Heading to the Fief

The next day.

Aaron strolled along the castle corridor.

The scene from last night had somewhat unsettled him.

The appearance of that Black Sun, especially its ability to broadcast whispers to the "entire world," made him even more wary.

Although those whispers had lasted less than a few minutes before dissipating on their own, it was clear that they would bring further changes to that world.

He needed to think this through carefully.

"Lord Aaron!"

Just then, a voice came from behind; it was the court viscount, Ferry Gato.

"Viscount."

Aaron stopped in his tracks and offered a smile.

"Lord Aaron is truly young and promising... To take a castle with a few dozen men single-handedly, such a magnificent achievement is not far off from the legends of heroes."

Ferry's face was full of smiles. "If I had known beforehand, I would certainly have put in a good word with the King to secure a title for you. I believe a barony or even a viscounty would have been no problem at all."

"The size of a title is meaningless; what matters is the territory and the strength behind it."

Aaron shrugged. "If there is nothing else, I shall be going."

He was too lazy to even participate in his own family's infighting, let alone become a blade for the King.

Watching Aaron's retreating back, Ferry wore a playful expression and muttered to himself, "He won't even engage with me. This Aaron Sothoth is indeed a clever man. It's a pity—you may think that way, but your eldest brother is quite foolish..."

As the King's special envoy, he naturally had other classified missions.

If he could cause internal discord or even a split within the Sothoth Family with just a few words, that would naturally be for the best.

A unified Green Forest did not serve the interests of the Kagash Kingdom!

After the wedding concluded, the ceremony for Aaron's investiture was held while the guests were still present.

Once again under the banyan tree, Theodore bestowed upon Aaron the soil and saplings representing the territory, while tapping his shoulder with the flat of a sword.

"I swear, I shall repay my sovereign with loyalty!"

"I swear, I shall guard this territory with my sword!"

"I swear, I shall uphold honor, today and every day hereafter!"

Dressed in a brand-new knight's uniform, Aaron took his solemn oath. Once he rose to his feet, he was a true knight.

The granted territory was, as expected, the previously decided Blackstone Manor—the former domain of the Wild Bear Saliba—which included a manor, a village, and a large expanse of the surrounding forest.

After completing all this, Aaron took his men and headed straight for the Upper Green Forest.

It is worth mentioning that the maid Tia wished to remain in the castle; Aaron granted her request and gave her a sum of money.

Blackstone Manor.

The manor was large, possessing its own mill, winery, and granary... It was evident that Saliba had meticulously arranged the place.

Now, all of this belonged to Aaron.

"My Lord, according to our investigation, there are about 500 people in the nearby village, and the cultivated land within the territory is approximately 1,000 Ram."

Behind him, Eight-Fingers said respectfully.

The Ram here was a unit of land area in the Green Forest, with one Ram being roughly equivalent to five acres.

"This arable land is still too little. Coupled with the presence of the lord, the poverty of the subjects is inevitable..."

Aaron thought to himself, then said casually, "We must eliminate the effects of the war as soon as possible. Have the fallow land plowed immediately, and replant whatever can be saved... I do not want to see anyone starve on my land this winter. You may temporarily lend some rations to those hungry farmers from my private stores, and have them repay it after next year's harvest."

"You are truly benevolent!" Eight-Fingers exclaimed.

After all, in this era, starving to death in winter was the norm!

"It is my first year as a lord, after all." Aaron shook his head. "Also, what is the response from Sanchez and the others? If they are willing to come, I will accept them as free citizens and grant them one Ram of land each; squad leaders will get double!"

The squad he had worked with previously had decent chemistry, and since they were ready-made manpower, Aaron did not want to let them go.

"I have already contacted them one by one. Baker refused, but Green and Sanchez have expressed interest, along with a dozen other households..."

Eight-Fingers bowed.

Come to think of it, he himself was the first free citizen on this land.

"Good. With these people, my manor should be able to run... Finally, I am still missing a clerk, or rather, a scholar!"

Aaron nodded; he had already made preparations for this.

The scholar within the castle should be able to recommend someone. As long as they could read and understood basic arithmetic and writing, that would suffice; one could not demand too much.

Once he finished dealing with these trivial matters, he could finally devote all his energy to exploring the dream world.

Within the manor, a knight certainly did not live in a castle.

That kind of structure, which combined the functions of a residence, a defensive fortification, and a stronghold, was not something a knight's financial strength could afford to build.

The previous Saliba had merely mobilized his serfs to construct a wooden villa for him.

Now, it naturally belonged to Aaron.

He arrived at the villa, and he was certainly not lacking in maids; the local farmers were very willing to send their daughters into the lord's manor. Even without any benefits, having one less mouth to feed was already a good thing.

"Right, there is one small trouble."

At this moment, outside the villa, a woman of about thirty years old was waiting anxiously, holding two children by her side.

This was Knight Saliba's wife and children—or rather, his widow, as she should be called now.

"Lady Rita..."

Aaron stepped forward, his tone calm: "Have you not left yet?"

"I have... nowhere left to go."

Lady Rita gave a bitter smile. She was likely not Saliba's first wife, yet she remained very young and beautiful. "I was thinking... honorable Knight, perhaps you are in need of a housekeeper?"

Aaron recalled that this lady was likely the daughter of some knight as well.

She could not go back now... it was highly probable that her father or brothers had also resisted the Sothoth Family and died on the battlefield, with their lands completely stripped away.

But at this moment, a weak woman was pleading bitterly, having clearly dressed up for the occasion, and the implications were quite obvious.

Aaron shook his head: "I already have a candidate for housekeeper. If Lady Rita has nowhere to go, you may become a freeman on my territory. I will allocate ten Ram of land to you; you can hire farmers to cultivate it, which should be enough to raise your children to adulthood..."

Rita wanted to say something more, as this clearly did not align with her wishes, but Aaron waved his hand, not intending to entangle himself with this woman.

He had killed her husband, and his family had wiped out hers. Even if she truly harbored no malice, she could absolutely not be trusted!

If it were before, he might have kept her, playing with her slowly while watching the desperate, ugly display once her schemes were exposed.

But now?

He had to focus his heart and mind on pursuing the transcendent and immortality!