Banquet

Dark Mountains.

After seeing the place Gawain had indicated, everyone froze for a moment.

The first to break the silence was Baldwin Franklin, Grand Duke of the West. His eyes widened. "Are you... certain?"

"Why not?" Gawain smiled. "Surely that place doesn't already belong to someone?"

"Not exactly..." Francis II shook his head. "The entire Dark Mountains region and everything farther south are unclaimed, so they do meet the requirements of the Pioneer Decree. But that place is not only very close to the Typhon Empire; to the south, it directly borders the Gondor Wasteland. It truly is..."

The Dark Mountains formed part of Ansu's southern border. Their eastern reaches extended deep into the Typhon Empire, while their western reaches stretched for hundreds of kilometers along Ansu's border before bending slightly southward and merging into the corrupted earth of the Gondor Wasteland. In theory, even the strip of plains south of the Dark Mountains belonged to Ansu, but in reality, the kingdom's control only reached the northern side of the mountains—and even there, its grip was quite limited.

The most important reason was the existence of the Gondor Wasteland.

Even now, that land remained shrouded in chaotic Elemental Power and magical energy. The endlessly churning corruption left the earth nearly barren, and it was saturated with toxins deadly to humans.

Although its boundaries were no longer expanding, the toxic dust storms that occasionally blew in from the wasteland's edge, along with the monsters that sometimes wandered out, were all fatal threats.

Historically, after the Ansu Kingdom had stabilized, it had attempted several counteroffensive expansions into the southern region—they had even planned to reclaim Gondor's homeland. Yet every effort had ultimately failed. Cleansing the wasteland was extraordinarily difficult and fraught with setbacks. The returns simply did not justify the cost. The pioneering outposts painstakingly established in the early days were often destroyed by toxic dust storms and monsters before they could produce anything. In the end, the Ansu Royal Family withdrew all pioneering teams and halted at the northern side of the Dark Mountains.

Then, as the kingdom's northern regions grew ever more prosperous and diplomatic ties were established with the Violet Kingdom, the kingdom's center of gravity shifted further north. Coupled with the Mist Month Civil War one hundred years ago, during which the Cecil Family of the south collapsed overnight, the situation in the south deteriorated and regressed even further. By now, the entire Dark Mountains region and most of the surrounding land had become nearly indistinguishable from the wasteland.

Even the wasteland's breath, carried over the mountains by the wind, had corrupted the plains north of the range.

But Gawain merely smiled faintly. "I faced worse conditions back then. When it comes to political struggles and intrigue, perhaps I am no match for you younger generations. But when it comes to fighting the harshness of nature, you are absolutely no match for me."

Whether it was true or not, he would brag as if it were true first.jpg.

Since Gawain himself was so confident, the others naturally stopped worrying on his behalf. To the king and the other nobles, whether Gawain Cecil could truly establish himself in the south was never their concern. What they cared about most was when this hot potato would finally leave the royal capital. Since Gawain had voluntarily chosen some godforsaken place far from everyone, what else was there to say?

Send the old ancestor out of the capital already!

If they had not still needed to settle a few details, Francis II would practically have prepared a carriage for Gawain and his whole family by now...

After securing the most important matter of Pioneer Rights, Gawain took the opportunity to have Francis II acknowledge several other "minor, insignificant matters."

First, Gawain Cecil's ducal title had to remain in effect, but for the time being, it would exist only as his personal honor and could not be inherited by any descendants—unless, when Gawain died again, no mistake there, the Cecil Family had truly opened up vast lands in the south or earned some other merit. At that point, the title his descendants deserved would be determined according to their lands and achievements.

This was, in truth, an awkward compromise, born from the contradiction between Gawain Cecil's ducal title and that incident from one hundred years ago. No one dared strip the Founding Grand Duke of his title, but they also could not allow a viscount family to leap directly into becoming a ducal house. Thus, they had no choice but to compromise. Frankly speaking, this did not conform to a single law enacted since Ansu's founding—but what logic could one possibly argue with a man who had climbed out of a coffin?

The old ancestor would not even discuss physics with you anymore, and you still wanted to reason with him!?

Anyone with eyes could see that this so-called "temporarily non-hereditary" arrangement was merely a way to stall for time and offer the existing noble system an explanation.

Furthermore, the Ansu Royal Family would fully recognize the Cecil Family's complete right to self-governance over the newly opened lands—just as the Founding Ancestor had recognized the autonomy of every Pioneer Territory.

Together with a number of miscellaneous agreements, Gawain ultimately obtained the outcome he wanted.

A state within a state where no one would disturb him.

In fact, these matters had long since been decided. When Prince Edmund had visited in advance, Gawain had already made contact with the king. What happened in Oak Hall now was merely a formality.

No one present objected to any of this. The Cecil Family was heading into a barren land to pioneer it, and no matter how much territory they opened up, it would not affect any existing family's vested interests. Since there was no conflict of interest, nominal conflicts were easy enough to resolve.

