Revenge with a Dragon 70: An Unexpected Visit (1)
Owen realized that this flood of handshake requests was directed at him.
"Sir Leire! A handshake for me too!"
"Congratulations on your tremendous achievement!"
"Look over here!"
He was stunned by the fact that so many citizens had come out to welcome him personally.
He had no idea how the situation had unfolded, but it seemed the events in Edel had already spread all the way here.
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Standing at the city gates was Anton, the heir to the Bobert family.
"It's been a while, Owen."
Owen felt a surge of genuine pleasure at the sight of him.
He had met Anton right after arriving in Bris and visiting the Surpuk Duke's palace.
That time, he'd gotten into a spat with Austin of the Russell family that escalated to a dragon match, but Anton had treated him kindly despite their difference in status.
"Good to see you, Sir Anton. It's been too long."
"You've done Bris a great service this time. I'm truly grateful. Today, by His Grace's command, we've prepared this welcome ceremony."
"His Grace himself?"
"Yes. The citizens here came out on their own after hearing the rumors. Must be nice to be so popular."
This level of reception was a first for Owen since his reincarnation.
Ben, standing beside him, beamed as if it were his own triumph.
"Young master, when the master hears about today, he'll be overjoyed. You're really bringing honor to our Leire family."
"Is that so? I'm glad if it's of help to the family."
The crowd kept chanting the Leire family name over and over.
Owen, who had felt a deep debt to the Leire family since reincarnating, sensed that burden easing little by little.
A few days later, Owen was summoned by the Surpuk Duke.
The duke was sipping coffee in his office, buried under mountains of paperwork as usual. Without so much as a greeting, he cut straight to it upon seeing Owen.
"How did you handle things in Edel? How on earth did you convince Bellatel?"
"I'll explain."
Owen began his calm recounting.
It started with his visit to Bellatel, interrupted by dark elves trampling his herb garden.
The Surpuk Duke listened in disbelief.
"Hah, those damned brown-eared bastards' greed ruined everything."
Of course, he couldn't mention the orc Karaku he'd met on Golden Mountain.
When explaining the resolution, he also kept quiet about contacting the dark elf queen.
In truth, Brasiana had backed down due to a deal with Owen, but that wasn't something to report to the duke.
For now, Owen threw the great mage Bellatel under the bus.
"Crushing the plot in Edel was entirely thanks to Sir Bellatel's assistance. He's close with Lady Seymour, the elder of the Albert family. I benefited from that connection."
"I see. But that doesn't diminish your contributions at all. Convincing Bellatel to come to Edel was achievement enough. And handling something this massive surely came with unspeakable hardships. You did well—truly."
The Surpuk Duke said the east had finally caught a breather.
"The commander at the eastern forts reported in. The orcs have suddenly gone quiet."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. They looked ready to swarm any moment, but now they're hesitating. Probably fallout from Edel."
The Surpuk Duke set down his coffee cup and declared there was someone coordinating the east's affairs overall. He added that Owen had likely clipped their tail this time.
"Must be the dark elves. Those vile rats love scheming from the shadows. And even the emperor..."
He trailed off, shaking his head.
He was convinced the emperor was involved in the east's dirty tricks but couldn't speak freely as a vassal.
"Your Grace, even if the east has bought a little time, the orcs will come eventually."
"True. They're just off-timing this once. Seems like internal strife, but once sorted, they'll march without hesitation. With a new great chieftain, every tribe will crave blood for glory."
The great chieftain needed feats to solidify power—stacking human heads high was the way to earn respect.
"Your Grace, half-hearted peace with orcs is meaningless. We must shatter them utterly or overwhelm with force so they never dare eye the east."
"Right. Dragons are the only answer in the end. But securing them to their peak strength is harder than expected."
"A matter of time, then."
"Yes. If we hold off this invasion, the east can muster dragons on its own. But they're timing it awkwardly. Even with Edel slowing them, they won't miss this window."
The Surpuk Duke let out a long sigh, then chuckled wryly.
"Sorry. A lord shouldn't burden you with these woes. Knights like you fight bravely on the field—that's your duty."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, Your Grace."
"Hah! Nonsense. These past few days, you've outdone any vassal under me. Bobert's scrambling for war funds, and all that fool Russell's done lately is report your exploits in Edel."
After venting about his subordinates, the duke seemed relieved and chuckled again. Then he stated his principle.
"Owen, as I said before, I've always been strict on rewards and punishments above all."
"Yes, distinguishing who deserves reward from who punishment is no easy task."
"Exactly. Every lord grapples with it. But this time, it's clear. You deserve a reward."
"And what might that be?"
"You brazen one. Not even a humble refusal."
"Refusing would make me a hypocrite, so I'll thicken my skin instead."
"Hahaha! You rascal!"
The Surpuk Duke laughed heartily, clearly amused.
"Enough making this old man laugh. I intend to grant you a title."
"A title?"
Owen's eyes widened at the unexpected honor.
He'd only become a knight recently, after all.
