Warhammer Divine Throne

It's Surya, the female knight tonight donned a white ceremonial military uniform and a blue pleated skirt that falls below the knee. The golden epaulettes and armband glimmer in the moonlight. Her upright posture, valiant demeanor, coupled with a soft smile and gentle expression like water, made her presence felt.

Her elegant legs, clad in sheer black hosiery, stepped into knee-high velvet crocodile leather boots, standing right in the middle of the road with arms crossed, gazing at the resplendent moonlight.

A beauty under the moon.

"Miss Surya, what a fine mood you're in! Enjoying the night stroll?" Mr. Laine commented with interest as he approached within three steps of the female knight.

"I often came here when I was young." Surya, her golden hair shimmering, said with a hint of sadness, "But ever since my father's relationship with His Majesty Richard deteriorated, I've seldom visited this place."

"Deteriorated relationship? Could you tell me about it, Miss Surya? I'm very interested in such matters. As you know, I'm about to receive a fief, yet there are still many things about my country that are unfamiliar to me." Taking advantage of the opportunity, Laine asked the question that had long lingered in his mind.

Before coming to Brittania, he had thoroughly studied the basic state of the country, but nothing was more effective than having it personally explained by the Duke's daughter.

More importantly, the Duke of Winford is a Holy Grail Knight. Holy Grail Knights, Holy Grail Knights, Holy Grail Knights, an emphasis thrice repeated on something significant; all Holy Grail Knights who have undergone the Holy Grail Trial are living saints, considered relatively impeccable in morals, hence Laine need not worry that the Duke of Winford's daughter would weave her own bias into the conversation.

Normally, all Kingdom Knights would entrust their fiefs and property to another trusted knight before embarking on the Path of the Holy Grail. If the knight fails (yet survives), they would return to their fief, amassing strength and awaiting their next Holy Grail opportunity.

Should a Kingdom Knight complete the Holy Grail Trial and drink deeply from the Holy Grail of the Lake Fairy, they would give up all worldly possessions to become a Holy Grail Knight of utmost honor, dedicating their life to guarding the Fairy of the Lake's holy ground, refraining from worldly affairs.

Yet, exceptions always exist. If the knight in question is of great noble lineage and possesses hereditary titles and nobility, even upon completing the Holy Grail Trial, the Lake Fairy may command them to return to inherit their title, simultaneously serving as both a Holy Grail Knight and ruler, serving the Lake Fairy.

Within the current duchies, Duke of Connet, "Upright" Louis, Duke of Bastogne, "Beast Butcher" Bohemond, and Duke of Winford, "Long Legs" Francois, are all Holy Grail Knights. Interestingly, they correspond precisely with the country's most illustrious three families, namely Leaping Lion, Red Fire Dragon, and Pure White Pegasus, all direct descendants of the First Knight King Arthur.

Laine believed this was no coincidence. Arthur's descendants likely inherited potent bloodlines and received fine guidance from the Lake Fairy.

"Does Mr. Laine wish to know?" Surya's sea-blue eyes shimmered as she looked at Laine, aware that with a single word, Laine would owe her family a favor.

"Certainly, please enlighten me, Miss Surya."

This was precisely her intention.

The individual before her was immensely powerful, and such an individual warrants early strategic investment, a plan Antre Brothers and Sisters had long agreed upon. While others failed to perceive it, they recognized that the floral bracelet around Laine's wrist was undeniably a gift from the Lake Fairy.

Moreover, the fief that Laine was about to rule over, the Gene Territory, was extremely crucial to the Winford Duchy. Surrounded by mountains, the duchy's interior boasted richly fertile river valley plains, and Baron Gene's Domain was conveniently positioned downstream of these plains, the sole exit of the duchy.

The pair walked into the pavilion amidst the garden, seated face-to-face. After Amelia served them two cups of tea, she withdrew.

Savoring a sip of her tea, the female knight took a brief draught, then began recounting what she knew to Laine.

"The current King is named Richard-Le-Anglong, who in his early years fought and skinned a tiger to wear as a cloak, thus earning the nickname Tiger..."

Surya recounted stories about Richard, some of which Laine was already generally aware of, previously mentioned and thus not repeated here.

Then onto the content he was interested in.

It turned out that upon ascending the throne, Richard discovered that due to John II's repeated great expeditions and reckless use of the treasury, the kingdom's finances were nearing bankruptcy. The dukes acted independently, lacking cohesion, and the Holy Grail Knights Order, led by the Lake God Witch, was not very pleased with the king's selection, thus lacking full support from the Lake Fairy.

However, someone who ascends the throne isn't easily bested. Richard firstly utilized matrimony to stabilize the relationship between the Anglong Duchy on the left and the Leonais Duchy with the King. The grand wedding encouraged the dukes to part with considerable gold and silver.

Upon firmly securing his throne, Richard's first act was to raise taxes. Citing military reasons, he repeatedly imposed fixed military taxes on each duke. Then he implemented a luxury tax, imposing additional taxes on luxuries such as wine within the kingdom's duchies.

The biggest losers of this decision were the Winford Duchy, known for its wines and olive oils, and the Boldro Duchy, famous for marine trade and cash crops. Thus the relations between the Duke of Winford and the King gradually soured, maintained only by an outward appearance of subordination.