The Female Knight of Doom - TFKOD 41: Ronald Village

The duchess’ words cooled Alice’s heated heart a little.

She remembered the mocking laughter she had heard from somewhere around the dining table earlier. It seemed that Alice had to come up with this land through many twists and turns. She needed to know a little more about the background.

The duchess had told her to consult Kent, so instead of looking for anyone else, she returned to the mansion and knocked on the next door.

Kent came out to answer the door. He looked different than usual, excited and somewhat strange.

Seeing him, Alice hesitated for a moment, “You…”

As soon as she began, Kent interrupted her, “There hasn’t been a Chivalry Tournament in West Felix for over ten years. The last one was when I was only three years old… I’ll never forget that sight!”

“Um… do you remember things when you were three?”

“I’ll never forget that sight!” Kent looked at her, rolling his eyes, “Knights fight with lances, and the winner receives a golden crown… Even a wandering knight without a lord can make a name for himself in a tournament… There is nothing greater in the world than a Chivalry Tournament!”

Alice listened patiently to his chatter for half a day, and finally found an opportunity to interject, “I’m not here to ask you about the Chivalry Tournament.”

“Didn’t you ask about the Chivalry Tournament? So, what’s been going on lately?” He asked in confusion.

After saying that, he realized, “Oh, you want to ask about the land Her Grace gave you?”

“Yes, Her Grace sent me here… Is there a problem with that?”

“You haven’t been here long, so it’s no surprise that you don’t understand the details of the situation. The land of Ronald Village… is a truly troubling matter that no one wants to get involved in.”

The land of Ronald Village was originally given to Knight Martin. Since Knight Martin had no descendants, after his death, the duchess was supposed to reclaim the land.

But in fact, it was Reynolds, Knight Martin’s nephew, who occupied the land of that village.

This doesn’t comply with the rules, but Reynolds is a strict man, and he has already fired several tax clerks and land surveyors.

This man was a hard-line Krosh, and he was definitely not someone the duchess could use, so the duchess stuck to her guns, never willing to agree to give him those lands.

Leading the Krosh faction is Marquis Krosh, the most powerful noble in all of West Felix, second only to the duchess herself. His domain lies in the Northern Felix part territories, and upon the duchess’ passing, he is poised to inherit the majority of western lands.

The Felix faction champions Count Felix, a cousin of the former duke, who is set to inherit both the title and the Southern Felix territories in due course.

Meanwhile, the duchess faction, though presently stable, is predominantly composed of outsiders with little rooted support; its future is uncertain.

Once the duchess departs, this faction is likely to disintegrate, leading to a possible division of the west into two semi-autonomous regions: North Krosh and South Felix.

Yet, even a slight shift in circumstances could disrupt this fragile balance, potentially plunging the entire region into prolonged conflict reminiscent of the southern parts of the kingdom.

Since arriving half a month ago, Alice has made considerable progress in understanding the geography and political landscape of the west. She has discerned that the region’s noble hierarchy is currently divided into three primary factions: the Krosh faction, the Felix faction, and the duchess faction.

Kent informed her that the location of Ronald Village lay approximately between Cloud Mist Castle and the City of Ferren. This positioning could almost be regarded as the very heart of the western territory, and in the times to come, it would undoubtedly become the focal point of the southern territory.

Should Ronald Village fall under the control of the Krosh faction, the death of the duchess would almost certainly precipitate a crisis of division within the future southern territory.

Seizing this strategic significance, the duchess decided to seize the opportunity to grant the land of Ronald Village to Alice, aiming to place it in the hands of someone whose loyalty could be assured.

Having shared these details, Kent concluded with a pointed remark, “Reynolds is a formidable opponent—skilled in martial arts and well-connected with the Krosh family. The duchess wishes to avoid any conflict with the Marquis Krosh, and thus, launching a military campaign against him would be ill-advised. Coincidentally, you are here now, and you are in a position to take control of that land. Handling Reynolds will become your task. Nevertheless, the village’s wealth is undeniable, which explains Reynolds’s reluctance to relinquish it.”

As Alice listened to his explanation, the only detail that truly resonated with her was the final point: Ronald Village is truly prosperous!

This was good news for her, who cared about nothing more than making money.

Even if Reynolds was powerful, she wasn’t afraid; killing was her greatest skill.

Kent could tell from her eyes that she wasn’t listening. But… perhaps this was why the duchess had chosen her and knighted her. After all, there were already too many politicians in this castle.

He had to give Alice one last warning, “You really need to be careful.”

