In early November, in Brittany, within the prayer room on the third floor of Baron Ryan's castle in Jean, the construction of the tower for the Lake Fairy was still underway. Only two floors were completed, far from the at least five floors required by the Lake Fairy. The craftsmen predicted it would take another year to finish the tower.
Ryan did not blame the craftsmen. Most of them, hired from Montfort and Bordelaux, were top-notch artisans in Brittany, brought in by the merchant Ismel to maintain and rebuild the castle. Ismel's strategy was to refurbish the castle first and then build the new tower, as the existing baronial castle already had a complete structure and stone walls, requiring mainly interior refurbishment and repair of some long-neglected and damaged areas.
Thus, considering Ryan needed a place to live, Ismel's priority was to complete the refurbishment of the castle before constructing the tower.
The prayer room on the third floor was off-limits to the castle's servants, especially after Ryan's return to his territory. Ryan decreed that no one but Olica could enter the prayer room, which was always locked.
Inside the prayer room, the Lake Fairy sat opposite Ryan, looking paler than usual. Her usually rosy cheeks were slightly pale. Her hand, which normally held the Grail, was now holding Ryan's right hand, with the Grail set aside.
Ryan was also not in great shape. The head of the Grail Knights appeared listless, but he was still continuously channeling his psychic energy to the Lake Fairy.
Ordinarily, gods exist in a subspace, with the emotional energy of their followers forming the power that sustains them. For a deity to intervene in the mortal world, a significant amount of divine power is needed, along with a suitable vessel, making it difficult for them to intervene in the mortal plane. That's why mortals have to rely on themselves for many things.
However, Ryan's existence created a backdoor between the subspace and the mortal world for the Lake Fairy. With Ryan's increasingly powerful soul, she could freely use her divine power.
"Indeed, the walls of Musilon, protected by magic and seals, cannot be breached," the Lake Fairy said after a while, her face growing paler. She signaled to Ryan that it was enough.
After the flood swept through the Duchy of Connaught for a whole day, the Lake Fairy's water still couldn't breach Musilon's walls. So, after consuming a vast amount of divine power, she decided to end the operation, withdrawing her hand: "Enough, Ryan, my champion. Let's stop here for now."
"Okay!" Ryan withdrew his hand too, having used most of his psychic energy. In the prayer room, both the deity and the mortal appeared drained. The Lake Fairy reached out her arm to Ryan, indicating he should sit beside her, and sighed deeply: "This way, the Red Duke and his allies won't be able to wage war for a while. We've bought ourselves more time."
"Thank you, my lady," Ryan said, about to withdraw his hand, but the Lake Fairy immediately held onto his arm, leaning on him, her voice filled with fatigue: "My champion, I need some rest."
"Alright, I think I need some rest too. I must say, my lady, you don't hold back in using my psychic energy," Ryan joked, feeling very tired himself.
"You are my champion; if not yours, whose energy should I use?" The Lake Fairy joked back. With Ryan's help, the Red Duke and his Black Knight allies in Musilon couldn't do much for now. They had to quickly restore their armies and production within their territories. While the undead no longer needed food or sleep, assembling an undead army still required a lot of weapons and magical resources. The vampires also needed ample human blood. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Grail Knights would collectively retrieve the Grail remains and return them to the Grail Cathedral in Couronne for burial.
This matter was no longer Ryan's concern. The Lake Fairy made it clear that she didn't need Ryan's help for the next steps. Morgiana and her Grail Knights would handle it.
Ryan had an idea in mind, which he didn't express. He had considered using the issue of the Black Grail Knights to try and control and command the Grail Knights. Strengthening his connection with the Grail Knights would allow him to do much more in the future.
He had established a decent foundation in Brittany, but it was not solid enough yet.
The Lake Fairy seemed to sense his thoughts and softly said, "It's not time yet, my champion, not yet..."
"My lady, I plan to equip the army with cannons," Ryan said, aware that some things couldn't be rushed. He had already attracted a lot of attention in this year's Knights' War, causing dissatisfaction among many conservative nobles, especially after wood elves and dwarves blatantly appeared in his territory. Some dukes, like the Duke of Montfort, who guarded the Axe Bite Pass, had strong opinions about this. He loathed all races other than humans, and his territory did not accept any non-human residents.
"I have never at any time or place forbidden knights from using cannons, my champion," the Lake Fairy quickly understood Ryan's meaning, smiling and shaking her head: "My champion, if you can obtain the technology for cannons from the dwarves, that would be best. But be aware, the descendants of Charlemagne on the other side of the mountains have an agreement with the dwarves. They jointly guard the secret of gunpowder. Dwarves are a stubborn lot, so first think about how to persuade them to willingly make cannons for you."
"I have a way, my lady, as long as you permit me to use it," Ryan nodded repeatedly, emboldened by the Lake Fairy's approval.
Ryan had a feeling that the Lake Fairy was a very adaptable and pragmatic goddess. The eight virtues of knighthood she left behind were overinterpreted by the knights into rigid doctrines. Firm beliefs were beneficial in resisting the corruption of Chaos, and the level of Chaos corruption among the people of Brittany was much lower than in the Empire. However, it also led the knights to conservatism and arrogance. Every advantage has its downside.
