Warhammer Divine Throne-Chapter 476 - 203, Knight Tournament Begins

When Lorne-Rio Cornwall walked into the mansion's lounge, dressed in an elegant men's shirt and breeches, with the Gelonni's Sword passed down through generations of the Duke of Connet at his waist, Francois and Laine both rose to greet him. This Duke of Connet, known as the "Lionheart", was, like them, an esteemed Holy Grail Knight.

"Long time no see, Lorne," Francois said with a smile. "Congratulations on returning from your trial."

"Long time no see, Lord Lorne, it's a pleasure to meet you," Laine followed, "Your visit at such an hour must be for an important matter?"

"Indeed it is."

Lorne appeared to be in his thirties, and his aura seemed slightly stronger than Laine's Legendary High-Tier, indicating he had probably reached the Legendary Peak. His blue eyes were filled with devotion and wisdom, yet also a hint of frustration. His neatly groomed brown goatee complemented his look, and a white Holy Grail Knight cape hung behind him, with a golden Holy Grail Knight Badge on his chest. "Could we speak privately? It's not quite suitable here."

Francois nodded: "Open that room."

The mansion owned by Duke of Winford wasn't very large, but it contained such a room, with one door and surrounded on three sides by gardens and ponds, specifically designed for private conversations.

A round table was set in the middle of the small room. Servants brought in some fruit snacks and a few goblets, then bowed and exited.

"What has happened that our Duke of Connet needs to visit at such a time?" Francois casually sat down, while Laine also asked curiously.

Neither Laine nor Francois had any special association with this newly appointed Duke of Connet, although Laine fared slightly better, having met Lorne, then still a Mission Knight, on his way down the mountain after defeating the Doomsday Bull, where they had a pleasant conversation. However, Francois truly had no acquaintance with Lorne, as the Duke himself mentioned he hadn't even met Lorne once.

"Visiting at night is indeed a bit awkward." Lorne nodded awkwardly, but his expression remained calm as he continued: "It's just, after thinking it over, my father advised me before leaving that if I had any uncertainties, I could consult Mr. Francois, and luckily, Laine is also here."

"What is it?" Francois followed Lorne's words with a question.

"Mr. Francois, Laine, you should have heard about it, right? Recently, there have been some warehouse fires in Connet Duchy?" Lorne said in a low voice.

Both of them knew about it, so Laine and Francois nodded. Recently, two warehouses in Connet Duchy caught fire, resulting in the loss of many grains and stored materials: "Do you know the reason?"

"Of course I know the reason." Lorne's expression was serious, and there was a hint of frustration in his voice: "It's because of me. After becoming the new duke, I immediately ordered a thorough investigation of all the grain, weaponry, and material reserves in the domain's warehouses."

"You acted impulsively, Lorne!" Francois immediately responded, pointing out Lorne's issue: "Indeed, you should inspect, but you shouldn't have rushed into it. You should have sent your capable courtiers and loyal escorts to inspect the storage conditions and find out who manages the major warehouses first. Announcing a full inspection of all warehouses immediately upon taking office is bound to cause problems."

"Exactly, evidently, the actual reserves in these two warehouses might have been considerably compromised. If it were a routine check, the nobles in charge of the warehouses could have adjusted and shifted their resources around. But since you announced a full inspection right away, Lord Lorne..." Laine shook his head repeatedly, "They couldn't handle the situation, so simply setting a fire resolved it, leaving no evidence."

"You should understand this, Lorne. You're a duke now, and there are things you need to grasp yourself. You could either appoint deputies for joint management with local officials and Sea God Priests, like Bodric, to prevent such situations, or you could replace them whenever a deputy becomes arrogant, like Bohemond does," Francois continued, "and you could easily take care of them."

"I understand, Mr. Francois, Laine. I found this during my thorough investigation," Lorne took out a note: "This note was found during the investigation of a High-Rank Vampire. I personally dealt with him and then found this note in his residence."

Laine and Francois's attention was drawn: "This is written in blood."

"It's in Blood Race Language," Francois shook his head, "Perhaps we need a…"

"To serve the master, or die. You know, Guer's real master is not you," Laine directly recited.

"You can speak Blood Race Language?!" Francois exclaimed in astonishment.

"Yes, my duke; the note contains only this content, resembling a warning," Laine said, stroking his chin, the seemingly disjointed content made him feel very strange: "Besides this, there's nothing else."

"Could this be a sort of merger request?" Lorne also wondered aloud, "An Upper-Rank Vampire demanding a Lower-Rank Vampire to obey their command? Then what is the master?"

"Whether Vampire or Undead, they have only one master," Laine stated calmly, "The Master of the Undead, Nagash."