Journey to the Royal Capital

Gawain did not travel fast.

Although Rebecca seemed a bit anxious along the way, Gawain still arranged the journey at his own pace. He had the soldiers disguise themselves as travelers or mercenaries in every town they passed through to spread the news of "Founding Grand Duke Gawain Cecil's Heroic Spirit Revival" and "Grand Duke Gawain will arrive at Saint Suniel City soon." At the same time, they would bribe local bards and ruffians to spread even more bizarre versions of the story. The funding from Viscount Andrew was enough for him to accomplish these tasks.

Gawain had initially worried about the difficulties he and Rebecca might face when dealing with local power brokers, as neither of them had experience in such matters. To his surprise, Knight Byron, who accompanied them, displayed exceptional talent. While the middle-aged knight's strength might not have been the highest among his peers, his ability to interact with those societal idlers was remarkably impressive. Upon arriving in a city, it wouldn't take long for him to connect with those "rats," and before his soldiers could even begin spreading the news, all sorts of rumors about the Southern Territory would already be circulating among the lower echelons of society.

Gawain recalled Knight Byron's background. According to Rebecca, Byron was not a legitimate noble but a mercenary who had traveled far and wide. He was taken in by the previous Viscount Cecil after a certain incident and thus elevated to the rank of knight. Now, it seemed, this former mercenary's past experiences had not gone to waste.

As for the other person who proved to be a great help, it was no surprise to Gawain. Amber was indeed skilled at dealing with those local hooligans. Whether it was her professionalism or her exceptional abilities, it was hard to say. Gawain gave the half-elf a sum of money to bribe those ruffians, and when she returned after finishing her task, the money had actually increased.

This behavior was, of course, strongly condemned by the well-bred Rebecca. And to maintain his noble image in front of his descendants, Gawain had no choice but to press Amber's head and make her promise to return all the ill-gotten gains and never do it again.

This deeply hurt Amber, as if her very worth had been denied. Gawain felt that it was probably impossible for this disgrace to the elves to develop a normal sense of values.

Besides letting the rumors ferment, Gawain had another reason for stopping and starting along the way, one that was not so easy to speak of: he needed to understand this world better.

This was not because the memories in his mind had a 700-year gap from the current era, but because he himself was not from this world at all. The scenes he saw from the sky could only be used as a map, and the inherited memories lacked sufficient immersion and flexibility. He realized this after several attempts to search his memories that failed due to not knowing the corresponding "keywords." Therefore, for the current Gawain, the most urgent need was to understand this world.

This process went relatively smoothly.

He witnessed the poor and backward southern villages of the Ansu Kingdom, as well as the prosperous and bustling central cities. He saw wild mountains and forests, and human-built fortresses and strongholds. All of this was gradually merging with the overhead maps in his memories.

By judging some details, he confirmed that the "latest" overhead map in his mind had not been outdated for too long; it was likely a record from about ten years ago—the last glance he took while suspended in the sky.

For this slow-paced world, a ten-year-old map was perfectly usable.

As for any potential issues in Tanzan Town after being away from the Southern Territory for so long, Gawain was not as worried as Rebecca. He believed in Heti's abilities and was quite sure that Viscount Andrew would faithfully fulfill the terms of their agreement. It wasn't that he trusted the viscount's character, but he believed that mutual benefit would firmly tie the viscount to the Cecil family. Before leaving the Southern Territory, he had arranged for Knight Philip to spread various rumors. These rumors not only informed everyone about Gawain Cecil's resurrection but also drew attention to the surviving Cecil villagers, leaving Viscount Andrew, who had taken them in, with no other choice but to continue supporting those refugees until Gawain Cecil returned from the royal capital and everything was settled.

No matter how long the journey took, it would have an end. Two months after leaving the southern region, the majestic city walls of Saint Suniel City finally appeared before Gawain and his entourage.

This was a city built on a plain, its scale far beyond comparison to the poor and backward southern towns. Its white city walls and neat rows of bright blue rooftops were its most prominent features, earning it the epithets "Holy White City" and "Blue-topped Crown."

Since the founding ancestor Charles I led the people to cultivate the land and build this city on this plain 700 years ago, it had undergone countless expansions and modifications. The original earthen and stone walls were long gone, with only a few commemorative ramparts remaining in the old city. The newly constructed giant stone walls were ten times larger than the original ones. The stones used for construction were hard materials from the northern Rocky Ridge and eastern regions, with molten copper and lead poured between the bricks and stones. Within these thick and sturdy walls, a crystal blessed by the Earth Element was buried every hundred meters to ensure it would not crack or crumble. The level of extravagance was something the pioneers who opened up this land could never have dreamed of.

