The person entering from the hall's doorway was Fiona, the granddaughter of Duke Boleon. This noble lady had made a mistake during the Bordeaux incident and was temporarily stripped of her status as a descendant of the First Generation Holy Grail Knight family and placed under house arrest.
Fiona couldn't endure such humiliation. Filled with hatred, she secretly took her savings and sneaked out of Boleon Castle. Astonishingly, she managed to reach Mousilon and found Matthew Bard.
Seeing Fiona actually come to seek refuge with him, Matthew Bard arranged accommodations and ample supplies for her, allowing her to continue living the life of a noble lady in Mousilon. However, it was clear that Fiona could no longer move freely and was confined to the castle, like a bird in a cage.
"Fiona, how many times have you deliberately run around the castle like this? I've been telling my subordinates you're my girlfriend, but you still go around hitting people? Do you really want to anger them? Have you forgotten you're a noble and not a serf?" Matthew Bard's tone carried some criticism.
"You said it would be three years, but then another three years came. Matthew Bard, we've known each other for eight years! When exactly do you plan to marry me?" Fiona was equally impatient, her words aggressive.
"Could you treat me a bit better? Right now, I'm the only one in all of Bretonnia who knows you escaped to Mousilon. If I sent you back, you could live as a noble lady for the rest of your life, and I wouldn't have to worry." Matthew Bard said with a hint of a joke.
"Matthew Bard! You scoundrel! What do you want from me? I escaped from Boleon and came to Mousilon to find you! I remind myself every day that I'm your girlfriend, even convincing myself in my dreams that I'm doing this for love, and this is how you treat me?" Fiona screamed in anger, staring directly at Matthew Bard and shouting.
This made Matthew Bard fall silent.
When he met Fiona, she was just a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl.
Now, eight years had passed swiftly. Mousilon was more desolate than ever, but Fiona had recklessly abandoned her identity as a direct descendant of the twelve First Generation Holy Grail Knight families to seek him out, all for love.
Matthew Bard, after all, was a being of flesh and blood. For this young man who had harbored only revenge in his heart for ten years, it would be a lie to say he wasn't moved. His godfather, Arkaim, had also taught him that love was a powerful force.
"Next year, if everything goes well, we'll get married. How about that?" After a moment of silence, Matthew Bard finally gave an answer.
"Really?!"
"Really."
A few minutes later, Fiona left happily. As she departed, a voice emerged in the hall: "I don't understand why you agreed to marry her. In my eyes, she is useless. Even if she were turned into a vampire, she wouldn't be of any help."
"Shut up, Merovin." Matthew Bard turned his gaze to the corner of the hall, where a vampire clad in blood-red armor stepped out from the shadows.
He was the former Duke of Mousilon, the "Mad Duke" Merovin. This guy had also been resurrected and become a trusted subordinate of Matthew Bard. His strength was formidable, and despite the age-old damage to Merovin's soul, he still maintained the early stage of the Holy Domain's power.
The story of Mad Duke Merovin has been mentioned before, so it won't be repeated here.
"Forget it, that's not the point. Matthew Bard, my Duke, I believe you understand our current predicament. What do you plan to do?" Merovin's eyes were blood-red, and his appearance was quite eerie. His long, narrow eyes and lips, coupled with his lifeless white hair, made him a strange sight. The former Duke of Mousilon watched the current Duke with a sneer: "We've already repelled two attacks on this city's walls, and their assaults will only get stronger. We don't have much time left."
Hearing this, Matthew Bard showed a contemplative expression. After thinking for a while, he said, "As it stands, after uncovering the mass grave of the Dukes of Artois, our army in Mousilon is not weaker than any faction in Bretonnia. Whether Ryan attacks or Lauen attacks, I am confident in our victory."
"What if they come from both the north and the south?" Merovin continued to ask.
"Ryan and Lauen are not aligned. Even if they attack Mousilon simultaneously, they won't form a united army. There's no need to worry about that, especially in the marshlands where knights' combat abilities are limited," Matthew Bard shook his head. "What I really worry about is the instability within our ranks."
