Although the feast was sumptuous, when the current situation in the kingdom was clear, few people could continue to eat and drink happily.

The Counts of Craggs and Earl Berlands walked through each table with their glasses in hand, greeting each guest in the hope of gaining their support.

Naturally, Count Craggs also greeted Byron and chatted with him a few words. However, he paid more attention to Fatis and Benoit, who sat next to Byron, and he valued the Randalls' support for him.

Although the Randalls have not been openly loyal to a king or lord since the fall of the Callad Empire, Craggs helped their father and son reunite and bring Fatis back to the Randalls, so the elder Benoit regarded him and Byron as benefactors, and immediately stated that although the Randalls would still not be loyal to anyone, they were willing to provide the Count with all the help he needed. It's no different from allegiance.

Because of the distance, Count Cragus didn't expect anything from Byron, but he was interested in Byron's Peony mercenaries and wanted to hire them for his own use when needed, and he could provide commissions and supplies during the hire period, but not equipment. For Byron, the maintenance of 500 high-priced mercenaries has also given him a headache for a long time, and providing mercenaries to noble lords can not only reduce the burden, but also train soldiers, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

In wartime, gather the mercenaries and command them to fight, and disband them in their leisure time and let them find a job to support themselves. It's really practical and cost-effective.

And although the war had just ended, the form of the south was still better than that of the north and the east, and Byron ushered in a period of peace, and his mercenaries were naturally idle.

Soon, Byron negotiated a hire with the Earl, and Byron could send mercenaries for him under this contract if the Count needed it.

This opportunity is not limited to Count Craggs, and now the whole kingdom is in chaos, and half of the local lords have broken away from the king's rule and issued orders in their own domains.

The lords of some regions have even waged wars with other families with old grudges, and the scale is not small.

The nobility had their own system of alliances and hatreds, and without the restrictions of the king, the personal grievances of one or two nobles would soon develop into a scuffle between a group of nobles in order to achieve certain interests. At this time, mercenaries don't have to worry about business at all.

In the border area, after King Haraus retreated with a large army, the war resumed. Many lords whose previous territories had been attacked banded together to attack their neighbors, plundering their property and population, and if they were lucky, they were able to occupy a few villages and towns, and let the king give them an afterthought.

Byron saw an opportunity in this, and King Haraus was now powerless to stop the chaos, and if he took advantage of this opportunity to expand his territory and ensure his loyalty to the king, the king would have no choice but to give him the land.

When Byron thought of this, the uneasiness in his heart gradually disappeared, and he even became a little excited.

When the feast was over, Byron was invited to Randall's manor estate outside the city of Suno. As he said goodbye to the Earl, Byron greeted Miss Nerda, who nodded and smiled back. This was the first actual contact between the two sides.

Fatis sighed as he looked at the departing figures of Count Prais and Joanna.

Later, Byron and Benoit Sr. went to the Randall's estate, where they celebrated the return of Fatis and mourned his deceased brother.

The Randall family is indeed wealthy, and the estate, which has survived hundreds of years of vicissitudes, still looks very imposing.

The estate was built by famous craftsmen at the end of the Karad Empire, using some of the best materials available in the Suno region at the time. The three-storey mansion in the center of the manor and several surrounding buildings are surrounded by a 5-meter-high stone wall, and there is even a drawbridge and a relatively narrow moat outside, making it look like a small fortress. And on the outskirts of this fort are thousands of acres of fertile land belonging to the Randall family, as well as orchards and mills.

Beside the wall, Byron also saw at least twenty sturdy horses and steeds gnawing on the grass. The servants and grooms were dressed in the clothes of the citizens of the city, and their faces were full and nutritious, and the wealth of the owner of the manor could be seen from them.

Byron could also see the fine chain mail and scale armor of the soldiers guarding the manor, as well as the sharp, shiny spears in their hands.

In the mansion, Byron remembered the beautiful and comfortable villas in Europe and the United States in the old movies. Beautiful household goods, bookcases full of books, as well as decorations on the walls and thick animal skins on the floor. If there was another sofa, it would be perfect.

As Benoit the Elder had said, he opened the cellar of fine wine that had been in the dust for decades, slaughtered a fat cow and a pig, feasted Byron and his cavalry, and invited the squires of the nearby towns to welcome Baron Byron and celebrate the return of his son.

Byron was more comfortable these days than he was at Suno's castle, where he had the highest knighthood and didn't have to cater to anyone.

He, along with Fatis and Benoit, went to the Randall family cemetery, where Fattis's brother was buried. Of course, as a guest, Byron waited while the Fatis father and son mourned, and did not walk over to lay a flower in front of the tombstone after the two had finished a long conversation at the grave.

"He's gone, but he's always alive in our hearts, and he will be for the rest of his life. When I was angry, he would remind me of the mistakes I had made. ”

With red eyes and hanging hands, Fatis looked at the tombstone of his own brother, and his words were a little infarcted.

"Thank you for coming to see my little son, Lord Byron."

Benoit thanked Byron.

"You're welcome, Lord Benoit. It's an honor to be part of the Randall family, and of course I should do something. ”

"You're so polite, sir."

Fatis and Old Man Benoit stayed at the grave for a while, reciting the eulogy from the funeral.

When they returned, Fatis was still sad, but he was in much better spirits. He rode with Byron and said to Byron with some emotion:

"I've lived in regret for the past two years, and it's a nightmare to think about it now. Now I'm back in the family and I've got my last name back. As you said, the past cannot be changed, what we can do is to grasp the future and be very incisive. I'm not confused, my lord. ”

"Now this kingdom is terrible, the lords are sweeping the snow in front of their doors, the people are poor, and justice is no more. Perhaps, you can do what the lords can't, and I believe you will rule the land fairly. I dare not ask you to do anything, but if you need it, I will gladly let you be supported by the people, by all those who uphold a just cause. ”

Phatis is loyal to you and acknowledges your right to rule. If desired, he will advertise your dominion among orderly commoners and nobles. 】