Chapter 2: The beginning

After careful questioning about the current situation in the area, Christine and her Uncle Liam made their way to the temple in Dragon Claw City.

Heirs to the Dragon Claw Warlocks have always been rare, with no more than three siblings in a generation. Christine's grandfather had two sons, the eldest Alexander and the second Liam, of whom only Christine's father Alexander awakened the Dragon Vein Warlock bloodline.

Liam did not awaken, but he did have the Dragon Vein, so he easily understood the fighting spirit and became a knight.

In this world where family interests are paramount, the eldest child's inheritance is an unshakable iron law. The second son and the second daughter can only receive a fixed annual pension, and when their parents die, the pension is cut off.

After all, the heir has children of his own. If you divide the money blindly, the family fortune will be diluted. If you think about the old feelings, you can hire them to do something, but on the contrary, it is common to treat them as strangers.

Liam was able to get a village fiefdom because he became a knight, and of course all knights who got a fiefdom had to serve the lord.

As for things like Kristen having only one heir and inheriting the family business after being murdered, don't even mention it. Thousands of years of training have made Liam incapable of thinking like that, and even if he did, it would be impossible to hide in a world of divine arts and magic. Then the whole family would be burned by the Church of the God of Order, and the land would be taken by the king without an owner.

There has been no shortage of such madmen throughout history, but they have all died a horrible death, implicating their families. Even after death, their souls had to be punished.

The lord is a dragon vein sorcerer, so naturally he believes in the dragon god. Because the Stewart domain is wealthy, the temple was built with a high-end atmosphere and quality.

There are many gods in this world. According to the classification of the clergy, there are gods of light, gods of order, goddesses of agriculture, gods of war, sea gods, etc., as well as the elven goddesses that elves believe in, dwarf gods that dwarves believe in, and so on. In short, everyone must have faith. Those who do not believe will be tortured for a hundred years after death on the wall of the unbelievers before their souls can dissipate.

Originally, the Dragon God only needed the faith of the dragons, and at most a few half-dragons or so. But if you don't have the faith, other gods will have to take it. For every believer of that god, there will be one less believer of that god. That's why there's the Dragon God Church and the Dragon Vein Warlock. After all, the dragon is the equivalent of a nuclear weapon. It's not like you can't solve small problems with big moves. With the Church of the Dragon God, it's a lot easier to run around in the human world.

According to the 'Covenant of the Gods', everyone has the right to believe in any true God and the right to change their beliefs freely. Belief cannot be forced.

Although belief cannot be enforced, it can be guided. Generally, a lord's subjects will believe in whatever true god the lord believes in. After all, you are living under someone else's management. Unless you are a professional who serves the lord, such as a scholar who believes in the god of knowledge, a mage advisor who believes in the goddess of magic, an advisor who believes in the goddess of agriculture, etc.

Of course, not all mages have to believe in the goddess of magic, and not all warriors have to believe in the goddess of war. They can believe in the Goddess of Light or the Goddess of Order, just as not all actors come from a professional background.

Clemen is a priest of the fifth order. He not only presides over the temple in Dragonclaw City, but is also responsible for the religious affairs of the entire Barony. When he heard that Christine was visiting, he immediately sent someone to welcome her.

Although he is a true priest of the gods, he does not dare to be arrogant in the presence of the other party. After all, strictly speaking, he is only a servant of the Dragon God, while Christine is the Dragon Vein. Tracing the roots upwards, who knows if the ancestors are not some descendants of the Dragon God.

Good day, Reverend Clement,' Christine greeted him first.

'Good day, Miss Christine,' Reverend Clement greeted her politely.

'Reverend Clement, I would like to pray for my parents.

'Yes, I'll arrange it right away.

A funeral would be appropriate for a natural death, but since Baron and Baroness Stewart had been involved in an accident at sea, a prayer service would have to suffice.

The world is full of accidents. Apart from cities, towns, villages, farmland, pastures and roads, the rest of the world is either forest, grassland, wasteland, swamp, river and lake, or some other primitive landscape. Add to this the existence of monsters and beasts, and people have to travel in groups on long journeys. Every year there are people who go missing and are never seen again, and of course the churches have appropriate prayer rituals.

The ceremony for the local lord must be performed to the highest standards. It didn't take long for the priests and servants to set it up. Carpets were laid on the floor, candles were lit in the candlesticks, and several priestly apprentices took on the role of choir, singing psalms to pray to God.

Christine, led by the priest Clement, knelt before the statue of God and whispered a prayer. Because there is a real God, the souls of the faithful will be reborn and enjoy the blessings of the Kingdom of God after death, not to mention the descendants of the Dragon bloodline. So no one seemed too sad.

After the ceremony, Liam also knelt before the statue of God and prayed for Baron Stewart and his wife. As descendants of the Dragon bloodline, the bond between brothers is much stronger than that of ordinary nobles.

Christine took a purse from her maid Elena and handed it to Priest Clement, saying, "Priest, these fifty gold coins are a dedication to the gods.

Liam also handed over a purse containing ten gold coins, which Priest Clement happily accepted.

People in this world do not avoid talking about money face to face. Priests have to agree on a price in advance when they perform divine arts to heal the wounded. The lower ranks are even proud to receive rewards from the higher ones in person.

As for the accusation of embezzlement, there is no need to worry. As long as you become a priest, your standard of living is much better than that of ordinary people, according to Church standards. A priest of the fifth class is even comparable to a knight, so there is no need to embezzle. Besides, this is a world where the true God exists. Embezzling offerings to the god will inevitably shake the faith. The consequences can range from a person's rank stagnating to them falling in rank, and in severe cases they can even be killed by the backlash of the god's power.

It was night when they returned to the castle. As Christian had instructed, the kitchen was ready for the banquet. The vassals, officials and knights did not leave. It was only right to hold a banquet to strengthen mutual relations.

The banquet included roast deer, braised beef ribs, rabbit stewed in wine, fresh salmon and sea bass, roast chicken, ham, vegetable soup, pork pie and white bread as main courses, wine and mead as drinks, and apple pie and strawberry pudding as desserts.

The banquet was comparable to the earl's formal banquets in its opulence, not to mention the use of expensive spices, and everyone was very satisfied.

After the banquet, Christine wrote a letter for Lord Pierre Roglan to take to the capital of Frank City, and sent it to the Elf Kingdom using the communication formation of the Mage Guild's Frank Kingdom headquarters.

Her mother was an elf, and it was only natural to inform her of such an important matter. Although it cost 100 gold coins to send a message from the Frank Kingdom to the Elf Kingdom, it was a necessary expense.