Francis II signed a new Pioneer Document on the spot, declaring under ancient law that the Cecil Family would possess Pioneer Rights over all land centered on the Dark Mountains and extending to the nearest fiefs of any surrounding kingdoms. He also announced that necessary support would be provided for this pioneering effort—including a team of one hundred craftsmen and Mage Apprentices, as well as the food and cloth needed for the Pioneer Territory's first year.

The craftsmen and apprentices would work in the Pioneer Territory for three years. After those three years, they could choose freely whether to stay or leave. However, if anyone chose to remain, the Cecil Family would need to "purchase" them from the royal family at thirty Gold Shield Coins per person.

This support was not much, but Gawain was already very satisfied. For the currently impoverished Cecil Family, it would solve their most urgent needs.

The gold, silver, and metal ingots in the Mountain Treasury could not directly become food, nor could they become skilled craftsmen. In this long era of peace, when the word "pioneering" had become distant history, no one was willing to leave their secure homeland and clear wilderness beside the Gondor Wasteland. Those hundred craftsmen and apprentices would be the most valuable assets.

It could also be said that this was the goodwill Francis II expressed on behalf of the Ansu Royal Family toward Gawain, in gratitude for the Founding Grand Duke's recognition of his bloodline.

The deal was complete, and everyone was satisfied. After a transaction that pleased both sides, a banquet was indispensable.

Oak Hall was sealed off once more, while a grand feast was held in the castle's second-floor banquet hall. Fine wine and exquisite dishes were placed upon the dining table. The king and his most trusted nobles would celebrate the return of a legendary hero here. Many nobles whose names Gawain did not even know, and who had no idea where they had been hiding, suddenly emerged all at once. The banquet hall was extraordinarily lively.

Those newly emerged nobles had not been qualified to enter Oak Hall, but they had been qualified to learn the meeting's results at once. They had waited for half a day in lounges throughout Silver Castle. Only when attendants ran into the banquet hall and rang the bronze bells to prepare for the celebration did they appear with smiles on their faces.

This was Rebecca's first time attending such an occasion. This impoverished young lady of a lord's house had never entered such a splendid place in all her life. Moreover, because the entire noble circle had shunned the Cecil Family, she had rarely attended a proper banquet growing up. The grandest feast she remembered was the lively celebration her father had held in the castle for her sixteenth birthday, but even that had only consisted of a long table piled with food.

It could not compare to the feast at Silver Castle at all.

Long tables laden with food and wine for anyone to enjoy lined the entire hall. The center was reserved for ladies and gentlemen to dance, while a lavishly dressed orchestra played on a platform to one side. Mages cast spells from the hall's four corners, continuously creating beautiful glimmers of light and falling snow in the air—using precious mages to produce such festive illusions was simply unimaginable to Rebecca.

His Majesty the King... was so rich.

At first, Rebecca tried hard to keep a straight face and appear mature and composed. But before long, her girlish nature overwhelmed the little composure she had forced on herself. She clutched Gawain's hand and asked him question after question, while Gawain answered with a smile, spinning nonsense based on his memories and a transmigrator's imagination.

Rebecca's country-bumpkin behavior could not escape the notice of those great nobles, who had long since sharpened their eyes. Yet they showed no disdain for this young lord from the countryside—perhaps they felt some inwardly, but Gawain Cecil stood beside Rebecca the entire time. This "guardian," who never left her side, forced everyone to restrain any contempt, and at least maintain a smile before Rebecca.

Then several young men came over and invited Rebecca to dance. They probably believed that the Cecil Family, now that it had gained an ancestral pillar, possessed some potential value worth cultivating. Yet Gawain turned every one of them away.

What a joke. With Rebecca's brain as though it had been caught in a door and her stubborn, headstrong personality, she could barely manage in the southern region. If she dealt with this pack of monkey-clever people in the royal capital, would she not sell out the entire family in an instant?

"Overprotection will not help children grow," a gentle male voice said from beside him. "Viscount Rebecca is already an adult. You should let her interact more with high society's social circles."

Gawain turned and saw Baldwin Franklin, Grand Duke of the West, standing behind him. Standing with Baldwin was Victoria Wilde, Grand Duke of the North.

"I died young back then, so I do not have much experience raising children." Gawain shrugged, speaking without the slightest concern.

Baldwin: "..."

Victoria: "..."

"Besides, I think that even if I did not stop her, Rebecca would have no time to pay attention to anyone else."

As Gawain spoke, he pointed at his N+1th-generation great-granddaughter. The young viscountess was currently sprawled beside a nearby long table, stuffing herself with food...

"She truly is... uninhibited." Duke Baldwin said dryly.

Gawain smiled and looked toward Victoria Wilde, who stood beside them with an indifferent expression and had not said a word. "Rather than discussing how to educate descendants, I have a few questions for this young lady of the Verde family."