"Yes, a title. A baronetcy for starters."
"No, a baronetcy for a lowly country knight like me? It's too much, Your Grace."
A baronet wasn't high nobility, but it held great meaning.
It marked entry into hereditary nobility.
Imperial knighthoods weren't automatically inherited from father to son.
Owen himself had earned his from Count Drun, not inherited it.
And now, so soon, to ascend to hereditary status—it was the family's glory incarnate.
"No need to call it excessive. A baronetcy is closer to a knight's title in practice, despite the name."
Unlike full barons who ruled lands, baronets were titles lords granted to vassals.
Fancy-sounding, but as the duke said, essentially hereditary knighthoods.
But they weren't handed out lightly—that was the significance.
In the empire, a lord granting a baronetcy meant claiming talent. It was a stepping stone to baron or count later. Even in a vast region like the east, their numbers were few.
Usually, even promising sorts got knighted and that was it.
So while the duke downplayed it, Owen couldn't help but rejoice inwardly.
This opened the path to leading the eastern dragon knights.
With orcs stirring, it felt like the era itself was pushing him forward.
"I won't disappoint. I'll give my all."
"Good. The investiture will be in about a week—prepare yourself. Oh, one more thing."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"I'm reassigning you from 5th Dragon Stable manager. Wrap up there and hand over to your successor soon. I'll send one shortly."
Thus, Owen's second act in Bris was set to begin.
At the same time, in the frozen northlands.
The dark elf queen was cornered.
Her loyalist matrons from the five families gathered around her.
All armored and sword-belted—it was no ordinary crisis.
Yet the queen asked calmly.
"Is the rebellion real?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The Shadow families lead, with many noble houses joining. I beg forgiveness with my death for failing to prevent it!"
"No need for that. I know your loyalty above all. Still, the timing is exquisitely poor. How did they uncover my illness now, after hiding so well..."
The shadow families, unseen for years, had rebelled for one clear reason.
They'd discovered the reclusive queen suffered from leprosy.
Now fearing her power no longer, they struck.
"Haa..."
The queen sighed.
To strike now, when an unexpected chance to lift the curse had arisen.
She'd recently confided the curse to her matrons.
Naturally, they'd brimmed with hope.
The queen, secluded for twenty years, might return unscathed.
But to think it would come to this.
Now, they resolved to fight to the death rather than end like this.
"Your Majesty, we'll throw our lives to stop the rebels. Please escape and bide your time!"
"What could I do alone, abandoning you? This must be heaven's will. My time ends here."
"Your Majesty!"
"I beg you truly—don't think of dying here with me. Lay down your swords and staves, surrender. You'll lose power, but your families can endure."
The five matrons knelt as one, rejecting it.
"We've waited twenty years for Your Majesty to soar again. How can we bow to those traitors?"
"I agree, Your Majesty."
Faced with their unyielding resolve, the queen couldn't press further.
Finally, after agonizing, she spoke.
"If you're prepared to sacrifice, there is a way. But two families will be exterminated, two will bear eternal shame, and one will have no future assured. Will you still follow?"
The matrons replied without hesitation.
"Your Majesty, fulfill your will."
"We desire it with all our hearts."
Hearing their consensus, the queen made her decision.
"Very well. We'll escape the city."
She ordered two families to surrender to the enemy.
"The surrendered two will stand with the foe and bide their time. Expect scrutiny and suspicion, but endure steadfastly. When I return, betray them and aid me. Act the turncoat more thoroughly than any."
Two others were to fight to the end.
"This buys my escape and fools the rebels into thinking they've won. You'll live in history as loyalists but face extermination. When I reclaim the throne, I'll rebuild your houses. But your heirs come with me."
The last family was to escort her in flight.
The matrons asked,
"Your Majesty, we understand. But where will you go?"
"To the human empire. I'll seek refuge in the east."
The matrons recoiled in shock.
"Your Majesty! To the empire?!"
"Humans and dark elves mix like water and oil. Why go to those crude savages?"
"Safety isn't guaranteed. The eastern humans might capture and kill you."
The queen shook her head.
"In the east is one who can lift my curse. Free of it, I can rise again."
"But that's mere possibility."
"Of course. I'm not going east just for the curse. I have a diplomatic ploy."
Secluded, she'd still monitored the world through agents like Brasiana.
She knew the east's plight well: orcs stirring, emperor pressing.
Thus, her plan.
"The east's ruler, Surpuk Duke, will be stunned at first. But soon he'll see my diplomatic value. Then, against all expectation, he'll welcome me. No need for worry."
"Do you truly believe humans will ally?"
"The human emperor hires our kind as mercenaries, doesn't he? When needs align, stranger bonds form."
Thus, the wearer of the ice-thorn crown made the radical choice to flee to the empire's east.
"The traitors will be dumbfounded this time. They'd never dream I'd seek human lands."
Her fleet would skirt the north's icy seas toward the east.
This was sure to send shockwaves through the empire and the world beyond.
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