At noon, the old winter house, which was deserted, welcomed its new owner.
"The old house, consisting of two long houses and two enclosures, was built by Grihade, Gerritsen's father, who was the head of the family.
Over the course of two generations, the family's influence grew.
In order to accommodate the growing number of people who came to join the family, Gerritsen bought a larger plot of land and built a new house.
When the old lord passed away, I took care of the old place.
Leddy explained as he showed the prospective lord and his wife around the mansion.
As they walked past a room with a number of weapons hanging on the walls, she stopped."I live here, and at the end of the aisle is the master bedroom." I can move to the other rooms if there are more relatives who have defected to you."
Sela makes brief eye contact with Keane.
Prior to this, the two had sensed that Leddy was not favored as the lord's daughter, and her wording in the narrative further illustrates this.
What Leddy said was exactly what Keane had in mind.
But given Sela's earlier thoughts, he made the opposite statement."No, we're not good at taking care of a house this big."
"Yeah, We don't want to turtledove.
So you shouldn't think you're a parasite either.
This is still your home." Sela chimed in.
The main bedroom was already covered in dust.
A few bed curtain-like cobwebs had even formed on the couch.
Leddy was a little overwhelmed to see the couple tidying up the room themselves.
After a moment of hesitation, she decided to step forward and give a hand."Ms.
Sela, do you have children?" She pulled down a cobweb.
"No, don't throw it away." Sela took out the empty bottle and filled it with cobwebs."It'll save me a lot of effort."
"I've never seen anyone who can use these." What can they do? " Leddy asked.
"Spider silk is a good material for stopping bleeding; it dries up wounds." And spiders are producers of this material." Sela used the same bottle to catch the spider that was falling."As it burned, the smell produced by the spider silk led me to believe that its yielding nature was meat."
"How is this possible?! I've used a torch more than once to start a fire to remove a cobweb, and it never gave off any smell.
I thought it was—"
"Feces? "No, that's a total misunderstanding.
Sela picked up a few black pellets from the floor and handed them to Leddy."That's what spider droppings are."
Leddy would wonder, "Isn't that what it's-"
"Egg? No.
A spider's eggs are usually round." Seeing that the young squire was already convinced by his knowledge, Sela decided to stop in moderation."Now is not the time; I will show you the spider's eggs sometime."
It took half a minute for Leddy to regain control of her thoughts.
She didn't want to summon the waiter to help; that would interfere with her continuing to understand the couple."So, do you have children?"
"No, we weren't rich before today." We grew crops.
Keane gathered herbs on the way to hunt.
I make herbs into potions and sell them.
These could only make ends meet and could not afford to raise a child.
Now things are better.
We will consider raising a child.
What do you think? " Sela asked her "husband".
"Well, yes." Keane was so amazed at how well his "wife" could tell the story that he almost forgot to respond."Most days, we only eat two meals a day.
We were lucky compared to those who were fed once every few days." He went to the fireplace.
The silt and charcoal ash had cured, and the place had indeed been uninhabited for a long time.
"What else do we need to know about the house?" Sela asked.
Most of the family works at the new house.
Liv takes care of the hoop house.
Her brother Toffen is bedridden, so Liv rarely works into the afternoon.
Pie Belfner is the cook here.
His voice is always loud because his ears aren't very good and he's always worried that people won't hear what he's saying.
The other chores are usually left to Lumic and the short-timers." Leddy caught his breath and said, "I'll call them over when we're done."
Keane stood in front of the deep cold hearth for a moment before turning back, "That's it." Let it be business as usual."
----------
In the kitchen, the fire is still warm and the seats at the long table are mostly empty.
The long table is decorated with browned pies, cheeses garnished with shredded mushrooms, and brightly colored vegetable soups.
The people at the table remain restrained, even though their mouths are already watering.
Belfner, who had been chattering to the others during the cooking, did not dare raise his voice, lest his thunderous voice disturb the quiet lords and ladies.
liv kept the cheese at hand and took small bites of vegetable soup.
Lumic kept his head down, never taking his eyes off the pie in his hands.
Even the bard is not always able to liven up the atmosphere of the moment.
Leddy thought about how he should introduce the couple to the others, but realized he still knew too little about them to say anything."I love this lamb pie.
I hope the Temple of the Spirits has it too." She chimed in.
Keane grabbed another pie out of the basket.
Taking a big bite and sending another into his mouth, he wipes his fingers over the grease that runs through the corner of his mouth."Don't doubt it.
I like this."
"Yes," I can't wait to taste the rest of your handiwork." After praising the chef, Sela turned back to Liv and said, "No need to save your cheese for your brother." You can take some from the kitchen when you leave."
----------
After the meal, Leddy did his daily practice in the courtyard.
While enjoying the sunshine in front of the door, the lords and ladies paid attention to the female warrior's every move.
"She seems to be doing okay.
I like her more now than I did before because of those little tricks she used to do.I bet she doesn't look like a woman when she fights.
Sela lowered her voice to comment.
"Veshan often says there is no gender on the battlefield, only enemies or friends.
