Knight and Wand

Chapter 115: Square Flag Knight
A loud horn as a warning signal was blown slowly from the top of the watchtower.

Following the winding road down the hillside, the team carrying the thorn flower flag slowly entered Selva, greeted by Leon and others.

Although they had been notified in advance by letter and were prepared for Baron Elliver's arrival, when the Farolis family's marching team arrived in Selva, it was still much larger than Leon had expected.

Several Knights of the Flower of Thorns led a hundred heavy cavalrymen, followed by several hundred red-robed soldiers from the city of Farolis wearing pot helmets and nose helmets and chain mail.

At the end of the team was a long convoy of civilian workers and supplies.

At first, Leon was worried about how Selva would accommodate this huge army of thousands of people.

Fortunately, most of the soldiers and civilians did not stop, but went straight through the village road of Selva and continued to head towards the Thorn Flower family's supply camp in the east.

Baron Elliver, who had learned in advance that Leon's hair color had changed, was not too surprised. Nobles like him had seen many strange phenomena related to magic. After a brief greeting, he took the accompanying knights and guards to the ceremonial hall.

Leon saw a completely unexpected guest among the feudal lord's troops.

Lady Adelina, wearing a robe and a hood, actually came here with her husband.

Looking at the Baroness who took off her veil and used her hood to cover her face and nodded to him with a smile, Leon hurriedly called the servants and planned to add a chair belonging to the lady of the feudal lord on the upper right side of the meeting hall.

But he was stopped in time by Earive himself.

"Don't tell anyone, Adeline will not attend the ceremony." The Baron shook his head at Leon.

Leon had to suppress his doubts for the time being.

Then, according to the formal procedure, no banquet was held first.

Instead, he went straight into the ceremony of conferring the title.

Inside and outside the open gate, guards wearing the black robes of Selva sword wings and the red robes of Farolis City, holding weapons and standing with their chests puffed and heads held high, guarded the entrance of the hall to prevent any accidents from disrupting the ceremony.

The baron took his seat in the brightly lit hall.

The knights and attendants from Farolis stood on the right.

The people of Selva stood on the left.

The knights were not without seats, but during the solemn consecration ceremony, most of them had to stand and witness the process.

Leon has not only Azerien and Lohak by his side, but also Corvis and Old Brian are also qualified to be present.

Even Olivia followed behind Corvis, looking at the solemn ceremony curiously.

As the crowd did not have enough formal dresses, they used clean armor instead. The six men in armor, except for old Brian, looked very young, but they did not lose out in appearance.

Leon still remembered that the girl regretted not being able to witness the knighthood of the three of them in the past, so the girl was not left out of this knighthood ceremony.

Now that he knew her identity, Leon was not afraid of Olivia appearing in front of Elliver. The current Baron of Thornflower, who had never seen the girl's biological father and mother, would basically not have any associations with the girl.

Leon glanced at the Knight of Thorn Flower opposite him. He usually didn't pay much attention to it when he was with familiar people day and night, but now standing among a crowd of strangers, the contrast was obvious. He suddenly realized that without realizing it, he had grown a lot taller than before.

Secretly glancing sideways, Leon glanced at Azerien and Lohak beside him.

The comparison with Lohak is not clear yet, that boy is still tall and strong, making Leon think that he has not changed much.

But when comparing him carefully with Azerien, it turned out that he was already half a head taller than the noble boy.

Leon silently estimated and measured in his mind.

It can be estimated that this 17-year-old body, which has already passed the age of 180, has grown remarkably and is already over 1.8 meters tall. No wonder the plate armor feels more fitting during this period than before.

His height is now close to those of the strong knights, and his physique is still growing rapidly. I don't know if it's because he eats well and drinks well, or because of the constant circulation of magic energy during this period of torture and training.
As arranged, the servants of the Farolis family unfurled the flag of the Thorn Flower family beside the Baron.

"May the ancient gods watch over this land, and you who have gathered here will witness the sacred moment when a loyal knight is crowned with glory by me."

Elifer loudly announced the start of the ceremony and looked at the Selva team led by Leon with admiration.

I didn't expect that I would have to give this high-level title that belonged to a person with outstanding military achievements to a young man who had only been canonized for more than three months.

Such a speed of promotion from a commoner to a lower-level knight and then directly to a square-flag knight is extremely rare in the entire history of Orland.

But Earlliver did not feel that he had made a hasty decision.

On the contrary, he even regretted not being able to give more generous gifts to this young man who seemed to have endless treasures. If he had not been reminded by his wife, he would have wanted to pick a sensible one among his daughters to marry this child and firmly bind this young man favored by fate to the family.

unfortunately
Elifer looked at the beautiful girl in armor hiding behind the crowd.

