In the Old World, taking a maid from a count's castle would normally be a simple task for two Sanctuary-level powerhouses. Both Elsper von Draken and Theodore Bruckner were among the top-tier figures in one of the Empire's four great cities, Nuln, known as the Empire's southern stronghold and industrial heartland, and the hometown of the Savior, Ludwig.
Theodore Bruckner had dominated Nuln for over a decade, never losing a single duel or noble tournament, holding the titles of Nuln Champion and Nuln Chief Justice. He ruthlessly suppressed cult activities and Chaos worshippers using brutal methods.
Bruckner's strength could rival the Emperor Karl Franz's standard bearer, Ludwig Schwarzhelm. In a recent judicial duel, Hans, a renowned swordsman from the Imperial Averland, managed to disarm Bruckner with his exquisite swordsmanship. However, the towering giant simply grabbed Hans by the throat until the swordsman had to choose between suffocation and surrender.
Despite the city's citizens and nobles speaking of him with hatred and fear, they couldn't deny his impartiality maintained the city's order. Thus, despite daily political intrigues within the Nuln court, Theodore remained in his luxurious office in the city center, drawing an annual salary exceeding two thousand gold marks.
Elsper, too, was a famed Sanctuary Grand Wizard in the Empire. Known as Nuln's Guardian and the Black Lady of Nuln, she was the Supreme Mage of the Royal Wizarding Academy's Amethyst College, mastering the Wind of Death. She was also one of the only two great lords in the Empire who could ride a dragon. Many believed she would be a strong contender for the position of Royal Chief Grand Wizard if the nature of the Wind of Death didn't make its practitioners so reclusive.
Elsper always remained aloof, appearing only in the most critical moments, riding her purple-red dragon into battle. With a wave of her hand, she could unleash a purple sun to devour everything, and her presence exuded a terrifying aura, sapping the will of most foes before they could confront her.
These two joining forces would make most of the Old World's factions wary, even Bretonnia with its Grail Knights. No duke would be foolish enough to offend two veteran Sanctuary powerhouses over a maid.
But Ryan was different.
This rising star had garnered fame across the Old World like a comet. Beyond his numerous exploits and achievements, the grand spectacle of his wedding also drew widespread attention.
Six brothers, six demigods, each bestowed their blessings on the marriage and generously gifted an invaluable set of wedding gifts. According to eyewitnesses from the Imperial Helmgart soldiers and Reiksguard like Rudolf and Wagner, at least one piece, a vibranium armor, was priceless, almost entirely immune to magical attacks and highly resistant to physical ones. The countess, Sulia, fought for half a day without any real harm, suffering only minor blunt trauma from impacts against her armor.
Ryan's origins remained a mystery, shrouded in intrigue. Both Elsper and Theodore knew that forcibly taking Aimanoli would not be too difficult with Elsper's magic, but it would bring endless trouble.
"Count Ryan may be strong, but Nuln cannot go without a duke," Theodore Bruckner said gravely, his face stern. "Aimanoli cannot shirk her responsibilities!"
"We don't know if Aimanoli intends to avoid her duties, but we must engage with Count Ryan," Elsper replied, her words few. The Sanctuary Grand Wizard, clad in purple robes with a veil over her head, wielding a massive black scythe, struck fear into all passersby.
Reiksguard Wagner also frowned, speaking quietly, "In our interactions, Lord Ryan does not seem difficult to get along with. As for his six demigod brothers… we only know that the knight Angron spends his days in Red Fish Village raising chickens, ducks, farming, and hunting…"
"Gods for gods, mortals for mortals," a Nuln ironclad soldier muttered.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Indeed, gods for gods, mortals for mortals. This was one of the world's laws. Gods could not interfere with mortal affairs at will. Faith competed freely, and the High Elven Phoenix King, Asuryan, had established detailed rules to prohibit direct contact between deities and mortals, a practice followed by most human and dwarven gods.
The deity most involved in mortal affairs was the Lady of the Lake. Even so, she rarely intervened personally in mortal daily life (except in Ryan's case).
"True strength comes from within, not from external sources."
— Savior Ludwig
To those from Nuln, and indeed the entire Old World, it was precisely because Ryan's brothers were demigods that they couldn't interfere with the material plane's numerous affairs. This was a divine law; mortals had their own laws. As long as no one tried to forcefully take Aimanoli, following the basic law, even Ryan, as a Grail Knight, could not violate the Lady of the Lake's rules.
"Let's investigate everything first!"
"Yes!"
...I am the dividing line answering repeated questions...
In March, the spring sun shone over the County of Glamorgan, melting the ice and snow. Though the weather was still cold, the harshest part of winter had passed, and spring was on its way.
Not long ago, the last snow of the winter fell from the sky, and its melting marked the end of winter. The county began to awaken, with crowds bustling as always.
Recently, there had been an influx of wood elves in Jean Town. With winter ending, wood elves needed a large amount of food during this awkward transition period. Thus, buying food from Ryan had become their primary task, transporting cartloads of goods to the market and exchanging them for more food to take back to the forest.
A count's castle, over ten meters high, was being renovated by a dwarven construction team. Many dwarves from the Angrund clan pointed and directed, while numerous human workers assisted the dwarven craftsmen. After years of development, Ryan's current castle was overcrowded, insufficient for his needs. He planned to expand it, adding three more floors to make it six stories high and enlarging the perimeter by 70%, incorporating nearby wastelands and building a larger outer wall.
During the castle's renovation, it was unsuitable for residence, so Ryan moved to the winery.
In the spring sunshine, Ryan walked with his wife, Sulia, and their young maid, Emilia. Today was Emilia's holiday, and the young maid had been clamoring to see the dogs raised by Angron. Emilia loved cute puppies.
