In the Magic Black Forest, Loyalty Ceremonies were generally used by non-knights swearing allegiance to a lord.
However, a Loyalty Ceremony required a church priest to be present.
Yveta wanted to wait until they reached a town, then find a priest to perform the ceremony.
Who could have guessed that the witch would pull out a church scripture and confidently insist that she could serve as the witness?
Yveta looked at her doubtfully. "Can you really do that?"
Come on, you're an enemy of the Church—a witch!
The Old Witch patted her chest. "I have no problem with it. I know all the words a priest needs to say during the ceremony."
"And I even have a church scripture."
"Your Grace, I can do everything a priest is supposed to do in this ceremony."
Blackhearted Leili was worried that delaying would invite trouble, too. "Your Grace, we just need to go through the motions. It doesn't matter who plays the priest."
He dropped to one knee at Yveta's feet, his forehead almost touching Yveta's shoe.
Yveta had no choice but to say, "All right."
"Although I don't know why you want to swear allegiance to me, or why you're in such a hurry."
"But if this is what you wish, then I'm willing to help you."
As a Wandering Prince who intended to restore his kingdom, the more people who swore allegiance to him, the better.
He didn't think there was anything wrong with showing some generosity at a time like this.
The Old Witch lowered her voice, trying to make it sound solemn and sacred, though all she managed was something like a crow's caw. "Leili, before the witness of the father of all people, the God of All Things, are you willing to wholeheartedly and unconditionally swear allegiance to your master, Yveta?"
"No matter who Yveta is, will you follow him steadfastly and protect your master's dignity with your life and your sword?"
"I will!" Leili answered without hesitation.
The Old Witch turned to Yveta. "Great Yveta Arthas, before the witness of the God of All Things, are you willing to accept Leili's allegiance?"
"You will reward Leili for his future contributions to you with worldly wealth."
Yveta nodded.
As the lord receiving the oath, he didn't need to say anything during the Loyalty Ceremony.
That was one of the ceremony's peculiarities.
It reflected the difference in status between the two parties.
Next, following the procedure for a Loyalty Ceremony that he remembered, Yveta took the greatsword Black Wolf handed him and lightly tapped Leili three times with the flat of the blade.
The Old Witch closed the church scripture. "Before the witness of the Father of All Gods, the ceremony is complete. Whoever breaks this oath will be spurned by all things. Amen~"
At the final word, the Old Witch even rolled her eyes, looking thoroughly disdainful.
And so, the simple Loyalty Ceremony was complete.
Everyone would take such a ceremony seriously, and it also carried legal weight.
From that moment on, Leili was effectively Yveta's vassal.
If Yveta had any office or title at present, the ceremony would have been more elaborate.
The wording used in the ceremony would also have needed more care.
For example, Leili was a commoner, so he had no surname. And since Yveta had neither office nor title, the Old Witch could only call him "great" as a mark of respect.
It was the best they could manage under the circumstances.
So Yveta felt he needed to acquire some kind of status as soon as possible.
Yveta sighed. It seemed Leili was the first subordinate he had gained since arriving in this world.
Black Wolf and the witch had never sworn a Loyalty Ceremony to him. Black Wolf was merely his hired mercenary, while the Old Witch was more or less being forced to stay by his side.
But now, at last, this Wandering Prince had someone who was truly his own.
After the ceremony, Yveta felt closer to Leili. He asked, "Leili, why were you so determined to swear allegiance to me, and why were you in such a hurry?"
Leili smiled bitterly. "Because I want to become a noble, and my master might be my only chance. My father's generation used to be nobles in the Viscount Ambrose."
"But they chose the wrong side and stood against the great Martini Family. They were stripped of their noble status, and even their surname was taken away."
Leili looked sorrowful and resentful. "I've always wanted to reclaim my noble status. When I was young, I became an adventurer, hoping to join some people in conquering a territory and regain my noble status."
"Regain my surname."
"But reality taught me that it was just wishful thinking."
"During a battle with mercenaries from Pisa City, I injured my foot. Even after it healed, I was still a little lame."
"A lame man couldn't be an adventurer, so I had to sink all my savings into this building and become a small-time merchant here."
"I thought that was how I'd spend the rest of my life, until I met you."
Black Wolf coughed awkwardly.
This man's life's work and last hope had ended up ruined by them.
Yveta offered Leili a few words of comfort.
At that moment, the assassin tied to a wooden pillar behind them suddenly gave a cold laugh.
Yveta looked over in confusion. "Black Wolf, take the gag out of our uninvited guest's mouth. It seems he has something to say."
"Your Highness, this fellow said earlier that he was sent by Jielong, the False Crown Prince of Arthas, to kill you." Black Wolf walked over as he spoke.
Yveta smiled. "Perfect. I'll ask him where that Jielong is now."
As soon as Black Wolf removed the gag, the assassin said with grim resolve, "I'll tell you outright: if I don't return to His Highness Jielong within the allotted time—eight months—and present him with your head, you'll be hunted down by His Highness and his army."
"Restore the kingdom? Hahaha... With just a few of you? Keep dreaming."
"That's the Arthas Kingdom, the most centralized country there is."
"As an assassin born in Arthas, I know you're walking straight to your deaths."
He looked at Leili. "I know you're desperate and just picked some random person to bet on. Too bad you bet on the wrong man. You once thought becoming an adventurer would let you reclaim your surname, and now you've chosen this useless master. That's just another way of deluding yourself."
"It won't do you any good. Hahaha..."
Yveta looked at him in confusion. "If you're from Arthas, you should know the man on the throne is nothing but a usurper."
"Don't you dare speak of His Majesty that way." The assassin seemed to take it as a personal affront. "His Majesty has governed the country extremely well."
"Far better than your father did."
"He let the army engage in trade, and everyone grew rich. He opened up the buying and selling of land, so everyone could make money."
"Under your father's rule, the people of the kingdom had already suffered through war. Now they can finally enjoy life again."
Yveta seized on the key point. "How does your king avoid war?"
"By ceding a few unimportant lands—places where nobody lives." The assassin sneered. "People are the kingdom's most valuable resource. Ceding land could spare the people the suffering of war, yet your father plunged our kingdom into thirty years of misery."
Black Wolf added, "I heard he's already ceded a quarter of the kingdom's land."
The assassin argued, "It's all just forests, deserts, barren wastelands, and uninhabited islands. Giving up those lands doesn't affect anything."
"In fact, he can even exchange that economically worthless territory for real money!"
"At least His Majesty has made us prosperous again! Trade in wool and spices can even reach the Bo River Basin!"
"..." Yveta was speechless.
He had no desire to argue with the assassin, since they saw the world in completely different ways.
In his memories, the land of the Arthas Kingdom had been won back by countless soldiers who gave their lives.
Those border territories were not unimportant. Though they held no economic value, they were strategically vital for defense.
Without those lands, what could the kingdom use to protect its prosperous economic heartland?
They couldn't exactly fight a war in their own wealthiest cities as soon as one broke out.
It seemed the usurper in Arthas only cared about the economic value of the land and ignored its strategic defensive value.
And to revive the economy quickly, he had resorted to letting the army engage in trade and opening up the buying and selling of land—two short-sighted measures that would drain the country's resources.
When the consequences of those two policies came due, they would have a lot to deal with.
You couldn't judge everything by its immediate results.
Before you continue