CH 33

Wissas is located at the edge of the kingdom of Gadaat, far away from the royal city of Keys.

Therefore, when Xia Zuoyi arrived in the royal city, nearly half of the lords in Gadaat had already arrived.

The rest of the lords also arrived in the royal city of Keys shortly after Xia Zuoyi entered the court.

There are 15 cities and 19 lords in Gadaat.

On the Western Continent, a person who owns land can be qualified to be called a lord. They don’t necessarily need to own a city or a castle to become a lord.

There may be two lords in a city.

The great lord is the supreme ruler of the territory, while the small lord is the manor owner who was granted part of the land by the great lord.

This “land” may be a village, a monastery, or a plantation in the city.

In layman’s terms, a minor lord is a trusted “official” appointed by the greater lord to help manage various affairs in his own city.

Such a small lord is equivalent to the 9th or 7th rank local officials in ancient China, except that everything, including life and death, of the local officials in ancient China, was decided by the emperor himself.

On the Western Continent, everything about the little lord, including life and death, is determined by the superior lord who entrusted him with the land.

For example.

Xia Zuoyi owns two cities. He’s the superior lord.

If he gave Wissas or a village in Fort Comoy as a fief to Fernandi.

Fernandi would have the right to enjoy the taxes paid to him by the people of this village. And he doesn’t have to pay taxes to Xia Zuoyi.

The status of a minor lord can be a knight without title or noble background. Or they can be a baron or a viscount with the lowest title.

But some nobles with the smallest titles might not even have land.

Starting from the earl and going up is a watershed.

In other words, the high lord who can own a city must be a nobleman above the earl.

Generally speaking, it is rare for a small lord to be granted a fief in a city. Only those who are very close to the superior lord can enjoy the right to own a fief.1

The nineteen lords of Gadaat gathered in the palace.

Except for a small beanie like Xia Zuoyi, all of them are adults, and tall.

They were dressed in natural draped clothes, mostly in black and white, which showed the respect of the king’s mourning.

The neckline, sleeves, and hem of the clothes are sewn with various decorative patterns and borders.

The waistband is tight at the waist, and the legs are covered with slightly loose white trousers and long black boots. The overall posture is elegant and slender.

Xia Zuoyi stepped on a pair of little black boots.

He looked down at the little white robe he’s wearing. The robe was decorated with delicate golden wavy lace, polished single-breasted gold buttons, and the collar and cuffs were all inlaid with low-key and unobtrusive jewel buttons.

On the Western Continent, the lords dress expensively to show respect to the royal family.

Long before entering the royal city, Udit personally put the badge representing the thorny rose of Desinia on Xia Zuoyi’s chest.

Xia Zuoyi is the rare Lord Earl of Gadaat who owns two cities.

As soon as he stepped into the royal hall, he was looked at by many people, either openly or secretly.

Bass Richards stood at the forefront.

A solemn black robe set off his momentum even sharper.

Almost half of the lords surrounded him, while the rest stood on one side with clear boundaries, talking with each other.

Only Walker followed Xia Zuoyi.

He found a place to stand, and whispered, “The lords need to mourn for the king for three days before they can return to their territory.”

“Three days later, the new king will also succeed. Which clergyman of the church will hold the coronation ceremony for the new king?”

He didn’t know much about this.

Walker, “The highest-ranking priest in the royal city is Bishop Bolton.”

“It may be him, but it may also be the deputy bishop presiding over the coronation of the new king.”

The highest authority of the Holy See is the Pope, followed by cardinals, archbishops, bishops, deputy bishops, priests, deacons, and deputy deacons.

Above the bishop level, including the bishop, can be appointed by the Pope and assigned to serve as administrators in churches and temples in various countries.

The deputy bishop and others perform their duties and help each other.

As they were talking, Bass Richards brought people over.

“I heard that Earl Desinia bought all the Trak slaves from the Nagabi Chamber of Commerce. I don’t know how you’re using them now?”

Xia Zuoyi turned his head and said lightly, “It’s okay, but it shouldn’t bother Your Grace2.”

Bass Richards, “I’m just concerned because the earl has to manage two cities at a young age.”

Xia Zuoyi, “It doesn’t matter, after all, I’m also concerned because Your Grace has to manage the finances of the entire royal city at such an old age.”

“…”

The corners of Bass Richards’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.

The lords who came with him were originally waiting for a good show, but at this moment, they all slightly pursed their lips and stared at Xia Zuoyi in surprise.

Bass Richards kept his face calm and said nothing more.

A middle-aged man dressed as an aristocrat behind him suddenly spoke.

