Building a Harem in a Noble House

Chapter 107: Lord Paladin

The next morning hit me like a splash of cold water, for no other reason than I knew what was coming. I went through my usual morning routine before shuffling into the already full dining room, the scent of fresh-baked bread and herbal tea hitting me right away

I grabbed a seat next to Meredith, giving her a quick, polite nod. She looked a bit more rested than last night, her silver armor polished to a shine, that proper Paladin poise in full effect. Her silver hair was straightened, curls likely undone by the steam of the bathing chamber.

Lyra, on the other hand, was buzzing with energy. Her blonde ponytail swinging as she leaned forward, decked out in her standard armor that made her look like a mere knight compared to Meredith’s towering frame.

Isobel was the most interesting, though. She was dressed in a resplendent black robe, dark jewels lining her outfit as well as the pointed hat seated atop her head. A single loose braid fell to her side, giving her the distinct image of the very Demon Queen Lyra and I had feared for so long. It seemed she was taking this training very seriously. Good.

"Morning, everyone," I said, piling some food onto my plate. The eggs were fluffy, the sausage spicy enough to wake me up properly. "Isobel," I nodded. "I’m guessing you have something you were waiting to announce?"

Isobel set down her fork with a knowing smile. Of course she had something special planned for Meredith’s training.

"Of course I do, love," she confirmed. "But first, I’d like to make a few things clear about the Qualifying Exam." She stood a bit straighter, glancing between us all as she spoke. "They’re going to put you in a controlled setting where certain elements of your character are judged alongside your physical prowess. As obvious as that is to deduce, we have no understanding yet what exactly they’re looking for. This makes sense, as if people knew their criteria, their system would inevitably be gamed."

"Makes sense," I acknowledged.

"A sound observation," Meredith agreed.

"That means our best course of action is to be prepared for anything. No matter what their criteria is, we should be prepared for it. Don’t you agree?"

Meredith and I shared a look before nodding at Isobel’s words.

Lyra let out a little whoop, smacking the table lightly. "We have a lot planned for you guys. It’s gonna be fun! Isobel’s gonna conjure up a whole dungeon for you guys two to explore. We tested it out last night and it looked insane! You’re gonna love it."

I considered that for a while. As much as I appreciated this, I couldn’t help but wonder whether Isobel was strong enough to make an entire illusory dungeon. That was... a lot. Between coming up with the scenario and creating creatures for us to fight... not to mention keeping all that corporeal.

"I don’t want to doubt your ability," I started. "But... that’s a lot to maintain at once, Isobel."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "I’ll try not to be offended, love."

"N-no! I-"

She laughed, waving a dismissive hand at me. "I’ve done plenty of training in my free time, you know. Believe it or not, it isn’t as difficult as you’d think to maintain. Honestly, I’ve been feeling a lot stronger lately. I’ve been testing wide scale illusions ever since we returned from the Estate. This is going to be training for me as much as it is for you. Besides, it’s not like I’m making something out of nothing. I’ll be taking full advantage of the grounds, including the dummies in the training rooms and our dear friend Lyra here."

"So that’s what you were discussing with her in the baths," Meredith mused, face considering.

Lyra nodded, though her face took on a more mischievous glint. "That’s not the only thing we were discussing. Isobel was running something rather important by me, too, and I think now’s the best time to share that. Don’t you think, Advisor?"

I turned to Isobel, unsure what I was supposed to be expecting. She nodded back at Lyra before facing me with arms folded on the table like a parent about to tell me some bad news.

"Is it something bad...?"

"Of course not. On the contrary, I’d say it’s quite the development! Do you recall when Meredith mentioned that anyone can participate in the Paladin Exams? Well, I’ve been researching what it might mean for this House if you were to participate, Lloyd. Of course, all I can do is advise you. I can’t force you to join, but if you’d listen, there’s much I’d like to relay."

Isobel continued on to tell me all about the perks of getting licensed as a Paladin. Aside from the admittedly cool-sounding title of "Lord Paladin", the benefits to beginning a Paladin were fairly tame–better House Quests, slightly faster reputation building, strategic appeal to certain business partners. It was like sparring with a training handicap. You certainly didn’t need it to survive, but you’d be better off with it, for sure.

In the end, I mentally decided that it would be in our best interests if I became a registered Paladin. In other timelines where I’d registered, I’d done so in Eshil, where the only qualification was to swear Oaths to something. I’d only joined in hopes that the Order there would be of any use against Jolyne and her forces. They weren’t, of course, and that’d been the last time I’d ever attempted joining the Order of Paladins until now.

"Sure, let’s do it," I finally said. "It’ll be me and Meredith getting our registration, right?"

"Yes it will," Isobel confirmed. "From what I hear, this year’s exam will have quite the turnout. Less from established Houses as they prefer to travel to Eshil for their easier certification and more from newer Noble Houses with something to prove. I hear Everwinter and Odelium in particular are going to be making a real showing."