Chapter 168

Chapter 168 - The Daughter of Autumn, Valda (3)

The first encounter between the baron's group and Valda was impressive like a scene from a fairy tale. It proved her bloodline more certainly than a hundred words or a gold-rimmed certificate.

However, this alone is lacking. Because the baron's status is not that of a mere mercenary captain.

Since a conscription order hasn't been issued, the knights who signed vassal contracts are waiting at their personal manors. The same goes for relatives connected by marriage.

To call them in and persuade them, evidence more certain than this was needed.

"I am glad just to be welcomed this much."

To Valda who accepted it refreshingly, the baron bowed his head politely.

"Thank you for visiting our Foster family. The honor of being the first to host the Princess will be envied by all Britannia nobles."

"It is excessive praise. Since I am already fully aware of how the world has changed, such consideration is fine."

Valda is a mage who wandered Roman and experienced various noble societies. She is not naive enough to simply be happy at such words.

"It is not consideration. Are you not the legitimate monarch who will rule Britannia in the future?"

However, Baron Foster also didn't seem to say words out of flattery.

"Those who have kept their loyalty or opportunists clinging to power, what they envy would be the same. The only difference is that the latter takes more time to become genuine. Because those bastards only move after the general trend is decided."

Befitting a warrior's appearance, the baron was an eloquent speaker. Afterwards, he shifted his gaze to Eugene.

Who is the master of this army, who practically owns the custody of Valda. Unless one is an idiot, they can immediately notice upon seeing.

"I apologize. I am dark to the affairs of the world, so what I know about the Viscount is lacking."

Being dark to the affairs of the world was a lie for the sake of modesty. If he was truly dark, he wouldn't even be able to send multiple letters of salvation across the sea through connections.

However, not knowing Eugene is the truth. Because it is a world where information exchange is extremely limited and false rumors stick like snowballs every time it crosses a bridge.

Let alone a situation with Goldford and the sea as barriers. It would be hard to know Eugene even if one asked around determinately.

"It's probably not that you're curious about what I do and what kind of renown I built. You must be interested in my relationship with Valda, and how I am treating this person, right?"

Having his inner thoughts seen right through, Baron Foster stiffened for a moment. This youthful appearance looks like it's only a few years apart from his own son, but his perceptiveness is not ordinary.

A blood-boiling knight would be busy chattering about what tournament he performed actively in and what battle he won. A knight who calmly thinks about politics first was rare.

"Be at ease. Because I have never acted rudely toward Valda."

There were quite a few times he made her embarrassed, but anyway, he didn't act rudely.

"..."

Perhaps having the same thought, Valda momentarily made a sullen face, but since it was in front of a retainer, she straightened her expression.

"I am Valda's knight. The only one in the past and in the future as well."

Srrrng.

Eugene drew The Last Autumn and showed it. With a gripping method meaning he had no intention to fight.

"During the days when I had nothing but a retainer and a warhorse, I received this sword as a gift from her. I also knelt before her and offered this sword. Would you be relieved if it's been this much?"

When the baron looked at Valda with a surprised face, she obediently nodded her head.

It means the two people are in a relationship sharing honor. If Eugene treats Valda rudely, that immediately becomes Eugene's dishonor.

"I committed a rudeness. I will quickly escort you to our territory."

The suspicion of looking at a potential invader completely disappeared from Baron Foster.

'I must prepare a wedding gift in advance.'

Just the gazes Valda and Eugene looked at each other with were sufficient. It was easy to notice that one more duty as a retainer had been created.

* * *

Eugene's army built a camp at a water source near the barony. Because even if it's a family with quite some composure, they cannot host all this personnel.

Only a few high-ranking figures and escorts followed the baron. With the times being the times and an unidentified army appearing, the territory has an indication of being highly tensed up.

Upon entering the lord's manor, there are 4 men and women practicing while holding bows. One young man of a similar age group to Eugene, two young ladies seeming a year or two younger than him, and one little boy.

Ping!

The boy's arrow hit the edge of the training target.

"That's the Britannia longbow. It certainly looks useful in both power and durability."

Rex showed interest in the bow. Which is better between a longbow made from a solid piece of yew and the Samur composite bow? It is a regular topic of conversation among hunters.

"They are my children. Since the clouds of war are hovering, they are all in the middle of training."

"There is even a child who looks barely over ten years old, though? And the other two are women."

Valda was puzzled. Only Roman, which makes women into knights, is peculiar; in most countries, combat is the domain of men.

"He is now 9 years old and the youngest. Because it is a treacherous period to remain merely as a child, it cannot be helped. Let alone me, even the eldest one does not know when he might fall in battle."

Assuming a time when they would suddenly succeed as the head of the family, there was no room to go easy on him being young.

