"Lord Reine, if you have intentions towards me... I would not oppose it." Seemingly embarrassed by the topic at hand, the beautiful lady's fair, oval face flushed a deeper shade of red, adding an allure to her features.
This statement shocked Reine to the core.
At the same time, it also ignited a warm surge in the lower belly of Reine, who had not been with a woman since his arrival in this world, causing him to feel dry-mouthed and tongue-tied instantly.
At this moment, he finally understood the openness regarding sexual matters among the nobility: as long as interests were aligned, many once unimaginable things could become possible. Reine, being a normal man, could not deny the temptation.
If Reine had been unaware of the existence of the 'Sword Bearer' and the details of the ennoblement examination, perhaps he would have considered it seriously, but now, he was sure he would not choose the path of marrying into a family.
Suppressing the turmoil within, Reine calmed his emotions and thought for a while before speaking:
"Madam, marrying into a family is out of the question. However, your great favor flatters me greatly; if the Crowley family faces any difficulty that I am capable of handling, I will not hold back my assistance."
Upon hearing this, disappointment was clearly visible on the face of the Baroness Crowley. She had heard such pleasing words too many times at noble gatherings and knew that no one ever took them seriously.
Since the death of her husband due to a strange illness, the Crowley family had been without a direct bloodline Knight, and two Knights in their forties and fifties had set their sights on her and her daughter after the Baron's death, hence her urgent need to find a powerful Knight.
The newly knighted Reine, coming from commoner origins and possessing considerable strength, was one of her best options, which was why the Baroness Crowley had hastened here from the County Town so early in the morning.
In the entire region of Meister County, newly knighted commoners were rare, but surely there were others besides Reine within a month.
However, newly knighted Knights of commoner origin usually have mediocre abilities, and someone with exceptional Knightly talents like Reine was indeed a rarity.
"That is truly regrettable."
"Then, Lord Reine, would you consider becoming a Guardian Knight for the Crowley family? We are willing to sponsor a sum each year for the maintenance and purchase of your armor, weapons, and horses."
Fearing another refusal from Reine, Lady Crowley hastily added, "Lord Reine would only need to help when the Crowley family faces danger; we would not disturb you during your other times of training."
Seeing Lady Crowley's big, hopeful eyes looking at him, Reine pondered for a moment, carefully choosing his words, and said, "But I might not be capable of handling every danger that the Crowley family faces, so..."
"Of course, we would only ask for Lord Reine's help with matters that are within your capabilities," seeing a hint of willingness from Reine, Lady Crowley began to use the respectful 'you' in her address.
Though Reine, now with Knightly prowess, had not been officially knighted by the empire and was not yet a noble, being addressed as 'you' by a Baroness made him feel the changes that came with increased strength.
Reine thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Well then, madam, your sincerity has moved me. I am willing to become the Guardian Knight for the Crowley family, how about a tentative two years?"
Reine was aware of what being a Guardian Knight entailed, as Hamilton had once explained to him that if a Knight is very powerful, many families will seek to have him as their Guardian Knight.
Sometimes, the mere name of a powerful Guardian Knight could deter threats, ensuring long-lasting peace for a smaller family.
Similarly, during this process, the Guardian Knight would receive support from the family in certain aspects.
As for who benefits or loses more, it's up to the beholder.
"Of course, that's wonderful, Lord Reine!" the Baroness Crowley exclaimed joyfully.
"Then, Lord Reine, when are you free soon? Please allow the Crowley family to host a small welcome ceremony for you."
"Hmm? A ceremony isn't really necessary," Reine frowned slightly, not wanting to waste time on social events or ceremonies.
"Please do us the honor; after all, becoming the Guardian Knight of the Crowley family is no small matter, and we also need to deter some who bear ill will towards the Crowley family."
"I see... alright then! But today is not possible; let's tentatively schedule it for next week," Reine thought it over, deciding that since he had agreed, he might as well go through with some of the formalities.
"Very well, we shall set the time for next week," upon hearing Reine's agreement, Lady Crowley instantly relaxed, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Just having Reine appear would be the best deterrence against the two scheming Knight servants.
"By the way, Lord Reine, if there is anything you need, you can always contact the Crowley family," the lady added, clearly in high spirits. While it wasn't the best outcome, it was still very good and not a wasted trip.
Just as Reine was about to take his leave, suddenly a thought crossed his mind.
"Actually, madam, there is a small favor I need. Could you possibly help with..."