I agree with what you said.
She's trained in combat and is comfortable with all kinds of weapons; she's just not very good with a shield."
"Why do you say that? You've never fought her before." Sela cast a puzzled look.
"Her shield is a bit far from her body." If I was fighting her, I wouldn't be able to detect this.
Because the arm would be blocked by the shield."
"What difference does it make?" Sela asked softly.
"This will lead to a shift in weight, require more physical strength, and will not be able to effectively use the killing power of the shield."
"Well, amazing."
"This was made possible by Veshan's teachings." He came into contact with the Noah people who lived in "The Bitter Cold Years".
Since then, he's come to value shields.
He has said that shields are more deadly in the hands of those people than weapons.
Not content with practicing on the dummy, Leddy came closer to the lord, saying, "You must be able to fight too, right?" I mean, you look pretty sturdy; you shouldn't just be fighting with your tongue like those bards."
"I'm better at setting traps for hunting and growing vegetables."
Sela saw what the warrior woman was thinking."You should practice fighting with our guards." How can you be a lord and not have a few scars? " She was persuaded on Leddy's behalf.
"That's right!" Leddy nodded his head repeatedly, "Come on! "Maybe one day we'll have to give each other our backs." She walked towards the clearing.
Keane understands that fighting is not the goal and that winning or losing is irrelevant.
Sela just wants the two to fit in with the locals.
He picks up his shield and spear and walks up to Leddy, "I'm ready."
The battle began with the two testing each other with their weapons.
Leddy took the lead in the attack after several weapon clashes.Having moved her muscles in advance, her attack was more daring.
With her steady footwork and confident swinging chop, the female warrior's every strike dared her opponent to be careless.
As a headhunter's apprentice, in addition to being able to fight skillfully, Keane also knows how to attack the soft tissues of his enemies with his hard bones.
If necessary, he will even use his teeth to drive enemies back.
As Sosbin said, the young man's body will gradually become a conscious weapon.
However, this weapon is not sheathed at this moment.
Seeing that his companion was restraining his power in order to maintain his status as a farmer, Sela left with relief.
Keane carefully controlled the pace of the battle, allowing each other to exert their strength without letting the female fighters notice anything different.
As the fight progressed, the number of onlookers grew.
To avoid publicity, he decided to end the fight as soon as possible, and began to use the spear's attack range to hold his opponent back.
In response, Leddy was prepared.
She swung her longsword to crush her enemy's weapon to the ground, then raised her shield to smash the spearhead.
Rising to her feet, she welcomed the enemy who had crossed her approach.
Since her opponent had lost his weapon, the warrior woman did not intend to defend with all her might.
However, the next moment, her weapon was deflected by the shield.
When the two shields collided, the female warrior lost her center of gravity and fell to the ground first.
"Killian's" (the Wissahne world's god of martial arts and war) shield!" Leddy thrust his sword into the ground and wiped the sweat off his forehead, "That was hearty! I haven't fought like this in a long time.
It's going to be rewarding for us all."
"Any woman who dares to take up arms is not to be underestimated, even if her weapon is just a rock." Keane lamented.
"That sounds like some bard's whining after a beating.
But I like it." Leddy adjusted his body with deep breaths and was soon back to his old self."For a farmer, you fought well.
Who taught you to fight? "
"It was a man named Janick.
Now he's gone."
"I haven't seen that surname in any genealogy."
"Maybe it's both old and cold."
"What about you? "As a lord, it's time for you to think about your last name."
"I can't read very well."
"Walky Yar," Leddy suggested casually.
"What?"
"In the ancient language, 'Yar' means lord.
As for 'Walky', I can't recall its meaning at the moment, but that would be a good word, or I wouldn't remember it."
----------
The room was fully stocked with daily necessities.
Someone had thoughtfully placed pies and honey wine on the bedside table.
The scent of pine wood, inspired by hot water poured into the bath, was pleasant.
Sela clung to the window, watching the watery air coil gently around the roof beams.
However, a sharp hailstorm of weapons interrupted this comfort.
She twisted out the window.
The battle between the guards and the lord was still going on."I cannot expect this to be a good start, but I will cherish the moment."
Before leaving, Liv pulled a few bunches of lavender out of her sleeve and put them on the pillow."I hope you like this, ma'am."
"Thanks, girl.
Close the door for me."Tell Lumic I'm happy with the bath tub he picked out.
The footsteps outside the door faded away, and Sela closed the window facing the courtyard.
She then went to the window that opened to the back of the house and flew out as a bat in a puff of mist.
----------
Keane, who had just returned to the spare room, was a little startled, but he soon dismissed those unrealistic suspicions.
As he ponders, holding the edge of the tub, Sela jumps into the room through the window.
"Where have you been? I was worried about you.
"I went to Jon's house to see it." He and his wife have two sons.
The family is happy." Sela hesitantly walked over to the tub, "You've avenged Betty's death." Jon attacked the villagers that night only to carry out the lord's orders, which was his duty.
Can't you leave him alone? "
Hearing these words, Keane had a brief moment of hesitation.
