Chapter 618: Ever After (3)
Since the end of the war, every member of the Kiehl Empire’s Lionheart clan had been so busy that they hadn’t gotten any rest[1].
The Elders, Gilead, Carmen, and the younger generations of the clan had all been busy settling the aftermath of the war alongside the rulers of all the countries involved, and they hadn’t been able to return to the main estate until just a few days ago.
Under such circumstances, the one who had taken responsibility for managing all of the clan’s affairs was none other than the Matriarch, Ancilla.
The victory on the battlefield, the death of all of the Demon Kings, and the return of the Great Vermouth; all of these may have been a source of infinite glory for the continent, but for Ancilla, they had all come together to create a situation where she couldn’t help but start to suffer from neuroses.
Members of the News Guilds and other reporters had made their way to the main estate from all across the continent. Unable to muster up the courage to knock on the gates of the estate directly, they instead set up camp right in front of the Lionheart mansion. On top of that were all the pilgrims who were also drawn from all over the continent. When this crowd, which included those drawn by the news of Vermouth’s return, had started to enclose the walls of the mansion fully, Ancilla had thrown open the mansion’s gates while wearing armor instead of her usual dress and holding a sword instead of a fan.
Get lost!
That was what she had truly wanted to shout at them, but Ancilla couldn’t allow herself to do something so crass. What Ancilla needed to display to all those present was the nobility of the Lionheart clan’s Matriarch, who could calmly accept the endless glory that had been bestowed upon her clan while also presenting the image of a gracious noblewoman who was carefully managing all the affairs of her clan inside and out. As such, Ancilla kept her sword sheathed at her side, and accompanied by her knights, she gave a quiet speech.
To summarize the contents of her speech, she informed her audience that this was the Lionheart clan’s private property, so they should stop hanging around while being such an annoying and noisy disturbance and just get lost already.
By now, the Lionheart clan held a greater social status than even the Kiehl Emperor — no — all of the leaders of the continent combined. And Ancilla was the Matriarch of this amazing clan and the mother of its next Patriarch.
So how could anyone refuse to step aside when Ancilla had personally stepped forward, dressed in armor, and made the perfectly reasonable request that they vacate her personal property? At that moment, the aura of the knights, the elves, and the various mysterious objects created by the dwarves, as well as the smoke emitting from their furnace in the distance, all loomed up behind Ancilla, giving her speech just that extra bit of weight; so much so that the crowd that had previously been squatting on the Lionheart’s private property without permission couldn’t help but take a step back.
Afterward, Ancilla had taken control of the turbulent atmosphere that inevitably began to show up among the collateral bloodlines. Some of the stronger families among the collateral lines had sent suggestions to the main family, arguing that since the Great Vermouth had been resurrected, the Lionhearts should just become independent from the Kiehl Empire as a whole and become their own nation. Or perhaps, they argued, they should take this chance to establish the Duchy that the Great Vermouth had rejected three hundred years ago.
Although Ancilla was quite attracted to these suggestions, even if she was the Matriarch of the main line, she didn’t have the authority to decide on such matters. Having known him for over a decade, Ancilla was well aware of how terrible a temper Hamel — no — Eugene could reveal if someone were to make his decisions for him.
Then, there was the fact that the Lionheart main line was also preparing to move house.
A month after Eugene’s irresponsible disappearance, the various countries had almost finished hashing everything out over the table, and at this point, all that remained was to carry out their final decision. The entire plain where the battle had taken place was to become a park dedicated to the concept of peace between all nations, with a huge memorial and various other facilities to be built within the park.
The war was finally over. The Demonic Disease that had tortured the elven race for so long had also vanished. In other words, the elves no longer had any reason to continue living in the Lionheart main estate.
As for the elf hunters and slave traders? What about them? In terms of influence over the continent, the Lionheart's name was like a god’s — no — the Lionhearts really did have a god. So, who would dare touch the elves protected by both the Lionhearts and the Wise Sienna?
