On the march to Ligu city…

The Golden Tree Army is now marching towards Einar's city for the planned week-long rest. They were already close enough from Ligu city that they could clearly see the castle on the horizon. After all, no matter how strong the exiled army is, they are still human beings. A full week of high-intensity fighting and peacekeeping will make even them tired. Although the knights and soldiers did not show their tiredness in order to prove themselves, Marika could still see their physical condition through reading their grace. So even though the Banished knights all said that the army could continue to fight, Marika still insisted on letting them take a good rest and recharge their energy for the general attack on the tank's location.

Riding upon Torrent, Marika sighed as she thought about the battle a week later. Ligu city is located near the bank of the Dona River. This river can take them directly to Balli City, which is also close to the river, as well as the capital city of the Southern Province and the location of Stank.

The defense on the east side of Barry City by the river is weak, because warships in this world are not suitable for sailing in a relatively shallow river like the Dona River. Merchant ships dedicated to rivers are too small to carry large numbers of soldiers. But Stank didn't know that Marika had the manufacturing technology of Viking warships. Viking warships are able to navigate both oceans and rivers, regardless of any weather changes. The maximum number of people on board can also reach more than 100 people.

Therefore, Marika planned to order her men to build some Viking warships after reaching the Ligu city, and planned to attack the city of Balli by water.

"Master, what's wrong?"

Bedivere rode his horse to Marika's side and asked with concern.

"Ah, I'm fine, I'm just a little tired."

"Is that so? Then please rest well after arriving at Ligu city. Although Master is a deity, you still have to pay attention to your health."

"Em."

Another thing worth mentioning is that Bedivere became Marika's bodyguard and butler. Because when he was a member of the Knights of the Round Table, he already took the post of taking care of King Arthur's daily life. Marika was looking forward to having her own butler since she was always stressed out from her work as king, so when Bedywell proposed to serve as Marika's personal bodyguard/butler, Marika readily accepted it.

Bedivere dutifully provided Malika with meticulous care along the way. From grooming in the morning to processing documents, Bediverel's presence made Marika's busy days a lot easier. No wonder King Arthur trusted Bedivere so much.

As they approached the city, Marika began to ponder about her relationship between herself and her two servants. The relationship between a servant and a master is by no means as simple as a master-servant contract. The servants also have their own emotions, and their relationship with their master is closer to the soul partners because the servant and the master will dream of each other's memories. Marika once asked Achilles if he dreamed of her because of this question. Achilles said that he rarely dreamed of Marika, and even when he dreamed of her, he only dreamed of some trivial things in her life when she was in the Lands Between. Now that she thinks about it more carefully, although Achilles was the first servant she summoned, the two of them usually did not interact much. Their relationship is more akin to a boss and his subordinate in a company. But Achilles himself didn't seem to care about it. Being free spirited by nature, he didn't really enjoy someone controlling him, so Marika usually let him do his own thing, and only chatted with him occasionally.

In the past few days of living with Bedivere though, he is more like a caring secretary, always on hand, and very understanding. Marika herself was a little cautious, after all, she was very concerned when Bedivere briefly mistook her for King Arthur. Although Bediverel said it was fine on the surface, Marika was still worried that what happened that day would bring back bad memories of Bedivere.

"Your Majesty, we have arrived."

When Marikathoguhts were drifting wildly, Einar's voice brought her back to reality. Marika lightly grasped the rein, let herself focus, and then looked at Ligu city.

The main castle has no special features. But, although it is not as huge as the previous two cities that have been occupied in terms of size, it is not as shabby as the original Uro city. On the contrary, Ligu city has very beautiful scenery because it stands on the riverside. The trickling river nourishes the large golden wheat fields. The farmers around the city also seemed to be healthy and happy, and they would wave and greet Einar enthusiastically when they saw him, which is quite a rare sight in this era of continuous wars. This also indirectly proves that Enar is an excellent leader.

"Well, let us enter then. Lead the way."

"Very well, this way Your Majesty."

