Knight and Wand

Chapter 168 Impression
".How does it feel?"

Returning along the same route and riding away from the small village, Ines looked at Agatha with a slight smile.

"What do you mean?" The female knight turned her head.

"Of course it's the people in that mansion. Also, after meeting them, what image do you have of Lord Pendragon, whom you haven't met yet?" Ines smiled.

Agatha frowned when she heard this, raised her hand and pinched her chin to think carefully for a while, then expressed the deep impression she had from the beginning.

"That Miss Olivia just now. She made me feel very dangerous. Maybe you find it hard to believe, but that child is an extraordinary martial artist."

"Dangerous? Are you serious?" Ines blinked in surprise.

"Well, Your Highness, I also find it incredible. She is a girl with a similar physique to you, but she gives me the same feeling as when I was facing Sir Cailan."

"That lady, can she have the military strength of Lord Kailan?"

"I dare not make any judgment without fighting, but the feeling of standing in front of her is no different from facing a 'ferocious beast'." Agatha said seriously.

Having said that, she knew that even if she faced a lion or tiger with her bare hands, she would not have a premonition of danger.

"There are not many warriors who can be evaluated like this by you. It's interesting that Miss Olivia has such a skill. No wonder you have been frowning since you entered the room." Ines suddenly realized.

Her vision in this area was definitely not as accurate as those of martial artists, and she had originally thought that Miss Olivia was interested in practicing sword skills for self-defense.

But the fact that Agatha brought up Sir Caillan to compare her to him meant that this was not just a joke or a gesture from an ordinary aristocratic girl.

This small village in the valley is really full of hidden talents.
"So what do you think of Knight Leon now?" Ines asked, keeping the girl with the sword in mind.

"Knight Leon."

Recalling the people she had just seen in the house, she looked up and answered seriously, "I think he is probably an extremely lustful person."

Ines was stunned for a moment. The next moment, she closed her fan and covered her lips, pressed her abdomen and chuckled on the horse's back. She couldn't help but lose her image: "Hehe~hahaha you~hehehe"

Hearing such an answer, even Ines's patience could not help but tremble with joy.

Agatha was embarrassed by the little princess's reaction and scratched her cheek: "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I'm not very smart. Maybe I misunderstood that gentleman."

Ines shook her head.

She suddenly unfolded her small folding fan and fanned herself from laughing so hard that she became hot.

It's really hilarious to see the serious female warrior suddenly change from being so serious to speculating about others.

"You, I'm afraid you are right. Perhaps this knight is indeed a very beautiful woman~" Ines did not deny Agatha's first intuitive impression.

Including Miss Olivia, the beautiful housekeeper who greeted them after they entered the house, and several elegant maids with extraordinary looks, obviously of aristocratic origin. Even the blond male waiter who passed by, they were all so handsome that Ines unexpectedly took a second look.

With so many beauties gathered in this small house and surrounded all day long, it was understandable that Agatha felt that the other party was "lustful".

But this is not really a shortcoming. Among the kings, nobles, heroes and heroes in the world, how many of them do not like beautiful women?

"Is there anything else besides lust?" Ines asked further.

"He must be very popular. The people here are willing to talk about and praise him, instead of avoiding the lord. The servants in the mansion, regardless of their age, look and behave calmly, as if they are at home. They do not have the nervous and cautious attitude of ordinary servants." Agatha suppressed her embarrassment and continued to talk about the impression she got from the people around her.

"He must be a kind and generous lord." The female knight concluded simply.

Ines nodded with satisfaction: "A knight who treats his subjects well, is kind and respected, and also possesses extraordinary bravery on the battlefield.
Judging from the huge claw marks all over the yard, the rumors about taming griffins are probably true.

If he is so outstanding, and his only flaw is his preference for beautiful women, then it is not a flaw worth mentioning. If I hadn't been delayed by time, I would have been eager to meet him in person."

Ines tapped her left hand lightly with her folding fan, thinking about asking Grandpa Trosa about the origins of the little knight when she met him.

Lustful? That's fine if he's really like that, and even better if he loves money. But if he's a perfect knight with talent and impeccable character, it's actually difficult to win him over.

The spontaneous walk was very fruitful and Ines was in a good mood.

Just as they were on the road back to the marching town, the two saw from afar a dozen knights in dark blue robes riding their horses hurriedly towards them.

