The sun would always rise

The poisoned meat broth sat in a wooden bowl, giving off an enticing aroma.

Louis took the soup a knight handed him and slowly raised it to his lips, only to stop abruptly and turn to offer the bowl to Roy.

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

Roy's face stiffened, and he forced a smile. "My lord, that would be improper. Please, you should have it first."

"I order you to drink it." Louis's tone suddenly turned stern.

Roy's lips grew pale, and cold sweat seeped from his temples.

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

Lambert, the knight captain, also sensed something amiss and signaled the knights around him with a glance. Several immediately rose and surrounded Roy.

"Drink it," Lambert said heavily.

The scalding broth was forced toward Roy's mouth.

Realizing he could no longer bluff his way out, Roy suddenly twisted around to flee, but they pinned him firmly in place.

Only then did the other knights truly realize that the soup was poisoned!

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

Roy's eyes filled with terror. Of course he knew the consequences.

"Who told you to poison me?" Louis asked, his voice unhurried.

Roy answered in a trembling voice, "It... it was Lord Selton. He ordered me to poison you."

Selton was Duke Calvin's second son and Louis's elder brother.

The knights all turned their gazes toward Louis.

They were all knights of the Calvin Family and knew full well about the overt and covert struggles between the brothers.

But for their lord to be stabbed in the back by his own family before he had even found his footing was still chilling.

Roy continued haltingly, "He promised... if I poisoned you, he would let me return south and arrange a new position for me. A knight captain, at the very least..."

At those words, the knights surrounding him looked even grimmer.

Louis, however, gave a quiet chuckle.

If his guess was right, his elder brother wanted to eliminate a future rival for the title once and for all.

The Calvin Family's dukedom did not pass to the eldest son, but to the strongest.

No matter how useless Louis was now, as long as he lived, he remained Duke Calvin's blood and retained his right to inherit.

And if he died on the road to the Northern Frontier, the family would surely send another brother to take his place and complete the assignment.

In other words, Selton could eliminate one rival while continuing to wear down his other brothers. Two birds with one stone-what a clever scheme.

Roy still clung to a shred of hope. He looked pleadingly at Louis. "My lord, I... I was forced!

I'm only a knight. When Lord Selton ordered me, I didn't dare disobey... Please spare my life. I'll swear my loyalty to you!"

"Lambert," Louis said evenly.

"Yes." The knight captain stepped forward and drew his longsword.

Roy panicked completely and struggled desperately. "My lord! Mercy! I'll never..."

Slash!

Silver flashed, and blood splashed onto the snow.

Roy's pleas stopped abruptly. His head rolled to the ground, his eyes still wide in death.

Lambert sheathed his sword and said impassively, "The traitor has been executed."

Yet the atmosphere in the camp had grown subtle and uneasy.

The watching knights remained silent, a trace of complicated emotion appearing in their eyes.

Roy had betrayed his lord and deserved to die. That was indisputable.

But had greed truly been his only motive?

He had wanted to return south, not remain trapped in this frozen wasteland until he died.

And what about them? Were they any different?

Everyone knew what it meant to open up territory in the Northern Frontier.

This was a land of exile, the territory with the highest death rate.

No one had come willingly, and no one wanted to stay.

At that moment, none of them dared look at the head that had rolled onto the ground, afraid they might see their own faces on it.

Confusion and helplessness slowly washed over their hearts like a rising tide.

Beneath the night sky, the campfire burned, illuminating the emotions in their eyes.

Louis saw it all and stepped forward. "Anyone who wants to go back can leave now."

Startled, they all raised their heads to look at him.

"I'll personally write to the family to secure your pardon." Louis paused, his gaze passing over every face. "But after today, anyone who leaves will meet the same fate as Roy."

No one spoke, and no one dared move.

They were no fools. Even with a letter from Louis, the family might not forgive them for abandoning their posts. What awaited them would likely be an even harsher punishment.

Staying in the Northern Frontier might mean death, but going back offered no guarantee of survival either.

Looking at the silent knights, Louis suddenly gave a soft laugh.

He let the lethal severity of a moment ago fade, his voice becoming calm. "You all think coming to the Northern Frontier means being sent to your deaths.

You also know why you were sent here. You had no one backing you in the family, so they could throw you away like rubbish."

Louis paused, then his voice suddenly rang with conviction. "But I don't see it that way! You are not rubbish!

You became apprentice knights, or even full-fledged knights, through talent, hard work, and one real battle after another!

And those who sent you here? They're nothing but parasites hiding in castles, eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves!"

Louis slowly swept his gaze over the crowd. Now, a flicker of uncertainty appeared in every pair of eyes.

"Have you ever considered the possibility that we might survive on this frozen land? That we might establish ourselves here?

Perhaps the darkness before dawn will last a long time.

But the sun will always rise!

I don't know whether all of us will live to see that moment, but I swear by the Dragon Ancestor-

If that day comes, I will share the glory the sun brings with every one of you!"

Louis looked at the wavering knights, his tone growing ever firmer:

"Perhaps to the Calvin Family, you are insignificant, pawns to be sacrificed at any moment.

But in this land full of opportunity, anything is possible.

Someone here might one day become a baron, a viscount, or even a count!

Of course, you can keep surrendering to fate, spend every day wallowing in self-pity, and treat yourselves as people with one foot in the grave;

Or you can join me in this forsaken land and take the future firmly into your own hands."

Silence.

Deathly silence.

The night wind howled, and the campfire flickered, casting its light over faces filled with conflicting emotions.

Suddenly, a dull thud! shattered the stillness of the night.

Lambert, the knight captain, dropped to one knee and slammed his right fist against his chest!

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

Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

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

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

One after another, the knights knelt, striking their right fists hard against their hearts.