bookbashuk Chapter 1310 A Rare Reunion of the Gunnhild Family
Chapter 1310 A Rare Reunion of the Gunnhild Family
Nighttime in Mondstadt.
The gates of Gunnhild Manor were slowly pushed open, and Jean, Frederica, Simon, and Barbara appeared at the entrance. This was the first time in many years that the family of four had been reunited at the manor.
The manor's stone-paved paths remain unchanged, and the rose bushes, flower beds, and fountains in the courtyard are just as I remember them.
Simon Page has not visited the estate since his divorce from Frederica.
After the Grand Master's expedition, Jean was appointed acting Grand Master and devoted herself to the Knights' duties, returning to the manor only a handful of times.
After Barbara took her father's surname, Paige, she moved to the West Wind Cathedral and, apart from brief holiday visits, never set foot in the estate that held her childhood memories again.
But tonight, everything is different.
The steward and his servants were waiting at the door early in the morning. When they saw the four of them coming, their faces lit up with smiles, and they quickly went forward to greet and welcome the four of them.
"Mr. Simon, Madam, Master Qin, Miss Barbara, you're all back! The manor hasn't been this lively in a long time."
After leading the four into the main house, the servants bustled about, bringing over slippers, a basin of water for washing, and towels.
Everyone in the manor watched Jean and Barbara grow up, and they all witnessed Simon and Frederica's love story, which was blessed by everyone in Mondstadt.
Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick on them. The social divide between the church and the nobility ultimately led this handsome and beautiful couple to part ways.
In the past, Simon and Frederick would never have been so close.
But right now, Mondstadt is on a “journey of hardship” with religious conflicts, economic crises… who cares about two people falling in love?
Inside the restaurant, long, round tables were covered with pristine white tablecloths, and the silver cutlery gleamed. There were grilled, charred steaks, tenderly stewed vegetable soup, and sweet apple pie…
The servants served up a sumptuous dinner, all dishes that the family loved to eat when they were children.
Simon watched as the maid pushed the sliced steak in front of him, the tip of the knife slicing through the fat, making a soft sizzling sound.
But he had little appetite; he merely poked at his food with his knife and fork, talking to himself about the inner workings of the Church of the West Wind.
"Today I went to the temporary church and talked to the followers of the Wind God Faction and the Wind Dragon Faction. As a result, the two sides almost came to blows in front of me."
Simon put down his knife and fork, rubbed his temples, and said wearily, "The Wind God faction firmly believes Lord Barbatos will return, and calls the Wind Dragon faction 'ungrateful'."
"The Wind Dragon Faction accused the Wind God Faction of being 'stubborn and unrepentant,' indulging in old fantasies and no different from the old nobles."
"If it weren't for that knight named Noel and his men maintaining order, the two groups would probably have started fighting, and the church would have been torn in two."
Qin paused slightly in her hand holding the spoon, and her brows furrowed even more.
“I was worried that this situation would occur. The Knights have increased patrols around the temporary church during this period, but they still can’t control the emotions of the believers.”
"If this continues, it could lead to a more serious conflict."
“What’s even more troublesome is Calvin.” Simon spoke of his old colleague with obvious helplessness.
“I went to his house this afternoon and had him checked by a doctor. All his indicators were fine, but his mental state was extremely poor.”
"He locks himself in his room all day, muttering repeatedly, 'The church is gone, the gods are gone,' and he doesn't even want to see anyone. What kind of person is he... He's lost all his energy and spirit."
During the day, Frederica also tried her best to help Jean with the Knights' official duties, and as a result... she was very glad that her daughter had managed to hold on until now.
Each and every major event could have destroyed Mondstadt, but Jean withstood it all! This was truly unexpected.
"Leaving aside the fact that Lord Barbatos suddenly 'kidnapped' the honorary knight Ying, causing panic within the knightly order, many knights privately discussed whether such a god could still be trusted."
"The previous snowstorm was even more outrageous, it completely destroyed Mondstadt's wine and fishing industries, and Springvale was severely affected; and those wineries are almost bankrupt..."
She paused, recalling what she had learned from Abedo about the dragon "Durin" during the day, and her brows furrowed again.
"Now things are even worse. There are rumors that the dragon Dulin of the snow mountain is going to be resurrected. We need to deal with this as soon as possible, in case something really happens and the Knights don't even have time to react."
At this point, Frederica reached out and gently touched the head of the piano.
"My poor daughter, so many things that could destroy Mondstadt, and you've shouldered them all by yourself... I really feel sorry for you..."
Qin felt the warmth of her mother's palm, and her nose tingled slightly.
In fact, during this period, she felt like she was about to collapse several times.
