The Winter Veil holiday lasts for two weeks. During this time, the people of southern Brittany live in peace and prosperity. With a developed economy, thriving agriculture, and flourishing livestock industry, the sharp conflicts between the serfs and the knight class have temporarily eased. Having successively cleared the threats of greenskins, beastmen, and undead, much wasteland has been redeveloped. Many knights are now forming armies to develop new lands for new titles, often taking dwarves with them. Fixed taxes stimulate the serfs' enthusiasm for farming. The development of mining and metallurgy has brought better farming tools, and wealthy serfs are starting to gain the status of freemen. Everything is moving in a positive direction.
Except in the Duchy of Berleon, where Duke Theodoric's "sentence" is not yet complete, and the duchy's internal affairs remain in chaos. The knights of Berleon barely managed to drive out Count Tobaro of Estalia and his army, taking a breather to rebuild their homes. They didn't even notice that Duke Theodoric's favorite granddaughter, Fiona, was missing.
One evening during the holiday, Ryan returned to the winery after visiting Sulia. With François also spending Winter Veil here this year, Ryan took the opportunity to discuss many matters with him. François's rich life experience and political acumen benefited Ryan greatly.
At night, the atmosphere on the viewing platform on the third floor of the winery was pleasant. The group sat around a round table, enjoying the snow. François, Morgiana, Jerrold, Ryan, and Veronica sampled dwarven Bugman's beer and discussed recent events.
Olica brought a mug of hot beer to Morgiana.
Teresa and Aurora were busy finishing the wizard tower and training the witch apprentices, not taking a break even during Winter Veil. Veronica, on the other hand, was recently low on magic power and took the chance to accompany Ryan.
"Recently, the scale of the riots in Lyonnais was quite large, fortunately, Lawen suppressed it in time," Ryan said, filling Veronica's mug with hot beer. He turned to François, "If Lawen hadn't defeated the rebel army in the battle of Rennes, the rebellious serfs might have gathered a force of ten thousand."
"What if they gather ten thousand? They're just a mob." François dismissed it, "Lawen is indeed a rare talent. Suppressing the serf rebellion is not a problem. The issue is that quelling the rebellion doesn't fundamentally change Lyonnais's problems. Duke Aldereid can only ensure the remaining thousand knights maintain law and order around Lyonnais Castle and its core areas. He can't manage the north, and food won't fall from the sky."
In the first week of Winter Veil, Lyonnais experienced the largest serf rebellion in its history. Thousands of serfs gathered, shouting slogans, and armed with wooden sticks, pitchforks, sickles, and hoes, they launched an uprising. They shouted to abolish the tithes and forced labor, deciding to seize Lyonnais by force and establish a "real country of the Lady of the Lake."
The rebellion grew like a snowball, looting streets, attacking castles, and breaking open granaries. They spared only the temples of the Lady of the Lake and the Holy Grail chapels. The rebellious serfs quickly formed an army of tens of thousands, sweeping across the land.
Duke Aldereid of Lyonnais was helpless. He didn't even have enough grain for the troops to suppress the rebellion. Lyonnais Castle hadn't recovered from Egil's destruction, its warehouses empty and used to shelter disaster victims, the treasury running low on gold. Without food and military pay, Aldereid could only watch as the rebellious serfs formed a large army and marched towards Lyonnais.
However, the court of the Knight Kingdom was not completely unresponsive to Lyonnais's dire situation. As the rebellious serfs formed a large army, Lawen, acting as regent, did not summon the serf army but immediately led a thousand knights to Lyonnais to assist Duke Aldereid in suppressing the rebellion.
The rebels numbered in the tens of thousands, while Lawen had only a thousand knights, who had to be divided to guard along the way. This seemingly lopsided war ended quickly, as Ryan and François had predicted. The two sides clashed on a plain in the territory of Count Rennes. Lawen personally led over eight hundred knights in a charge against the tens of thousands of rebel serfs.
The battle lasted only thirty minutes.
The tens of thousands of rebel serfs collapsed at the first charge of the over eight hundred knights. Several rebel leaders were killed on the spot, and the entire rebel army disintegrated like a house of cards under Lawen's attack. The tens of thousands of rebels vanished, and Lyonnais was once again stabilized.
However, as François said, suppressing the rebellion was easy; the serfs were no match for the knights in direct combat. The real challenge was addressing the core issue of the rebellion: the serfs' famine. They needed at least enough food to avoid starvation. But even the nobles of Lyonnais could barely fill their bellies; the food problem couldn't be solved in the short term.
Ryan and his companions hadn't considered food aid because, even if the south provided ample grain, none of it would reach the serfs' hands.
Discussing this issue brought a somber mood. Morgiana shook her head, Jerrold remained silent, and Ryan sighed deeply, "Lyonnais has its own duke; we can't interfere."
"I remember Lyonnais still has one last elite unit," Ryan suddenly recalled, "The Lionheart Knights Brotherhood of Lyonnais."
"The famous legacy left by the first great champion knight, the first of the twelve original Holy Grail knights, 'Braveheart' Sir Rulf," Morgiana nodded. "This renowned knight brotherhood is currently maintaining order in Lyonnais. Despite heavy losses in the previous Egil invasion, they still have over seventy knights."
"Yes," Ryan nodded.
After chatting a bit longer, they all decided to retire to their rooms.
On the way back, Veronica took the opportunity to cling to Ryan's arm. The Garon witch sweetly whispered in his ear, "Shall we follow our usual routine tonight?"
