Chapter 56: Rewards and Obstacles

On the night before Donald stayed in West Suburb Town, in a relay station behind the Holy Sword Fortress on the northwest border, a small brown falcon flew northward, carrying a message pouch tied to its leg.
Several such birds had appeared since the great victory over the orcs. The nobles all had their own ways of sending messages—most kept fast-flying birds trained secretly, while some nobles who were spellcasters used magic to convey messages, which was far faster but at a greater cost.
That brown falcon was extremely fast; after flying for about a day, it arrived in Giant Stone City, the capital of the North County. By evening, an old servant in the attic dedicated to training message birds in the lord’s residence untied the message pouch from the falcon’s leg, fed it its favorite insect food, and promptly delivered the letter secretly to the lord’s study.
Less than half an hour later, a fast horse rushed out of the city at night. The rider was a man in black, looking utterly ordinary—someone who would blend in unnoticed in a crowd. He rode without stopping, aside from eating and changing horses, and arrived in the capital before the officials reporting their military achievements.
Once in the capital, the man in black turned into a familiar alley and entered a clothing store through the back door.
Within an hour, he had changed into the attire of a noble steward and, riding an unremarkable carriage, arrived at the residence of the kingdom’s current Finance Minister.
Rutherford appeared as a middle-aged man with a fair complexion, more like an elegant artist than a merchant. Yet before becoming a Celt official, he had indeed been a noble merchant. Although his noble bearing was outstanding, he was often excluded by the established noble factions due to his family background, preventing him from achieving great success in business. He had to give up commerce for politics, starting as a court auditor and gradually rising through the ranks.
It was this man, who was initially underestimated by the high nobles, who rose to the top tier of the kingdom in just a few years, earning everyone’s admiration.
To rise from a minor noble to become the Finance Minister, overseeing the country’s economy and elevating his family’s title from baron to earl—such a person was certainly no ordinary individual.
At that time, the Finance Minister was receiving a guest from the North County in his reception room.
“Lord Rutherford!”
Count Rutherford waved his hand.
“No need for formalities. Please, sit!”

After hearing the messenger’s account, Rutherford tapped gently on the tea table, appearing casual yet already deep in thought. News of the great victory at the northwest border had reached his ears two days earlier. In fact, aside from the lower nobility and common people, some powerful noble factions in the kingdom had already received accurate information long ago.

“Is that what your lord viscount means?”

The messenger replied respectfully, “Yes, Lord Rutherford. My lord viscount prepared these gifts to show his sincerity. He also promised that if things go well, the taxes in Stone City will increase by ten percent next year!”

Hearing this, the finance minister inwardly scoffed. The other party made bold empty promises, but as for gifts—thanks to the support of his wife’s family, his own family’s business profits had already increased a hundredfold. Did they think a little gold sol would persuade him to do something that would offend others? Were they treating him as one of those powerless minor nobles who could be manipulated at will?

“What a Viscount Macbeth—so narrow-minded and arrogant. No wonder no one from his family has managed to unify the northern counties after generations.”

What Rutherford disliked most was the attitude of those high nobles who pretended to be giving favors while actually asking for something in return—it was utterly repulsive.

“Not to mention that you, as the governor of the northern counties, are far from having the prestige to unify them or reach the status of the kingdom’s top nobles. Even if you did succeed, with the royal family and the Ansel family standing tall, a minor viscount family with only three hundred years of history has no right to act arrogantly here! The lands of the north belong to the Celt and Ansel families. If they could take these lands from the natives, they can surely crush any fool who tries to split the kingdom’s territory!”

Over the years, Rutherford, who had gradually earned the old king’s trust and was one of King XV’s closest confidants, had come to understand the hidden power of the Celt and Ansel families. The waters here were deep—far beyond what a mere local noble could navigate. How could ancient noble families with thousands of years of magical heritage be easily provoked?

The messenger still didn’t realize that his words had insulted the finance minister and was eagerly awaiting a reply.

Thinking this, Rutherford nodded gently and said, “I’ll accept the gifts. You may return to your lord. As for whether it will succeed or not, it’s not up to me alone to decide. After all, the Ansel family is involved, and the capital isn’t something I, as a finance minister, can control!”

He wasn’t prepared to help that ambitious viscount at all. As for gifts? With money offered freely, who wouldn’t take it? Even after becoming Finance Minister, Rutherford retained his frugal habits from his youth.
The visitor could see that the Finance Minister didn’t take his master’s request seriously, but it wasn’t something a mere servant could interfere with—he was just a messenger; the actual decisions had to be made by those in higher positions!
Muttering to himself that even a glass of water wasn’t prepared in the Finance Minister’s residence, he politely took his leave and returned to his base in the capital to send the news via messenger birds.
In the afternoon, the king summoned ministers, officials from various departments, and members of the nobility’s council to the palace council chamber.
The topic of this meeting was how to reward those who had contributed most to the great victory in the northwest.
In the court, many ministers debated fiercely over how to honor the greatest contributors to this war.
Rewards were necessary—just considering the title of “top genius mage” in the northern counties, along with the silver-level master behind him and his potential as a rare summoner, his merits couldn’t be ignored.
Yet the combat achievements he had accumulated were enough to grant him a hereditary barony along with a knightly fief. If he already held a hereditary title, it would have to be exchanged for land, meaning at least a barony-sized territory would be required to satisfy everyone and silence dissent across the kingdom.
Most large, fertile territories above the rank of barony were already occupied, unless they belonged to nobles who had been stripped of their titles for treason or lost their heirs—such situations only occurred a few times every hundred years and were extremely rare.
Currently, most of the fiefs under the viscount rank controlled by the royal family were the size of knightly territories, not reaching barony status, and there weren’t many nearby that could be combined to address the situation. In the south, there were some large, fertile territories, including a marquisate, but it was a coveted prize contested by the kingdom’s major factions.
If those territories were easily divided and granted away, it would be like cutting off a piece of flesh from other noble factions, surely provoking resistance from local powerful nobles. Even the king might not be able to suppress such unrest, potentially leading to great chaos.
It should be noted that although the Celt Kingdom had enjoyed stability under King XV since his ascension, as the royal family’s control over power gradually weakened over the years, undercurrents of unrest had emerged. Local nobles grew more ambitious, while the major nobles prioritized their family interests above all else.