The nervous Sea Eagle Knights galloped to the princess' side and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Wearing a full-body armor that was several sizes larger and wider, the chubby son of Duke Wester, Ackerman, came over with a bitter face and complained in a low voice: "Your Highness! Ancestors! This is not Xiwan County or the Royal Territory. You go anywhere without telling me. If you disappear like this on the front line, I'll be scared to death."

"If I had warned him in advance, he would have followed me again." Ines put away her fan, rode past Ackerman on horseback, and waved the handle of her fan to comfort him, "Besides, how could I be so careless after going to the south? Now we are only in the kingdom, and Agatha is here too. How many people can hurt me?"

Agatha, who was standing by, felt a little ashamed. She was touched by His Highness' trust in her. If it were in the past, she would have been confident that she could protect her master as a great knight.
But she had just unexpectedly discovered an unprecedentedly powerful swordsman in the countryside, and she was now a little unsure.

But of course she would not say anything to ruin His Highness's plan. After all, this was just an accident. If she just strolled around the countryside near the camp, she could find an unknown strong female swordsman. Her luck was too "good".

"No one dares to hurt you, but who dares to hurt me? That bastard Aolade came to me and tried his best to cause trouble. I became his punching bag because he couldn't see you."

Ackerman squeezed his horse's belly and caught up with the princess's mount. On his chubby face, he couldn't help but express some indignation and grievance towards Aorad.

"Do you think I'm hiding from something by coming out for a walk?" Ines glanced at this natural punching bag.

"Aolade is the son of the Duke, and you are also the son of the Duke. Why are you afraid of him?"

"Look at what you said. I'm a cultured person. That barbarian from the East has muscles growing into his brain. He always uses the excuse of sparring to beat me up. I'm his punching bag, so how can I not be afraid?" Ackerman smiled bitterly.

He pulled out a handkerchief from under his battle robe and wiped his forehead. After wearing the heavy armor for a while, he was sweating all over. It would be a pain for him to "compete" with the son of Duke Roman with such physical strength.

Ines sighed inwardly as she looked at the other person's cowardly appearance. She never expected that a conversation with her brother in the capital not long ago would lead to the "trouble" she is facing now.

She still remembered how she felt both amused and annoyed when the eldest son of Duke Roman came to visit her in Xiwan County with a huge group of people.

Although I understand the king's good intentions.

But thinking of the passionate eyes of the eldest son of the Grand Duke of the East, Ines couldn't help but feel like joining her father in beating her brother up with a stick.

It's really a case of bringing up something that is not relevant. It's easy to guess that Duke Roman allowed his eldest son to visit him openly, and he must have taken the opportunity to accept the invitation made by his brother.
Whenever she thought of this, Ines regretted that she was not her father's eldest son. If her brother was the king instead, it might be more suitable for her to be an innocent little princess.

Looking at Ackerman standing beside her, the girl felt even colder in her heart.

When she first went to the West and had no contact with him, she still had the slightest expectation of this little fat boy.

Unfortunately, after a few years, he understood the feelings of his father, the Duke of West, and completely gave up any fantasy he had about this useless little fat boy.

It is hard to say whether the Duke will really make up his mind to transfer his power of inheriting the kingdom to his other second sons in the future.

By then, I'm afraid that the little fat boy would really be willing to give up the Duke's throne, happily become an Earl of Anle, and live a shameless and absurd life with those little male servants around him.

But if it comes to that, my father will definitely force me and this little fat boy together and make a big fuss about Ackerman's inheritance rights.

Ines held her forehead in her hands and felt a headache about the future for many times.

She had to take into account both her own destiny and the destiny of the kingdom. The power she had built up over the past few years was far from enough. She was still a delicate chess piece and could not sit in front of her father's desk.

The Sea Hawk Knights, which was established not long ago, are still immature, and countless young knights who have no opportunities in the West are eager to make achievements.

Sufficient land, population, wealth, and troops are all things that Xiwan County cannot provide them with.
This southern expedition is truly a godsend opportunity.

The Farolis have taken over the county east of the forest.

The Gunnar family and the Greyshirt Valley lords and lords who followed General Trosa were adjacent to Glade County and were dividing the land to the west.

Ines thought about the territory that the army was advancing into at the moment as stated in General Trosa's letter, and analyzed which direction was worthy of her army's involvement.

The coastline of the western continent flashed through her mind, and a vague idea became clearer.
It was not until she entered the camp of the marching town and saw the enthusiastic and attentive handsome face of the son of the Duke of the East that Ines frowned slightly, broke away from her thoughts, and put on her usual smile.

