Chapter 23: Those Who Chose to Stay
Finally, after spending some time playing in the Healing Spring, we came out.
"Aurielle, summon everyone who is loyal to the territory and close to the mansion. Then they will take an oath."
I told Aurielle my idea. After that, we could allow them to enter the Time Chamber and train the knights and mages much faster.
"Okay."
She nodded without hesitation.
We left the secret room together. As I turned back, I noticed the door’s black color gradually fading away until it became almost identical to the surrounding wall once again.
"Good," I muttered.
Soon, we reached the training ground, and Aurielle immediately ordered the maids to summon everyone.
While we waited, many guards and maids quietly discussed among themselves.
"Do you think the lord is going to do something related to the previous rebellion?"
"I don’t know, but I’m afraid. I have a child to feed. I can’t lose this job."
"You’re worrying too much. Maybe the lord wants to reward those who were brave during the fight."
As more and more people arrived, the voices inside the ground gradually became louder.
Even my mages were present. Although they weren’t combat mages and mainly served in support roles, they could still learn new spells, and increasing their ranks would definitely help them greatly.
After waiting for nearly an hour, everyone who was available inside the territory and considered loyal had finally gathered.
The spacious training ground was now filled with guards, maids, servants, and mages.
Aurielle stepped forward.
The moment she moved, everyone straightened instinctively.
Raising her voice with mana, she spoke clearly.
"Thank you for coming here today. Many of you already know me, but some of you may not, so I will introduce myself first."
As she said that, several people focused their attention on her.
Many of them had only heard stories about the young exiled princess who ruled Blackstone Highlands but had never actually seen her in person.
"I am Aurielle Valmont, daughter of the Human Emperor and the Lord of Blackstone Highlands."
She paused slightly as her gaze swept across the crowd.
Then her eyes landed on me, and a small smile appeared on her face.
Raising her hand, she pointed directly toward me.
"He is my husband, Luke Voidheart, the hero summoned by the Goddess of Light herself."
I froze.
I hadn’t expected her to introduce me so suddenly.
Immediately, countless eyes turned toward me.
Whispers spread throughout the crowd.
Many people stared curiously, while others muttered among themselves.
I even heard a few voices.
"Talentless hero?"
Aurielle ignored every whisper.
Instead, her voice became even louder.
"From this day onward, my husband, Luke Voidheart, will become the new Lord of Blackstone Highlands."
Her words echoed through the training hall.
"From now on, everyone will address him as Lord."
Silence.
The entire training ground fell completely silent.
Nobody had expected such an announcement.
Many people simply stared at me with their mouths hanging open.
My mages, however, looked toward me with obvious respect.
I then glanced toward Aurora.
As expected, her expression seemed wrong again.
She looked as if she were witnessing the ascension of a divine being.
In her eyes, I probably had already become someone destined to rule the world.
*"Aurora, don’t go that far..."*
I hurriedly stopped her imagination before she somehow promoted me from territorial lord to ruler of the universe.
"My lady, but—"
The financial advisor finally stepped forward and tried to say something.
However, Aurielle raised her hand and stopped him immediately.
Then she looked toward everyone and spoke in a firm voice.
"I believe in my husband."
Her words carried absolute confidence.
"I believe that with him ruling this territory, we can become greater than before and rise higher than ever."
She paused and carefully observed everyone’s expressions.
Then she finally revealed the most important part.
"Those who are not satisfied are free to leave."
A wave of surprise spread through the crowd.
"I will not stop anyone."
Her voice remained calm.
"Because those who choose to stay here will have to take an oath."
An invisible pressure seemed to settle over the hall.
"A binding oath."
"One that cannot be broken."
After saying that, she fell silent and waited for their response.
Five minutes passed.
Finally, one guard stepped forward.
He knelt on one knee and lowered his head.
"Forgive me, my lord, but I don’t think I can stay in this territory any longer."
Aurielle remained silent and allowed him to continue.
"Many guards are already dead, and I’ve heard about the turmoil at the border."
The moment he mentioned the border, numerous guards and maids visibly stiffened.
Clearly, they had heard the rumors as well.
"I don’t think this territory can survive the problems that are coming."
Then he paused for a moment and glanced toward me before speaking his final concern.
"And I don’t want to lose my life in the war that Viscount Ashenford will bring."
The hall exploded.
"What?!"
"Viscount Ashenford is attacking?"
"Doesn’t that mean we’re doomed?"
Voices rose from every direction.
People began talking anxiously among themselves.
Fear quickly spread through the crowd.
Soon, more guards and maids stepped forward.
One after another, they knelt and requested permission to leave.
Throughout everything, Aurielle remained calm.
Her expression never changed.
It was as if nothing in the world mattered more than making her husband the new lord.
"Okay."
The moment those words left her mouth, the people kneeling visibly relaxed.
"Thank you, my lord."
They bowed gratefully before leaving the training ground one after another.
They weren’t just leaving the hall.
They were abandoning the territory itself.
After they were gone, I looked around.
Only twenty maids remained out of the original fifty.
Among the guards, only ten Iron Knights remained.
The ten Iron Knights who had been guarding the treasury were also present now.
Alongside them stood one hundred Body Tempering Realm soldiers.
Osric, the Bronze Knight, remained as well.
Surprisingly, even the financial advisor had chosen to stay.
"Good."
Aurielle looked satisfied.
Then she turned toward me.
I immediately understood what she wanted.
