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As always, Raven went outside at dawn to train.
The winter air was cold.
But Raven felt more confident than ever and headed to the weapons arsenal that was set up on the side of the back garden.
Then, someone appeared through the gentle early morning fog. Raven identified the figure from the sound of the person’s exact, measured footsteps, so he smirked and threw a practice spear towards the figure.
“You are a little late.”
“Yes, my lord. I headed to the harbor for a while.”
Isla saluted towards Raven after receiving the spear.
“By the way, congratulations, my lord.”
“Huh?”
Raven showed confusion at the sudden remark.
Isla continued with a very rare smile that was almost never seen.
“You have accomplished the task with Baroness Conrad with a strong, steel will.”
“Keugh!”
The unexpected remark caused Raven to let out a sharp cough. His face started turning red without realizing it, and he replied with an awkward expression.
“Keheum! What are you talking about? What kind of…. steel will… would I…”
“What? Everyone in the residence is aware.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, even our friends from Ancona know about it.”
“…..”
To think even Karuta and Kratul were aware…
Raven closed his mouth and held back a barrage of abusive language that threatened to come out. But Isla’s following words were even more spectacular.
“Last night, the voices of Baroness Conrad and the lord resounded throughout the entire residence. They contained such a hot and passionate love… Of course, I, Elkin Isla, as your faithful servant, could not hold back my heartfelt admiration for the supreme power of the lord, truly a knight among knights, the truest of man…”
“T, that’s enough! All right, that’s enough!”
Raven raised his voice in horror.
He found Isla letting out embarrassing remarks quite often these days. He truly lived up to his reputation as a Cavalier of Valvas. Valvas was well-known as the land of passion.
“But my lord, you should have done it at least three times for the Pendragon Duchy’s descendants…”
“I, I will take care of it, so you can stop now.”
“Ah, I went a little too far. Please forgive me. I did not intend to interfere or raise doubts about your power as a man…”
“Okay, okay. I understand, so please stop talking about the matter.”
Raven raised his voice with a red face.
“Yes, I will follow your orders.”
Isla finally shut his mouth and lowered his head. But when Raven looked down at the knight, he could see a faint smile hanging around his mouth. Raven clenched his fist.
‘He is doing that on purpose. I’m sure…’
Raven would lose all sense of dignity if they remained on this topic. Raven forced a smile and changed the subject.
“Anyways, how is Killian? I heard that he took care of some issues along with the heavy cavalry?”
“Yes. He resolved the issues perfectly.”
“I see. In your opinion, what is the level of our heavy cavalry?”
Of all the knights in the Pendragon Duchy, Isla had the most experiences in the battlefield besides himself, so Raven trusted his judgement.
“They were great.”
“Hoo…”
Raven was quite surprised by Isla’s words. He rarely complimented.
“But as you know, Pendragon Duchy has a lot of flat terrain. But once outside of the territory, the roads are narrow and there are many mountains. Thus, they will be quite effective within the duchy, but once they cross the territorial divide and venture outside, there will be difficulties in battle.”
Isla’s judgement was accurate.
The heavy cavalry displayed devastating power on flat terrain, but the general infantry were better at sieging or mountaineering.
“Definitely so. That is why the griffon unit and you, Sir Isla, are the duchy’s most versatile and powerful force.”
Raven’s words were not meant to be flattering. Rather, he truly believed that the griffon unit was the most important force in the Pendragon Duchy. Vincent agreed as well.
If griffons and their riders poured down attacks from an altitude of 700, 800 feet and higher, any type of forces would become powerless.
Even the most destructive and the farthest-reaching bows shot by humans could not reach such heights, but gravity magnified its power by multiple times.
Furthermore, griffon riders were not limited to attacking with crossbows.
Wild griffons were much bigger and heavier than horses. Watching such creatures descend from the sky at breakneck speeds would be enough to cause any humans to panic. But what if hundreds of well-trained combat griffons fell toward the heads of enemy forces?
Ordinary soldiers with little experience in the field would not be able to hold their ground and lose all courage.
In fact, in the past, even the demonic army, which consisted of murderers with abundant combat experience, were sent into a mass panic when they faced just two dive assaults from griffons. Almost 20% of their forces had been destroyed.
Most of all, griffons had strong talons and wings. It was often the case that wild griffons attacked farmhouses before easily snatching up large bulls or pigs. If they were to drop ‘something’ from high in the sky, the effect would be beyond imagination.
Raven had brought the griffons from the duchy in secret for these very reasons. In the naval battle, which would take place in a few months, the griffons of the Pendragon Duchy would write a new legend along with the 7th regiment.
“What is the status of the griffons?”
“Very good. Even though they are locked up in cages, they are very well-behaved thanks to the power of Soldrake.”
“Good.”
Raven nodded satisfactorily.
The griffons of the Pendragon Duchy were unlike other griffons. As subordinate creatures of Soldrake, they did not require taming, and they ate less compared to the other griffons.
Naturally, additional training was required for the griffons to perform high-dimensional maneuvers and skills, such as forming a squadron, but such sophistry was not needed for the upcoming operation.
All they needed to do was to drop ‘something’ from high places, and that was the reason only the biggest and the strongest creatures were chosen.
“What about the eyes of the rats?”
