Jillin Harbor
Here's the fifth release of the week! There will be one more out tomorrow to make up for last week's missed 5th release, so stay tuned!
Please note that this chapter is still unedited.
Even though Jillin Harbor used to be the only port city of the former empire at the Cursed Coasts, it was not that huge, with only a population of around 20 thousand people and incomplete harbor facilities.
Ever since the formation of the Andinaq kingdom, the new kingdom inherited the policies of the old empire that tended to neglect sea transportation. While Jillin Harbor did rise in popularity due to the increased risks of land travel during the civil war of the empire, due to the heavy taxes the second highness levied on goods transported by the ocean, the harbor gradually returned to its former tranquility.
When the smugglers no longer came to Jillin Harbor, all that remained there was the trading plaza for seafood. That was the largest seafood bazaar in the whole of the Andinaq kingdom. The fishing folk of Jillin Harbor toiled during the day only to sell their catch in the evening to the fishmongers, following which the fishmongers would deliver the food straight to the dinner table of the nobles of the Andinaq kingdom that very night itself.
In the past, fishermen of Silowas would sell their catch at that bazaar, but they have since stopped due to the oppressive business practices of the fishmongers. That was further reinforced by the fact that the consumption of seafood by the 60 thousand troops of Firmrock Legion that far exceeded their usual catch. Should they end up with extra seafood, they would dry them in the sun to preserve them instead of bringing them to Jillin Harbor to be traded. All contact that remained between Silowas and Jillin Harbor was the single ferry that traveled once every three days to-and-fro the places.
Lorist has always had plans for Jillin Harbor. Even though Silowas was a great place, it was an isolated island in the ocean. While it would be ideal as a consolidation point for goods, it was inferior to Jillin Harbor when it came to ease of distribution of goods to the main continent, which is what most merchants wanted. Currently, the salt merchant committee that Count Kenmays managed was fighting for market share at the northeastern area of the former empire. The influence of the salt merchant committee had already encompassed the Iblia kingdom and half of the Madras duchy. In recent times, the count's ambitions was to establish a new trade route to the four central duchies.
Given that Silowas was a little bit to the south, Lorist wanted to use the Peterson Merchant Guild to help distribute the products of his dominion to the areas which the Union had influence in. However, he did not think that the Union's sphere of influence had greatly decreased following the War of Glass as a result of many neighboring nations turning hostile against them and cutting off old trade routes. The Peterson Merchant Guild themselves suffered quite a bit of losses and could not afford to help Lorist out with his ambitions either, given that they had to spend at least two to three years to recover from the blow.
The coast from The Northlands all the way to Silowas was referred to as the Cursed Coasts because of the reefs that plagued the area, causing there to be no suitable place for ships to dock. That was the reason for Lorist's appreciation of Jillin Harbor. If he could get the harbor under the control of his house, Lorist believed that he would definitely be able to develop the place into a thriving port city in a few short years and expand the trade routes to the Redlis kingdom at the south.
The preface for Lorist's sending of Supervisor Hansk to the imperial capital was to show concern for the second highness's recent predicament, but in actuality, he wanted to use that opportunity to put in some effort to rescue his king. Naturally, there was a catch if the Nortons were actually asked to deploy their troops. After all, there are no free favors in this world. With the war between the Andinaq kingdom and the Redlis kingdom lasting for more than one year, even the rats within the treasuries of the Andinaq kingdom had starved to death. Lorist had hoped that his favor would be repaid in the form of jurisdiction over Jillin Harbor.
While it would be ideal if he could make the area around the harbor part of his dominion, he found that the second highness would hardly agree to such terms and thought better of it. Instead, he would only ask to be given administrative rights to that area. If the imperial capital agrees to those conditions, the Nortons would send their troops to Kanbona Province to help the second highness reestablish contact with the kingdom. However, Lorist did not think that Marquis Reid would refuse Lorist's offer for help like that and even had the garrison of the harbor be extra wary of Norton troops.
If the order to not allow the Norton soldiers to get on shore at Jillin Harbor had been made in secret, there was nothing Lorist could do about it. But never did he imagine that the knights escorting Hansk back to Jillin Harbor would reveal it due to a petty disagreement they had. They actually dared to reveal a sensitive order like that just to humiliate the forces of the Nortons. That allowed Lorist an opening to put his plans into action.
The former defense force at Jillin Harbor was the third division of the first royal local defense legion, with Gold-ranked Knight Fewermante as the commander. Once, he had brought his troops to Silowas in the name of assisting Viscount Aslan, but in fact, he was there to threaten the islanders into paying up. In the end, he encountered Lorist and was given a harsh wallop. Even though the second highness later saved him, he was worried that Lorist would not let the matter go and transferred the third division away from Jillin Harbor, resulting in the formation of a new two-thousand-strong garrison there.
As a localized defense unit, the garrison of Jillin Harbor was treated like the illegitimate child given birth to by one's mistress. The unit was severely under equipped, with a simple spear and wooden shield, with only the regiment leader and vice leader being given old and torn leather armor. The salary of each soldier was not stable either, with them going unpaid on some months, causing them to have to work at the bazaar from time to time for extra cash.
Lorist wanted to know where Marquis Reid's confidence that the garrison of Jillin Harbor posed a threat against the Norton troops came from, that he dared to order his troops to stop the Norton soldiers from getting on shore.
At that moment, Lorist was standing at the port of Jillin Harbor with a regiment of a thousand guards getting off the ship behind him and getting into formation. The hundreds of garrison soldiers of Jillin Harbor gathered around and witnessed the sight with amused chatters. All they could do was be envious of the awesome and complete gear the guards of the Nortons were assigned, with not a single one of them stepping forward to stop them from getting on shore.
However, it did not take long before someone attempted to smash a rock using an egg. Two half-armored knights rushed out of a tavern near the port and began roaring out loud. With their alcohol-tainted breath, they called for the guards on shore to leave the port immediately.
Lorist tilted his head and a few of the guards gave the drunk knights a harsh beating right away. It did not take long before the knights began crying for dad and mom in pain.
"Let it be known that any who dares bar the way of I, Count Norton, will be deemed to be committing assault against my person. Have them write their testimonies complete with their thumbprint before throwing them into the prison of Jillin Harbor. For now, follow me to the administrative center. I'd like to see who at the imperial capital gave that order," instructed Lorist.
As a noble, it was well within Lorist's rights for him to travel with a guard escort. Even though Lorist brought with him a regiment of one thousand guards and a division of five thousand soldiers, he could easily explain it away as him being extra fearful for his life and bringing more soldiers with him as a precaution. As long as Lorist's troops did not harass the locals and was fed from Lorist's own pockets, there was nothing wrong with them following Lorist around.
As for the order from the imperial capital to not let a single Norton soldier set foot on the shores, that was nothing more than a big joke. It was not like the Norton troops were rebelling, so there was no legitimate reason for Lorist to be forbidden to bring an escort with him. The order could be argued to be putting Lorist himself in unnecessary danger. Even if the matter was brought to the second highness, Lorist would definitely still be in the right.
As the one in charge of the security of Jillin Harbor, Baron Fenston was rather satisfied with his position. He bribe to the men serving the second highness had paid off. As a noble, Baron Fenston felt that only idiots would be satisfied with the income of their own dominion. He was well aware how poor the folk at his dominion were. Instead of investing money to develop it, it would be far better for him to bribe his way into a good-paying position. That method was far better in terms of return on investment.
Having been the security chief of the harbor for over five years, Baron Fenston had long earned the cost of bribery back. And now, his salary was easily several times more than the income his dominion provided. He was currently trying to form a small fleet with seven medium-sized armed ships so that he can purchase some luxury goods and fashionable clothes from Morante all the while getting acquainted with some powerful men. On the other hand, he could also use the fleet to conduct business with the merchants or nobles at Jillin Harbor. Through that, he would be able to profit alongside those who chose to invest in him without spending all his capital.
However, he was rather troubled by the order he received from the imperial capital two days ago that required him to increase the defense of the garrison at the harbor to prevent the forces of the Nortons from getting on shore.
Baron Fenston was of the opinion that the one who gave the order probably got rabies, for him to dare to lash out at just anyone without giving any thought. Given that the king was trapped within the Redlis kingdom, the situation of the Andinaq kingdom was far from stable to say the least. And the people in charge of the imperial still dared to challenge the Nortons at a time like that. He recalled that the Nortons recently sent an ambassador to the imperial capital and the baron was sure that the ambassador had somehow offended the people in power at the capital. Either that, or they did not bring with them a fitting gift for the visit.
Baron Fenston really wanted to throw that decree into the wastepaper bin. But he thought better of it and kept it instead. After all, the imperial capital sent over six other knights along with the decree. Not only were they supposed to take over control of the garrison at Jillin Harbor, they would also be reorganizing it into three regiments with three thousand men in total.
Thus, Baron Fenston decided to go along with the six knights. After all, he did not have money nor equipment and could only barely pay for the salary of the troops in his garrison. He would want to see what the knights could do with his force. Hmph, do those guys think the Nortons are to be lightly messed with? He recalled that one of his family members made a trip to Morante recently and brought back one of the newspapers there. On it, the extermination of the Hanayabarta kingdom of the Nortons was reported. Not only did the Nortons exterminate the slave kingdom, they also slaughtered 170 thousand civilians of the kingdom and used their heads to build a human head pyramid.
The baron believed the report without question the moment he first read it. As the security chief of Jillin Harbor, he had received an order that was secretly sent to him by his king: monitor the actions of the Norton house in secret and report any anomalies to him, which he did so dutifully until the loss of contact with the second highness following his campaign. However, the baron did not forsake his duties and continued to receive reports from the sailors that traveled to Silowas once every three days. Baron Fenston would collect and compile the reports and submit them to the king when he returns.
