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The King's envoy, Armand de Aquitaine, stood in the middle of the hall of the Baron's castle with the King's document in his hand.
The hall was packed with people. All the knights and officials in Laing's territory were present. Laing knelt quietly in front of the King's envoy, not saying a word.
"Baron Laing Macado of Jean, since your enfeoffment, you have distinguished yourself in battle and excelled in civil affairs. You have used courage, glory, and faith to prove your worth to the Lady and the King. Here, the Brittany Knight King Dinoa, Jean Richard de Le-Angouland, hereby enfeoffes Baron Laing Macado of Jean as the Count of Glamorgan. I hope you will prove your worth to the Lady and the King with your loyalty, your life, and your piety." Armand held the King's document and spoke slowly.
"Yes, sir." Ryan didn't say much, and he simply replied.
This was because there was no need for him to say anything more. Richard did not send him to the capital to receive the title, but instead sent a messenger to do so. This was a very clear signal that the king was not willing to give him the title, nor did he want to see him. He was only forced to do so, so he sent a messenger directly to his fief.
Laing didn't want to make any empty promises. He just wanted to show his sincerity.
Armand nodded. "May the Lady's light illuminate your path forward."
Then the envoy waved his hand, and a servant came in with a few pieces of clothing. The Count's formal attire was a dark red velvet coat with white fur trimmings. The bonnet was sewn with three mink fur to show the rank of the Count. There was a gold-plated ring on the crown with eight silver balls on the top.
Armand used his long sword to knock heavily on Ryan's shoulder. The ceremony of bestowing a monarch and bestowing a sword was completed.
In fact, this ceremony was a little against the rules. Normally, it should be the king bestowing the title of king and bestowing the sword. But still, Richard didn't want to see him, and Laing didn't want to see the king either. Rather than hate each other, it was better not to see each other.
From today onwards, Laing was both Baron Zeon and Count Glamorgan. Laing tried his best to maintain his composure, but his shoulders still trembled slightly.
Twenty-five years. He had been in this world for twenty-five years. He was finally a hereditary aristocrat!
After drinking ice for twenty-five years, one would know if it was hot or cold.
Brittany's nobility was divided into five levels: Baron, Earl, Marquis, Duke, and King. Among them, Marquis had only appeared in recent years, mainly to show special appreciation and respect to the Earl. In essence, it was not much different from an Earl.
In addition, there were also Lord and Knight. The former was a reward for nobles, while the latter could be awarded to anyone. Even in Brittany history, some serfs had received the title of Knight.
But there was a big difference between an Earl and a Baron.
As everyone knew, the promotion from a Baron to an Earl was not only a promotion of the title, but also a change in the nature of the title. That was, Laing had officially stepped into the ranks of hereditary aristocrats through his own efforts.
This began with the status of a Baron. In the Dark Age before the establishment of Brittany, Brittany fell into the Dark Age due to the retreat of the Empire. At that time, the tribes and clans began to divide their territories and self-rule. Among them, the title of Duke began to appear. This title was usually given to the leader of the tribe who led the tribe on expeditions.
After the establishment of the Kingdom of the Knight King, the twelve first-generation Knights of the Holy Grail were conferred the title of Duke. They were divided into twelve duchies to form the Kingdom of the Knight King. Therefore, a Duke was the highest title second only to the King.
In order to make it easier for the Duke to manage his own territory, the Duke also conferred the title of Earl. Earl meant that the "Earl" represented their territory. The Earl obeyed the Duke's orders. If there were no special circumstances, the Earl would not obey the King's orders. If the Earl dared to rebel, he would be suppressed by the King's army or punished by other nobles. The Earl's authority and title could be inherited by his descendants. However, because some Earls lacked heirs, the total number of Earls would decrease rather than increase. At present, the total number of people in Brittany who held the title of Earl was less than 100, and half of them were fake titles.
Then there was the title of Baron. In the earliest days of Brittany, there was only the title of Baron but not the title of Baron. Baron meant "free noble" or "servant of the King". When Arthur's eldest son, the second generation Knight King Louis, was born, Louis conferred a large number of titles to Barons. Most of the senior secular nobles were conferred the title of Baron, but only a few of them actually had a fief. Most of them were fake titles.
In the past, Barons accounted for a large proportion of the nobles. However, later on, the Knight King realized that it was not good to confer Barons too many titles, so he began to control the number of Barons. That was when Barons stood out from the Knight class and became the highest level of the Knight class and the lowest level of the Great Nobles.