"That's a result of your decisions. If you hadn't repeatedly chosen to retreat to Mousilon in the face of invasions, those vampire lords wouldn't be so dissatisfied with you." Merovin's deep red eyes fixed on Matthew Bard: "You need to watch their actions."
"Their actions? Including you?" Matthew Bard focused his gaze on Merovin. This mad duke, who had been dead for centuries, was equally untrustworthy.
"At least until you destroy this kingdom, I will be your loyal subordinate. We share the same goal." Merovin's face showed little expression: "As for the future, let's see what happens."
"Very well." Matthew Bard nodded and said softly, "This is precisely why I keep Fiona around and plan to marry her."
"Because in my future plans, she is very useful! She will be the key to my destruction of this country."
Time passed quickly, with midsummer and golden autumn flying by in military preparations and harvests.
The quiet and peaceful county of Glamorgan soon welcomed the first snowfall of the year.
It had been nine years since Ryan came to Bretonnia. The dense snow quickly covered his black, parted long hair and the bearskin coat he wore.
The world was silent, leaving only the sound of snow falling and two people's footsteps in the wilderness.
"You look more and more like him." Angron, the Gene-Primarch of the World Eaters, carried two axes on his back. He looked at Ryan's appearance with a bit of a trance, as if recalling something.
"Seasons come and go, brother. Sometimes I feel insignificant, and sometimes I feel strong," Ryan sighed. "Brother Rogal is gone after all. He couldn't wait to celebrate Winter Veil with us."
"For Rogal, any place is his place of prayer." Angron threw the meat cleaver axe in his hand, and the sacred axe drew a blood-red arc in the sky before returning to his hand at his call. "It was Rogal's duty and mission."
"And what is your mission, brother?" Ryan's bearskin cloak flapped in the light snow and wind as he asked wistfully.
"I'm retired," Angron said, breaking his brief moment of seriousness with a grin. "The future is yours."
Ryan felt a vein in his temple twitch. He glanced at his brother and smiled wryly, "You have the luxury of retirement, but I don't. I still have to work hard to pursue the throne."
"Yes, keep it up. I need to deliver my harvest to the cabin in the woods." Angron pulled out a large sack, tightly tied at the top. "Congratulations, brother. By this time next year, you'll be a father, won't you? Time flies."
"Yes." Ryan couldn't help but smile at the mention of this.
Before taking Rogal away, the Emperor and Clarkson visited Nuln to see Ryan's little maid, Emilia, who had become the Duchess of Nuln, Elector of Brescia, and Grand Duchess of Wesson. The Emperor determined that Emilia was carrying a healthy boy and blessed her before leaving with Rogal.
Ryan wanted to visit Emilia, but she refused. The little maid said they would meet after the child was born. Emilia locked herself in the high tower of the Elector's Palace in Nuln, heavily guarded day and night. When the Emperor and Clarkson appeared before her, she was so frightened she nearly fainted. Clarkson taught her something and gave her a raven feather before leaving.
"By the way, brother, what's in that sack?" Ryan asked curiously, hearing the sound of metal clinking inside.
"Oh, it's full of gold and silver." Angron opened the sack's top, revealing a heap of gleaming gold and silver: "You know the Ork Fortress inside Mount Orka in the Carcarad Mountains, right? Your friend King Belagar sent a team of rangers to guide me..."
"Alright, I understand. You don't need to say any more." Ryan raised his hand to indicate he understood. "So now the Carcarad Mountains are occupied by the Angron clan?"
"King Belagar divided his clan into two parts, with some living in Mount Orka and others in Blackstone Stronghold," Angron nodded. "Each side has over six thousand people, with the rest of the Angron clan gradually migrating there."
The brothers chatted for a while before parting ways. Due to some losses in the previous batch of Ulgol people, the Empire, which had signed an agreement, sent another batch of about a hundred Ulgol people, still led by Captain Ivan. Naturally, they smuggled a large batch of goods and brought along a few big bears.
