Chapter 86: The Swarm of Problems…

“Thank you for the heads up though…” Constantine rubbed his temple and let out a pained hum as if he had a toothache…

Hailing from a nation with the longest feudal society and the most intense power struggles, he had heard far too many tales of conflicts between imperial heirs. The tragedies and triumphs, the twists and turns within royal families were always hot topics of gossip—precisely because of this, Constantine felt the strongest aversion to such matters.

In his mind, a change of emperors always carried a thick, bloody scent.

Though on the other hand, he really didn’t have much room to escape. He was now Her Highness the Princess’s fiancé; loosely speaking, he was already part of the royal family. These matters, to varying degrees, would eventually fall upon his head. It was just that previously he thought he could minimize his involvement—if you didn’t want to pick the wrong side, don’t rush to pick one. If he only dealt with the old Emperor, relying on this most powerful figure, then the issues between these two youngsters shouldn’t become his issues… As for everything else, he could plan after the old man kicked the bucket.

But now, it seemed he had inadvertently stepped into muddy waters? Constantine felt an urge to curse. Those who often walk by the river might all get wet shoes, but for someone like him, carefully walking on the road only to suddenly find his shoes soaked, it was hard not to curse the shoddy construction for its collapse.

So, did he still want those dozens of pounds of Mithril? If things were as Consens said, the complications it would drag in were far too troublesome. Offending one side over some money wasn’t worth it. Besides, within the deep-sea-like Hayton City, he was already the frailest kind of fish. Carelessly nearing the edge of a whirlpool—could that lead to him being torn to shreds by chaotic currents?

“But come to think of it, what is that brat’s plan? Did he specifically come to tell me this? Does he look that kind?” Constantine eyed the youth in white clothes suspiciously.

He had already somewhat understood the reason for the other’s hostility towards him… Having accepted an official post conferred by the Emperor, Constantine now posed a formal threat to the Connallyvis Family. Whether he was ultimately propped up by the Emperor as a puppet Clan Head, or certain territories were eventually carved out from the Griffin’s lands, they had already become two opposing sides with conflicting interests. Brotherly affection? Such a thing was thinner than paper in noble households.

Was this brat naively thinking he was cozying up to the second-generation leadership, hence coming out to mock him? Yet it didn’t seem entirely like that. Different from Constantine’s form of rebirth, Consens was a standard elite molded by noble family education. Though his temperament indeed hadn’t shed the impetuous immaturity of youth, in certain aspects he shouldn’t be overly impulsive. Moreover, he had that stepmother watching over him.

“Brother Constantine… good day.” Before Constantine could unravel any threads from this puzzle, Miss Caterina sweetly spoke up, disrupting the tense atmosphere around them: “Do you have time today? If possible, I’d like to…”

“Caterina, didn’t Mother tell you long ago that big brother is very busy, and that you shouldn’t disturb him casually?”

Consens frowned and interrupted—the youth in white had always felt some aversion to his sister acting close with this fellow in front of him, especially recently. He had almost become his sister’s flower protector… or perhaps the flowerpot mover? In short, whenever Caterina appeared around Constantine, he would use similar words to steer the little girl away from this dangerous figure in his mind.

“I am not disturbing big brother casually, and I am asking him if he has time.” Surprisingly, the usually docile Miss Caterina actually didn’t yield to her second brother’s discipline today. The little girl adorably bit her lip and retorted: “It’s been many days, and I haven’t been able to have a proper chat with Brother Constantine. Though big brother is indeed busy, he isn’t a dangerous… stranger. Why do you always intentionally make me leave him?”

“Caterina!…” Actually, this matter wasn’t any secret, but having it exposed so directly still unavoidably made the youth in white feel awkward. In the end, he could only angrily call out his sister’s name—despite all his elite upbringing, his age was still young, and coaxing children wasn’t his forte.

“I have to report to the Imperial Military Academy in a couple of days, so I don’t have much to do now… But in a little while, I need to go instruct some servants in martial training. Those boring topics about swords and such probably hold no interest for a young Lady…” Constantine smiled. Towards the only person in this household who held some goodwill towards him, he still wished to respond with gentleness. But right now, he wasn’t exactly idle. Before the upcoming events began, a few new servants needed to be arranged. Also, the power granted by that existence, he hoped to further master.

However, the little lady’s response next gave the youth a small surprise—the young lady beamed with joy and said: “I want to watch! Isabe said the martial skills of the three people you brought back yesterday, Brother Constantine, seemed excellent, and they have plenty of adventure experience too. I love Adventurer stories the most!”

