Chapter 1: Origins

Continental Europe, Kingdom of France, County of Bretagne.

A convoy is moving along a forest road. At the head of the procession is a knight in full armour on horseback, followed by two squires carrying banners: one with the arms of the Baron Stewart family, the other with the arms of the knight's family, the Bernards. Behind them is a four-wheeled carriage protected by four mounted guards.

The world of the Blue Star resembles medieval Europe. The country has a small population and low productivity, so apart from towns and cities, all roads are dirt tracks. Fortunately, the noble carriages are equipped with shock absorbers, and the horsemanship of the hereditary coachmen can be trusted, so there are no major problems.

After leaving the forest, Knight Eric Bernard rode his horse up to the carriage and knocked on the door. The maid opened the window when she heard the noise.

'Elena, please tell the young lady that we have entered the Baron's territory.

'Okay.'

Sitting across from Elena was a young girl in a mage's robe. She had a slender figure and jade-like skin, with long black hair that reached down to her waist. Her beautiful and delicate face was only slightly better than that of a goddess, especially those black eyes that had a charm that could captivate a person's soul.

Kristen Stewart, the only daughter of Baron Stewart, a dragon vein wizard of the first order and a magician of the first order, has the title of the most beautiful tulip in Brittany.

Her father, Baron Alexander Stewart, is a fifth-level dragon vein wizard and her mother, Felociel Morningstar, is an elf and a seventh-level mage. Wizards are known for their charm, and they are all handsome men and beautiful women. Elves are even more attractive, so Kristen has inherited the best qualities of both her parents.

In fact, she is a time traveller. Her soul attached itself to her mother's embryo when she was pregnant, so she was born a noble lady.

She studied at the Wizards' Guild in Rennes, the capital of Brittany. She hurried back this time because of a major family incident. It has been confirmed that the ship her parents were on has sunk with no survivors. Eric Bernard arrived as quickly as possible to deliver the news and escorted her back to claim her inheritance.

The nobles of this continent all inherit through the male line, with the eldest son passing the title on to his eldest son. If there is no son, the eldest daughter can also inherit the title.

(Book setting) Dragon vein wizards have a normal lifespan of 500 years due to their dragon bloodline, and elves have a similar lifespan of 300 years. The disadvantage of the immortal species is that it is difficult to have offspring, and so far they have only one daughter, Christine. Of course, under normal circumstances, the Stewarts would still have a few hundred years to try to have more children, but they didn't expect an accident to happen all of a sudden.

The barony was not small and, coupled with the limited speed of the coach, it took a whole day to reach their destination, Stewart Castle.

The River Brittany flows from north to south into the sea, but here it hits a rocky hill and makes a U-turn. The castle stands on the highest point of the hill in the bay.

The castle was probably built in this way because of the terrain. The castle building is different. Let's have a look.

The whole castle is made of solid boulders. It is surrounded by the river to the north, west and south, and there are cliffs over 20 metres high. On the other side is a gentle slope with a moat dug around it, and below the slope is Dragon Claw Town.

As one of the earliest nobles to be granted the county of Brittany, it was only natural that an ancestor of the Stewart family would choose the best location to build the family castle.

It is well known that those in the legal profession earn a high income, but although Dragon Vein Wizards are spellcasters, their spells are all based on natural talent. So those Stewart ancestors who had a talent for magic studied spells as a sideline, while those who didn't earned money to expand the castle, collect weapons and equipment, or find rare treasures. By the time of Christine's grandfather, the castle was no less grand or luxurious than that of the Count of Rennes.

Next to Rennes, Longclaw was the most populous and prosperous town in all of Brittany.

Not far from Longclaw, they encountered a steady stream of travellers who immediately gave way to the caravan and took off their hats to salute when they saw the Baron Stewart's flag. As they entered the town, the speed of the caravan immediately increased as the road became a flat slab of stone.

The procession passed through the town and arrived in front of the castle. The soldier on guard in the tower had seen the flag and Knight Eric Bernard from afar and had opened the castle gates early.

The carriage stopped in the middle of the courtyard, and the coachman lowered the footrest to get out. Elena got out first, followed by Christine.

Other members of the Stewart family, vassals, knights and officials of various ranks were waiting nearby and greeted her with bows as she stepped out of the carriage.

After returning their greetings, Christine invited everyone into the castle hall.

Without hesitation, Christine took her place of honour, with her uncles Liam Stewart, Knight of the Sixth Rank, Eric Bernard, Knight of the Seventh Rank, and Albert Louvassot, Knight of the Sixth Rank, on her left, and the steward Victor Durand, the bailiff, tax collector and agricultural officer of the territory, etc., on her right.

On the right were the vassals, Lord Etienne Mercier and Lord Pierre Rogeron, and several squires.

Christine asked, "Everyone, I have already heard what happened from Sir Eric. Where is the official document?

Butler Victor Durand hands her a parchment: "My Lady, this is an official document from the Council of Nobles.

Christine opened it and read it. The document contained the results of the investigation and was sealed with the seal of the Council of Nobles of the Kingdom of France and signed by the priest of the God of Order.

It is only natural that ships should have accidents at sea. Of course, for reasons of communication, it may not be known whether it was a storm or pirates that caused the accident. However, unless the ship is seen in port for an extended period of time, it will be classified as an accident.

If an ordinary civilian died, that was that, but Baron Stewart was a noble of the realm and was travelling on a ship owned by the Chamber of Commerce. Of course, if something happened, the Chamber of Commerce would have to investigate and, after confirming the situation, report to the Council of Nobles, who would then notify the family. Now that there was an official document, it was confirmed.

Victor, go and tell the Thieves' Guild to offer a reward of one hundred gold coins for news of my parents.

Although there was already definite news, they could not give up hope.

Yes, sir.

The purchasing power of gold coins was very high in this world due to the low prices. Victor's annual salary as the Baron's steward was only 200 gold coins, and one gold coin was equal to 100 silver coins, and one silver coin was equal to 100 bronze coins (one bronze coin could be understood as one yuan). Of course, food, clothing and shelter were extra.

Uncle Liam, please come to the temple with me later. I want to ask Pastor Clement to pray for my parents.

'As you wish.

'Lord Pierre, please go to the capital of the kingdom, Frankfurt, to deal with my inheritance. I will send Knight Albert to protect you.'

'Yes, my lord.

Lord Pierre had always been responsible for the Barony's foreign affairs and had been to the capital, Frankfort, more than once, so it was only fitting that he should handle this matter.