Inside the Grand Duke's guest room, Visari sat on the velvet bed and couldn't help but marvel at the opulence of the Grand Duke's mansion.
Most of the furnishings in the room were silver, intricately carved with many winding, interwoven star patterns, which made even someone like Visari, who didn't understand art, feel the magnificence.
Visari didn't have to wait long; the Steward entered with a new servant, who was carrying a tray.
"Baron Noctem, from now on, Gerry will be responsible for your daily needs.
Just call him if you need anything."
Visari kept the servant's advice firmly in mind and smiled amiably yet courteously, "Thank you for Grand Duke Adolf's kindness.
May I know what else I need to prepare for the enfeoffment?"
The Steward took out a list from the tray and said respectfully,
"According to the ancient covenant, the enfeoffed person must fast for seven days, and during these seven days, Baron, you need to practice asceticism.
You must bathe three times a day, and each time you must apply different essential oils all over your body.
Besides this, you must also light seven kinds of incense to purify the mind."
After speaking, the Steward showed Visari the lengthy list of food, essential oils, and incense, and apologized, "All these procedures will be served by Gerry, and for the sake of asceticism, I apologize that we cannot provide you with maids."
Hearing these outrageous demands, Visari's face couldn't help but twitch, but fortunately, he quickly maintained his smile:
"This is perfectly in line with etiquette, and I am happy to accept these."
The Steward nodded, "Very well, Baron.
Considering you are a fallen Star, Gerry will help you become familiar with the enfeoffment process.
This servant will take his leave now."
Watching the Steward leave, Visari decided to be cautious in his words and actions during these seven days and prioritize obtaining the fiefdom and title.
Once things were settled, Visari absolutely did not want to return to Grand Duke Adolf's mansion.
Turning to look at Gerry, Visari said, "What's the plan for tonight?
A bath first?"
Gerry lowered his head and said respectfully, "Yes, Baron.
After your bath, I will take you to familiarize yourself with the mansion and visit Lady Isa."
Isa Castile, the High Priestess of the Nobai Kingdom, the only daughter of Grand Duke Adolf Augustus Castile.
She possessed extraordinary knowledge and beauty and was the Grand Duke's sole heir, one could say she was blessed by the Stars and ancestors.
When Visari saw this Nobai pearl with his own eyes, he knew the rumors were not false.
Isa seemed like a Star transformed into human form; her deep blue long hair did not hang still but flowed and rippled like starlight.
Her fair skin was as dazzling as the brilliant Milky Way, and her deep pupils flickered with nebulae-like radiance.
Moreover, starlight seeped out from her bones and muscles.
Facing such a beauty, Visari did not lose his composure.
With divine beauty, he was not a person obsessed with romantic love.
"Are you the returnee of Noctem?" Isa asked casually while reading the unique manuscript in front of her.
"Yes, High Priestess Isa.
I pledge allegiance to your father."
Visari placed a hand on his chest and bowed slightly, showing his respect.
"It's not bad that you didn't lose your composure the first time you saw me.
Go rest, I remember you."
Isa waved her hand, but her gaze never left the unique manuscript in front of her.
Walking out of the room, Visari did not show any special expression, considering Gerry was nearby.
He knew that his every move could be recorded.
'Do less, make fewer mistakes; do nothing, make no mistakes' was Visari's thought at this moment.
Knowing nothing right now, he could not show any inclination other than loyalty.
Back in the room, Visari decided to spend these seven days in seclusion, and all plans would be made after he was far away from the behemoth that was the Grand Duke.
At the same time, in the small house in Padua, Professor Anglie was gazing obsessively at the blood sample in his hand.
The pale blue liquid rested calmly in the glass test tube, emitting a captivating and mysterious charm.
At an unobservable scale, the Ghoul Filamentous Fungus was stretching its hyphae.
Evidently, Professor Anglie had not discovered some hidden dangers within this Blue Blood he had been yearning for.
"Oh, this beautiful luster, this is the bloodline of nobility, the flowing will of the great Stars, the foundation of all witchcraft."
Professor Anglie admiringly appreciated the concentrated Visari blood sample for a while, then hid it in a box in a secret compartment.
It took a full two liters of fresh blood to extract such a small portion of the bloodline, no wonder he preserved it so carefully.
Thinking that Visari had not died from the treatment and was even about to be granted nobility, a hint of gloom and fear flashed in Anglie's eyes.
"Damn it, why haven't the materials for the bloodline transplantation ritual been gathered yet, those useless black merchants."
Professor Anglie paced anxiously in the room.
"If he comes back, it's likely that my attempt to seize the noble bloodline won't remain hidden.
By then, my whole family will be hanged."
Great fear enveloped his heart, making him even more anxious.
"No, I have to hurry them up.
Visari doesn't know when he'll be back, I have to quickly take the materials and hide in the wilderness."
Opening the door, it was raining heavily outside.