It was only after his discerning wife stopped him that he realized that the boy might already have a girl he liked.

If you hastily invite relatives to marry, it may backfire.
Leon, who had no idea that he was almost being recruited as a son-in-law by Elipher, turned to look at the flag unfolded beside the feudal lord.

He found that the baron seemed to have only prepared the family's coat of arms, but did not arrange the king's flag.

According to his understanding, strictly speaking, it seems that it is not in compliance with the regulations to add square flags in Orlando.

However, those present were all trustworthy members of the Farolis family, and no one cared about the details of the ceremony that the feudal lord intended to change.

Elipher stood up from his seat and drew out the thorn blade from his waist that he had found after being lost for more than ten years.

"Leon Pendragon of Selva, step forward."

Leon straightened his face, the knight's plate armor on his body clanged, and he walked to the center of the hall with heavy steps. On the clean carpet, he knelt on one knee with his hand on the hilt of the sword, waiting to be conferred in front of the feudal lord.

"Leon, are you willing to accept the honor of the flag and assume its responsibilities and obligations?" asked Elifer.

"It's my honor, sir." Leon replied, holding his chest.

The baron's servant then unfolded another square flag that had been prepared beside his lord.

On the black flag, there are thorn patterns embroidered on the four sides, and in the middle is a sword-wing emblem with outstretched wings.

When Elipher received his answer, he raised his sword and tapped his knight on the shoulder.

"You killed the snake to protect the people, showing your bravery."

"You have demonstrated your loyalty by selflessly offering your city."

"You have shown kindness by protecting my wife."

After the other party's qualifications were read out during the ceremony, Elliver sheathed his sword.

The servant beside him quickly lifted the flag tails, folded them neatly and presented them to his master.

"You will receive this square flag as a symbol of your ability to lead the army and command the knights alone." The baron took the rolled up flag and solemnly handed it to Leon.

"I will live up to your expectations." Leon took it with both hands. "Very good, stand up, my glorious knight." Elifer helped up the first square-flag knight canonized by the ruling family for many years.

He then looked at the people in the hall and said, "Bless him, may the name of Pendragon bring glory to Farolis and bring victory to the thorn flower!"

The Thorn Flower Knights standing solemnly on the right held their swords to their chests and shouted in unison: "Glory and victory! Knight of the Banner, Leon Pendragon!"

The people on Selva on the left immediately repeated loudly.

Leon stood up and looked silently at the square flag in his hand.

He noticed once again that even in the customary oath-taking at this conferring ceremony, there was no mention of Orland and His Majesty Redwin III.

After the ceremony, Elifuer announced the start of the celebratory banquet.

The servants who had been prepared long ago brought a long table and arranged seats for the noble knights to sit down. The sumptuous food and drinks that Selva had prepared as much as possible were brought in, and the atmosphere in the hall became relaxed.

After the satisfying meal, Leon was left alone again.

"Today, this is a reward for your great contribution to the Thorn Flower Family, Leon.

But this is not my way of thanking you for saving my wife. Just as I promised in my letter, this gratitude will definitely give you a sufficiently satisfactory reward." Earl patted Leon's arm seriously.

Leon shook his head modestly: "It is my duty to protect your wife. In addition, Mr. Marcelo has made great contributions. If he hadn't reminded me in time, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to find your wife's room. Besides, it was another friend who accompanied me who actually discovered the conspiracy that day."

Elifer admired the boy's modesty. "Is it the little girl in armor just now? I heard Marcelo and Balfe mention that you have a golden-haired sword maid with extraordinary martial arts skills. I wonder where you got such a beautiful gem."

Leon smiled helplessly and did not make unnecessary explanations. He just felt that Olivia had to change her identity as soon as possible.

People always mistake her for a maid, which is a bit unfair to her, whether in terms of their past partnership or their current engagement.

"I will certainly not be stingy with my gratitude to the girl. She should be called by my wife for a chat now. Adeline likes the child very much." Elifer was not worried that his wealthy and generous wife would treat the girl badly.

As he spoke, Elifer sighed and continued, "I came here not just to grant you the flag and title. Without me leading the way, except for a few brave warriors, most of the soldiers and craftsmen would not dare to step into the Nightmare Forest.

So I must personally raise the banner in front of them and lead the people to the city in the forest. If you have nothing to do, you'd better come with me."

Leon agreed immediately. He had originally wanted to find Miss Lola, and now they happened to be going the same way.

"By the way, sir, why is Lady Adelina here too? Is she coming with us?" Leon couldn't help but wonder.

"I kept you here to discuss this matter." Elifer shook his head.

"After receiving your letter, I read it carefully. I have never heard of the distant country you mentioned that may have formed an alliance with Kantadar, and I have no knowledge of it.

