What?! Hiding behind the cabinet, Ryan and Sulia's eyes widened in shock.
The nine tomes of Nagash, the Lord of the Dead?
Ryan held Sulia in his embrace, gesturing for her to keep listening. The female knight remained silent.
"The nine tomes? Nagash? What's that?" Mathew's voice sounded puzzled.
"Damn it, Mathew, stop playing dumb." Fiona's voice was both tense and questioning. "The guards told my grandfather that you were indeed ambushed when you appeared at the library, but there was nothing chasing you when you ran into it!"
"By the time we checked the damage the next day, the fourth of the nine tomes had disappeared, Mathew. You're the most suspicious!" Fiona accused, her voice filled with authority. "I'm telling you, Mathew, although many people were suspicious that day, I always felt you were the most suspicious!!!"
"Hey, my lady, you can't just frame me like that. Then I really have nothing to say to you." Mathew shook his head helplessly, complaining. "I don't even know what the nine tomes of Nagash are. I've only heard of the Lord of the Dead Nagash. Even if you told me about these tomes, I wouldn't recognize them!"
"Ah, how unlucky I am. First, I was defeated at the last moment of victory in the knight's tournament by the 'triple thrust', a sophisticated technique, and now Fiona thinks I'm a thief. Did I offend Lady Luck, or why am I so unlucky?" Mathew kept complaining, increasingly frustrated. "Really... Ah! Do you think I didn't want to win? But Miss Sulia is the duke's legitimate daughter; she has the ability to learn that technique. I'm not; I'm just an ordinary ranger knight. What can I do? And you accuse me of stealing. Show me the evidence!"
The young ranger knight displayed all his frustration and disappointment in front of Fiona, like a challenger who had exhausted his efforts but fell before lineage and bloodlines, painfully telling Fiona that it wasn't that he didn't want to try, but his opponent was talented, hardworking, and came from a better background.
Fiona's cute face wavered slightly. Her initial intuition had almost confirmed that everything was Mathew's doing, but after hearing his painful and disappointed expression, she also began to doubt herself.
"Are you really not the one who did it?"
Mathew spread his hands, looking resigned.
Fiona eyed Mathew suspiciously for a while before giving up. After thinking for a moment, her face flushed red, and she said through gritted teeth, "Then, Mathew, remember this: no one is allowed to speak of this matter!"
The Duke of Bretonnia, Theodoric, obtaining the fourth tome of Nagash was a coincidence. The duke found the fourth tome of Nagash in the basement of a city lord's mansion in Estalia while leading the duchy's army on a counterattack against Estalia. The book was stored with a bunch of other books.
Initially, the duke didn't know what the book was and treated it as a magical tome, which was brought back to Bretonnia as war booty. However, when the court wizards studied it and informed him of the true origin of the book, the duke was thrown into a dilemma.
Theodoric was a devout follower of the Lady, praising the name of the Lady of the Lake in battle. At the same time, he was a duke, a ruler of a duchy. His duchy was fragmented from the constant warfare with Estalia, with its population now less than 350,000 people. The once 3,000 knights on the roster had dwindled to fewer than 2,000. The endless wars with Estalia frustrated and despaired him; he needed other powers to help him reclaim the duchy passed down from his ancestors.
The fourth tome of Nagash detailed Nagash's army training methods and many healing spells. The book itself was a powerful magical artifact that benefited the duchy's army. The army could recover its fighting strength faster, and the knights' injuries healed quicker, all thanks to the fourth tome of Nagash.
With the enhancements from the fourth tome, the army could reduce its training time by half and be battle-ready. The court wizards infused magic into the book, and the healing magic released by the fourth tome could broadly rejuvenate and heal injuries. The benefits of the book made Theodoric unable to part with it.
The duke knew what being discovered would mean, so the fourth tome of Nagash was always hidden in the deepest part of the library of Bretonnia, only taken out when needed. Now, the disappearance of the book left the duke restless. He sent out many people to look for Mathew, not only at Fiona's request but also to find out if he had stolen the book.
"Yes, I definitely won't say anything," Mathew said very tactfully.
Behind the large cabinet, Sulia leaned on Ryan's chest, her voice trembling slightly: "Ryan... this matter seems..."
"Shh, Sulia, don't rush to conclusions." Ryan's expression changed repeatedly. He remembered discussing with Francois whether vampires and necromancers were searching for something.
So there really was something!
Outside, Mathew and Fiona continued their conversation. Mathew sighed helplessly, "In the end, I still failed. Just a little bit more, just a tiny bit more. After all, I've just advanced to legend, and my realm is very unstable, but I couldn't wait any longer. I'm already 24 years old this year. There's no way I can participate in the next knight's tournament."
"Hmph~ What use is it telling me this? A runner-up is a runner-up." Fiona crossed her arms and "hmphed", turning her head away to give Mathew a cold shoulder.
The girl's tone had softened a lot. Although she was a very proud and bad-tempered duchess's granddaughter, she had received a good education. Seeing Mathew's dejected look and thinking of his attentiveness and consideration for her along the way, she felt a bit sad. She still turned her head away, glancing at Mathew from the corner of her eye: "What, are you giving up just like that?"
"Ah, this was indeed my last chance. My godfather had high hopes for me, but I failed. Second place is alright, but I can feel his disappointment," Mathew kept shaking his head.
"A loser is a loser. What if you failed this time? Just make it up next time. Mathew, Sulia winning over you was just luck. I... Ah!" Fiona stamped her foot hard on the wooden floor, intending to scold the young ranger knight, but the floor gave way under her foot, causing a small pit. The girl screamed and was about to fall to the ground, but Mathew quickly grabbed her.
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward.
Fiona's face turned red, and she stammered, "You you you... What are you trying to do
, Mathew? I warn you, don't mess around! I'll scream!"
