Warhammer Divine Throne

Mr. Laine thought, although Teresa agreed to treat everyone equally, it was impossible for her to change immediately. This woman was just willing to make some changes for him. If she didn't truly encounter setbacks or face humiliation, her ingrained beliefs wouldn't change much.

For now, let's leave it at that. Changing someone's deeply embedded beliefs isn't something a few words can accomplish.

After listening to the story for a while, Mr. Laine looked like he was about to leave. At this moment, the old lady suddenly spoke: "Is it the White Wolf Knight, Mr. Laine? Please stay. I have a request."

The children all turned around, a pair of innocent eyes looking at Mr. Laine, afraid to speak.

"What are you trying to achieve by imparting valuable knowledge to these children?" Mr. Laine did not agree immediately; he asked in return.

"They are good children. They will grow up, most of them unable to afford the awakening of their talents, and will continue working for the noble lords or tilling the fields themselves. By the time they're in their twenties or thirties, they'll struggle to save a little money, find someone they can spend their life with, then marry, have children, and gradually grow old while raising their children. Teaching them here is just in hope of giving them more options in the future, isn't it? 'Great Hammer' Lord Laine?" The old lady smiled, the wrinkles on her face gathering together.

"I commend your generous actions," Mr. Laine gave a knightly salute to the old lady. In this era where knowledge is monopolized by the nobles, her generosity in sharing knowledge just to give these children more possibilities in their future is an admirable endeavor.

The children gradually dispersed, and Mr. Laine casually brought over a stool and sat down, indicating his willingness to hear Lady Nora's request. Teresa stood behind Mr. Laine: "Please go ahead, my lady."

The female sorcerer found it awkward to say this, but she had promised Laine earlier to treat everyone equally, so she forced herself to do so.

"As you can see, I am already a woman in her fifties," the old lady said with her hair already gray, giving a self-deprecating smile, "but once, I was, like the young lady here, a pretty young woman."

Teresa instinctively frowned, thinking that even in fifty years her appearance would not change, but she said nothing, as she could agree with the latter half of the old lady's statement. From her features, one could vaguely see that she must have been quite good-looking in her youth.

"You used to be a noble?" Mr. Laine immediately thought of something.

"Yes, I was once a noble, but nobles like me who went bankrupt are not uncommon on the Continent, am I right, Mr. Laine?" The old lady's expression didn't change much; her tone was very calm, with an air of seen-it-all detachment.

Laine nodded.

Bankrupt nobles are not uncommon, as there are always the foolish and the wise among the nobility, those who know how to manage and those who don't. Some nobles do not understand how to make a living, relying on taxing their lands as their main source of income, often fond of grand displays and luxurious living. In such cases, the situation arises where nobles go bankrupt and flee; all their land becomes either wasteland or is reassigned by their superior nobles.

Because some lands, once deserted, are taken over by powerful wild creatures or demons, some Lords are unwilling to expend military resources and energy to reclaim these lands.

The New Empire has existed for one hundred and fifty years, and the nobility has divided into hierarchies. In recent decades, the number of bankrupt nobles has gradually increased, with the likes of the old lady increasingly common. Especially in such a high-risk environment, nobles without strength or ability are being eliminated in large numbers.

So what does this old lady want to say?

"Therefore, Mr. Laine, would you care to listen to an old woman's story?" The old lady's eyes were full of hope.

"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have stayed here," Mr. Laine nodded.

"Well then… um… where should I begin? Let me start from when I was young. I was born into a noble family, and by the time I was born, the family was already struggling; all we owned was a single estate about seven or eight kilometers from Mijordenhaven." Nora's eyes began to wander, and a slight smile involuntarily appeared at the corners of her mouth: "At that time, my parents were both alive, and I had an older brother, and life was happy and fulfilling."

"But when I was fifteen, a Half-Elf Minstrel came to our manor. He happened to stay with us, and his handsome appearance and elegant manners quickly attracted me deeply. Thus, during the few days he lodged at our home, I fell madly in love with him." Nora looked enchanted, as if she returned to the most beautiful days.

"Alas, the good times didn't last. As you know, minstrels don't stay in one place for long. Soon, just after a few days, he had to leave our manor and head to the next place. I couldn't accept my happiness being so brief, so I made a reckless decision." The expression on the old lady's face gradually turned painful and obscure: "I decided…"

"You decided to elope with him?" Teresa immediately guessed the story's ending. The female sorcerer, although lacking experience in wilderness adventures, was well-versed in court affairs and noble gossip.

"Yes, I knew it wasn't right, but at that time, the thought of separating from him clouded my judgment. Thus, on the night before he left, I quietly took my dowry and chose to elope with him. Together, we sailed away from this city."

