Midsummer, the new Earl of Glamorgan. At the top of the Dawn Wizard Tower, Councilwoman Veronica's private bedroom.
The newly installed air conditioner was blowing cold air into the room. On the big, soft bed, a couple was sleeping in each other's arms. The sun was shining brightly outside the room, but the room was filled with a strange smell.
The noble count panted softly. His eyes were closed, but he could feel the hair on his face brushing against his face.
It was ticklish.
Laing tried to avoid it, but the soft and warm body on his chest refused to let go.
"Alright, my dear, stop it." Laing had to open his eyes.
Veronica was lying on top of him. Her sweet oval face was blushing suspiciously. She was holding a lock of her hair, and her dark brown hair was brushing Laing's face.
"Stop it." Laing reached out again. The Earl easily grabbed Veronica's wrist. Veronica didn't resist at all. Instead, she leaned on Laing's chest and said in a dreamy voice, "My dear, thank you …"
"There's no need for thanks between us, Veronica. You deserve it." A faint warmth spread between the two. Laing hugged Veronica tightly. They looked at each other and smiled. Veronica closed her eyes and kissed Laing.
Three minutes later, Veronica pushed Laing away, panting. "Time to get up, Laing. Catherine has prepared the hot water. Take a bath before you go back to the castle."
Laing nodded. It was indeed time for him to get up. The Earl rolled over and got up. He noticed that Veronica was still lying on the bed. He smiled. "Don't you want to take a bath together?"
"Take a bath together? Oh my god, I don't want to take a bath for two hours. All I can do is hold onto the railing and let you do whatever you want. " Veronica rubbed her waist unhappily. "Don't say that. My waist is still sore, and my legs are weak. I want to sleep for a while."
Laing was putting on his clothes. He touched Veronica's face lovingly.
Veronica had gone all out last night. She had fought Laing until the wee hours of the morning. Now, Laing was no longer what he used to be. Garland Witches were forced to surrender their territory and beg for peace.
Laing understood what Veronica meant. In fact, as she said, Veronica knew that her relationship with Laing was at a disadvantage, and she had no other cards to play. In order to express her love, she had to do this.
Veronica couldn't help but cry. It was every witch's dream to own a luxurious Wizard Tower of their own. With Laing's help, Veronica realized her dream at the age of 29. She was already ahead of everyone else. She was the first female Councilor Garland to build her own Wizard Tower before the age of 30.
"I still miss the way you were last night." Laing got up and smiled. Veronica was back to her usual sharp and shrewd self in the morning. The woman who cried last night was like a dream. Only Laing knew that such a witch really existed.
"Hmph!" Veronica's pretty face reddened. She seemed to remember how she lost her composure last night. She didn't hold back. "My Great Knight, I didn't know you had such a hobby. Then I think you should go find your little Princess Garland. She'll be willing to cry for you! "
"Hahaha! Even now, you still haven't given up on mocking Teresa. Veronica, is there really such a deep hatred between you and Teresa?" Laing asked helplessly.
Veronica adjusted her skirt and leaned back on the bed. She was a little stunned by Laing's question. After a moment of thought, Garland suddenly laughed coldly. "Actually, it's just as you said. Whether it's in terms of spells, Wizard Tower, or men, I've defeated her. It seems that I don't need to be calculative with her anymore. But after hearing your question, I feel that I still need to continue to be entangled with her."
"That's just your jealousy, my dear." Laing was about to go to the bathroom, but when he heard Veronica's words, he turned around and said, "Let me see, Veronica."
Garland rolled her eyes at Laing. Seeing that he was determined, she shyly pulled up her skirt. On her soft, jade-like belly, Laing's spiritual rune engraving was still operating.
The silver heart-shaped sword pattern still stored Laing's Psionic energy. It was worth noting that the wings on both sides of the pattern were fully opened. When Laing's finger gently touched the pattern, it immediately flashed in response.
