Knight and Wand

Chapter 156: Golden Lion and Falling Kite

It was the afternoon after dinner at the manor house.

As usual, Theresa left the house carrying two large baskets and went to the Selva village market to pick vegetables from several small stalls.

In the not-so-big open space of the village market, behind the stalls selling firewood, coal, tools, clothes, food and vegetables, except for the occasional young and strong people from each family who come to help, all the people in charge are young village women and girls.

In Selvane, apart from the new refugees from the west and passers-by, there are almost no local old people and old women in the villages and towns.

Of course, Theresa already knew the unfortunate reason behind this scene.

The village that seemed to be thriving now actually experienced a tragedy similar to that of himself and others a few months ago.
A stall owner girl wearing a headscarf saw the beautiful lady with big chestnut braids and knew that she must be here to buy food for the lord's family again, so she quickly greeted her cleverly.

"Ms. Treya! Come and see what I'm growing. These are all freshly picked vegetables today!"

When Treya heard the shouting, she stopped in front of the stall of the girl with the headscarf.

The daughter of a border knight born in the Feru Mountains is not ignorant of the different types of grains. During this period, she has also learned to distinguish the local vegetables in Orland.

After carefully looking through the stalls, I saw that the ingredients were indeed fresh, so I didn't look for another stall. I said to the stall owner according to today's menu: "Please give me four bundles of redroot vegetables, two handfuls of garlic grass, and two bundles of green cypress bamboo shoots."

After the stall girl filled the empty basket with vegetables, Treia paid the money. Looking at the stall girl counting the coins with a look of joy on her face, she couldn't help feeling a little ashamed of herself under her silent expression.

Even these village girls can support themselves, but as the daughter of a knight, she has not yet found a job that she is truly qualified for.

Compared to sister Martha, who is good at numbers and understands business.

Raya has superb painting skills.

Celie and Veresa are proficient in ceremonial dancing, well-informed, and come from upper-class aristocratic families.

There is also Milena, who has officially taken up the position as Selva's doctor.

Treia thought that as the daughter of a country knight, she had no special skills that were more outstanding than her companions.

Her companions also possessed the skills of upper-class etiquette that the Falcon family had taught them, and they all did better than her.

After racking her brains, the only extra ability she had was that she had learned horse riding from her father and, briefly out of curiosity, had danced with swords with her deceased brother.

But that mediocre kung fu was purely for fun at home in the past. Not to mention a real fighter, I'm afraid he couldn't even beat an old farmer in the country with a pitchfork. It couldn't be considered a skill at all.

Now, she thinks of her role as much as possible by doing more housework and errands for everyone every day and taking on more physical work.
Picking up two large vegetable baskets piled high with food, Theresia weighed them.

I had done some housework before, and I was a little stronger than other frail girls, which was barely an advantage in doing housework.

Suddenly, the sound of iron boots' footsteps was heard.

Hearing the voice, Theresia looked towards the street next to the village market.

I saw Elena's younger brother, the tall knight named Lohak, walking out of the village with nine elite warriors wearing heavy armor, black sword-wing robes, blunt swords without sheaths on their waists, and headless spears in their hands.

Treya recognized that, except for Sir Lohak, the rest were guards under Lord Leon. It seemed that they were going to go outside the village with the Knight for daily training.

But she was a little confused.

After a careful look, she discovered that in front of the team of ten heavily armored warriors, and even in front of Sir Lockhark, there was something very strange. The leader was a young girl wearing a peasant corset and with golden hair tied up in a bun.

The blonde girl was younger than himself, but she was also holding a practice spear and had a blunt sword on her waist, as if she was going to participate in military training with those burly knights and warriors.

"Is that Miss Olivia?" Treia murmured.

She had met the daughter of the Centurion of Selva yesterday. After all, she and her companions were living in each other's homes.

The young lady and Sir Leon seemed to be engaged, and she held a special status in the territory.

But why would a delicate girl travel with those warriors?

Come to think of it, it seemed that the other party had returned from the Longka front with the army yesterday.

This is even stranger.

Thereya had never heard of any knight who would bring his fiancée to the battlefield.

In fact, even military camps should be restricted to families, women and children.