Silowas had recently suffered a pirate attack and the island itself became living hell. Back then, even the ships at Silowas were caught up in the attack. Fortunately, the ferry captain managed to miraculously escape when he felt something was off. Jillin Harbor was also thrown into disarray during the attack as they feared that the pirates would come for them too. After being on full alert for one whole month, they only got to know that the pirates had departed when the Norton ships traveled to Jillin Harbor to resupply. The pirates that remained were all annihilated by the Nortons, with Silowas reclaimed.
Later, the House of Norton gathered large numbers of troops and ships at Silowas, and that was when Baron Fenston came to understand the true extent of their military might. The soldiers soon disappeared and returned two months later with an abundance of resource. Even though the captains and sailors were prevented from getting off the island, they could easily estimate roughly how much resource and people those ships carried.
After reading the newspaper report, Baron Fenston came to know that the resources had definitely came from the extermination of the Hanayabarta kingdom. It was no wonder his king was so wary of the Norton house and instructed him to keep an eye on them. Baron Fenston recalled one of the rumors he heard sometime back that stated that Count Norton had some enmity with Count Aslan, causing the latter to bring up to ten thousand men to encircle Count Norton's group of five hundred without notifying the king. In the end, not only were Count Aslan's forces defeated, the count himself also lost his life. The king had eliminated the whole Aslan house in a fit of rage and was unable to do anything to Count Norton either.
That was why when he heard that Count Norton had came over to his place, the administrative center, he instinctively understood the reason for the visit. Not only did he receive Lorist warmly, he also brought out the decree he received and showed it to Lorist. He also made sure to insult and berate those nobles at the imperial capital for giving such an asinine order.
Lorist waved the decree in his hands and said with a smile, "Since the imperial capital has already ordered for the expansion of the garrison, but Jillin Harbor isn't able to afford such an expense, the House of Norton is willing to make some contributions for the sake of the kingdom. We will help out with the expansion of the garrison. What do you think about this, Lord Baron?"
"That would be wonderful!" Baron Fenston exclaimed, "Lord Count, your patriotism and loyalty to the kingdom is beyond description. It truly is worthy of my deepest respects. I'll be counting on you for the expansion of the garrison then."
"Will it be okay with you if I bring the garrison soldiers to Silowas for three months of training and reshaping?" asked Lorist.
"There definitely won't be a problem. I will leave it entirely up to your discretion, Lord Count. I've long heard about the unrivaled might of the troops of the Norton house, so there can't be a better candidate than you to restructure the garrison. To be frank with you, the garrison of Jillin Harbor is stepping out of their bounds quite often. While they try to bolster their esteem by bullying the common folk, they are completely useless when sent to the frontlines. Lord Count, please feel free to discipline them as you please. Heck, you can even kill them as you like as punishment. You must know how troubled I am for receiving more than 20 complaints daily about the garrison soldiers... I even have to clean up their mess."
Seeing Baron Fenston's thankful behavior, Lorist laughed and said, "Well, there's no secret in raising disciplined and strong soldiers. All you need is to pay them and feed them well, as well as provide them with appropriate equipment. When training them, make sure to not let them feel like they're expendable fodder that are inconsequential and disposable. Also, make sure to be strict on military regulation and teach them to be prideful to be one of the military. Doing all that will naturally raise their combat ability. How about this, during the time when the garrison here is trained, let our house take care of the security over here. It's fortunate that I brought a division of soldiers with me on this trip of mine. Let them stand guard here for three months for now. Will that be alright, Lord Baron?"
Baron Fenston thought, I don't think there has been a noble that brings a whole division of troops along on a casual trip. Sheesh, he really has too much money to spare. I wonder how much it costs to maintain a division of soldiers for a day... Smiling, he said, "That's great! I was just getting worried about the security here during the absence of our garrison. With your division stationed here, I'm relieved. But Lord Count, the financial situation here at Jillin Harbor is a little tight nowadays, so I'm not sure if it can sustain a whole division of soldiers. Is it possible for you to decrease the number of soldiers you station here?"
Lorist shook his head and smiled before saying, "Lord Baron, there's no worry. All you have to provide is the food that you usually give to the three thousand garrison soldiers. The Norton house will take care of the additional expenses. Actually, I have another reason for bringing a division of soldiers with me. I've heard that there are a lot of refugees in the borders of the kingdom, so we are trying to recruit some of them to help develop the wastelands of The Northlands. That will also lessen the kingdom's burden to feed them."
Baron Fenston said with a respectful expression, "Lord Count, you are far too magnanimous and benevolent. To think that you are willing to provide a means of living for the poor refugees... You are truly the prime example of what a noble of the kingdom should be. Alright. I will now draft the necessary paperwork to let your house take charge of the security here at Jillin Harbor."
Since Baron Fenston was being so cooperative, Lorist nodded and said, "Lord Baron, if you have anything you might need us to help you with in future, please don't hesitate to look out for us. We will definitely aid you in any way we can. This is the pledge of I, Norton Lorist."
"Thank you!" said Baron Fenston with a genuine look of gratitude.
And so, on the 3rd day of the 7th month, Jillin Harbor fell under the jurisdiction of Firmrock Legion of the Norton house.
The Child's Play Siege
This release is to make up for the missed release of last week. Enjoy the read and see you next week!
"Milord, this trip will take another thirty minutes. There is a small stream up ahead, and after crossing it, we'll arrive at the valley of Wolf Mountain. That is where the barony of the Dina house is located. There is a small hill within the valley on which the castle of the Dina house is built that is right next to a village," reported Kumod. He was the one who had come to the Dina barony the last time along with Els.
Lorist nodded and said, "Let's go. We'll get some nice food and rest by the time we reach there. Curse this weather... To think it'll rain out of nowhere like that... Be careful, the road will be slippery."
The weather of the 7th month was usually rainy and stormy. Lorist had just experienced one of the quickest weather shifts that caused half of his guard to be dripping wet before they even got the chance to put on their rain coats. By the time they put them on, the rain stopped again, causing their efforts to be in vain.
Even though the mountain path was wide, it was incredibly muddy as a result of the rain. The hooves of horses were stained yellow with mud, causing them to be unable to sprint like usual. The wheels of the two carriages had also got clogged up with mud as it was bogged down by the weight of the carriage.
The reason for Lorist's trip was that he wanted to bring the two girls and their young aunt away from the barony. During the previous year when he attended the paradise gathering, he got to know a girl called Dina Arriotoli and her aunt who bore the alias of 'Chessy'. They spent a fulfilling night together, and the girl said that she fancied Lorist quite a lot and promised that she would no longer attend the gathering to wait for Lorist for three years. If Lorist was willing to take her hand in marriage, she would be wedded to him along with her younger sister.
In the previous year, Lorist had Els pay them a visit on his behalf and sent over a thousand gold Fordes with a bunch of other gifts. When Els returned, he reported that the girl was incredibly down after learning of Lorist's identity as a count. Given that she and her sister were of low status, they would not be fit to be Lorist's wives. She originally thought that Lorist was just a knight which she and her sister could marry without problems. If 'knight' Lorist tried hard enough, he might even get a title of a baron.
Lorist did not wish to force them to come with him, but given the stark situation of the Andinaq kingdom, and how the dominion of the girl's house was near the northwestern area of the Redlis kingdom, the moment the second highness's forces are defeated, the northwestern area of the Redlis kingdom would fall under the control of the Union. By then, if the Union sends their forces down, the girl's house and the Dina baroy would be one of the first to suffer. Lorist did not wish for the girls and her family to fall to the hands of the mercenaries of the Union. That was not something he was willing to ignore.
Upon exiting the forest, his vision was greeted with the terrain of the gentle and large valley before him. At the foot of the mountains were some farmland. There was a small hill in the distance where a small castle stood beside a village surrounded by a tall wooden fence. That was the Dina barony.
"Milord, it seems that the Dina barony is under attack," said Reidy while holding up a telescope.
"Oh?" mused Lorist as he took the telescope for himself and looked. That was indeed the case, with a few knights visible on the empty lot in front of the castle. A petite girl wearing yellowish-copper armor could be seen from the telescope, wielding a longsword and standing on the castle walls heroically, cursing at the few knights beneath.
"Pfft!" Lorist tried to stifle his laughter when he recognized the girl on the walls. That was Arriotoli, and he did not think that she was the kind to go on the battlefield herself. The main issue was with her physique, though, that caused her to look a little awkward wielding a longsword that stretched 1.4 meters.
"Milord, it seems that it is a skirmish among the local nobles. The troops at the camp over there number less than 500, with some even using wooden sticks as weapons. They look like children playing a wargame," commented Reidy as he continued to observe with the telescope.
Lorist turned back to look and saw the 200 or so guards he had brought with him. All of them were mounted and lightly-armed, escorting two four-wheeled carriages.
"Reidy, bring the guards with you to give them a hand. Crush their camp site over there and capture a few of their horsemen. Also, tell the troops to not kill them outright. Those poor farmer soldiers were only forced to fight by their lords, so try to catch them alive if you can," instructed Lorist. He did not have the slightest interest in meddling in the issue personally.
"Understood, Milord," acknowledged Reidy before he barked a few simple orders.
The guards began to clean up the mud around the hooves of their horses, adjusted their armor, and awaited the order to charge after remounting themselves.
Reidy waved his hand forward, causing the guards to launch into a forward trot. As the distance was still rather far, there was no need for them to charge yet. Should they charge right away, by the time they arrive at the camp, their mounts would have run out of energy. As the group advanced, a few orders from some company leaders saw the 200-odd guards split into four 50-men units. When there was only 300 meters between the guards and the camp, Reidy appeared at the front, gave a loud cry, before charging.
The people within the camp had already noticed the incoming horsemen. The girl on the castle walls also revealed a look of shock. The knights who were beneath the castle walls hurriedly turned back to the camp all the while raising their arms and shouting out loud.
