Chapter 90 Holden's Unwillingness
"Candy!" Holden shouted in shock and rushed forward to catch her, but was too late as she fell to the ground in a cloud of dust.
Holden glared at Cynthia with bloodshot eyes. "You killed someone in the military camp, I'll have your life for this!"
Anne had already moved to shield Cynthia behind her after she made her move. Hearing this, she said coldly, "She's not dead, just knocked out temporarily."
But Holden wouldn't let it go. "She still can't attack people in the military camp!"
Samira walked past him. "This is the entrance to the military camp. Your Dawn Knight Order hasn't set up camp here, so right now this only counts as settling scores outside the camp. Besides, you're allowed to hurl insults at people, but they can't fight back?"
"I'm the leader of the Dawn Knight Order, and Candy is a knight captain under my command. Are you doing this because the Lion Knight Order is backing you up?"
Friedel had seen Cynthia and the others come out earlier and immediately understood they wanted to help Anne vent her anger, so he didn't stop them. Now that Holden called him out, he spoke calmly, "If you hadn't started running your mouths the moment you arrived, how would you have provoked others? But you have a point - attacking people should indeed be punished."
"Cynthia, Samira, Morris, Duncan."
His gaze swept over the four people with strange expressions one by one. "As punishment, each of you must kill one hundred enemy soldiers in the next battle."
The four who were called out had been a bit worried, but hearing this, their faces lit up with joy. "Yes, sir!"
"As for you, Holden." Friedel's eyes were deep, his blue pupils now seeming frozen like ice. "His Majesty's royal order put me in charge of the Dawn Knight Order, so from now on, all military movements will be under my command. If you and Candy have any objections and don't want to follow my management, you can leave Warlinekza right now and go back home. I'll also take responsibility for informing His Majesty the King and waive any punishment."
Holden had come to the eastern battlefield to earn military merit in the first place - how could he dare go back over a moment of impulse? No matter how unwilling he was, he had to lower his head. "...I have no objections. I'll follow all your arrangements."
Friedel smiled slightly. "What, not telling me to get out anymore?"
"I wouldn't dare!" Holden lowered his head. Looking at Candy's swollen face in his arms, a flash of hatred crossed his eyes. "I just acted on impulse. I didn't mean to insult you, Lord Friedel."
He knew that Friedel was His Majesty the King's brother. Even outside the military camp, he was still a high and mighty prince. Wherever he was, Holden couldn't afford to offend him easily. But Holden believed he had a clear conscience. Even though Candy's methods of forcing back the Zotfort army weren't honorable and would cause all their achievements to be nullified for violating the treaty, he had indeed risked his life. Besides, Candy's initial position as knight captain wasn't earned through this operation anyway.
He wasn't like Friedel, who could be appointed as leader of a knight order right from the start just because of his noble birth, bringing down the reputation of the Lion Knight Order!
Seeing Friedel receive a letter from a messenger, Holden picked up Candy and stood up. He gave everyone present a sinister look, especially Anne and the people around her, his gaze lingering on Anne's face for a moment longer, then turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Cynthia caught Holden's movement from the corner of her eye and immediately spoke up. "You're Holden Titan, right? And that Candy - what's her family called?"
"Never mind, I don't want to know your surnames. But you dared to insult me, and I won't let this go. The Yadleys won't let this go either!"
"I, Cynthia Yadley, am telling you right now - the families backing you two will not have an easy time!"
Holden's face changed. He didn't know Cynthia, but the Yadleys were a very famous ancient family in the Soth Empire. Not only were they incredibly wealthy, but because several of their daughters had become queens, they ranked at the very top among all the nobles.
How could he not be afraid of being targeted by such a family?
Holden's face paled considerably. "Candy was wrong just now. She shouldn't have said those things to you. I apologize on her behalf. But she was right about one thing - you noble ladies not staying home and coming to the military camp will easily be misunderstood. And you insulted me first. Can't we just call it even?"
Cynthia held Anne's arm. "Dirty-minded people see everything as dirty. Others who see me would just think I'm a female soldier. Only that woman in your arms would say such things, and you still think she did nothing wrong?"
"And why must I stay at home? Why can't I come to the army to earn military merit?"
Holden gritted his teeth. "The Yadleys behind you can keep you comfortable for life, give you whatever you want. Why do you need to come steal other people's achievements?"
Cynthia looked at him in confusion. "Even if my family can support me and let me live carefree, I came to earn military merit for two reasons - one, because Anne asked me to come, and two, I also hope to gain more honor for myself and bring glory to my family. Why does it sound like I'm stealing from others when you say it?"
"I'm also risking my life fighting enemy forces on the battlefield, just like you. What's the difference? How did someone with such obvious bias become a knight order leader?"
Holden's face turned red with anger, the veins on his forehead throbbing. "Even if you don't earn merit, you'll still live well, and your family doesn't need this bit of military achievement for glory. But we're different from you. Whether it's me, Candy, or other soldiers, we all come from humble backgrounds. Even those of noble birth are lower-class nobles, with families in poverty everywhere. In this situation, shouldn't military merit be left for people like us who need it to change our lives and revive our families?!"
Morris, who had been listening nearby, chuckled softly. "Is that so? But I remember you used all your military merit from the southern campaign to ask His Majesty the King to let you marry Candy, didn't you? The Titan family behind you is still so poor they couldn't even afford a proper wedding. The nobles who attended all said when they came back that Knight Captain Holden's family didn't even have a bed, so you had to have sex with your new bride publicly in the grass. Is this your idea of reviving your family? What an eye-opener!"
Cynthia's eyes widened. "And he still has the nerve to ask me to give up my chance to earn military merit?"
Duncan leaned over to ask him, "Morris, where did you hear all this?"
Even Anne looked at him curiously.
Morris grinned. "Before I came, I asked someone to help gather information about Anne. When I went to Savannah the other day, I happened to run into the messenger and heard him talk about it. Otherwise, I would have thought Anne's ex-husband was doing something important!"