But to Walker.

“Why don’t you come home first when you come back to the royal city? Do you want me to invite you?”

Walker bowed his head slightly, called him father, and then said, “Since I have been given to Lord Desinia by his majesty, it is natural for me to put the lord first in everything.”

“You can rest assured that I will go home to see you and my brother after dinner’s over…”

The middle-aged man who follows Bass Richards is Walker’s father—Harry William.

He is a marquis.

Beside Harry William stood a young man with a face somewhat similar to that of Walker. He looked a little gloomy and turned a blind eye to Xia Zuoyi and Walker.

He is Walker’s brother, Keith William.

But he didn’t say a single word to Walker until he left with Bass Richards and others.

The only son of the old King Duke presided over the dinner.

The next day, it’s the formal mourning ceremony for the old King Duke in the church.

The dinner is over.

Walker escorted Xia Zuoyi back to the residence where he’s resting in the royal city and turned to leave after seeing Udit lead the young earl into the door.

When he returned to his original home, only the butler came out to meet him.

The butler said, “Master Walker, Lord Marquis and Master Keith are discussing things in the study.”

“Lord Marquis said that if you come back, go directly to your room to rest.”

He took off the armor for Walker and put it one by one on the iron frame beside him. His sword was also taken off and hung on the wall.

Walker nodded and said with a flat expression, “I see.”

Then he slowly walked back to his previous room.

Probably because the servant had cleaned up in advance, the room that hadn’t been lived in for a long time was not too dirty, and the things were still in their original positions without the slightest change.

Walker walked around the room. He lay on his back on the bed with a slightly bored expression, with his arms and legs cocked.

After a while.

He turned to look out of the window, and as if remembering something, a smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth.

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

The wall outside the window is very large, a person can stand sideways on it and won’t easily fall off.

If he turns out the window in his room, he can safely reach the windowsill outside Harry William’s study by grasping the protrusions and fences on the wall.

When Walker was in his teens, he found it fun doing this kind of window jumping.

Moreover, in the beginning, he could hear his father and his elder brother talk about how Walker disobeyed discipline and associating with lowly common people all day long. He had no etiquette and norms that a noble should have. A useless thing…

Since that day, Walker has alienated the civilians and worked hard to learn how to become a good knight.

When he finally did better than his eldest brother Keith, what he got was his father’s indifferent attitude and his eldest brother becoming even more distant and alienated…

Walker thought, then he should be himself.

However, this “good” habit of jumping on the windowsill has not disappeared.

Walker got up from the bed, got out of the window, and climbed down the second floor with light and quick steps. He stepped on the windowsill outside Harry William’s study, his back pressed against the wall.

They are still talking about things.

They were talking about the arrangements for the mourning ceremony to be held in the church tomorrow and the martial law in the royal city.

Walker felt bored after listening to it for a while.

He was about to go back when he heard Keith say, “Father since you have chosen to stand on His Grace’s side, when are you going to tell Walker…”

Walker frowned and wondered. Tell him what?

Harry William, “I think he is very loyal to that Desinia.”

“If he came back home as soon as he arrived in the royal city, I might consider telling him about it, but now…”

Harry William paused, then continued, “His Grace’s plan is to control all the lords and threaten them to support him to ascend the throne after killing the members of the royal family.”

“But His Grace didn’t want to keep Desinia alive.”

“Since Walker is with Desinia, we can’t reveal anything to him…”

Walker’s eyes widened in shock, his heart jumped, and he stood unsteadily. His hand holding on to the wall loosened and he almost fell, but fortunately, he buckled the wall in time.

His back was covered with a thin layer of cold sweat.

Harry and Keith William were unaware of the situation outside the window and continued to talk about business.

Harry, “Tomorrow I’ll find a reason to ban Walker from going out and you will be responsible for watching him at home. Everything will be over until the third day of mourning for the king.”

“Yes, I understand, father.” Keith William replied.

When they left the study, when the lights went out and the room was completely quiet, Walker slowly relaxed his stiff fingers and legs.

He closed his eyes, exhaled silently, then calmed down and returned to his room.

Immediately afterward, Walker took advantage of the darkness. And for fear of making a sound and waking other people, he even discarded his armor. He quietly returned to Xia Zuoyi’s residence in the royal city with only his sword.

Translator’s Notes:

About our Lord Earl’s title; I read that below the rank of Duke (Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron, etc.) it’s alright to call them Lord so-and-so. For example, Lord Desinia is an acceptable address.

Alright, this is the last update guys, see you on Wednesday for Lei Feng System~~