However, the construction of the camp was far too flimsy. Not even a moat could be spotted around it. Reidy clenched his legs against his mount, causing it to leap upwards over a meter-long wooden fence, before he gave his greatsword a swing. He used the flat of his blade to stun a huge soldier who merely stood there in befuddlement, causing the man to collapse unconscious. That man should be thanking Reidy for lightly batting him away. Otherwise, he would have been crushed by the charge of Reidy's steed.
After the mounted guards stormed the camp, the small-scale skirmish concluded. The few knights did not even make Reidy break a sweat; all of them collapsed with one strike from Reidy, who used a heavy greatsword. Even though he wielded it with only one arm, his sword easily weighed two times a normal two-handed greatsword. Thanks to Reidy's unnaturally great strength, he was able to use a heavy sword like that as deftly as he would a delicate needle.
Following the fall of the few enemy horsemen, the farmers in the camp promptly surrendered. There were ten-odd other fellows equipped with leather armor and armed with shield and sword who cast their weapons away the moment they saw what happened before raising both their hands in submission, obediently following the instructions of the guards.
The girl on the walls began cheering out loud. She probably recognized the guards as on her side as the armor they wore were different from her enemies'. Perhaps, she knew that those were the exclusive armor of the Norton house, given that Els had went there once last year. The girl soon vanished from the walls and was probably preparing to lower the drawbridge of the castle.
When Lorist arrived at the camp with ten-odd guards and two four-wheeled carriages, the drawbridge had already been lowered, with the girl having walked out from the castle with six other armed guards. She was currently talking to Reidy, who was keeping watch on his mounted captives.
One of the kneeling captives cursed them for being cowardly for using a sneak attack without a formal war declaration and berated Reidy for not having any chivalric spirit. Before Reidy retorted, the girl had begun pointing fingers and cursing out loud, causing the guards behind her to start teaching the chivalric way to the old knight with punches and kicks. The girl herself did not fail to sneak in a few kicks at her pleasure.
Lorist overlooked all that with a face full of cold sweat. He did not dare imagine that the soft and gentle girl he had once caressed and embrace would be so brash. Lorist rode forward and leaped off his horse before smiling at the girl and said, "Hey, should I call you Daisy or Arriotolli?"
The girl wore a stupefied expression before her eyes reddened as she tossed her two-handed greatsword away and began pummeling away at Lorist's chest with her fists. "So, after all this time, you've finally thought of coming to see us. You big meanie..."
Lorist chuckled as he caught her fist and said, "Apologies, I have been far too busy lately and haven't got the time. That's why I sent my subordinates here to see you last year. Didn't I come to see you now, the moment I finally got some time for myself?"
The girl looked like she was about to say something and pouted. "You liar, you told me you were a knight. Your subordinate has already told me that you're actually a count. Why did you even bother to come?"
"Well, I couldn't help myself, since a certain foolish lass said that she would wait for me for three whole years. I just couldn't stop myself from worrying, so I'm here to take you away," said Lorist as he stroked the girl's long, brown hair.
"Hmph," the girl mumbled as she shook her head to avoid Lorist's hand, "You are a great and mighty count, while I'm merely a sibling of a baron. I must be no different from those village girls in your eyes. And there's no way you'll be able to take us sisters as your formal wives, so why bother coming for us? Do you want us to be your concubines? I would never agree to that."
Lorist only looked at her with a smile and said, "Alright, stop fussing. Let's deal with the mess before us right now first. What's going on here? Who are they and why are they attacking your castle?"
The matter was cleared up soon enough. The Dina barony had actually only occupied half of the area within the valley. The other half was controlled by the old man kneeling not far away, Baron Andrew. When the second highness launched his campaign against the Redlis kingdom, the two sons of Baron Andrew had joined the second highness's army. His older son Pulist was one of the many who was involved in the occupation of Frederika. While he was fortunate enough to survive crossing the Cloudsnap Mountains, but he was only half alive after experiencing the chilling cold. After the successful occupation, the second highness made the noblemen that made contributions knights of the royal family.
When the soldiers at Kanbona Province surrendered to the second highness, the newly-appointed knight of the royal family was brought back home by his brother for him to recover and managed to evade the fate of being trapped with the second highness in the Redlis kingdom. After half a year, his injuries had mostly recovered and the two brothers were terrified of the second highness's ambitions and no longer felt like returning to his side for servitude. So, they holed up in their homes with the excuse of recovering from their injuries.
The Dina barony and the Andrew barony was relatively of the same size, and both houses were 'fallen' nobles whose prime time had long passed. The two houses used to have a mutually-benefiting relationship. But since the older son of Baron Andrew had become a royal knight, he felt that he had more of a backing and started to get more ambitious, starting to crave the Dina barony for himself.
The old man came up with a most splendid plan to form a marriage alliance with the Dina barony. Since he has two sons, and the Dinas, two daughters, as well as the fact that his wife had passed away earlier, making him a perfect match for the stunningly-beautiful widowed aunt of the sisters still in her thirties, he felt that he could pull off a triple marriage to seal the alliance. As for the ten-year-old Dina heir, he could take him as his own adopted son. That way, he would have the Dina barony for himself.
However, the moment the old man proposed the idea, his dreams were shattered in the most amazing fashion. The current temporary head of the Dina barony, Arriotoli, had cursed the old man so harshly that he almost suffered a heart attack. Never had Baron Andrew seen anyone scold someone with such fervor. With the two baronies interacting over the course of the years, and given Arriotoli's excellent memory, she managed to recite each and every one of the old baron's past shameful mistakes and used them as ammunition in her rebuking. The old man had never felt so humiliated ever in his life, especially since they were in full view of the peasant farmers when the scolding happened. The grudge he bore that day was not one that would go unpaid.
The angered old baron rallied up around 500 farmers the moment he went back and declared war against the Dina house. Baron Andrew himself had twelve garrison soldiers while the Dinas had only eight. Baron Andrew was a two star iron rank, his older son was a one star silver royal knight, and his younger son was a three star iron rank. The Dina house on the other hand had a two star silver household knight, who was also the personal bodyguard of the late baron who had stayed loyal all this time, and Arriotoli herself who was a one star iron rank. Both sides were of roughly equal strength.
In terms of numbers, however, Baron Andrew had the advantage. The farmers and refugees he recruited as well as the servants numbered above 400 people whereas the Dina barony only had around 200 male and female youths, half of the number the enemy was capable of bringing out. But they did have the protection of the castle, so both sides were tied et again.
That conflict had already been ongoing for a month and seven days with casualties on both sides... only numbering less than ten injured. Not even a single one had died. The unluckiest casualty was none other than Knight Pulist, who had suffered two broken ribs as a result of being stepped on by his mount. The main method employed in the siege was none other than trash talking. Baron Andrew and his two sons shouted at the top of their lungs at the walls, with Arriotoli shouting back. Basically, the insults boiled down to 'come down if you dare' for the Andrews and 'come up if you dare' for the Dinas.
It was no wonder all that seemed like child's play to Reidy.
"How do you think we should deal with them, Arri? Let's just have them hanged, alright?" said Lorist with displeasure, feeling more than willing to kill off the enemy that annoyed him.
The three captives were horrified at having the fate of their lives so casually decided, even though the were supposed to be exalted nobles of a mighty kingdom. In territorial conflicts between nobles, captive ones were not supposed to be killed, only held prisoner until their ransom was paid.
"I... I'm a knight of the royal family... The kn-knight of the king himself... You... You wouldn't dare to kill me..." said the puffy-faced Pulist.
"Oh, a mere knight of the royal family. I once attended a banquet and killed a viscount in front of the second highness himself. After that, the elder brother count of that viscount I killed brought ten thousand men seeking me for revenge, all of whom were killed by me, of course. I supposed there were a number of royal knights among those I killed, but I didn't keep count back then. Even so, the second highness didn't do anything to me," said Lorist without batting an eye.
"Yo-you're Count Norton? T-the Raging Bear of The Northlands..." mumbled Pulist with a pale look. The incident concerning the Aslan brothers was taboo which no one dared mention in front of the king. However, the grapevine in the army was rather far reaching. With Pulist having served under the second highness once, he had heard of many retellings of the incident concerning Lorist and the two brothers.
"Arri, please spare us. Remember when we were young? You were our boss lady," begged Pulist. The moment he recognized Lorist, he changed his attitude right away.
"Eww, don't bring something so far back up again. And weren't the three of you boasting that you'll make me your wife?" humphed the girl with dissatisfaction.
"But Arri, I really like you for real. It was you who didn't consider us brothers seriously. That's why we agreed to help our father out with his ambitions. After all, if we succeeded, I would satisfy my own desires as well," said Pulist in a frustrated tone.
The girl seemed to be in deep thought before she regained her cheerful demeanor. Raising her head, she told Lorist, "Whatever, let them go. It's pointless to go further than this anyway."
Lorist waved his hand and a few guards returned the weapons and mounts to the three men. Actually, even the guards did not crave the stuff that they just returned, given their impressive loadouts.
"Arri, will we never be able to meet again?" Pulist said as he stopped and turned back after walking a few steps with his horse.
The girl did not bother with him and headed into the castle, clutching Lorist's arm.
Anna and Arri
Here's the first release of the week, enjoy! Support us on Patreon if you're able to, and don't forget to join our discord!
The castle of the Dina barony was not huge. It was at most around 15 meters tall, built of stone boulders secured with clay pasted between the seams. With time, the walls had turned dark-colored. Even thought it was cleaned often with limewater, there were still traces of moss in some corners of the building, with most of the rocks at the base of the structure covered in a mossy-green coat.
There was a small courtyard past the bridge and entrance. Most noble castles actually used this kind of architectural layout. Howard guided the two four-wheeled carriages to the side to park before bringing the four horses that pulled the carriages to the servants nearby. After that, he had the coachman and guards bring down four huge chests, which contained the gifts Lorist brought for the two girls and their aunt.