"In the beginning years, because I brought a lot of wealth and was young and beautiful, things between him and me were as close as glue and smooth as a fish in water, and we spent several years of happy times together."

"But good times don't last long, money eventually runs out, and my looks will fade with time. Half-Elf time differs from ours—after over a decade, I began to age gradually, and much of the dowry I brought had been spent. I could feel he started to grow weary of me, no longer liked me, no longer needed me."

It's normal, most men are like this, Teresa thought to herself. A woman must be strong and independent, not exist as a man's appendage.

"So one night, I left him, embarked on the road back home alone. It took me several years. When I returned to my hometown, I found everything had changed."

"After I eloped, my parents went mad looking for me and eventually died of depression after years of fruitless searching. My brother wasn't the kind of guy good at managing things; he quickly squandered the family fortune. Within a few years, the manor was attacked by a Scorpion-tailed Lion. The guards my brother organized couldn't fight off this dreadful demon, and he died from poisoning."

The rest didn't need to be said; Mr. Laine and Teresa could imagine it roughly. After the father, mother, and brother had died, it naturally fell to Nora, who had a weak claim, to inherit ownership of that manor. In fact, she had already obtained the land deed from the lord, Count of Mijordenhaven.

The problem lay in that this manor now became the nest of the Scorpion-tailed Lion, and Nora certainly had no way to drive out the Scorpion-tailed Lion on her own.

"Have you not sought the Justice Church?" Mr. Laine knew what the old lady was seeking.

"I have, but justice comes at a price. The Scorpion-tailed Lion isn't just any ordinary demon; it has been investigated to be an elite peak demon. The price quoted by the Justice Church was beyond my means, so I could only find a corner in town, living off some past savings and doing work like teaching to make ends meet, then living off memories." Nora sighed, the wrinkles on her aged face seemingly deepening a bit.

"Then why do you think I would agree to help you drive out the Scorpion-tailed Lion?" Mr. Laine became intrigued.

"I don't know. Maybe it's intuition, maybe it's just my naive thought. The truth is, I really can't offer the corresponding reward." Nora sighed, "This might be my last effort. If Mr. Laine, you are unwilling, then let it be a story to listen to. This old woman still has a bit of savings; it shouldn't be too hard for a few more years."

"I agree." Mr. Laine suddenly said with a smile.

"What?!" The old woman lifted her head in surprise.

"I said, I agree." Mr. Laine nodded, "Don't worry, I won't work for free. I will get my share of the reward, just that the money won't come from you. Next, do as I say."

——Divider——

After bidding farewell to the old woman, Teresa curiously asked, "How do you plan to do it? Won't work for free? But where will the money come from?"

Mr. Laine smiled lightly and shared his thoughts, "First, I will pen a letter, as a Kingdom Knight, notifying Count Albert that there are demons in Nora's manor. In such a case, the Count will surely want to make a statement. According to your intelligence, Albert isn't a lord who likes to deploy troops. The manor is already lost land with an owner. So, the most likely scenario is that he will post a notice on the bulletin board, offering a reward to anyone who can solve the problem. This is the first income."

The female sorcerer immediately understood. Faced with Mr. Laine's inquiry and warning, Count Albert would definitely need to make a show. Even if it's a pretense, a bounty notice to satisfy people is necessary, and so income is assured.

"Then, Lady Nora will go alone to the Life Church. She will promise the Bishop of Life Church, that if her manor can be reclaimed from the Scorpion-tailed Lion, she will pay a tithing to the Life Church." Mr. Laine crossed his arms and stated the second step.

"For the Life Church, having an uncultivable barren land is blasphemy, and their ultimate goal is to make all farmland pay tithing. The Bishop of the Life Church has no reason to refuse, but Lady Nora can't offer an outright reward." Teresa's eyes grew increasingly bright, "So if I were the Bishop, I would post a bounty notice. If the bounty succeeds, the commission paid by the church can be offset from Lady Nora's future tithing payment. If no one fulfills the bounty, the church loses nothing! And for Lady Nora, her manor originally had no income. If she can recover her manor in exchange for tithing, she would be willing."

Mr. Laine lifted his second finger, "So, this is the second income."

"As for the third, don't forget the Scorpion-tailed Lion is a treasure in itself. Many precious alchemy materials come from this fierce beast..."

"It's Sister Dietlinde! She would surely be willing to purchase these alchemy materials from you at a fair price!"

"So, with these three sources of income combined, it's enough to hire me to take action." Mr. Laine lifted his third finger, then smiled as he looked at Teresa, "Teresa? Tell me, did you learn?"

The reply was a charming white-eyed glance, "It's to hire both of us."