight.
When this energy was no longer chaotic, but condensed into a solid form, it would mean Gregor had forged his own Knight’s Will—equivalent to a Tier Two Knight according to the Knight Guild's evaluation.
Jeremiah said,「So, you believe that once this policy is enforced, your Doyle Knight Order will lose a significant number of knights?」
There was a certain resolve in Gregor’s tone as he said,「I only have this one window of time. Only in this period can my Doyle Knight Order become the strongest knight order to prove that I’m not inferior to that man Richard.」
「So, since I can never defeat him in a duel, and my knights can’t surpass his, I must outnumber him—outnumber the Oath Knights with overwhelming force.」
Gregor’s tone was firm, yet in Jeremiah’s eyes, the energy was becoming even more unstable.
Jeremiah asked,「Is this what you consider the path of knighthood?」
Gregor replied,「I don’t care about the so-called path of knighthood. I just want to prove I’m not inferior to him.」
「I am my father’s direct bloodline, groomed with the privileges of an earl’s heir from birth. And he? He was abandoned after birth, raised amidst lies. How could such a person surpass me?」
The energy surrounding Gregor completely vanished from Jeremiah’s eyes.
Jeremiah sighed and said,「But if you think this way, haven’t you already lost to him?」
Jeremiah squatted in front of Gregor, looked at his slightly lowered head and averted eyes, and said,「People are equal. Everyone has their own identity and mission. One doesn’t need to surpass others to prove their worth.」
「If you always set others as your benchmark, then you will forever live in dissatisfaction. When you surpass Marquis Richard, you’ll view Knight George with the same mindset—perhaps only because he didn’t show you the same respect as the Doyle Knight Order’s members did. Or simply because George is praised as a holy knight.」
「This is your dissatisfaction, but it also stems from envy. You envy Marquis Richard for having a Dragon-Eagle companion, for being immortalized in bardic songs. You even envy his ability to uphold his oath.」
「Clearly, both of you were born as earls with the same grand duke’s bloodline. But why is the gap between you so vast?」
「This question lingers like the whispers of the Original Sin Demon—whispering in your ears, echoing in your mind.」
Gregor raised his head and met Jeremiah’s gaze. His slightly reddened eyes stared into Jeremiah’s golden-flecked ones. He asked,「So all this resentment, is it merely the demon tempting me?」
Jeremiah said,「You cannot attribute all your original sin to demons.」
「The Pope once said, the reason original sin exists is because it is inherent in humanity. Appropriate original sin drives people toward what is good.」
「But one must learn to control it. You mustn’t let it expand without limit. You need to understand and recognize it—understand your own heart. Do not flee from it. Face it head-on. And when you face your original sin with a resolute gaze, it will tremble before you, under your control.」
Gregor lowered his head again, his body slightly trembling. He said,「It is as you said. I do envy Richard. I envy how he is praised like a great hero, how his tales are told like epics. I desire to be like him.」
「For that, I care not how the knights feel. I only wish for more and more to join the Doyle Knight Order. This is my sin, but it is also my desire. Even after confronting my original sin under your witness, I still cannot master it. The envy still dwells within my heart.」
Jeremiah said,「Do you still remember Knight Valerus?」
Gregor replied,「Of course I do. He was my personal guard since I was twelve. He was one of the first members of the Doyle Knight Order—and the first to leave it.」
Jeremiah said,「After that, I invited him to Doyle Cathedral to become one of the church knights.」
Gregor was startled and raised his head to look at Jeremiah.
Jeremiah continued,「But he refused. He said he would only serve one lord.」
Gregor couldn’t help but ask,「Then why did he leave the knight order?」
Jeremiah looked at Gregor with pity and said,「Because he said his lord had lost his way on the path of the Eastern Expedition—and still hasn’t returned.」
Even Gregor, after speaking so much with Jeremiah, understood the meaning in his words.
Gregor’s face flushed red, and he cursed,「That short Eastern Expedition path—how could I possibly get lost there?」
Jeremiah said,「Then, can you still see the path beneath your feet?」
Gregor was about to reply, but Jeremiah interrupted him, saying,「What is it that you see clearly? The path of knighthood? The noble path of a marquis? The path of a lord? Or the road Gregor Doyle himself wishes to walk?」
「Or is it merely the path Marquis Richard once tread?」
「Or worse, are you walking the path led by original sin?」
Jeremiah paused, and before Gregor could ponder, he continued,「Will Gregor the knight be praised in song? Will Gregor the marquis be remembered and respected by his people? Will Gregor the lord be loyally followed by his knights? Has Gregor Doyle, as a person, done anything that makes him feel genuinely proud or joyful?」
「If you’re merely walking the road Richard once walked—then have you seen the back of Marquis Richard?」
「If none of these apply—then have you already strayed onto the path guided by original sin?」