As the group passed through the gate and entered the vilge, the new priest found himself immersed in the quaint charm of the medieval settlement. The sun dipped low in the sky, casting a warm, golden glow upon the cobblestone streets lined with rustic houses. With timber-framed structures standing proudly, adorned with thatched roofs that seemed to blend seamlessly with the natural surroundings.

  Vilgers are wrapping up their day's work, the air filled with the ctter of carts being loaded and the hum of conversations. The houses, though modest, exuded a sense of homely warmth, their wooden shutters partially closed against the encroaching dusk. Children pyed in the narrow nes, their ughter echoing through the air as they engaged in games.

  Animals roamed freely, adding to the bucolic scene. Chickens scratched the dirt near doorsteps, and a couple of goats grazed on patches of grass. Overhead, birds made their way back to their nests, the rustling leaves of ancient trees providing a soothing backdrop.

  Jason and Sarah, proud inhabitants of Ravens Crest, guided the priest. They expined the significance of the central marketpce, the vilge well, and the sturdy stone wall that encircled the settlement for protection. The priest couldn't help but marvel at the simplicity and beauty of the vilge.

  “How is our vilge, Sir Priest?” asked Sarah, curious about his opinion.

  "It's quiet and peaceful, quite contrary to the capital," remarked the priest.

  "Hmm," Sarah nodded.

  "Until four years ago, we would not believe that our depressing and tragic vilge would one day be so peaceful and filled with the ughter of the children instead of their hungry cries. It is all thanks to the baroness," Jason interjected.

  The Priest, understanding the weight of their words, asked, "So, what happened?"

  The farmer continued his story, "At one point, she requested her husband to allow her to meet her parents. To which he had allowed her to go immediately along with some escort soldiers. Everyone thought that he might have developed a soft spot for her in all these years. But only ter did we find that when she reached her vilge, that all the members of her family were dead. Apparently, her husband killed every one of them on the day they departed for ravenscrest an year ago. All this time she had to endure for her family, only to ter find out that they were long dead. She should’ve been in utter despair. The soldiers reminded her about her daughter making her unable to give up her life.

  “Along the way back, the soldiers who were sent as her escort raped her. When they returned, the soldiers ughingly said in the tavern that she was given to them for a few days as a treat for winning a bet with her husband. The bet was that, if she would endure to find out about her family or would she commit suicide before that. And her husband bet that she would commit suicide before that.

  “Well, as time went on, the Ravencrest’s tyrannical rule continued for another 2 years. During these 2 years, the girl Sera was also continuously abused. The members of Ravencrest also became more cruel and crazy as time went on. So much that the entire baronet was afraid of them.

  “After 2 years, she was once again pregnant with another child. It was the same cycle of tragic events for the girl. But she can only silently endure. As the time for her child's birth neared, the wet nurse once again went to the castle to take care of Sera. One night she went into bor and gave birth to another baby girl.

  "But that night, everything changed. The child should have been blessed by the gods. Along with her birth, she brought a joyful change to the entire territory. Even to this day, all the people of the nearby vilges still consider the child to be a lucky star."

  "Oh! What happened?" asked the priest, curiously.

  "All those Ravencrest bastards died," replied Sarah before the farmer could say anything.

  "Huh? How?" The priest was dumbstruck by the sudden turn of events.

  "Ha ha ha," all the people in the group ughed heartily at the priest's expression.

  "Hey, stop ughing and tell me. Don't let me hang in there."

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  The farmer continued, "That night, for some reason, they had prepared a luxurious dinner. And someone poisoned the food that was served to the Ravencrests. Every one of those scoundrels who had participated in the dinner was dead, not leaving a single bloodline of the Ravencrests. Only Sera, her child, and the wet nurse who were away due to the child's birth were alive, as they did not have dinner that night. By the next morning, the entire vilge was horrified by the scene as they saw them lying on the tables and floor, both men and women. We don't know who poisoned them. They must have had a serious vengeance against the entire family.

