Chapter 33

Visas lay at the very edge of the Gadayat Kingdom, quite far from the royal capital, Kaies.

Therefore, by the time Cyrus arrived at the royal capital, nearly more than half of Gadayat's lords had already gathered there.

The remaining lords also arrived at Kaies shortly after Cyrus entered the palace.

Gadayat had a total of fifteen cities and nineteen lords.

On the Western Continent, only those who owned land were qualified to be called lords. One did not necessarily need to own a city or a castle to become a lord.

A single city could have two lords.

A high lord was the highest ruler within his territory, while lesser lords were estate holders granted portions of land as fiefs by the high lord.

This "land" could be a village within a city, a monastery, a plantation, and so on.

Put simply, lesser lords were trusted "officials" appointed by high lords within their own cities to help manage various affairs.

Such lesser lords were equivalent to low-ranking local officials in ancient China, perhaps seventh or ninth rank. The difference was that everything concerning those Chinese local officials, including life and death, was personally decided by the emperor.

On the Western Continent, however, everything concerning a lesser lord, including life and death, was decided by the high lord who had granted him land.

For example.

Cyrus owned two cities, making him a high lord.

If he were to grant Ferdinand a village in Visas or Komoy Fort as a fief.

Ferdinand would have the right to enjoy the taxes paid to him by the people of that village, and he would not need to pay taxes to Cyrus.

A lesser lord could be a knight without a title or noble birth, or he could be a baron or viscount holding the lowest noble titles.

Yet some nobles with the lowest titles might not even own any land.

Count was the dividing line and above.

In other words, a high lord who owned a city had to be a noble of count rank or above.

Generally speaking, it was rare for a lesser lord to be enfeoffed within a city. Only those extremely close to a high lord could enjoy the right to possess a fief.

Gadayat's nineteen lords gathered in the royal palace.

Apart from Cyrus, that little bean sprout, everyone was an adult and tall in stature.

They wore naturally draping garments, mostly in black and white, to show their respectful mourning for the king.

The collars, sleeves, and hems of their clothes were sewn with all kinds of decorative patterned trim.

Belts were cinched around their waists, slightly loose white trousers covered their legs, and tall black boots extended down from their knees, making their overall bearing appear elegant and slender.

Cyrus wore a pair of little black boots.

He lowered his head to look at the white robe he was wearing. It was decorated with delicate golden wave-patterned lace and polished single-row gold buttons, while the collar and cuffs were all set with understated, inconspicuous gemstone clasps.

On the Western Continent, lords wearing expensive clothing signified respect for the royal family.

Before entering the royal capital, Judas had personally pinned the emblem of Desinia's Thorn Rose onto Cyrus's chest.

Cyrus was one of the few count lords in Gadayat who owned two cities.

The moment he stepped into the royal hall, he drew many openly curious and covertly appraising gazes.

Bass Riches stood at the front.

His solemn black robe made the sharp, imposing air around him all the more apparent.

More than half of the surrounding lords clustered around him, while the others stood distinctly apart to the side or spoke among themselves.

Only Walker followed behind Cyrus.

After finding a place to stand, he said quietly, "The lords must mourn the king for three days before they can return to their territories."

"After three days, the new king will also ascend the throne. Which clergyman from the church will conduct the new king's coronation ceremony?"

He did not know much about such matters.

Walker said, "The highest-ranking clergyman in the royal capital is Bishop Bolton."

"It may be him, though it is also possible that a bishop's deputy will preside over the new king's coronation."

The Holy See's highest authority was the Pope. Beneath him, in descending rank, were cardinals, archbishops, high bishops, bishops, bishop's deputies, priests, deacons, and subdeacons.

Those of bishop rank and above, including bishops themselves, could be appointed by the Pope and assigned as administrators to churches and temples in various countries.

Bishop's deputies and the others each performed their respective duties and assisted in coordination.

As the two spoke, Bass Riches approached with several people.

"I heard that Count Desinia bought all the slaves from the Trak Kingdom from the Nagabi Merchant Guild. I wonder how they are serving you now?"

Cyrus turned his head and said flatly, "They are adequate, but I don't believe this is something that should trouble Your Grace."

Bass Riches said, "I merely sympathize with a count so young having to manage two cities."

Cyrus said, "It's all right. After all, I also sympathize with Your Grace having to manage the finances of the entire royal capital at such an advanced age."

"..."

The corner of Bass Riches's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

The lords who had come with him had initially worn expressions of eager amusement, but now they all pursed their lips somewhat strangely, staring at Cyrus in surprise.

Bass Riches darkened his face and said nothing more.