"There's no one else here. Scream if you want," Mathew slowly approached the nervous girl.
"I'm warning you, Mathew, if you come any closer, I'll... I'll..." Fiona, her face flushed with embarrassment, kept backing away.
Behind the corner cabinet, Ryan couldn't help but laugh, holding the female knight in his embrace and chuckling, "This is quite the spectacle."
"Ryan!" Sulia lightly slapped Ryan's shoulder, careful not to hurt him, her force gentle, "We can't just stand by and watch them... do that kind of thing in the windmill."
"Mathew is a smart man. He won't," Ryan reassured.
Just as Fiona was retreating step by step, ready to resign herself to her fate against the railing, the sound of the door opening came from the first floor of the windmill.
A young noble knight was pulling a noblewoman inside: "Come on, Sophie, today is the Holy Grail Day; there won't be anyone inside the windmill!"
"Oh my, Christopher, slow down, you're going to tear my dress!"
Before they even closed the door, the couple eagerly began to embrace and kiss.
The atmosphere became even more awkward. Seeing this, Fiona quickly pretended to be inspecting the windmill and loudly inquired about the purpose of the central driveshaft.
Her voice startled the couple on the first floor, who had started to unbutton their clothes.
Faced with an awkward encounter, Mathew and Fiona had no choice but to descend from the second floor. Both ladies' faces were very red, displaying embarrassed yet polite smiles, while Mathew and the nobleman named Christopher exchanged awkward handshakes.
With the situation turned awkward, Mathew and Fiona left the windmill together, and the couple, having lost their mood, hurriedly left, seemingly in search of another location.
Ryan and Sulia then emerged from behind the large cabinet on the second floor.
"Alright, Ryan, let me go," the female knight reluctantly stepped out of Ryan's embrace, her face showing a mix of regret and shyness, "I've been out too long. It's time to go back."
"Sulia, a lot has happened today, but some things you shouldn't jump to conclusions about. First, tell this to Lord Francois, see what he says, and don't tell Yuli right away; he's sure to immediately seek trouble with Lord Theodoric," Ryan held Sulia's hand, advising the female knight.
"I understand, Ryan. Be careful yourself," Sulia extended her hands to hold Ryan's, bidding him farewell.
Having met like this today, the duke's daughter was already very content, especially the pleasant time inside the windmill, "Ryan, I might return to the duchy with my father and brother first. Take good care of your wounds and don't rush to move."
"Mm, I understand." Ryan once again embraced the female knight, and after a prolonged kiss, Sulia left with a flushed face.
...
When Ryan returned to the Holy Grail Cathedral, the festive atmosphere was in full swing. Seeing Ryan appear, everyone saluted, paying their respects to the hero of the knightly kingdom.
Ryan politely responded but hastened his steps towards the interior of the Holy Grail Cathedral.
He was still somewhat weak.
Since he had been able to walk again, Morgiana had used the excuse of "no longer needing someone to take care of him" to send Amelia away from the Holy Grail Cathedral. Amelia had no choice but to move out again, and Ryan had instructed her to follow Sulia.
Opening his own room door, the furnishings were still as luxurious. Morgiana was sitting in the middle of the room, looking at some documents. Hearing Ryan come back, the Lake Witch looked up, her long gray dress trailing on the thick carpet, "Happy holiday, I thought you would come back later."
"Just went out for a walk, to breathe some fresh air. It's not good to stay out too long, I'm feeling a bit tired," Ryan sighed and then sat down.
"Rest a little longer. After the kingdom's budget meeting at the end of April, you'll come south with me," Morgiana looked at a magic book, telling Ryan who was sitting aside, "Although you're now able to move around, you still need to rest more."
"Still that long?" Ryan thought. It was only early April. According to Morgiana's plan, wouldn't he have to stay in the Holy Grail Cathedral for nearly twenty more days?
The Lake Witch's azure eyes emitted a dangerous glint, "Ryan, you are the Lady's chosen champion. I know you recover quickly, but I still need to ensure you're fully recovered before allowing you to leave. It's safest for you to stay by my side during this time."
"Maybe so, but..." Ryan wanted to say more.
"There's no 'but'. It's settled," Morgiana didn't give Ryan any chance to rebut.
"Alright, looks like I'll have to notify Lops and Hex that they'll need to stay in Couronne a bit longer." Seeing Morgiana's firm stance, Ryan had to compromise. It wasn't that he was weak or easily compromised, but Morgiana was indeed considering his best interests.
"I also wish you a happy holiday, my lady." Ryan presented a gift box, "This is a holiday gift for you."
"What is this?" Morgiana opened the gift box, inside was a silver bracelet with sapphires.
Ryan had prepared many gifts before coming to Couronne, including a bottle of wine for every Grail Knight in the division and some small gifts for the bishops and priests of the Holy Grail Cathedral, naturally including one for Morgiana.
Mainly because he had been seriously injured after the battle, he had put this matter aside. Today, he simply used the opportunity to give it to Morgiana as a holiday gift.
"Thank you, happy holiday, champion of the Lady." Morgiana immediately wore the bracelet on her wrist. Her expression didn't change much, the Lake Witch stood up somewhat anxiously from the chair, "I'll see how dinner is coming along. Clementine is a bit slow."
"By the way, my lady, I have something to report to you after dinner," Ryan didn't suspect anything, adding, "It's very important, about the 'Night of Blood' you encountered in the Duchy of Bretonnia last time. I seem to have found another clue."
"Then you should tell me now! Don't wait until after dinner!" Morgiana immediately expressed her dissatisfaction with Ryan, "Please prioritize."
So Ryan told Morgiana what he had overheard in the windmill.
"Traitor!"
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