The howling wind swept across the endless mountains, holding up the eagle with its wings spread and flying from west to east under the endless dome with the cold wind at the end of winter, from the northwestern Misty Moon Court of the Sakran Empire to the southernmost Byrne.

It flew past the ancient wooded forests that were gradually recovering from life, traversing Lothair, which had gradually recovered after several years of recuperation, and the reflection of the earth, so that the leader of the Great Chamber of Commerce, who was leading the caravan to Ebolden, subconsciously raised his eyes and looked at the river of gems passing by a thousand sails.

Under the dawn of the sun, with the reopening of the Jewel River route and the trade routes from the south, busy trade, the nobility's spending and drinking, and a large number of urban reconstruction work, the former bleak Empress of Ten Thousand Cities shines again.

The ruins left behind by the Battle of the Maelstrom are gone, replaced by a new imperial capital, where the old nobles of the empire have almost all fallen by the maelstrom, and the nouveau riche who have emerged with the rise of His Majesty Brandon have become the new masters at the top of the pyramid.

Sorcerer, clergyman, knight, clerical, noble, merchant...... The rising nouveau riche brought a new life to the empire, enthusiastic about His Majesty Brandon's "Pioneer Plan", and expeditions laden with supplies, scholars, warriors, and merchants set out on expeditions to the Far North Ice Field, the Centaur Gobi, and even the Old Azores.

Especially the old Azorean kingdom ... With the return of the first fleet four years ago, the establishment of the first colony, abundant resources, fertile land, and all kinds of surprise discoveries, this land across the sea has attracted the attention of everyone in the empire, and has become a country full of treasures that everyone yearns for.

The dragon hovering at the top of the Heavenly Dome Palace, the golden light of the Holy Cross Cathedral, so that the eagle flying in the wind had to choose to avoid it, bypassing the imperial capital and flying towards the fertile and rich East Sakland.

When the cold wind receded, the sweaty East Saklans in the fields did not have the heart to look up at the sky, and under the fortress of Broken Boundary Mountain, the soldiers of the Ice Field Pioneer Army looked at the shadows flying overhead, and advanced north to the sound of the officer's order.

In the windswept green sea of Boi, the horseback people of Boi, who drove their horses, cattle and sheep, were haggling with the cattle merchants who had arrived in Byrne, and in the mountains of the Ellemont forest, the Ellemont hunter hiding under the trees shot an arrow that hit the stag as the eagle shadow swept by.

When the howling wind becomes warm and pleasant, the air is filled with the smell of wine and flowers, and the cheerful sounds of banquets and music echo under the sky... Even the eagle soaring through the sky knows that it has come to its destination.

Byrne, the land of knights and wine under Turin.

Ten years have passed since the beginning of the Elven Invasion, and Byrne, who once fell and shined in the Elven War, spent ten years rebuilding her glory.

A large number of brave and warlike knight lords withered on the battlefield, which weakened the strength of the Duchy of Byrne, but also greatly reduced the obstacles that hindered the power, and the Byrnes, who were closely united around the House of Turin, launched a vigorous reform movement under the leadership of Charlotte Turin.

Internally, Charlotte completes the mess left behind by Loren—wide roads that connect Byrne's thirteen realms, and the Yod Chamber of Commerce, which controls the Duchy's coffers, allows all trade activities permitted by the Duke to flow freely within Byrne's territory.

Modeled after the Sakran military system, the inconvenient conscription law was gradually abolished, and a standing knight legion directly under the Duchy of Byrne was formed, and Weber, who had been ostracized by the Holy Cross Church and the Imperial Capital, also reached a reconciliation with the Heavenly Dome Palace and formed a semi-independent Byrne Church that belonged only to the Byrnes.

With the increase in wealth, lifestyle changes, and the sacrifices of the elves during the war, the wizards' guilds began to cooperate with the Wizarding Towers to establish branches across the empire to help wizard apprentices who had completed their studies find suitable jobs in the local area.

Externally, Charlotte maintained relations with the Celestial Dome and other forces by means of trade - the livestock trade of Boy, the ore trade of the dwarves, the leather and grain trade of Arles... The huge demand makes Byrne their most important buyer, and they must maintain a good relationship with Byrne, even if it is for the sake of survival.

Resources, wealth, and a "small deterrent" in military power allowed Charlotte to form a very strong "Southern Alliance", which gave Byrne de facto control over the southern part of the empire and the dwarven city-states.

