Duke Pendragon

"I'm sorry. I've done nothing but push my responsibilities to you…"

"Not at all."

His father seemed to have aged several years as he spoke his last words. Lucas bowed his head while responding. His heart felt quite bleak.

Otto stared at his eldest son for a while, then placed his left fist on his chest before saluting.

"From now on, you are the Margrave of Mirin. Please take good care of Mirin, margrave."

"I will do my best… to fulfill my duties."

Lucas faced Otto and reflected the gesture with teary eyes.

Boom!

Soon, the entrance to the spire was firmly shut.

From this moment on, Otto Mirin would have to lead a solitary life without even a single servant or a maid. It was the end of a generation and the beginning of another. Raven turned around after watching the interaction.

"We should get going as well."

Soldrake, Isla, and Berna followed behind him without speaking a word. Their griffons were waiting on a wall located near the spire.

"Couldn't you stay for one more day, Your Majesty?"

Lucas spoke regretfully as Raven climbed onto his griffon. Although Raven was responsible for exiling his father to live out the rest of his life in a spire, it was clear that Mirin would have collapsed otherwise. As such, Raven was no different from Mirin's savior.

"It is a long way back to Pendragon, Mirin's Margrave. It will take five or six days, even with griffons."

"I see."

"And perhaps you feel favorable towards me, but this won't hold true for all the knights of Mirin."

"That's…"

Lucas bowed his head awkwardly, and Raven continued with a grin.

"The most important thing for you to do now is to win over the knights and lords who were loyal to the previous margrave as soon as possible. It will all have been for naught if a civil war breaks out right after you became the margrave."

"Yes…"

Lucas responded with a grim expression.

He couldn't help it. Although Raven was delegated full authority as the special envoy to the emperor, his words did not necessarily reflect the thoughts of Mirin's knights and lords. It was highly likely that they would be dissatisfied with the changes.

In the worst case scenario, the knights and lords could even assume that Mirin had crumpled under the pressure from the imperial castle. As such, it was crucial to unify Mirin and take care of all internal matters as soon as possible.

"Make sure you keep Fort Efork secure. If you need any help, feel free to contact me at any time. You might not know, but our emperor is very generous, although he can be foul at times."

"I will keep that in mind."

Lucas felt relieved. It was reassuring to have such a guarantee from the emperor's in-law.

"Then take care."

Raven was about to pull on his griffon's reins after saying his goodbyes. However,

"Wait! Stop!"

A figure was hurrying up the wall while shouting in an urgent voice.

"F, Fiona?"

Fiona rushed towards the group while carrying a large sack. Moreover, she was heavily armed in thick, leather robes as well as armor.

"Heuk! Heuk! You have to take me as well."

"What…?"

Raven was made speechless by her words and attitude. She spoke such words as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Even though her injuries were treated with a potion mixed with elixir, she would need to rest at least fifteen more days to fully recover. So why was she speaking such nonsense, especially when she was extremely pale due to the slightest exertion?

"What? Isn't it obvious? Since I lost, I have to become the wife of His Majesty the Knight King."

"….."

Raven and the man in question, Isla, were dumbfounded. However, Raven soon responded while glaring at her with a stern look.

"You lost, and this marriage is invalid as originally promised. In a situation where you should be thankful to keep your life, you…"

"Uh… Thank you for not killing me, but my father's condition was that His Highness Isla would become married to the Mirin family if I won."

"You know well, so…"

"So since I lost, I will become married to His Majesty Isla instead. I will go anywhere, whether it's Pendragon or Valvas."

"Huh…"

Raven finally realized what she was talking about. It was absurd.

According to Fiona's words, if she had won against Isla, Isla would have had to stay in Mirin his entire life as Mirin's son-in-law. However, since she lost, she was saying that she would be the one to become married to Isla to follow him anywhere, whether it be the Pendragon Kingdom or Valvas.

"Fiona! What are you talking about!? I, I apologize, Your Majesty Pendragon, Your Majesty Isla!"

Lucas hurriedly scolded her before pushing her head down in a forced bow.

"She learned how to wield a sword before she matured, so her mindset is different from ordinary people. I hope you two can be so kind as to understand that…"

"But am I wrong?"

Fiona asked while sneakily raising her head. It wasn't as if Lucas could force her head down with brute strength in the first place.

"….."

She wasn't technically wrong. However, she had been the only one who had been thinking along such lines.

"Let us depart, my lord. I think the shock of defeat caused her to turn a little strange…"

Isla urged Raven. He appeared to be weary tired, which was highly rare for the knight king. Even the almighty Knight King of Valvas had never seen such an eccentric character. Dealing with her was akin to swimming in quicksand – it would only exacerbate the situation. It was best to avoid her as quickly as possible.

