Cornflower Witch

Chapter 284 Kingdom Scholar, Sylvia
Having changed out of her usual white floral armor, Hiltiya now wore light robes and lived in the palace of White Cliff City. Because New Regas was newly established and not yet stable, she was needed to stay and maintain order.

In consideration of future unified planning and development, New Legas did not confer titles on traditional powerful nobles, but instead adopted a bureaucratic management system. The selection of bureaucrats was divided into nomination and assessment. Currently, due to a severe shortage of bureaucrats, most of the personnel were directly nominated. They were already well-known and influential people in the local area. Secondly, those who made contributions during the restoration and independence process were also granted official positions in large numbers.

“While their professional skills may be lacking, we can make up for it by recruiting staff,” Hilti and Musa discussed.

"However, in the early days of a nation, it is essential to firmly grasp core power in one's own hands. This is the most opportune time to unleash reforms and to set the overall tone."

“If you give a lot of power to speculators and disloyal people, it will be very difficult to take it back or order them to do things.”

Although Princess Musa is familiar with the specific affairs of the kingdom, in terms of overall strategic direction and foresight, Hilti is still stronger.

Even though both are feudal-era state systems, Hiltiya still prefers the centralized state, as it can maximize the mobilization of collective power and give the state the will and strength to accomplish many great things.

During this time, Hilti often talked with Musa until late at night before returning to her room to sleep.

Gradually, the two became more familiar with each other, and Musa's impression of Siltia changed several times.

"At first, I thought you were the kind of hot-blooded, impulsive young man with exceptional talent and strength." Musa poured Sylvia a chilled juice and recounted the scene of their meeting that night.

"I was surprised to find out later that Tia was also a girl. Although there is not much difference between men and women among the superhumans, it is still quite rare for a girl to choose the path of knighthood."

"After Regas was restored, you stopped wearing armor and usually prefer to wear simple and comfortable dresses, looking quite cute like a younger sister. It's hard to associate you with your past image."

"Now, the more we discuss things, the more curious I become about your exceptionally profound thinking. It's even more far-sighted than some scholars, with clear logic and unbelievable intelligence." After saying this, Mu Sha picked up her glass, then covered her chest with her sleeve and took a small sip of the chilled juice.

Because Hilti doesn't like drinking alcohol, she only prepares fruit juice and very low-alcohol fruit wine for meals.

After hearing Musa's description, Hilti was both amused and exasperated, and took small sips of the blueberry juice from her cup.

"Actually, I'm not a superhuman who specializes in the path of knighthood; the knighthood is just a side job." She didn't know how to explain for a moment.

"My major is actually 'Emerald Honey,' which is just a gardening profession." Hilti blinked, a strand of hair gently twirling behind her ear.

"Huh? Gardening is the main direction?" Musa's eyes widened in surprise again.

“Yes, but the path of a gardener is indeed not as fast as that of a ‘castle’,” Hiltiya said with a touch of emotion.

"Musha must be at the fourth rank by now, right?" She wondered if the other party could control the power of her rank.

“Hmm,” the young Queen Musa thought for a moment, then answered.

“Back when I was still Princess Regas, the royal power I received was around ‘Tier 3 Castle.’ Later, when White Cliff City fell, I quickly fell to ‘Tier 2.’ Among my peers, the strongest should be my brother, King Leon. He is a very powerful knight.”

"My father once held the rank of 'Fifth Tier Castle,' which allowed him to bestow numerous knights and grant them powerful protection, making them invincible on the battlefield."

"Although Baiya City was besieged and the situation was dire, my father and brother did not give up. They still believed that they could hold on, just like our ancestors. They told us to leave first because they didn't want to put all their eggs in one basket and wanted to leave some way out."

"So, the most powerful brother didn't leave with us at that time," Musa recalled.

"Is King Atil of the Kingdom of Antioch also a 'Tier 5 Castle'?" Hilti asked curiously.

"Well... it's hard to say." Mu Sha shook her head.

"For example, I am currently a 'fourth-tier castle', but as long as the kingdom stabilizes, the promulgated laws are implemented, and order is maintained, the 'castle' attribute on my body will accumulate due to the gathering of royal power, until one day I break through to the 'fifth tier' like my father."

"The Kingdom of Antiy, where King Atil resides, is about three times the size of Regas and has more than four times the population. If their king can ensure the stability and good development of the kingdom, he is very likely to promote the reigning king to the 'sixth rank'."

"However, nearly half of the Anti Kingdom's territory has now fallen, and the war with the Winter Kingdom is extremely difficult. It is fortunate that they can barely maintain their rank and not slip away."

"On the continent, the limit of royal power for a typical duchy is 'fifth rank,' for a kingdom it's 'sixth rank,' and for an empire it's 'seventh rank.' And then there are the rare, powerful dynasties that unify the entire continent, whose emperors can probably reach 'eighth rank.' That's the limit in the human world." "The monarch of an empire is only seventh rank...?"

Hiltiya recalled her mother, 'Aster Witch' Sheryl. According to her childhood memories and what others said, her mother had reached the seventh level before giving birth to her. It was unimaginable what a genius she was. However, it was also possible that her mother had the ability to maintain her youth, and she just always looked exceptionally young.