According to Brittany law, Barons were not hereditary. If a Baron's son wanted to inherit the title, he had to be recognized as a Knight of the Kingdom. However, the son of a Duke did not need to be recognized as a Knight of the Kingdom.
To be promoted from a Knight of the Kingdom to a Knight of the Kingdom, one had to go through a series of life and death experiences. From this, it could be seen that the succession of a Baron was prioritized for those who were strong in battle and martial arts, while the succession of a Duke was based on bloodline.
Therefore, Barons had a low status among the Great Nobles. Strictly speaking, Barons were nobles who did not have a stable social class. They were nobles who served the military in battle.
In summary, there was a huge gap between a Baron and an Earl. Now, Leon had already crossed it and become a true hereditary noble. An Earl now had the ability to wage war on his own, appoint his own officials, and independently manage his own territory.
The King's document was handed to Laing. The King's envoy, Armand, smiled and said, "Greetings, Earl of Glamorgan."
Glamorgan? When Laing heard this title, he had an indescribable feeling. It was as if it was describing some stupid person or something.
Laing saw this and smiled. "Greetings, Mr. Armand."
"Congratulations, Mr. Laing. You're the Lady's Champion." Armand smiled. "Congratulations on your promotion. May I have a drink from you?"
Before Laing could speak, Marquess Suria walked up with a smile. "Of course, Mr. Armand. You're very welcome."
At the same time, the female knight stretched out her small hand and drew a line on Laing's palm with her white fingertips, indicating that he should listen to her first.
Ryan thought to himself that the ambassador's attitude was very good, and she didn't seem to be deliberately trying to make things difficult for him. He didn't know why Sulia was doing this, but he still obediently listened to the female knight. So he said warmly, "Of course, please come to the guest room."
The King's envoy walked towards the guest room. Laing deliberately slowed down. "Suria?"
The female knight gently pulled Laing's hand and whispered in his ear, "Laing, don't be rude to your future vassal."
"Future vassal?" Laing was a little confused, but Suria gestured for him to go in quickly. The female knight took out a bottle of Vanford's best wine, "Lysalus", and went in with Laing.
An exquisite glass goblet was placed on the table. Suria deftly opened the cork and poured the wine into the goblet. She then handed it to Armand. "Greetings, Mr. Armand."
"Greetings, Suria. Congratulations on being the Champion of the Knight's Tournament." Armand nodded with a smile. He then noticed that Laing and Suria were holding hands. A flash of understanding appeared in his eyes.
Armand looked like he was in his thirties, but the vicissitudes of life in his eyes showed that he was no longer young. His black hair was parted in the middle, and his appearance was ordinary, but his blue eyes contained his own strength.
"Let me introduce you. This is the Knight of the Holy Grail, Armand de Aquitaine, the winner of the Knight's Tournament 21 years ago. One of the first Knights of the Holy Grail, the last descendant of Frey Desmond, Duke of Aquitaine, and the flag bearer of the king." Suria introduced him to Laing.
"So you are …" Laing opened his mouth wide. The man in front of him was the last descendant of the Duke of Aquitaine? The winner of the Knight's Tournament? The Knight of the Holy Grail?
"Sorry, I was rude. I didn't recognize you at first!" Ryan hurriedly apologized.
Armand's face showed the vicissitudes of life. He forced a smile as endless memories flooded his mind.
He recalled the past. At that time, he was still a young knight, and his mind was filled with the desire to avenge his family and ancestors. He was the last descendant of the first Duke of Aquitaine, Fredmond. When the Blood Red Duke massacred his family, his bloodline (born of a female courtier, with no right of inheritance) was still fighting in Araby, so they were lucky enough to survive.
Armand swore that he would make the Blood Red Duke pay with blood. He was the Champion of the Knight's Tournament at the age of 17. At that time, King Richard had just ascended the throne and wanted to do something. Richard wanted to enfeoff Armand as a Baron, but Armand refused. Armand didn't want the fief. He only wanted revenge.
In his twenties, Armand embarked on the path of the Holy Grail and began his own expedition. He spent nearly ten years traveling all over the Old World. Finally, he killed a terrifying Legendary Orc Orc King near the capital of Estalia, Magritte. After receiving the recognition of the Lake Fairy, he drank from the Holy Grail and became a Knight of the Holy Grail.
