The young Sun Knight was still sighing in admiration when they arrived at Gene Town.
Everyone parted ways there. Veronica and Alfred went their separate ways, with Veronica returning to her wizard tower carrying a bag of gold crowns. Taking advantage of the summer season, the Garland Witch needed to focus on her training and experiments. Alfred also had to return to the Church of Justice to handle a backlog of matters.
Only Ryan, Juan, and Olica were left to return to the winery. The dark elf, who disliked hot weather, stayed inside the carriage the entire way, sleeping.
"Sir Ryan, don't you usually live in a castle?" Juan asked curiously. His brown curly hair and black eyes were filled with curiosity. The young Sun Knight was a questioner, showing endless interest in even the smallest details, such as what Ryan preferred for breakfast.
Olica showed clear signs of impatience. The dark elf maid just wanted to rest in her room, while Ryan remained patient and explained to Juan, "Currently, my castle is still under renovation, so I'm temporarily residing at the winery."
"Oh, I see!" Juan didn't care much about the answer; he was merely looking for opportunities to converse with Ryan.
"Listen to me, Juan." Standing at the entrance of the winery, Ryan began to speak earnestly. "Now that you're in Brittany, you must understand and abide by the rules here. Let me emphasize a few points, then I will introduce you to my wife, Sulia."
"I'm all ears." Juan nodded very seriously.
"You might think you can live as you did in Estalia, but you would be gravely mistaken," Ryan began his explanation.
"Indeed, in Brittany, we have seven days in a week, twelve months in a year, and people pray on Sundays. We enjoy the same sun and moon as in Estalia."
"But in this country, one thing is considered paramount: respect for the Lady." Ryan continued.
"The Lady, the Lady of the Lake, Brittany's guardian deity?" Juan held his helmet, adorned with a golden sun ring statue, in his arms, insisting on being fully armed at all times.
"Correct. You might know that Brittany's history speaks of this fertile land being a gift from the goddess," Ryan nodded. "For thousands of years, faith in the Lady has been deeply rooted here. You don't have to worship her, that's fine. People here are free to choose their deities, such as Myrmidia, the goddess of war, Taal, the god of nature, or Shallya, the goddess of mercy."
"But you must show respect for her. On all major holidays and special days, the Grail Chapel holds many events. I suggest that as a new knight, you participate as much as possible. Familiarizing yourself with the Grail faith will help you integrate quickly into our community. You can pray to Myrmidia on your own on Sundays, but when knights gather to discuss the Lady's blessings and the Holy Grail, you must show your familiarity, or you will be seen as an outsider."
"I understand! It's like a crash course!" Juan said cheerfully. "I will."
"And then there's speech." Ryan, seeing Juan's carefree attitude, felt a bit helpless but continued. "Dear Juan, you must understand that this is not Estalia. This land is closer to the threat of northern chaos. Chaos gods do exist, and their threats persist in the north and south of the world. You must be vigilant against signs of chaos corruption."
"At the same time, please do not discuss this freely as you might on Estalia's streets. Even the most conservative discussions could draw the attention of Lake God prophets and Grail Knights. In this country, human rights, or the lack thereof, mean that if a Lake God prophet and a Grail Knight believe you have been corrupted by chaos, they can judge and execute you on the spot without a court or my permission. Although my presence makes this unlikely, I don't want you to lose your life over something trivial."
"I understand!" Juan became serious, knowing nobody wanted to lose their life.
"And then there are the serfs." Ryan's expression remained calm. "In Brittany, serfs are considered the property of the lords, who have the right to deal with them as they see fit. Although such unreasonable phenomena exist, I'm working to change them. For now, under current laws, you must put away your sense of justice. When serfs face unjust treatment, the knights they belong to or the village elder council decides the entire process. Even if you think the outcome is unfair, do not interfere."
"Understood." Juan's expression gradually grew serious.
"Finally, I must say that Brittany is not Estalia. In Estalia, you can walk along the road for thirty kilometers without encountering danger. Here, even though I send troops annually to eliminate threats, there are still greenskins, beastmen, and bandits in the wilderness. For safety, until you reach the legendary level, ensure you have enough guards or travel with merchant caravans or other patrolling knights when heading into the wild or forests."
As he finished speaking, the dark elf impatiently said, "Master, are you done? I want to go inside."
"Alright." Ryan also realized he had talked quite a bit.
Because Juan Carlos, the Sun Observer, was different from all his subordinates!
This young man had psychic abilities!
...
Inside the winery, Ryan let Olica go rest. He noticed Sulia's maid, his head maid Sylvia, busy taking notes in her Bretonnian noblewoman's dress. Sylvia, very serious in nature, was now twenty-four years old. Seeing Ryan enter, she immediately stood up, "Count, you're back?"
"Yes, I'm back. Where is Sulia?" Ryan hung his robe on the coat rack.
"Miss is waiting for you upstairs. Mr. Armand and Mr. Angron are also there." Sylvia's cheeks reddened when she saw Ryan. Her heroic face and purple eyes first stared at Ryan, then noticed Juan behind him, "And this is?"