"When your tower is finished, it will be my permanent residence, my champion. Close your eyes; I have a gift for you," the Lake Fairy indicated for Ryan to close his eyes.
When Ryan did so, he felt a soft, light touch on his face.
What?!
"Ha ha ha ha~" The Lake Fairy's laughter echoed in the room, but except for the bright light and the fragrance of iris, her presence was gone.
Ryan opened his mouth, unsure what to say. After a while, feeling very tired, he left the prayer room and returned to his bedroom, quickly falling into a deep sleep.
Having had a significant amount of his psychic energy drained, Ryan rested for over a day. As a son of the Emperor and the genetic progenitor of the Grey Knights, he recovered quickly. As a baron, he couldn't rest indefinitely; there were many matters in his territory requiring his attention.
In early November, Brittany finally saw its first snowfall after winter's onset.
Early in the morning, Ryan woke up. He bathed comfortably in a tub of hot water, leisurely hanging his legs over the edge, with Olica attending to him.
"You're up early, my great knight?" The languid witch Garon lay on the main bedroom's large bed, leaning against soft pillows, her face flushed, obviously well-satisfied from the previous night: "Why not rest a little longer?"
Outside the window, large snowflakes fell. The climate this year was somewhat unusual, with the first snow being heavier than normal.
"I'm going to check on the workshop. Carsonberg said that the dwarf artisan brought about seven or eight people to the workshop, demanding a complete rearrangement of the facility and requiring many hands to assist him. I just got back and was busy with other matters. Now, as the lord, I should visit and talk with him," Ryan said frankly, standing up from the tub. Olica handed him a towel to dry off, and he dressed himself: "Do you want to come with me?"
"Hmm~ I thought you were preparing that tower for me, but it turns out..." Veronica tossed aside the blanket, hinting that she planned to accompany him to the workshop: "We'll talk on the way."
"Hmm."
The two changed clothes and, along with tax collector Gasparton and steward Carsonberg, accompanied by a few soldiers, walked downstream along the Shinon River. The heavy snow covered everything, turning the barony into a vast white expanse. The cold wind blew across the fields, with most serfs' doors tightly shut and only a few still working.
On the way, Ryan encountered the half-elf Estel, accompanied by two Eternal Guards and several Woodland Sentinels, all wearing fur coats. Seeing Ryan, Estel was surprised but quickly greeted, "Lord Ryan? You're back?"
"Yes, I'm back. What's going on, Estel? Where are you headed?" Ryan asked.
"Ah, I'm taking them to the smithy by the river to fetch weapons. Winter has come, the treemen are in slumber, and our king has entered the flames and turned to ash, only to return next spring," Estel explained with a not-so-good look: "So in winter, we must guard the forest ourselves and need ample weapons."
The Wood Elf King Orion and his wife Ariel die in the flames every winter and resurrect in the spring. Summer is when they are most powerful.
"That's convenient; I'm heading to the smithy too. Let's go together," Ryan nodded, indicating for everyone to join.
The Eternal Guards were reluctant, first looking disdainfully at the soldiers and Gasparton and Carsonberg following Ryan, then looking at Ryan and Veronica with reverence before agreeing. One of the Eternal Guards spoke in Elvish: "Greetings, Lord Ryan. I am Anas, captain of the Eternal Guard from the Eternal Forest. With winter's arrival, we urgently need more iron, ore, and food, but your subordinates cannot meet our needs, and the dwarf artisan has refused our order. I hope you can help us."
"Dear Anas, I just returned to the territory and am not fully aware of the current situation," Ryan shook his head: "According to our original agreement, our production should meet your requirements. Have the Eslei increased their order or made a temporary request?"
The Eternal Guard fell silent, and Estel, seeing this, smiled bitterly, telling Ryan: "Ryan, we've encountered trouble. The Val Anvil Glade was invaded by a pack of Shadow Beasts, severely affecting our iron production. We rely almost entirely on imports from your territory for ore, so we urgently need some ready-made weapons."
"I understand. Let's walk and talk," Ryan suggested, and they all agreed.
So, walking along the dry riverbed, they talked. Veronica, holding Ryan's hand, remained silent, looking like a decorative piece.
Interestingly, the tax collector Gasparton was very enthusiastic about the wood elves, conversing in broken Low Gothic with the Eternal Guards, who always answered. The steward Carsonberg, however, was not pleased with the wood elves.
No wonder, as the presence and trade with the wood elves had brought great benefits to Ryan, with the elves' exquisite crafts and jewelry necklaces highly sought after by human nobility. As a result, the elves' trading post brought considerable tax revenue to Ryan's territory. Gasparton estimated this year's tax revenue for the barony would exceed a thousand gold crowns.
But Carsonberg didn't see it that way. The relationship between the wood elves and human residents was not good, with serfs both fearful and wary of the "pointy-eared ones." Various disputes arose, and Carsonberg had to deal with these issues, which were difficult due to the elves' special status in Ryan's territory, hence his displeased demeanor.
After briefly discussing the current problems, Ryan and the group arrived at the extensive workshop overseen by the dwarf blacksmith Delron-Fainsen. The black walls and roofs, now covered in white snow, occasionally emitted black smoke from the chimneys.
"Eh?" Ryan narrowed his eyes, noticing a tall human in the blacksmith workshop hammering iron.
My brother?
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