  "In the next few days, Sera completed the rituals to be performed for the dead with the help of the castle servants and the church priest. But this led to another event as the knight commanding the soldiers who were now free tried to usurp the authority and control the vilges.

  “Sera left the castle to stay with the wet nurse along with her children for safety. It was at this time that the viscountess Ravenna came to the vilge along with soldiers and killed off all those hooligans.”

  "Huh? Why would the viscountess come? No, it is only natural as an entire baron family is wiped out. But still, is it not too early? Even more so, why did she arrive in person? This isn’t even her territory" asked the priest.

  "That is the twist in this tale. Apparently, when Sera came to the vilge, she observed all the misdeeds done by the Ravencrests. Then every day she would go to church. Everyone thought that she went there to pray for salvation, but she went to the church and begged the priest to teach her how to read and write. In the next few weeks, she had practiced most of her time while enduring the abuse. Then she wrote a letter describing all the misdeeds and happenings of the Ravencrests along with copies of possible evidence and their connections to various illegal sve traders and merchants. She then sneaked into the baron's office and used the seal of the baron to stamp it. She then asked the priest of the church to send the letter directly to the viscountess Ravenna Nightshade, instead of other viscounts or other barons, not even the count. Because sera once heard that viscountess Ravenna is the most righteous and just among all the nobles in these territories. She also thought that she would be sympathetic to her plight as she is also a woman."

  "For a long time, she waited in hope, but it was no use as there was no response from the viscountess. She could not rely on other viscounts and barons in the surrounding regions as they were in cahoots with the Ravencrests. Unable to do anything, she only endured silently. In her free time, in order to not break down, she continued to read whatever she could find in the castle."

  "But that was where she was wrong. The viscountess did receive her letter, but she did not take action immediately. Instead, she sent a spy. It was none other than the wet nurse. When she came to the vilge, everyone asked why she chose to stay in the vilge as she could go to any other pce. But she gave some seemingly stupid reason and stayed in the vilge. She slowly collected information regarding the Ravencrests and the situation in the vilge. In those two years, she also traveled to all the nearby vilges and territories of all the viscounts and barons who were in cahoots with the Ravencrests. Then she reported everything to the viscountess.

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  “The viscountess first visited the marquess, duke and then the emperor and reported her findings, requesting judgment in the case. After reviewing, the emperor was very impressed by her network and capability, thus granting her full authority to deal with the situation by giving her a royal decree. The viscountess immediately took action by eliminating all the sve traders and underground merchants reported by the nurse, while tracking their network to find all the people who were involved in the human trafficking and eliminating them. Some of the marquess were also involved. But she did not back down under their pressure. With the emperor’s backing, she cleanly swept all the trash involved in this spiderweb. She rescued and sent the people to their home, at the very least whoever she could find and are still alive. Then, she went to each viscount and baron's territories, stripping off their territories and temporarily taking them under her management. She was on her way to Ravens Crest, but before she could arrive, they were all killed by poison, administered by an unknown person.

  "After understanding the situation, she killed off all the soldiers and other degenerates who were connected to the debauchery of the Ravencrests. Then she left to meet the emperor and reported the situation. Impressed by her way of handling the situation, the emperor immediately passed a new decree stating that the count who was incapable and corrupted is to be stripped of his peerage, and it will be inherited by Viscountess Ravenna Nightshade.

  Thus, the territory entered a phase of rejuvenation and rebirth. The emperor also wanted to order the House of Ravencrest to be vanquished, but Countess Ravenna requested him to do it according to her suggestion. After listening to her, the emperor accepted and allowed her to handle it according to her wishes. Once all the matters were settled, she once again visited the vilge with new orders from the emperor. It states that Sera, who was married to the Ravencrest household, shall henceforth inherit the title of baroness and will rule and manage the territory.

