Chapter 35: Rosen, How Could You Be So Cunning~
The largest river in northern Virland was called the Broken Gold River, and at its mouth lay Shalin City.
The Broken Gold River’s massive flow was like a giant blood vessel, connecting the northern interior of Virland to the ocean.
This also made Shalin City the largest city in northern Virland.
Therefore, to develop White Sturgeon Island, the Earl’s support was indispensable.
On the third day after arriving in Shalin, Rosen and Princess Serena rode in a carriage, traveling along the spacious Maple Avenue towards Earl Robert’s Maple Leaf Castle.
By this time, Stone had already gathered a lot of information about White Sturgeon Island. They knew about the rebellion on the island and that Crescent City had been occupied by the rebels.
Therefore, this trip was not only to visit the Earl but also to find a way to get as much support from him as possible, preferably to borrow troops.
On the way, Rosen looked at the maple trees with fiery red leaves on both sides of the road and suddenly chuckled.
“Speaking of which, Earl Robert is actually my distant uncle.”
Serena was combing her hair in front of a silver mirror. Hearing this, she laughed and said, “What’s so special about that? If we’re really talking about it, I’m your cousin.”
This was true.
According to the 《World Noble Genealogy》 records, all Virland lords had the blood of Saint Virland flowing in their veins.
And Saint Virland was said to be the daughter of Mother Nature, so it was also called the Divine Bloodline or the Blood of Mother Nature.
The Nature Alliance placed great importance on bloodlines. Possessing the Blood of Mother Nature was a strict requirement for becoming a noble lord, known as ‘Divine Right of Kings’.
Otherwise, even if one possessed extraordinary talent and became a Sage, they could only receive an honorary title that could not be inherited and came with no land.
Back to Rosen.
Six generations ago, Rosen’s ancestor and Earl Robert’s ancestor were brothers. Going back two more generations on the maternal side, one of Serena’s paternal ancestors and Rosen’s ancestor were siblings.
Back to the main topic.
Rosen turned to look at Serena’s increasingly radiant face and smiled, “Cousin, I’m suddenly a little worried about letting my uncle see you.”
Serena spat, “I’m still a princess, and I have the protection of a Sage. Even if Earl Robert is reckless, he wouldn’t dare to have any ideas about me.”
Rosen said seriously, “I’m not worried about that. I’m worried that he’ll be jealous of me, which will affect our cooperation.”
“Jealousy between men is very subtle. It’s either there or it’s not. Reason can only suppress it, not eliminate it.”
“Hmm~ You’re right about that.”
Serena had seen Earl Robert several times at the tournament in Dawn City and had felt his strange gaze secretly observing her.
Before, she didn’t understand and only thought Earl Robert was strange, but now that she had a husband, she thought back carefully and suddenly understood the meaning in his eyes.
She immediately said to Rosen, “Use Transformation on me, turn me into someone full of sorrow, tired, haggard, even prematurely aged.”
Her beautiful appearance had already brought her enough trouble, she didn’t want any more.
Rosen was waiting for these words. He had already asked Laifu to prepare a suitable appearance. He immediately raised his hand and gently brushed it over Serena’s face.
Serena immediately checked herself in the water mirror and couldn’t help but shrug.
“Hmm~ Well done, now even I hate myself.”
At this time, the carriage arrived at the entrance of the drawbridge of Maple Leaf Castle.
The carriage was very luxurious, so the Captain of the Guard personally came to question them.
“Visitors, state your identities.”
Rosen opened the carriage window and handed out a letter of introduction, secretly slipping a gold coin under it.
“I am Baron Saxon, magic apprentice of Lady Agniet, here to pay a visit to His Excellency the Earl.”
“This is a letter of introduction from my mentor. The magic seal on it can prove my words.”
The Captain of the Guard was a knight. After feeling the gold coin, his expression softened a lot. When he heard Rosen’s identity, a look of surprise flashed across his face: “Wait a moment, I’ll have someone confirm this.”
He took the letter of introduction and entered the castle. About ten minutes later, he returned and handed the letter back to Rosen, but with a strange jealousy on his face that wasn’t there before.