"Moreover, our family all practices the bow regardless of being a man or a woman. Because even the family name is Foster (Gamekeeper)."

"I wondered if it was so, but was it really that?"

Eugene was surprised by the etymology that commoners would use. Cases where the ancestor's profession literally becomes a surname were rare in the world of nobles.

"When the Elf King first landed in Britannia in the distant past, the one who welcomed and guided him was our ancestor. After serving as the King's scout and hunting ground guide, receiving land as a reward was the beginning of the family."

"There are quite a lot of such noble families in the southwestern part of Britannia. Like a rich farmer who offered food to the King's army and gained the surname Baker."

Valda, who was listening pleasantly, took over the words.

"Baron Baker is also maintaining his loyalty identically to me. Princess."

"The previous King was a person with a magnificent discerning eye."

Eugene admired. Accurately selecting a family that wouldn't forget its loyalty even after that long time passed and bestowing a peerage is an incredible capability.

"Would he have merely gained the honor of being the first continental unified dynasty? The discerning eye to see people and the ability to command them is more than 50%."

Valda felt proud.

"So that the Princess's ancestor would have no regrets, I will serve with loyalty."

"Calling me Princess is enough. All I have is a single knight. The name is sufficient."

Those who discovered the head of the family stopped shooting arrows and approached.

"It is a relief you returned safely, Lord."

While the daughters lightly bent their knees and expressed courtesy, the eldest son spoke.

It's in front of guests who are of no ordinary momentum even at a glance. They observed formalities more than what they normally treated him with.

'Princess? Did I hear wrong?'

If it wasn't a misunderstanding, he felt like he heard a ridiculous title. The existence his stubborn father would call with such a title is...

"Do you recognize the identity of this noble person?"

"Oh!"

Should it be called like father, like son? The moment the eldest son saw the Elf woman the baron pointed to, he realized everything. Because he was also someone captivated by the portrait hung in the lord's manor.

- Aigoo! Our young master has become an adult.

It's embarrassing, but the Elf Queen in the painting had also appeared in his first wet dream.

"Call all the servants and open the warehouses! For it is a glorious day the master has come visiting!"

Perhaps liking his son's perceptiveness, Baron Foster laughed heartily and shouted.

* * *

"Change all the sheets in the guest rooms to new ones!"

"Madam. They were changed just two days ago, though? No one has stayed there."

"Just change them! And prepare fragrant oils."

"Y, yes-ma'am!"

The Baroness busily crisscrossed the lord's manor, taking the lead in commanding the manservants and maids.

She's someone whose hands and feet trembled pitifully just from the surrounding political situation like a candle in the wind. When she heard the news that a large army of over 2000 arrived at the eastern border, she was about to lose her mind.

- Honey. Please do not go. I'm certain it's a trap. There's no way an army of that size would come to help from the east, right?

It was a few hours ago she was half-crying and dissuading her husband. However, right now she is fighting a war of a different meaning.

"What about the candles?"

"We removed all the ones used even slightly and picked out only the new ones."

"Good job."

What was dependable at times like this was the butler. Because catching the hint, he executed the necessary responses perfectly according to the guest's class.

However, even as a butler, there was a matter he was at a loss over how to set up. It is exactly the distribution of glasses.

"For the Viscount Excellency's knights we will put out bronze glasses, and for the escorts below them, wooden glasses. But we lack glass cups."

In this era, glass is an item close to semi-precious stones. Even ordinary glass cups are expensive luxury goods.

The baron couple only brings out glass cups when neighboring nobles visit. Ordinarily, they ate with horn cups or wooden cups afraid they would break.

"There are 4 mid-grade glass cups, but for crystal glasses..."

"There is only one. Because the other one had a crack."

The Baroness grasps in detail even the tableware or furniture restricted to valuable things.

Crystal glasses with exquisite transparent crafting applied to the entirety of the cup are hard to see even in the capital. It's a treasure the Baroness brought a pair of as a wedding furnishing.

The maid who made a crack while washing this got hit 15 times with a whip.

"We cannot put out the cracked one."

"Those are extremely right words. Then..."

It means either Eugene or Valda must use an ordinary glass cup.

It might look like a useless agony, but it's quite a sensitive issue in noble society. Dealing with it wisely at times like this to prevent trouble is a capability as the mistress of the house.

"Bring white wine and saffron. And prep the sardines."

As the Baroness rolled up her sleeves and stepped up, the butler ran to the warehouse. When a truly precious guest comes, the mistress of the house personally preparing to host with indigenous dishes is a tradition of Britannia.

"Once again, thank you for visiting in these difficult times. It is lacking, but we prepared it exerting all our sincerity, so please eat your fill."

Whatever the case, the baron's family hosted doing their best even at the sudden banquet.

White bread smeared with butter, whole roasted piglet, honeycomb cut to half the size of a palm, soup generously filled with seafood, and other splendid dishes came out in a row.