The boxes were brought to the main hall before they were opened. In three of them were various kinds of fashionable clothing and jewellery, while the other contained beauty products like makeup, combs, mirrors, perfume, silk handkerchiefs and many more. That was also one of the many benefits of the extermination of the Hanayabarta kingdom. Lorist had picked out four chests' worth of clothes matching the figures of Arriotoli and her aunt that were deeply imprinted in his memory.
Not long after, Lorist finally got to meet Arriotoli's aunt, whom he called Chessy back then, after two long years. The young aunt looked like she lost some weight over the years, but that only helped make her prominent chests seem more apparent. Had it not been for Arriotoli, who was still clasping Lorist's hands, the young aunt might just leap into Lorist's embrace right away. However, she managed to control herself and only stared at Lorist with teary eyes. It was not until Arriotoli made a few short coughs that she regained her composure.
It was, however, Lorist's first time meeting Arriotoli's younger brother and sister, as well as the silver-ranked knight of their household. As the heir to the position of the head of the Dina house, the 11-year-old boy looked thinner and paler than other boys of his age. However, he did thank Lorist politely according to noble etiquette for lending them a hand in a time of need, allowing them to obtain victory over the territorial dispute.
Perhaps because the boy was told to memorize what to say beforehand, he delivered his words with a little bit of stammer. When he finally finished, Arriotoli allowed him to leave, causing the boy to quickly pull the silver-ranked knight Massa away with him.
Arriotoli's sister, on the other hand, did resemble her quite a lot. The girl did not lie; her sister was indeed quite the beauty. She seemed gentler than most girls of her age, yet carried with her an elegant air. Arriotoli herself also gained a more heroic aura since two years ago when Lorist last met her.
Arriotoli's sister was called Fennazali. Both she and her young aunt loved the gifts Lorist prepared for them, as was apparent from how they busily rummaged around the four huge chests. Every time they found something that they liked, they would cheer loudly with joy and surprise, matching the clothes against their bodies or asking Lorist and Arriotoli whether something looked good on them or not.
On another note, Lorist was quite curious at the gaze Fennazali looked at him with -- it had a hint of shyness, which was natural for a girl whom he only met for the first time. Their young aunt on the other hand had a gaze filled with burning passion, one that showed how much she was struggling not to jump to Lorist for a hug on the spot. Despite Arriotoli's presence, she did not refrain from giving Lorist suggestive looks.
Arriotoli, however, only looked carefully at the gifts Lorist gave them without nearly as much excitement as her sister and aunt.
Lorist asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
The girl revealed a bitter smile and said, "I am happy that you gave us so many luxurious items, but seeing as how our dominion is within this rural valley, there aren't many people we can show them off to."
"Ahh," Lorist mused as he scratched his nose awkwardly, "Arri, you can always come with me. I have even more nice clothing at my place, all of them my spoils of course. You can take any of your choice. You don't have to stay here anymore."
Arriotoli shook her head and said, "After my father's fall in battle, the childish me only ever wanted to rely on someone with power and backing to help us maintain control of our barony here. In the end, I managed to get to know Princess Carey and attended her paradise gathering, thinking that I've finally found some good backing. However, the more I interacted with the princess and the rest, I found that I could trust them lesser and lesser. It was pure coincidence that I met you there, so I thought I should just marry you to leave that circle of people...
"In the two years I've been waiting for you here, I started training my bronze-ranked battleforce which I gave up long ago. Initially, I thought that I could rely on others to ensure the survival of my household. However, I came to understand recently that there's nobody more reliable than myself, so I started training hard in battleforce and the swordsmanship technique passed on through my family. Just look at both my hands..."
The girl stretched out both her palms that was full of callouses and blisters. Her skin had dulled quite substantially, and was quite far off from the fair, tender state that Lorist remembered.
Lorist grasped her hand and caressed it lightly.
The girl laughed bitterly and continued, "When your household knight came last year and told me your actual identity, I knew that the dream I've been clinging to would no longer come true. I've always thought that you were a knight, so I wanted to marry my sister off to you to stimulate your ambition and earn an achievement worthy of land just like my father. That way, both my sister and I can become the wives of a baron.
"To think that you're actually a count whose might even the king is wary of... You even dared to not give His Majesty any face. I've already long heard of the rumors of the Norton house's actions at the imperial capital. It was then when I realized that a count like you had far superior suitors than us. As long as you desired it, the nobles would offer up their daughters and wives to warm your bed without even asking for anything in return. After all, you're the power Count Norton. I doubt that there are any nobles in the kingdom worthy of being your bride, unless you're looking to take Princess Carey as your wife.
"As for us sisters, we're naught but nobles from a small and rural barony. Our status is too far off compared to yours, so I knew that there's no way that we can get married to you formally. Even if you are willing, the subordinates of your house will definitely be against it, because that would actually be a mark of humiliation of your household. All that's left for us sisters is to be your concubines.
"Locke, I think I won't be going with you. I've gave it much thought in these two years and I think that I'll probably just remain here in the dominion to wait for my brother to mature and succeed the title and land. After that, I will become the household knight of the Dina house and protect my home for the rest of my life. Don't try to convince me otherwise, I'm really confused right now. Let me have a few more days to think, alright?"
Lorist did not utter a word and merely nodded.
The dinner served that night was the best Arriotoli could serve. The toast bread with honey tasted surprisingly well according to Lorist. Even though the bread was not of the soft variety, being made of cruder wheats, it was surprisingly soft and sweet, making it extremely pleasant to eat. There was also roast turkey, goose, lamb ribs, baked fruits and potato mash. The dinner closed off with a delicious serving of mushroom soup.
The dinner table where they dined was long and rectangular, with the future heir of the Dina house, Arriotoli's brother, sitting at the main seat with a solemn look on his face. Sitting to his left were Lorist, Reidy and Howard. On the boy's right were the two sisters and Knight Massa. For some reason, the young aunt of the sisters was not present with them.
The young boy's excited gaze belied his solemn look. He did not know how long it has been since he had got such a lavish meal. Lorist took note of that and brought the food the boy laid his eyes on to his plate. Within a short moment, the boy's plate contained three lamb ribs, one large goose drumstick, one baked apple and a roast chicken wing.
The boy's mouth got more oily the more he ate, slowly growing more and more fond towards Lorist by the moment. That was especially the case when Lorist stopped his elder sister from harshly disciplining him, saying that he should not worry about his elder sister and eat all he wants in order to grow large and strong. Thus, the boy ate his fill and soon ended up bloated, having to be carried away by Knight Massa. Arriotoli was so mad that she stomped harshly on Lorist's feet a few times.
"Why isn't your aunt here?" asked Lorist.
The girl rolled her eyes and said, "The food you're eating here is all cooked by her. Without her in the kitchen, we'll be gnawing away at raw potatoes instead."
After finishing the delicious meal, the girl brought Lorist to his room at the third floor. He got the master bedroom whereas Howard was assigned a room for guards beside it. Reidy on the other hand had to live at the guards' quarters at the camp outside, as the castle was too small to accommodate Lorist's 200 plus guards. Lorist simply had them use the camp set up by Baron Andrew and his two sons so as to save Arriotoli the trouble.
Opening the window of the roo, Lorist could see the scenery of the village behind the castle. The village was rather small, with only tens of unlit grass huts within it. In the center of the village was a large bonfire, which was what the patrol soldiers and other villagers used during the night for illumination. Several butt-naked children were playing beside the fire, tossing grass and other stuff into the pile. But the adults soon came and gave them a few smacks on their behinds before bringing the crying children home.
A soft knocking on Lorist's bedroom door could be heard.
"Come in," said Lorist as he turned around.
The one who entered was the aunt of the sisters. In her hand was a tray and candle.
"I... I've come to make your bed," the young woman said with a flushed face, "Al-also... Here's some bread and fruit wine for your enjoyment..."
"Thanks, just put it on the table there," said Lorist as he acknowledged it with a nod.
The woman closed the door before putting the tray and candle on the side table and proceeding to make the bed.
Seeing the two round, rear protrusions when she bent over to adjust the sheets, Lorist approached her and placed his hands on them.
The young aunt suddenly froze, before half-kneeling on the bed without making a single move. Lorist flipped her skirt up without the slightest sign of hurry before removing his own belt and pants. He later propped his hot and hard member between the two soft lumps.
The woman let out a long and pleasurable moan from the depths of her throat as she matched her hip movements with Lorist's thrusts. Burying her head deeply into the pillow, her soft rear shook and shuddered as a slight pinkish tint slowly surfaced.
"Should I call you Chessy like before, or something else?" asked Lorist as he removed yet another one piece of the woman's clothes. Two years back, she had attended the paradise gathering with Arriotoli as Chessy and Daisy. It was only during the end of the gathering that the girl told Lorist her real name. However, her aunt had long passed out from the sheer exhaustion of pleasure making with Lorist and did not get to tell him her real name.
"Just... Just call me Anna. M-my real name is Dilianna."
Lorist's hands caressed the two glorious lumps hanging from her chest nonstop, causing her form to soften like water yet again. He then shed all his garments before giving it another push, engaging in an act of union with the young widow.
As the two continued, Lorist increased his pace. But right before the climax, he heard a knocking at the bedroom door. He suddenly burst into a series of quick piston thrusts, the sudden rise in pace causing the aunt to roll her eyes in climax before she slumped onto the bed powerlessly, still moaning and panting lightly.
Come on, thought Lorist in annoyance, to think that someone would come bother me just when I was about to climax... Tying a makeshift skirt around his lower body with a sheet, he rushed angrily to his door. He was surprised to find that the one beyond it was Arriotoli.
"Eh? What's with this smell?" asked the girl the moment her sensitive nose picked up on the distinct smell produced by 'male and female interaction'. But given that she had not engaged in any such activity, she could not quite recall what kind of smell that was. It was not until she entered the room and saw her aunt lying flat on the bed that she understood what had happened.
"Hmph, auntie, how dare you take your niece's man from her? That's going too far!" said the girl in anger, as if her favorite toy had been taken away from her.
