Preis had been locked up here for five days.
Although it wasn't a prison, the renovated residence was not much different from one—the original wooden doors had been replaced with wooden bars, and all the furniture in the house had been removed, leaving only a few blankets. The only advantage was that the room was clean, and neither drafty nor leaky.
Besides him, there were four others in the cell. Three were from the Ryan family, one belonged to the Benlang family, and he himself was a knight enfeoffed by the Earl of Milu.
"Damn it, how long does he intend to keep us locked up!" the oldest-looking knight of the Ryan family exclaimed. "The wheat fields in the territory haven't been sown yet! My wife doesn't know how to do these things."
"Your territory?" the young knight of the Benlang family scoffed. "Do you think His Highness the Prince will keep your knightly territory, let you gather horses, weapons, and armor, and then wait for you to take revenge? Seriously, it's already merciful of him not to send you all to the gallows."
"What did you say!?" the old knight glared at him.
"Just telling the truth," the young knight said nonchalantly. "The Duke was the mastermind behind the rebellion, and he won't leave his elite knight order intact for his son, will he? As for us, we were naturally forced to the battlefield by the Duke's threats."
"I think you're courting death!" He walked over and grabbed the young man, his right hand clenched into a fist, and just as he was about to punch him, a hand reached out from behind and firmly grabbed him.
"Stop, Halong. Do you want to attract the guards?" A handsome knight pressed down his fist. "He's right. We are knights under the Duke's command, and we will definitely be severely punished when convicted. Now that we've reached this point, let's just wait quietly for the result. Look at the people from the Milu family, and then look at yourself now. Where is your noble demeanor?"
Preis recognized him. Fielin Xierte, the star knight of Changge Fortress, nicknamed Dawn Light, had captivated countless noble young ladies. He, on the other hand, ended up marrying a commoner woman, which caused quite a stir at the time. Seeing that the other party had mentioned him, Preis couldn't remain silent and said to the arguing trio, "I don't know if the territory can be kept, but His Highness the Prince will at least spare your lives."
"Oh? Why?"
"Killing in the fortress can at least serve as a deterrent. What's the point of bringing you all here with such effort and killing you for whom to see? His people?" Preis shook his head. "The Knights haven't even stepped into Border Town."
Without rushing in to burn, kill, and loot, the townspeople would naturally not develop extreme hatred. Therefore, for the Prince, killing for the townspeople to see was not as effective as killing for the nobles of the fortress to see. Since they weren't killed in the fortress, their lives were saved.
Fielin thought for a moment and nodded, "That makes sense. May I ask your name?"
"Preis Dissa."
"Thank you for your comfort, Sir Dissa." Fielin gave him a grateful look and pulled Halong back to the corner.
The young man also sat down with a thud and began humming a song against the wall.
He's really not afraid, Preis thought, while his own "composure" was just a forced pretense.
Preis knew in his heart that he really wasn't cut out to be a knight. He didn't inherit his father's bravery, nor did he inherit his mother's wisdom. He preferred to manage his own little piece of land rather than wield swords and spears. Raising chickens and ducks, fishing by the pond, and so on. It was out of desperation that he wore armor and wielded a sword to fight for the Earl of Milu. Not to mention killing people, he didn't even like to participate in hunting. So, when charging, Preis tried to stay as far back as possible, but he didn't expect to survive.
Wait... Thinking of this, he suddenly felt something was strange. As the Duke's star knight, why did Fielin Xierte also survive? Shouldn't he have been at the forefront?
"His Highness the Prince wants to see you," a guard suddenly shouted at the door. "Sainei Dali, come out first."
The young knight jumped up, waved to everyone, and walked out of the cell.
"Hey, what about us!"
Halong chased to the door but was forced back by the short spear in the guard's hand. After locking the cell door, the guard said coldly,
"Don't worry, it will be your turn."
Learning that the trial was coming, Preis became more and more nervous. Damn it, when there were no results, he always looked forward to this day, but now that the results were coming, he was afraid again. He thought angrily. But his body still trembled uncontrollably, and every few breaths he wanted to look up at the door, just like the feeling of hope and panic that coexisted when facing the imminent birth of his child for the first time.
Fortunately, the waiting time was not long. After about half an hour, the guard who had escorted them before came again, "Preis Dissa, it's your turn."
He stood up in a panic, but his foot accidentally tripped on the rolled-up blanket on the ground. Fortunately, Fielin was quick-witted and stepped forward to help him.
"Th... thank you." He felt a terrible dryness in his throat.
"Just a small effort." The other's voice was calm and forceful, relieving Preis's nervousness a lot.
He nodded to Fielin and followed the guard out of the cell.
The one leading the way was a young lad, about seventeen years old, wearing dark brown leather armor and boots, and holding a short spear in both hands.
"Don't you need to tie my hands?" Preis asked.
"You were searched before you were locked up, and you have no weapons. What can you do?"
"Where are you taking me?"
"To His Highness's castle."
"What about the person before? The knight named Sainei, how is he?"
The other shrugged and didn't answer.
Okay, maybe he doesn't know, or maybe he doesn't want to tell me. Preis closed his mouth.
This escort gave him a very strange feeling. His dress and appearance were like those of an ordinary commoner, but he showed no fear when speaking to the knights, not even using the most basic honorifics. It was as if he didn't know that in normal times, these people could easily decide his life or death.
And there was also the look in his eyes—Preis had seen many commoners struggling to survive. They were dull and indifferent, like soulless walking corpses, but in this little guy's eyes, he saw pride and self-esteem. He was clearly a commoner, but he had an attitude similar to that of a knight full of honor. This extreme sense of incongruity confused Preis very much.
What kind of environment could create such a person?
He looked around. Although he had never been to Border Town before, he had heard of this barren and remote place. However, the vitality that the town was now showing was very different from the frontier outpost he had imagined. The streets were full of people, moving quickly, as if they had endless things to do. From time to time, people would greet the little guy escorting him. Everyone's faces were rosy and full of energy, not at all like they had just experienced the hardships of the Months of Demons.
As he approached the castle district, he saw an open space where more than a hundred people were gathered—these people seemed to be building houses, and on a scale of more than just one. The materials for the houses were piled up on the side, all fired bricks. Generally speaking, only nobles would choose this more expensive material, but if this was being built for nobles, the houses were too small. The houses that had already been built in front of the open space were about the size of his own living room. In addition, those houses were too similar, almost as if they were printed from the same mold. Which noble would like such a house?
With all sorts of questions, Preis stepped into the lord's castle.