"What do you need, Lady Arist?" Siderius sat aside to leave room for Nina to sit down.

Nina sat beside him. Her face lowered. "Don't need to be a stranger, Lord Nyx… I meant Lord Satterblade."

Siderius grinned. "Your father told you to come here?"

Nina nodded. "Clan Arist would like to form a bond with you Baron of Snowfell. My father said it is better if it's a blood bond."

"He wants to marry you to me. Isn't it?"

Nina nodded again.

"It won't happen, Nina. It isn't about you either. You are a beautiful woman. And you are kind.

You will find someone who would be a great husband to you.

That man isn't me."

"Am I not good enough for you?"

"Not really. For all intents and purposes, a Baron should be more than happy to marry you. Your clan doesn't have a great military presence but you have great wealth and influence. Marrying you would benefit me a lot.

It's just that I do not intend to marry. Ever. My path is on the road. The lonely path. This path can't have anyone else with me. I am destined to be alone."

"That… That sounds sad."

"Maybe. But everything has a price, my dear. The price I have to pay is simply the emotional one.

But our alliance does not need to be by blood. It can be by other means."

"And that is?"

"Snowfell is a barren barony. It has a lot of land but not a lot of lords in it. I need people to watch over Snowfell and strengthen it.

Your clan escapes the strategy this time. But as long as you stay under Count Rufus, sooner or later, you will face your end.

My proposal is… You and your clan come to Snowfell. You will be under me from now on. If you do, I can give you my word that I will protect your clan with all the power of a Baron."

Nina stayed silent for quite a while.

"I need to talk to my father about this."

"By any means do so. I will be staying in Avadine for two more days. Ruben must decide before that.

Oh, and when you meet your father. Remember to tell him to entrust the property that he was going to reward me to Ashe Costeau. Don't entrust it in my name."

"Who is Ashe Costeau?"

"My apprentice."

Two days quickly went by. Ruben had no other choice than to accept Siderius' offer. The Arist Clan hurriedly gathered their forces and wealth to move to Snowfell.

With the addition of the Arist, Snowfell was starting to look like a proper territory and not a barren undeveloped land.

Ruben settled the reward to Siderius. Originally, the reward for the Chaos Beast's head was only 5 gold coins and a property in Avadine.

But after what happened, Ruben paid Siderius 20 gold coins and gave him a rather big piece of land. Siderius saved his entire clan. It wasn't just simply slaying a Chaos Beast any more.

This brought Siderius' personal savings to 28 Gold Coins, 53 Silver Coins, and 87 Bronze Coins. Siderius restocked his Extract Storage and a few other items needed for the road so he spent a little bit of Silver Coins as well.

On the third day, Siderius got ready to move away. With him was Rea, the servant that he took with him.

At the entrance of Avadine, the Arist Clan gathered to farewell Siderius.

"I will write a letter to my Steward. His name is George. He will welcome you properly." Siderius said.

Ruben nodded. "We will get to Snowfell soon. Once again, thank you, Lord Satterblade.

Without you, we'd all be dead."

Siderius reached his hand out. He and Ruben grabbed each other's forearms, a sign of brotherhood and bond.

"We might not be able to have a blood pact. But we are brothers from now on, Lord Arist. You have shown me great hospitality and in return, I also have.

I will always have your back in the Royal Court."

Ruben tightened his grip on Siderius' forearm. "As do I, Lord Satterblade. You will always have my approval in the Royal Court."

"Farewell, Ruben. Lady Dolores. Lady Nina.

May we meet again."

"May we meet again."

Siderius rode away on Red with Rea riding her own horse. Rea was surprisingly resourceful and cunning. A good servant that Siderius'd like to have.

Anna was also a woman that wanted to follow him but she wasn't hardened like Rea. Not everyone could follow him on the road.

"Where are we going this time, my lord?" Rea said.

"On the road, call me Nyx, Rea. It is important to hide your identity on your journey."

Rea disagreed in her mind. With Siderius' unique appearance, it was impossible to hide his identity. No one else had his white hair.

"I understand, Nyx."

"We're going to Blacklungs, Rea. Do you know that place?"

"I heard about it. A place of drunkards and pirates. What businesses do we have there, my lord?"

"Just checking on a small investment I made."

Rea proved to be extremely capable in the wild. She knew how to set up camp, preparing food and water collectors. The only thing she didn't know was hunting.

Even Siderius was impressed.

In the night, they sat around the campfire after a long day of journey. Some bits of meat were being roasted on the fire.

"I have to ask, Rea. Where did you learn all this?"

"My father was a hunter, my lord. I spent my informative years in the woods with him. Unfortunately, a Chaos Beast killed him one day and I was the only one to survive."

"I see. My condolences."

"It's alright, my lord. My father was happy and free. It's a shame he wasn't able to teach me how to hunt before he died. If he did, I might be a very different person now."

"I can teach you how to hunt if you'd like."

"Will you do that for me, my lord? I'm afraid to bother you."

"It isn't bothersome. If you know how to hunt, you can help me on the road. It's a win-win situation for both of us."

"If that's the case… I count on you, teacher."

"Teacher, huh… I think you should call me that from now on."

The journey continued peacefully. Siderius and Rea didn't get into any trouble on the road. They took a stop to a small town called Pannitha.

"Let's get inside and see if we can buy you a bow or a material for one." Siderius said.

"Yes, my lord!"

They rode into the town. The sun was barely setting and all the doors were closed. Blood drew over every single doorframe like some sort of protective ward.

"What is happening here?" Rea said.

Siderius' brow furrowed. He threw a short sword he bought in Avadine to Rea.

"Keep it close to you and stay sharp. This place might be dangerous."

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