The short-lived splendor that the Black Duke once created became solid in the hands of Charlotte Turin.

As for the Celestial Dome, the parliament, which urgently needed to rebuild the imperial capital, did not want to provoke the powerful principality in the south too much, and the colonization of the territory of the former Azorean Kingdom to the west of the Misty Sea gave the Celestial Dome a new source of wealth, and this route established under the leadership of His Majesty Brandon also limited the attention of most of the empire to a certain extent.

Under some tacit understanding, Byrne, who had nothing to do with this kind of thing, also mobilized a huge amount of material and financial resources to support the colonization of the territory of the old Azorean Kingdom and the development of shipping routes by the Heavenly Dome Palace, reducing the sight from the imperial capital to a minimum.

Brandon of the Sky Dome and Charlotte of the Red Blood Castle both knew that the rise of the House of Turin was inevitable, and that de Salion could not tolerate the rise of a powerful principality, and that a two-legged duel would come sooner or later, and that it was not something that could be reversed by the will of the two of them.

The only thing that can be done is to restore the vitality of the empire as much as possible before the inevitable day comes, open up more land, accumulate more wealth, and fill the land in sight with more people, and the "new world" beyond the sea, which may be able to escape the flames of war.

"This is a summary of the quarter's earnings, Earl. The still thin Duchy treasurer Yod Jr. became more and more like his father, and had no interest in anything other than the ledger:

"Support for the development of a new colony by the royal family of the Heavenly Dome Palace... Uh, how to say it... Although it led to the business of medicine and leather goods in the territory, and allowed 2,000 prisoners in prison cells to complete the re-employment, but... The expenses were huge, and the principality was already heavily indebted. ”

"Then introduce a new tax to fill the shortfall, as far as I know, Boi has made a lot of money on the livestock trade, and the tax will be raised appropriately. Charlotte threw aside the parchment full of bills with some irritation: "Your Excellency, little Yode, I don't need to remind you of the importance of the development of the new colony to the relationship between the Heavenly Dome Palace and the Red Blood Castle, right?"

"This is nature, and only in this way can the peace that is so rare can be maintained. Little Yod nodded in response: "Also... My father, Yod Sr., has passed away, so you can call me Yod now. ”

"No problem, little Yode. The arrogant Countess of Red Blood Castle curled up the corners of her mouth in an elegant arc: "Is there anything else?"

"The Wizards' Guild, Lord Isaac Grantham. ”

Little Yode rolled his eyes helplessly: "Recently, he has made a new discovery in his research, and he needs to have an expenditure to prepare research equipment. ”

Charlotte nodded: "So ......"

"We already owe a lot of money, Count, and we can't pay it back. Little Yode said expressionlessly

Gently touching her forehead, Charlotte sighed a little tiredly, quite helpless.

"You don't need to ask about it, I'll take care of it directly - if Isaac has any problems, let him come to me directly. ”

"Yes, Count. ”

The expressionless little Yode skillfully cleaned up the ledger on the table: "Please allow me to retire first." ”

The sound of brisk footsteps faded away, and the Hall of the Round Table became solemn and silent again.

Grenwell, the governor of the Duchy, who had not said a word from beginning to end, silently placed the slate engraved with a nine-pointed star in front of Charlotte.

"It's ......"

"Yesterday evening, several wizard apprentices in Mountain Rock Fort found it in the ruins of the old castle and sent it to Crimson Blood Fort overnight. Grenwell calmly said:

"They claim that there was absolutely no such thing there, and that the wizarding guild will deduce that it appeared at least hundreds of years ago based on the remnants of the void reaction on the slate, most likely ......"

"At the beginning of Byrne's birth, the time when the Byrnes rebelled against dwarven rule!" Charlotte blurted out.

Grenwell paused slightly, and took two steps back silently.

"So......" Charlotte muttered, gazing at the old slate on the table:

"It was only discovered last night, which means that now Loren and Ain are they... Hundreds of years ago, in the mountain rock fort, helping the ancestors of Turin and Byrne defend themselves against the attack of the dwarves... Really?"

"If that's the case...... Grenwell bowed his head slightly: "Duke Loren... It may not be too late to return as scheduled to spend this year's summer season with you. ”

Charlotte leaned weakly back in her chair, her crystal eyes losing their lustre.

But the silence only lasted for a moment, and Charlotte, who quickly regained consciousness, swept her eyes behind her: "Where is Roland?"