"Nonsense, he's my man as well." Now that nobody other than Lorist and Arriotoli was there, Anna did not hold back from standing up for herself.
"Ugh..." Arriotoli was speechless. After all, it was none other than she who invited her aunt over during the gathering to spend a night with Lorist, so she could hardly blame her aunt for it.
"But we're not at the paradise gathering anymore," retorted the girl weakly.
"I don't care," Anna said, "I also stayed chaste for him for two whole years. I'm going to leave with him this time, even if it means becoming his concubine. I'm satisfied as long as I can be together with him. Locke, do you want me to follow you?"
Lorist nodded without hesitation. As Anna was only 30, only one or two years younger than Lorist, she was in her prime of beauty. Only idiots would not desire her.
"Arri, stop being so stubborn. The fact that Locke came over to see us means that he cares about us. Think about the rest of our lives. I believe that Locke is the best one we can possibly spend it with. He won't disappoint us," advised Anna.
"I don't want to be his concubine," said the girl, shaking her head.
"Arri, please come with me. Even though you won't have official status, you will still enjoy all the benefits a wife of mine would. If any of you bear children, I can list them under the family registry and they will also qualify as formal heir candidates. Also, I don't think I might ever take a formal wife. Like you said, there aren't many who are qualified for that position."
Holding onto the girl's shoulder, Lorist said sincerely, "I've come here this time, determined to take you and your family back with me. The situation of the kingdom looks to be in bad shape, and the nobles at the imperial capital are panicking without taking any effective measures and can only watch as the second highness's military campaign fail. I've obtained reliable information that the Union will probably head in this direction after defeating the second highness. Nobles like your Dina house who are situated near the borders will be the first to feel the brunt of their might."
The girl shook Lorist's hand off and said, "I still need time to consider... His Majesty the King wouldn't lose that easily..."
Lorist kicked the door close and hugged the girl, bringing her towards the bed, before he said, "You can take all the time you want to think about it later. But right now, you have to make it up to me for disturbing me just before I climax."
Initially, Arriotoli was being slightly resistant. But under the mutual assault of Lorist and Anna, she eventually succumbed to pleasure.
The God of War's End
Here's this week's second release.
Lorist, Anna and Arri made love all the way through the night before finally ending up in each other's embrace and falling into deep slumber. Lorist only awoke the next day from the noise outside the castle. He realized that he was alone in the bed, with Anna and Arri no longer there with him.
The previous night had done wonders to refresh him. Lorist got off the bed and felt completely relaxed. All the fatigue that had built up vanished completely, allowing him to be at his best state. Everything almost seemed to sparkle in Lorist's eyes. Simply slapping on some clothes, Lorist went to the room next to his and had Howard wake up to gather some water from the well downstairs to prepare for a bath.
Howard walked out with dark circles under his eyes and complained, "Milord, you were making too much noise yesterday and I was unable to sleep at all! I only managed to fall asleep when it the sky started to brightened, but then you came to wake me up almost right away..."
Well, since I'm in a good mood, I'll refrain from bickering with this little bastard. Knocking on Howard's head, he said, "Alright, go get some sleep. I'll take a bath myself."
Howard groaned sleepily before closing his door and going back to sleep.
Lorist brought the bronze basin in his room and a towel to the well behind the castle before he started using the water to wash himself. Given the hot weather of the 7th month, goosebumps manifested on Lorist's skin the moment the chilling water splashed onto him.
Beside the well was a drinking fountain. The four horses pulling the carriages were being fed water and brushed by some servants. Just as Lorist was about to go close to see, he heard someone call out to him from behind. One of the female servants came over and said, "Milord, the mistress has invited you over for breakfast."
When Lorist made his way to the dining hall, he was surprised to see Howard there. Curious, he asked, "Weren't you going to get some more sleep?"
Howard gave a bitter laugh and said, "If only it were that easy to fall asleep again! This castle only has single-layered walls and the echo is especially strong. I'm able to hear the slightest movements of others super clearly. The noise of people and horses is too much for me to bear. I think I'll go take another nap at the camp outside later."
Howard was not wrong, as the castle of the Dina barony was built like a clock's circular structure. The advantage to that was that it was hard to attack, but the echo of sounds was a side effect. Just like a bronze clock cover that would hum when the bell beneath it rang, the upper floors of the castle would be affected by the sounds beneath.
Anna enthusiastically instructed a few servants to serve Lorist and Howard a lavish breakfast. there were bread coated with goat-horned bee honey, cheese, turkey bacon, fresh filk, some honeyed milk as well as some self-brewed fruit wine.
Arriotoli later arrived at the dining hall clad in leather armor, armed with her two-handed greatsword. Behind her was her younger brother and Silver-ranked Knight Massa. Seeing their sweaty looks, they must have finished morning training not too long ago.
Arriotoli placed her greatsword on a rack nearby before removing her leather gloves and placing them in a bronze basin to be washed. Using a rag given to her by a servant to wipe off some sweat, she came over and say opposite Lorist.
Lorist gave her a blinding smile, only to receive an eye roll in return. It was at that moment when Fennazali sneezed as she walked into the hall and took her place beside Arriotoli. "Sis, where did you go yesterday night? I think there was a cat in heat somewhere in our castle. It was calling out so loudly that I wasn't able to sleep properly. I wanted to find you to chase that cat away together, but you weren't in your room. The sound only quieted down when daybreak came..."
Pfft! Howard tried to stifle his laughter and said, "I'm sorry, I'm already full. I'll be taking my leave here. Enjoy your meal..."
He then left.
Arriotoli said with a flushed face, "Zali, I didn't hear any screeching cat..."
"Well, there's no way a cat can hear itself screech, can it?" Lorist interjected. Having spent quite the time with both Anna and Arri the night before, he found that Anna was the quiet type who would only lightly pant even after achieving climax. Arriotoli was different in that she would moan like a soprano singing in an opera. Her moans built up in tension and went completely out of control when she climaxed. It was no wonder her sister thought that there was a cat in heat somewhere in the castle.
Arriotoli's face was red with embarrassment. Gritting her teeth, she tried to stomp on Lorist's feet beneath the dining table, only for her leg to be clipped between Lorist's own legs.
"Arri, have you made your decision? Will you come with me?" asked Lorist as he picked up a honeyed bread for himself.
Arriotoli looked at Lorist with a hateful glare until her leg was released. Then, she revealed a smile as she shook her head and said, "I don't want to leave this place. This is the Dina barony, the dominion of my household. I will not abandon it."
Lorist began to worry and said, "Idiot, did all the sword-training turn your brain into solid muscle? Leaving now doesn't mean that you're abandoning your dominion. Instead, you need to do this to ensure the survival of your house and bloodline. Are you prepared to bury your own family here in this valley? If all of you perish, there would be no more Dina barony. Your brother is still young. Let him return here once he has matured to inherit the land. I can promise that your dominion will be returned to your house when the time comes.
Arriotoli started to get angry as she tossed the bread in her hand to Lorist and yelled, "While it's easy for us to leave right now, coming back in the future will be incredibly hard. Just like you said, it'll take another eight years before my brother comes of age. If I don't stay here in our dominion, who will acknowledge that is the case in the future? Who would remember us?"
"That's easy. We only need to use our swords to stimulate their memory," Lorist said with a chuckle, "With the House of Norton behind your back, there's no need to worry about the matter of your dominion. Arri, perhaps when your brother grows up, the House of Dina won't just have a small barony. You can even have a whole viscounty."
Arriotoli rolled her eyes and said, "Hmph, you say that like it's true..."
Fennazali asked curiously, "Lord Count, is the House of Norton really powerful?"
Lorist nodded and said, "I'm sure your sister knows better that our house is the strongest within the whole of the Andinaq kingdom."
"Since the kingdom is in trouble, why does the House of Norton not help His Majesty out of his dangerous predicament?" asked Fennazali naively.
"Well," Lorist began, "Second mistress, it's not that the Norton house doesn't want to contribute to the kingdom. The people in power at the imperial capital themselves have refused our offer to help out. Not only did they forbid our house from sending aid to the frontlines, they also instructed us to stay within our own dominion without taking any rash action. If that wasn't the case, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the time to come visit all of you.
"Did you hear about the War of Glass that concluded just last year? The Union and the Teribo kingdom got into war over the secret of glass production, ending with the extermination of the Teribo kingdom. The Union now controls the territory of the kingdom, and an estimated number of seventy percent of Teribo nobles have gone missing.
"It was later revealed that those nobles had encountered raiding mercenaries and private military outfits when they attempted to defend their own dominions. Those private armies and mercenary bands either killed or hanged the nobles. To the mercenary bands of the nobles, the more land the nobles they kill control, the more impressive the title they will be awarded for the deed.
"That's the reason I want you all to leave with me. Let's not hand ourselves to those enemies on a silver platter. Bring your house's land deed and title certification documents with you. When your younger brother matures and you wish to take your dominion back, the Norton house will definitely offer aid. We will definitely not disappoint you."
Arriotoli stood up in troubled fashion and said, "That's enough, Lord Count. Let me have some time to think about what I should do."
The girl has always thought that Lorist was exaggerating the facts and believed that the king would not lose that easily. Even though Auguslo had been trapped within the three provinces of the Redlis kingdom, he still had 170 thousand men under his control. Arriotoli felt that the Union would not be able to do much as long as the army was still with the king.
Lorist spent half a month of worriless days at the Dina barony, enjoying the company and hospitality of Anna. However, Arriotoli herself still had not made up her mind yet. On some nights, she would sneak into Lorist's bed and squeal like a cat in heat. But no matter what, she still did not want to leave her dominion and depart with Lorist.
By the end of the 7th month, word from Morante and Jillin Harbor finally let Arriotoli understand the direness of the situation.
A report by the Morante Daily, titled 'The God of War's End', recounted the events during the 2nd month of the previous year when the second highness crossed Cloudsnap Mountains with his army and stormed Frederika despite the odds, making him gain the reputation of a god of war of the new generation overnight.
