Circumstances of a Fallen Lord

you to go,” Carlton chimed in.

     At that impudence, the general’s anger soared to the tip of his head.
“Then, at the very least, you’d better bring your servant.
Let’s call for Ruger.” The general rushed into the building, attempting to find Luisen’s chief attendant.

     As soon as he left, Luisen turned to Carlton.
“Let’s get going.”

     “You’re alright with leaving your attendant behind?”

     “That punk is probably idling–hiding from his job–in some hidden location.
If we wait for him, the whole day might pass us by.”

     “Well then.” Carlton mounted Luisen onto his horse.
He had no choice: if Luisen were to ride his own horse, they may get separated or the ride down would take all night.
If the general had seen it, he would have fainted…but Carlton and Luisen left before the man returned.

******

     The thoroughbred warhorse quickly carried the two, galloping at breakneck speed along the straight stretch of road leading to the gate.
It was so quick that Luisen, who had been distracted by various worries, arrived far faster than he had expected.
When the guards confirmed that Carlton was present, the gate opened.

     There was a tent built just outside the gates–previously, this was where all the surrender envoys had been received and dealt with.
The guards approached their captain; they were surprised to see Luisen in Carlton’s arms.

     “…It seems the duke has tagged along.”

     Carlton dismounted first and, very naturally, he held the duke with both hands to help him get off as well.
Though the men knew Luisen couldn’t easily get off the horse alone, they were still so surprised they were rendered speechless.
‘What on earth is going on??’

     “The envoy?”

     “….Te-tent…Let’s go inside.” Carlton men led the two to their destination with trembling faces.
Five men stood inside the tent–four of them were wearing armor, and the other donned clothes made of soft cloth.
He was immediately recognizable as the chief envoy sent to broker the terms of surrender.

      “You.
Are you in charge of delivering the news of surrender?” Carlton asked.
The envoy snorted and raised his head.
Since the man was sitting down, he looked up at the mercenary, but it somehow felt like he was looking down at Carlton instead.

     Luisen could infer exactly what kind of man he was: a noble who did not yet know how high the sky was.

     “Are you Carlton? I’m Bolton, the heir and eldest son to the Vinard territory.
I’m in charge of this procession.
It’s said that you’re a common man…don’t you know how to pay respects to nobles?”

     Sure enough, Bolton was blue-blooded through and through.
He wasn’t daunted by Carlton and instead provoked him for what he’s worth.
It was clear he was immersed in the advantages his station of birth afforded him and mistook himself as absolutely superior in any situation.

     Carlton took an angry step forward; only then did Bolton flinch.

     “F-fine.
Looking at you, it’s not as if you look educated.
I’ll show you mercy this time.
Why don’t you speak with me…your men were speaking some nonsense to me.” Bolton attempted to get a handle on the situation.

     Luisen grimaced and grabbed Carlton by the arm–he was sure the man was about to kill the Vinard envoy.

     “It’s alright.
I won’t kill him.”

     “It’s not about killing.
If you hit an envoy, you’ll gain more notoriety and the surrender negotiations could go awry.”

     Carlton’s expression softened slightly as Luisen clung anxiously onto him.
Then, Bolton noticed Luisen’s presence.

     “Oh! Uh! A-aren’t you the duke?!” Bolton leapt to his feet and humbly greeted Luisen.
His head bowed down as deep as it could, almost reaching his knees.
“Goodness me, how are you, my duke? I am Bolton Vinard.
We met briefly last year at the New Year’s celebration.”

     “Did we, now?”

     “Yes.
We even talked for over five minutes at that time…In anycase, have you come all this way for us? The duke’s generosity makes this Bolton’s head hang low and his heart overflow with gratitude.” Bolton acted as if he was moved to tears as he kowtowed towards Luisen.
Carlton, on the other hand, was dumbfounded at how the Vinard heir seemed to be a completely different man.

     Luisen also felt awkward, as it had been a long time since he had received such blatant flattery.
‘Just from the way he speaks, it looks like he’s fine.’

     On the surface, it didn’t seem like he’d run into much trouble.
The envoy’s clothes had become dirty after travelling a long way, and his face was lined with fatigue.
But, he didn’t seem to have suffered much hardship–rather, the journey seemed to have been quite smooth.

     “Let’s stop with the useless small talk.
Now, tell me, why have you made such a fuss and requested my presence?”

     “What do you mean fuss? How could we dare cause trouble? We were just so frustrated and outraged at the unfairness of it all that we simply raised our voices a little.”

     “What’s so unfair?” Luisen asked.
Simultaneously, Bolton angrily glared at Carlton, but he couldn’t bring himself to openly show such hostility in front of the duke, so he restrained himself.

TL: Sorry for a bit of the delay guys >.< But the chapter’s here!

Footnotes

Originally, the novel says “this situation is a situation,” In korean, repeating like that often implies something special…It might not translate through well, so I found the English equivalent.  Acting like a green frog is basically acting like a contrarian.
You want to do the opposite of whatever others say.