“Lucky Baron Saxon, please enter. Mr. Abru, the Chief Steward, will guide you to meet the Earl.”
Rosen nodded, “Thank you very much.”
Alia, who was driving the carriage, continued forward.
In the carriage, Rosen whispered to Serena, “My lady, you see, even a small knight is jealous of me.”
Another fact was that, after more than a week of explosive spreading, the news of Princess of Dawn marrying the Baron of White Sturgeon Island had spread throughout Virland Island.
“Jealous of what?” Serena was always slow to pick up on details.
“Jealous that a humble baron has won the favor of the Princess of Dawn.”
Serena was stunned, and worry appeared on her face: “My dear, will this bring us extra trouble?”
Rosen shook his head: “There will be some, but they are all minor troubles that I can handle.”
There were some aftereffects of marrying a princess, but they were under control.
After crossing the drawbridge, the carriage entered the dedicated parking area in the outer courtyard of the castle.
As soon as the carriage stopped, a middle-aged man with graying temples and respectable clothing walked up with two young attendants.
One young attendant led Alia to the servants’ lounge, while the other unharnessed the horses and led them to the stable to be fed and watered.
The middle-aged man walked over and courteously opened the carriage door for Serena, thoughtfully placing a small wooden step at the doorway and addressing her as ‘Respected Princess’.
Rosen didn’t receive such treatment and had to open the door and get out of the carriage himself.
After standing firm, the middle-aged man bowed again: “Your Highness, Baron, my greetings to you.”
Then he introduced himself: “I am Abru, the Earl’s Chief Steward. The Earl is currently busy in the meeting room. Would you please follow me to the lounge to wait?”
As a guest, Rosen naturally had no objections.
The two followed the Chief Steward, passing through spacious and bright arched corridors, entering the visitor area of the castle’s inner courtyard, and finally being led to a luxurious guest room.
“Your Highness, Baron, if you have any other needs, please feel free to summon the attendants at the door. They are available twenty-four hours a day.”
The middle-aged man’s attitude was very respectful, of course, this respect was mostly due to Princess Serena.
If Rosen had come alone, he would most likely only have received a lower-class guest room.
So, after marrying the Princess, his status had been elevated in every aspect.
Rosen asked, “When can we expect to see the Earl?”
◈◈◈
“You will be able to see him in the evening. The Earl will invite you both to dinner.”
To have dinner together, this was a treatment Rosen wouldn’t have dared to imagine before.
After saying this, the middle-aged man bowed again and hurriedly left.
Rosen discreetly flicked his finger at the man’s clothes, then closed the door and stretched.
“The Earl has encountered some trouble.”
Serena was observing the room’s layout. Hearing this, she asked curiously, “How do you know?”
“I saw it on Mr. Abru’s face. He had worry and anxiety written all over it. As the Earl’s close attendant, his emotions mostly stem from his master, so the Earl’s mood must be bad.”
Serena thought back carefully and realized it was true.
She would have been surprised before, but after spending half a month with Rosen, she had become accustomed to her husband’s keen observation skills. So she directly jumped to the next topic.
“What kind of trouble do you think it is?”
Rosen saw several bottles of excellent Maple Dew Wine in the wine cabinet, so he opened one and poured half a glass. He gently swirled it, using a special warming technique to aerate the wine.
When the aroma filled the air, he took a light sniff and then a small sip, praising, “The aroma is fresh and mellow, the taste is soft and full-bodied, good wine.”
After aerating a glass for Serena using the same method, he stood in front of the magnificent floor-to-ceiling window, admiring the beautiful courtyard garden, and said two words concisely.
“Lack of money.”
Serena took a sip of the wine and found the taste to be wonderful. The wine itself was only decent, but it was aerated perfectly, making the aroma rich and the taste layered and complex, leaving a lingering aftertaste.
She quickly took a second sip: “Rosen, I’ve never heard you say you like wine.”
There weren’t many wines in this world that could make her take a second sip in such a short time.