Gawain stood at the foot of Suniel's city walls, gazing up at the stone bricks gleaming in the sunlight, and found that there were no corresponding details in his mind.

This city was no longer the same place as the small city in Gawain Cecil's memory.

With legal travel documents and reliable proof of noble status, Gawain's group entered the city without any hitch.

King Francis II, who ruled the entire Ansu Kingdom, was waiting for these visitors from the south in his royal palace, Silver Castle. He was especially waiting for the arrival of a special guest from 700 years ago.

In fact, he had been waiting for many, many days, almost to the point of developing neurosis.

The ancestor is too damn troublesome. This generation's king says, 'You can't play like this.' Secret reports from all over the southern regions and intelligence from every town along the route from south to north had been ceaseless. Official intelligence from various levels of officials and unofficial gossip collected from the populace piled up to over a meter high on his desk, with at least a hundred versions of content—not including dialectal variations. Yet, in every version, the central theme was about the ancestor suddenly emerging from his coffin and leading his descendants straight to the royal capital. But with these messages arriving day after day, the ancestor himself…

Why wasn't he here!?

The contingency plans made after initially receiving the secret letter from Viscount Andrew had long been abandoned, and the countermeasures devised with his trusted advisors had all failed due to the ancestor's leisurely sightseeing and ostentatious displays along the way. Now, Gawain Cecil's return was common knowledge. Of course, considering the efficiency of information dissemination in this era, saying it was common knowledge was an exaggeration, but at least merchants and minor nobles who could gather information certainly knew about it.

Therefore, what Francis II could do became very limited.

Sitting in Silver Castle, he would receive the returning legendary Grand Duke openly, converse with him openly, and then send off this "living ancestor" openly.

At the very least, in every aspect that would attract attention, everything had to be done openly.

However, Gawain did not intend to release the king so quickly. Or rather, his initial objective had been achieved, and now he wanted to test the king's attitude and the attitudes of those around him. Therefore, he did not have his convoy go directly to Silver Castle in a low-key manner. Instead, shortly after entering the city, he ordered all the soldiers to take out the banners that had been prepared in the carriages.

The banners depicted the Cecil Family Crest and the Ansu Royal Sword and Shield Crest. The two crests were placed side by side, forming the banner that Gawain had recreated from memory, which was used when Gawain Cecil was still alive as the Grand Duke of the Southern Territory.

Even with only twelve soldiers, they had to march with the formation of an honor guard.

The Cecil Family had indeed weakened, but even to this extent of decay, this family, which had once expanded territories with the former king and established its lineage through military prowess, still retained its last shred of pride. Defending the people and the land, never compromising on the battlefield. Rebecca, who was only seventeen and could only cast a Fireball Spell, was arguably the weakest lord in the history of the Cecil family. She was incompetent in both civil and military affairs and possibly had a screw loose, but she could still lead the last few family soldiers to defend the castle, allowing the last of the commoners to break through, relying on that inherited glory.

Therefore, despite having the weakest fiefdom in the Southern Territory, the Cecil family had still produced the finest warriors in the Southern Territory.

Even if these warriors were now reduced to only a dozen survivors.

The soldiers raised their banners, forming two columns on horseback. Looking at the fluttering crests on the banners, they seemed to be infected, lifting their heads high. Behind them, Rebecca and Gawain had also dismounted from their carriages and rode alongside the soldiers.

Byron led the way at the very front. This knight, who had a mercenary background and was trained mid-career, did his best to appear as a proper noble so as not to disgrace the family he served. But Gawain rode up beside him and whispered, "Relax—put aside those manners and rules. Back when we came here, some people were even carrying axes for lumber."

At the very end of the procession, in the carriage that Gawain and Rebecca were supposed to be in, sat the thief lady and the drowsy little maidservant Betty.

"Nobles are such a weird bunch of creatures, aren't they?" Amber poked her head out of the carriage, then turned to poke Betty's arm. "They have carriages but refuse to ride in them, preferring to show off on horseback. Their brains are messed up."

Betty's head bobbed, making it seem like she was nodding, but suddenly a small bubble of snot appeared.

Amber blinked as she looked at Betty, then suddenly noticed the flat pan placed by her hand. A mischievous thought sparked in her mind. She used her excellent skills as a master thief to quietly approach the pan.

Betty suddenly snatched up the flat pan and hugged it tightly, glaring at a stunned Amber. "No! Master said this is mine!"

Amber: "…?"