Knight and Wand

Chapter 176 New Home
After leaving Archers' cell, Leon and the other two did not learn much about the situation in the east from the Kantadar prisoners.

Those former small lords of Glade County had been under Earl Mamor's command for a long time fighting against Trosa's army when Orland initially attacked Kantadar. They learned about King Avilt's withdrawal from the east from the messengers who had asked for help but were refused.

These northern nobles of Kantadar, who had recently left the Mamor army and rushed back to Glade County, knew little about the actual situation on the eastern border.

With some regrets, Leon said goodbye to Balfe, who was also awarded the title of Baron at this time, and led everyone on the journey back home from Glade County.

"Why don't we stop by our fiefdom in Glade?" Even though the investiture ceremony had ended two days ago, Lohak still seemed excited.

Although he and Azerien did not have enough merit to be crowned barons, their military exploits in Lonka still multiplied their fiefdoms several times.

Azerien obtained four knight territories that were similar in size to or even larger than Platon.

Lohak received the small town of Cantadar in County Glade and two knightly fiefs in County Corsos. His number of fiefs seemed to be one less than Azerien's, but the population and annual income of that town were obviously far greater than one or two villages.

As for the fact that there is no land connection between his territory and it spans the north and south of the Nightmare Forest, it is actually normal.

Since becoming a lord, Leon has discovered that the territories of many nobles in this world, especially the minor nobles, are not like some of the coloring games he played in his previous life, where one piece of land is connected to another and the territories are clearly divided like national borders.

There are many examples of a fief in the east and a manor in the west, and this situation is extremely common in all parts of the country.

Even the sphere of influence of the great nobles, while ensuring interdependence as much as possible, could not avoid the formation of enclaves for various reasons, not to mention the small feudal lords under the great feudal lords.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Have you practiced your Urial language well?" Azerien teased him while chatting and laughing.

Lohak scratched the back of his head and said with a wry smile, "You guys are here."

Leon looked at the impatient Lohak, shook his head and advised: "When you go back this time, learn some Uriah from Ms. Veresa and your sister. Our territory is getting bigger and bigger. There will always be a time in the future when you will handle the affairs of Glade County alone. You can't expect all the people in Kantadar under your rule to learn Feru and speak to you, right?"

Lohak wilted after hearing that. Although he did understand something, his Uriah level in terms of conversation was still at the level where he could mistake "city gate tower" for "hip axle".

"Don't worry, let's go home and prepare first. I plan to gather the army later and parade around our new territory with great fanfare." Leon patted Lohak's shoulder and comforted him.

"A demonstration?" Azerien asked.

"Well, after all, we are not in Orland. To the people of Glade County, we are still foreign nobles." Leon nodded: "I think it is necessary to show our military strength and majesty appropriately before contacting the locals."

Although for the common people at the bottom, it doesn’t make much difference whether it is Lord Kantadar or Lord Orland above them.

However, the wealthy gentry in villages and towns are never so peaceful. Not to mention the courage to rebel, in the future they may take advantage of the information gap that the new lords are unfamiliar with local conditions and evade taxes and conceal the number of people, which will be enough to cause headaches for foreign lords like them. It is better for both sides to put a warning in advance.

This is how you expand your territory.

Azerien's territories are all in Kossos County, and Lohak only has a small town in Kantardar, Glade County, so he only needs to take care of that place.

But Leon has a lot to consider.

There were a total of eighteen existing towns and villages in his territory.

Including Avalon and Selva, exactly half of it is the territory of the Orlanders and half of it is the territory of the Kantadars.

With so many places to go, it is impossible to manage one or two estates personally as I did before.

It is necessary to build a bureaucratic system as soon as possible to help him manage the affairs of the barony.

Thinking about the official system for governing the territory, Leon suddenly regretted that in his previous life he only loved swordplay, playing rubber, eating, drinking and having fun, and had no experience in administrative management. It was obviously not appropriate to use the military management skills he had just learned to govern the people.

Ms. Elena and several noble ladies who were literate and could do math were able to support some of the duties.

It's a pity that Lina and the seven children in the family, although they have been studying with Ms. Elena and others and can read and understand etiquette, are still too young after all.

Following everyone, as a minor official to help the adults, it's ok, but I can't be entrusted with important tasks on my own for the time being. After thinking about it, he once again looked at his brother with a fiery gaze, and felt that the metaphor that Olivia muttered that night was really appropriate.

It turns out that I still have to continue exploiting my good brothers.

Pulling Azerien's hand and holding it tightly, Leon couldn't help but want to open up to his brother.

Let me be your steward for life, I can do everything.

When he was walking on the road, his left hand was suddenly held. Azerien turned around in confusion, and his eyebrows jumped when he was frightened by Leon's fiery gaze: "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing, I just think Princess Ines's fan is quite fashionable. One day I will find a craftsman to pluck some goose feathers and make you a feather fan."

"what?"

On the way back, everyone no longer needed to escort Mrs. Feng.

Because Adeline stayed with Count Elliver.

The situation in Glade County has stabilized, and it seems that she will have to live in Archersburg for a long time to accompany her husband.

Leon estimated that his boss might be facing a more serious talent shortage dilemma than him, and Adelina, who was well-educated and had helped Earlliver supervise the territory affairs for many years, could naturally be of great help in Glade County.

Although the Farolis family has some talent reserves prepared for a rainy day, the expansion of the Thorn Flower's territory is too great. Who could have predicted half a year ago that the family's territory would suddenly expand more than ten times in a very short period of time?

Especially since most of it is foreign territory, the affairs arising from governing nearly 300,000 Kantadar citizens are more complicated than those within Orland.

Even if he promoted as many family confidants and relatives from various side branches as possible, Leon felt that Elif would still not have enough manpower.

This is why the Farolis family had stopped expanding. It was not because they did not want more territory, but because they simply could not swallow it all.

Leon didn't dare to imagine how many troubles his boss had to deal with every day.

Fortunately, there is a "magic weapon" in this world that naturally adapts to the times - feudalism.

Nearly one-third of the territory was given to ten barons of various sizes who had made outstanding contributions. This greatly reduced the cost and pressure of governing the Thorn Flower Family.
Without the slowdown caused by the soldiers on foot, Leon and the other eleven riders traveled extremely efficiently.

The next day we arrived at the Avalon Valley.

Passing through the town under construction and coming to the solid wall forged by Aphrodite's magic, Leon's mentality underwent an indescribable change.

This is the new home for him and his friends in the future.

Located at a strategic transportation hub, and between Kossos and Glade, Avalon Castle must be the undisputed capital of the barony.

And the plan to build a mansion that he had been carefully planning in his mind not long ago can now be thrown into the trash.

The large fortress covers an area of ​​ten hectares and can accommodate any number of people without feeling crowded, not to mention that it has infrastructure and sanitary facilities that are far ahead of the times.

After handing over the situation to the knight officer in Avalon, Leon planned to rest for a night and then return to Selva to pick up Olivia and the others as soon as possible.

And the Deathclaw, as smart as it is, should also be able to understand their moving behavior.

After strolling around the streets and alleys of Avalon and choosing future residences for everyone, Leon walked briskly towards the Fountain Square on the hillside of the city.

He wanted to inform Laura of the good news as soon as possible.

From now on, I can visit her and study every day.

(End of this chapter)