There was also no reason why the elves could not return to the Samar Rainforest, the homeland of the elven race. The Zoran Tribe, with Ivatar as its Great Chieftain, had complete rule over the entire Rainforest and treated the elves with respect.
In the current state of the continent, attempting to enslave elves or otherwise harming them had become an enormous taboo that couldn’t compare to how things had been in the past.
However, the elves living in the Lionheart estate had no intention of leaving.... It would be no exaggeration to say that the Lionheart forest and the elves had become part of a single body, going beyond mere coexistence.
Ancilla understood the reason behind all this. The saplings of the World Tree that had been planted in their forest a long time ago were still only saplings, but the elves had grown to live in harmony with the spirits of these saplings, and the forest was now full of vitality and mana. This had also laid a solid foundation on which the Lionhearts could nurture their knights from hereon.
But why weren’t the dwarves leaving?
The war was over. But let alone vacating the workshop that they had built near the Lionheart Manor, the dwarves seemed to be actively expanding their workshop on almost a daily basis, all while continuously smelting molten iron in their furnace. Since they had already demanded citizenship in Kiehl for their contributions during the war, there was no point in expecting Shimuin to order the dwarves to return to their home country. In the first place, the King of Shimuin was too worried about how the Lionhearts might react even to consider summoning the dwarves back from Kiehl....
That said, it wasn’t like Ancilla could step forward to chase the dwarves out of the estate. No matter what they might get up to, having dozens of dwarven master forgers living in the family estate was an incredible privilege. If they decided to leave on their own, Ancilla wouldn’t try to stop them, but she couldn’t just push them to leave either.
So, both the forest and the workshop were continuously expanding. This meant that the grounds of the estate were being forced to shrink accordingly.
It might not be a problem now, but if things continued like this for a few dozen more years, the Lionhearts would go from being a clan of knights to a clan of foresters and blacksmiths.
Ancilla had made her decision.
Their Ancestor, the Great Vermouth, had returned and the war was over. As such, it was time for the family to leave the main estate they had been clinging to for the past three hundred years and find a new place to live.
But they were the most prestigious family in all of Kiehl — no — in the continent. So, where exactly should the Lionhearts move their main line?
Ancilla might already be determined to move, but she had yet to decide on a destination.
The only ones who could decide on this destination were Eugene and their Ancestor, the pair who were currently running away from all their responsibilities.
“It has been reported that the Wise Sienna has returned to Aroth,” a voice said.
Ancilla sat in a garden filled with the scent of a forest, drinking her tea as she stared at the smoke belching up from the dwarven furnace some distance away.
The workshop, which had already grown larger than the mansion itself, was constantly spewing out heat and smoke without a moment’s rest. Fortunately, the smoke was actually being purified in the air thanks to the purification magic that the wizards had installed in the workshop, but smoke could still be clearly seen rising from the workshop.
This was because the dwarves had stubbornly insisted that it wouldn’t feel right unless the workshop was giving off smoke.
Standing next to Ancilla’s table and accompanying her was the head butler in charge of managing the family’s inner chambers.
“After returning to Aroth, Lady Sienna met with King Daindolf Abram and the Archwizards and is now preparing to give a speech in the square in front of the Green Tower of Magic,” the butler reported.
“Has she said anything about what her future plans might be?” Ancilla asked.
“We weren’t able to confirm what her plans for afterward might be, but I believe that it’s highly likely that she will come to visit the Lionheart estate,” the butler replied. “Also, at the same time, the Faithful Lady Anise and the Spiritual[2] Lady Kristina returned to Yuras. Those... two... ladies, after confronting the Pope and his Cardinals in the Vatican, are now preparing to give a speech in the White Square.”
Having served as one of the pillars supporting the subjugation of the Demon King of Incarceration and the Demon King of Destruction, a new title had been given to Saint Kristina Rogeris.
She was now known as the Spiritual Kristina. Considering the fact that the Faithful Anise was revealed to have been residing with her body, it was quite a suggestive title.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login