The Tournament and the Banquet

On the makeshift tournament grounds.

Two Green Forest Warriors crashed into each other, fighting with relatively crude weapons.

Neither wore armor. Their well-developed muscles, fearsome scars, and various tattoos were on full display.

"Tattoo" wasn't quite the right word. Aaron knew that the ancient Green Forest Warriors liked to paint simple patterns on their bodies and faces using green or blue dye.

Even now, the custom persisted in the Green Forest.

Aaron didn't think a fellow with a face painted in patches of green and blue looked particularly terrifying, but supposedly it was an effective way to intimidate the enemy.

Once, these "Green Barbarians" had been the nightmare of the northern lords of the Kagash Kingdom!

Bang!

While Aaron was distracted, one of the bearded warriors had already knocked his opponent down with a stone axe. He roared at the crowd below the platform, flexing his muscles.

"Excellent!"

On the dais, Theodore raised a hand and announced loudly, "The winner of this tournament is Murdoch, from the Barren Lands!"

Aaron glanced around, bored. Lady Sonia, Ginny, Sean, and even Colin were seated in the best spot on the dais, with the clearest view.

This tournament had mainly been held to celebrate the birth of the new heir.

It was worth mentioning that Sylvie had also survived. According to Ginny, she was recovering very well and showed no signs of postpartum infection or other complications. It seemed the allicin had helped.

In truth, Aaron hadn't been very confident at the time. He could only say that she'd been lucky.

Night fell.

A grand banquet was held in the castle.

A golden-brown roast suckling pig sat in the middle of the long table, an apple in its mouth, surrounded by all sorts of sumptuous dishes.

Aaron held a glass of wine, not particularly fond of the noisy atmosphere.

The nobles of this era were quite uninhibited, after all. Even a banquet was a fine place to mingle.

Some men and women who had just met were already flirting heatedly, barely able to wait. They were even arranging to meet in the garden or a servant's room...

All in all, it was a den of vice.

And among them were more than a few knight's daughters—and even knights' wives—who wanted to "hunt" Aaron and were showering him with attention. It was beginning to wear on him.

"Haha, my boy, you're still as shy as ever. You can't handle this sort of gathering."

Theodore came over with a hearty laugh. The people around them moved aside, evidently aware that the Count wanted a private chat with his second son.

"You should learn from Colin. He knows how to handle himself."

Starting a conversation about women was an easy way to put men at ease.

Still, Aaron felt that Theodore's choice of opening line was polite and showed a degree of respect.

He smiled slightly. "Colin is an excellent heir. Well, he could stand to be a little more humble... Father, did you want something?"

The direct question made Theodore frown. After a moment, he said, "You're seventeen now. It's time to consider marriage. And... according to the customs in the Kagash Kingdom, a count can grant lesser noble titles. Perhaps you should ask for a title as well. It won't give you any more land, but it would sound impressive."

In the Kagash Kingdom, barons and viscounts didn't have the authority to create nobles—not even knights.

Only a count or higher had that power. Counts were therefore seen as the true rulers of their own territories, the threshold of the high nobility.

Of course, if a baron or viscount insisted on creating nobles and carving up their own lands, their petition would still be approved.

If they had a count as their overlord, he would handle the approval.

If not, they answered directly to the king, and the report would go straight to his desk.

In most cases, the high nobles wouldn't refuse. After all, it weakened the lesser nobles.

Things were somewhat different in the Green Forest, of course.

The land was vast and sparsely populated. In truth, many knights held territories large enough to make their counterparts elsewhere in the kingdom jealous.

Take Aaron, for example. His land could still be expanded through cultivation, and its area was comparable to that of a barony elsewhere in the kingdom. It simply didn't have enough people.

The same had been true of Theodore. He preferred to call himself a lord rather than a baron or noble.

So Aaron knew this wasn't what Theodore truly wanted to discuss.

Ever since taking control of the Green Forest, Theodore seems to have changed a little. More politically minded, perhaps?

He kept the thought to himself and said, "It would be my greatest honor to receive a title from you, Father. But I haven't yet found a lady I truly care for..."

"That's a shame. But perhaps you could consider one of the 'sheep girls' from the Kagash Kingdom?" Theodore suggested.

The lords of the Kagash Kingdom were timid and poor fighters. Green Forest nobles often mocked them as Sheep Men, so naturally their daughters were called sheep girls.

"A political marriage?"

Aaron smiled. "If you want to fully integrate with the Kagash Kingdom, that would be a good way to do it..."

"I'm still considering it. Feli suggested it to me, but something about it doesn't sit right. It feels like a trap."

Theodore said.

If this had been before, he wouldn't have needed to discuss Aaron's marriage with his son. He would have simply arranged it and informed him afterward.

But Aaron now had another status: he was Theodore's vassal. That meant they had to consult with each other.

Aaron sensed that this was only a secondary reason for the conversation. Amused, he played along and chatted with Theodore for a while.

At last, Theodore seemed to mention casually, "I heard you're using a new farming method on your land, along with something called fertilizer, which can double the yield per acre. You've always been good at inventing things. The paper you made is already selling well across the kingdom, and traveling merchants are snapping it up..."

So that's what this is really about.

Aaron nodded inwardly, his expression unchanged. "It's only a minor improvement. If you're interested, Father, I can have a proper talk with your agricultural steward."

Theodore's expression immediately turned serious. "How could I possibly covet something belonging to my own son and vassal?"

But as Aaron continued to persuade him, his expression gradually softened.

After returning to his room not long afterward, Aaron chuckled. "Is this what all feudal lords have in common? They always want to gather every good thing into their own hands?"

"But I got what I wanted, too."

That evening, he and Theodore had struck a "political bargain." More specifically, Aaron had traded advanced farming techniques for complete freedom over his choice of spouse.

Theodore had hinted at the end that as long as Aaron didn't marry a peasant girl and cause public outrage, he could marry whomever he wanted—or wait a while longer.

Aaron felt relieved. He didn't want Theodore arranging his marriage for him by force, the way he had with Colin.

Then, looking toward the crack in the doorway, he suddenly smiled. "Tia, come in!"