"Alright, you go to the room and wait for me. I'll check the recent documents and take a bath, then I'll come to you." Ryan nodded, hugging Veronica gently before letting her go ahead.
With the lady knight pregnant, Ryan had a lot of free time. Veronica saw this as her best opportunity and moved into the winery to stay with Ryan.
The Garon witch returned alone to the master bedroom on the third floor.
The master bedroom was silent and well-furnished, with thick carpets covering the floor. Veronica entered and sighed softly, looking around the luxurious room.
Veronica had always dreamed of becoming Ryan's wife, but she knew she couldn't compete with Sulia. She was content with the title of lady-in-waiting.
With the lady knight away, Veronica moved into Ryan's bedroom, seeing it as a small victory. She started to change clothes.
She put on a seductive red wine chiffon dress with a flamenco flair. The red dress complemented her fair skin perfectly. Veronica's delicate features and sweet almond eyes exuded a charming beauty, adding a warm romantic touch to the cold winter night. Confident in her looks, she also had long, slender legs in black stockings and beautiful feet.
Slipping into a pair of fiery red high heels, Veronica was about to rest and wait for Ryan when there was a knock on the bedroom door.
"Knock, knock, knock~"
"Coming!" Veronica thought Ryan was quick. She opened the door, "Ryan, didn't you say... hmm?"
Standing at the door was not Ryan but a woman with a floral crown.
Veronica's smile froze, "Lady Morgiana?"
"What are you doing here?" Morgiana's eager expression turned cold. Dressed in a pink high-slit gown revealing her legs in nude stockings, Morgiana stepped into the room impatiently, "It's late, Ms. Veronica, you should rest."
"You should be the one resting!" Veronica retorted angrily. "Tonight is my night."
"But I'm here now, so tonight is mine. That's an order, Ms. Veronica." Morgiana's green eyes flashed with authority. "You can go rest now. I don't want to fight you here."
"I'm not your subordinate; you can't order me!" Veronica, enraged by Morgiana's dismissive attitude, sparked flames from her fingertips. "Or you can try?"
"Foolish," Morgiana began casting a spell. "Negotiations have failed, it seems."
"Naturally," Veronica stepped aside. "We were never going to agree!"
"To a duel, then!"
Red and green magical lights flashed back and forth in Ryan's room. Both sides were restrained, erecting a protective shield to contain the magical energy and sound.
Ten minutes later.
"Damn it..."
With a groan, Veronica collapsed weakly before Morgiana. Still only at the peak of the legendary level, she was no match for Morgiana, who had regained her sanctuary strength. "Damn it, I can't believe..."
"You're not my match," Morgiana said coldly, looking down at the fallen Veronica. "The match is decided. You can go rest now."
"This isn't fair. We agreed at the turkey feast last year..." Veronica tried to argue, kneeling and gasping for breath. "This is malicious competition!"
"Time belongs to Sulia. The duel was your demand. Now I've won, so tonight is mine. This is fair." Morgiana showed no intention of further arguing. She moved to pull Veronica up.
"???" Morgiana suddenly felt paralyzed, collapsing to the floor. "What is this? Why can't I..."
"What do you mean?" Veronica, puzzled,
heard the bedroom door open again.
"A lively Winter Veil indeed, two foolish humans~" The voice of a dark elf, Olica, came from the door. She entered with a sly smile, "The contest for the Pale Queen is decided. I am the true Fear Lord."
"Impossible, how did you..." Morgiana stammered, "Did you drug me? But when?"
"Remember, I served you beer while you were chatting," the dark elf maid grinned. "This drug activates with magic."
"Despicable..." Veronica and Morgiana were quickly bound and gagged with cloths, then shoved into the closet by Olica. "You'll be listeners now!"
"Mmph~ mmph mmph~" muffled sounds came from the closet. Veronica and Morgiana, their powers sealed by Olica's magic, were trapped inside.
Thirty minutes later, Ryan returned to the master bedroom, having finished his documents, to find Olica waiting on the bed. The dark elf hummed a melody, her black hair spread over the sheets, her white-stockinged feet swinging happily. Seeing Ryan, she jumped into his arms, "Master! You're back?"
"Olica? Why you?" Ryan asked, holding her. "Where's Veronica?"
"Ms. Veronica had something to attend to at the wizard tower. I'm here to accompany you tonight!" Olica buried her head in Ryan's chest, her voice carrying a strange tone. "Master, I'll always be with you. They will leave you, but I won't."
Ryan felt something was off but lay down with Olica, moved. "Yes, my Olica won't leave me."
"Right, Master. I'm the only one you can fully trust." The dark elf made a victory sign.
Ryan still felt uneasy, vaguely hearing sounds from the closet. "Wait, Olica, I think I hear something from the closet?"
"I arranged for maids to sort clothes," Olica explained, offering a kiss. "Alright, Master, don't worry. Time to rest. Let me serve you."
"Okay." Holding his exclusive pillow, Ryan had no more chances to think.
…And the victor is...
Time passed, and Winter Veil ended. February arrived.
In the dense forests north of Chalon, near the Grismerie River, a large camp was set up. Piles of war supplies and food were stacked high. Ryan's army of over fifteen thousand knights had gathered, ready to execute the long-planned Mousilon campaign.
To conquer Brittany, one must first conquer Mousilon. To conquer Mousilon, one must first take Spire Palace.
This war would determine Ryan's ducal title, his potential kingship, and whether he could remove this three-century-old thorn from the kingdom.
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