I Reincarnated As the Third Son of a Count’s Family, Only To Find a Series of Funerals

18 – Aftermath

“Satricia.”

“My lord.”

I approached Satricia standing outside the castle.

In front of Satricia, mercenaries and vassals were digging graves nonstop.

“Is this the burial ground for the fallen?”

“Yes…”

Satricia’s face was filled with grief as she answered me.

In this recent war against the West… no, against Camus, most of the casualties came from the ‘Scarlet Rose’ mercenary corps, who fought the hardest. They were practically our main force, so it could be considered natural.

And they were servants or members of Satricia’s original family, the ‘Fairfield.’ They must have been like family to Satricia, so their deaths would hurt her deeply.

Although they died fighting bravely as hired mercenaries, following the contract, for some reason, I felt uneasy as if I had killed them myself.

“Are you alright, Satricia?”

“…I’m fine.”

Satricia replied with a slightly trembling voice, trying to console me.

“We are mercenaries, and as mercenaries, we know that we can die at any moment.”

“I see.”

“They ultimately helped defend Silverwood, so their sacrifice was not in vain.”

“Of course. The sacrifices of the Scarlet Rose mercenary corps will never be forgotten by me and all the vassals.”

“Well, towards the end… maybe not as much.”

Satricia smiled mischievously at me. Ah, she struck the sore spot.

If the vassals had heard about the duke’s intention to sell me and my mother and almost caused a riot, I might have said something like, “hahahaha, just kill them all and send new vassals to me.” So I made sure Satricia didn’t mention it again.

I knew they bore some responsibility for the unrest among the Silverwood vassals, but I didn’t pursue it further.

Eilen picked up a shovel in silence.

“Anyway, all I can do for the fallen is to ensure they find eternal rest. Ah, I hope they won’t say anything about building tombs inside the castle?”

“No problem. If anyone says something later, let them come to me. I’ll give them a piece of my mind.”

“Yes…”

Satricia started digging the ground with the mercenaries. Although the mercenaries tried to resist, Satricia made a scene and insisted on doing it together, so they eventually complied.

What are you so relieved about? Why am I digging the ground myself? Being a duke makes me crazy all of a sudden.

As I watched the mercenaries dig, a priest wearing a white zimarra and a blue stole came out of the castle.

The priest noticed that I was observing him and approached me to greet.

“I greet the viscount.”

“Your Grace, the bishop.”

I respectfully returned the priest’s greeting by bowing my head. People of the church and secular nobles should show mutual respect to each other, as they are like comrades at each other’s side, except for those who hold positions directly in the royal palace like court priests.

“hahahaha. Actually, I am the assistant bishop. The true bishop is residing in the Duchy of Lurein.”

“Ah…”

“The unfortunate fact is that the priest in charge of the Silverwood Viscounty Parish went ahead with Lord Leon and Lady Changseong along with the brothers under his command.”

“Unfortunately, that is true.”

As I mentioned, most of the high-ranking clergymen of Silverwood were led by my father to Westbern to invade, and they all perished together. The clergymen left behind in the territory were more like church workers than priests, so there was no one worthy of being called a priest.

Although one might wonder why they were led to battle, it has been the duty of clergymen since ancient times to boost the morale of soldiers. It was for the sake of inciting religious fervor, claiming that they held the legitimacy of this war and its battles. They had to even offer the final prayer when soldiers died. So, it wasn’t particularly strange to have led them to battle.

Above all, the clergymen of this world perform visible “miracles.”

“Viscount, your hands are quite injured.”

“Oh, it’s just that I’m not accustomed to handling a sword, so my palms got a bit scraped.”

“May you show me your hands?”

The assistant bishop took my hands and placed his own on top, then prayed.

Suddenly, light emanated from my hands, and the wounds on my palm were neatly healed.

“Thank you, Assistant Bishop.”

“hahahaha. It’s nothing special.”

Yes, these clergymen (or priests to be exact) can perform the “miracle” of healing.