"If you leave me behind, I will come find you. I will make sure to go to the imperial city and I will definitely tell His Majesty the Emperor."

"….."

Raven and Isla closed their lips. However, it was clear from their shared gaze that they were thinking the same thing.

'This girl is insane…'

And they never knew how a crazy person would act. Moreover, Fiona was likely the strongest female warrior in the empire. She could definitely cause a huge ruckus in the imperial castle.

"For now, we will have to take her with us."

"M, my lord!"

Isla shouted with disbelief.

"As you well know, we don't know what she's going to do."

"But to take her along with us…"

Her appearance was fine, except that she was much too tall, but Isla was terrified nonetheless. Even though he was the legendary unifier of Valvas, he had no intention of connecting with a woman living in such a strange, mental world.

"Fiona Mirin."

"Yes, Your Majesty Pendragon!"

Raven called out in a solemn voice, and Fiona responded in a cheerful voice.

"Considering the actions of you and your father, becoming married to Elkin is out of the equation. He is a knight of Pendragon, so it will be impossible for the two of you to wed when you conspired to kidnap members of the Pendragon family. Would you not agree?"

"Uh… Yeah…"

She quickly lowered her head. It appeared she still possessed her critical faculties.

"However, other types of relationships may be possible. You can become the aide of Elkin Isla, the Knight King of Valvas."

"What?"

"Heuk?"

Fiona and Isla shouted at the same time.

"Serve Elkin with an apologetic heart. If you stay by his side, you will learn many things. And although it won't be the relationship you wanted, you will have things to gain."

"Ah, yes…"

She wasn't too keen on becoming an aide instead of his wife, but she nodded when she had the chance. However, Isla hurriedly spoke up with despair.

"My lord, what do you mean by that? A woman like this as my aide? You couldn't possibly think that…"

"It will be good for me and for you as well."

"What?"

Isla frowned with confusion. Raven leaned in and whispered into his ear.

"The daughter of Mirin's Margrave loses to you and becomes your servant. Then no one can disagree with the claim that they tried kidnapping members of the Pendragon royal family."

"Hmm…"

"Don't you already know what Jamie Roxan is like? Even if we follow the lead back to the truth, he will be ready to escape like a loach. That is when we will need that woman. What evidence is as good as the words of the conspirator's daughter?"

"….."

Isla had no words to retort to Raven's logic. Although Isla rarely spoke out against his lord, he couldn't, or didn't want to accept the outcome. He retaliated.

"I understand your words, my lord. But what good is there for me if I have that woman around me as my servant?"

"Give it to me straight, Elkin. Even though Ian gave you recommendations, you don't want to marry just anyone, right?"

"….."

Before they were a lord and his knight, they were comrades and friends. It was impossible for Raven to not know Isla's thoughts.

"But since the emperor himself personally recommended three ladies, you must tie the knot with one of them. Perhaps you will have to take in all three. I already have two children, but you don't have any yet, right? Don't tell me that you want the blood of the Valvas royalty to end with you, hmm?"

"….."

It was an obligation of the king to bear many children. They simply couldn't refuse. Moreover, even Ian was pressured by the elders of the imperial family to bear children with Irene. Isla wasn't in a position to bargain.

"Looking at her eccentric personality and way of thinking, no daughter of any nobility will be able to act reckless with her by your side."

"But if I can't handle her…"

"I don't think you need to worry about that. Look at her gaze."

Isla sneakily turned his gaze towards her. He immediately came to understand his lord's words. Fiona did not possess the gaze of a woman looking at her lover.

Respect and deference.

She had the eyes of a knight yielding before her superior. She was fully committed to the one whom she could never reach. When a figure of the blade possessed such a gaze, they would be obedient completely and fully.

"There are probably very few men in the world capable of keeping Fiona Mirin by their side. Moreover, you beat her directly. What do you think will happen if you leave her behind? She really will head to the imperial castle and create a ruckus. So you must make a decision for the sake of everyone."

"…I understand."

Isla finally agreed, suppressing his urge to argue. Apart from anything else, he didn't want to disobey the words of his lord.

"Oi! Get on quickly."

"Ah! Yes!"

Fiona ran forward with a chirpy expression and threw her sack on the griffon's back. Then, her gaze came across someone. It was Berna. Perhaps she was the one person who felt even more concerned about the situation than Isla.

"O, oh, hello!"

Although she was weaker than Isla, Fiona would be capable of toying with Berna. Berna, who was once a high-ranking member of the Shadow Brotherhood, shriveled up even more.

"Nice to meet you. You look weak, so don't try to act all friendly towards me."

"Yes…"

'Where are all these monsters coming from!?

Berna suppressed her desire to cry and squirmed backwards, making room for the newcomer.