Circumstances of a Fallen Lord

Chapter 54

Carlton couldnt help but to paw at Luisens hair. Its such a waste.

My hair will grow again.

Thats true, but

Its true, cutting ones hair wasnt a big deal. However it didnt sit right with Carlton that the young lord was cutting his hair for money. Cutting and selling their hair was a last resort for wives of poor families.

Besides, theres nothing better than this for quick money, Luisen said.

The young lords words were correct. Because they had no coin on them currently, it would be hard to restore the pilgrims pass. The mercenary had been considering hiding Luisen up in a tree and breaking into the castle, alone, to steal the money. However, it was far better to sell hair than to steal. Still, Carlton couldnt help but hesitate.

Luisen looked sullenly at Carlton before deciding to take care of it himself. Give it to me.

Luisen took the dagger from Carltons hand. Without a moments hesitation, the young lord grabbed his hair and cleanly cut it off. The dagger was incredibly sharp because Carlton had been grinding it against the whetstone this morning; before the mercenary could stop him, Luisen had cut his hair.

Okay, thats enough, right? Luisen handed the bundle of hair to Carlton.

The mercenary looked down at the strands in his hand. It was beautifullike a bushel of golden threadbut Carltons mind felt conflicted.

The mercenary tore his gaze away from the golden hair and looked at Luisen. Because the young lord had cut just below his ears, his hair began to spread out in all directions; it was as if a mouse had begun nibbling at its ends. Carlton couldnt laugh at allinstead, his heart felt weighty at how bare the lords neck looked.

In the past, one of Carltons men once drunkenly said that he became a mercenary because his wife had sold her hair for money. He had chosen this tough job because of his self loathinghe hated himself for being so incompetent, causing his wife to sell her hair. Carlton didnt understand at that time; it was just hair. Itll grow again with timehow insignificant.

Luisen wasnt Carltons wife, but now the mercenary understood his mens feelings.

Hed never felt so powerless and incompetent before. Carlton was someone who took pride in his capabilitiesit defined his identity.

Just this time. This wont happen again. Whatever may happen, Ill make sure were not short of money, Carlton vowed. Whether through hunting or manual labor, this would never happen again.

Welldo as you please? Luisen said.

 Does Sir Carlton really hate being in my debt? Contemplating on Carltons strange obsessions, Luisen drew the hood over his head once again.

***

The two re-entered the castle. As a city often frequented by a lot of tourists, Confosses back alleys were also quite bustling. It was a perfect place for fencing and laundering items secretly. 1

It wasnt that hard to sell hair. Although hair was often sold at a bargain, Luisens hair was long and well-maintainedsmooth, taut, and authentically blonde. That particular hair color was quite rare, so it made the strands more valuable than market price. On top of that, Carlton won a few more coins through some haggling and intimidation.

     Looking at that, Luisens insides boiled. Wow, when I first sold my hair, I got less than half this price.

However skilled Carlton may have been at bargaining, the price difference was just too much! He must have given away his hair back then for way too cheap. At the time, Luisen knew wigs were made of human hair, but he had no concept of money or how much his hair was worth. Back then, he had just been happy that he could get money at all for something like that.

Carlton didnt know how much hair was usually sold for either. Instead, Carlton knew how to bargain by observing his customers reaction.

I should have done that. What a shame Luisen thought.

It was all in the past, but Luisen still felt wasteful. When he recalled how he had happily agreed after being offered a small amount of money, Luisen felt an urge to punch the air. Instead, the young lord clenched his fists.

Carlton noticed Luisens body languagethe mercenary imagined that, no matter how at ease the noble seemed as he offered to sell his hair, no noble would be happy with resorting to an impoverished wifes tactics. Though the other may have pretended this was a trivial matter, he was sure to feel slightly hurt.

Carlton felt sorry for Luisen, patted him on the shoulder, and offered him words of comfort. Since we have money now, lets eat a long-awaited decent meal for dinner.

At Carltons consoling, Luisen smiled and nodded. One of Luisens strengths was his ability to move on without much regret. The two continued on, ignorant of the minor misunderstanding that passed between them.