"Earl, you ......"

"I'm talking about the heir to the direct blood of the House of Turin, the lord of the Thirteen Lords of Byrne, the son of Loren Turin, my son... Roland Torino. As the voice became heavier, Charlotte's gaze became colder:

"Where is he now?"

Grenwell's eyes were uncertain, and there was immediately a certain little figure with black hair and black eyes in his mind, who was smart and clever but always liked to cause trouble for others.

Of course, "causing trouble" is a very polite way to say, and it should be said that this little young master has evolved into a big scourge of the Red Blood Castle in the past year.

Grenwell understood the countess's desire to raise children to be worthy rulers, but Roland didn't think so—at least he was more interested in spells, hunting, and causing trouble than official documents, government affairs, and etiquette.

Facing the countess with a straight face, Grenwell, who had a headache, could only tell the truth:

"Master Roland, he's... Hall of the Broken Sword. ”

Charlotte's expression changed color slightly.

........................

The palace of the Red Blood Castle, the Hall of the Broken Sword.

Gently pushing the door open, Charlotte, who was in a complicated mood, stepped into this small hall.

The room itself was nothing special, the austere décor paled in comparison to the other rooms of the court, the only thing special was the Mithril greatsword that was broken in two under the wall in the deepest part of the room, facing the door.

Dawn.

Looking at the broken sword, Charlotte's gaze was a little misty.

She still remembered the look on her face when Loren returned and handed her the broken sword to herself, full of remorse and fear that she would get angry, her hands behind her back, and her collar wet in cold sweat.

He didn't know that just to see him come back alive was already so excited that he was indescribably excited, standing there like a puppet clay sculpture, allowing him to perform with remorse and self-reproach.

So when he offered to restore the sword, Charlotte refused.

Although it is said that this symbolizes a glory for the world, especially the descendants of the House of Turin, the family of Turin of the Red Blood Castle, the Duke of Byrne who once saved the world;

But Charlotte knew very well that what she wanted was for Loren to remember this forever - if it wasn't for Byrne, the Turin family, or even herself, even if it was just for this little self-blame, guilt, to come back.

"If you can come back......"

Looking at the broken sword, Charlotte muttered to herself: "You big liar, full of lies, always like the wicked people who make people fearful... If you really know how much pressure I'm under......"

"I know. ”

The fluttering voice of the words made the countess tremble.

Is that... The voice... It's from behind......

"Impossible. Her eyes widened, and Charlotte desperately suppressed her urge to look back: "You... Loren... You are, should still be ......."

"Mountain Rock Fort. The voice laughed:

"That's right, I met the father of the first Turin, or the future Knight King, there; I originally thought he was a rather decisive guy, but I never expected him to be a very gentle man. ”

"That's nature... The ancestor of the Turin family must be ten thousand times stronger than someone who is always fearful!"

Charlotte, who gritted her teeth, pressed her hands in front of her, and her shoulders trembled slightly:

"Where's Ain?"

"With Roland, they get along very well or Ain can get along with anyone, uh... I'm different. ”

"You know!"

"Of course I know that Roland is a very smart kid. ”

"He's a little bastard!"

"How can you say that? He's just too young, and every child needs to have a carefree time. ”

"Don't use your shamelessness and downline to measure the future Duke of Byrne and the Knight King!"

"So I said, Charlotte, you're too restrained, don't let yourself carry too much of a burden. ”

"It's not because some bastard is irresponsible?!"

"And then you decided that this irresponsible bastard forgot the promise that he would definitely come back to see you?"

"What can't you bastard?!"

Clenching her hands tightly, Charlotte looked to the ground.

In the quiet hall, you can even hear her heartbeat.

"Why don't you turn back?" the voice asked with a smile.

"I ......"

"Could it be that you're worried that I'm going to disappear, it's all just your own hallucination?"

"How is that possible?!" Charlotte denied.

"Why is that?"

"It's because... Because ......" Charlotte blushed and stomped her feet to herself: "Okay, you win! You're right, I'm worried that it's all just an illusion, I'm worried that you're just ......."

The words came to an abrupt end.

A flustered Charlotte felt the temperature coming from the back of her neck, and her trembling hands were clenched tightly.

The black-haired wizard standing behind her, with a hint of a smile in the corner of his eye:

"Is it a hallucination, can you just confirm it yourself?"