But since the three of you came into contact with the so-called Atias when you went deep into the south last time, I am willing to trust your judgment on the origin of the drug for the time being."

Leon frowned slightly, wondering what this had to do with his wife leaving the castle. Was she worried about the safety of the castle?

The baron seemed to see Leon's confusion, so he asked back: "Leon, do you think the words of that traitor you caught are credible?"

Leon shook his head: "I don't really believe that guy's confession. The assassin may not be Baron Gunnar's men."

Elifer nodded and said, “The servant who betrayed me may not have the courage to lie under torture, but what he knew may not be the truth.

And if you hadn't saved Adelina, if you hadn't known the true exotic origin of the drug.

If Adelina really met with tragedy, and I was so angry that I couldn't find other suspects for a while, I might really be in trouble.

After all, whether Gunnar is the mastermind behind this or not, I don't mind cutting him into pieces.

When the time comes, it will not only be hatred, but I will also give a clear explanation to my wife's family."

The baron leaned back in his chair, suppressed his old hatreds against Gunnar, and turned to Leon and continued, "But now Adelina is safe, and I also know that the drug whose origin is unknown comes from Kantadar's ally. More importantly, my head is clear and not blinded by hatred, pain and anger.

Let me test you, Leon. The enemy obviously doesn't know what happened in Nightmare Forest and our grand plan, so I will temporarily suppress my anger no matter what.

And if according to the enemy's idea, I simply took my troops away from the front line out of hatred and really went to settle accounts with Gunnar, which side would benefit the most right now?"

"Sir, I don't know much about the current situation, and I don't know what enemies our Farolis family has made."

Leon touched his chin and hesitated, "But on the surface, if you send troops, you will have a conflict with Baron Gunnar, and even involve you and the other party's allies.

Many of the Kossos County troops besieging the city on the front lines would undoubtedly be drawn into this conflict, so would the Kantadars benefit the most?
Could it be that the enemies of Marmor County planned this conspiracy?"

Elliver nodded in agreement: "From what we can see now, especially since you recognized that the drug came from Kantadar's ally, this is naturally closer to the truth."

"But it's not enough." The baron stood up, put his hands behind his back and walked to the window, looking at the eastern part of Selva in the distance, which was busy under construction.

"They knew about the conflict between me and Baron Gunnar, and they were able to bribe the people around me and sneak into the castle. Such an action could not have been a spur-of-the-moment action just because of this war. They must have planned it for a long time. The dead soldiers have not returned. They don't know whether Adelina is alive or dead. They must be observing my reaction. They must have people in Farolis City."

Elifer turned around and gave a sly smile.

"So I took advantage of your trick. After receiving the report from you and Balf, I immediately withdrew the troops from General Trosa, saying that my wife had been murdered and the murderer must pay the price.

Of course, I didn't tell Trosa who the suspected murderer was, and as soon as I returned to Farolis, I held a grand funeral for the poor murdered guards, with the same specifications as for the burial of a noble lady.

Right now, only a few people I trust know that Adelina is still alive, and I brought them all out."

Leon completely understood what Elifer meant: "You concealed the fact that the lady is still alive, hoping that the person behind the scenes would come out?

Since there is no one to voice suspicion, only the real conspirators will guess that you are planning to take action against Baron Gunnar, whom they have framed!"

"That's right, but whether or not those guys in the dark will further instigate Gunnar and escalate the conflict is not important. What's really important is not only to expose that despicable conspiracy."

Elifer's eyes returned to the window and headed south.

“Thank goodness you saved Adelina. It was a blessing in disguise for me. I now have a reason to withdraw the army from General Trosa, and I won’t arouse suspicion from other nobles by mobilizing baggage and labor.

This means that I have twice as many troops available as I originally planned to march south, and I am determined to capture Fort Acheson."

After saying that, he returned to the table, sat sideways, and looked at Leon again.

"But in addition to resolving these chaos, we still need to ensure Adelina's safety. I still have to lead the army in battle and cannot take care of her all the time. So now I can only trust two places. Either send her back to her father, but that is too far, or... place her in Selva."

"Selva?" Leon was stunned.

Baron Elliver smiled and said, "That's right, the people around you have very clean backgrounds, otherwise I don't believe that such a big event as the disappearance of the cursed land would not have been leaked until now.

So this is the place that makes me most at ease right now. After we go on the expedition, Selva is also close to the south, so I can react easily to anything that happens. Don't worry, there will be an army stationed in the baggage camp. If anything unexpected happens, you can send Adelina to the east.

But it is better to let her live in Selva. The military camp is full of smoke and chaos, and I can't leave my wife with a bunch of rough guys."

(End of this chapter)