Chapter 36: Times Have Changed~
6 PM.
Maple Leaf Castle.
Chief Steward Abru reappeared, politely inviting, “Your Highness, Baron, the Earl invites you both to dinner.”
Rosen, arm in arm with Serena, followed behind Abru.
Bright magic lamps illuminated both sides of the corridor, but the vast space still felt somewhat dim.
After walking for a while, Rosen casually asked, “Mr. Abru, has the Earl been very busy lately?”
Abru nodded, “Yes, Baron.”
“Are the problems he’s facing very troublesome?”
“Not particularly troublesome, just a bit… difficult to decide.”
Mr. Abru’s words were vague. He didn’t want Rosen to continue inquiring, as he couldn’t reveal his master’s secrets, and refusing a guest was very impolite.
“Baron, when we reach the dining hall, you can ask the Earl yourself.”
“That’s my intention.”
Abru remained silent for the rest of the walk.
He led Rosen and Serena through the atrium corridor, eventually turning into the inner court.
This was the Earl’s family’s most private living area, and ordinary guests would never be invited.
Although Rosen was Lady Agniet’s apprentice, he was a notoriously inept one. As for Serena, although she was a princess, she was an exiled princess.
Her princess status might make commoners bow their heads, but it held little sway over a powerful Earl like Robert.
Logically, to save the Duke’s face, the Earl should have avoided inviting the princess to a private family dinner in the inner court.
Now that they were invited, the implications were worth pondering.
Serena sensed it and whispered to Rosen using Mind Whisper, “The Earl definitely still has feelings for me. This is his territory after all, we need to be careful.”
The private lives of nobles were quite chaotic.
It was common for high-ranking nobles to take advantage of the wives of lower-ranking nobles. Often, some lower-ranking nobles would even willingly offer their wives to gain favor with the higher-ranking ones.
Although she knew Rosen liked her very much and was incredibly talented, he was still a minor noble lord. If the Earl offered to lend troops in exchange, Serena was a little worried he might waver.
Observing their surroundings, Rosen roughly guessed Serena’s thoughts. He patted the magic sword at his waist and said in a gentle but firm tone, “Has Madam forgotten? I am still your guardian knight. As long as I am here, no one dares to force you to do anything.”
Serena’s heart immediately settled, and she chuckled, “You’re the guardian knight who bullies me the most.”
Rosen laughed as well, “Is that bullying? It’s clearly serving the princess.”
“Go on with you~”
While joking, they entered the castle’s inner court and walked through the maze-like corridors for about five or six minutes, finally arriving at a spacious hall.
The hall was rectangular, with a very tall and exquisite glass dome supported by flying buttresses. Through the beautiful glass, one could faintly see the moon and stars in the night sky.
Crystal magic lamps hung like stars beneath the dome, illuminating the entire hall.
Below was a long dragon-patterned wooden dining table. The walls surrounding the table were inscribed with temperature-regulating magic seals, ensuring a spring-like warmth within the hall.
When Rosen and Serena arrived, many people were already seated at the luxurious long dining table.
At the head of the table was, naturally, Earl Robert, while his wife, Lady Edelina, sister of the Earl of Highland County, sat opposite him.
Five boys and girls sat on the right side of the table, the oldest around fifteen or sixteen, the youngest eight or nine. All were quite handsome and should be the Earl’s children.
When Serena entered the hall, Earl Robert looked over with anticipation.
But when he saw Princess Serena’s appearance clearly, the light in his eyes dimmed significantly.
He said, “Oh~ Your Highness, you look quite haggard.”
As he spoke, Rosen and Serena, guided by Abru, sat in the guest seats.
In fact, they were the only guests, so after they were seated, the servants began serving the dishes one by one.
Serena sighed, her face filled with sorrow, “My only close relative is my brother. I respect him, love him, yet he treats me as a p*wn in his games.”
“I’m heartbroken and have been traveling through the wilderness for nearly two weeks, unable to rest properly each day, so I do look a bit haggard.”
Earl Robert didn’t want to criticize the Duke, as he understood him and felt that the princess was being a bit too willful.
Seeing her so haggard now, her former radiance almost completely gone, the dark thoughts in his heart faded.