Holding their money, Luisen and Carlton searched for a blacksmith. Located in the same alley, there was an old blacksmith that mainly handled stolen goods; he was a perfect candidate for keeping secrets because the man was illiterate and mute. The blacksmith worked robotically on the pilgrims pass without questioning them.

When the bronze attached to the surface was peeled off, the pilgrims passs original appearance was revealed. The silver plaque was engraved with the Churchs symbolthe sign for light. The brilliant and chilling hue spread out in all directions in the form of rays. Even those that were ignorant of the symbols true meaning would recognize that this was not an ordinary object from its sophistication.

After exiting the alley, Luisen threaded a leather string through the pass and hung it around his neck.

Now that Luisens fake identity had been secured, it was Carltons turn next. They continued down the same road and entered the mercenarys guild, and there they requested a mercenary plaque issued in the name of someone from Carltons company. The mercenary said that he had lost his plaque when he had encountered a robber on his way here.

At first, the guild staff looked at Carlton and Luisen with open suspicion and refused to issue the plaque. Honestly, how could they have entered the heavily fortified castle gate without proper identification or a mercenarys plaque? In addition, Carlton looked far more like a bandit than a mercenary. It was reasonable for the staff to believe that Carlton may be the robber and not the robbed.

However, when Luisen stealthily showed the staff his pilgrims pass, all doubt was cleared. The employee gladly made a new plaque. Why didnt you say you were hired to escort an honored pilgrim earlier?

These passes were issued and managed by the Church; it was a guarantee of ones status and devotion. Therefore, those with pilgrims passes were protected and formally recognized by the Church. No other proof of identity was needed. Under that logic, a mercenary hired by such a pilgrim was also indirectly under the protection and employ of the Church, so no further proof was needed for them either.

This really works! Luisen was surprised. He had learned that the pilgrims pass was quite useful as hed followed around the one-armed saint, but he didnt know the extent of its influence.

That is what Ive said. With that, no matter what you look like, you can avoid inspections wherever you go.

Still, I thought theyd ask where we came from and what we intend to do here.

Most common folk are afraid to have their faith called into question. They may make the Church unhappy by uselessly interrogating pilgrims about this and that.

Luisen nodded. That was true. This kingdom believed in one god, and the Churchs opinion was reflected in all of the kingdoms greatest events. The clergy was never missing from official ceremonies, and these matters often followed religious procedures detailed by the Church. As a result, the Churchs influence was quite strong in the peoples daily lives. Priests often were local leaders in rural villages, where the Lords governmental influence was weak.

Luisen had previously lived a decadent life as a recognized noble trashall his friends were the same. They had never been very religiously conscious. In his mind, he imagined the Church as a place where kind priests gave out food as charity.

In any case, after recognizing the power of the pilgrims pass, Luisen looked at Carlton with new eyes. With something like this as a hidden ace, you could have travelled the world with no fear! Everyone would have believed you.

I must seem like a very temperamental man, but Im not thoughtless, Carlton spoke arrogantly.

 Luisen was dumbfounded. If youre aware of your own temper, then shouldnt you try to reign that in? As he thought that, Luisen fiddled with his pass. Did Carlton really use this in the previous timeline? Now, though, there was no way to know for sure.

***

Going forward, the pilgrims pass proved very useful. The two left the shady alley and walked confidently on bright, sunlit streets. Because they had been wandering the mountains, they looked dirty and shabby; the two were unrivalled in ruggedness in Confosses streets.

The combination of Carltons unapproachable atmosphere and Luisens tightly covered body should have been quite suspicious. And yet, no one doubted them.

When the two went shopping, the merchants were reluctant to sell at first but changed their behavior once they saw the pilgrims pass. Some werent completely friendly, but by and large the merchants treated the two well rather than ignoring them or chasing them away. Even the vigilant guards, who were questioning the passersby, smiled at the pass and walked by.

Thanks to that, Luisen and Carlton were able to safely buy what they needed and obtain a room in a clean and decent inn.

TL: I see you, mr mercenary, comparing Luisen to a wife.

Also, I cackled at this exchange:

Carlton: This wont happen again, Ill be the best sugar dad

Luisen: Whatever you say, Jan.

1. Fencing = selling stolen items. Laundering = turning dirty money into legal money.