She nodded, thought for a moment, and then asked, “If Reynolds gets in the way tomorrow, can I kill him?”

“If it were me,” Kent said. “This isn’t war, and killing him would put you in trouble.”

“Okay,” she said with a hint of disappointment. “I’ll try to remember that.”

The pleasant conversation with him gave Alice a clue.

The next morning, she donned her chainmail armor, strapped on her greatsword, and headed to the stables to feed grumpy a few carrots. Then, she rode to Ronald Village with the documents.

About two hours later, she felt that she had reached her destination.

Just as she was about to take out the map to check, she heard Cecilion’s voice, “Yes, it’s here. Walk for another two minutes and you will see the entrance to the village.”

“How did you get here?”

“Don’t be nervous, I just have a feeling that what’s going to happen next will be interesting.”

His sudden arrival surprised Alice a little, but she had long been accustomed to the whims of the gods, and she also wanted someone to accompany her at this moment.

She entered the village as Cecilion had instructed, and asked the first villager she saw, “Where does the village chief live?”

The villagers had never seen a woman carrying a giant sword before, and looked a little amused.

He pointed out the location of the village chief’s house, then asked, “Are you a tax collector or a surveyor? If you have come on official business, I humbly recommend that you stay a short distance from Ronald Village.”

“I am a knight appointed by Her Grace, and the new Lord of Ronald Village.”

The villager seemed completely confused by what Alice was saying, and he stammered, “But the Lord of Ronald Village is Sir Reynolds!”

Alice shook her head, “No, I am.”

“But… it’s always been Sir Reynolds!”

Realizing there was no point in talking to him, she mounted her horse and headed for the village chief’s house.

When she handed the papers to the village chief, he checked the title and seal, then smacked his head impatiently and muttered, “Sir Reynolds won’t be pleased.”

“I don’t care about Reynolds,” said Alice. “Her Grace gave this land to me. If Reynolds has any objections, he can come and speak to me himself.”

“Don’t worry,” the village chief said with a wry smile. “The little village troublemakers are all he hears. You barely entered my courtyard and someone went to report him. He arrived in less than ten minutes. He fired several tax clerks and surveyors who preceded you. If you ask me, if you have any other income, you should give this place to Sir Reynolds. He really isn’t easy to manipulate.”

Alice had never experienced such a contradiction in her life, and she felt like crying, “If anyone has to go, it’s that man Reynolds.”

The village chief smiled, his expression showing that he really didn’t believe she could fire Reynolds, “There’s no one else here, so I’ll complain to you privately. If you can really fire Sir Reynolds, our territory will be peaceful. In fact, he’s been having a hard time with the Paige family in our village recently because of first-night rights.”

First-night rights?

Up until now, Alice had never heard of the term. She grew up in the city and hadn’t known such a thing existed.

The village chief explained to her that it was customary here for villagers to pay the lord to redeem the bride’s first-night rights upon marriage.

“When Lord Martin was here, no one mentioned these matters. Then Sir Reynolds came and reinstated all the old practices. Everyone who married had to pay him two silver coins to redeem the bride’s wedding-night rights. The Paige family’s girl was to be married in two days, but she was so beautiful that Sir Reynolds insisted on exercising his right. If this continues, the girl might never marry.”

“In fact, in West Felix, the Lord’s Right of First Night was revoked long ago,” Cecilion said to her calmly. “Even if it existed, it would have been the duchess’. That man named Reynolds is just looking for an excuse to extort money and find ways to bully the village girls. His tricks only fool the illiterate in the village.”

This kind of thing is more disgusting than corpses on a battlefield.

Alice pressed her hand to her throat to suppress her disgust, just wanting to quickly deal with that annoying Reynolds.

At that moment, a noise was heard outside the village chief’s house, “Sir Reynolds has arrived! Sir Reynolds has arrived!”

When the village chief heard that Reynolds is here, he trembled like a leaf, looking at Alice and stuttering, “He, he, he, he, he’s coming! You, you, you, you, you, you can still survive if you go out the back door now!”

This little old man is really funny. Even though he is very scared, he still thinks about letting Alice escape.

When Alice saw his miserable state, she was afraid that he would die of fright.

She patted his shoulder reassuringly, “Don’t be afraid, I really am strong.”

She walked out the front door of the village chief’s house and saw a number of unemployed thugs gathered outside, surrounding a tall, burly man in full armor, wielding a heavy hammer.

When he saw a young girl like Alice, wielding a giant sword, emerge from the village chief’s house, a look of surprise crossed his face, “Are you the knight of Cloud Mist Castle?”