Since the sailboats carrying gold coins were scheduled to arrive in Leus from York Town, it was obvious that they would be watching the port day and night.
Raven had intentionally leaked information to achieve such a situation as well.
“There were two of them. They seemed to recognize me. But they seemed a little curious, perhaps because the ship they’ve been watching out for hasn’t arrived yet.”
“That’s rather good. They must be getting restless, watching you go in and out of the harbor from dawn.”
Isla was the most famous knight from the duchy except Raven. He was well-known throughout the empire as the right-hand man of the Pendragon Duchy, and he had slaughtered an orc that Toleo Arangis had brought along.
It would be obvious to anyone watching that Isla was up to something when he came to the port every dawn, especially when he was receiving news and appeared to be anxiously waiting for something.
“Be at the port once a day before the sailboat arrives. Well, I trust you will do well on your own without me meddling. Be very careful… just enough for the rats to notice.”
“Since you mention it, I shot my spirit towards them when they appeared to be watching me blatantly.”
“Good.”
That’s how things were.
If you brushed the grass too hard, you might scare the snake away. But if you didn’t touch the grass at all, you would not be able to tell where the snake was. However, when the grass was properly grazed, you could herd the snake towards where you wanted.
In the end, it would be deceived into mistaking the event as an opportunity, and attempt to strike with its venomous fangs.
“We will deliver the decisive blow at the gathering parliament today. If we announce that we will be releasing our gold coins in earnest for the parliament’s regional maintenance…”
“It will be as good as throwing cheese in front of the rats.”
“Exactly. As the Governor of Leus and the Duke of Pendragon, it could be called catching two birds with one stone.”
Raven smiled coldly while reciting the old saying. He met Isla’s gaze.
“Yes, my lord. But before that, as the head of the Pendragon Duchy, the hot, steel will that keeps the family afloat, you should…”
“Elkin…”
Raven’s smile froze and spirit started to slowly crawl up his shoulders.
“I, Elkin Isla, will start the training.”
Isla struck his chest in a salute and immediately turned around.
***
“The flames are too weak! Hey you! Are you trying to feed a family of mice? Why is the portion so small? Oh my god! Marie! Orcs can chew through bones, so you don’t need to debone to fish so carefully.”
Normally, Marilyn was as affectionate and relaxed as her generous impression, but she had become more vocal as of late. Despite her urgent scolding, the tens of women dared not retort and busily prepared the meals while sweating.
“More spices!”
“We have to make more sauces as well!”
The kitchen of the governor’s residence was as busy as a battlefield.
The shortage of workers became more apparent as the number of officials increased, and even wives and daughters of existing employees pitched in to help.
The Ancona Orcs played a huge role as well. Thirty orcs could devour enough food to feed a hundred human soldiers.
“Gosh, all this for just one meal…? How much are we spending on this?’
Marilyn shook her head as she stared at the mountain of food and ingredients. She had taken on the role of the head chef in the residence.
A woman standing next to her replied while trimming vegetables and wiping her sweaty forehead with a towel.
“Phew! But it costs a lot less compared to before. And I feel at ease because the governor is not fussy about what he eats. Everyone he brought along too!”
“That is true. With the previous governor, I felt like I was walking on thin ice every day.”
“Don’t even mention it. All the noble women who were present were also extremely picky. Heave-ho!”
A woman chimed in while placing freshly cooked pork on the table. Everyone nodded in agreement.
“On the other hand, Lady Pendragon now is truly an angel, an angel I say.”
“I couldn't agree more! I’ve never seen such a pretty girl in my life. She smiles so brightly and frequently too.”
“And what about Baroness Conrad? She is calm and considerate. I heard she used to be a maid in the duchy, but she never acts haughty either.”
“She’s pretty, and she’s got a big chest too!”
“Hohohoho!”
Everyone burst into laughter as one woman gathered up her chest and spoke.
“By the way, I don’t think the baroness will be able to make it to breakfast this morning.”
“Huh? Why?”
One lady tilted her head at the confusing words.
Marilyn and the other women of the residence burst into laughter once again.
“Oh my. You will be getting married soon, shouldn’t you know about it?”
“What? About what?”
“What do you mean, about what? Because she shared an intimate time with the governor last night! The sounds were just… Phew!”
“Oh my! Oh my!”
The maidens covered their mouths with red faces. But looking at their bright eyes, it was clear that everyone was expectantly imagining something in their minds.
“Now, now, time’s running out. Let’s finish up and… Gahhh!”
Marilyn let out a shriek and froze on the spot. All the women in the kitchen turned to the source of the commotion in wonder.
A newly arrived person was standing in the kitchen. Her face was bright red, as if all her blood had shot up to her head, and she was acting restless. Everyone who saw her hurriedly bowed their heads.
“B, b, baroness…”
“W, we were just…”
The women started trembling. They had made a joke about the concubine of the governor, and she had been listening the entire time.
It was natural that they would be kicked out, and in all likelihood, they would be punished as well. Some even had tears in their eyes.
But then,
“From now on, I will try to be… as quiet as possible… It wasn’t on purpose. I just don’t have any experience… And it was hard, but not to the point where I couldn’t stand up…”
The women raised their heads with blank expressions as Lindsay spoke softly in a shameful voice.