…

A bizarre scene was unfolding in the back garden of the Western Frontier Governor’s Mansion. Gordo and Cuthbert’s Cleric each held their own weapons, a Warhammer and a great axe moving slowly through the air. The two burly, broad-shouldered men now seemed to be undergoing some kind of dance training, yet the serious expressions on their faces held no trace of playfulness—according to the Cleric, this was a drill Adventurers practiced for cooperation, which could quickly improve synergy between people.

Gordo had now been formally inserted by Constantine into the Uruz team.

Thus, the rudiments of a proper combat team had emerged: an excellent archer, a high-level Rogue, plus a combat Cleric. The original Uruz team was a decently balanced combo, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be improved. Adding a meat-shield warrior could greatly enhance offensive and defensive strength, and also free up the Cleric’s originally tied-up power.

A big man in Full Plate Armor wielding a great axe always possessed formidable deterrence, especially since he wasn’t as clumsy as typical heavy-armored fighters—additional Armor wasn’t a problem either. Gordo’s strength and load-bearing capacity could practically rival a warhorse. Constantine once had him don heavy Full Plate Armor for running practice. After dozens of kilometers, he could still maintain vigorous stamina. In the youth’s memory, even Olympic champions would pale in comparison to such endurance.

Constantine had already conceptualized a unique Full Plate Armor, removing unnecessary plates from areas like the upper arms and right chest, reducing some weight to increase speed, while reinforcing the pauldrons. This way, in certain situations, he could attack opponents through charging. But for now, the youth mainly considered whether to add a Spellcaster to this team—the archer lady who was the team captain was a good remote containment force, but in some special environments, a team with a Spellcaster could best unleash its powerful strength.

“Yay! Brother Constantine, look! Bullseye, bullseye!”

Unfortunately, the little lady’s lark-like voice didn’t give the youth much time to think. Defying her usual well-behaved image, appearing in Hunting Attire, the little lady excitedly waved her shortbow. Having received some pointers from the female archer, she had just shot an arrow into the center of a grass target fifty paces away. The youth could only offer his excited sister an encouraging smile.

Different from Constantine, who constantly worried about various power entanglements, Caterina Rosa Flor Connarivis was a standard noble lady with no worries about food or clothing.

She would have a lifetime free from power struggles, nor would she need to disgracefully sell the family title for a living. The populous and powerful Connallyvis Family already had enough male heirs striving for emblems and achievements; there was no need for a Lady to show her face to uphold the family’s honor. She could spend large amounts of time studying fashion trends, stay up all night reading elegant anthologies inaccessible to Commoners, or become a supporter of some court poet.

But this little lady was more interested in matters of martial skill… Perhaps this was due to some element within the Griffin bloodline acting up? “Children of the Connallyvis Family don’t distinguish between male and female! Girls should also learn some combat skills! This winter hunt, I will definitely show Father my prowess!” Facing her brother’s skepticism, she responded this way.

Constantine couldn’t say anything either; he could only rub his nose and let this young lady have her fun.

But someone would speak up.

“Miss Caterina, your actions are not in line with the conduct of a proper Lady. Please carefully restrain your words and deeds…” the little lady’s stewardess coolly spoke up.

Isabel in the Common Tongue meant oath, but when applied to a person, it was a very ordinary female name, just like some “Flower” or “Phoenix” in Constantine’s memory. Not only common, but clichéd.

And the lady following behind the little lady, named Isabel, lived up to her name—slender, short, and expressionless. Although her features could be considered delicate, for some reason, the combination of her facial features was placid to the extreme. Even Constantine’s mastery of painting seemed insufficient to easily remember the characteristics of this face. If placed in a crowd, she probably wouldn’t be the hundredth person noticed.

Perhaps her only memorable feature was that her attire was exceptionally neat and proper. Constantine couldn’t help but think of Walter—their faces bore no resemblance, but the way the other stood with bowed head behind the little lady gave the youth this feeling. Though in reality, this lady seemed far less noticeable than Walter…

The reason the youth paid special attention to her wasn’t because her voice reminded Constantine of that famous line, “Please, Your Grace, do it one more time…” but because Miss William seemed noticeably taken aback upon seeing this stewardess.

“That Lady is a very powerful warrior… I once learned from some high-ranking Mercenaries how to identify high-level fighters. Even if they are skilled at concealing their aura, certain trained parts cannot be hidden…” Facing her employer’s inquiring gaze, the Mercenary lady whispered an explanation near his ear, “Though the skin on her hands seems treated, with calluses washed away. But the muscles and bones of her wrists are in the shape most suited for gripping a sword… Besides, the shape of her calves is also different from ordinary servants… The way she stands, the position of her hanging hands, and her gaze…”

“To be honest, Lord Constantine, this is the first time I’ve seen such a powerful female warrior.” The female archer paused and added in a grave tone.

