Kingdom Building Game: Starting Out With A Million Upgrade Points! - Chapter 205

Chapter 205: The Marshal And The Priestess
Out in the courtyard, things were still loud, songs, shouting, laughter, the clank of mugs, and the creak of armor.

The Bloodbane knights had let the tension roll off their backs like water. Some were seated on overturned barrels, others leaned against stone walls, swapping stories or trying to see who could belch the loudest.

Two guards up on the watch platform were mid-conversation, squinting out toward the road.

“I swear, if I have to carry one more crate of dusty noble forks, I’m gonna start throwing ’em at pigeons.”

“Pfft. I found a whole drawer of silk underwear upstairs. Soft as a dove’s neck, swear on my blade.”

“You try one on?”

“Don’t change the subject.”

Just then, one of them leaned forward, blinking.

“Wait, what’s that? Is that… robes?”

Below, the other guard shaded his eyes. A slow procession was making its way up the hill toward the manor. White and violet robes, golden staves, lanterns swinging gently, the air around them seeming to shimmer faintly.

“The clergy!” one of the men shouted.

“The High Priestess is with them!”

“Open the bloody gates!”

The gears groaned, and the iron gates slowly rolled aside as the procession arrived, robes sweeping the earth, incense wafting through the air like a promise of peace after war.

Isode walked at the head of them, radiant as always, her violet braid swaying gently down her back, her deep purple eyes calm and commanding. Light clung to her as if the sun itself were trying to kiss her robes.

The knights straightened, some still wiping ale off their lips. One of them stepped forward with a wide grin.

“Lady Isode,” he said, thumping a fist to his chest, “Your blessings… by the Goddess, they made us untouchable out there. Arrows missed by inches, spells fizzled out, it was like we were wrapped in light.”

“Aye!” said another, limping slightly but grinning all the same. “Some bastard tried to hex me, and the rune on my armor just burned it away like it was nothin’! Never felt safer in the middle of blood and fire.”

“You lot saved more lives than any shield wall,” said a third, bowing his head.

Isode offered them a gentle smile and a nod.

“Then give thanks not to me, but to our Goddess,” she said, voice like a calm breeze. “She watches over all who walk the path with faith. She shall continue to protect you, so long as you carry her light within your hearts.”

They bowed again, murmuring their thanks more reverently this time. A few even pressed fingers to lips, whispering quiet prayers as she passed.

Isode turned to a grey-robed priest just behind her, a wiry man with a lantern and a stern expression.

“Brother Halem,” she said, “search the manor thoroughly. I want every room checked, no lingering death curses, no blood circles, no traps. Our soldiers will be resting here tonight. They must rest in peace, not peril.”

The priest bowed low, staff clicking against the stones.

“As you wish, High Priestess.” He turned and called out firmly, “Clerics, with me. You heard the Head, move swiftly and speak any warnings loud and clear.”

They murmured their acknowledgment and began peeling off into groups, their robes whispering as they vanished into the halls.

Isode watched them go, then nodded once, satisfied.

But then, something tugged at her.

She turned and noticed Seraphine across the courtyard, standing a little apart from the rest, still armored, still alert, but her gaze… intense. Fixed on her.

Isode tilted her head slightly, then began walking over, slow and smooth, her hands folded before her.

She stopped a few paces away, smiling gently as she spoke, voice soft as silk.

“Imperial Marshal… is there something on my face?”

Seraphine blinked, caught out, and straightened up immediately. Her face went stiff, but not cold. There was heat behind her eyes, something unspoken.

Isode’s smile didn’t fade. It deepened just a touch.

Seraphine didn’t answer immediately. She just stared at Isode for a moment longer, like she was weighing something heavy in her chest, then let out a quiet breath.

“I have a question,” she said finally, her voice lower now. “One that’s been burning in the depths of my soul.”

Her tone was serious, but then she added, with a very deliberate twist of her lips, “And I was hoping the High Priestess could give me a very… holy view on the matter.”

Isode blinked. Her brow rose ever so slightly at the way Seraphine stressed that word, holy, but she kept her smile gracious and even, folding her hands neatly in front of her.

“I shall do my best,” she said. “What troubles you, Marshal?”

But Seraphine didn’t answer.

Instead, she turned on her heel with a soft clink of her armor and began to walk toward the open archway that led into one of the quiet, vine-draped paths beside the manor.

“If you don’t mind,” she said without looking back, “walk with me.”

Isode’s smile softened into something more curious. “My pleasure,” she replied, her voice light.

She stepped forward, her robes trailing along the stone as she followed the Marshal.

The scene shifted quietly.

The noise of the courtyard faded behind them, the laughter, the clatter of mugs, the occasional song drifting through the smoky air. The sounds dimmed as the two women stepped beneath a low arch of flowering ivy that had somehow survived the battle untouched.

They walked side by side now, along a narrow path lined with soft lanterns. The cool night breeze stirred the air gently, carrying the scent of blood-forgotten roses and damp earth.

Stone walls rose on either side, but the way ahead was open. Above them, the sky was bruised with twilight, the first stars blinking awake in the heavens.

Isode turned her head slightly toward Seraphine, the quiet between them not uncomfortable, just thick with things unsaid.

“So,” she asked softly, “what is on your mind, Marshal?”

She said it kindly, but there was a hint of careful attention now, like she wasn’t entirely sure if this would be a question about faith… or something more… personal.

Seraphine’s jaw tensed for a moment. Then she gave a short breath that could’ve been a laugh, or something like it.