That’s why priests are absolutely necessary on the battlefield. In this world where there are no proper vaccines or medicines, without these priests, even minor wounds could end up infected and fatal.

If they hadn’t been there, countless lives would have been lost not only on the battlefield but also among the civilian population. Considering the harsh living conditions, wouldn’t more than half of the babies die soon after birth?

Well, it might not be to the extent of regenerating severed limbs, but where else can you find the ability to heal physical wounds such as cuts, stabs, burns, and prevent secondary infections?

By the way, they must always be referred to as miracles. If called magic, one might have to have discussions with heretical inquisitors wearing bright red clothes in the underground torture chambers of the cathedral.

“Lord Lurein requested support from the brothers working in the Lurein Archdiocese below, to assist Silverwood. That is why I came as their representative.”

“If the priests come, it will be a great help to us. Even though our temporary priest is absent, tasks have piled up more than a few.”

“Please express your gratitude to Lord Lurein instead of me. As priests who seek the radiance of Lady Changseong while pursuing her starlight, it is our inherent duty to restore her brilliance again.”

I was already pondering how to solve this issue, but it seemed that my grandfather had taken action beforehand.

In this era, without clergymen, no part of the territory could function properly, so my grandfather truly did a great favor.

Clergymen take responsibility for the birth, marriage, and funeral ceremonies of the people of the territory. From the perspective of past lives, they have roles akin to civil affairs offices or social welfare centers.

Without them, one’s existence is not recognized at birth, marriages cannot be solemnized, and even death doesn’t become a reality.

Moreover, as believers consult clergymen on many matters, the cathedral becomes a gathering place for various information from the territory, and these clergymen sometimes serve as judges in minor disputes, substituting for the lord.

Even an approximate estimation of the total amount of money collected by believers would be possible. In addition, it played a role as some kind of hospital through miraculous healing, so everyone could clearly sense just how much trouble I had while there were no priests.

“Well then, I should give the final farewell so that the deceased can go to the Lord’s side…”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

“May the light of the Lord shine upon you eternally.”

The Archbishop greeted me and left to conduct a funeral Mass for the deceased.

Whenever the dead were buried in the grave, the Archbishop would unfold the scripture and pray along with his subordinate priests (I couldn’t understand their language, Rutenian).

Satricia tried to hold back her tears as she watched the body being laid to rest in the tomb, but she ended up shedding tears from time to time.

I watched that scene from a distance and returned to the sanctuary. There was much to discuss with my great-grandfather, Duke Lurein.

**

“You must need a lot of things right now.”

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“Yes.”

“First, we have to quickly solve the housing problem for the residents.”

There wasn’t a single intact house left in our territory. The damn Kamusinians had destroyed every single one, leaving the residents with nowhere to live outside of the castle.

“For now, let’s set up tents for the residents to live in until the temporary houses are completed. I made sure to bring more tent materials than what we needed, anticipating this situation.”

“That’s truly fortunate. I was worried about how long we would have to accommodate the residents within the castle…”

Even after the war ended, it was still burdensome to accommodate the residents within the castle. Thankfully, we found a temporary solution for that aspect.

“But what about the costs for proper house construction and the materials and artisans?”

“hahahaha… Edric, it seems you don’t know who your great-grandfather is.”

When I expressed concern about the costs of rebuilding the territory, my great-grandfather simply laughed and spoke.

“I even built this castle for your detested father.”

“..!”

“And can’t I provide such support, even for my beloved grandson?”

Sob..! Grandfather, what on earth…

Honestly, it was clear that my great-grandfather built this castle not for my father but for his own daughter, my mother. However, I wasn’t clueless enough to express doubt. In these situations, you just have to say thank you and accept it.

“Of course, it’s not completely free. Unlike your father, you shouldn’t just take what I give you without offering anything in return.”

“Then…?”

“Pay back one-tenth of the total cost. I’m not asking you to repay it right away. You can pay whenever you have the means. There won’t be any interest, so rest assured.”

