Rewards

You killed a werewolf, unlocking the milestone: The Witcher (kill any three dark creatures, including werewolves, vampires, demons, and banshees). Completed: 1/3

You witnessed a Witch, unlocking the milestone: Witch Hunter (exchange bodily fluids with more than three Witches). Incomplete

You successfully obtained your first Champion Knight title. Milestone: Champion Knight. Completed: 1/3

A series of milestone notifications flashed through Lothar's mind.

Before acquiring a fief, the only way to earn more card draws was to focus on milestones.

Witch Hunter could be set aside for now. Any Witch who chose to pledge allegiance served either a great lord or, at the very least, a Vassal Lord like Count Leopold.

Further up the hierarchy were two prime examples: Richard the Lionheart and Henry, Emperor of Greater Germania.

Their standards were high.

Besides, Lothar had no interest in those Witches.

The red-robed Witch at Count Leopold's side was probably beautiful too, but compared to Prajna, she fell far short. Skin alone made the comparison impossible.

Aside from Witch Hunter.

The Champion Knight and Chivalrous Knight milestones were worth completing as soon as possible.

The former required earning the Champion Knight title twice more. If no opportunity arose in Venice, he could do it after reaching Jerusalem.

The latter was much simpler.

This era was full of bandits and highwaymen, especially the nomadic raiders near the Holy Land. They were as countless as flies. He would never lack opportunities to encounter them.

The Witcher milestone was more difficult.

After all, they were supernatural beings, skilled at hiding among ordinary people, making them hard to identify.

Besides, even if he could identify them, killing them would be difficult. Prajna was powerful, but her strengths did not lie in speed or destructive power.

The scent of incense made him somewhat drowsy.

Near evening, the bathhouse, built in the style of the Ancient Empire rather than the Middle Ages, was far better lit. Bright moonlight streamed through the windows in the dome and spilled across the marble floor.

Swish—

The sound of water woke Lothar with a start. He then saw a beautiful maid in gauze swimming toward him like a mermaid.

"Who are you?"

"I am Natz, Your Majesty's head maid."

Paddling through the water, the maid slowly approached with a seductive look. "You seem dissatisfied with the gift we arranged for you earlier, so I can only serve you personally."

Lothar understood at once.

Seeing that he had not touched the maid assigned to attend him, the head maid had come personally.

He hurriedly shook his head. "Forgive me, I am not dissatisfied. It is only that I swore to the Heavenly Father to remain chaste. Before I drive out the infidels around the Holy Land, I will not approach women."

"Is that so?"

She could not help lowering her gaze toward the water.

"Absolutely true!"

Lothar did his best to empty his mind and keep his blood from rushing downward.

"You truly are a devout knight of the Heavenly Father. I have offended you."

The head maid rose to her feet. Beneath the water-soaked gauze, every alluring curve was clearly visible.

She slowly stepped out of the bath and pointed to a folded set of clothes by the pool. "Please change into formal attire and accompany me to meet Your Majesty. I will wait outside."

Lothar changed into a fitted black formal suit adorned with purple tassels, then followed the head maid deeper into the castle.

Purple dye was exceedingly precious in both East and West. In the Western world especially, almost no one besides the wealthy nobles of the Eastern Empire could afford purple robes.

Thus, even a tiny purple tassel had become an important ornament for displaying wealth.

The road from the bathhouse to the castle was entirely paved with marble slabs. Along the way, well-equipped soldiers could occasionally be seen patrolling.

Lienz was not Count Leopold's seat of rule. At most, it was a secondary residence. Vienna was his true stronghold.

Count Leopold's wealth was plain to see.

At that moment, the castle's iron gate creaked open as it was drawn up by a winch.

Count Leopold stood at the gate and said warmly to Lothar, "Well, little Lothar? Are you satisfied with the gift I prepared?"

Lothar replied somewhat stiffly, "Of course I am."

"Ha, there is no need to be nervous. I barely recognized you at first glance. Back then, your father and I led troops eastward together. We were very good friends. I even held you when you were little."

Leopold patted Lothar on the shoulder, signaling for him to follow.

As they walked, he said, "Werner is a rigid old fossil. Since you are his son, it seems you have unknowingly caught the same bad habit."

"We are close. There is no need to be so formal."

Lothar smiled. "Indeed."

Indeed, he was good at winning people over.

Lothar did not recall Count Werner ever mentioning any close friendship with Leopold.

"When do you intend to accept my investiture? The heralds and craftsmen are ready to create your personal coat of arms, Baron of Vienna Forest Mountain."

Leopold asked with a smile.

Lothar was somewhat stunned. "You intend to invest me as a baron?"

Leopold looked at him with open appreciation. "Of course, but not merely as a baron. I also intend to have you remain at my side as my personal knight."

"This was the reward I promised before the tournament. I am not one to make empty promises."

Lothar hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, your generosity is well known, but I set out this time intending to sail from Venice to the Holy Land and fight the infidels. I cannot fulfill the obligations of a vassal."

The title "Your Majesty" was not used strictly. Many lords' retainers and slaves used it to address their liege, and this became more common the farther east one went.

As for Leopold's reward.

