Dear Broom Knight.

Chapter 911 Pat Laughs Heartily

“Ms. Luscania.” Marquis Edwards looked around and found that the people left in the hall were either cunning old foxes or unqualified to speak… If he left the trouble to Yuri, then everything he and his son had done before would be in vain. He could only choose to speak himself. “Your arrival is an honor for the Edwards family, but… I wonder what is it that makes you so anxious to find it?”

Luscania snorted, finally remembering where she should go next: "There's a little thief who stole the gift Lori gave me!"
I'm sure he escaped to a place he shouldn't have gone!
I've come here chasing after a past that can no longer be hidden... I'm going to drag him out and tear him to pieces!

Pat suddenly laughed, a laugh that was extremely arrogant.

She was so happy!
It turns out that some pain, even if never inquired about, is never forgotten by those who love her.

Even though they had no choice but to compromise because of the will of the gods.

This is the consequence of associating with evil; even revenge cannot be carried out openly or legitimately.

Even if all they want is blood for blood.

What good are apologies? The flames of revenge will never be extinguished by any sincere repentance.

They simply had no choice but to accept the outcome... after all, they were powerless to change it.

This is the fate of the weak.

Even if you put yourself on the altar, what you get in return is barely the same.

The only consolation is that at least there's a result to soothe their grieving hearts and prevent them from being turned into real demons by hatred.

However, there are still some people who have never forgotten those sorrows and pains.

It was all for her.

Even though fate forced them to sever all ties, even though she could only recall those beautiful memories in her dreams, neither of them forgot.

Love and hate were entangled in her heart, and Pat wanted to do nothing but laugh out loud.

Duke Schröder, who had remained silent until now, turned ashen-faced.

They were all intelligent people; it was impossible for them not to understand Luscania's true intentions... The Schroeder family could stay, but it was absolutely impossible for them to appear in public in glory again.

If Macmillan and the new Storm High Priest fail to grasp her intentions, then Duke Schroeder might have to watch as his men are arrested as thieves.

If either of them has any ulterior motives, then their house will probably be burglarized every day from now on.

He was the kind of thief who was relentlessly hunted down by Travis, the emperor who was about to be deified, and his dearest white dragon companion.

Duke Schröder struggled to control himself and prevent himself from letting out a sob.

He's only 12 years old, why should he have to accept this outcome?

Duke Schröder was not unaware that his family had offended many people and that he needed to remain silent for a long time to get through this awkward period... letting the hatred dissipate with the destruction of the adults over time.

For the past two years, he has stayed at home obediently and has not even contacted the bishops scattered across various territories much.

He only knew how many people he had left to use by receiving greetings from these bishops during holidays.

He himself knew that coming to Edwards' house this time was a bit too risky.

But he couldn't bear to watch the McMillan family gain the upper hand by climbing up to the new high priest.

He always remembered the history of his family.

How Schroeder used his ability to navigate complex relationships and maintain friendly relations with the main temple to suppress other Storm Nobles was a lesson he had to learn.

The reason why my great-grandfather insisted on taking the deputy priest from the Macmillan family with him before he died was that he did not want everything they had done in the past to be used against them in return.

The Schröder family can remain silent, but they cannot be without even the slightest chance.

Bishops also grow old.

Even though they may choose to stand behind the Schröder family now because of their great-grandfather's kindness, they will not leave that favor to their own heirs.

The position of bishop is not inherited through family lineage, but rather through an apprenticeship system.

Rather than saying that those bishops were all members of the Schröder family, it would be more accurate to say that those who were not followers of the Schröder family could not have attained the position of bishop.

Even if there are emotional connections, the main motivation is still self-interest.

A Storm Bishop who cannot become a high priest or go to the main temple can serve for a maximum of 50 years.

The youngest one was the bishop of Hamilton.

However, that was the last bit of goodwill that High Priest Schröder left for the family. If it came to the point where Bishop Hamilton had to be involved, the Schröder family would probably... have no future at all.

That's the person I'm entrusting my son to, so I absolutely cannot drag him into this mess too early.

Duke Schröder knew he had to step forward, even if he could only snatch one or two bishoprics from Macmillan and the new high priest, preferably a few near their family's territory, so that they would have a chance to catch their breath.