“Compared to you?” The Mercenary captain’s words surprised the youth. And the answer to his subsequent question further amplified this feeling.

“Me? Far inferior… I was never a warrior good at close combat. Though I’ve practiced swordsmanship too, but… let’s put it this way: even if Jack, Andrew, and I teamed up, we probably wouldn’t be her match… No, I should say we’d be far from it. This Lady likely possesses strength equivalent to a high-ranking Grand Knight.” The female archer’s grave expression added a touch of self-mockery: “Though everyone says Mages are the profession most requiring talent, warriors are in no way inferior in this regard. Even though I’m a current ‘Cave Bear,’ I only have more adventure experience than her.” The lady who called herself William smiled bitterly, her voice carrying a hint of helplessness.

High-ranking Grand Knight… Constantine was speechless.

This world didn’t have peerless powerhouses who could single-handedly slaughter a city or a knight order, but for a high-ranking Knight to easily slay hundreds of ordinary cavalry was definitely not a fantasy. Judging by the youth’s estimation, Walter on a battlefield could probably achieve that. Though a few hundred didn’t sound like many, for epic battles on this Continent where clashes of over a hundred thousand were considered the peak scale, one such existence undoubtedly counted as an extremely intimidating terror weapon.

“Then, you must have seen the person around Consens too? What level would he be?” Constantine’s gaze swept over that ordinary face, and his heart suddenly stirred.

“Probably not much lower in ability than this Lady…”

“Sure?”

“Yes, of course. The most powerful one is still that old gentleman who led us to see you this morning… I couldn’t even discern his true strength, only partially sense his might…”

The lady’s words left Constantine silent for a moment.

Basically, on the Western Continent, a great family often had several stewards. Every formal family member would have such a figure running around for them. It was just that this position had very high requirements for etiquette and such, so being a steward was a decent choice for many fallen noble offspring within the Empire. But on the other hand, fallen nobles weren’t the best choice for personal stewards. For certain direct heirs of great families, an etiquette-perfect steward was absolutely insufficient; they also needed formidable strength. In fact, a steward’s strength often symbolized that Noble’s standing within the family—

Constantine’s two dark gray eyebrows furrowed together. That his own position wasn’t viewed favorably was unsurprising, but if one considered various recent events… the issues therein were far too significant.

For example… that time the Zombies attacked…

…

When the youth snapped back to attention, Walter was already standing beside him.

“Another banquet? Oriel? Which one is this?” Constantine frowned, noticing the Parchment in the other’s hand, on whose exquisite surface was drawn an ornate noble crest with a Shield and flower-like magnolia. It looked quite high-class.

But it was somewhat vague in his memory—though heraldry knowledge was also an important subject, the youth habitually saw those hundreds of different designs as repeating patterns. As for the origins of crests, he only knew that a Shield placed on a crest meant that family once had an official like a provincial governor.

However, noble crests had a problem: they only represented the ancestors’ achievements. In other words, even if someone in the family’s past served as an acting City Lord for a few days, they could place a Shield on their family emblem. And the Phoenix dynasty had existed for several centuries now. As long as a family had some history, all sorts of intricate decorations and flowers would dazzle the eye—though the high-class invitation before him, which made its way to his hands, didn’t seem to be from some minor Noble.

“Prince Robert…” The youth’s reaction made the Old Steward responsible for his education frown. He reminded softly: “Imperial Prince Robert Nazario da Oriel invites the Duke to the autumn hunting party. The master is unable to attend due to important matters, so you and young master Consens will go in his stead.”

“Hunting party?” Constantine shook his head. Then he glanced at the little lady over there, diligently working her bowstring.

In this era without television or internet, where celebrities were still street performers, hunting was considered the most fashionable elegant leisure activity among Nobles. Out in the wild, releasing hawks and hounds to chase game not only exercised horsemanship and archery but also relaxed the mind. In some aspects, it resembled those little white balls the upper class liked to play with. The transition between autumn and winter each year was precisely the most frequent period for such activities.

Despite having detailed knowledge, Constantine still felt some anticipation for these activities in his heart—though he had played simple hunting a few times near the manor back in Miheim, that was just him and a few servants. He truly hadn’t experienced these multi-day noble pastimes between fellow nobles.