Being a mercenary which is essentially a soldier for hire, was amongst the most respectable of career choices during the Middle Ages. Mercenary work was seen simply as a job and a means to make a comfortable income, nothing more. There was no love-loss, hate, or animosity between the mercenary and the opponents they were hired to battle to the death with as it was simply viewed as any other paid vocation, quite similar to the way military soldiers and police officers are seen during the modern day