Recently, Angron had developed a new hobby. He enjoyed bare-chested fishing with bears on the Chinon River and wrestling with them.
Ryan, meanwhile, headed back to the town.
Today was the day Elder Garland, Aurora, and her entire sorceress group were arriving.
At the winery's entrance, the sorceress had
already dressed up. She led twelve sorceress apprentices waiting there. Her personal apprentice, the beautiful ice sorceress Emma, stood behind her. Despite the snow, Teresa wore a winter blue strapless, skin-tight, waist-cinching classical long dress with a fox fur coat and her favorite black over-the-knee high-heeled boots. Her shimmering black hair reached her waist. In the vast expanse of white, snowflakes carrying the cold and desolation of winter fluttered everywhere. Only the sorceress bloomed like a plum blossom in the snow.
Ryan walked up to Teresa, who was in a good mood. He smiled and said, "When will Aurora arrive?"
"Judging by the time, it should be soon. My mother and I agreed on ten in the morning," Teresa said, taking Ryan's arm and whispering, "I know your status has changed now, but she's my mother. I'm already yours, so I hope you can respect her. My mother has always been strong-willed and can be sharp-tongued. I hope you won't mind."
"Of course not. I've already gotten her most precious treasure, so I won't mind too much," Ryan smiled, holding Teresa's hand. He felt a mix of emotions. The first time he met Aurora, Elder of Garland, and Master Sorceress, he was just a teenage Ranger Knight with a very low status. When Aurora spoke to him, he didn't even dare sit down, only standing while talking to her.
Later, when he became a Kingdom Knight in his early twenties, Aurora finally acknowledged him. Even then, she maintained her high stance and habitual assertiveness. Ryan, considering Aurora had saved his foster father Norman's life and often took care of his foster family, kept himself in a relatively humble position during their interactions.
But now, things had changed. Ryan was not only a thirty-something count but also a Holy Grail Knight of the Holy Domain with boundless prospects. Aurora's daughter, Teresa, had become his courtier.
As everyone waited at the winery's entrance, inside the wine castle on the third floor, Sulia, Olica, and Veronica stood by the window, watching the scene outside. Sulia curiously asked, "The agreed time is almost here, but there's still no sign of Aurora. She hasn't even entered the city yet?"
"Ha, that's her habit." Veronica crossed her arms and sneered. "Just wait, Lady Sulia. That woman will definitely arrive in a particularly grand way that showcases her magical prowess."
"I'm very much looking forward to it." Sulia remained calm, interested in the impending arrival of Aurora.
"Whoosh~" Just then, the wind and snow brought a reverse gust, blowing the snowflakes everywhere.
"The flow has changed." The dark elf maid whispered, "She's here."
As soon as she spoke, a sudden blizzard enveloped the sky. Within the magical vortex of hundreds of meters in diameter, a massive creature spread its wings, tearing through the sky.
"It's a dragon! An ice dragon!" The guards inside the winery immediately screamed.
The ice dragon's wings spanned thirty meters wide and twenty meters long. It circled in the sky, revealing a house made entirely of ice and snow trailing behind it. The house was two stories high, moving through the air with the dragon until it descended to the ground.
Ryan stood calmly, showing no surprise, only watching the ice dragon land about ten meters away from him. The large house descended smoothly within a vortex of wind and snow, with a red Garland flower emblem on the roof.
The room opened, and a shiny black high-heeled shoe stepped out, followed by a shapely leg. A tall sorceress emerged from the house, wearing a royal blue knee-length skirt with a white fox fur coat and black satin blouse, showcasing her striking beauty in the snow.
Flawless flesh-colored stockings highlighted her long, shapely legs, and her elegant demeanor added a touch of sophistication to her stunning appearance. The mature beauty with black waist-length hair and butterfly-patterned glasses appeared before everyone.
"Long time no see, Ryan. I should call you Lord now! I never expected we would actually become a family. What an honor!"
"Welcome, Aurora! Welcome to Glamorgan, my territory."
"Mother! You're finally here!"
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