Treia, who had terrible memories in Kantadar, felt it was wrong to think about it.

It was impossible for Sir Leon not to understand how dangerous it was for a young girl to be in an army full of rough soldiers.

But it's not just the Lord Knight. The girl's father is the commander of the Selva army. How could he allow his daughter to stay on the front line?
Behind Treia, the stall owner who had put the money in her pocket looked up and saw her playmate from the same village whom she hadn't seen for a month. She greeted her happily: "Olivia~! You're back? Are you okay?"

A blonde girl passing by heard the shouting and looked towards the stall.

She smiled and told her friends in the same village that she was safe: "Of course not. Don't worry, we beat the bad guys led by the wolf to pieces!"

After saying that, Olivia waved her hand and continued to lead Lohak and the warriors away.

Treya heard the conversation between the stall owner and the blonde girl and couldn't help but turn around and ask, "That lady also went to the battlefield?"

"You mean Olivia?" The stall girl turned her head and looked at the beautiful maid from the lord's house in front of her. She thought that she should be hired by the lord from another place. It was normal that she didn't know Olivia's "reputation" after coming to Selva for less than a month.

"Don't underestimate her. You don't know, although Olivia is small, she is the golden girl of our village. Ahem, she is very good at fighting. She can fight better than men. She is so powerful!" The stall owner boasted proudly. She had watched Olivia teach those little hooligans in the village a lesson time and time again since she was a child. She admired her friend very much.

Hearing this, curiosity suddenly grew in Theresia's heart like a weed.

As the daughter of a knight, she knew very well that being able to fight was not the same as being able to go to the battlefield.

While wondering, Theresia carried two large baskets of vegetables back to the lord's house, delivered the ingredients to the kitchen and handed them to the cook Milia and the servants, and then found Elena, the housekeeper of the territory.

"Sister Elena, I want to go shopping in Selva. Can I take an afternoon off today?" Theresa asked.

“Of course, with so many people, the family is not busy. But be careful, many men in the village have returned, and they don’t know your identity yet. Remember to report your name as Lord Leon, and be careful not to get entangled by others.”

Elena did not refuse, but considering the new residents in the west, she reminded him, "Also, just walk around nearby, don't go to the refugee camp outside the village. The people there may not be familiar with the name of the lord. I'm afraid you might run into a rude hooligan who would bully you."

Unlike several daughters of nobles, Elena was born into the middle class. She had grown up seeing hooligans in the dark streets and alleys, and had also heard of some cases of noble girls disappearing because they were left alone.

She knew that no matter how powerful her status was, a weak woman should never expect a name to scare off a stupid villain who was ready to commit violence. There were many people in this world who were so stupid that one could doubt the structure of their brains, and who had no logic or rationality in their thinking. Many irrational hooligans did not think about the consequences of their actions.

This is the case in a big city like the Holy City of Rolandar, let alone a group of refugees with unknown origins.

"Well, I'm just walking around, not going too far, and I have something to protect myself." Treia patted the dagger on her waist.

After saying goodbye to Elena, she left the house and did not go anywhere else. Instead, she went straight in the direction of the team of lord's guards and walked all the way to the village entrance.

From a distance, Treia could see the backs of Knight Lohak and the lord's guards standing in a row in the field not far from the herds of livestock grazing on the other side of the pasture.

But Theresa didn't see Olivia.

It was not until she strolled closer and went around to the side that she saw the blonde girl who was blocked by the tall figures of the soldiers.

The girl held a training spear in her hand, changing and posing neatly from time to time, gesticulating in a very serious manner, and seemed to be telling something to the group of soldiers at the same time.

And those sturdy heavy-armored warriors, like well-behaved students, lowered their heads and listened to the girl's instructions.

Sometimes someone would half-raise their arms obediently, as if they were asking some questions to Olivia.

Stunned, Theresia saw their attitudes towards each other and suddenly felt confused.

This was completely different from what she had expected.

I thought that according to what the stall owner said, no matter how talented this blonde girl was in fighting, she was just learning martial arts from professional fighters.
However, what I see now seems like this petite girl is teaching the soldiers?
Could it be that everyone was intimidated by her status and played with the girl?

