Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 335 - 334: Riftstone Castle

The ancient castle, where the Gran Family has resided for generations, stood silently before Gawain.

It was situated atop a mountain, beside a steep cliff. The long years of wind and rain erosion and collapse had almost caused the cliff to start collapsing inward, giving the castle perched upon it an unsettling and precarious appearance. The castle’s own antiquity only heightened every visitor’s concern about this—yet, regardless, a fortress standing on the mountain peak, next to a treacherous cliff, does indeed instill a breathtaking sense of beauty.

Gawain began scrutinizing the ancient castle from the foot of the mountain, until the carriage finally ascended the summit along the broad slope and arrived in front of the castle, where he softly sighed: "The Gran family’s hearts are quite generous..."

Amber was dumbfounded: "You’ve been marveling at that all the way?"

Gawain gave the Half-Elf Lady a puzzled look: "What did you think?"

Amber opened her mouth, struggled for a while, but couldn’t come up with any other words, so she echoed Gawain’s sentiment: "The Gran family’s hearts are quite generous..."

"Alright, stop marveling, go knock on the door."

The heavy black door of Gran Castle slowly opened before Gawain. As the oak door, inlaid with purple steel and copper magic symbols, swung open to both sides, Gawain’s gaze swept across their surface.

He saw mottled scars and slight scorch marks, though camouflaged, they were still faintly visible.

Behind the door lay a brightly lit long hall—red carpet stretched from the front door all the way to the steps at the end of the hall, with maids and attendants standing on either side of the carpet, and a rather tall middle-aged butler stood at the front, bowing with his left hand unfolding like a swan’s wing, guiding the noble guests through the door.

The hostess of the Gran Family stood at the center of the long hall.

She was a tall yet overly slender woman, around thirty years old, with slightly wavy black long hair, deep-set eyes, and somewhat pale skin. However, time had not yet etched its ravages on this lady’s face, and she was still a beautiful woman who could draw attention at a banquet.

As Gawain stepped forward, the noblewoman also moved forward at just the right moment.

Everything was ceremonious and well-regulated, which couldn’t help but remind Gawain of his last visit to Kant castle—though at Kant castle, there was only a chaotic and illusory dream, what was there here?

Gawain smiled faintly: "I hope my unannounced visit won’t trouble the neighbors."

"Your arrival has brought this land unprecedented honor." Ropeni Ge’lan bent down to pay respect to Gawain according to her rank, and Gawain noticed that the noblewoman performed the nobleman’s court etiquette, yet was not surprised in the least.

After the Gran Family lost its male head, this widow took on the role of the male leader; she was the lord of this land, and to this day, there has been no news of her remarrying, which clearly indicated her certain stance—at this moment, she welcomed the Duke with the nobleman’s court etiquette, which was another form of "language" understood only between nobles.

Gawain lifted his eyes, looking toward the end of the long hall, and sure enough, between the two curved staircases on that wall, he saw a giant portrait: a handsome young man with black hair, in a black coat and white shirt, stood in the painting with a faint smile, and before the portrait, one could also see a white candlestick and equally white "Death Chrysanthemum."

That should have been the previous Viscount Gran; it wasn’t surprising his portrait hung here, but the white candlestick and Death Chrysanthemum were rather unusual—for many contemporary nobles, loyalty in marriage was limited to both parties being alive and their respective families stable. Once either party passed, the surviving one (whether gentleman or lady) would naturally seek a new marriage partner soon after a brief mourning period, and this wouldn’t be deemed "unfaithful," for timely and wise marriages were precisely the necessary means to maintain family power and support the development of the territory. A widow or widower with multiple marriages could, in certain circumstances, even be described as highly sought after—

Anzu’s vast, complex, bloated, and dirty noble genealogies and land transfer histories were formed through such "marriage wars."

Gawain withdrew his gaze from Viscount Gran’s portrait, recalling the information Amber had gathered, then turned to Ropeni Ge’lan with a slight smile: "Lady, I presume you already know the news of Kant territory being incorporated into the Cecil Clan, along with the King’s new appointments—the Cecil land is now connected with Gran territory, and I have come this time just to visit a new neighbor."

"It would have been proper according to protocol for me to visit you proactively," Ropeni Ge’lan displayed a slightly stiff smile, as if the smile had been so distant from her that now even summoning the facial muscles for it felt awkward, "but I left the territory some time ago, and have only returned recently..."

"Protocol," Gawain waved his hand, "we set those rules back then, so as long as I don’t mind, you needn’t bother with the protocol."

