Chapter 5: Defending Castle Canossa

“Your Grace, there is something I am quite curious about.”
Leo walked through the center of the castle’s great hall, watching Matilda leaning by the window, and could not help but feel intrigued.
Matilda turned her head slightly, glancing at Leo as she absentmindedly brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
“What is it?”
“Your courtiers—why have none of them appeared here these last few days?”
Having voiced this question, Leo felt as though a weight of confusion had been lifted from his heart.
When he had first arrived, it had been crowded with courtiers, all chattering and urging Matilda to marry. But ever since his arrival, their numbers had noticeably dwindled.
It hardly seemed reasonable.
“I’m not entirely sure; perhaps they’ve returned home to attend to their own affairs,” Matilda replied.
Gone home to attend to their affairs?
Leo paused, then it dawned on him—they might have gone back to tend their lands.
Every year, in late October, it was sowing season for farmers in the Mediterranean. In that case, it made perfect sense.
After all, anyone who could serve as a courtier surely had their own estates to manage.
But the moment Leo reached this conclusion, a chime from the system sounded in his mind.
[New Quest Triggered: Defend Canossa Castle]
[Objective: Protect Canossa Castle under enemy siege and ensure Matilda comes to no harm]
[Reward: 300 Reputation, 1 Knight]
Why had such a quest suddenly been triggered?
A sense of foreboding swept over Leo.
He immediately dashed out of the hall, intent on reaching the ramparts.
Before he could get there, Enrico hurried to meet him, his anxious expression confirming Leo’s fears.
“My lord, there are enemies everywhere outside!”
Enemies? How could that be possible?
Matilda, who had followed Leo out, was equally astonished.
By all accounts, Canossa Castle, deep within the heart of the Duchy of Tuscany, should never have found itself surrounded by enemies without warning.
But when Enrico caught sight of Matilda, his anxiety only deepened.
He moved closer to Leo and whispered, “My lord, these men say they’ve come to seize you.”
“To seize me?”
Leo found it hard to believe.
Since his arrival in this world, he’d done little to provoke anyone—how had he suddenly become the target of a manhunt?

Given the circumstances, he had to see for himself what was happening at the walls.
Reaching the battlements, Leo saw a cluster of knights gathered below.
They were clad in battered mail, mounted on imposing warhorses, and held aloft banners bearing their family crests in a display of defiance.
Matilda, her skirts gathered in her hands, climbed to the ramparts as well, eager to see who dared lay siege to her castle.
A single glance was all it took for her to identify the leader.
“Vittorio, what are you doing here!”
As Duchess of Tuscany, Matilda was the first to address Vittorio, who stood before the walls.
Vittorio gave a cold snort, then pointed his finger at Leo.
“Your Grace, I am no traitor! I have come only to rid you of the villain at your side—the Roman, Leo!”
At these words, every soldier on the walls turned their eyes to Leo, their gazes a mix of doubt and consideration, as though weighing the truth of Vittorio’s accusation.
To the soldiers, Leo was an outsider, while Vittorio was a prominent figure at the ducal court.
Where their loyalties should lie was suddenly uncertain.
Leo knew at once he had to seize control of the narrative. Otherwise, the defenders might turn on him before the enemy ever breached the gates.
“Vittorio, is this what you call loyalty?”
Leo pointed accusingly at Vittorio. “You lead an armed force to Canossa Castle—is this truly the act of a faithful subject?”
Vittorio was about to reply when Leo cut him off.
“Furthermore, I am here on the orders of the Pope himself, sent to deliver the Holy See’s decree! If you call me a villain, then are you not also accusing His Holiness of villainy?”
At this, the knights beside Vittorio exchanged uneasy glances.
They looked from Vittorio to Leo upon the ramparts.
What Leo said was not without merit.
As a papal envoy, Leo represented the Pope’s authority. To attack him was to challenge the Pope himself…
“You knights at Vittorio’s side! I know you have been misled by him! If you turn back now, I will not hold you accountable. But if you persist, consider well the consequences!”
For these knights, such a threat was anything but empty.
In the Middle Ages, the Church’s influence was all-encompassing.
The Pope held the power of excommunication. For a Catholic, incurring the Pope’s wrath might mean being cut off from the Church.
Excommunication would bar a believer from receiving the Eucharist, from prayer, from confession.
Perhaps this means little to the modern mind, but to a medieval Catholic, excommunication meant near-total isolation—if not utter ruin, then certainly being beset on all sides.
The knights around Vittorio hesitated openly.
They had never been of one mind, following Vittorio only out of self-interest.
But no gain was worth incurring the Pope’s condemnation.

Only Vittorio knew he had no path left for retreat.
The longer the delay, the worse his position would become.
So he raised his sword, pointing it at Leo on the ramparts.
“Leo, don’t think I do not know what you are—a fraud, a sorcerer, a practitioner of dark arts! You have bewitched the Duchess with your witchcraft! Knights, attack with me! Seize Leo! Defend the duchy!”
No sooner had Vittorio finished than one of his riders sounded a trumpet call.
The rebels, who had been waiting, immediately surged forward.
Leo looked out over the advancing rebels, estimating their numbers at over a thousand.
Within Canossa Castle, the defenders numbered barely a hundred and twenty—half of whom were Corsican infantry brought by Leo himself.
“Quickly! Organize the defenses!”
At this, Sir Enrico set about readying the castle for battle.
Matilda’s household knights, under the commands of several veteran officers, took their positions along the walls. They hauled up stones and arrows stored within the castle, and donned their armor.
Though the disparity in numbers was vast, the battle was not yet lost.
Leo, standing atop the battlements, took up a bow and began assessing their advantages.
First, the walls:
With the formidable defenses of Canossa Castle at their backs, even tenfold enemy numbers would not be enough to guarantee a breach.
Second, morale:
Vittorio’s rebels were nothing more than a motley horde, united only by greed. The defenders, loyal to Leo and Matilda, were fewer in number but more cohesive and resolute.
Last, tactics:
If Vittorio failed to capture Canossa Castle quickly, his force would inevitably disband.
This urgency explained his reckless assault. Lacking proper siege engines, they could only attack with ladders in a direct assault.
In other words, if Leo could hold out through the first assaults, the enemy below would surely collapse.
So be it—let the battle begin!
Leo nocked an arrow to his bow and drew the string to its limit.
With a sharp whistle, the arrow tore through the air, striking an enemy in the front rank. As the rebel fell with a scream, the defense of Canossa Castle had truly begun!