When he returned to Culona, Armand received his own endless glory. Like his ancestor Frey Desmond, Armand became the King's flag bearer as a Knight of the Holy Grail. He was responsible for raising the Knight King's flag, the Battle Flag of the Lake Fairy.
That's right, it was the Blessing Flag that the first Knight King, Arthur, had obtained from the Lake Fairy. The flag had a picture of the Lake Fairy holding the Holy Grail and a picture of irises. This War Flag contained the divine power of the Lake Fairy. Under this War Flag, Arthur led the knights to complete the great unification.
It was said that as long as this flag appeared on the battlefield, the Knights would never be defeated and would fight to the last man. Under this flag, the Knights would never be afraid and would never run away.
"I'm the one who should say thank you, Lord Laing." Armand broke free from his memories. He could not hold back his excitement, and his voice was filled with anticipation. "About the Red Duke …"
"I killed him." Laing nodded. "I completely ended him, I'm sure."
"I'm not doubting you, Lord Ryan, but … the Red Duke has always been a fast runner. He would always retreat from the battlefield as soon as he saw that the situation was bad. The zombie dragon's speed was far beyond anyone's reach. May I know how you managed to kill him?" Armand asked. The King's flag bearer was very anxious. As a Knight of the Holy Grail, he shouldn't have lost his composure.
However, under such deep hatred, no one could remain calm. The Knight of the Holy Grail was also a human.
"He was Abo Wallace's subordinate. Of course, he ran very fast, but I wasn't bad either." Laing suddenly said mischievously, "Because I learned a lot from a lady named Zhang. As long as you run fast enough, time can't catch up with you."
“？？？？？” Armand and Suria didn't understand what Laing was saying. They wanted to ask more, but Laing gestured for them to stop. He took out a sword. "In that case, I'll return this sword to its rightful owner today."
"This is … the Sword of Aquitaine!" Armand immediately reached out to take the sword.
The hilt of the Sword of Aquitaine was engraved with irises, and the body of the sword was engraved with mysterious runes. For hundreds of years, the sword had been passed down from generation to generation of Dukes of Aquitaine until it reached the hands of the Blood Red Duke.
Armand took the Sword of Aquitaine. He didn't refuse. The sword originally belonged to him. The last descendant of the Duke of Aquitaine reached out to touch the sword. His voice was indescribably sad. "It's finally back."
"I tried to purify this sword, but …" Laing was about to say that the Sword of Aquitaine had completely lost its power and become an ordinary sword.
But Armand turned a deaf ear. The Holy Grail Knight cut his hand.
The hot and sacred blood dripped onto the body of the Sword of Aquitaine, making a burning sound.
A miracle happened. When the Sword of Aquitaine was raised in Armand's hand again, it was restored. It had been in the hands of the Blood Red Duke for five hundred years, but it couldn't be completely transformed. Under the purification of the Holy Grail Knight's holy blood and the bloodline of Aquitaine, it was restored. The decay and rust on the sword had disappeared, and it released a pure halo like the sky.
Then, Armand knelt in front of Laing.
"I, the Holy Grail Knight, Armand de Aquitaine, swear in the name of the Lady, allegiance to the Lady's Chosen Champion, Laing Macado."
Laing's face was a little surprised, and even a little suspicious. But he quickly realized that the Holy Grail Knight would never joke about the Lady of the Lake. Their words were law.
So Laing put the sword on Armand's shoulder. The Goddess of Vengeance burned with white flames, and the Flame of Purification burned fiercely on the sword. "Then I appoint you as my knight, my flag bearer."
The simple ceremony of bestowing the sword was completed. Not long ago, it was Armand who bestowed the sword to Laing, and only a few minutes later, the King's envoy swore loyalty to Laing in the same way.
Sometimes, life was just so magical. Reality was always more unbelievable than fiction.
But there was something even more incredible.
Armand took out a huge military flag. This military flag was full of holy power. The military flag was woven with soft velvet silk left behind by the High Elves. It had a holy image of the Lady of the Lake holding the Holy Grail and a pattern of golden irises on it.
"This is??!!" Clayon cried out involuntarily. He had lost his composure.
"The King didn't allow me to take this flag away. He said it belonged to the royal family." Armand smiled. "But the Lady told me in a dream that this military flag never belonged to the King. It only belonged to the Lady.
And according to the Lady's oracle, it now belongs to you. "
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