In the evening, Leon and Lohak, reeking of alcohol, returned to the mansion with the drunk Azerien.

Olivia, who came to greet them, was startled by the smell. She couldn't help but stop and pinch her nose, and asked in a muffled voice, "What kind of wine did you drink? Why does it smell so strong?"

Leon called little Lina to boil some water, and handed Azerien to the servants to help her back to the room. He smiled bitterly at the girl and said, "I don't know what kind of liquor Earl Rahman brought with the army. I heard it is a specialty of Northnia. Azerien was drunk after two glasses, and it was enough for me and Lohak to drink too."

As he spoke, Leon was a little emotional. He thought he was used to drinking in his life, but now it seems that he is just used to the usual low-alcohol wheat juice and fruit wine. Although his current physical condition will not make him drunk, he still can't stand the strong taste of alcohol.

But it's hard to refuse the Earl's kindness, and I have to drink. This is a different world, and there is still a drinking culture. It's really a headache.

Fortunately, apart from the fact that he really disliked the strong liquor, the banquet was a great success and he even received the unexpectedly promised thank-you gift. Lady Adeline's father was a bold and straightforward old nobleman. Although he was a little rude, he was not arrogant. He ate meat and drank wine with big mouthfuls, and he was easy to get along with after getting to know each other.

The protagonists of the banquet were the Count and his daughter. Apart from telling them about the dangerous situation when his wife was assassinated, Leon only had to eat and drink throughout the banquet.

Of course, this story naturally skipped many unnecessary details. Some things were better left unsaid between him and Knight Marcelo.

After settling the drunk Azerien, Leon learned from Olivia and Ms. Elena that there would be other distinguished guests visiting today.

After washing up, using the magic wind to dispel the disgusting smell of alcohol on his body, Leon crawled into bed and asked Olivia: "General Trosa's niece? Did she come directly to the door? Why didn't you tell me any news in advance?"

According to the rules of interaction between nobles, it is rare to visit without prior notice, especially to a rich young lady.

"Well, I heard that she was leading the army south to support Count Trosa, passing through Selva. She looks younger than me, but she can lead an army. She's amazing." Olivia murmured.

Leon remained noncommittal. If she was indeed younger than his lover, then she must have some abilities. Otherwise, Count Trosa would not allow a little girl to play with the army. No absurd noble would spoil his daughter like this, let alone a battle-hardened general of the kingdom.

"If we talk about being powerful, aren't you stronger?" Leon said with a smile.

"Me? But I only know how to rush into a crowd and fight. I don't know how to lead an army." Olivia shook her head.

"No one is born knowing how to do it. You learn from your father. I didn't know how to do it before, but now I have some confidence in leading troops to march and fight."

After saying this, Leon stroked his lover's hair and joked, "You are so smart, it will be no problem for you to become the 'female Bard' who drowns the seven armies and terrorizes Orland in the future~"

"How dare you mention Knight Bader~!"

Unexpectedly, Olivia turned over, rode on Leon angrily, and pinched her lover’s cheek: “Hurry up and remake the story, as agreed.”

After hearing about Prime Minister West's death in Wuzhangyuan a while ago, the girl suffered a series of mental blows. She couldn't eat for several days and was so sad and depressed that she didn't even have the energy to practice sword fighting.

She had no interest in the subsequent story of the Three Kingdoms, as if the story had ended for her when her beloved heroes died one by one.

"Please spare me, it's not that easy, let me think about it more." Leon endured the strong kneading of the girl's ten fingers, and begged for mercy in an unclear voice.

How could he be as good as Luo Guanzhong, and he had never written a novel in his previous life, so it was not easy for him to rewrite the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

After playing around for a while, sleepy Olivia yawned cutely, and then she lay on Leon with her eyes closed, looking forward to hearing heroic stories about changing her destiny in the future, while muttering in her sleep:
"I am the loyal and righteous Knight Bard, Lohark is the black-faced Strong, Corvis is the white-horse-riding and silver-speared Styrion. My father is the old and vigorous Sir Shuter. Um. Azerien is the devoted Prime Minister Wester?"

"Then I am the kind-hearted Verdi?" Leon interrupted shamelessly.

"Hmph, you are the cunning and treacherous Majors~" Olivia muttered softly, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

(End of this chapter)