It truly was tempting.

But nothing came free. A vassal had feudal obligations, and Lothar could not possibly remain in Austria as a minor baron.

That would mean he would likely remain a baron for the rest of his life.

After all, he had no avenue for expansion into neighboring lands. He could only serve Count Leopold and hope the man would generously grant him new fiefs.

That possibility was slim.

Leopold was only a count himself. Granting a barony was already the limit.

He could hardly imitate some General Lu and rebel, killing his lord. That would utterly ruin his reputation.

Leopold waved a hand. "I know all that, but do not refuse so quickly. Recently, I have been seeking to elevate the Austrian March into the Duchy of Austria. If I succeed, then so long as you perform well, I will consider investing you as a count, on equal footing with your father."

Lothar drew a deep breath. "Forgive me, Your Majesty. I would dearly like to agree to your generous offer at once, but my faith prevents me from breaking my sacred oath."

"Your Majesty, you should know that I once swore to defend the Holy Land and fight the infidels."

Leopold frowned, his expression turning cold.

"Little Lothar, do you know what an immense honor this is? If you had not happened to expose Avelardo, who was disguised as a werewolf, before so many people, you might have remained nothing but a knight for your entire life!"

For an ordinary knight, that was indeed true.

The vast majority of landless knights died while striving to win merit and establish themselves.

Of those who remained, quite a few would perish in their continued efforts to distinguish themselves. Another large portion would live out mediocre lives as minor lords.

Lothar shook his head. "I know. Thank you again for your generosity, but please forgive me, I cannot accept."

Leopold remained silent for a long time. His overwhelming majesty even made Lothar feel afraid.

It was like his school days, standing meekly before the dean of discipline.

Then—

"Hahaha, you truly are Werner's son. You have exactly his temperament."

All seriousness vanished from Leopold's face, replaced by hearty laughter. "Do not worry, little Lothar. I too am a devout follower of the Heavenly Father. How could I be angry at your piety?"

"On the contrary, I will fund you. Once you have established yourself in Jerusalem, write to me, and I will send people to transport supplies to aid you."

Seeing Lothar's astonished expression, he patted Lothar's shoulder again. "In any case, there will always be a place for you under my banner, when you return from the Holy Land."

Lothar smiled. "My deepest thanks. But does Your Majesty not also intend to travel to the Holy Land for the eastern campaign? Perhaps we may yet fight side by side."

"Indeed. Once I settle affairs at home, as well as the matters involving His Majesty the Emperor and His Holiness the Pope, I will lead my army out. When that time comes, let me see how skilled you are at commanding troops in battle."

The two exchanged pleasantries for quite some time, host and guest both thoroughly pleased, before finally bidding each other farewell.

Leopold watched Lothar leave, standing beside the castle torches without speaking for a long while.

The red-robed Witch came to his side and smiled. "Even that failed to recruit him. Hah, with a Witch at his side, he is not as devout as he claims."

Leopold nodded. "Indeed. He is a man of ambition and ability. An ordinary person could not defeat a werewolf head-on."

"And Jerusalem is clearly his best stage."

"In that city, even a beggar from Paris might one day transform into a noble lord."

The Witch's vivid red lips curved into a charming smile. "Since he cannot be made one of ours, form an alliance with him. It will at least somewhat compensate for the loss of the werewolf knight I prepared for you."

Leopold snorted coldly. "Silence. How dare you utter such blasphemy before me? I will never coexist with evil werewolves!"

"Enough. Why put on an act before me? You are a practical man. So long as it can help the Babenberg family rise, you would use werewolves, vampires, even demons without hesitation."

The Witch's pale arm curled around Leopold's waist like a boneless serpent. "Use them without fear. With me here, no one can turn their backlash upon you."

Leopold seized the Witch's arm. A trace of infatuation flashed across his face, but he quickly regained his clarity. "How strong is the Witch beside Lothar? Compared with you?"

The Witch gave a soft snort. "What, have you taken an interest in her?"

Leopold shook his head. "How could that be? I merely want to use this to judge Lothar's potential, so I can consider how much I should invest in him."

The Witch nodded and said gravely, "I do not know, but she is certainly very powerful. She is not much weaker than those two old women in the Witch's Tower."

"I understand."

"You're back."

Prajna sat in a chair at the inn. Hearing Lothar enter, she merely raised her head slightly.

"Thank you for today."

"No need for thanks."

Prajna shook her head and looked Lothar over from head to toe. Her nose twitched lightly, and only then did her faintly furrowed brows relax—there were none of those strange scents.

Lothar hesitated, then asked, "Prajna, if I truly had been unable to defeat Avelardo during the day, would you have intervened?"

Prajna lowered her eyes and did not answer.

If Lothar had failed to use his talent to turn the tables at the last moment, she would still have acted at the crucial juncture.

Rules were rules.

Breaking them would make Lothar's future path far more difficult, but that assumed he still had a future.

But she would never say such things aloud. Without tempering himself between life and death, if he always believed that Prajna would save him, Lothar would never grow into a lord she could truly trust.

Seeing Prajna remain silent, Lothar said thoughtfully, "I understand."