Chapter 14: Rennes Castle

Stuart Castle, bedroom:

Elena, who had just woken from her coma, felt as if her whole body was falling apart. This was the result of both physical and mental suffering from a long period of intense shock. She felt that if this continued, she might collapse. Fortunately, her young mistress only did this to her once or twice a month.

But after lying there for a while, Elena realised that the bone-chilling, soul-stirring sensation kept lingering in her mind, preventing her from sleeping. The pleasure she could give herself manually was nothing in comparison.

Thinking about it, she couldn't help but squeeze the blanket, wondering why her mistress only did this to her once or twice a month. Even if it happened once a week, no, once every three days, it would be fine to break.

Of course, in such a large castle, there was more than one bedroom on the lord's floor, so Christine, who was sleeping in the other bedroom at the moment, had no idea that her maid was having such strange thoughts.

The many wyverns on the continent prove that once a dragon is pissed off, it really doesn't care who it hurts, so Christine doesn't have a good solution for this impulse that comes from her bloodline.

Fortunately, while it is impossible to predict the exact timing of the symptoms, it is at least unlikely to happen twice in one week. However, she knows that as her strength grows, the symptoms are likely to get worse. By then, Irena will probably not be enough on her own, and she can't really let her collapse.

A few days later.

The maid, Anne, came in and reported, 'My lady, the caravan is ready. You may leave.

Let us go.

In the castle hall, the lord, knights and officers of the realm were waiting to see them off.

'Uncle Liam, I'm leaving the territory in your hands.

'Please don't worry.

'Victor, I'm putting you to the trouble again.

'That's what I should do.

After giving the others a little more encouragement, Christine got into the carriage.

'Start!

At Knight Eric's command, the thirty horsemen all jumped on their horses and escorted the convoy to the city of Rennes, where Christine was to continue her studies at the Mage Guild.

With everything in order in the realm, all that remained was to follow the plan step by step. If there was anything that could not be decided, there would be time enough to write and ask for instructions.

In fact, many nobles spend their days partying and getting drunk, and the stewards take care of the territory without any problems. Of course, it's inevitable that some of the people below will be a little greedy, but the nobles themselves don't care, and they have to feed the horses if they want them to run.

She was accompanied by her personal maid, Elena, and three exclusive maids, responsible for jewellery, clothes and shoes. There were also ten ordinary maids, led by the head maid, Anne, ten cooks and kitchen helpers, and five footmen.

The carriage was originally Baron Stuart's. Although it looked unremarkable from the outside, it was exceptionally luxurious on the inside. Christine had made some modifications which had greatly improved its shock absorption.

It was three days before they reached the city of Rennes.

The city had high walls with towers at regular intervals, but these were made of wood. The permanent population of the city was over 20,000 and the transient population was also 5,000 to 6,000. It was considered a medium-sized city on this continent.

The guards at the gate saw the flag led by Baron Stewart from afar and immediately drove away the civilian merchants who paid the entrance tax to make way for the noble lords.

The convoy passed through the city gate without slowing and continued along the main road towards the noble quarter, where the castle of the Count of Rennes, the temples of the great gods, the Mage Guild and the residences of the nobles were located.

There were six noble families in Brittany: the Counts of Rennes, the Viscounts of Bréhec, the Barons of Stuer, the Barons of Lorient, the Barons of Quimper and the Barons of Brest. Naturally, the latter five had manors in the noble district, and there were also some local lords who had villas there.

Below the field nobles were the hereditary honorary nobles. Although many of them hold high titles such as Earl, Viscount or Baron, in reality the wealthier ones only own a few villages, while the poorer ones may only own one or two manors, which is not as good as a field lord.

The manors of these people in the Noble District may be their main residence. In order to make a living and maintain their noble status, they have no choice but to work, such as holding various positions in the kingdom or serving the field nobles with higher titles. Some of them have opened chambers of commerce or workshops.

The Baron Stuart's manor in the city of Rennes was not very large. There were guardhouses on either side of the main gate. Inside was a courtyard about the size of a football pitch, with a ten-metre diameter pool in the middle and a sculpture in the centre. After walking around the pool, there was the three-storey main building where the noble family lived.

On either side of the garden were two two-storey outbuildings where the maids and servants lived. There was also a small garden to the rear and functional buildings such as stables and storehouses.

The five maids, five servants and five soldiers who had remained lined up hastily to greet their master, led by the steward.

Good day, Miss Stewart," said the stewardess, Mary, bowing to everyone.

Christine nodded.

Elena and Anne would make the rest of the arrangements, and Knight Eric would return after a night's rest with ten cavalrymen.

Even knights have a fixed number of hours they can serve their lords each year, and they have to be paid extra for any extra hours, so they cannot stay in Rennes all the time. Besides, with the Earl of Rennes' soldiers patrolling the city and its many True God churches, and with twenty cavalrymen, Christian is guaranteed safety.

In fact, Christian lived in this manor when she was studying at the Mage Guild, but at that time, Baron Stewart and his wife were still alive. Now that she is the only person left in the barony, she has to be careful about her safety.

According to normal aristocratic social etiquette, Christine's arrival in the city of Rennes would require her to invite the nobles of the city to a banquet. However, as she has not yet officially inherited the title of Baroness, she has been spared this event, which has made her life much easier.

Perhaps it is because of the impoverished forms of society on this continent that nobles are so willing to hold banquets. Of course, it is not just a matter of everyone sitting down to eat, although the meal is very important. There is also entertainment such as dancing, card games, wine tasting and sparring for the nobles who attend.

But Christine still found such events utterly boring. She preferred to spend her time exploring the mysteries of magic, or just lying down and sleeping. So she never attended a banquet unless it was required by aristocratic etiquette.

Of course, this had something to do with her incomparable beauty. What nobleman holding a banquet wouldn't want to invite her? So the invitations kept coming, even though she repeatedly declined.