He had no other choice. His cousin, whose talent was born of the wind and who was blessed with gentle breezes from birth, had become increasingly distant from the true wind in the past two years.

Given his circumstances, he would be lucky to even become the bishop of the Duke of Schröder; there was no way he could rise any higher.

The Lord of Storms forgave the Schroeder family only after his great-grandfather's frantic apologies, but that doesn't mean he will favor them again, or even deprive them of their sense of wind.

Despair was written all over the young Duke Schröder's face.

His only hope has been completely shattered today.

The Lord of Storms merely forgave them, His Majesty Travis merely pardoned them, and the former victims simply chose to ignore them... But no one would accept Schroeder leaving their territory again.

The family chose that territory for a simple reason: it would allow them to live peacefully as a country within a country.

Even though they were surrounded by the king's forces, the innermost ring consisted of Storm Nobles.

Even the only flaw was eventually eliminated by exploiting the king's extreme nature.

The Duchy of Schröder, located in the center, looked perfectly safe.

However... if all the Storm Nobles on the periphery were to switch allegiance to the new High Priest and Macmillan... then their family would have no way out at all.

They might even have to rely on the former Gezar, now the traditional noble territories, as a channel for resource exchange.

The Duchy of Schröder is very beautiful.

Because of its absolute security, the outer perimeter is not even divided by forests and rivers like other territories.

With so many subordinates willing to offer them resources, they rarely even bother to cultivate the beautiful plains into fields.

Anyway, food will be delivered to your door automatically in a steady stream.

Although the young Duke Schröder had begun to prepare for the hardships to come and had asked his servants and subjects to clear the wilderness, even though these loyal men, carefully selected by High Priest Schröder, were willing to put in the effort, they were too lazy to do much work.

He needs time.

Even if he ultimately fails to break through, he must ensure that those who are already showing signs of retreating do not retreat too quickly.

At the very least, it would allow him to establish a stable trade route and store enough resources for most people.

He may be trapped for a while, but...

It was for this reason that he did not hesitate to offend the new favorites of King Leon, and he barely managed to withstand the dissatisfaction of the great scholar Yuri.

Duke Schröder knew very well that no noble family would open their doors to them for at least twenty years; it would be a slight rudeness, at most earning him some cold jeers.

The real trouble doesn't come from him, but from the outside Storm High Priest. These nobles, while they won't have any connection with the Schröder family, won't take the initiative to attack Schröder either.

After all, what the Schröder family could have been taken away by the king's forces had already been completely divided up.

As long as he's thick-skinned enough, and given that Celestia, while cunning, is also overly suspicious, McMillan will likely be able to maintain a certain distance from the new high priest and won't openly show her rejection of Schroeder.

Other nobles, faced with a choice between Schröder, whom they could clearly see, and a visiting high priest, would mostly choose to do nothing.

Pat's frenzied attack gave him a great opportunity... Celestia was clearly considering cooperating with him.

She must really hate Pat. The McMillan family, who aren't completely stupid, can understand how her little sister got into trouble.

McMillan actually knew everything, but at that time, the more important thing was to use this opportunity to completely bring down the Schröder family.

However, the ever-arrogant yet united McMillan Storm Knights will inevitably be very dissatisfied with the behavior of those Tower Ladies.

That girl is even more talented than Lystia.

Now that her position as heir is secure enough, Celestia also hopes that her younger sister will have an even better future.

After all, Storm Knights aren't just for fighting. There have been high priests who specialized in Storm Knights before, but their understanding of the wind was too superficial, and they couldn't see the other side of the wind.

Of course, the main reason is that the Storm Priest would never share his secrets of blending into the wind with these knights.

Even though they were heading in the same direction, they took different paths.

Only talent can break through such encirclement and even lead the Storm Knights of her time.

Therefore, a girl who is naturally able to get along well with the wind is a wonderful surprise for the McMillan family.

The reason the Schröder family was ultimately unable to defend themselves was, of course, because they had always been trying to kill that little girl.

If Pat hadn't still had some kindness left... if a not-so-bright Schroeder had found that girl, he would have instinctively killed her on the spot.

That would truly be a fight to the death.

(End of this chapter)