Recruitment of a Scoundrel

“Fancy seeing you two again, it’s only been a day, hasn’t it?” Robin said, smiling mockingly.

He was still chained up. The bruises on his knees, wrists and every other part of his body that had been constricted by the tight chains made Frederick question if he was capable of feeling pain at all.

The guards clearly did not like going down this far one bit. The slippery steps from the wet cobblestone stairs, the maze-like tunnels, all the insects that made this place their home, and now here–the putrid stench of human waste.

Every step they took, from entering the cell all the way to injecting Robin with a secret serum, demanded absolute precision. One wrong step and the thief would be able to break out. Despite the castle walls seemingly a maze this deep down, there was no doubt someone of his level of skill could maneuver through it effortlessly. Here, there were at least ten men. The hall was tight, so two would have been stationed near the entrance, three to assist Sir Logan and Frederick, and another three ready to run out and alert the rest of the people in case Robin manages to escape. All to ensure one person wouldn’t be able to escape.

“Geez, you guys must love me hu–ACK!”

After being injected, Robin let out a sharp yelp. The needle was by no means thin and the serum was rather viscous.

“Okay, let him out,” Sir Logan said.

When the chains were removed, all the guards readied their spears in case he attacked. However, Sir Logan just walked and turned his back away as if there was no chance of that ever happening.

“Let’s go,” he said.

When Robin first tried to stand, he collapsed almost instantly, face slamming into the ground desecrated by his own excrement after being locked in place for so long.

The guards audibly murmured, looking at Robin as though he were filth akin to a sewage rat. He grit his teeth and glared at the guard, sending shivers down their spines.

“H–Huh!? What are you looking at, huh!?”

The guard slammed the blunt of his spear right on Robin’s head.

“You piece of filth, stealing from the king. Had your life been up to me, I would have killed you myself."

“Big words from a nobody. I bet leeching off the kingdom and kissing the king’s ass got you living a pretty comfortable life, huh?”

Robin sneered. Such provocations only served to infuriate the guard even more. His face grew red and veins visibly popped out, but before he could land another strike–

“That’s enough.”

“HUH!? Ah–”

Sir Frederick stepped in and grabbed the spear mid thrust, stopping it from hitting Robin. The guard who was ready to talk back stopped immediately when he saw who it was.

“Y–Yes…” he said, before backing off with a disgruntled look.

“Give me your hand, I’ll help you walk,” Frederick reached out to Robin.

“Huh…? You think you can win me over just by playing nice?”

“No, but you can’t walk right now, can you?”

“I ain’t falling for your white knight bullshit.”

Robin just scoffed with a mocking grin, but it wasn’t the same as with the guards prior.

From the start, Frederick noticed it all. Robin hadn’t moved from that one position in a month. One month tightly constricted till his neck, wrists, and legs were all bruised black. Despite being fed mana to stay alive, he had been tortured for so long. It only made sense he wouldn’t be able to walk right after being released. Frederick even feared the worst case, what if the damage was too much that they would need to amputate his legs.

“We don’t have much time, once we’re out, you have to get yourself cleaned and healed up–”

“Don’t fake kindness on me!”

Robin shouted and smacked Frederick’s arms away, catching him off guard. He was clearly enraged. The force lifted his hood ever so slightly revealing his eyes. For a moment, it was clear, behind everything were the eyes of pure hatred and animosity.

“I know who you are, Sir Frederick, the finest of the royal knights. Great title, are you also another one of the king’s ass kissers?”

He no longer pretended to hide how he truly felt.

“I fight for the Kingdom. That’s what I swore to my people.”

“Swearing to the people? Cut the crap! That pristine armour, that title, was this something your father just oh so graciously bestowed on you?” he spat. “All of you dogs are just here for the approval of the King. Do you have any idea what it’s like to live in fear? Never knowing if or when your hometown will be wiped out!?”

The halls that echoed went silent, the only thing that remained was the sound of embers from the lit torches.

What Robin said was true for a lot of knights. To become a knight is the easiest way to climb the ranks and become a noble. Even if just a baron, you can have the opportunity to have a house in the inner walls. That was the reason plenty of children would aspire to be knights. And if you’re a noble knight, you don’t even need to go out and battle at all. You can command armies from the safety of the caste, next to the king, and never risk themselves in actual battle. That’s what plenty of noble knights do.

Even Frederick could not disagree with Robin’s perspective of the Knights, but even then–

“I won’t leave you to talk in your state,” he said, this time grabbing him by the arm.

“Wha–, wait!”

“My father was a commoner,” he said, cutting Robin off and carrying him over his shoulder. “I don’t have that standing… and my hometown… it’s gone.”

Robin fell silent with widened eyes. The momentary surprise took away the strength in his body just enough for Frederick to lift him up. He remained silent, unable to retort anything. He didn’t know what to say. His lips quivered for a moment.

“I–”

“You will accept my aid, that’s an order,” Frederick cut him off. Ending the discussion right then and there. To the other guards’ surprise, Robin, with his head down, complied.

Upon closer inspection, Robin was short and slender. And even while hidden and malnourished, he had noticeably fair skin. He must have been young, younger than Frederick. Somehow, even when handling a criminal like this, Frederick couldn’t help but reach out his hand. After all, he was a young man, and judging by what he said earlier, he wasn’t fighting for selfish gains either.

“Master,” Frederick called out. “Who are we recruiting next?”

“Another quite troublesome man,” he replied.

Frederick’s skin crawled at the promise of someone potentially just as troublesome as Robin.