This is impossible. After all, even the tall and burly Sir Lohark is listening to the guidance of the blonde girl.

Soon, Olivia's subsequent performance once again refreshed Treia's cognition.

A guard stepped out, holding a spear in his hand, and with a roar, he rushed towards the blonde girl with his spear.

He attacked with such ferocious force that he didn't care at all whether he would hurt the girl or not. The bladeless head of the pole stabbed straight in front of Olivia.

Treia saw it clearly and couldn't help but cover her lips.

Miss Olivia was not fully armed like the guards. The girl's frail body was not wearing any armor at all!
But the next second, the blonde girl changed her posture in a simple and unpretentious manner, swung her long pole and slid closer, blocking the attack while the tip of the girl's counterattack stabbed the guard an inch below his neck guard.

Bang!
There was a loud dull thud as the big man was hit by the spear and fell back, his heavy body taking two steps back.

"! So cool!"

Treya's eyes widened.

One after another, gun barrels clash on the open ground.

After correcting everyone's technical details and answering their questions, Olivia raised the spear in her hand and couldn't help but feel something.

Since she followed the teaching process suggested by Leon, she has become more and more adept at teaching martial arts.

“Hawk, Mr. Potts, Mr. Pavel, you will practice with the three new members and help them familiarize themselves with the basics of the techniques.

Mr. Zabron, Mr. Dardanelles, you can try out the techniques I just used on each other.

Lohak, help Mr. Brunan and correct his bad habits."

After making the arrangements, Leon jokingly said that the "disciples" of the so-called "Olivia School" were free to practice.

The blonde girl with the dignified demeanor of a little teacher relaxed her expression, turned her head and looked at the girl with chestnut hair and pigtails who was looking over here under a tree not far away.

Olivia just met this sister who is two years older than her yesterday and she still remembers her name.

She stuck the gun barrel in the mud and waved over there, saying, "Good afternoon, Miss Treya."

Hearing the other party's greeting, Theresia came back to her senses from witnessing the incredible martial arts. She left the shade of the tree and walked over.

"Good afternoon, Miss Olivia. I'm sorry to bother you. I was just curious, so I stopped to watch." Theresa stepped back, lifted her skirt and bent her knees.

Olivia was slightly stunned, and waved her hands quickly: "Relax, you don't have to salute me, I'm not a noble, just a wild girl from the countryside."

After hearing this, Treia still said respectfully: "Even if you are not a noble now, you will definitely become Lord Leon's wife in the future. As a servant of the Pendragon family, I cannot be disrespectful to the future mistress."

hostess?
Olivia felt a little sweet in her heart when she heard this, and her pretty face flushed.

Why is it that when she came back this time, it seemed like everyone in the village knew about her relationship with Leon?
Even my new friend who just settled in Selva knows it clearly. Who spread this message?
"Ha Qiu~~"

Inside Selvane, a certain unnamed little Lena rubbed her nose.

"Ahem. Anyway, you are a guest and a friend, so you should relax. I am not used to such respect."

Olivia faked a cough to cover up her shyness, and quickly raised her hand and raised her finger to change the subject: "Ms. Treya, you have been watching for so long, are you also interested in martial arts?"

"I?"

Treya blinked.

She wanted to say that she was a weak woman.
But when she looked at the blonde girl, she found that she was half a head shorter than her.

Thereya suddenly felt a desire for this most direct power.

If I had the martial arts of this girl, my father, mother, and brother would
There was an inexplicable sourness behind her eyes, but Treia's expression did not change. She suppressed her sadness and swallowed the painful memories with an indifferent look.

Being rescued is a favor from fate, but how long can this luck last in the future?
Now, apart from this vulnerable skin, she has no other strengths.

The good Lord Larian will eventually leave.

Merciful Lord Leon is not a god who can protect everyone forever.

Living under someone else's roof, if a disaster like the past strikes again and they and their companions become playthings of thugs again, can they ever be as lucky as they are now?
She didn't want to be the kite drowning in the water again.

"Can I learn martial arts, too?"

The chestnut-haired girl asked expectantly, "Can I be as good as you, Miss Olivia?"

(End of this chapter)