The bonfire burned.
Everyone's attention had shifted from Eric to Charles.
Russell spoke calmly, "Charles, my tutor and a capable assistant in governing my territory. Although your Battle Aura has withered and you can no longer fight alongside me on the snowfields, your diligent work has resolved my worries at home."
He paused.
Giving Charles, and everyone else, time to take it in.
Then Russell continued, "You may be unable to earn military merit, but you are still my loyal follower and have made tremendous contributions. So tonight, I, Russell Fluorite Mushroom, will likewise share my glory with my follower Charles."
Having said that.
Russell looked at Charles, who was shocked, disbelieving, and dazed, and understood how he felt at that moment.
He had long revealed his intention to grant Eric a title, but he had never mentioned it to Charles.
And Charles had never dreamed of being granted a title. His plan had been to train his son, let him continue following Russell, and fight for a chance to be ennobled.
Because he himself did not meet the requirements for enfeoffment.
Other than the second sons of High Nobles, any knight who wished to be granted a title first had to become a Great Knight and contract a Phantom Beast.
If one could not even contract a Phantom Beast, how could one protect one's own manor?
Charles had never imagined it.
Tonight, when he should have been disappointed, he could actually share in Lord Russell's glory like Eric, a Phantom Beast Knight. And he would even rank ahead of Phantom Beast Knights such as Grove and Katie, becoming the second lord under Baron Thunderflame.
"My lord!" Charles did not hesitate in the slightest. The instant Russell finished speaking, he dropped to one knee.
Tears could not be held back