"What's wrong, my dear?" Veronica's face was a little red.
"It's done. My spiritual rune engraving has entered your body and soul." Laing's finger brushed across the beautiful pattern. "This means that you can master more advanced spells in the future without fear of being corrupted by Chaos. It also means …"
"It also means that I've become something that belongs to you, right?" Veronica glared at Laing. "Tell me, my dear. How many women have this pattern on their bodies now?"
"I just finished engraving it on Olica a few days ago. There are three now." Laing always liked to tell the truth. Veronica was a smart woman. He would not lie.
"You'll definitely engrave one on your female knight in the future, even if she doesn't know magic. Then, will our little princess Garland also get one?" Veronica continued to ask. It seemed that she was quite interested in this.
"Suria will definitely get one in the future. As for Teresa … she's not part of my plan. In fact, she was never part of my plan. I didn't expect that when I left Nord, the Garland Council would change people at the last minute." Laing shook his head in distress. "But she chased me all the way here …"
Veronica's beautiful almond-shaped eyes flashed with a smile. "That's because you're too good, my dear. Alright, go take a shower. I'm going to sleep for a while."
"Okay." Laing gently kissed Veronica's lips and turned to go to the bathroom.
… …
If there was anything that caused a stir in the Earl of Glamorgan recently, it had to be the many decrees issued by the Earl himself.
The release of the fixed agricultural tax did not arouse too much reaction from the knights, because on the surface, the knights did not suffer too much loss. At most, the knights would talk about it after dinner, expressing that it was a kind of pity from the count, and that the hardworking serfs would be able to keep more food. As for those who were not hardworking, the knights were too lazy to care about their lives.
The serfs' reaction to the fixed agricultural tax was a little uneasy. In order to calm them down, Suria sent out many knights and squires of the family to announce the changes in the tax rate in all villages. They were responsible for making announcements in all villages, loudly explaining the changes in the tax rate. Then, they had the serfs memorize and recite. Those who memorized well would be rewarded with a copper coin and two pieces of black bread. Those who could not recite well would be rewarded with the same amount of money. Through this method, the serfs finally calmed down. Most of the serfs were illiterate, and most of them could not count. The real difference would only be felt after the autumn harvest.
What really caused the controversy was the Virtue Decree issued by Laing. The decree announced that all bandits and bandits in the territory must unconditionally surrender to the Earl within a month. Those who surrendered would be exempted from their crimes and even let bygones be bygones. There was a large amount of wasteland in the Chalon Forest in the Earl's territory that needed to be cultivated. Once the time limit was up, what awaited these bandits would be the wrath of Laing Macado, the Holy Grail Knight, the Chosen Champion of the Lake Nymphs, Earl of Glamorgan.
On a sunny morning, five days after the Virtue Decree was issued.
A large group of uninvited guests came to the entrance of the Earl's castle. A large group of soldiers surrounded these people. The soldiers looked at these uninvited guests with hatred. They held the hilts of their swords, and their hearts were filled with anger and confusion. In their eyes, these bandits were all military exploits. The Virtue Decree of the Count had reduced the soldiers' chances of gaining military exploits.
But there was no other way. Laing's prestige and reputation were too great. The soldiers did not have the courage to question or oppose the Earl's decree. The leader of the soldiers, Deniz, was dressed in mail armor, with a dwarven fine longsword hanging from his waist and a big bow on his back. He was entertaining these bandit leaders.
On this day, all the bandit leaders in the Earl's territory brought their deputies to the castle to surrender to Laing. There were dozens of people standing outside the castle. The bandit leaders offered all their accumulated wealth to Laing. They allowed the soldiers to search them and then followed Katzenberg's arrangements.
The bandit leaders were very cooperative. Steward Katzenberg ordered all the bandit leaders to rest in a room outside the castle and wait for the Earl to receive them.
As soon as they entered the room, the bandit leaders began to make a ruckus.