It was a shame that the second highness got gravely sick following his conquest of more than half of the territory of the Redlis kingdom. Having missed the opportunity to unite the land of the two kingdoms, the second highness allowed the enemy to regroup and reform and even suffered quite a number of losses from the reckless arrogance of his subordinates, much to the detriment of his army's morale. By the time the second highness realized that something was wrong and took command despite still being sick, it was already too late.
At the frontlines within the Redlis kingdom, the second highness faced more than one enemy. For instance, the Wessia Merchant Guild from the Union had conquered part of the Redlis kingdom's territory, and the four central duchies had refused to abide by the second highness's demand to relinquish their independent status and return under his reign, launching into revolt. As for the nobles of the Redlis kingdom, they pressed their attacks on the Andinaq kingdom's royal local defense legion thanks to the second highness's refusal to give them the due preferential treatment nobles like them deserved.
On the 13th day of the 7th month, the four central duchies formed an allied army numbering 140 thousand men and sent it to attack the army of the second highness, which was stationed at the borders of the Handra duchy. They also slaughtered all the livestock in the vicinity and celebrated with a huge banquet, causing the 100-thousand-strong army of the second highness to crumble from the lack of food, giving the four central duchies a major and easy victory, allowing them to move their forces into Majik Province.
On the 21st day of the 7th month, the second highness retreated from Anderwoff Province and gathered around 20 thousand soldiers that were still willing to obey him to defend Frederika. The ones that encircled the city that time was the Wessia Merchant Guild's private army of 20 thousand men and 30 thousand more soldiers of the Union and other private parties, as well as the 80 thousand soldiers of the four central duchies and another 20 thousand soldiers of the nobles of the Redlis kingdom. The second highness had to deal with almost 150 thousand men, trapped within Frederika without food or reinforcements. The writer of the article opined that the time was nigh for the god of war's end.
That report was published on the 21st day of the 7th month in the Morante Daily, and the current date was the 34th day of the 7th month. Thirteen days had passed during the delivery of the paper to Lorist, and it was unknown whether siege on Frederika had begun, or whether the second highness still survived.
Lorist was enraged after reading the emergency report from Jillin Harbor. To think that the second royal local defense legion near the borders of the Madras duchy is still groveling slowly towards the frontlines at a time like this... They also sent 45 thousand men from their ranks over to Jillin Harbor to take over the security and instructed for the forces of the Norton house to return to Silowas... and demanded that we don't take any refugees?! Demands...
Gosh, they have so many demands! Lorist stroked his chin and thought, I see that I don't have a choice but to teach these fellows a lesson. They actually spread themselves thinner by sending 45 thousand men as a precaution against our house, leaving only 30 thousand men to save the second highness... Those people there at the imperial capital are completely treating us like enemies! I wonder if their stance represents the second highness's...
Arriotoli was completely dumbfounded by the article and the report from Jillin Harbor.
"How could this be?" stammered she.
Lorist laughed in a cold tone and said, "Do you know that those fellows at the imperial capital don't even know what to do about the predicament their king is in? They're still struggling for power over one another at a time like this... I think I understand now. They believe that allowing the Norton house to rescue the second highness is an opportunity for us to gain his favor, so they want to stop us from getting on the second highness's good side, lest they lose the favor themselves. That's why they sent the royal local defense legion to Jillin Harbor to chase our troops back into the ocean without even caring about how their king is being encircled this very moment...
"We don't have much time, Arri. Let's leave now. There's no point in thinking about this anymore. Don't make me force you to come along," said Lorist solemnly as he looked at Arriotoli.
"I'll come," the girl said, "But I won't be your concubine. If Aunt Anna wants to, she's free to do so. I can, however, be your lover. But you must make me a female knight and raise my younger brother into a fine knight and dominion lord."
"Deal," Loirst said, "Make your preparations quick. Only take what you need. We'll be leaving first thing tomorrow. You can bring the folk in your dominion along if you want. I won't split you up from your subjects. You can definitely nurture and train your subjects into a force that will defend the Dina house in the future."
"Thank you, Locke," said Arriotoli.
The Odd Situation
This is the third release of the week. Enjoy!
By the time Lorist arrived at Jillin Harbor with the Dinas, Fimrock Legion's first division had just got into a small conflict with the second legion of the royal defense legion. It all started because a group of one thousand riders wanted to storm the refugee camps the Nortons were in charge of to chase those refugees away so that the Nortons would not be able to recruit them.
When their warnings went unheard, the riders launched their attack. The soldiers of the Norton house did not hesitate to retaliate with their steel ballistae against the charging riders. Under the rapid fire of bolts from all 500 steel ballistae, the whole group of one thousand riders perished after only five volleys.
This time around, the second royal defense legion was in a verbal argument with those of Firmrock Legion. Potterfang announced that anyone that dared approached the refugee camp within a radius of 200 meters would be killed without question.
On the other hand, the messenger sent over by the second royal defense legion roared with a face flush with anger, "We have orders from the authorities at the imperial capital to take over Jillin Harbor. If the Norton house doesn't comply and insists on occupying the harbor and attacking our forces, you can be charged for treason!"
Potterfang laughed and said, "Open your eyes wide and look. This is the official permission drafted by the security chief of Jillin Harbor, Baron Fenston, that allows our forces to stay here for three whole months. Where is your evidence that we occupied this place by force? The number of refugees is only growing because of the volatile situation at the frontlines. Baron Fenston had asked us to help only because he was worried for the safety of Jillin Harbor. To think that those at the imperial capital would not only refuse our offer to go to the frontlines to help out His Majesty... I really don't understand what you fellows are up to.
"It's like you guys don't even care that His Majesty is trapped. Your second royal local defense legion took one whole month to crawl slowly like snails from Yungechandler Province to the imperial capital, and the first action you take is not bust through Kanbona Province to restore contact with His Majesty, but send half of your forces here to take Jillin Harbor back. Am I going crazy, or are you the crazy ones? What's so important about Jillin Harbor? Will occupying this place help you save His Majesty? I'm really curious about what your intentions are.
"Even with the forces of the Union occupying Kanbona Province and sending small units to pillage the two southwestern provinces, the imperial capital didn't do anything to retaliate. Instead, you guys ordered the defending soldiers to abandon most of the citadels and hole up to protect yourselves, allowing those of the Union to do as they please without obstacle, killing and plundering our people and forcing them to have no choice to become refugees to escape! Yet, you want to forbid the Norton house from helping them out? What the heck are you thinking?! Is that how you repay the trust the king has shown you by allowing to take charge?"
The messenger was not able to retort with Potterfang's arguments, only bringing out a handkerchief to wipe some sweat off before he said, "Sir, those at the imperial capital have their own thoughts on the matter as well. Even though His Majesty is currently trapped, he does have 100 thousand elite soldiers with him, so he won't be defeated that soon. Also, Jillin Harbor is a port of the kingdom, so it would be incredibly inappropriate for it to be occupied by a private military outfit. It was because of this that those at the imperial capital sent me here. Now, you may hand Jilin Harbor back to us. With us here, you don't have to worry for the safety of this place any longer."
"Then tell me, what's the deal with you sending your one thousand riders to attack the refugee camp?" questioned Potterfang unforgivingly. He did not have the slightest intention of letting the harbor go either.
It was then when Lorist stepped into the main tent, causing Potterfang to stand up in a hurry for a salute.
"We can give Jillin Harbor back to you, but we demand that we be allowed to gather refugees outside a 2-kilometer radius of Jillin Harbor. If we don't butt into each other's businesses, then we won't bother each other. Tell those backing you to not infringe upon the interests of the Norton house, lest you want to make enemies of us. Naturally, you may not enter the range of our troops either. Those who do will be killed without question!"
Upon getting Lorist's promise to give the harbor back, the messenger hurriedly returned to make his report. As for the thousand riders who were completely wiped out, nobody remained hung up on that matter, since getting Jillin Harbor back was worth far more casualties than that. The important thing was that their goal had been achieved.
"Milord, why are you giving Jillin Harbor back?" asked Potterfang, dissatisfied.
Lorist brought out a newspaper and tossed it in front of Potterfang. The commander flipped open the paper and saw that it was the Morante Daily published on the 27th day of the 7th month, which detailed the successful occupation of Frederika by the allied army and the king of the Andinaq kingdom being missing in action.
"The second highness is..." mused Potterfang with great shock.
"Read the headline down there," said Lorist.
Potterfang took a look only to read an article about how the Union was going to form a negotiation council in preparation for a visit to the Andinaq kingdom, with eventual peace on the horizon. The report below that was an opinion piece by a journalist that stated that even though the second highness was nowhere to be found, some reliable sources claimed that he had actually fallen sick and was unable to show up on the battlefield. Now that Frederika has fallen, it was believed that the god of war of the new generation would soon be found and captured.
The journalist believed that the reason for the Union's occupation of Kanbona Province of the Andinaq kingdom was due to the looming threat of the young god of war's possession of a force of 300 thousand soldiers to the Union, and the fact that he did not acknowledge the unification of the Lormo duchy and the Union. The attack on Kanbona Province was meant to be a wake-up call for the god of war to remind him of the Union's might.
Now that the army sent to the Redlis kingdom by the Andinaq kingdom had mostly been decimated, with the second highness missing, and the remaining forces within the borders of the Andinaq kingdom numbering less than 100 thousand men, the kingdom did not have enough forces to launch an attack, but was more than capable of defending itself. That was why the folks of the Union who felt that the conflict had been dragging on for a little too long formed a negotiation council that would travel to the imperial capital at the Andinaq kingdom to begin peace talks.
"Do you understand now? The authorities at the imperial capital isn't quarreling with us over this matter because they want to control more territory. They're worried that their talks with the Union would be leaked, causing them to be blamed as traitors to the kingdom. I would like to see what the second highness's reaction will be when he hears of the plans of his subordinates," explained Lorist to Potterfang in an insulting tone.