But in the blink of an eye, the thought of revenge reasserted its dominance over his will.
I had a home, too.
They destroyed it.
They slaughtered those people as if they were just livestock."
But you have a new home now.
You can find Sanchi, bring him here, and start a new life." Sela looked into the water, hoping her other self would have a way to soothe this grief the two shared."I know it's hard to get over this hate.
But must you put others through the same pain? "
"Yes," I hope so." Keane did not want to think about whether what Sela said was right or wrong, and he turned away from the tub as if he feared that the reflection in the water might say something similar to his companion.
This short whisper pushed the slightly cool summer night into the slow rumble of winter.
The room fell silent.
The water falling from the roof beams dripped into the tub, rippling on a face as still as an icy lake.
Sela reached out with somewhat stiff fingers to test the water temperature, "Please leave."
"Yes." Keane couldn't understand his companion's displeasure.
He tried to think, but his thoughts were already occupied with the unfinished list.
The quietly sinking night had paved the way for him, and the low crowing outside the window called to him like a spell.
Sela lay down in the bath, but then suddenly got up, "Wait."
"What?"
"If you must kill him, I suggest you do it differently." Don't do it like you did with Frostfire."
"Why?"
"You're a lord now." A lord can solve problems in a lordly way."
Keane stood frozen in front of the door, trying to follow Sela's cue to think.
I am now a resident here.
A commoner can initiate a duel with the lord as long as he declares himself and states his reasons.
Besides, I'm the lord, so if I fight in person, he can't assign someone else to fight for him.
Unless he wants to be the laughing stock of others."
"I'm glad you guessed what I was thinking." Sela exhaled, glad she had stopped her companion in time, or it would have been another sleepless night.
But we'll have to wait for our chance.
The valley is preparing for war, and Gerritsen will not agree to your dueling now.
Also, whether or not the little blonde was crooked, I share her suspicion that Frostfire probably had an accomplice.
Gerritsen should have had that suspicion, too, and that's why it wasn't made public to everyone that you killed Frostfire."
"He kept the secret.
That's good, isn't it? "
"Perhaps.
To avoid being questioned, he needed a proper reason to officially enthrone you as a lord." For a moment, Sela felt that her companion was surveying her body, but the look quickly became vacant.
"Did you spy on Winter?"
"No.
Lumic used to do his work for him.
According to him, winter was a typical no-brainer and someone else was running things in the family.
The old man cared more about bears than people."
"In that case, it's possible that he was instigated by someone else to send fighters to attack the golden waterwheel."
"A little goes a long way."
Late in the night, two empty bottles of wine were poured under the bed.
The two men habitually leaned together, leaving a lot of space on the wide bed.
Sela rolled over to face her companion, "Who gave you that name?"
"I don't remember.
What? "
"Don't you think your name, Kiren, is similar to Killian?" Sela gestured out of thin air."Perhaps, someone expects you to be an amazing warrior?"
"Warrior." I don't enjoy fighting.
I just want to finish the list as soon as possible, and then we'll find Sanchi together.
After that, I'll plant your red potatoes and maybe raise a few pigs."
Don't be silly; most cloistered people would choose sheep.
because sheep can produce milk." Sela's companion's intentions coincide with her own, which gives Sela a small measure of solace.
A few months ago, I put my arm around you and rested under a tree.
A few days ago, you wrapped your arms around me and leaned against a shack made of branches.
Yesterday we were huddled in a crib in a cavern, and today...
onlookers would say we were the strangest companions in the world, eh?
"For anyone, you'd be excellent company, Sela."
"For a vampire, you're not." Sela closed her eyes and rolled over.
----------
The Windrose Valley is part of the vast Sleepless Mountains, which are not only infested with wild animals but also with bandits.
They will plunder single travelers but will not venture into the patrol area of the city guards.
While Keane is always the first to spot bandits on his hunting trips, Leddy often suggests that the lord should gather his men to kill the bandits and take their heads to the city for a reward, while Sela prefers to convince the bandits to go to the city to make a living.
Through "negotiations", she learns that these wanderers come from all over the continent, mostly because they have been expelled after offending a lord or losing a duel, and have become bandits.
However, there are not many travelers in the valley, and they mostly make their living by hunting.
Sela used potions and hot compresses to get rid of their ailments.
After saving Jericho Winter's son, the bandit lord gathered his men and swore allegiance to Sela.
Even so, these men were still reluctant to venture into the city so they wouldn't have to look at others for a living.
These valley wanderers used longbows the height of a man's shoulder and were equipped with longer, heavier arrows.
This combination meant longer range and greater lethality.
At Leddy's suggestion, Jericho turned a bandit camp in the valley into a "Longbow Camp", selling longbows and training longbowmen in exchange for their daily needs.
With the bandits gone, the Walky Yar's reputation in the valley grows, but their background remains a mystery.
This gave Gerritsen a mixture of joy and concern.
He made a high profile of the couple as a sign of his insight and meritocracy.
But in private, he knew that the Blue Swan must always have the upper hand.