Forty-six verses of controversy

As for Ryan, he ended up getting a more modest disposition.

In fact, this matter is completely within the scope of everyone's expectations, after all, Ryan has a pretty good army in his hands. If he really wanted to destroy his forces and army by force, he would undoubtedly pay considerable losses, and this was a meaningless loss. At the same time, everyone also understands that Ryan himself is a knight of St. Jean, and has a very powerful father and quite a wide network in the country. The combination of these factors ultimately constitutes such a result.

Ryan's title as duke has finally been temporarily confirmed, but the fief is about to be canonized to Casillos, who has been ravaged by the war. At the same time, he did not possess several important privileges that a duke had, such as the fact that he could not gather troops in his own name, and that any laws and regulations issued in the territory required royal approval. At the Imperial Council, this compromise was met with the approval of the vast majority of the people, or at least not against it.

Ryan accepted everything very obediently, surrendered command of the army, and came to Loren himself. I don't know what Lu Dao is for, but the princess also attends him as one of the temporary members of the court council.

The war seems to be over, and the next important thing is how to take over and govern the war-torn Cassilos. The former was not a problem at all, and with the withdrawal of the last remnants of the Paro troops from the border castle, many Cassilos knights began to appear in Loren City, and were absorbed as mid-level members of the court. Thanks to the addition of these knights, the details of Cassilos were quickly learned within the court, and the able courtiers were quick to make plans about the situation.

In a sense, post-war reconstruction is a more complex, tedious and tiring task than the war itself. Many of the Casilos knights wanted the princess to return to the city of Flos, but the fire set by the Paro retreat gave the St. Jeans the best excuse, and this suggestion was not adopted.

One by one, knights were sent out to carry out various tasks with the letters of appointment of Her Royal Highness the Princess. Even the previously dull court meetings began to become lighthearted and lively. On the one hand, because the war was over, the general content of the meeting was basically the distribution of the fruits of victory, and Princess Irina had the supreme decision, and on the other hand, the newly canonized Duke of Ryan was always Princess Irina's staunchest supporter. Ryan's attitude is undoubtedly very favored by the princess.

There didn't seem to be much else to do, all that remained was to wait for Thomas to return from Paro in triumph.

"General Thomas doesn't know where the road is now. Towards the end of the meeting one day, Princess Irina asked inadvertently.

"Master Thomas must have passed through the area of the Border Castle. They will be under the city in four or five days. A nobleman looked at a map in his hand and replied. "Your Highness, it is unfortunate that St. Jean has Lord Thomas. He fought all the battles, and the others who harmed him didn't get a chance to perform. Also, he canonized too many knights, and the Honor Tribunal will be busy to death!"

A burst of laughter rang out all around, filling the conference hall with a light-hearted atmosphere.

Suddenly, the door to the conference room was pushed open, and a man rushed in, his clothes indicating that he was a knight.

"Your Highness, urgent...... Urgent news!" the knight shouted in a loud report.

"What's the matter?" the nobles in attendance realized that something big had happened. "The Paros have torn up the contract?!"

Thomas ...... General Thomas, due to his injuries, unfortunately passed away......"

......

Ahead is already Loren City.

The size of the army under the command of Essourofat has been greatly reduced. Many of the knights of Casilos received the canonization letter from Her Royal Highness the princess halfway through and took their leave. Quite a few militiamen and archers also left - they had enough of the spoils of the war and were now anxious to go back to reunite with their families or find a good place to splurge on them.

Now there are only more than three thousand people left in his army. Among them, the people of St. Jean who set out on an expedition together from Loren are now less than a thousand. Behind the brilliant victories along the way were the huge casualties of more than 80 percent of the losses of the whole army. In particular, the ruthless battle under Drake City was like a flesh mill, countless knights spilled blood on the battlefield, and three hundred Holy Grail Knights were completely wiped out.

A small team sent by Princess Irina was already waiting for them ahead. Led by them, Ashruphat entered the barracks on the outskirts of the city at dusk. This was supposed to be a large barracks that could garrison tens of thousands of soldiers, but at the moment only a few thousand people entered, so it seemed extremely empty.

Even if these thousands of people actually don't stay long, after a short period of time, except for a few knights who will take on the duties of the court, everyone else will be disbanded and go home. Then the barracks were closed and would not be opened again until the next war.

Ashrufat stood outside the tent, silently looking at the city wall in the distance. In the twilight, the distant walls looked as if they were covered in a great layer of dead black.