As she looked at the wavering eyes of the Knights, listened to the villagers' desperate complaints, and stared blankly at a pile of thorny documents, she thought about giving up more than once.
But every time she thought about the heavy responsibility on her shoulders, she gritted her teeth and persevered, without collapsing.
Hearing her mother's distress, Qin smiled and shook her head.
"Mom, I'm fine. Now that Mom and Dad are back, and the main force of the Knights is back too, I don't have to carry the burden alone anymore. The better days are yet to come!"
Not wanting her family to worry about her anymore, she changed the subject.
"Stop talking about those unpleasant things, let's talk about something happy! Mom and Dad, you must have encountered a lot of interesting things when you went on the expedition with the captain, right? Tell us about them!"
At Jean's suggestion, Simon Page and Frederica also started talking about going on an expedition with the Grand Master.
In short, it's about fighting monsters along the way, and then encountering Capitano, the first executive officer of the Fatui, and fighting alongside the Knights.
However, Mika had already mentioned most of these things when she came back.
As Frederica was excitedly describing the novel things, she suddenly seemed to remember something, slapped her forehead, and looked annoyed and embarrassed.
"Oh dear, I almost forgot something important... Speaking of which, I need to find a chance to apologize to Kaya."
"His horse was attacked by monsters in Nata territory, and in the end... it couldn't hold on and died."
"That white horse was strong and gentle. I remember when Kaiya sent it away, he specifically told us to take good care of it. It's such a pity we still couldn't protect it!"
Upon hearing that Kaiya's horse was gone, Qin blinked slightly, a bad premonition instantly rising in her heart.
She put down her spoon and eagerly pressed for an answer:
"Huh? Mom, don't tell me... that all the horses Grand Master Falgar took from Mondstadt didn't make it back, just like Kaeya's white horse?"
Those horses are an important support force for the Knights, and they cannot do without them whether they are patrolling or fighting. If they are all gone, it will be another major blow to the Knights.
Frederica's eyes darted around, her fingers digging into the tablecloth. Although she didn't want to admit it, the truth was indeed as Qin had guessed.
She said softly, "Well... how should I put it, they're not all gone. There are still a few left... If we breed them and let them live for ten or twenty years, we could probably... raise a large herd of horses..."
Upon hearing this, Qin felt a wave of dizziness and nearly fainted.
Mondstadt was already facing an economic crisis, religious conflicts, and the threat of dragons. Now, the Knights of Faith are almost out of horses, which is just adding insult to injury!
She rubbed her forehead and sighed helplessly.
"Looks like I'll have to add 'Restoring Mondstadt Horse Breeding' to my to-do list tomorrow. Ugh... where am I going to find professionals who can raise horses?"
As she spoke, a familiar figure suddenly flashed through Qin's mind: Shao Yun.
A glimmer of light flashed in her eyes, then dimmed again.
When Lisa returned from her vacation in Sumeru, she specifically told her that Shao Yun had mentioned during his trip that he was interested in opening a ranch in Fengqidi after the trip ended.
He not only wants to raise cattle and sheep, but also wants to try raising horses, saying that he thinks the land in Mondstadt is very suitable!
At that time, Qin was very happy, thinking that Shao Yun's ranch could bring a lot of help to Mondstadt. She had even begun to draft the relevant approval procedures, thinking that once Shao Yun and his group returned to Mondstadt after their journey, she would help him set up the ranch as soon as possible.
But I never expected things would turn out this way.
The Wind God suddenly kidnaps the Honor Knight, Fire, causing a series of chaos.
In the end, Shao Yun personally killed the Wind God, and the order of the entire Mondstadt began to collapse from that moment on.
Shao Yun thus completely broke with Mondstadt...
"If only Shao Yun could open a ranch in Mondstadt." Qin murmured unconsciously, her tone full of regret.
Entrusting the horse-raising business to his family will definitely be no problem.
Perhaps it could even help breed stronger horses for Mondstadt, solving the Knights' immediate crisis. But now…
Alas, fate is truly unpredictable!
Seeing that Jean was still looking worried about the horses, Frederica thought she should quickly change the subject to avoid letting this rare family dinner be overshadowed by unpleasant things.
She smiled and steered the conversation back to the expedition: "Alright, alright, stop thinking about the horses. Your father and I were much more comfortable on the expedition than in Mondstadt. Let me tell you something fun."
These words immediately piqued Qin's interest, and she looked at her parents.
To change the subject, Frederica started talking about other things, mainly about her and their father, Simon Page, on their expedition.
Although the two must keep their distance in Mondstadt, on the expedition, far from the emperor's reach, the couple sometimes get intimate.
Although there's still a sense of impending divorce between them... their relationship is definitely much better than it was in Mondstadt.