Chapter 156 : A Knight's Welcome
Chapter 156: A Knight's Welcome
"Hahaha, it looks like he’s happy too." Jeven said, while Harvey just grinned, rubbing his hands together and pacing anxiously on the side.
Jeven led them into the small church. Beneath the cross, he performed the baptism for the infant, and when it came time to give the church name, he glanced at George.
Then, he spoke to the man, Harvey.
"He is a fortunate child. On the day of his birth, he was met by a noble knight, so I think the church name George would suit him well." he said.
The three witnessing the ceremony, including George, were all taken aback. Landon and the other looked toward George, unable to suppress their reactions.
"He’ll surely become an excellent warrior like George—perhaps even an outstanding knight." Jeven offered his blessing to the child, finally dipping his pinky in some icing sugar and touching it to the baby’s lips.
The infant, eyes still shut, smacked his lips as if overjoyed.
"It looks like he really likes the name." Jeven said with a smile, then returned the baby to Harvey.
"Yes, of course. I’ve heard stories of Monk George. I admire him greatly. Besides, my wife is originally from Daniels Village. She once told me about Monk George, and during her time in Daniels Village, Monk George had helped her." Harvey spoke continuously.
The baby in his arms began to wail again.
George, on the side, looked a bit embarrassed.
"Still, don’t forget—when you return, you’ll need to give your child a proper name. And you should give yourself a surname too." Jeven reminded.
"Oh, right. But I’m not very good with names. Could I ask a monk to help choose one?" Harvey hunched his shoulders slightly and asked with a bit of flattery.
"A surname is something you must decide for yourself." Jeven refused.
"Alright then." Harvey could only leave with regret.
Once Harvey, holding the child, had walked away, George finally asked, "What’s with the church name?"
"That was proposed by the monastery. They said that by giving a child a church name, they could be blessed by the will of the church’s members. The bishop approved it." Jeven explained.
"However, for now, only your name, Priest Nyx’s name, and the names of a few Holy Relics may be used as church names."
"Of course, it only applies to babies born within the month, and only those without given names are eligible to receive a church name."
"Also, a priest can only name one child per month. This too is a form of Blessing."
"Though I am not a priest, the bishop has specially permitted me to exercise the authority of the priests." Jeven said with a calm smile.
As for what the bishop said back then about Faith Assimilation and such, Jeven didn’t think it necessary to mention.
This was his own choice.
George felt a bit awkward, but since the bishop had approved this church name initiative, he couldn’t say much more. He only thought that once he reached the church, he must look into the true purpose of these church names.
"As for surnames, that’s something the monastery’s instructors are insisting on. They say it’s part of establishing the laws of marriage and ethics, to reduce the number of abandoned children in the territory." Jeven added.
"The church will gradually take on the responsibility of adopting orphans again. But right now, the number of priests and monks is too few. We can only seek assistance from some families."
"That’s very difficult." George said.
Matters between men and women were never easy to manage.
Like that time long ago when he and Corleon were preparing a body for burial—right in front of her husband’s corpse, the widow had already started flirting with the deceased's friend, without any regard for the dead or his relatives.
"It’s precisely because it’s difficult that we must do it. If one year isn’t enough, then two or three—if that’s still not enough, then let it be a task for the next generation or the one after that." Jeven smiled.
"One day, we will succeed. At the very least, we know this is the right thing to do."
As they spoke, the sound of hoofbeats approached.
"Looks like your escort has arrived." Jeven said, leading the two outside the small church. Igor, unable to move well, remained inside.
Outside the church, three knights without visored helmets reined their horses to a stop.
They were real knights. Their armor bore the crests of the nobles who had conferred their knighthood.
Though George didn’t recognize the crests.
But he recognized one of the knights.
"Mr. Borien!" George raised his voice slightly.
Seeing Knight Borien, who had taught him for so long, made him quite happy.
"Oh~ Is that George? You’ve changed quite a bit." Knight Borien dismounted, giving George a once-over.
"And you are…" George looked at the emblem on Knight Borien’s chest.
"As you can see, I’ve once again become a knight." he said. His face no longer held the youthful pride George remembered from the conscription days, but it also lacked the dejection from when he used to instruct George.
"Congratulations, Knight Borien." George offered heartfelt congratulations.
"Alright, let me introduce you—this is Knight Brand, and this is Knight Jike." Borien smiled, introducing the two knights who had dismounted beside him.
Both gave George a slight bow in greeting.
Having spent a long time with Knight Julian, George didn’t feel as awkward as Landon did.
He just felt a bit strange, slightly opening his mouth, unsure what to say.
But Borien noticed.
"Hah, whatever it is, let’s talk on the road. We mustn’t keep the bishop waiting." Knight Borien saluted Monk Jeven, who returned the gesture.
It was a salute between equals.
"May the Lord protect you." Jeven said.
"Thank you for your Blessing." Knight Borien replied, then looked at Landon.
"This is the guest the bishop mentioned, right? Can you ride?" he asked.
The three knights had brought two spare horses.
"Uh, yes." Landon said somewhat nervously.
Where he came from, the lord didn’t control horses as strictly as Viscount Helvin. Warhorses might have been inaccessible, but a few scrawny ones were not a problem.
"Good. And the other guest?"
"Igor has limited mobility." George replied.
With Igor brought along, the group departed from Adams Village.
"Knight Borien, has the situation in York Territory changed a lot recently?" George asked in a low voice as he rode beside Knight Borien.
Three knights had come to receive him. If he hadn’t sensed no malice, he would have thought the lord meant to ambush him.
Until he mounted the horse, he hadn’t realized they were here to welcome him.
"Of course it has changed." Knight Borien said in a low voice, with audible emotion.
And a trace of relief.
"You know about the expedition led by Marl, right?" he asked.
George nodded. He and Marl exchanged White Doves.
"The warriors he took were drawn from the guard units of each village—twelve men from each, which means he had a force of one hundred and eighty."
One hundred and eighty—no small number.
"Now, all village guard units have been reduced to twelve men. When they return, they’ll have to obey the church’s orders."
"In addition, Knight Wolf, who oversees the territory’s military affairs, is currently recuperating in the church. With Knight Wolf in place, the territory’s military power is basically under the church’s control."
"At least until the lord returns."
"And those Local Gentry—Knight Wolf has nearly killed half of them. After the matter with Daniels Village, even the southern families in the territory no longer dare to oppose openly."
"You should’ve heard about the Daniels Family matter, right?" Borien asked.
George nodded.
Borien continued, "And after Piero submitted to the bishop, all decrees in the territory now come from the church. The town’s administrator is merely a messenger."
"With both military and administrative power in the church’s hands, we, the Honorary Knights who were conferred titles, no longer belong to the lord. After we defeated the Southern Coalition of Nobles, we became worthless."
"To avoid being discarded, we had no choice but to align ourselves with the church."
Knight Borien’s voice carried a hint of helplessness.
He had suspected this would happen when he was drafted—perhaps all the other knights had as well.
After all, none of them had even seen the noble to whom they were supposed to swear fealty.
But they were conferred knights—how could they refuse?
What they hadn’t expected was for the war to end so quickly.
Aside from Borien, who had personally seen Corleon draw his bow, no one else even understood why the war had ended.
"Of course, it’s not that we’re unwilling. It’s just that the bishop hadn’t summoned us—until yesterday, when he asked me to bring two knights to receive you." Borien said.
"But if that’s all it was, there was no need for you and knights to come just for me." George said.
"The bishop said, this is the Honor you deserve upon your return."