Anglie, ignoring the mud staining his exquisite wool shoes, walked towards the eastern district of Padua.
Seven days passed in a flash.
Visari, wearing a white silk robe, slowly walked into the Grand Duke's council hall under the guidance of a servant.
This grand hall was not lit by candles; instead, it was illuminated by crystals shining like Stars on the dome.
On both sides of the path, the eldest sons of various nobles stood quietly, their various gazes cast upon the returnee.
Among them were envy, indifference, but strangely, not a trace of malice.
Visari's robe had no extravagant decorations; it was even purely white, which, like the ceremony today, seemed to be a ritual with symbolic meaning.
Walking barefoot on the luxurious blue carpet, with every step, it seemed even the Stars in the sky were moved.
Passing the audience with their differing gazes, Visari arrived before Grand Duke Adolf.
Unlike Visari's simplicity, this majestic old man wore a robe inlaid with various gems, held a shining scepter in his hand, and had a small mustache on his lip.
When Visari raised his head, a strange thought flashed in his mind: 'No, is he really the Leader?'
Fortunately, the seven days of training had made Visari thoroughly familiar with the procedure.
He immediately knelt on one knee, raised both hands forward, indicating that he was presenting himself in the most vulnerable posture before his lord.
The scepter, inlaid with a meteorite at the top, gently touched Visari's shoulder, and a deep, aged voice came:
"Under the gaze of the eternal Star Father's great power, in the name of the ancient and unchanging covenant, Visari Noctem, the faded yet re-shining returnee!
Visari raised his head, exposing his smooth forehead.
"I shall fulfill my duty and bring you back into the bloodline of the Children of the Stars.
I shall protect your honor, person, and property.
When you are attacked from outside, I shall provide you with protection; when your reputation is harmed, I shall testify to your innocence."
Visari replied, "By the name of the Noctem Family, I swear to defend your land with sword and blood.
Your enemies are my foes, and your glory is my life."
The Master of Ceremonies unfolded the parchment, and the detailed terms of the contract appeared in the starlight.
The Master of Ceremonies showed the parchment to all parties and then began to read: "In the name of the Star Father, according to Volume VI, Third Edict of the charter of fiefdoms, this Star Covenant is hereby witnessed:
From this day forward, the Noctem Manor and its affiliated land north of Padua and west of the Veld River (including one mill, one free village, one unit of Ghoul mine slaves, and several serfs) are granted to Visari Noctem and his legal heirs.
He is granted the privilege of exercising jurisdiction, taxation, and mineral extraction within this territory, and is granted the title of Baron, along with a license to cultivate wasteland.
The enfeoffed Noctem and his legal heirs shall fulfill the following sacred duties:
Before the Day of Severe Frost each year, two hundred stones of rye and three thousand catties of Star Iron Ore shall be paid to the Royal Court of Castile.
When the horn of war sounds, twenty cavalry and fifty infantry shall be led to reinforce, with a non-wartime garrison period of no less than forty days and nights.
If duties are violated for three consecutive years, the fiefdom shall be reclaimed, and the bloodline shall not be enfeoffed for three generations."
"This covenant is made, witnessed by the Star Father and heaven and earth!
Fides et Lustitia!"
Hanging the parchment contract in the void, the Master of Ceremonies brought a Star Cup inlaid with sapphires and filled it with sweet wine.
Grand Duke Adolf extended his finger, and a drop of Blue Blood seeped out and dripped into the cup.
Looking at the Star Cup handed to him, Visari did not hesitate at all, cut his finger, dripped blood into it, and then drank it in one gulp.
According to the ritual, Visari extended his hand into Grand Duke Adolf's palm and said firmly, "Your Excellency, now I am your man!"
A smile appeared on Grand Duke Adolf's aged and stern face.
He ordered the servants attending him to bring the token and personally placed it in Visari's hand.
"Baron Visari, the glory of the Noctem Family is rekindled in your hands.
Have you thought about the family's ăJoint Nameă?"
Regarding the Joint Name, Visari had already prepared it: "Viridis, Your Excellency, representing the greenness of life.
I already have the intention to devote myself to the study of life and flesh."
Grand Duke Adolf nodded slightly, "That is a good direction.
I was also immersed in it when I was young."
Then Grand Duke Adolf had Visari stand up and attend at his side, heavily striking the ground with his scepter:
"In the name of the Castile Family, I declare that Baron Visari Viridis Noctem and his legal heirs shall be my vassals for generations."
After the enfeoffment ceremony ended, Visari couldn't wait to leave the Royal Capital immediately.
Wandering around in this "high-risk map" might lead to insoluble problems at any time.
Grand Duke Adolf bestowed two potential knights as Visari's retainers to protect this newly awakened Baron.
Visari kept the two close, bought three or four technical servants at the slave market, hired a tax official, and then boarded a carriage, eagerly heading towards the Noctem Manor near Padua.
