Chapter 190: Guests All Joyful

That evening, Puniel invited Marl to dine together.

At the long dining table where they dined, Baron Belair, whose limbs and jaw were bound and fixed with bandages, sat at the head seat of the table.

To prevent him from toppling over, his body had also been thoughtfully tied to the chair.

Baron Belair kept casting pleading glances at Marl.

However, Marl simply ate his food while smiling and chatting with him, recounting the story of George helping Baron Belair, occasionally asking about certain controversial points raised by the Apprentices of the Monastery when they were studying the storybook of George.

Of course, Baron Belair couldn’t answer. It was the scholar standing by who answered on his behalf.

After the scholar replied, Marl showed a look of sudden understanding, then continued smiling while conversing with Baron Belair, occasionally exchanging a few words with Puniel.

Baron Belair’s expression shifted from pleading, to confusion, to anger, and finally to numbness, after which he merely sat at the head seat in a daze, no longer responding.

By the end of the meal, the guests had all eaten happily. Although the host hadn’t eaten a single bite, he should be happy too.

He was so happy he couldn’t help but shed tears.

Although Puniel had arranged a place for Marl to rest inside the Fortress, Marl refused, using the reason that he was accustomed to living with the warriors.

When sending Marl off from the Fortress, the accompanying scholar made a request to Marl.

“I heard that in the Church’s Monastery, there are gatherings of scholars who teach and explore knowledge, so I wish to visit the Monastery and exchange with the scholars there,” the scholar said.

The scholar’s name was Marcus Anthony, a man just past fifty, which was considered young for a scholar.

It was only eight years ago that Marcus became a senior scholar of the Patlin Scholar’s Association, after which he came to serve the Burke Family here. When the old Baron left, he did not take Marcus with him. Because of this, when the chaos of the Werewolves began, he served under Baron Belair.

Baron Belair was smart—Marcus agreed with this. After all, he managed to secure his title with only one rank by leveraging influence and maintaining balance, even seizing a Viscount’s territory.

But intelligence alone was not enough for a noble, so Marcus had always kept some distance while serving under Baron Belair.

After meeting Puniel and witnessing Puniel’s textbook noble conduct, he decisively chose to align himself with Puniel.

As a scholar, he naturally belonged to a valuable group, and Puniel graciously accepted him. Through Puniel, Marcus learned of the Church’s Monastery.

As a scholar, the very description of the Monastery was alluring to him, so he made his request to Marl.

Just from earlier observations, he knew that Marl was not the least bit afraid of Baron Puniel.

After all, Marl was a Church Priest, and Puniel, being a standard noble, would naturally never deny the value of someone useful to him. So he wouldn’t easily let Marcus leave.

However, to Marcus’s request, Marl glanced at the silent, smiling Puniel beside him, then refused.

“The Monastery is the Monastery. As a Priest, I have no authority to interfere in its affairs, and my current mission is to drive away the Werewolves. It is not yet time for me to return,” Marl said to Marcus. “Scholar Marcus, your knowledge earns my admiration. This afflicted land also needs your wisdom.”

“I believe that if you can assist Sir Puniel in saving the people of this suffering land, Dean Oscar will gladly welcome you and treat you as an honored guest.”

Marcus’s expression remained unchanged. He bowed slightly and replied, “You are right. This land has suffered greatly. The Earth Vein is being eroded. It is foreseeable that even after the Werewolves are expelled, years of famine will follow. As a scholar serving under Baron Belair, I naturally ought to help him and arrange the affairs of this place.”

“After this place has returned to order, I will then visit the Monastery.”

Marl nodded and said, “That time won’t be far off.”

Then he turned to Puniel and added, “No need to see me off. Your time is precious.”

With a slight nod, he turned and left.

Not far off, a servant had already brought over a riding horse for him.

Though warhorses were in short supply, there were still some that could be used for riding. After all, these came from the one-third of a Marquis’s Territory that Baron Belair had drawn resources from.

During the day, Puniel had given Marl seven horses, to be used later for transporting their supplies.

Puniel could freely mobilize Militia to carry supplies for his army, but when facing someone from the Church, he dared not even mention it.

After Marl left, Puniel slung an arm around Marcus’s shoulder, patted it, and said with laughter, “Though those Local Gentry say that Priest Marl is not someone friendly to nobles and gentry, I personally much prefer working with such a Priest. It’s very pleasant being around him.”

“The other Priests of the Church, and the Temple Warriors and Knights, are all too stiff. Don’t you agree, Scholar Marcus?”

Marcus nodded and said, “I once interacted with Knight George. His nobility was admirable, but compared to someone like him, Priest Marl is more suited to leading warriors and driving out these Werewolves. He’s also better suited to this suffering land.”