After a brief and meaningless exchange of pleasantries, Lady Ropeney invited Gawain and his personal attendant (Amber) to the castle’s reception room, where she had already ordered the preparation of the most exquisite pastries and finest wines, and had invited the best harpists and bards in the Gran Territory to entertain.

Following the afternoon tea, there would be a rather grand ball in the castle, with the dinner taking place midway through the ball.

To be honest, Gawain had no interest in the ball or any welcoming ceremonies, but these were necessary processes—moreover, the ball was ostensibly held for him, although in reality a Duke had little to do in such a "small castle" ball, and no one dared to invite him. The true purpose of the ball was to serve as a social platform for the various nobility who came from near and far.

With the visit of a Duke as a marquee event, Ropeney could invite various neighboring leaders to visit, and even invite nobles more powerful than herself. As long as she could successfully host this banquet, the Gran Family’s reputation would certainly soar—even if the southern aristocrats were not enamored with the Cecil surname, they would have to acknowledge Lady Gran’s abilities demonstrated during the event. In circumstances not suitable for brandishing swords, hosting banquets and balls were traditional methods for nobles to showcase their power.

Neither Gawain nor Amber were interested in these convoluted machinations, but at least the latter found satisfaction in the thought of "having a large group of people standing behind and serving her meal." While nibbling on the pastries brought by the maid, the Half-Elf Lady whispered to Gawain, "Look at them, then look at you, such a large ducal residence, yet it seems your maids and attendants aren’t as numerous as this place’s."

"Why would I need so many people watching me eat? It’s just annoying," Gawain had been chatting with Ropeney Ge’lan, and now that the lady had gone to check the state of the banquet hall, he chatted with Amber. "Take it slow with the eating—there’s another meal tonight."

"Heaven knows what this ’dinner’ might be, maybe feather-decorated carrots or raw meat surrounded by colorful stones? I’ve seen ’ceremonial dinners’ at aristocratic formal banquets, and they’re not even as good as Betty’s baked goods," Amber stuffed a piece of cake into her mouth, swallowed hard, and winked at Gawain. "Hey, have you noticed any clues? Any...incongruity with the dreams?"

"No," Gawain hadn’t expected that amidst Amber’s chaotic eating, she hadn’t forgotten their real business. He glanced at her and shook his head. "But I think this place is different from Kant Castle. There seems to be no influence of real dreams here."

Amber curiously looked at Gawain, "How do you know?"

"Do you remember our experience in Kant Castle?" Gawain patiently explained. "Viscount Kant was reclusive, the castle never hosted any banquets or invited guests, even when I visited, no events were held to take advantage of the occasion. This was because the more outsiders present in the ’real dream,’ the greater the chance of the dream collapsing. The conscious individuals posed a significant burden on the Eternal Sleepers’ ritual spell—but Lady Gran clearly had no concerns in this regard."

Amber nodded, "She invited a lot of people to come look at you..."

Gawain casually knocked on the Half-Elf Lady’s head. "This castle doesn’t have that peculiar atmosphere of the Kant territory; it’s open to the public, which basically eliminates the possibility of a large-scale dream illusion enveloping the castle. Of course...the specifics still need to be observed to be certain."

At this moment, the lady who had gone to check the banquet hall returned to the room. She sat down in front of Gawain, "I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long."

"No need to worry, I am admiring the collection here," Gawain casually said, his gaze sweeping over the paintings and wooden sculptures displayed for guests in the reception room. "Very nice collection."

"These were all left by my late husband," Ropeney said softly. "He loved art, particularly painting. Some of these were even painted by his own hand."

Gawain stood up and casually walked to a painting depicting vast farmlands and homes. "It’s rare to see someone paint farmland on canvas."

In this era, "painting" was an expensive and luxurious art form, accessible only to nobility, the church, and the wealthy, making the audience for such art exclusive to the "upper class." The content of paintings could be described as monotonous and dull, mostly limited to various portraits, religious paintings, and depictions of castle and court life.

"This is my husband’s work," Ropeney Ge’lan explained. "He liked to paint what he saw with his own eyes outside, even if it was a dirty cowshed or old barn."

"I see," Gawain turned around with a smile. "Very nice."

Just then, an attendant suddenly pushed open the door to the reception room and quickly walked towards Lady Ropeney.

Gawain noticed the attendant’s expression was quite tense.

"Madam," the attendant stopped in front of the lady and spoke quickly, "Miss Patty says she feels unwell..."

Ropeney Ge’lan’s expression changed instantly.