Pioneer Wizard's Notebook

Baron of High Cliffs departed.

Only Lynd and Mrs. Maria's men remained in the hall.

The atmosphere was somewhat silent.

At this moment, the lady was looking at Lind with a complicated gaze, feeling physically and mentally exhausted by everything that had just happened.

As the ice storms swept through, the power dynamics among the nobles underwent a dramatic transformation.

Reputation is no longer important; power and ambition have taken their place.

The children of the sunflower have grown to a level she could never have imagined in the past.

But the current dire situation of the Pharos family makes it impossible for her to judge whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

"Please don't worry, Aunt Maria, the Sunflower will not interfere in the internal affairs of the Pharos family."

Lind noticed Lady Maria's nervousness and reassured her, "On the contrary, I would be happy to provide military assistance and protection to the Riverbank Territory, which is currently lacking in power, when needed."

They are, after all, family members I've watched grow up.

Mrs. Maria relaxed and regained her usual composure.

"We sincerely thank you for your help. The Pharos family will remember it and do our best to repay our companions."

After receiving the letter, the other party led a group across the snowstorm to the riverbank.

It's impossible that the decision to both expel the Baron of High Cliffs and agree to provide military asylum was made out of pure goodwill.

Mrs. Maria was willing to reciprocate, only hoping that the child wouldn't make any unreasonable demands.

"I need the Riverbank Territory to provide a group of craftsmen and workers to help the Sunflowers build their towns, about three hundred people."

Linde made the request.

This group included leather armorers, bricklayers, and other craftsmen, totaling thirty people, while the rest needed to be healthy young laborers.

With a total of over 300 people, it is sufficient to meet the current construction needs of Sunflower Manor.

According to information gathered by Linde, this was exactly the maximum quantity that River Beach Territory could provide.

Lady Maria's expression became conflicted.

It's certainly a good thing that this child doesn't interfere in the Pharlos family's internal affairs.

But she was well aware of the importance of population, especially artisans, in the North.

Her identity as a woman already made her the subject of much scrutiny.

If these valuable human resources are sent out again, the knights and merchants in the territory will probably riot.

Lind could guess her concerns and added:

"The Sunflower Family is your eternal support. I can sign an agreement with you, promising to return these people to the Riverbank Territory in five years. That should be enough to shut up any dissent within the territory."

Sending people directly would be a huge mistake.

However, it was quite normal for nobles to exchange five years of construction work by craftsmen and laborers for military aid from other territories' extraordinary forces.

Aunt Maria's consolidation as Baron of the Riverbank was beneficial to Lind, and he was not prepared to exploit her excessively.

Moreover, given the development progress of Sunflower Manor.

If I still need to care about the fate of these craftsmen five years from now, I might as well just kill myself with a block of tofu.

Mrs. Maria breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"No problem, the Pharos family is happy to provide this assistance for the construction of the Sunflower Project, and others will understand."

Members of the River Bend Craftsmen's Guild were summoned to the castle.

With the scribes in attendance, the mutual assistance agreement between the two territories was signed.

Lady Maria, who received military aid from the Sunflower Movement, officially became the Baron of the Riverbank.

Lind will receive five years of construction assistance from River Bend.

These artisans and workers are not allowed to leave the Flowery Territory without permission for five years.

The purpose of this trip has been successfully achieved.

Lind was no longer burdened and spent the remaining days enjoying the castle's hospitality while waiting for the livestock from High Cliff Castle to be delivered there.

During this time, news spread through River Bend Town.

The illegitimate son, Aubrey, exhausted, died on a woman's belly.

It has recently become a popular joke among residents.

When a piece loses its usefulness, it is destined to be discarded.

Linde was not surprised; like Baron Highcliff, he had never paid any attention to the poor shoemaker.

That noon.

Lady Maria was busy receiving visits from knights and merchants from River Bend.

Linde then had lunch with his two cousins.