Aina said modestly, and also reached out to make a "please" gesture.

So the two rode to the gate of the city.

Because Einar had changed into the Lyndell knights' armor, even if Einar didn't wear a helmet that concealed his face, it took the gate guards a few seconds to recognize their city lord when they saw him.

"Oh dear, my apologies for not coming out to welcome you, my lord! Welcome back!"

The guard captain warmly greeted Einar.

"Yo! Captain Rick! Long time no see!"

Einar also responded with the same enthusiasm, their words were very friendly, like old friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time.

"You're quite close with your subordinates, Sir Einar."

Marika looked at this warm scene and said.

"Ah! My apologies for acting so carefreely Your Majesty."

Einar touched his head and said with an embarrassed smile.

"Don't worry, it's good for leaders to be close to his people."

Marika shook her head and said with a smile.

"My lord, is this the great king you speak of?"

The captain of the guards looked at the tall and beautiful woman in front of him and asked Einar.

"That's right! This is Her Majesty Queen Marika, and she will be our king from now on."

Einar mentioned his decision to join the Golden Dynasty in his letter to his home city. So they all knew that the faction that Ligu city was loyal to was no longer the Kingdom of Inrud, but the Golden Dynasty. As for the thoughts of the local lower class nobles, Marika can only know after entering the city.

"It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty! I am the captain of Ligu city's west gate guard, Captain Rick. "

Captain Rick bowed respectfully to Marika.

"Very well, it is pleasant to meet you, Captain Rick. You may be at ease."

"Then Your Majesty, let's enter the city without further ado! All the soldiers must be exhausted. Captain Rick, open the city gate!"

"Yes sir!"

Einar said to his captain. Captain Rick followed the order to let Marika and her party in.

Entering the city, the people stood curiously on both sides of the street. On the one hand, it is to welcome Einar who has returned in triumph, and on the other hand, it is to witness their new king.

"Lord Einar is back!"

"Wow! Look at his new armor! It seems to be golden!"

"You're right! You can only find that kind of good stuff in the capital!"

"Fuck! Look at the woman next to the Lord City Master!"

"Is that Queen Marika?"

"It's so beautiful! She's like a goddess!"

A symphony of voices of admiration and welcome showered them, and the people rushed to see the face of their new king.

"Everyone is so enthusiastic."

Marika was amazed.

"Yes! It seems that everyone is looking forward to seeing you, Your Majesty."

Einar said while smiling and waving to his people.

The well-disciplined exiled soldiers, Banished knights, and Artorius did not respond to the enthusiasm of the people, but nodded at most.

On the contrary, the cheerful ladybug and Achilles waved enthusiastically back to the crowd without any care. Among them, the handsome Achilles and Bedivere caused the women in the crowd to scream and cheer frequently, smitten by their looks.

Bedivere himself, beside Marika, observed all this thoughtfully, his inner thoughts unknown.

With the warm welcome of the people, Marika and her party finally arrived at the Einar's Mansion. The soldiers were taken to the barracks by Artorius to rest. Only Malika, Einar, Bedivere, Achilles, Ladybug and Jin Sakai driving the carriage, and Siduri and Melina in the carriage are left to go into the mansion.

In front of the gate of the mansion, the gate guards opened the gate for Marika and her party.

In front of the main building, there is a large garden with all kinds of delicate flowers and a fountain. As soon as the crowd entered the gate of the mansion, an old man in butler uniform came to greet them with a group of attendants.

"Master Einar, welcome back."

The old man bowed respectfully to Aina to welcome him.

"I'm back, Edgar! It's so good to see you!"

Einar said as he got off his horse, the attendant at the side quickly took the reins from Einar's hand.

Einar patted the old man on the shoulder, then led him to Marika and introduced him:

"Your Majesty, this is Edgar. He is the butler of our family. He has served the Yulas family since my father's time as the lord of the city. I was practically raised by him."

"Your Majesty, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking such good care of the young master."