Meanwhile, for Eugene who received the seat of honor, the Baroness's handmade dish came out.

"..."

Eugene maintained silence while savoring the savory scent of the freshly baked pie.

"What is this dish called?"

"It is Stargazy Pie. It is a traditional food offered only to great fighters worthy of rising to a constellation."

Putting in plenty of expensive ingredients without compromise, such as butter, white wine, pastry, and pepper, the scent was excellent. Let alone the meaning contained or the sincerity of the Baroness personally making it.

It would have been perfect if not for the fish heads stuck at regular intervals around the edge of the pie.

Eugene's fork, who wielded a giant axe with one hand on the battlefield, trembled quiveringly.

Munch.

"...It's delicious?"

"Thank you!"

Unlike the bizarre visual, the pie itself was truly fine. Thanks to absorbing the oil of the sardines, a moist and soft texture and savory flavor were permeated.

"Homi. You try some too."

He also gave it to his retainer wagging her tail with a mouth-watering face.

"!!!"

Perhaps it suited her taste, the speed of her spoon and fork doubled.

'A feline after all.'

The Baroness also formed a smile full of goodwill looking at Homi eating the dish containing her pride heartily.

Although it is custom for only the recipient to eat the mistress's handmade dish, an exception is specially permitted for a retainer who is a community of destiny.

The baron's daughters looked at Homi holding an emotion similar to envy. For a knight of a Viscount level, the competition for the retainer position would also be massive. As a fellow woman, she could only look cool.

"Young ladies. It's time slowly to go greet her."

At the head maid's whisper, the eldest daughter and second daughter, who were sitting demurely, also stood up and headed to Valda.

"It is an honor to meet you."

"Everyone is going to check the portrait. Saying the maiden in the painting didn't perhaps jump out into the outside."

The baron's two daughters politely bowed while holding the hems of their skirts.

Sizzle.

Bang!

Next to that, servants busily carried beef splattering oil and opened the stopper of a new beer barrel with a hand axe.

With the subordinates eating and drinking like crazy, empty plates and empty liquor barrels piling up in a row, the banquet also ripened.

"Shall we go get some fresh air for a moment?"

Eugene took Baron Foster and went out to the terrace. Having enjoyed it this much, he saved the host's face, so it's to slowly share the main point.

"The baron will accompany my army in the campaign. Would it be fine to accept it like this?"

"It is what I wish."

"Thank you. First, I understand the Cornwall area is a loyal region, but the entirety wouldn't be like that. What is the extent of the passive families?"

"It is about half."

"To only end at that much, it's incredible."

Baron Foster had a shameful indication, but Eugene genuinely admired it.

If it's to this extent, it means even families trying to read the room basically have goodwill. If instilled with a little bit of certainty, there is a high possibility they will solidify their minds and join.

"This is all because of Count Kruger."

"What does that bastard do?"

"He is a Great Lord ruling the central part of Britannia. He sent out a proclamation that he will grant mercy if one joins under his command, but will thoroughly trample them if they resist."

"That would be a threat done daily in any war, though."

Formal letters exchanged between nobles, whether praises, curses, or letters of recommendation, are full of seasoning. At that level, there's nothing particularly special either.

"The problem is that the one who sent it is Count Kruger."

"He must be a violent person?"

Baron Foster nodded his head.

"The Kruger family greatly expanded its power through an arranged marriage with the Viking Great Chief. Thanks to that, their military power is one thing, but they are also famous for their cruelty. Do you know of the Blood Eagle, Excellency?"

"I have heard of it. Although I heard it is a punishment strictly given only to those who committed the worst crimes even among Vikings."

First fixing the prisoner face down on a frame, then slitting the back open while alive. It's a terrifying punishment of taking out the backbone and organs, spreading them, and sprinkling salt.

"Count Kruger gave that punishment to 2 nobles."

"Is he a lunatic?"

Ignoring ransom requests and executing them is not rare. However, to use such a crazy barbarian execution method on a noble of his own country, not even an enemy country.

It will inevitably entail massive political risks. It will be gratifying right now and crush the enemies' spirits, but it is not suitable for long-term governance.

"It seems he's not a lunatic. Because he held back in his own way since they were nobles of his own country. Over 10 mercenary captains and vice-captains who intervened in the civil war already had their backs dug out."

"If we get to fight, we must absolutely win. Because the moment we lose, I'll be in the exact same situation too."

Eugene let out a hollow laugh.

After the banquet ended, Eugene read Count Kruger's letter out loud in front of his subordinates. The contents of the letter were at a level where refinement evaporated, beyond toughness.

Perhaps this fit their code in its own way, the tribe warriors listened attentively with faces of 'The Count bastard is hot-tempered?' or 'There was a useful bastard here too!'.

