Chapter 181: Father's Resolve

The next to approach was the Fairchild Family Knight Order. At its head was, as expected, my father. Baron Woodpole stepped forward to express his gratitude.

“Your Excellency Margrave Fairchild, thank you truly for leading so many knights to our aid. Thanks to you, my territory was saved from destruction.”

“Your Excellency Baron, I am relieved you are safe. You did magnificently to hold your ground and defend against such a massive horde of monsters.”

“That we were able to stall the massive horde is thanks to the help of your son, Lord William. I truly do not know how to thank you.”

“I am happy if William was of use. However, if you ask my son, he will surely say it was thanks to the help of Lady Scarlett, the Dwarves, and the Elves.”

Ahaha, as expected, Father understands me well. There is a limit to what I can do alone. It is only with everyone’s help that I can accomplish anything.

Then Baron Woodpole stepped even closer to Father and spoke in a small voice. “To be so reckless for such a tiny territory… surely you did not have time to obtain His Majesty’s permission.”

“Helping a friend is only natural. Even if I act without waiting for His Majesty’s instructions and receive punishment, I will have no regrets.” “Theodore-sama…” The Baron broke down in tears.

Even if they couldn’t hear the exchange, perhaps they could imagine it; sobbing could be heard from the Woodpole family knights standing a short distance away.

Father helped the Baron up, exchanged a few words, and then came over to me. “You did well, Will. Are you injured?” “Thank you, Father. Thanks to you, both Sophie and I are safe.”

“That is good. Still, that was an incredible number of monsters. I’m glad the Northern Duke’s knight order came as well.” “It is thanks to you informing Brother.”

“No, I only informed him; it was Eddie who brought the Ducal army. Ah, but since the Ducal house publicly states that Will is their benefactor, it is thanks to Will as well.”

I’m often told by those around me that I’m too humble, but if that’s true, maybe it’s because I take after my father.

“By the way, Father, did you obtain permission from His Majesty to send reinforcements to the Woodpole territory?”

“No, there was no time to get His Majesty’s permission. So I agonized over what to do.” As I suspected, he hadn’t obtained His Majesty’s permission.

“The Woodpole family knights are brave, but since it is a territory that does not face the Sea of Trees, their numbers are simply too few. It would be difficult to protect the Woodpole territory from a massive horde of monsters.”

“So when I consulted your mother, she said, ‘I want you to follow the path you believe in.’ That gave me the resolve. I thought that if I didn’t act when I could prevent a great tragedy, I would regret it forever.”

I’m sure Mom would say that. It seems Father left 100 knights in the care of Commander Liam and rushed to provide aid leading 400 knights himself.

Apparently, he left Northernford the day after we teleported, stayed overnight on the way, and arrived in the Woodpole Barony today. If his arrival had been delayed, I think the Woodpole territory would have been overrun by monsters.

Incidentally, the fact that they arrived at almost the same time as the Northern Duke’s army wasn’t prearranged, but truly a coincidence. Although there was an element of luck, it was thanks to the swift actions of Father and my brother.

Seen off by Baron Woodpole and his knights, the Ducal Knight Order headed north, and the Margrave Family Knight Order headed south back toward Northernford.

We somehow managed to protect the Woodpole territory from the massive horde of monsters. I am neither a Hero nor a Sage, so I am not strong, but my companions worked hard, and Father, my brother, and the young lord came to help.

Even if I can’t do anything alone, I’ve recently started to think that if I can do something by borrowing the strength of those around me, then that’s enough. It was a tough battle, but for now, it’s settled.

At this time, I thought it was over. However, the fact that Father deployed troops without His Majesty’s permission would lead to consequences we could not have predicted.