"Milord, do you think that those at the imperial capital don't know about the news that the second highness's army has been defeated and about his disappearance?" asked Potterfang.
"I'm not too sure about that, but I can be rather certain that someone at the capital has some kind of thing going on with those of the Union. Perhaps, they are merely pretending to be ignorant of that so that they can put pressure on the second highness together. Right now, we should compromise with them and see what their true plans are. From the newspaper, we can see that the Union is planning to visit the kingdom for the talks, and the fastest way to travel from there to here is through sailing to Jillin Harbor. That was why the folks at the imperial capital want it back so badly. They would even be willing to lose more than half of the second royal local defense legion to kick us out from here. Given this state of affairs, I don't wish to clash with those idiots. Let's just hold ourselves back for the moment."
The forces of the Nortons smoothly ceded control of Jillin Harbor back to the second royal defense legion and set up another main camp at the shores roughly two kilometers away from Jillin Harbor. There, they would recruit fleeing refugees and send them to Silowas through a temporary port they had built at the shore.
Ten days later, the recently strengthened Oceanic Legion encountered two long-distance merchant vessels in the oceans roughly ten kilometers away from Jillin Harbor. On the ship were the negotiation council and guards from the Union. An interesting thing was how the arrogant negotiation council members instantly turned obedient the moment they heard that they were dealing with the Oceanic Legion of the Norton house, answering every question with a smile, stating that they had been invited to the imperial capital by the authorities there to seek a peaceful resolution for the situation at the Redlis kingdom while requesting to be allowed passage.
Senbaud reported the information he got from questioning those of the Union to Lorist. After some consideration, Lorist instructed for the negotiation council to be allowed to pass and ordered Potterfang to hurry up with sending the refugees to Silowas before retreating with all their troops there, leaving not a single soul behind at Jillin Harbor. At the same time, he would send back the reorganized Jillin Harbor Garrison back to Baron Fenston.
"Milord, are we going to stop meddling with the matter here at Jillin Harbor?" asked Supervisor Hansk, the governor of Silowas.
Lorist nodded and said, "The current situation smells extremely fishy to me. If our forces stay at Jillin Harbor, we might be perceived as an obstacle by some. It's better if we step back carefully to see what they intend to do. Stopping the negotiation council in their travels can be passed off as giving them a friendly greeting. With them knowing that we are not far away, those from the council should know that any decision they make concerning the kingdom must take us into account."
On the 20th day of the 8th month, a messenger from the imperial capital arrived at Silowas with a document that required Lorist's signature. Lorist scanned the document and realized that it was a proposal. Given that King Auguslo, the second highness, was missing, and the fact that a kingdom cannot be without a leader, the nobles of the Andinaq kingdom were requested to pass a motion to allow Princess Carey to temporarily take the throne and position as queen so that the peace treaty between the kingdom and the Union can be signed to put an end to the war.
Lorist merely laughed and refused to give his signature, causing the messenger to threaten that the Nortons would be forced out of the noble circle of the Andinaq kingdom and not be recognized as nobility by those from the imperial capital.
Lorist simply said that the senior noble of the Norton house is the Andinaq royal family, which was led by the king himself. With the king being missing, the Norton house would not submit to any other. Even though Princess Carey carries the blood of the royal family of the Andinaq kingdom, she was far from qualified to be a senior noble of the Norton house.
Thus, the messenger left. But Lorist did not expect that what transpired after would be even weirder. After another half month, Lorist received a report that left him speechless.
The Redlis kingdom had officially been eradicated, with Majik Province being absorbed into the Handra duchy. On the other hand, Anderwoff Province and Bodolger Province where Frederika was situated became the territory of the Union, with Anderwoff Province becoming the official dominion of the Wessia Merchant Guild.
Hanstmost Province of the Andinaq kingdom, where the Dina barony was located, and the northwestern area of the Redlis kingdom had united and formed a new duchy, called the Zitram duchy, with the new duke being rumored to be one noble of the Redlis kingdom that had used the flooding tactic to defeat the second highness's army of 70 thousand and crowned a new genius military strategist.
The two southwestern provinces that used to belong to the Andinaq kingdom had also fused to become the Allied Duchies of Britt, with three dukes having joint control of the Union. One of them was President Britt from a smaller, second-rate merchant guild. Another was the leader of a famous mercenary band, called Dragon's Talon, with the last being the head of a military-based noble house from the Teria duchy that had defected to the side of the Union, who had sent his troops in the first wave of attacks on Frederika and succeeded greatly, ending with him being made a duke.
Currently, Andinaq kingdom was ruled by the queen. Princess Carey had been coronated only recently and had also signed a peace treaty with the Union. Not only did she cede away the conquered northwestern area of the Redlis kingdom, and the two southwestern provinces of the kingdom, as well as Hanstmost Province. All the Andinaq kingdom had left was Central Province where the imperial capital was, Welbassia Province, and Yungechandler Province which used to belong to the Madras duchy.
Nowadays, the imperial capital had already become a border city, with Flowater Creek at its northern border and Jillin Harbor at its west. The funniest part was in drawing of the new territory of the Andinaq kingdom on the map: Silowas had actually not been included within. In other words, Princess Carey and the other nobles of the Andinaq kingdom no longer acknowledge the House of Norton as being one of the kingdom. In other words, the Norton house was a rogue noble house with no senior noble.
"What the hell is going on here?" Lorist scratched his head in a troubled manner, no longer understanding the implications of the current situation.
Potterfang and Supervisor Hansk on the other hand looked elated.
"Milord, our current situation is just like the one of the founding emperor of the Krissen Empire. With nobody commanding us around as a result of the Andinaq royal family's willing abandonment of the Norton house by not acknowledging us as their junior noble house, we are just like the house of Count Krissen a few centuries ago. However, back then, Count Krissen was first exiled before being cut off. It was from then on when he gathered his troops at The Northlands and the northeastern area and ended up founding the old empire. However, our current situation is far better than his," said Supervisor Hansk with joy.
"You're saying that the lands our forces conquer will belong to us solely and that nobody would question the legitimacy of our ownership over those lands and revolt?" asked Lorist.
"That's right, Milord. With the Andinaq kingdom's territory not including Silowas, that is a sign that they no longer care about us. With only a word from you, Milord, we can take Jillin Harbor right away and let our troops storm straight to the imperial capital," said Potterfang.
"No, something that convenient won't just fall out of the sky like that," Lorist said as he scratched his chin, "Let's wait a bit more for now. We'll train our forces prim and proper before we look for our next target. Either way, this situation still seems too odd to me. Tarkel!"
"Milord, I'm right here," said Tarkel as he stepped in from the door.
"With the war at the Redlis kingdom ended, I want the agents of Furybear to infiltrate Frederika and see if you can find the whereabouts of the second highness. I have a feeling that he would not be defeated that easily. Go take a look so that he doesn't pop out of nowhere and cause trouble for us at the most crucial moment," instructed Lorist.
"Yes, Milord," replied Tarkel, before he made a cutthroat gesture and said, "Milord, do we give him a 'sendoff' if we find him?"
Shaking his head, Lorist said, "Just report to me if you locate him. Don't act without instruction. This is not something you can decide, understood?"
"Understood, Milord."
Return to Morante
Here you go: the fourth chapter of the week!
Please note that this chapter is still unedited.
Lorist left Silowas for The Northlands along with the Dinas. The young aunt of the Dina sisters, Dilianna, had already become Lorist's concubine. As for Arriotoli, the elder Dina sister, she was prideful, maintaining her relationship with Lorist as lovers while also training hard to become the first female knight of the Dina house.
As for her sister, the second mistress of the Dina house, she had expanded her horizons after meeting Lorist. As she enjoyed Lorist's treatment and hospitality, she grew intimate with him and even flirted with him often, sometimes seeming envious of what her aunt was doing as well. She did express that she did not mind being Lorist's concubine, much to her elder sister's displeasure. It seemed like it would not take long before she fell to Lorist's 'demonic grasps'.
Lorist had the Dinas move into Firmrock Castle, solving the problem of him having to spend his nights alone. Since Arriotoli wanted to become a knight, Lorist helped her reorganize her training routine and content. Within a year and a half or so, she would definitely achieve her ambitions.
As for her brother, the heir of the Dina house, he already had a training plan prepared for him at the young age of eleven. Given the early death of the late Baron Dina when the boy was only two, and the subsequent passing of her mother from grief, the child grew to have a rather weak constitution as an indirect consequence of his parents' absence. Lorist decided that he would first work on mending the boy's physique before sending him off a year later to the Nico Academy, which would be launched by Telesti soon. He would continue his studies there for the next three years as he matures before having his battleforce awakened and beginning his knight training course.
Lorist felt substantially more relaxed upon returning to The Northlands. Even though the weird situation at the Andinaq kingdom did worry him, being isolated from the kingdom made him feel a kind of relief. He could finally decide the fate of his house on his own terms. The next course of action for him was to consider carefully the next action he would take.
Lorist did not wish to launch another military campaign right away. After all, the forces of the house had just been expanded and would still require a little more time to be up to proper shape for combat. Additionally, many household knights had taken a vacation to break through to the gold rank, not to mention the refugees recruited from the Andinaq kingdom would require time to be settled down. That was the reason for Lorist's decision to stay put for the next two years within the dominion. On one hand, he could observe the changing situation outside, on the other, he could use the opportunity to sneak in some of Furybear's agents into the four central duchies, given that the Norton house had almost no way of gaining information from there.
The 100 thousand plus refugees brought over from the Andinaq kingdom had departed for the western part of The Northlands where a new settlement was being prepared. It was called the Greatriver settlement. Like Salus and Redriver Valley, Greatriver would also have eight knight manors built there.
At the end of the 11th month, Count kenmays, Baron Felim and Baron Shazin once again came to Firmrock Castle. While the main reason was the distribution of dividends from the salt merchant committee, the other was for them to spend winter at the castle together to improve the relationship of the four houses.