"Petty! You bastard! I thought I was the first to arrive, but it turns out you were the first! " A bandit leader shouted in dissatisfaction. "Damn it, if you didn't come, I would have surrendered to Sir Laing!"
Petty was the leader of the Spear Bandit Group. He led dozens of bandits and was good at using spears.
"Come on! Gross, you bastard! You were the furthest away from Jean Town, but you came with me? "Another bandit leader shouted exaggeratedly." Well, everyone is here! I'm the first one to want to surrender! "
Gross was the leader of the Polak Bandit Group. When he heard the "Decree of Virtue", his first thought was to surrender to Laing.
No one wanted to fight against Laing, the Knight of the Holy Grail, the Lady's Chosen Champion, who had a great reputation in the kingdom. The bandits were already in a state of panic because of Laing's appearance. They thought they were doomed to die. Now that there was an opportunity to surrender and be lenient, all the bandit leaders instinctively wanted to surrender. They immediately rushed over.
More than a dozen bandit leaders were quarreling in the room, and the scene was chaotic. It was a complete mess.
"Hugo, you little bastard, your people have never been active in the Earl's territory. Why are you here to surrender?" After the bandit group quarreled, they found a silent familiar face hiding in the corner. "Get out of here. You're a bandit from the Duchy of Bereon. Why are you here?"
"Who … Who said that Bereon's bandits can't surrender to Sir Laing? I, I'm here to surrender! " The bandit leader by the name of Hugo was obviously a little guilty, but he still tried to defend himself. "I've already brought all my brothers to the count. Since two days ago, I've been Sir Leon's bandit."
"Hahahaha! What do you mean you're Sir Laing's bandit? Are you worthy? "
"You're not worthy, I am!"
"You're worthy!"
The bandit leaders knew that they couldn't fight in the Earl's castle, but that didn't stop them from attacking each other. Everyone wanted to be recognized by Sir Laing.
No one really wanted to be a bandit for the rest of their lives. They all wanted to return to society with a decent identity.
"Speaking of which, where's Bertrand? He didn't come to surrender? Has he been blinded by lard? "
"I don't know."
In a room in the outer castle, the bandit leaders were arguing. In the inner castle, a man in his thirties with a mustache, a winged green hat, a green shirt, and green tights was kneeling in front of Laing. He presented a few parchments. "My Lord, this is the list of all the assets and members of the Bertrand Bandit Gang. We have 350 tents and more than 800 people. Nearly 500 of them are good boys who can use swords and bows. Now, I, Bertrand, on behalf of all the members of the Bertrand Bandit Gang, would like to surrender to you unconditionally. We are willing to accept any punishment."
Laing came out from behind the table and helped Bertrand up. He smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to come with your men the day after I issued the Decree of Virtue. I didn't treat you well and made you suffer."
"No, no, no! My Lord, please don't say that. It's our honor to surrender to you. We, the Bertrand Bandit Gang, thank you for your tolerance and mercy. " Bertrand knelt down and kowtowed. "We were forced to become bandits. My Lord, you are willing to give us a chance to turn over a new leaf. We sincerely thank you."
"…" Looking at Bertrand kneeling and kowtowing, Ryan was a little speechless. He had underestimated the people's desire to "return to the right path" in a world with gods. No one was willing to be a non-believer, and their souls would become fertilizer for Chaos after death. Most of the bandits were forced to do so because they couldn't live anymore.
Laing had thought so. After issuing the Decree of Virtue, the bandits were still hesitating. He sent a messenger to find the bandits with his decree. "The count asked me to bring you a message. As long as you surrender …"
It was only the fifth day after the Decree of Virtue was issued. Not only the bandits in the count's territory, but even the bandits from other duchies had come to surrender to him!
This was the effect of reputation. After many years of accumulation, the reputation that Leon had painstakingly built up finally played its role.
"Then I will grant you …"
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