However, a middle-aged man dressed as a noble behind him suddenly spoke.

But he was speaking to Walker.

"Why didn't you come home to visit first after returning to the royal capital? Must I invite you myself?"

Walker lowered his head slightly, called him Father, and then said, "Since His Majesty the King has given me to Lord Desinia, I naturally have to put my lord first in all things."

"Please rest assured. Once the banquet is over, I will return home to visit you and my brother..."

This middle-aged man following behind Bass Riches was Walker's father—Harry William.

He was a marquis.

Standing beside Harry William was a young man whose features somewhat resembled Walker's. His temperament was rather gloomy, and throughout the entire exchange, he acted as though Cyrus and Walker did not exist.

He was Walker's elder brother, Keith William.

Yet even after leaving with Bass Riches and the others, he did not say a single word to Walker.

Old King Duke's only son hosted the banquet.

The next day marked the beginning of the formal mourning ceremony for Old King Duke in the church.

The banquet ended.

Walker escorted Cyrus back to his residence in the royal capital. Only after seeing Judas lead the young count indoors did he turn and leave.

When he returned to his former home, only the butler came out to greet him.

The butler said, "Young Master Walker, the Marquis and Young Master Keith are discussing matters in the study."

"The Marquis said that if you returned, you were to go directly to your room and rest."

He removed Walker's armor, placing each piece separately on the iron rack beside them. He also took off his sword and hung it on the wall.

Walker nodded and said calmly, "I understand."

He then slowly returned to his old room.

Perhaps because the servants had tidied it in advance, the room that had not been occupied for a long time was not too dusty. Everything remained in its original place, unchanged in the slightest.

Walker walked around the room once, then lay back on the bed with a slightly bored expression, using his arm as a pillow and crossing one leg over the other.

After a while.

As if remembering something, he turned to look out the window and pulled a wicked grin.

Walker's room was on the far left side of the third floor, while his father Harry's study was in the middle of the second floor.

The ledge built along the outside of the windows was broad enough for a person to stand sideways, making it difficult to fall.

If he climbed out through his window, he only needed to grab the protrusions and railings on the wall to safely reach the ledge outside Harry William's study.

Walker had often climbed through windows like this for fun when he was in his teens.

At first, he could still overhear his father and elder brother discussing how Walker William was disobedient, spent all day associating with lowly commoners, lacked every bit of conduct, etiquette, and propriety a noble ought to possess, and was utterly useless...

From that day on, Walker began distancing himself from commoners and worked hard to learn how to become an outstanding knight.

When he finally became better than his elder brother Keith, what he received was his father's indifferent attitude and his brother's even more estranged distance...

Walker had then thought that he might as well just be himself.

Still, this "excellent" habit of climbing through windows had not disappeared.

Walker rose from the bed and slipped out the window. With light, swift steps, he climbed down to the second floor, placing both feet on the ledge outside Harry William's study and pressing his back tightly against the wall.

The two were indeed still discussing matters.

They were talking about arrangements for tomorrow's mourning ceremony at the church, as well as the state of martial law within the royal capital.

Walker listened for a while and found it boring.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard Keith say, "Father, since you have already chosen to stand with His Grace the Duke, when do you plan to tell Walker..."

Walker frowned in confusion. Tell him what?

Harry William said, "He seems quite loyal to that Desinia."

"If he had returned home as soon as he arrived in the royal capital, I might have considered telling him about this matter. But now..."

Harry William paused before continuing, "His Grace's plan is to control all the lords. Once the members of the royal family are killed, they will be threatened into supporting His Grace's ascension to the throne."

"But His Grace does not intend to leave Desinia alive."

"Since Walker is at Desinia's side, not a single hint can be revealed to him..."

Walker's eyes widened in shock. His heart lurched, and he lost his balance. The hand gripping the wall nearly slipped, sending him falling, but he managed to catch the crack in the wall in time.

A thin layer of cold sweat instantly covered his back.

Harry William and Keith William did not notice anything outside the window and continued discussing the matter.

Harry said, "Tomorrow, I will find an excuse to prevent Walker from going out. You will be responsible for watching him at home. Everything will be over before the mourning for the late king on the third day."

"Yes, I understand, Father," Keith William said.

Only after the two left the study, after the study lights went out and the room had fallen completely silent, did Walker slowly relax his stiff fingers and legs.

He closed his eyes and silently let out a breath, then steadied himself and returned to his room.

As the night deepened, Walker feared making even the slightest sound and waking anyone. He even abandoned his armor, taking only his sword as he silently slipped back to Cyrus's residence in the royal capital.