However, toward the middle and latter half of the letter when the story directed at external factions came out, everyone's mood changed.

[Britannia decides its own destiny. I will warn the external mongrels. If you're not standing on my side, get lost.

There is no ransom in this war. The bastards who stood against me all became corpses. I cut off their heads and am using them instead of flags. There are no exceptions whether a knight or a noble.

Discard the foolhardiness of trying to challenge me. My army will smash your army. My dagger will also smash your backbone.

I like eagles made of bones and meat. And I use a blunt dagger when carving. Keep my warning in mind.]

Even letters where the writer's personality is revealed this clearly are rare. Perhaps due to his violent nature or not receiving proper education, it's written as if spitting out curses, centering on short sentences.

"If we catch that bastard, I will skin him alive!"

"Please leave it to me! I am confident I can thinly slice his flesh into 16 pieces!"

The tribe knights reacted violently.

They formally received investiture from Eugene and became quasi-nobles, but as expected, the roots of nomads didn't go anywhere.

"Everyone calm down. Count Kruger didn't write it aiming at me either."

"But it's the same as sending it to you, Excellency. Because this is not a bastard who will change his attitude looking at the opponent."

That was something Eugene also sympathized with.

"We will gradually get to know. I wish everyone fights hard so that I don't get caught at least. Because I hate eagles becoming statues."

At their lord's words said with a laugh, everyone offered a military salute with firm faces.

The next morning, a spy belonging to the Foster family hurriedly came running.

"The army gathered in Salisbury has departed."

"Those bastards finally!"

Baron Foster was greatly alarmed, and the Baroness and retainers were also at a loss over what to do.

Salisbury is a strategic point adjacent to the baron's territory, the Cornwall border. If an army mobilizes, it would be soon until they arrived here.

"Did you say the head of the gathered army is Viscount Winchester?"

"Yes. A traitor who took it upon himself to act as a pawn when the Ancient Kingdom invaded after the Elf dynasty perished."

Baron Foster pointed out a few places in the south and southeast of the Britannia map.

"At the time of the invasion, the Ancient Kingdom built several frontline bases (Chester). The nobles who enthusiastically cooperated received peerages as rewards. Those bastards with Chester in their surnames are all their descendants."

Even while speaking, the baron checked Valda's reaction. However, she is tranquil. Because she wasn't so stupid as to be enraged by something like this.

Strictly speaking, even now she has no power. She is merely enjoying that authority thanks to the great knight destiny connected her with.

"Since they are already fighting in the central part, he seems to want to annex the southern part before it's too late."

"Because Viscount Winchester's power is weaker than Count Kruger's. It's said he also put in rescue requests to Goldford and Barcia proposing lands in the central part."

"One wrong step and he'll be called a traitor?"

"He has to live first. If he loses in the war, I don't know about others, but the Viscount will definitely become an eagle."

Right after speaking, Baron Foster was startled in surprise.

"V, Viscount Winchester I mean! Not you, Excellency!"

"I know. So where roughly would be their marching route? My army has many horse archers, so I want to intercept them on a plain if possible."

The baron's index finger immediately pointed to the expected marching route.

"This path is certain."

What largely acted upon the Cornwall nobles being able to keep their fidelity for a long time, besides their uprightness, was also the geographical advantage.

There aren't many paths to send an army from Salisbury to Cornwall, and when spies' information is added to it, it can easily be specified.

"Hoo."

"Kuk."

Looking at the location, Eugene rubbed his chin as if intrigued, and Valda elegantly covered her mouth.

"Rex. I'll have to bestow a reward to the adventurer who offered the drawing. Did you say it was the Montana Adventurer Party?"

"They are expensive friends. Although I did tell them to draw focusing on military strategic points, it's very proper. Truly worth the money."

The marching route between Salisbury and Baron Foster's territory. A place slightly distanced from there was the location where the Moving Castle descended. The location is exquisite, as if deliberately placing a mess.

"Excuse me, what are you talking about...?"

Only the baron's family, unable to follow the situation, is bewildered.

"Come to think of it, did I not explain how we came?"

As Eugene chuckled and told the circumstances, the face of the baron listening changed bizarrely. It was an expression not knowing whether he should believe this or not.

* * *

Of course, there were also those who had to forcibly believe it even if they didn't want to.

"What on earth is that?!"

The mouth of Viscount Winchester, who had hanged the scouting soldier talking nonsense on a charge of military indiscipline, hung wide open.

A massive castle standing aloofly on the plain looks down at his army. Because it even draped fog due to Britannia's climate, it exuded an even more dreary atmosphere.

"Am I dreaming?"

"It's an ominous existence."

Even the brave knights were equally dumbfounded. Someone pinched their cheek, and some instinctively put on their helmets while lowering their gazes.