Those who insisted on giving reasonable rewards to the greatest contributors were members of the military faction led by the Ansel family, while those who opposed this and wanted to manipulate the process were representatives of local middle-ranking nobles from various regions, among whom those close to the Governor of North County were the most active. Behind them all stood the influence of the Crown Prince. News that Donald had had a pleasant conversation with the Second Prince and the commander at the Holy Sword Fortress had already spread throughout the kingdom among the nobles. Since such a talented individual who was so close to his brother could not be won over in a short time, they decided to suppress him completely.

In the end, representatives of the major nobles in the kingdom chose to remain neutral as long as the reward decisions did not affect their interests.

Earl Rutherford, who originally did not share the same path as those ministers from noble families, should have expressed his opinion, but surprisingly, he remained mostly silent throughout the meeting and did not participate in their debates.

Watching these ministers from various noble backgrounds squabble endlessly over trivial interests, King Celt XV felt increasingly annoyed. With the complex factions in the kingdom and numerous powers vying for power, he, as king, had spent years mediating between them, exhausting himself to the point of aging faster than normal—looking like he was in his sixties at just fifty!

Glancing at the calm and composed Finance Minister sitting aside, as well as the few officials from various departments who spoke little but always hit the mark, King Celt XV felt somewhat relieved. He trusted and was satisfied with these confidants he had nurtured over the years; even if he could no longer rule, the next king could stabilize his position with their help.

The council hall was noisy, but a maid in the resting area heard a rough idea of what the ministers were discussing. Soon after, she quietly left through the back door of the hall and entered one of the magnificent palaces in the inner palace.

The palace was typical of an inner palace, with light golden curtains hanging all around, giving it a luxurious and opulent appearance. A graceful and beautiful woman sat on a soft couch covered with magical beast furs, elegantly taking a small, crystal-clear fruit from the maid beside her. The sweet taste burst in her mouth, and she smiled contentedly.

“Your Majesty, the Queen!”

The maid who had eavesdropped returned, bowed to the woman, then stood beside her master with another maid.

“How is things? Can Your Majesty still handle the strain?”

It turned out that the Queen of Celt had heard from her attendants about the fierce arguments among the ministers, so she sent a maid to investigate. In the highly ritualistic ancient palace of Donald’s past life, it was strictly forbidden for women to interfere in politics. But in this world, although men still ruled and women generally held a lower status than men, there were many outstanding women whose wisdom or strength surpassed that of most men. Among them, the churches under various goddesses held significant power, and in some of these goddess churches, women even held a higher status than male priests. Thus, in this world, women had the same right to inherit as men. If the king was unable to handle state affairs, it was entirely normal and lawful for the queen to take over, or for a princess to inherit the throne if there were no male heirs.

The maid couldn’t help but laugh as she said, “Your Majesty, you don’t know— the ministers are arguing fiercely, it’s even more entertaining than watching the palace maids fight! His Majesty is in good spirits, but he’s getting impatient watching them argue endlessly over one issue!” She then recounted what she had heard.

After learning the basics, the beautiful queen thought for a moment, smiled, and summoned her personal guard officer in charge of her safety. She immediately came up with an idea for the king. Soon after, a tall male guard officer wearing a top hat entered through a side door of the council hall and spoke a few words to the attendants outside. These attendants then went inside to report to the king, interrupting the nobles’ arguments just in time.

With permission, the guard officer entered the hall, bowed to the king, and whispered something in his ear. Everyone present knew he was one of the queen’s attendants, so surely the wise and beautiful queen had something to discuss with the king.

After hearing the guard officer’s report, King Celt XV nodded slightly and said, “Since everyone is arguing endlessly over granting Merlin a knightly title, let’s send an envoy with my orders to the Northern Counties to inform that young mage. He should choose an unclaimed piece of land in the Northern Counties, and it will be officially granted to him by the kingdom. If he isn’t satisfied with that choice, we’ll allocate a town from one of the southern marquisates that has lost its heir as a reward for his services. Let’s decide this for now; we’ll discuss it again once the envoy returns!” Without waiting for anyone to object, King Celt XV left the council hall under the guard of his attendants to go to the harem to speak with the queen.

Seeing this situation, the ministers and officials from all sides exchanged glances in confusion. But since the decision had already been made, insisting on changes would be tantamount to insulting His Majesty the King. Though these ministers and nobles had argued loudly just now, that was merely a discussion among officials, and the king could not ignore the opinions of all the nobles. If they were to openly oppose King Celt XV, their political careers would come to an end, and their families, territories might even be at risk, with the possibility of losing their titles. It was extremely easy for a king to find an opportunity to deal with a single noble. Yet such an outcome left them dissatisfied, prompting them to consider other options. Some quickly set their sights on the candidate for the special mission and gathered in secret groups within the palace to discuss it. Unbeknownst to them, His Majesty the King, on the advice of his queen, had already brought into the palace a beautiful woman in her late twenties, at the peak of her youth.