If it wasn’t completely free, I was a bit nervous, but with these conditions, it was practically the same as a donation. No interest and no repayment deadline—wasn’t it just a gift?

“Thanks to you, I can breathe again. From sending the priests to aiding in reconstruction, thank you so much for everything. It makes me dizzy just thinking about what would have happened if you weren’t here, really.”

“He’s something else…”

Grandfather and I laughed together. How did my father manage to find such a great person…

But suddenly, Grandfather smirked and approached me, whispering.

“So, who is the lady that will be your wife? Eileen? Or maybe that mercenary lady outside?”

“Grandfather?!”

“I hope it’s not just any mercenary lady personally. At least she should be of noble birth.”

“Is Eileen okay?”

In response to my question, Grandfather spoke with a hint of regret.

“Among these children of mine, there is not one who married the woman or man I asked them to marry. Your father has already given up.”

“Oh…”

“Well, Eileen is somewhat acceptable since she is also the daughter of the Viscount Gamun who served under your father for a long time. She is capable and even her personality is quite tolerable…”

“You unexpectedly speak well of Eileen. Except for me, there are more people in this household who dislike her…”

“Hmm…”

Curious about why Grandfather was giving a positive evaluation of Eileen, despite the circumstances surrounding her involvement with my brothers, I asked. Within the family, Eileen had not been favorably regarded due to an incident involving my brothers. It was only recently that things had improved, but a few years ago, it was really bad.

I hadn’t known about it for very long, but I noticed that the servants were behaving oddly towards Eileen, either giving her strange looks or ignoring her. I asked Mother about it, and she told me that such incidents had occurred.

Later on, Mother forgave Eileen, but even she was very angry with her at the time of the incident. So, it’s unlikely that there would be any positive stories about Eileen. Why, then, did Grandfather speak well of her?

“…It was thanks to the ability of this old man to see people, which allowed him to rise to the position of the number one duke in this kingdom. He assesses people’s character and abilities, placing them where they are needed and ruthlessly discarding those who are useless. Edric, if you want to manage your territory well, you need that ability.”

Grandfather began to answer my question calmly.

“When it comes to your brothers… I feel like I’m cursing my deceased grandchildren, but as you know, your brothers are quite similar to your father.”

“That’s true.”

Unlike me, my two older brothers resembled our father in many ways. In a bad way.

The eldest brother resembled Father’s violent nature a lot, while the second brother inherited Father’s… dubious qualities.

“The reason I favored you more than your brothers, even when you were just playing instead of studying, was because you resemble your mother more. Anyway, as someone who knows what kind of people your brothers are, I can’t help but think that there must have been some reason for that polite lady to do such a thing.”

“…I also think the same.”

Only my second brother and Eileen knew the truth about what happened that day.

But my second brother had already passed away, and Eileen hesitated to bring up the story, so there was no point in asking.

I simply believed in Eileen based on what I had seen. The Eileen I know is not a woman who would insult others without reason.

“So, who is it? Tell only me, this old man.”

“Well, we’re not at that stage yet.”

“From what you say, it seems like you have feelings for one of them. Could it be both?”

“No…!”

**

After attending the funerals of her fellow soldiers, Satria entered the Marquess of Silverwood. She had something to discuss with Edric.

When she went to Edric’s study, she found him writing something fervently.

It looked like he was working on documents related to the reconstruction of the territory.

“I heard you didn’t like studying, but you seem to write quite well?”

“Is it the work of a mercenary commander?”

Edric greeted Satria with a smile.

“Even so, I know how to read and write my country’s characters… I can only write if it’s not in Ruten.”

“Really?”

“Ruten has a different word order and a very complicated grammar system that gives me a headache.”

Watching Edric, who was clutching his hair as if his head was aching, Satria smiled slightly.

After hesitating for a moment, she spoke.

“Count, we are thinking of leaving soon.”

“What do you mean? According to the contract, there is still time left.”

“Anyway, the Duke’s army has arrived. Silverwood no longer has any threats.”