Ryan had already returned to Loren before him, and had earned himself the title of duke. It was told to him by the knights who greeted him.

He heard footsteps behind him, and turned his head to see that it was Leo. I don't know what Lu Dao is for, Leo is wearing a full suit of armor and weapons at the moment, and he came behind him.

He wanted to ask Leo why he was dressed like this, but he couldn't say why.

"Ashrufat, did you hear about Ryan?" Leo asked him.

Ashrufat nodded. Ryan killed Thomas directly and William Daly indirectly. After doing these things, he can still run back brazenly and really make himself a duke?!

"You want to avenge Thomas, do you?" asked Leo. Ashrufat nodded. He knew that it was useless for him to deny it, Leo already knew him well, and a lie could not be deceived.

"I want to tell you that if I want to take revenge, I have priority over you. Leo's voice was cold, not at all like his usual appearance.

Ashrufat looked into Leo's eyes, and there was a terrifying cold light in his eyes, but Leo was unmoved.

"Thomas is your mentor, but he's also my mentor. And I spend more time with him than you spend with him. At the same time, he is also my lord. So, if it's really about qualifications, I should be more qualified than you. Leo continued.

"I don't want to discuss this topic!" replied Ashrufat, word for word. Despite the dim light, Leo could still see that Ashrufat's eyes were bloodshot. He knew that Ashrufat's feelings were restrained and intense, and he seemed calm and rational, but in fact he was impulsive and fanatical, and possessed an almost lawless force of action. If Ryan hides in a corner, maybe Eshuruphat will endure it. But now Ryan is so brazen that he has earned himself the title of a duke by relying on betrayal and lies, and Ashrufat will never allow it!

The point is that Ashrufat has an iron will—he will not give in easily.

"But I think, and I'm going to assert my rights!" Leo suddenly drew his sword.

"I don't want to fight you, Leo. You can't beat me!"

"Fighting doesn't prove who is right and who is wrong, but it can decide who will survive. Leo replied. "If you want to fight for that right, it's easy, just take me down. ”

“......”

"Ishrufat, Ryan is one, and you and I are eager to avenge Thomas. One of the two of us has to make a concession, and I have every reason to think that the one who makes this concession should be you!"

Ashrufat tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword, but he didn't make any moves.

"Leave everything to me, Ashrufat. Ryan walked past him and whispered. "You just have to watch from the sidelines!"

......

News of Thomas's death spread throughout the city the next day.

Saint-Jean lost his most powerful knight and defender. Many citizens voluntarily held mourning ceremonies for Thomas. Even the princess publicly issued an order to ban any entertainment for three days, as a sign of deep mourning and deep remembrance for the old general.

But within the court, the news of Thomas's death did not cause much surprise. In fact, in a sense, everyone knows that Thomas will not live for a few years - after all, Thomas is over eighty years old, and although he looks healthy, it is not surprising if he suddenly collapses one day and can't get up again. The shock of this news is mainly manifested in another aspect, that is, the death of Thomas has left a huge power vacancy.

That's where the general is.

The general was a very important position within the court, and it was a key position in the power of the army. Of course, it is the great generals in the war years that have the greatest power, but the position in the peacetime cannot be ignored. Traditionally, in non-war years, the state generally retains only a standing army that is not particularly large, and this army is commanded by a general. At the same time, any nobleman who wanted to gather his forces for a skirmish (usually a border skirmish or a banditry) had to get permission from the general.

Great generals were also usually given the power to be knighted by the royal family. This is a very important power, which means that the great general will have a great voice and influence among the low-ranking nobles of the country. Such a position is very desirable to anyone, and Princess Irina will inevitably give this position to her most trusted courtier.

The problem is that now the princess is no longer simply facing one country, but two countries, Cassilos and San Jean. It is really not a simple matter to get a candidate who is both loyal and acceptable to the knights of both countries. Even if we add "temporary replacement", it is quite difficult to select only one candidate for a transitional role.

......

The city of Loren was exceptionally quiet tonight. Her Royal Highness has decreed a ban on any entertainment, so even the balls, drinks or dinners that were previously prepared can now be cancelled. The people in the city are sad, but fortunately, there is only sadness. Because the war was over, General Thomas did his best to finally eliminate the Paros before he died.

Of course, there are people who don't grieve. For example, at nightfall, in a noble mansion in Loren City, Rook and Uncle Lane are getting together.