Angron had a hobby of hunting (without using ranged weapons), so he asked Oliver and Hadrian to find some smart dogs for him.
Given it was Angron's request, the two merchants did their best to comply. They managed to find some in the Imperial Ostland: a breed known as Ostland Border Collies, or simply Border Collies. Using his channels, Hadrian imported several to serve as hunting and guard dogs for Angron.
Border Collies were energetic, alert, and affectionate, with cute appearances and constantly wagging tongues. Emilia fell in love with them at first sight.
Today, Emilia wore a sapphire blue mermaid skirt with crystal embellishments. Her golden hair was tied up with a white scarf, and she wore short leather boots just above her ankles, her white stockings revealing a youthful charm. The young maid pointed ahead, saying, "Ryan, Sister Sulia, Angron's dogs are just up ahead!"
"Coming, coming," Ryan replied with a faint smile, looking at the distant Sharon Forest. With his efforts, the forest gradually freed itself from Chaos corruption, becoming a place of birdsong and blooming flowers, the vitality of spring unfolding. Taking his wife, Sulia, out for a walk, Ryan inhaled the fresh air and said, "Sometimes it's good to take a stroll."
Today, the knightess wore a white school-style uniform shirt and a sweet black pleated skirt, with a black Kislev bear fur coat over it. Her long, slender legs were clad in black stockings, and she wore black suede high heels. The countess was in high spirits, having been playing with a puppy from the Ulgor tribe at home recently, almost buying it to raise herself, until Ryan intervened to stop her. The count didn't fancy coming home to find a bear sitting in his place.
"Yes, it's nice," Sulia replied, her life post-marriage happy and fulfilling. With no in-laws to pressure them (Ryan's parents were not around), the entire household was under her control. Visiting her maiden home was a quick fifteen-minute pegasus ride to Helen's Hill, so her face always wore a radiant smile.
"Hey, little brother, you're here?" Angron was holding a large basket filled with bran and some cooked grains, followed by two cute Border Collies barking excitedly. Seeing Emilia, they wagged their tails happily, licking the young maid's face.
"Ah, 486, I've come to see you!" Emilia took out some jerky brought by the Ulgor people from her small bag and fed it to the Border Collies, the male dog eating heartily.
Ryan thought these dogs were quite the sycophants, but why did Emilia name one 486?
Never mind, that wasn't important. Clearing his throat, he addressed Angron, who was feeding pigs, "Brother, Bodrick's son, Federmond, has returned from the Grail Quest. Will you join me for the feast?"
"Not interested," Angron replied casually, placing another bag of corn in the cow trough. Several cows rushed over to eat, and Angron handed Ryan a full glass bottle
of fresh milk. "I just milked it this morning. Take it back with you. Pure and natural, better than Recaf."
"Alright," Ryan thought Angron had fully embraced the role of a simple farmer. He smiled, "Really not coming?"
"Why should I?" Angron shrugged. "You go. I'm not like Fulgrim or Guilliman, who enjoy diplomacy, nor like Russ, the drunkard, or Mortarion, who loves crowds. I'm not interested in such things. Call me if there's a fight."
Ryan nodded and turned to Sulia, saying, "Looks like it's just us."
Sulia was slightly disappointed but understood that someone of Angron's strength couldn't be compelled. She could only feel a bit regretful.
Once a professional reached Legendary rank, it was hard to form units and command them like regular soldiers (hence the power of the Grail Knight's group charge). For someone as strong as Angron, it was even more so. He always did as he pleased within Ryan's territory.
But Ryan had to attend Bodrick's feast, not just due to the sincere invitation but also because of another matter.
That was Sulia's brother, Julius's, marriage.
Julius, the heir of Duke Francois of Winford, had caught the eye of the Red Dragon family, specifically Countess Eva, granddaughter of Duke Berhemond of Bastogne. However, Bodrick's son, Federmond, had also set his sights on Eva and formally proposed an alliance.
This created a dilemma. Neither Winford nor Bordeleaux was willing to back down, and Julius found himself at a disadvantage, as Berhemond preferred his granddaughter marry a Grail Knight.
Berhemond's suggestion was: why don't the two knights duel?
This was clearly biased, as Julius, in his early thirties, was no match for the nearly fifty-year-old Grail Knight Federmond. Angered, Francois, busy with spring plowing, decided to send Sulia and Ryan to the feast to discuss the matter with Duke Bodrick, partly to support Julius.
"It's just us, and Emilia will join," Ryan mused, turning to Sulia. "Should we invite Morgiana?"
"Better not," Sulia shook her head, her noble face troubled. The knightess felt Morgiana would likely side with Federmond.
As Ryan and the others discussed their next steps, an Imperial merchant caravan passed by on the cobblestone road near Red Fish Village, delivering assembly parts for the Light Magic Ride. With Ryan's signed travel permit, they moved freely within his territory.
In the shadow of the carriage, Reiksguard Wagner and Sanctuary Death Wizard Elsper spied on the outside. From their vantage, they watched Emilia play with the Border Collies.
"Do you think she's Aimanoli?" Theodore Bruckner gripped his rune magic sword, "The Liar's Bane," his ruthless eyes fixed on Ryan's young maid.
"I've only seen Aimanoli as a child, but I believe that's her," Reiksguard Wagner replied, pleased. After watching the maid for a while, he sighed with relief, "Thank goodness, Aimanoli is alive."
"It's too early to confirm the maid is Aimanoli. The patrols in this territory are formidable. We've encountered four patrolling Grail Knights so far," Elsper's ghostly voice murmured. "Did you hear? They're attending Bordeleaux's feast."
"In that case, we should find a way to get Duke Bodrick's invitation."