  “Sera was reluctant at the beginning, but after a small talk with the countess, she accepted. Thus, she became Baroness Sera Ravencrest from that day onwards. Most of the debts on the household were gone, as they were mostly from shady organizations and groups. However, some of the genuine merchants still existed who lent their money to Ravencrest territory. The countess had paid off the debt in Sera's stead and allowed Sera to pay it to her at her leisure.”

  "Wow, that's an amazing story," remarked the priest, amazed by the twists and turns in the tale.

  "So, what did the Baroness do after that?" the trainee priest inquired curiously.

  "After that, she reformed the entire nd. She waived the taxes and collected them genuinely. She also stated that, in case of famine, it will be completely removed.

  “Then she requested the surrounding four vilges to be relocated here as a single rge vilge. She restructured the entire vilge's architecture and rebuilt them to accommodate the Populus and for the future. This is also a way to avoid the dangers the vilges face. She communicated with nearby barons, lords, viscounts, and knights and established friendly retionships. Then, she recruited some young ds to be new guards for the vilges. She also established a sort of patrol system to guard during the nights in shifts. Because of this, we are now able to sleep without any worries.

  “She sought merchants and traders to establish trading. She also dug wells and allowed the artisans and craftsmen to establish their workspace in town or in the outskirts. Because of this, the nearby vilgers come for trading some of the items required for farming, etc. By requesting the church, she also established a small clinic in the town. It has become the hope for all the surrounding vilges, even beyond the territory.

  “As the nd improved and trade was taking pce, she did not fall into the debauchery of the nobles; instead, she led a normal and simple life without any extravagances. Despite the nd not flourishing, it has achieved self-sufficiency. In a few years, we will even be able to clear off the debts made by the Ravencrests. Her children also visit from the castle to py with the vilge's children from time to time. However, all is not well with her. The scars of the past still trouble her. After the incidents, she refrained from hiring many servants, only employing a few for occasional castle maintenance. The poison incident terrified her, preventing her from allowing cooks to prepare food for her kids; she now handles the cooking herself. Traumatized by the soldiers, she keeps only a few guards outside the castle, not allowing them inside unless absolutely necessary, such as a high-ranking noble's visit.

  “Wow, she turned out to be an excellent ruler.” The priest excimed.

  “…..”

  "On that day, if the baroness did not send the letter to the viscountess, we would still be in a miserable state. Her bad luck, suffering, and sorrow brought great changes to the nd. But is it a good thing for her? If she did not encounter the baron's son, she should have led a happy life as an innocent peasant girl. I guess it is also fate. It is also regrettable that there is no male heir for the baroness. At the very least, the nd will be peaceful for some more years."

  The group fell into silence for some time. As they continued to walk, they soon reached the church. Outside the church, the priest was sweeping.

  Jason shouted, "Sir priest, the new trainee priest has arrived."

  Startled by the shout, the old priest turned to the group, then he smiled and went to greet them.

  “A very good evening to you all. Thank you for helping him find his way around the vilge.”

  “Ah, it's nothing. We are always here to help.”

  “You must be the new trainee. It's nice to meet you. My name is Benedict.”

  “Hello priest Benedict. My name is Kevin. I am very gd to meet you. I will be in your care for some time.”

  “Hmm”

  “Alright then we will be on our way.” Said Jason.

  “Yes, thank you for guiding me here.”

  “You are welcome”

  “See you ter” Sarah bade farewell.

  “See you”

  After watching them take their leave, Father Benedict said, "Let's go inside."

  "Yes."

  As soon as they went inside, the priest closed the doors and stared at Kevin. Then, he held his right fist on his chest and bowed respectfully to his new junior.

  "Welcome to Raven's Crest, Sir Kevin."

  "You may rise, Priest Benedict," Kevin ordered. The innocent, kind, and pyful expression on Kevin's face turned serious.

  Copyright ? [2023] [The Rainy Imp]. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright w. For permission requests, contact the publisher at [[email protected]].