The First Magic World War

Charles didn't know, at this time, the Duchess Joseph was so panicked that she didn't know what to do.

Duke Joseph had indeed led all the troops of the Behemoth Duchy to attack the Southern Seraph Territory, but the situation was very bad. The Duke was trapped in a small city called Interlaken at the front line and was unable to break out.

The Duchess had been anxiously waiting for the reinforcements from Baron Philedrica, whom her husband trusted the most, only to receive the devastating news that his forces had been completely wiped out.

But what frightened the Duchess even more was that the Empire had always wanted to turn the Behemoth Duchy into a Behemoth Territory or a county of the same name directly under the central administration of the Fars.

Now, with no troops within the Behemoth Duchy and a powerful enemy outside, the army trapped, and allied troops wiped out, the "scheming" imperial forces were approaching the city.

The Duchess almost wanted to flee back to her family's home.

It was with reluctance that she arranged for Charles's Westwind Knights to be stationed at Baron Philedrica's Silver Pigeon Fort.

Baron Philedrica died on the battlefield, never imagining that in the end, he couldn't even protect his own home.

Charles didn't want to go to the battlefield either and he also lacked an intelligence system. The combat squad led by Dobin, which had recently switched to scouts, was still very amateurish. They could only ask farmers and the like for information and couldn't gather any valuable intelligence. Therefore, having a place to station themselves made them very happy.

After several days of marching, when the Westwind Knights entered Silver Pigeon Fort, Baron Philedrica's territory was in turmoil. Finally, the Baroness came out personally with her three children to welcome Charles.

When Charles heard that the Baroness was coming to welcome him, he had imagined some romantic scenes, but upon seeing Baroness Philedrica, he could only criticize in his mind: "Why is she so old?"

The Baroness was not just old, but due to living a life of luxury, she had also grown somewhat obese, reaching the point where any honest assessment of her appearance would be politically incorrect and almost a personal attack.

When they met, the Baroness nodded with a smile and extended her right hand in a downward gesture. Charles simply pretended not to see it. Since she wasn't a great beauty like his senior sister Menilman, he didn't want to develop a pure friendship with the Baroness.

Of course, this action resulted in an extremely awkward moment.

The eldest son of Baron Philedrica stepped forward and rebuked, "Mister Mecklen, don't you think you are being extremely impolite?"

Charles knew this was impolite. He glanced again at the Baroness and deeply dismissed the idea of "straining himself" to do it, saying, "It's not that I am impolite, just that I haven't rinsed my mouth today, which is very inconvenient."

"If I were to kiss the back of the Baroness's hand, I'm afraid the exquisite fragrance of her hand might be lost forever."

This response, which borrowed a popular meme from Earth, cleverly mitigated some of the awkwardness, and the Baron's eldest son had nothing more to say.

The Baroness withdrew her plump hand and said coldly, "Thank you, Mister Mecklen, for bringing the friendship of the Empire's Royal Family."

"Your troops may be stationed in the military camp of Silver Pigeon Fort."

Having said that, the Baroness turned away, no longer mentioning the banquet that had been prearranged.

Charles was indifferent; he really didn't want to have a meal with the Baroness. If he had to choose a lady to dine with, there were two options in his own knighthood. Taoles was known as the Laurel Goddess at the University of Georgia, and Philedrica, though of Beastman descent, was no less beautiful than any human beauty.

Dining with these two ladies would indeed be delightful; dining with the Baroness would be anything but, only likened to sitting on pins and needles.

After settling the Knighthood, Charles took Dobin and decided to tour Silver Pigeon Fort, including grabbing a meal. Although the military camp at Silver Pigeon Fort also provided catering, the quality was ordinary. Charles was not the type of officer to suffer hardships along with his men; he preferred to sneak out to enjoy some local cuisine.

Baron Philedrica's Silver Pigeon Fort, known as the "Northern Senis," is a renowned ancient city on the Old Continent.

Charles had crossed over to Senate, the famous seaside resort of Fars, and he was quite interested in the northern part of Senate.

This city preserved the complete style of the Sherlock Dynasty and was the Fars Empire city with the most natural rivers, boasting many exquisite ancient buildings and arch bridges, gingerbread houses, picturesque Sherlock-style streets, numerous museums and galleries. The most famous attractions were the City Hall and the Lantern Tower at Silver Pigeon Fort.

Additionally, Silver Pigeon Fort's ale was well-known, available in dozens of flavors, especially the candy-flavored ale, which was famous throughout the Old Continent. Even from the New Continent, many merchants came every year, enduring hardships and traveling long distances to transport the ale from Silver Pigeon Fort.

Having just left the military camp, Charles heard a gentle voice behind him asking, "Where are you going?"

Charles turned around and saw a pair of deep blue eyes.

Taoles, as elegant as a daffodil, was wearing a maple leaf dress that made her look very neat.

Charles responded, "I'm going to try some local cuisine. Silver Pigeon Fort's ale is famous across the Old Continent; how can I not give it a try?"

Taoles smiled slightly and said, "Can I join you?"

Charles hesitated slightly but then agreed immediately.

Originally, he had not intended to invite Taoles. After all, he had a "half-step girlfriend," just a step away from achieving the "lover" milestone, and any ambiguity with Taoles could jeopardize his future.

But, since Taoles had followed him, Charles didn't mind having a meal together.

The three of them were traveling together and hadn't gotten far when they saw Philedrica with her mask off. The Leopard Girl gave a playful daily salute and asked, "May I join?"

Dobin didn't recognize Philedrica, but he didn't have a say in the matter.

Taoles, however, seemed to have met an old friend and said, "The more, the merrier." Continue reading at empire

Charles was taken aback and sent Dobin ahead to "scout the way," diverting his loyal subordinate. He then couldn't wait to ask, "You know Philedrica?"

With a low voice, Taoles said, "Didn't you know? Philedrica is also a student at the University of Georgia."

"She posed as that female gang member and came to find me on her first day joining the Knighthood."

Charles was even more astonished and exclaimed softly, "She's a student at the University of Georgia, too?"

"How come I've never seen her?"

Taoles shrugged her shoulders and replied, "She is my senior. She graduated two years before me; of course, you've never seen her."

"When Philedrica was at university, she was quite the forest Goddess, her popularity rivalling that of Anne."

Amid his shock, Charles suddenly remembered that out of the twelve servants of the Elf God, five had the form of Beastman.

The Forest Goddess was in the form of the Leopard Woman, adept at hunting and cultivating plants.

In other words: skilled in assassination and poisoning.