The fish is scaled, gutted, and served in a thick white fish soup sprinkled with pepper, accompanied by slices of white bread spread with cranberry jam.

Thanks to the town's strategic location for trade, the castle offers exquisite food.

Lind enjoyed the sweet bread very much.

Nine-year-old Agatha, on the other hand, had heavy eyelids and looked sleepy.

After only a few bites, her petite body curled up on the bench and started snoring.

Last night, the child played excitedly with the gray stove rat all night.

I feel energetic when I wake up in the morning, but I can't stay awake any longer by noon and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

He saw his younger sister, who always clung to Linde, asleep.

Monica, the older sister, wiped the jam from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, hesitated, then got up and sat down next to Lind.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

Linde smiled and found the young lady's reserved manner amusing.

Monica nodded, straightened her posture, and asked, "Brother Linde isn't engaged yet, is he?"

"Hmm?" Lind was surprised, not expecting her to bring this up, and replied, "Like you said, there really isn't."

Monica's expression calmed down a bit, and she slowly began to speak:

"As far as I know, among the families now associated with the Sunflower, the Hyacinth family of Windcliff City only has its heir, Tinia, left, and it's impossible for her to marry out."

"All the daughters of the Ares family are married off. The Falco family of Blackrock City is not of a high enough status to be my brother's wife."

Monica describes the noble families that are related to the sunflower by blood, and then eliminates them one by one.

A question mark appeared above Lin De's head. He tentatively asked, "Are you trying to recommend one of your friends to me? Actually, I'm not in a rush to get married."

He is sixteen years old this year, which is indeed the age for marriage in the northern provinces.

After all, the average lifespan here is less than thirty-five years.

It feels strange to be pressured to get married by a young girl.

As for why Monica mentioned relatives related to the Sunflower Movement, Lind understood perfectly.

Because true power exists within the bloodline of the nobility.

In this world, there are only four ways for mortals to break through to the extraordinary.

Challenge nature, form contracts with monsters, awaken bloodlines, and receive divine blessings.

Just like the North now, advancing under the baptism of ice storms is one of the paths to challenge nature, arduous and perilous, with a slim chance of survival.

Monster contracts are highly dependent on luck; only those naturally extraordinary and powerful monsters can form contracts with humans and grant them power.

Divine gifts are often an internal force within the church and are rarely shared with outsiders.

Therefore, nobles tend to awaken the power hidden in their bloodline and regard it as the highest honor of their family.

This led to a common phenomenon among noble families in the Kingdom of Rosa: consanguineous marriage.

Before a nobleman could arrange a marriage, he would first investigate the other party's ancestors for three generations.

See if there are any family members who were married into the family and if there is any blood relation.

If not, even if the woman has a powerful background, she will often be rejected by the man's family to prevent other forces from contaminating the bloodline.

Just like the sunflower family.

If one were to choose a wife, the first choice would undoubtedly be Hyacinthus, known as the "darling of the sun," or the Hyacinth family.

It's just that the other party has never really thought much of the sunflower movement in the past.

Lind pulled himself out of his reverie and noticed that Monica was shaking her head repeatedly, looking down at him.

"No, not friends, it's...it's me..."

"Stop, I think I know what's going on."

Linde understood, shook his head with a wry smile, and stopped her from saying the next thing.

"It was Aunt Maria who forced you, wasn't it? This is an adult matter, it has nothing to do with you right now."

"I have to go now. Take good care of Agatha. If you encounter any problems, remember to write to me, and I will come to see you again."

Lind patted her head, and seeing the procession of maned horses approaching from below the castle, he stood up to say goodbye.

"Yes, goodbye, brother."

Monica didn't dare to look up and responded softly.

Only after the footsteps faded into the distance did my heart, which had been pounding with tension, finally calm down.

She touched her burning cheeks.

Seeing that no one was around, he disregarded etiquette, ran to the castle wall, rested his chin on his hands, and watched the procession below leave.