“Hahaha! I will leave the management of those Apprentices to you. Though they’re still quite foolish, they were raised carefully by the Monastery. I think they’ll be of use to you,” Puniel laughed heartily as he said this.

“I will help you restore order to this land as soon as possible,” Marcus nodded slightly.

“Not just restore order,” Puniel emphasized. “Those Apprentices know the situation in York Territory and are well-versed in the laws now being implemented there. You must learn them and bring order here in line with York Territory.”

“Otherwise, once the Church has enough Priests, they’ll send ones accompanied by Knights to re-preach the doctrine. If that really happens, I imagine the Bishop will be very displeased.”

“Of course. It is the Church that is helping restore order here. Naturally, we must thank the Church and follow its teachings. Besides, I am a devout Believer of the Lord,” Marcus replied.

“Hahahahahaha!” Puniel laughed louder and louder, so loudly that even Baron Belair, still sitting in the Fortress and weeping at the head seat, could hear it.

“Well then, tomorrow, Scholar Marcus, step outside the Fortress and see what this land looks like now,” Puniel said, turning back into the Fortress.

Only after confirming Puniel had gone did Marcus lower his head, grit his teeth as he inhaled sharply, and rubbed the shoulder that Puniel had patted twice.

Those two pats had nearly cracked his shoulder.

Once the pain subsided, he let out a heavy breath.

Although he had failed to escape Puniel’s control using the strength of that Priest, at least he could now leave the Fortress and gain greater freedom.

Moreover, he was very curious about those Apprentices.

The Scholar’s Association of the Principality of Patlin produced fewer than five scholars each year, each with a minimum of ten years of study, and knowledge was spread with extreme caution.

Yet just from the bits Puniel revealed, he could already sense the freedom and wildness of the Monastery.

In one year, it was as if knowledge was crammed into their heads, producing Apprentices in batches, without the slightest regard for the Curse of Knowledge. Scholars there even dared to write their own books and teach them to these Apprentices, organizing the material into systematized, inheritable knowledge.

These things sparked both his curiosity and his yearning.

There was no scholar who didn’t wish to record their life’s learning in writing and pass it down.

But before, due to the Curse of Knowledge, no one dared to record too meticulously, and could only barely write unrealistic storybooks to express their desire for legacy.

However, the next day, after Marcus compiled what these Apprentices had been doing on this land, he was nearly enraged to death.

“These idiots, they actually survived to see the next Morning Star here?” he demanded.

Puniel, who had already anticipated this, watched Marcus’s angry face and ate two extra pieces of bread.

“That’s why we need Scholar Marcus to lead them,” Puniel said, drinking a sip of Honey Wine. “As long as you don’t get them killed, you can handle the rest however you wish.”

Marcus nodded grimly and gritted his teeth as he said, “I will teach them well.”

…

This was the border of the land occupied by Baron Belair. One could say that entering here meant being mostly free from Werewolf attacks.

Moreover, from here to York Territory, a normal journey would take about a day and a half to reach the boundary, and after that, half a day more would bring one to the Church of the Sanctuary.

Although the travel time differed greatly, the two distances were similar in actual length. The difference lay in the fact that Baron Belair’s land had not had its roads properly flattened and developed, unlike York Territory, where one could march quickly.

Because of this, Marcus assigned a group of Apprentices to plan a suitable route connecting to York Territory and conscripted a group of people to build the road.

He also carried forward the fine tradition of noble administrators—giving those people nothing but a piece of Black Bread, which was both dark and hard.

Upon seeing this order, the Apprentices—who hadn’t been beaten in a few days—once again brought out the Holy Scriptures and laws and criticized Marcus, arguing that people in York Territory were paid money.

Then Marcus slapped one of them across the face.

The Apprentices grew furious, believing that Marcus was an outdated scholar, an old man who didn’t believe in the laws and Holy Scriptures, and rushed toward him together.

Then they were all beaten to the ground by Marcus, a man in his fifties, wielding a dark and hard piece of Black Bread.

Marcus wasn’t a warrior and couldn’t control his strength, so these Apprentices lay on the ground for a long time before getting back up.

Not because they had recovered, but because Marcus forced them to get up and work.

After that, the Apprentices behaved themselves.

…

Marl didn’t depart immediately. He stayed for several more days, observing Puniel and the Knights’ training methods, and listening to some jokes made by the Apprentices, until a group arrived.

It was the people from Holy Land Town, led by Leo and Vito.

Marl went out of the pass to greet them. Leo and Vito both paused in surprise before recognizing him as the youth they had once rescued—who nearly suffocated to death.

“Never thought that the young lad we saved back then, who almost suffocated, is now a Priest,” Vito said, a tone of disbelief in his voice.

“All thanks to the Bishop’s favor,” Marl said with a slight bow and smile.

Leo, on the other hand, gave Hack a firm hug as they reunited.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep