Walking into the castle, Ryan smelled a hint of lavender.
The baron tilted his head, a stiff expression on his face as he thought of who the visitor might be.
Passing through the castle's first-floor hall, following the scent of lavender, Ryan found a slender figure in his study, deeply engrossed in his collection of books. Her waist-length black hair shimmered captivatingly.
Hearing footsteps, the visitor said, "I always thought your castle... would be much smaller than I imagined, but it's already more luxurious than many lords' castles in Nord."
Then, she turned around.
It was Miss Teresa Trovick from the Garon Council, standing before Ryan. Today, she wore a butterfly-knot Athenian style off-shoulder blouse and black tight-fitting trousers, her familiar butterfly-patterned glasses, white lace gloves, and her cold, stunning visage.
Her brown boots moved lightly on the carpet, and following the afternoon sunlight, the witch gently threw herself into the baron's arms.
"It's been a year and a half, Ryan, how have you been?"
"I thought you wouldn't come, Teresa." The baron was filled with mixed emotions; the last time they met, he was just a knight of Nord.
Now, he was a baron by his own right, the Chosen Champion, a hero of humanity.
"Some matters delayed me, but I came to you as soon as I was done. A beautiful and prosperous land, your choice was not wrong, just as mine wasn't." The witch, seeing Ryan had matured a lot, was filled with emotions. She wrapped her arms around Ryan's neck, whispering softly.
Ryan hugged the witch back, then gently pushed her away: "I wrote to you last year, and after several months without news or reply, I thought you wouldn't come."
The witch immediately sensed the change in Ryan's attitude. She looked up, her beautiful phoenix eyes locking with Ryan's: "Am I not welcome because I'm late?"
"Of course not, dear Teresa, it's just that some changes occurred before you arrived... Let's go to the second-floor drawing room to talk." Ryan gestured for the witch to follow him upstairs.
Feeling Ryan's subtle estrangement, the proud and sensitive witch sensed the increased dignity and confidence in him. Now a legendary mid-level witch, she could no longer gauge his current realm.
Remembering her mother's words, Teresa, stomping her foot, hurried after him.
Ten minutes later.
Inside the luxurious drawing room, decorated with carpets from Estalia, paintings from Brelyon, exquisite sculptures from dwarves, and handicrafts from wood elves, Teresa felt a distance. She felt as if a thick wall separated her from Ryan, not what she wanted.
Sitting on the soft sofa, she crossed one leg over the other, her tone somewhat dangerous: "Is this the answer you want to give me, Lord Ryan? Is this how you welcome your partner?"
"Ha ha ha ha!" Ryan couldn't help laughing, taking out a bottle of red wine: "Your temper hasn't changed, Teresa, complaining even when you're the one who's late... Want some red wine? It's from Winfort, should be expensive on your side?"
Hearing Ryan's words, Teresa's face turned red, unable to maintain her composed and cold demeanor: "That's because your attitude is terrible! Ryan, we weren't like this before!"
"You barge into my castle and have the nerve to say my attitude is bad? My lady." Ryan placed a glass in front of Teresa, a slight smile on his face: "Be careful, or I might have to kick you out!"
"You dare?!" Teresa stood up, the witch seeing Ryan's smiling face, realized she was being teased and sat down again: "You might want to ask Miss Bernadotte about that. If not for her and her mentor, Chairwoman Margaret, I wouldn't have been so late in arriving here."
"Oh? What happened?" Ryan also poured himself a glass of red wine, sitting opposite Teresa. His inquiry, dressed in full noble attire, sounded more like a routine question to the witch.
He truly was completely different, Teresa thought, sighing inwardly. What had Ryan done in the past year and a half, something even the well-informed Garon councilwoman didn't know?
After some thought, Teresa gave up complaining, casually picking up the glass: "Nothing much, just that after receiving your letter, Chairwoman Margaret wouldn't let me abandon my ongoing task. I had to wait until it was completed before I could head this way."
"I see, Teresa, you've had a long journey." Ryan stood up, looking out at his domain through the castle window: "Do you need to rest? I'll have the servants prepare a room on the third floor."
"Ryan...you." Teresa, frustrated and dismayed, stood up and walked behind Ryan: "What's going on? Aren't we partners? Why do I feel like this is a conversation between a lord and a commissioned wizard?"
"It's nothing, I'm just arranging these matters, just as you did initially." Ryan turned around, his expression calm.
The witch turned pale, whispering, "Sorry..."
Teresa knew what Ryan was referring to. It seemed he was still holding onto past grievances.
Ryan's relationship with the Garon Council had reversed. Previously, as a legendary beginner and a knight without a foundation, he was dependent on the Garon Council. In this position, the dominant Aurora Elder could impose her will, shuffling partners at will, and even recalling Teresa's partner right after a mission was completed.
Now, Ryan was a changed man. Willing witches and wizards to serve him and provide magical solutions were plentiful. If needed, Morgianna would immediately dispatch the Lake Prophet to stay, and the high elves had extended an olive branch.
So, he was expressing his dissatisfaction, firmly telling the Aurora mother and daughter that their previous cooperation had ended, and all debts were settled. Everything had to start anew.
Indeed, as Aurora had judged, Ryan's goodwill towards them had been exhausted by Teresa's poor performance. Ryan's behavior left the witch with a heartache.
I've ruined everything, and now I must make amends.
