Warhammer Divine Throne

”Yes!” Gaspardon bowed backward and then exited the room.

Watching the tax officer slowly back out of the room, Laine frowned, contemplating many things.

In this world, with a medieval-like backdrop, the Lord’s authority over his fiefdom is absolute, yet his control is limited. Other than collecting taxes and conscripting soldiers, the Lord’s life is undoubtedly separate from that of the commoners.

He now needs to form his own team and assemble manpower.

A baron is subordinate to two Kingdom Knights and five Ranger Knights. Lops definitely deserves one of the Ranger Knight positions. As for the Kingdom Knights, there’s no rush; within the Knight Kingdom, there are countless Ranger Knights eager for a chance to rise. He believes these two vacant positions for Kingdom Knights will have everyone rushing in.

There are differences between substantive and honorary titles for Ranger Knights. In Brittania, every noble receives the title of Ranger Knight upon coming of age, but that’s honorary. The five Ranger Knight titles in Laine’s hand are substantive and come with a position and income.

Especially since Laine is a Holy Grail Knight, who wouldn’t want to fight alongside a Holy Grail Knight? A strong Holy Grail Knight can often win the direct attention of the Lady. If he inadvertently catches the Lady’s notice, wouldn’t that be quite an honor?

The presence of a Holy Grail Knight serving as Lord can greatly reduce any existing mistrust the subjects may have towards the new lord. However, there’s still much he needs to do, and for now, most affairs can only be tackled one by one.

Gaspardon had already organized a team of five servants for Laine. Laine immediately appointed Amelia as Head Maid, Ollica as his personal maid, and placed Miranda into the servant group.

In the evening, at the large wooden table in the castle’s dining hall, Laine dined with Lops, Alfred, and Gaspardon. Since they had just arrived, there wasn’t much food available in the castle, and everything was made do with.

As for Amelia and the others, they weren’t qualified to dine at the same table as Laine and company. They waited until the new Baron had finished his meal before clearing the table in order to make their dinner in the kitchen.

The sky gradually darkened. Tonight, the Baron’s Domain of Gene had no moonlight, only a sky full of stars. It was late March, and the early spring nights were still cold. Although the Baron’s Domain of Gene was a fertile land, there wasn’t enough money to install magic lamps, making the territory quite dim at night.

Laine, however, had a few magic lamps in hand, a gift from Teresa’s mother, Aurora. By channeling his spiritual energy, he could activate them, and he had already placed them in several key rooms.

On the castle balcony, looking north, the Charon Forest appeared on the horizon’s edge. In that pitch-black sea of trees, no one knew what dangerous creatures might be lurking.

To the east, the mountains followed the river, leading to the Winford Duchy. The snow atop the peaks never melted throughout the year. Crossing the snowy mountains would bring one to Helunhilde, the capital of the Winford Duchy, a city with a renowned reputation in Brittania.

At this moment, footsteps sounded behind Laine, ”My Baron, you called for me?”

It was Gaspardon.

”Yes, Gaspardon, please have a seat.” Laine turned around, gesturing for his temporary tax officer to sit with him on the balcony.

The dark elf Ollica walked over carrying a tray with butter beer, mugs, and a small bowl of water. She placed the items on the table on the balcony, poured butter beer for both men, then stood quietly behind Laine, silent.

Gaspardon was somewhat curious about how Laine had acquired such a dark elf maid. However, since the Lady had not reprimanded him, he dared not ask. Plus, Laine’s next action further astonished the tax officer.

Laine extended his hand, blue energy gathering in his palm. A globule of clear water separated from the bowl and rapidly froze in mid-air, with the ice being dropped into Laine’s mug. ”Mr. Gaspardon, would you like some?”

”No… no, thank you.” Gaspardon was a bit pressured and waved his hand, ”Please, speak your mind, my Baron.”

”Many parts of the castle are damaged, and the water tower shows signs of aging. I plan to have my castle fully repaired. Does Mr. Gaspardon have any good suggestions?” Laine asked calmly, ”Money is not an issue.”

”If you have no financial concerns, then I suggest you take a trip to Helunhilde to find a merchant to handle this.” Gaspardon thought for a moment and earnestly replied, ”We have craftsmen here in Gene, but their skills might not meet your needs, and...”

”And?” Laine remained emotionally neutral.

”And I think it’s necessary for the Baron to visit Duke Francois of Winford and Marquis Connelly of Ascot.” Gaspardon continued, ”Gene is part of the Winford Duchy and serves as the duchy’s gateway. I believe Mr. Francois would surely be willing to help.”

”Hmm~” Laine nodded, resolving that once things settled here, he would immediately visit Marquis Ascot and Duke of Winford.

To grow and establish roots here, it was necessary to maintain good relationships with his superiors, even if it was merely in name.

”By the way, I have a question. Mr. Gaspardon, could you explain something to me?” Laine smiled, ”In previous records, I remember our King’s name as ’Tiger’ Dinua Jean Richard, but in Miss Surya’s words, why does it become Richard de Le Anglong?”

”That’s not contradictory. Our King’s full name is Dinua Jean Richard de Le Anglong.” Gaspardon began explaining the difference.

It turns out Dinua is Richard’s mother’s name, Jean is his father’s name, Richard is his given name, ’de’ means ’from,’ and Le Anglong is the domain of his lordship.

The name effectively means: The child of Jean and Dinua, Richard from Le Anglong.

”So Miss Surya’s full name is Surya Kumani Antley de Winford?” Laine said casually.

”Exactly so, but please note, Baron, only hereditary families of noble titles can use ’de’ + territorial names,” Gaspardon advised.

”Got it, I understand.”

Gaspardon retreated once more.

Only Ollica and Laine remained on the balcony. Seeing this, Laine turned to Ollica and said, ”Let’s rest as well.”

The dark elf nodded and followed Laine to the third floor.

The third floor is where the lord and his family reside. Laine occupies a private room here, a large 60-square-meter chamber, with carpets spread throughout the floor, windows draped with heavy curtains, and a full set of furniture. The fireplace was already lit.

Servants brought two buckets of hot water, and the Baron and the dark elf bathed and changed into fresh clothes, before laying in the bed at the back of the room, each with their own blanket.

In the darkness of the night, everything was silent.

Until the dark elf broke the silence, ”Master? May I offer a suggestion?”

”Don’t you know that slaves have no right to offer suggestions to their master?” Laine chuckled, lightly wrapping his arm around the dark elf’s shoulder, feeling her softness.

The dark elf resisted for a moment, but with her weaker strength, she was no match for the Legendary Middle-tier human before her. As her arms were pulled behind her back, she failed once more.

Yet, this was within her expectations. The dark elf knew she had no chance of success, but that was exactly what she wanted, not that she wished to be held by this human, but rather that she wanted to use this opportunity to raise a topic.

”I believe I need to prove my worth to you. The weak have no right to protection.” Ollica shook her head, her face full of self-mockery, ”I cannot demonstrate any value of my own beyond serving as your maid. Among the Duruzi, the only value for a slave like me is...”

At this point, a flush came over the dark elf’s wild and ironic features. She glanced away, almost as if ashamed.

”Understood.” said Laine, looking at her with a reassuring nod. ”Let’s go get some rest, shall we?”

Together, they made their way inside, leaving the stars behind.

”””