Walking forward, I stood beside her and gently held her hand.
Then I smiled at everyone who had chosen to remain.
"LORD!"
The remaining people immediately knelt and shouted in unison.
Their voices echoed throughout the training hall.
I nodded toward them.
Then I looked toward Aurora.
"Aurora, come forward."
"Yes, Master."
Aurora stepped out from the behind and walked to the front.
Her silver-white hair swayed softly behind her, while her black-silver armor reflected the light of the sun.
The moment she stopped beside me, confusion appeared on many faces.
Everyone looked curiously at the beautiful knight standing before them.
None of them knew what was about to happen next.
Aurora stepped forward.
Her silver-white hair swayed gently behind her as the runes engraved upon her armor emitted a faint glow.
Though she spoke no words, a strange solemnity spread across the training ground.
One by one, the voices around her disappeared.
Within moments, the entire training ground fell silent.
Then she planted her shield into the ground.
THUD.
A faint silver glow spread beneath her feet.
Then she raised her sword toward the sky.
Her silver-blue eyes shone with an otherworldly radiance as her voice echoed across the entire courtyard.
"Hear me."
"Before steel."
"Before blood."
"Before the witness of heaven and earth."
"I, Aurora Valcrest, invoke the Argent Covenant."
The air suddenly grew heavy.
Countless silver runes appeared around her body.
Then—
CLANG.
CLANG.
CLANG.
Chains began emerging from the empty air.
Everyone watched in shock as a gigantic phantom sword slowly appeared behind Aurora.
The sword was hundreds of meters tall.
Ancient.
Majestic.
Wrapped entirely in countless silver chains.
Its tip pointed toward the heavens.
Its hilt vanished into the sky itself.
The sight alone made many people instinctively lower their heads.
Aurora’s voice rang out once more.
"Those who accept this covenant shall become loyal retainers of Lord Luke Voidheart and the Blackstone Highlands."
"You shall not knowingly betray his trust."
"You shall not raise your blade against him."
"You shall not conspire against his territory."
"And should your heart stray toward betrayal..."
Aurora slowly lowered her sword.
The phantom sword behind her trembled.
The chains wrapped around it rattled violently.
CLANG.
CLANG.
CLANG.
"...then the covenant shall bear witness."
"And the judgment of my sword shall find you."
Silence followed.
The pressure alone made several people struggle to breathe.
Then Aurora spoke the final words.
"Those willing to swear."
"Speak your answer."
The remaining guards, maids, mages, and knights exchanged glances.
Then one by one—
"We swear."
"We swear loyalty to Lord Luke Voidheart."
"We swear loyalty to Blackstone Highlands."
The moment the words left their mouths—
BOOM.
The gigantic phantom sword behind Aurora shone brilliantly.
The chains binding it suddenly burst outward.
Tens of silver chains shot across the training ground.
Like living serpents, they wrapped around every person who had accepted the oath.
The chains glowed for a brief moment.
Then dissolved into countless particles of silver light.
Each person’s chest gained a faint silver covenant mark before it vanished beneath their skin.
The covenant was complete.
Aurielle and I both smiled at this, then we brought them toward the Time Chamber.
As we entered the black tunnel, many people became nervous. Some hesitated for a moment while staring into the darkness ahead, but they still obeyed and followed us inside.
The moment everyone emerged from the tunnel and entered the small world beyond, astonished voices immediately rang out.
"Wow... so much mana!"
Everyone exclaimed in shock.
It seemed that because of the time difference, the Mana Well had already spent quite some time enriching the surrounding environment.
The mana density inside the chamber was noticeably higher than before.
I stepped forward and turned toward my subjects.
They immediately focused their attention on me.
"This is the Time Chamber."
My voice echoed across the open field.
"Here, thirty days are equal to only one day outside."
The moment those words left my mouth, everyone’s expressions froze.
Many people widened their eyes in disbelief.
Time-related treasures were things they had only heard about in stories and legends.
None of them had ever imagined they would stand inside one themselves.
I continued before they could recover from the shock.
"There is also a Mana Well and a Healing Spring."
I pointed toward the distant structures.
"The Mana Well increases the concentration of mana in the surrounding area, while the Healing Spring can heal injuries, restore stamina, and remove fatigue."
I paused and observed their reactions.
Their expressions had completely changed.
The excitement in their eyes was almost frightening.
Many of them immediately began imagining how much stronger they could become by training here.
Soon, whispers began spreading through the crowd.
"If those people knew what they just missed, how much would they regret it?"
"Heh... don’t talk about them. Those guys are traitors."
"They thought this territory was doomed, but our lord will definitely bring back its glory."
Hearing their conversations, I couldn’t help but smile slightly.
Then I raised my voice again.
"Remember."
Everyone immediately turned toward me.
"Do not go near the Mana Well."
"And don’t even think about bathing in the Healing Spring."
The moment I said that, many people instantly looked away.
Several necks visibly shrank.
Even some of the female maids gave me pleading looks, as if I had just exposed exactly what they had been planning to do.
*Hah...*
I had seen better than that.
So I didn’t melt under their pitiful expressions.
After giving everyone a few more instructions, we left them inside the Time Chamber.
Only the Financial Advisor, Aurora, Aurielle, and I returned outside.
There were still many things we needed to discuss regarding the territory’s future.
And now that we finally had loyal people and resources...
It was time to begin our next plan.
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**[Chapter End]**