"Certainly, Lord Reine, please feel free to ask," the lady eagerly responded.
She was more than willing to help Reine; this was an opportunity for her to deepen relations and maintain good rapport with a young Knight with a promising future.
Reine then pulled out a piece of paper he had prepared earlier and handed it over to Lady Crowley.
As she took it, she curiously looked it over, but from her blank expression, it was clear she did not recognize the writing.
Just as Lord Reine was about to say something, Miss Jenny, who had been silent next to the lady, now turned slightly and looked towards the scrap of paper. Upon seeing the text on it, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Is this a mystical text?"
"Eh! Miss Jenny, you recognize this kind of writing?" A slight movement stirred in Reine's heart as he spoke.
"Uh... Lord Reine, I haven't formally studied this type of writing. I only know a bit, as there are books about it in our family library which is why I recognized it."
"Oh, you have books? Could I possibly borrow them?" Reine could hardly contain his joy as he spoke.
"This... Of course, I'll sort them out for you once I get back," Jenny nodded and agreed.
Reine nodded; he hadn't expected such an unexpected pleasure.
Originally he had planned to first inquire with Lord Hamilton and had even prepared a second plan in case that failed. But now, he had resolved it just by stepping out of his house!
They agreed to send the books over in two days, after which Reine bid farewell to Baroness Crowley and Miss Jenny and left the carriage.
After getting off, Reine continued towards the town hall.
Upon arriving at the hall, since he had already found a way to learn about the unknown script, he wasn't in a hurry to proceed to Hamilton's office. Instead, he took a detour to the training grounds.
The first thing Reine saw was the training grounds' wall, which had been smashed open yesterday; it had already been repaired. It appeared the town hall's work efficiency was quite high.
Seeing Reine approaching, many Night Watchmen who were training stopped and gathered around him. This was because Reine's temperament was not peculiar and he was easy to get along with. Of course, the most important reason was that Reine had become Transcendent.
It could be said that since joining, Reine had risen step by step witnessed by other Night Watchmen, naturally endearing him to them.
"Reine, you came! We thought you wouldn't come anymore."
"Yeah, you've been promoted to Transcendent now. From now on, we should call you Sir Knight, haha." Matteo, who was short in stature, said with a laugh.
Reine looked at the smiling faces of his colleagues. Although there was an element of flattery, human admiration for strength was natural and nothing to complain about.
After greeting everyone, Reine asked his colleagues for help. His reason was that he wanted to test his reaction time, so he needed a few colleagues to shoot arrows at him with bows.
In reality, Reine's real purpose was to confirm his guess from the previous day.
After seeing the notice from the system about the Knight Professional Experience Points he had gained from yesterday's battle, Reine vaguely guessed that after becoming Transcendent, if his opponents were not Transcendent, the combat experience rewards he could get would probably be very little.
"All four of you, shoot at me with all your might! Use combat arrows, and don't stop unless I say to," Reine instructed.
The few hesitated only briefly, then nodded.
Matteo said, "Now that you're a Knight and wearing armor, combat arrows probably won't hurt you. But still, be careful, Reine. It'd be embarrassing to get injured by us, haha."
"Sure, remember to attack with all your might! If you can injure me, first round of tequila is on me tonight at the Oak Tree Tavern," Reine said with a laugh.
"Haha, great! Everyone, let's put in some effort. Don't underestimate us," Matteo said cheerfully.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
No sooner had Reine taken his position at the center of the ground than arrows from the four men shot at him like rapid-fire.
After being promoted to Knight, the overall enhancement of his attributes allowed Reine to dodge the majority of arrows without even activating 'Break Limit'. For the few arrows that did come close, he deflected them with his armored gloved hands.
After testing a few times,
Reine waved his hand, telling the wheezing Matteo and the others to stop.
Indeed, the test results were as he expected. The fight against Matteo and the others, if previously he could still gain a small amount of Experience, now essentially did not trigger the Experience acquisition reminder.
From several tests, he had only occasionally received two +1 Experience notices.
Clearly, if Reine wanted to efficiently earn Knight Professional Experience Points, he would need to seek opponents who were also on the Transcendent level.
With this thought, a smile formed on Reine's face; it seemed he would only need to fleece Lord Hamilton now.
However, just as Reine entered Hamilton's office, he saw Hamilton look up at him and say, "Reine, you've come at the right time. I was just about to send someone for you."
Before Reine could ask, Hamilton handed him a thin sheepskin scroll for a Bounty Order.