“Ouch!”
A new recruit flew two meters back and crashed heavily onto the ground.
His helmet rolled far away, and he passed out on the spot.
Seweina von Lyon slid her longsword back into its scabbard, her gaze sweeping over the panting new recruits in the training ground.
Her expression wasn’t exactly angry—more like a calmness she had expected.
“Is this it? This is the result of your recent training?”
The new recruits looked at each other, no one dared to respond.
“You can’t even beat a woman like me, and you still expect to face the barbarians on the battlefield?”
Seweina’s voice wasn’t loud, but every word pierced everyone’s ears like nails.
“Today’s training is doubled! Fifty kilometers in full armor! No stragglers allowed!”
After saying that, she turned to look at the sergeant major standing nearby.
“Oris!”
“Yes!! Governor!”
“Watch them the whole time! No food until they finish!”
“Yes!”
Oris immediately turned and ran toward the group of new recruits, who already looked like death.
His voice was so loud that the entire fortress could hear.
“Everyone move out! Run! Don’t let me see anyone slacking off!”
After receiving the order, the new recruits ran out of the fortress like a flock of rushing ducks.
By the training ground, the veteran soldiers who had experienced many battles were leaning against the wall watching the show, with seasoned smiles on their faces.
But before the laughter could fade, Seweina’s voice came from behind.
“Nothing to do? If you have nothing to do, then follow them and run! Carry those fainted ducks on your backs and run the whole distance!”
The veterans were thunderstruck, their faces more colorful than the other.
No one dared to slack off even for a second.
They scrambled and ran out after them, muttering under their breath.
“I knew it… I knew it…”
Seweina watched their backs disappear through the fortress gate, then finally withdrew her gaze with satisfaction and strode toward the command post.
Her silver-white armor radiated a cold, soft glow under the sunlight.
It wasn’t the heavy plate armor worn by ordinary knights, but light armor forged from mithril.
The shoulder guards, breastplate, and arm guards were engraved with gilded patterns, each embedded with tiny magical gems that sparkled in the sunlight.
These gems weren’t just for decoration—they were meant to assist magical circulation in battle, enhancing the fluency and power of spellcasting.
Beneath the armor, she wore a lace dress of the same color, its hem swaying gently with her steps.
Embroidered with ancient runes that echoed the gilded patterns on the armor, it perfectly blended Seweina’s aura of killing with noble elegance.
Her white hair fell to her shoulders, complementing the cold gleam of the armor, exuding an aura of inviolable dignity.
Her features were sharply heroic—her brow line sharper than most women’s, her jawline distinct.
But if you looked closely, her eyes and brows concealed the delicacy of a mature woman.
Long eyelashes, slightly upturned eyes, lips with a soft and full curve.
Yet hardly anyone here dared to meet her gaze.
“Governor!”
The adjutant came running quickly from the other end of the corridor, holding a letter in his hand, with a hint of nervousness on his face.
“It’s a secret letter from the Empire Capital.”
Seweina took the letter.
Her eyebrow involuntarily raised when her gaze fell on the wax seal.
It was the personal seal of the Empire’s Prime Minister, Victoria von Astoria.
She quickened her pace, entered the office, and tore open the envelope.
The letter was very short, only a few lines.
“To Governor Seweina von Lyon:
Recently, Duke Rex von Klein of the North has already gone to take up his post in his fief.
I hope you can spare time to visit him, understand his recent situation, and provide necessary assistance.
After investigating everything, be sure to reply.
By this order.
Victoria von Astoria”
Seweina slapped the letter onto the table.
“Rex of the Klein family, the one called the ‘Useless Duke’?”
She folded her arms across her chest, her brows knitted into a knot.
“I, the dignified Governor of the North, am supposed to go visit him? To go see a banished useless duke?”
The adjutant stood at the door and said cautiously, “Lady Governor, this is the Prime Minister’s personal order…”
“I know!”
Seweina waved her hand impatiently.
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t go!”
Even though Seweina rarely returned to the Empire Capital, she knew a thing or two about Rex’s current reputation.
“I’ve heard of him. Before he turned fifteen, he was hyped up to the skies as the hope of the Klein family’s revival. Then he mysteriously disappeared for five years, and when he came back, he was useless. Idling around all day. But why did he come to the North now? Was he exiled?”
The adjutant lowered his head and didn’t dare to speak.
“A person like that is worth the Prime Minister’s personal inquiry?”
Seweina’s gaze fell on the letter, as if asking the letter, or asking herself.
“Forget it.”
Seweina stood up and took a cloak from the wall.
“Anyway, the border has been peaceful recently. I’ll go out and relax. Prepare the horse.”
“Yes!”
The adjutant received the order and left.
Seweina glanced at the letter again, her eyes falling on the name on the paper.
“Rex von Klein… a banished useless duke. Why is he now drawing the personal attention of the esteemed Prime Minister Victoria in the Empire Capital?”
She admitted it—she was a little curious now.
Seweina strode out of the office.
In the corridor, a few passing officers were startled when they saw her dressed like this.
“Governor, are you going out?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you need an escort?”
“No. I’m not going to war. I’ll be back in about two days.”
Her footsteps echoed down the corridor, growing fainter.
At the fortress gate, the horse was already prepared.
It was a tall black warhorse with solid muscles and a glossy mane.
When it saw Seweina come out, it snorted and rubbed its head against her shoulder.
“Alright, alright, I know you’re good.”
Seweina patted the horse’s neck and then mounted it.
She pulled on the reins and glanced back at the fortress.
In the distance, she could still hear the clanking of armor from the new recruits running and the roar of Sergeant Major Oris shouting.
“Take care of the place,” she said to the guard at the gate.
“Yes, Governor!”
At that moment, far away in the ancient castle of the North, Rex was squatting by a ridge in the fields, completely unaware of the upcoming “visitor.”
He held a wheat seedling in his hand and muttered to himself.
“This one is growing well… Hmm, with a bit more water, it should get even taller…”