"Let me introduce, this is Juan Carlos, Sun Observer, the legitimate son of Duke Rubio, Sun Observer of Estalia's Margarita. He's now my subordinate." Ryan smiled and introduced.
Then Ryan turned to introduce Sylvia to Juan, "This is my head maid, Sylvia."
"Hello, Miss Sylvia." Juan immediately saluted, but Sylvia wasn't very enthusiastic about the foreign knight. She picked up her things, "Lady Sulia is waiting for you upstairs. Please hurry. I have other things to attend to."
With that, Sylvia nodded to Ryan and left directly.
"Let's go."
"Alright."
Pushing open the room door, the room was cool. Today, Sulia wore an elegant black iris flower gown, blending opulence with gentle charm perfectly. Ryan's wife stood up excitedly when she saw him, "Ryan, you're back?"
"Yes, I'm back. Let me introduce..." Ryan smiled, hugging Sulia lightly, and introduced Juan's background to everyone in the room.
"Welcome, welcome, new knight. It looks like my position here has decreased." Grail Knight Armand laughed, shaking hands with Juan.
"No, no, I'm the lowest-ranking knight here, no objections." Angron also laughed and shook hands with Juan, "Welcome, young Sun Knight."
"Juan is of noble birth, a new big shot. I, a Nordic bumpkin, feel ashamed." Ryan also smiled and echoed, "At eighteen, already a formal knight. Impressive. I'll be the rookie here from now on."
"Don't flatter me." Juan, somewhat smug, did have reasons to be. At eighteen, he had completed the War Goddess Academy's knight course and transitioned to Sun Knight. Few at his age could do that.
After a brief introduction, Angron and Armand left. Sulia arranged for a maid to settle Juan in a town inn. After sorting out his things, the young knight and his entourage would be assigned a house for living.
With everyone gone, only the couple remained. Ryan sat down and asked gently, "My lady, what were brother and Armand discussing with you?"
"Oh? Ryan, you care about that?" Sulia gracefully sipped her tea, a slight smile on her cherry-red lips, "I wanted to ask how your trip with Olica and Veronica was."
Her tone carried a hint of jealousy. Sulia had wanted to accompany Ryan but stayed behind to manage the estate during spring plowing. Ryan felt a bit guilty, as he had enjoyed the journey quite a bit.
Amelia's pregnancy had made Sulia feel insecure. She was obviously unhappy about Ryan's three-week trip to Estalia, though her gentle nature kept her from showing it. She sighed, walked out from behind the desk, sat opposite Ryan, crossed her long legs in black sheer tights, and said, "Actually, the granary is almost full."
"The granary is full?" Ryan laughed.
"Yes, the excess grain is about to fill the granaries completely. By this autumn's harvest, we might overfill them," Sulia said, feeling a bit of a happy problem. "There are two opinions in the territory. One is to distribute the excess grain to the serfs and local churches, which would boost population growth and serf morale. This is Angron's idea."
"And the second is obviously to export the grain?" Ryan easily guessed. "Hard to imagine this is Armand's idea."
Ryan recalled Armand as a man of justice who usually preferred direct, forceful solutions.
"I think it's really Hex's idea," Sulia said, intrigued. "Hex likely had Armand present it. Armand is a Grail Knight and a local Bretonnian."
Ryan frowned. He realized that his followers were forming factions. Olivier and Lopes, outsiders, naturally bonded, while Hex and Armand, locals, shared closer habits and views.
The
new kingdom knight from Winfort, Lucian, would undoubtedly join this faction, which was loyal to Sulia, the lady's staunch supporter.
As expected, entrusting internal affairs to Sulia led to this. She naturally favored "her people."
But this wasn't necessarily bad. Politics and factions were inevitable. Properly managed, factional competition could be beneficial.
"I think Armand's idea is better. I'm sure our dear Elector of the White Wolf, Boris Toddbringer, would eagerly buy as much grain as we can sell," Ryan quickly decided. "We can donate a little to the church, but let's avoid giving it to the serfs. We mustn't encourage freeloading. Work hard and earn more, slack off and eat black bread. That will motivate them."
Ryan wasn't keen on direct aid, believing in "helping the emergency, not the poor." Churches could handle relief, but he didn't want serfs thinking they could get food without working.
"Let's do that then." Sulia agreed, and the matter was settled.
Next, Sulia asked curiously, "How did you bring the Duke of Margarita's son here?"
"Juan? He asked to follow me. He's not the first in line, very normal. Duke Rubio even promised to cover all his maintenance costs until he inherits a title. Given such an offer, why refuse? He's a promising talent," Ryan smiled.
"Indeed." It wasn't unusual for major nobles to send their non-primary heirs to another esteemed noble's house for training, hoping they'd earn a title. Ryan, a hero, made this routine. Sulia, sensing the opportunity, planned to make a good impression on Juan while he was still new.
"By the way, Ryan, you should visit the Lady's Tower soon." Sulia recalled. "Morgiana instructed me to send you there. She has something to discuss."
"Let's go together," Ryan suggested. "We can have dinner with Morgiana at the Lady's Tower."
"Alright then."
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