In the stands.

Princess Sibilla sat beside Empress Angenis, wearing an exquisite small golden crown.

Behind the veil, her expression was somewhat complicated.

She felt no excitement over the upcoming duel between two nobles in pursuit of her.

Indeed, it was she who had instigated this duel.

But that was merely an insignificant side effect of her attempt to control her own fate.

She never expected that Losa would decline the olive branch she offered and hand it over to Belian.

To her, what difference was there between Belian and Guy?

She didn't oppose it, but neither did she hold much expectation.

For as a princess, marriage was never something within her control.

She looked at Losa, sitting with Baron Goffrey, looking imposing, and felt as if her eyes were stinging. She clenched her fist unconsciously.

"Mother, isn't this Knight Losa just a knight without a fief? Where did he get such an elite army to serve him?"

"No, he is already Baron Losa now."

Empress Angenis did not look old; on the contrary, well-maintained, she was still an attractive noblewoman, many nobles were willing to be intimate associates with her.

"Baldwin likes this child very much, he plans to heavily employ him. In the future, he will gain a status in the kingdom no less than that of Baron Goffrey."

The implication was that anyone who gained the favor of Baldwin IV must have extraordinary qualities.

"My brother truly values him this much..."

Sibilla pondered.

Angenis's smile carried a hidden meaning: "Sibilla, you must know that whoever rules the kingdom will need capable ministers like Losa to assist them."

"Sooner or later, he will be at your service."

Angenis knew her son was not long for this world, but she wasn't worried.

Because no matter what, her daughter was destined to become the Queen of Jerusalem, ensuring her prosperity and wealth.

Sibilla nodded subtly, without showing any emotion.

Yes, he will be at my service eventually!

...

At that moment, the duel between the two nobles had already begun.

Since Belian was not a knight, the battle between the two started in the form of infantry combat.

Guy wielded a hand-and-a-half sword, not using a shield, confident in his swordsmanship.

At the instant when Lord William, the Palace Minister and Bishop of Tyre, announced the start of the duel, Guy charged forward aggressively.

In comparison, Belian appeared somewhat flustered; he held the shield with one hand, subconsciously retreating.

Just when people thought the battle was without suspense.

A "bang" was heard—

Belian, holding the shield, forcefully knocked Guy to the ground. He hesitated then dropped his weapon and used his iron fist, wearing chain armor gloves, to strike Guy's helmet hard.

Punch after punch.

It unexpectedly echoed like the clock chimes marking time in a church.

The battle ended so quickly that before people could react, Belian was panting heavily, staggering as he got up from the ground.

As for Guy, he was obviously in a state of unconsciousness.

Losa exclaimed with amazement, "What's going on here?"

Clearly, at noon during the visit, Belian was still evenly matched with Knight Kevin, so why did he suddenly possess such terrifying power now?

Baron Goffrey glanced emotionlessly at Prajna and Furinjira behind Losa, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.

"You should know."

Losa suddenly understood.

Was it the witch's power?

After a long while, Palace Minister William finally shouted, full of astonishment: "Belian, it is Belian of Ibelin who has won, he successfully defeated his opponent and earned the right to pursue Princess Sibilla!"

The onlookers were bewildered.

Is this what a knight's duel is like?

If a ticket were needed to watch this match, surely everyone's mind would have the thought: RNM refund!

...

The duel ended in an anticlimactic manner.

Guy, who once dared to resist Richard the Lionheart with his brothers, had attacked Richard's mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine's caravan.

And also killed two brave knights of the counts.

Yet he was easily defeated by a bastard—knowing that before all this, he was merely a blacksmith!

Nobody could have predicted this.

Godfrey greeted each of the nobles with a smile, and Losa could almost imagine how pleased Godfrey was at this moment.

The pressure from various forces against him was entirely broken at this moment.

Instead, he had seized the initiative in this matter.

"Well done, Belian."

Watching Belian walk up to the viewing platform, Losa stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder: "You are very smart, knowing how to play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. You exploited Guy's pride and used your most adept strength to directly suppress Guy, so he had no chance to draw his sword—I think when Guy wakes up, he'll be furious."

Yet Belian didn't show any joy on his face, but rather a hint of unease.

He looked towards his father, speaking in a voice only the three present could hear: "I used the witch's power, this is not a holy duel."

Losa embraced Belian's shoulder, saying resolutely: "No, this is the Heavenly Father granting you power through the witch's hand!"

Godfrey also smiled and said, "With the witnesses of so many kingdom nobles, this is indeed a holy duel!"

With these two sentences, the still somewhat immature Belian was greatly impacted.

...

At dusk.

Losa and his entourage, lined up in a winding convoy, slowly moved through the desert.

Since the duel ended quickly, there was ample time in the afternoon, so Losa decided to set out immediately for his domain.

Jorgelisburg was not far from Jerusalem, and it was a territory located by the Jordan River, very close to Reynard's domain.

Jorgelis sounded like a heavily Hellenized name.

The rule of Greek civilization here can be traced back to the Successor States of Seleucus, after which it underwent a long period of rule by the Eastern Empire.

Hellenization, for this land, was already ingrained in its marrow.

Jorgelisburg was initially built to guard against invasions by desert nomads into the Empire's territory.

But now, with time changes, things are different.

It was no longer a border fortress, and the royal family annually invested only a paltry amount for the castle's repairs.

In his ears, the sound of the system prompt echoed:

You have entered the domain boundary, activating all functions of Yesterday's Giant Ship system.

Your weekly lottery pool will include building and special furniture cards.

Upon your first entry into the domain, you receive a basic building, the Lord's Hall.

Lord's Hall: Provides extra comfort bonuses, and the attendants living here will gain increased physical strength recovery speed.

Upgrading it will grant higher comfort bonuses and slowly enhance the attendants' intimacy with you.

"Have we entered the domain's range already?"

Losa looked far into the distance, and sure enough, he could see the faint wisps of smoke rising from a nearby village, which should be an affiliated village of Baron Losa's domain.

In the future, he might consider granting it to his subordinates as a knight's fief.

"Order everyone to quicken their pace, treat this as a training march!"

Losa urged.

He was already impatient to see his own fief.

In the future, he might reside for quite some time in Jerusalem, instead of his domain, and perhaps even hold an office in the royal palace.

But the domain was his foundation!

As they passed the village, the group made a brief stop, and Losa announced the arrival of the new lord to the villagers before continuing on their way.

Soon, they would be able to see a solitary stone castle standing amidst the distant hills.

"Hans, display my banner!"

Losa's exclusive heraldry was already designed, featuring a black single-headed eagle, its head facing right, with no extra embellishments.

If he were to gain other titles in the future, he might add new heraldry to the eagle's claws or wings to expand it.

The castle's garrison seemed to become excited upon seeing a formidable group arriving.

Someone loudly called out from the walls, and many rose to the walls, holding bows and arrows pointed in this direction.

Hans rode ahead and ordered them to open the gates and come out to greet them.

As Losa's temporary herald, he showed the Guard Officer Baldwin IV's personally written land grant to the castle's Guard Officer.

The Guard Officer promptly welcomed them into the castle.

This castle wasn't large, with severely weathered walls behind which the stable, blacksmith shop, carpentry workshop, kitchen, and soldier barracks were distributed in order.

The main building was not spacious either, even more modest compared to Algo's Eagle Castle, and coupled with the climate here, it's far less comfortable than living in the estate within Jerusalem City.

"How many are in the garrison here?"

Losa inquired.

The Guard Officer cautiously replied, "Thirty men, sir, all present here."

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