If she were to pursue a career as a gardener, even with her extraordinary talent, it would probably take her nearly twenty years. Hilti guessed that her mother might have relied on the family's resources, since the 'Mezalans family' was a very powerful clan that could leverage the power of the Royalist School to solidify the 'castle' aspect.

However, although sexual phase levels can be quickly accumulated through various means, without corresponding knowledge, skills, and practical trials, the result will not be much different from that of Prince Steve Jobs at that time.

After advancing to 'Fourth Tier Castle', due to a lack of knowledge and skills, she was unable to change her abilities at will and unleash her full power like 'Cui Mi'.

Although they defeated the Antian army, it was only because the Antian army was too weak. According to intelligence from afar, the overall quality of the Antian army was a level below that of the Winter Kingdom. Even when knights of the same rank fought, the Antian army was more likely to be defeated.

Looking at it this way, Regas, who was defeated by Antioch back then, seems even more pathetic. Hilti doesn't want to ask Musa why Regas was so corrupt back then. She guesses it's an accumulated problem from the kingdom's long existence, just like the historical dynasties that Hilti is familiar with.

A major cleanup is needed, followed by a restart.

After arriving at the 'Fourth Tier Castle', she is now intensively studying the various knowledge and skills related to the 'Castle' attribute. It just so happens that the kingdom is newly established and needs planning in all aspects, which is a good opportunity for her to put her knowledge and ideas into practice.

There is a shortage of talent throughout Regas. Hilti thought of several familiar friends. She has invited the warrior Hynes to the palace to serve as the commander of the royal guard. Yero also arrived at the palace the day before yesterday and will become an advisor to assist in handling various government affairs.

As for the other rescued prisoner, Maurice, he has now arrived at the palace. He had previously studied a wide variety of subjects and is now spending his time in the underground library, learning all sorts of mysterious knowledge, almost without sleep. The people in the palace are quite surprised.

Although his previous learning abilities were quite disorganized, Hilti could tell that he had an extraordinary love and desire to explore knowledge and mysticism. Such a person would probably be well-suited as a research and development talent and could be of great help to Musa in the future.

Now that Scorched Stone City has returned to Regas, the Antian soldiers who were originally stationed there were safely sent back by Hilti. However, the axe-wielding warrior Aru did not return, but instead joined New Regas and became a warrior in the army.

As for the reason, it's quite simple. He came from a humble background in the Kingdom of Antioch, and if he went back, he would probably just be used as high-level cannon fodder on the battlefield, so he simply decided not to go. In addition, he also wanted to perform well so that he could get new 'Bloodcurrant' from Siltia to improve his abilities.

Currently, the only supply package Hiltya provides him is a bunch of 'bloodcurrants' per year. Although the quantity is far less than before, it is still quite generous. If he were to exchange it for money, considering that Hiltya has always cultivated high-quality fruits, the market price would be more than 400 gold coins. It is evident that Hiltya was unaware of the value of the fruits she grew and rashly gave him too much.

This is why Aru refused to leave; he wouldn't get such good treatment back in Antioch.

Karen has recently been helping train archers in the army. Of course, she also met several veterans who had retired from the Regas army and learned advanced arcane abilities from them. Although many of Regas's talents perished in the war, a few still survived.

Lei has now completed the basic training in blacksmithing, but he wants to stay in Forging Stone City to hone his skills, so he has not come to White Cliff City.

"If I go to White Cliff City now, I'll embarrass Tia." Ray replied simply to Hilti's invitation in his letter.

As for Komia, she is in a faraway country, and Hilti can't contact her for the time being. Mick also seems to be out of the Kingdom of Regas, having gone to another region. However, Mick's rival and formidable enemy, Thorin, has been discovered by Hilti and is now an outstanding warrior in the army. Some time ago, she even knighted him and granted him the rank of 'Third-Tier Castle'.

"Life is unpredictable. I originally wanted to be a brave warrior, but after seeing too many people die on the battlefield, my idea quickly wavered."

“Sturdy armor and a longsword are what war needs most, so you can only become a knight,” Thorin replied to Tia at the time.

He survived the fall of Windcliff City, narrowly escaping the attack of Eagle Scorpion and Antiy's armies. He then lived a savage life as a guerrilla fighter in the mountains with a small group of comrades until Regas was restored. Although those three years were extremely difficult, his strength improved significantly. The brutal life-and-death battles he experienced gave him many insights.

"I, Thorin Agard, am willing to heed the guidance of Lady Hiltija, remain loyal to Regas, and swear to protect this beautiful land from any enemy's invasion and destruction." The now-grown young man knelt on one knee before the white-robed girl, accepting the longsword as a medal and receiving the title of knight.

"May you always remember your oath, and may the winds of victory always be with you."

Standing before him now was Regas's chief knight, the first advisor to the court, the kingdom's grand scholar, the acting prime minister, Queen Musa's benefactor and close friend, the founder of the Griffin Knights, the one who rebuilt Regas, the Azure Star.

——Lord Silthia.

(End of this chapter)