The poisoned meat soup sat in a wooden bowl, giving off a rich, tempting scent.

Louis accepted it from the knight and raised it toward his lips. Then he stopped and held the bowl out to Roy.

"I have no appetite. Drink it for me."

Roy's expression tightened. He forced a smile. "My lord, that would be improper. You should eat first."

"I order you to drink it." Louis's voice turned cold.

Roy's lips paled, and sweat appeared at his temples.

He knew exactly what was in that bowl. If he drank it, he would certainly die.

Knight-Captain Lambert had noticed that something was amiss. At his signal, several knights rose and surrounded Roy.

"Drink it," Lambert said.

They forced the scalding soup to Roy's lips.

Knowing that he could no longer bluff his way through it, Roy twisted to flee. The others caught him and pinned him to the ground.

Only then did the remaining knights understand what had happened. The soup was poisoned.

Louis rose and looked down at Roy. "You know the punishment for trying to murder your lord, don't you?"

Terror filled Roy's eyes. He knew it all too well.

"Who told you to poison me?" Louis asked evenly.

"It was... it was Lord Benjamin," Roy stammered. "He ordered me to do it."

Benjamin was Duke Calvin's second son and Louis's full brother.

The knights glanced toward Louis.

They were all knights of House Calvin, and they understood the bitter rivalry among the Duke's sons.

Still, having someone betray their lord before he had even gained a foothold was enough to unsettle them.

Roy continued in broken gasps. "He promised... if I poisoned you, he would let me return south and arrange a new posting for me. At least a knight-captain's position..."

The knights surrounding him looked even grimmer.

Louis gave a quiet laugh.

If his guess was correct, his brother wanted to remove a future rival for the dukedom.

House Calvin did not follow primogeniture. Its strongest member inherited the title.

No matter how worthless Louis appeared now, he remained Duke Calvin's blood and retained a claim so long as he lived.

And if he died on the way to the Northlands, the family would have to send another brother north to fulfill the colonization mandate.

Benjamin would remove one rival while forcing the family to expend another son. It was a clever calculation.

Roy clung to his last hope and pleaded with Louis. "My lord, I... I was forced! I am only a knight. Lord Benjamin gave the order; I dared not refuse. Please spare me. I swear I will serve you faithfully!"

"Lambert," Louis said calmly.

"Yes, my lord." The knight-captain stepped forward and drew his sword.

Roy panicked and struggled wildly. "My lord! Mercy! I will never—"

*Shnk.*

Silver flashed. Blood scattered over the snow.

Roy's plea ended abruptly. His head rolled across the ground, his eyes still wide.

Lambert returned his sword to its sheath. "The traitor has been executed."

Yet the atmosphere in the camp had changed.

The watching knights stood in silence, complicated emotions in their eyes.

Roy had betrayed his lord. His death was deserved; there was no disputing that.

But had greed been his only reason?

He wanted to return south. He did not want to be stranded in this frozen wilderness.

Were they any different?

Everyone present understood what it meant to be sent north to establish a territory.

This was a land of exile, a place with the Empire's highest mortality rate.

No one had come willingly. No one wanted to remain.

At that moment, none of them dared look at the severed head, afraid they might see themselves in it.

Confusion and helplessness rose within them like a tide.

Under the night sky, the bonfire burned on, revealing every feeling in their eyes.

Louis saw it all. Then he stepped forward. "Anyone who wants to return may leave now."

The men started and looked up at him.

"I will personally write to the family and clear you of wrongdoing." He paused, sweeping his gaze over them. "But after today, anyone who chooses to leave will meet Roy's fate."

No one spoke or moved.

They were not fools. Even with a letter from Louis, their families might not forgive them for abandoning their duty. The punishment waiting in the south could be worse.

Remaining in the Northlands might be a death sentence, but returning offered no promise of survival either.

Louis watched the silent knights and gave a short laugh.

The killing intent left him. His voice became calm.

"You all believe that coming to the Northlands means death. You also know why you were sent here. You had no backing in your families, so you could be discarded like trash."

He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice rang with force.

"But I do not see it that way. You are not trash. You became Apprentice Knights and Formal Knights through talent, hard work, and battles you fought with your own hands. And the people who sent you here? They are parasites hiding in castles, feasting while others pay the price."

He looked across the group. Something shifted in their eyes.

"Have you considered another possibility? What if we survive on this frozen ground? What if we gain a foothold here?

"The darkness before dawn may last a long time.

"But the sun will rise.

"I do not know whether all of us will live to see that day. But I swear by the Dragon Ancestor: when it comes, I will share its glory with every one of you."

The change in their eyes deepened.

"To House Calvin, you are insignificant. You are pieces that can be sacrificed whenever convenient.

"But in this land of opportunity, anything is possible. One of you may become a Baron, a Viscount, or even a Count.

"You may keep drowning in the fate others handed you, treating yourselves as men already half-buried. Or you can come with me and seize your future on this abandoned land."

Silence.

Dead silence.

The night wind howled as the bonfire flickered over their troubled faces.

Then a heavy thud broke the quiet.

Knight-Captain Lambert dropped to one knee and struck his right fist against his chest.

"I swear to follow you to the death, my lord!"

A second knight followed. Then a third and a fourth.

"I swear to follow you to the death!"

"I swear to follow you to the death!"

One after another, the knights knelt and struck their right fists to their chests.

(End of Chapter)