Rosen smiled, “To be precise, I don’t like to drink excessively, but I often have a few sips. When I’m bored, I do a little research on it.”
“Fortunately, it’s just a little research, otherwise Anna and I would be at risk of becoming alcoholics.”
Serena walked to Rosen’s side and looked at the courtyard garden outside the window with him.
“The Earl wouldn’t be short of money. Shalin City collects up to 500,000 Orgues in trade taxes every year, second only to Dawn Harbor.”
The flowers in the garden were not bad, but some flowers in the corners were wilting and dying, and they hadn’t been replaced with new ones in time.
There was also a damaged section on the garden wall. Although it wasn’t big, judging by the moss on the broken surface, it had been damaged for at least a month.
These were small details, but of course, they didn’t escape Serena’s eyes.
Half a minute later, she changed her words: “Although I don’t know the reason, Earl Robert is indeed facing a financial crisis.”
“My husband, what are your thoughts on this?”
Rosen gently swirled the crystal glass in his hand, letting the amber wine flow like silk on the glass wall.
“My lady, the living conditions on White Sturgeon Island are very harsh. Most of the islanders are descendants of exiled criminals and face constant threats from Forest Sprites and Fishmen.”
“Therefore, the islanders have a fierce temperament and highly admire martial prowess, but they are also shortsighted and closed-minded.”
“If I’m not mistaken, the islanders have an almost instinctive worship of the power they can directly perceive, but they lack sufficient awe for the Duke who is far away.”
These words didn’t answer the question.
But of course Serena could understand the underlying meaning.
“You mean, we have to have an army?”
Rosen nodded, “That’s right, we must have an army. Otherwise, let alone inheriting the position of the new lord, our very survival would be a problem.”
“Moreover, our target is not only the human rebels on the island, but also the two foreign races, the Forest Sprites and the Fishmen.”
“And since my ancestors landed on White Sturgeon Island 200 years ago, the war with the foreign races has never stopped. There is a deep hatred between the two sides, and they will definitely take advantage of the rebellion to reclaim their lost territory.”
Serena understood, “How many soldiers do you think we need to borrow?”
Rosen nodded, “To pacify the entire island, we would need an estimated 3,000 regular troops. But to just capture Crescent River Valley, a 500-man army, or a 100-man elite mercenary corps would be enough.”
Serena had heard Rosen’s description of White Sturgeon Island and agreed with his estimation, but she had new worries.
“Sending troops to help is a big deal, and the military expenditure is huge. The money we have on hand is far from enough.”
It was common for one lord to borrow troops from another lord to quell a rebellion. The default rule was that all expenses were borne by the borrower, who also had to pay a hefty commission.
Let alone 3,000 regular troops, even if it was just 100 elite warriors accompanying them, the total cost would probably exceed 50,000 Orgues.
If Shire County’s finances were in good shape, as long as they were shameless enough, they could completely borrow the money. But now that the Earl was so short of money, they definitely couldn’t borrow it.
Rosen snapped his fingers: “We can also trade with the territory’s resources, such as ore, timber, bird droppings, and so on.”
Serena teased, “My dear, I know there’s a lot of bird droppings in the forests of White Sturgeon Island, but ore and timber… there doesn’t seem to be much, right?”
“If we use it to repay the debt, we won’t have any left for ourselves.”
To this, Rosen smiled and said, “My lady’s worries are justified, but please rest assured, I have already thought of a solution.”
He then switched to Mind Whisper and briefly explained his plan.
After carefully listening, Serena’s beautiful eyes circled Rosen’s face, half-reproachful, half-smiling.
“Rosen, my husband, how could you be so cunning?”
“Besides, the Earl is Anna’s brother, we can’t scheme against him like this.”
Rosen spread his hands, his face full of helplessness: “My lady, what can we do? We’re short of money now.”
“And this isn’t scheming, it’s just a decent loan. We’ll pay him back when we have the money.”
Serena was immediately persuaded: “Alright, let’s do as you say.”
Rosen raised his glass, “My lady, let’s drink to the success of the plan.”
“Cheers~”