"It's okay, your willingness to apologize is already a big step forward, dear Teresa." After hearing the witch's apology, Ryan finally nodded, accepting it. The faint sense of distance disappeared, and a sincere smile finally appeared on the baron's face: "I accept your apology, welcome to the Baron of Jean's domain, my land."
"Thank you." The witch barely smiled: "I know I've done many wrong things before, but it won't happen again, trust me, Ryan."
"Mm."
Teresa Trovick and Veronica indeed had differences. Compared to Veronica, who had little wealth and could only bring her books, clothes, magical scrolls, and a large bed, Teresa brought luxuries.
Besides her vast personal wealth, the Garon councilwoman also brought the latest grain seeds researched by the Church of Life, and a letter from Ryan's foster father, Lord Norman of Otten.
The foster father's letter assured Ryan of his well-being, with Norman planning to retire in a few years and hand over the lordship to Ryan's cousin, Norman's nephew. Ryan's exploits were well-known even in Nord, and Norman was proud of him. However, he also used a tone of reprimand to criticize Ryan for seeking the embrace of the Lady of the Lake, expressing disappointment that Ryan did not choose Yurik as his faith.
"I visited your parents in Otten." Teresa pulled out some small gifts: "They sent me many things."
"Are my father and mother well?" Ryan fiddled with a small doll made by his mother, recalling childhood memories with a smile on his face.
"They're doing well." Teresa said somewhat uneasily: "I visited them with Sister Dietlinde. She checked their health and made potions for them."
"That must have been Lady Aurora's idea, right?" Ryan carefully put away the items: "Regardless, thank you."
"No, it's what we should do." Teresa hurriedly shook her head.
After discussing these matters, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward, as if the witch and the baron had run out of topics.
"By the way, Ryan, I noticed there are two wizard towers being constructed near your castle..." Teresa tried to start a conversation when a sweet voice came from the door: "Oh, who is this? The little princess of Garon gracing this tiny domain with her presence?"
Veronica, wearing a blue dress and white high heels, entered the drawing room from the door, her beautiful face overly exaggerated with a smile: "Lady Trovick? Are you unclear about the order of precedence? Shall I teach you?"
"Veronica!" Teresa stood up, fury in her silver eyes: "I don't want to argue with you!"
"But I want to argue with you! Because our little princess of Garon seems to have never understood some simple truths!" Veronica's brown hair, tied with many white ribbons and a butterfly knot by her ear, stared at the furious Teresa: "Should I call you ignorant or shameless? You dare to chase here? You truly disgust me, Trovick."
"Do you know who you're talking to? Veronica! Ryan wrote to me too!" Teresa also stood up, the witch enraged by the sorceress, pointing at Veronica: "Enough talk, let's settle this!"
Indeed, the encounter between two witches was like fire meeting gasoline, immediately confrontational. Seeing Veronica so worked up, Ryan was helpless and tried to mediate, but Veronica grabbed his hand: "Let's go, dear, this is between me and Trovick!"
"But..." "No buts, let's go, I promise not to bring down your castle!"
"Fine, Ryan, give us some space. I and Veronica need to settle something." Teresa also raised her wand, her gaze hard on the aggressive Garon witch: "This has nothing to do with you."
Ryan reluctantly left, and as soon as he closed the door, he heard many ungracious words starting with F and curses he'd never heard before, quickly escalating...
The baron sighed, walking down the stairs.
"Master, what's going on below? It feels like the floor is shaking." A dark elf pushing a serving cart passed by, stopping upon seeing Ryan.
"Just some old grievances between two witches needing to be settled." Ryan shrugged, the longstanding grudge between Teresa and Veronica, evidently deepened because of him.
"Two witches? The new witch, is she the Lady Teresa you mentioned before?" Olica asked.
"Her arrival is a bit awkward, Olica. Last year, I wrote to both Teresa and Veronica, hoping they would come to my domain to help me with its development and provide magical answers..." Ryan felt the floor vibrating: "Seeing no reply from Teresa, I..."
"You thought she wouldn't come, master." Olica softly said: "Lady Teresa's arrival has made things awkward for you because the conflict between her and Lady Veronica is profound. Moreover... having a witch as a magical advisor, one is enough."
"Speaking of which, Olica, you were also a caster, right?" Ryan paused.
"...Yes, master, I was also a caster." The dark elf suddenly laughed: "At least, those two witch ladies upstairs combined are no match for me. But now, I am just your servant."
"Ah, having women in the house is never simple. You all make it difficult for me." Ryan followed Olica into the kitchen. With Teresa coming from afar, the baron decided to cook himself.
"If master needs magical advice, actually, I can provide it too. But master would need to spend the night with me the day before." The maid leaned against Ryan's back: "Human magic is really too simple for elves."
"Let's talk about this later." Ryan didn't respond to the suggestion.
Teresa's arrival had already given him enough headaches. He hadn't expected the witch to come at this time. His domain didn't really need a second witch, but since Teresa had come for him, he couldn't turn her away.
When the baron finished preparing the dinner, Teresa came out of the drawing room with a smile: "Ryan, go check on your Miss Veronica. I think she needs your help."
"???"
This chapter went through several revisions, and I'm still not quite satisfied, but this awkward attitude indeed reflects the awkward relationship between the protagonist and the witch, so I decided to leave it as is, which feels right.
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