Count Kenmays looked at the three beauties from the Dina house with drool dripping down the side of his mouth, thinking that while his number of maidservants far surpassed that of Lorist, their quality was vastly inferior. He also managed to get Lorist to abide by his word to bring him to Morante. Baron Felim and Baron Shazin were both interested in making the trip as well, so Lorist decided that he would bring them there during the 5th month next year to expand their horizons.
During that time, Howard came crying to Lorist. The reason was that his fiancee Katrina, the 17-year-old daughter of Baron Felim, had failed her battleforce awakening, causing her to be in a rather sour mood during her visit to Firmrock Castle with her father. In the end, Howard had no choice but to seek Lorist for help on the matter.
Lorist laughed out loud and invited Baron Feilm and his daughter to his study. After giving Katrina a pulse reading, Lorist told them that the reason for her failed attempt was from a cold she had suffered when she was young, the effects of which still remained, with traces of 'cold' energy still within her blood. As long as she goes through some simple reconditioning, she would be fine. He also mentioned that if the baron did not mind, he should leave Katrina at Firmrock Castle and said that he was confident that she would be able to successfully awaken her battleforce in another half year. Filled with joy, Baron Felim placed his daughter in Lorist's care. Lorist drafted an eating routine and some herbal medicine prescriptions and left the rest of the matter to Howard.
The nobles lived lavish lives even at a time like winter, unlike the commoners who mostly stayed in their houses, doing nothing but eating and sleeping. Thanks to a variety of magic beast furs, the forces of the Norton house were properly prepared to venture around in the cold weather. Lorist brought his three allies on a sled and traveled to the wastelands for a hunting trip. They ended up returning with a whole bunch of magic beasts, mostly carnivores that had took the initiative to attack their party, relinquishing the need to search for hunting targets on the snowfield.
By the time they returned to the dominion from the wastelands, it was already the 2nd month of the new year, and the rainy season was upon them. Following the rainy season was the winter harvests, so the three allies of the Nortons returned to their own dominions and would only return after overseeing their winter harvests. They would then head to Northsea and sail towards Morante to experience it for themselves.
During the 3rd month, Lorist received two pieces of good news: Irina, who was living at Maplewoods Bastide, gave birth to a son, whereas Telesti, who was staying at Nico Academy that was situated at the borders of Wildnorth Town and Bladedge Mountains, had given birth to another daughter. The latter had named the child Nico Freycia, bearing the family name of her mother, much to Lorist's displeasure.
In the 4th month, Howard sent over good news from Firmrock Castle, mentioning that his fiancee Katrina had successfully awakened her battleforce. Howard was completely overjoyed and brought Katrina to Maplewoods Bastide with him to see the newborn child of Irina.
On the 24th day of the 5th month, the three allied families and the three Dina women all went to Northsea. It was on that day when Lorist started his journey there to meet up with them. After that, all of them boarded a brand new merchant vessel bearing the same name as the port city and sailed towards Morante.
Northsea was a brand new large-class, long-distance merchant vessel. The only difference between it and other common ships of that class was that it was designed to transport people, with emphasis on providing a speedy and comfortable journey instead of transporting more cargo. She had received the best features possessed by traditional merchant ships while also having a luxuriously decorated inner cabin. Lorist was prepared to have a few more similar ships built so that he could use them as ferries from Silowas to Northsea.
After boarding the Northsea, Lorist was successively bedded by the three Dinas. Dilianna wanted to give birth to Lorist's child as soon as possible so that she can have a decent standing in the house. Arriotoli on the other hand was rather irritated at the fact that Lorist's only concubine, Irina, had given birth to two of his sons that were both drafted into the family registry of the Nortons. There was no doubt that the mother and sons had rather high statuses in the house. Even if Lorist were to take an official wife, that concubine could rely on her two sons to maintain her status. Even though Arriotoli's wish was to become the first female knight of the Dina house, that did not stop her from venting her frustrations on Lorist in bed.
As for Fennazali, the second Dina mistress, all she wished for was for her to be able to keep living her current life. She did not have any lofty ambitions, wanting only to live a good and comfortable life, and becoming Lorist's woman was one of the easiest methods to achieve that. Thus, she laid with Lorist, albeit shyly, during her first time. As her aunt Dilianna was there to help her, she did not suffer much during her first experience and smoothly became Lorist's lover as she had wished.
Arriotoli did not have much thoughts about her younger sister's decisions. After one of their tiring rounds of bedsport, she warned Lorist not to treat her sister ill in any way. Lorist merely snickered and said, "Rather than looking out for your sister, you should worry about yourself. I haven't had enough yet."
The Dina mistress retorted stubbornly, "Hmph, bring it on!", before she took on 'Demon Lord Lorist' alone and ended up turning into putty after the whole affair, causing her to have to rest for two whole days in bed.
When the ship passed Sidgler Province of the Madras duchy, Count Kenmays eyed the Platinum Beach enviously. That was the only famous tourist spot along the Cursed Coast of the former Krissen Empire. Nowadays, travel there had been forbidden by the decree of Duke Madras, which was a huge waste of potential in the count's eyes.
Count Kenmays scrutinized the beach like he would a family heirloom. Platinum Beach was the widest beach at the empire with its sands fine as grain and white as jade. When sunlight covers the beach, it would give off a sparkling sheen, which was probably the origin of the place's name.. The seas over there were the deepest blue, with lots of priceless and rare fish and corals at shallow waters. It was the number one spot for a retreat for centuries when the empire still existed.
However, Duke Madras betrayed the empire and occupied that place for himself. For decades, Platinum Beach had been sealed off apart from the few occasions when the duke came over for a trip. Count Kenmays said with regret that it was a shame that Duke Madras did not have any business sense. If Platinum Beach was in the control of the Kenmays house, he would definitely develop it into a tourist spot that would easily earn its weight in gold back.
Twelve days later, Northsea arrived at Silowas. Lorist brought his three friends to survey the Firmrock Legion that was stationed at the island and also organized a grand banquet. Count Kenmays, being an adept businessman from a family with a long-running background in the field, quickly grasped the importance of Silowas. He told Lorist that with both The Northlands and Silowas, the Norton house was definitely on its path to prosperity. However, the Kenmayses were located at the eastern part of The Northlands, so they would not be able to take part in trade through the ocean, which would no doubt be one of the post profitable activities to engage in during a time of peace.
Lorist brought Count Kenmays to Jillin Harbor for a survey trip and expressed his intention to develop it into a trading hub that could allow for the expansion of trade routes to the Redlis kingdom and the center of the Andinaq kingdom.
Baron Fenston was a little at loss at how to deal with Lorist, as he was a noble that had been excommunicated by the kingdom. While he did not know exactly how he should receive Lorist, he would definitely not dare to chase him away. In the end, the baron struck a compromise and received Lorist as he would a noble from the Union, complete with throwing a customary welcoming banquet and praising Lorist's notion of developing the harbor into a trading hub, expressing his complete support.
However, the baron did not call the shots when it came to Jillin Harbor. The second royal defense legion still remained there, led by a noble of the kingdom, who was also a gold-ranked knight that had witnessed Lorist kill Viscount Aslan right in front of the second highness and defeat the arrogant blademaster in the process. He had also heard about Count Aslan's defeat and death, so he chose to feign ignorance about Lorist's presence at the harbor. As long as the Norton house did not occupy the place, he would be willing to shut an eye or two.
After staying at Jillin Harbor for two days, Lorist returned to Silowas. Just before he was going to leave for Morante, a messenger from the Andinaq kingdom hurried to Silowas. That messenger was sent by Marquis Reid, carrying a letter that stated that if Lorist was willing, he could take Queen Carey as his wife and be made prince consort, which would also come with the enfeoffment of Jillin Harbor. Through that method, Lorist would be able to once again be included in the ranks of the nobles of the Andinaq kingdom.
While Lorist was tempted by the offer of Jillin Harbor, he was not the least bit interested in Queen Carey. The queen was beautiful, no doubt, but Lorist's memories of her whorish behavior was not the least bit fond. Perhaps, most nobles would be more than proud to be married to a queen, and perhaps even tolerant or ignorant or who the queen sleeps with, but there was no way in hell Lorist would be willing to take a wife like her. Being partly influenced by the ideals of his past life, he would not be willing to be on the side of the cuckolded.
Even though Arriotoli and her aunt Dilianna had participated in the paradise gathering a number of times and had no doubt had sexual relations with several men before, they were rather frank about it and stopped going to those gatherings after getting to know Lorist. Not only that, they returned to their home and waited patiently for him for two whole years. Based only on that, Lorist felt that they were much cleaner than Queen Carey. There was also the fact that they were only his concubines, not his actual wife.
Lorist still recalled hearing a rumor about the queen during his attendance of the banquet organized by Baron Fenston. It was said that she frequently laid with her ministers and based her decisions on the policies of the kingdom on those interactions. Rumor has it that she listened to the minister that pleased her the best in bed. That was probably the main reason male aphrodisiacs were rising in price at the imperial capital. Lorist felt that Queen Carey was definitely comparable to the queen of the Iblia kingdom in their frivolous demeanors.
Shaking his head, Lorist did not even bother to pen a letter of refusal to the offer and instructed the messenger to be sent back to the ferry. After that, he left for Morante on Northsea with his three allies and the three Dinas.
Lorist felt quite safe traveling to the Union right now as he did not feel any threat from the kingdom. The main reason for that was the current queen's signing of the peace treaty with the kingdom. Other than that, he was no longer considered an Andinaq noble, but a rogue one. Additionally, his house had already achieved peace with the Chikdors, so there was no need for any unnecessary conflict to arise. Had it not been for those facts, Lorist would not have risked bringing those three country bumpkins with him to the big city.
On the 11th day of the 7th month of Year 1775, Lorist once again set foot on Morante. It has already been ten years since his departure from the great city after receiving the summons from his household.