The old butler bowed elegantly to Marika with a smile, completely unable to see the influence of age on his body.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Edgar."

Malika responded equally politely.

"Ah, and this gentleman right here. This is Sir Bedivere, the queen's butler and personal guard."

Einar also introduced Bedivere to Edgar. He thought that since the two of them were both butlers, they would have a good time talking about how to ensure that Marika would have a pleasant experience when she temporarily lived in the Yulas manor.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Bedivere."

"The feeling is mutual, Mr. Edgar."

The old butler and Bedivere exchanged a polite and elegant greeting.

"My lords, please allow our manor's servants to lead the horses into the stable for you."

After the old butler finished speaking, the servants came over one by one to take away their carriage and horses for Jin, Ladybug, Melina, Siduri and Bedivere who had also dismounted from their ride. Achilles turned his chariot into magic particles and disappeared with a wave of his hand, arousing the amazement of the servants.

At this time, Bedivere walked up to Marika who was still atop Torrent and stretched out his left hand to her, saying:

"Master, please let me help you dismount."

"Eh!? Ah! That's not necessary, Sir Bedivere! I can dismount by myself."

Marika said blushingly, she didn't know why.

"It's okay, Master. As a proper knight, helping a lady off her horse is a basic etiquette."

Bedivere persisted with a gentle and polite smile.

"Er...er, um. Then excuse me, Sir Bedivere."

Marika also knew how strange her behavior was just now, so she could only blushed shyly and grabbed Bedivere's hand to get off the horse. Marika could still feel the temperature of Bedivere's hand through the glove, and he seemed to hold her hand with a gentleness that would not make Marika feel uncomfortable. The tenderness and consideration in it made Marika unable to help herself, and she had to keep reminding herself in her head that she was a man in her previous life before she calmed down.

'Hew~ That was close! As expected of the Knights of the Round Table! He almost turned me gay for a second. Eh? No, or should I be straight? After all, I am a woman now. Ahhhhhh! Damn it! Why is this guy so handsome! '

Marika's heart that had finally calmed down began to become chaotic again. So in such a mood, she followed the guidance of the old housekeeper and entered the mansion.

When passing the large garden in front of the mansion on the road, Achilles put his hand on Aina's shoulder and asked:

"Yo! Einar! Your house is really nice! Especially the garden!"

"The garden? Oh, it was my wedding present to Lydia. Lydia has always liked flowers."

Einar replied. His face, which was originally filled with the joy of returning home, also dimmed slightly.

"Don't worry! We will definitely rescue her."

Seeing him like this, Achilles could only pat him on the shoulder to comfort him.

"Ah! Look at my memory! Young master, I forgot to tell you about something important."

The old butler suddenly stopped and said.

"Lady Yulas specially prepared to hold a dinner banquet tonight to welcome Her Majesty the Queen."

"Mother? What's going on, Edgar!? Lydia hasn't been rescued yet and we're going to hold a dinner party!? Shouldn't we focus on recruiting troops?"

Aina asked angrily.

"Calm down, young master! This is for your own good. The old mistress said "if we want to gather the support of the nobles who oppose the kingdom and the tank, we only have this one chance to draw them to our side tonight."

"But-!"

Einar couldn't accept such an arrangement, but he knew how important it was to get the support of the nobles. Einar could only look at Malika with pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sir Einar. But I still hope to maintain the peace with the nobles in your jurisdiction. If we don't win them over now, then we will have one more enemy in the future."

Marika said to him regretfully.

"I... I understand."

Seeing that his king had made the final call, he could only agree with difficulty.

"Sir Einar, although it is very important to get the support of the nobles. But please don't force yourself, if you really can't get their support, forget it. What I just said is only the most ideal situation. No matter what hinders us ahead we are going to take down Stank and save your wife."

Marika reassured.

"Thank you, Young Master and Your Majesty, for your understanding."

The old housekeeper also said apologetically.

"Continue to lead the way."

Einar said dejectedly.

So everyone entered the mansion under this somewhat depressed atmosphere.