Edric frowned for a moment at Satria’s words.

At first glance, Satria may seem like a con artist trying to leave before completing the contract period, but in fact, sometimes mercenaries are simply dismissed by their employers when there is no more fighting to be done.

It’s because mercenaries cost money to maintain, and the presence of them doesn’t often help with public safety. Therefore, from the employers’ perspective, it’s sometimes better to let them go when there is no fighting to be done.

Since the mercenaries have received their money and can move on to other jobs, it’s not bad at all.

So, Satria’s words were closer to “we’re not making enough money from the contract” than “we want to escape.”

But Edric wasn’t happy about something. After pondering for a moment, he spoke to Satria.

“Why don’t we consider being employed in our territory for a long time?”

“What do you mean?”

We’re going to have a hard time building a proper army for a while. The great-grandfather’s army will mostly go back within a week, and the rest will go back a few months later. In that situation, we will eventually have to rely on mercenaries to defend our territory. If we’re going to hire mercenaries anyway, it’s better to do it with you.”

“But…”

“And for the reconstruction of your family, isn’t it better for both of you to have a regular income rather than wandering around dangerous places here and there?”

“H-How can… Ah! Did you hear what we said to each other before?!”

Edric looked at Satria, as if to say, “You remember it now?” Satria couldn’t raise her head in embarrassment from the look on Edric’s face.

“I don’t know why you, a noble lady, would hide and secretly try to rebuild your family. You must have your reasons. What I want to say is it’s more reassuring to work under someone who already knows your secret than to worry about it getting out when working for someone else.”

“…”

Satria took expression and gesture as if she had a lot to say to Edrik. But in the end, she sighed deeply and told him:

“Thank you so much if you can do that for us.”

“Sure. Well thought.”

“By the way, how will you pay for it?”

Satria asked innocently how they would be paid when everything was destroyed on this land.

“Just ask the Marquis.”

“Ah.”

“If he says it’s for hiring you, will he give it right away?”

Unfortunately, Edrik was already addicted to his grandfather Amon’s swollen wallet, just as Marquis Lurein had anticipated.

**

“Heck, ahh…”

The man covered in wounds and blood was barely walking instead of falling down.

“Silverwood…Lurein…these bastards!”

The man’s name was Karoi, who led the Kamus people. He lost everything and barely escaped with his life in the end after being pursued by Lurein’s forces.

‘…even if I go back like this, I might die.’

Even if there is a tradition of generosity towards defeated generals, will the poor forgive someone who fled losing all their troops?

“But… even if I die, I’ll die in my tribal hands…

If he has to die anyway, Karoi kept walking even though his feet were blistered and bleeding, thinking that he would rather die in his own tribe than have a miserable death in the hands of outsiders.

Eventually, Karoi left the foreigners’ land and returned to the land of great warriors, the grassland.

“I finally came back to my hometown!”

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He was happy for a moment until he heard the sound of hooves in the distance.

‘Is that our tribal people? No, that’s impossible. We still have some distance to go before we reach where our tribe stays… then are they from another tribe?’

The grasslands were where not only Kamus people but also other nomadic tribes lived together, so it was not an unusual event.

Karoi was briefly confused by the sudden sound of hoofbeats but soon shouted to the approaching crowd with joy:

“Listen here! I’m Karoi, the leader of the Kamus people! Who are you? I need help!”

There are strict rules among nomads. They should welcome outsiders unless there are special circumstances.

Except for specific situations, even if they are bitter enemies, they must serve guests extremely well.

On the same principle, helping outsiders means taking care of them unless they make unreasonable demands.

Therefore, Karoi immediately asked for help from the strangers he had just met.

But as he watched the approaching crowd coming towards him, he realized that something was going wrong. The speed of the crowd rushing towards him did not decrease.

Only then did he try to run away, but it was too late.

In an instant, the approaching crowd grabbed Karoi’s neck with a noose.

As his neck was strangled, Karoi saw the people on horseback.

“Bergol…!”

Karoi lost consciousness.