Before Winters could speak, old Sergei, who was sharpening his knife by the campfire, huffed loudly.
Having interacted with Colonel Alec for a long time, old Sergei realized that the colonel was a good-tempered man. Thus, his inherent desire to mock everything overwhelmed his fear of the military uniform.
Sergei—Vashka's father—deliberately made the knife sharpening sound loud, venting all his grievances on the sharpening stone: "Colonel, sir, have you considered how many times a bandit must be kicked in the head by a horse to dare attack military carriages?"
"Hmm."
"After all, as long as they don't take the military carriages," old Sergei pretended to be relaxed, "do the bandits simply not exist?"
Colonel Alec didn't lose his temper, but his service soldier could not swallow his pride.
The service soldier jumped up, kicking over the sharpening stone beside old Sergei: "Insolence! You are speaking to a colonel!"
