Chapter 41: Chapter 35: Everyone’s Future (Part 2)

Anger surged within him!

He desperately wanted to smash his fist into this bastard’s mouth!

But he fought to restrain himself.

Reinhardt’s face was cold as he replied, "Neither I nor the Knight Order can take responsibility for you dying at Frostfire Fortress. There’s no need for thanks, and I won’t accept any gifts. Please leave."

Before approaching Reinhardt, Eliza had already privately met with several followers who had nowhere else to go. She’d already negotiated their terms: they would voluntarily renounce their ties to the Radiant Empire and join the Hearn Territory.

She had thought it would be easy to win over a reckless New Recruit Knight like Reinhardt, but she had been given the cold shoulder from the very start.

Her expression shifted slightly. Eliza stared directly into Reinhardt’s eyes, but he refused to back down, meeting her gaze head-on.

Eliza took a deep breath. After a slight bow of her head, she maintained her image as a gentle maiden and turned to leave.

When she turned around.

All that remained in her eyes was cold indifference.

Carl swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the girl’s retreating figure. He nudged Reinhardt with his elbow and whispered, "This is a great chance to join the Hearn Territory. Why aren’t you taking it?"

"Maybe you could even..."

Pachy shrugged in exasperation and rolled his eyes at Carl, who could only think about women. "Reinhardt’s future is different from ours. There’s no way he’d pledge himself to some Local Lord."

"I’ll have you know, that girl approached me in private yesterday, but I turned her down. It’s hard to explain, but I just get the feeling she’s bad news."

Carl seemed to be lost in his own fantasy, replying distractedly, "Such a beautiful, innocent girl, how could she... You’re definitely overthinking it."

’It’d be great if I could marry her. She’s so beautiful...’ "Wait! She approached you privately? How come I didn’t know about this?!"

Pachy couldn’t stand it, his friend’s head was still full of nonsense, even now. "She’s Lord Hearn’s daughter. Get a grip and stop daydreaming."

Just then, a Knight walked over. "Vice Commander Sedon has ordered me to inform you to assemble in his tent in one hour. Do not be late."

The Knight who delivered the message may have been one of Sedon’s men, but here in Frostfire Fortress, things were different. Especially after ten days without any news or orders, with the people from Hearn Territory deliberately making their lives miserable...

...even former enemies were starting to look surprisingly friendly.

Compared to Lord Hearn’s sickening, ghoulish behavior, at least Sedon still held to his principles as a Knight and a Vice Commander of the Knight Order.

When faced with a true life-or-death battle, he hadn’t retreated, nor had he held back his forces to preserve his own strength.

After everything that had happened, Reinhardt understood that Sedon was merely a proxy for some truly powerful figure pulling the strings.

’The command of the Steel Knight Order?’

’The entire unit has been wiped out. Only a fool would believe that bastard Sedon went through all this trouble just for the commander’s position.’ 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

「An hour later.」

Sedon’s private tent.

All eleven surviving followers from the training camp were present, including Reinhardt.

Adrian seemed to have been in the tent for a while. He was even holding a cup of Sedon’s favorite hot tea. Upon seeing Reinhardt, he stood and greeted him warmly.

If this remarkably handsome, blond Knight hadn’t always been a supporter of Vice Commander Erich and a close friend of Knight Elias...

Reinhardt would have suspected him of being the biggest traitor of them all.

Once everyone had arrived, Sedon motioned for his men to stand guard outside. He then unhurriedly set down his teacup, the empty right sleeve of his uniform swaying gently. His posture remained ramrod straight, chin slightly raised, as his cold gaze swept over the young men who had gathered.

"I have already submitted your status reports and approval documents to the Seventh Group Army. The verdict is that all of you have failed to qualify."

"Therefore, you can no longer remain in the Knight Order’s training camp."

"Erich and Friedrich have sacrificed their lives. As a Vice Commander, I am obligated to secure a better future for you."

As he spoke, he placed his hand on a stack of documents.

"After some negotiation, the Seventh Group has permitted some of you to leave the Empire and pledge your service to Lord Hearn. There, you will receive resources equivalent to those in the Knight Order’s training camp."

"Those of you who have already made your decision may sign these documents."

The eleven young men exchanged glances. After a moment, four of them stepped forward and signed the papers.

The moment their red-ink-stained fingers touched the documents, they ceased to be citizens of the Radiant Empire and became subjects of Lord Hearn.

Sedon called in a Knight and ordered him to take the four young men to Eliza Hearn to complete the final transfer.

After the four left, Sedon took out another stack of documents.

"As for the rest of you, you have two choices. I have here the enlistment applications for the Empire’s various Infantry Legions. You may choose a Legion you prefer and join them."

"Of course, you can also return to your hometowns, marry, have children, and live out the rest of your lives in peace."

As he spoke, Sedon’s gaze never left Reinhardt. He was deeply conflicted. On the one hand, he had to consider the wishes of that powerful figure. On the other, his Loyalty to the Empire wouldn’t allow him to so casually cast aside a Knight with such a promising future.

’This would be a loss for the Empire!’

’In the past, he would have certainly pulled some strings, or simply kept Reinhardt by his side.’

’To cultivate a powerful Knight for the Empire was a grave responsibility, both as an Imperial noble and as a Knight who had once sworn an oath of Loyalty to the Empire!’