He shrugged and perfunctorily replied, “The Duke has indeed gone too far.”
His wife, Lady Edelina, who sat opposite him, understood her husband’s character best. Seeing him deflated, she felt a sense of satisfaction.
She softly comforted, “Your Highness, all men are like this. They only have power and wealth in their hearts, always neglecting their families.”
“So, don’t have too high expectations of them, and don’t lose heart. You’re still young after all.”
After speaking, the Countess glanced at the Earl, her eyes revealing unconcealed resentment. He sensed it, shrugged slightly, his face expressing a helpless ‘you’re being unreasonable’ look.
“Thank you, Madam.”
Serena nodded gratefully.
Strangely, since Rosen sat down, no one had spoken to him, as if he were an invisible, transparent person.
Rosen was already accustomed to such disregard. He followed proper noble etiquette, eating and drinking as he should.
Earl Robert finally remembered him and looked at Rosen, “Young man, are you Ted’s son?”
Ted was the name of the old Baron of White Sturgeon Island.
Rosen was cutting his lamb chop. Hearing this, he immediately put down his knife, stood up, and respectfully replied, “Yes, Your Excellency.”
“I’ve heard my sister mention you many times. She always said you were a blockhead.”
“However, in this recent letter of introduction, she praised you greatly, saying that although you’re a bit slow in mana cultivation, you’re proficient in magic combat techniques and have exceptional talent in Victory Chess, even defeating Sir Humphrey.”
Before he finished speaking, a surprised voice came from beside them, “Oh~ You actually defeated my uncle in Victory Chess? That’s incredible!”
Rosen looked towards the voice and saw Countess Edelina’s face full of astonishment as she began to scrutinize him.
Earl Robert chuckled, “Madam, don’t doubt it, it’s indeed true. Not only did my sister mention it in her letter, but I’ve also heard it from many others.”
The Countess exclaimed in amazement, “My uncle is a true chess master. It’s truly remarkable that you could defeat him at such a young age!”
She continued, “My eldest daughter, Alice, also loves Victory Chess and is quite talented. Ever since receiving guidance from my uncle, she’s never met an opponent among her peers and has become a bit arrogant.”
“I think this kind of attitude is not good. Baron, why don’t you teach her a lesson?”
As soon as she finished speaking, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl with purple hair sitting opposite Rosen immediately protested.
“Mother, I’m not arrogant! There really are no opponents for me!”
The Countess shrugged, “Well, now there happens to be a strong opponent. Aren’t you interested?”
“Of course, I’m interested.”
Alice looked at Rosen, “Baron, how about a few games later?”
Rosen naturally wouldn’t refuse, “As you wish, County Princess.”
Seeing Rosen standing there listening, the Earl pressed his hand down, “Young man, there’s no need to be so formal. Sit down, let’s eat and talk.”
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
Rosen sat down and then replied, “I owe my achievements in Victory Chess to the many chess manuals my mentor bought.”
“My sister bought chess manuals? Hahaha~~ I always thought she was wasting money. Now it seems they’re finally of some use.”
Earl Robert laughed heartily, the cloud of worry that had been hanging over his face dissipating somewhat.
But as his laughter subsided, the worry quickly returned.
◈◈◈
Rosen had placed a Detection Seal on Abru earlier and had already learned a lot of information, including the reason for the Earl’s worry.
He didn’t beat around the bush, “Your Excellency, I sense you seem to have encountered some trouble.”
“Would you mind sharing it with us? If it’s a magic-related issue, my wife and I might be able to offer some advice.”
The Earl was taken aback, “How did you know?”
Rosen answered seriously, “Your Excellency, don’t forget that my mentor is your sister. I often hear about you from her.”
“My mentor said you’ve always been a cheerful person, but at such a relaxed family dinner tonight, you’ve hardly smiled.”
The Earl looked at Rosen in surprise, “You young man do have a keen eye.”
He took a sip of his Firedragon liquor and sighed softly, “There is indeed something. It’s about setting up a new type of bread factory.”
“A new type of bread factory?”
Rosen’s brows raised slightly, “Your Excellency, are you referring to a new factory that utilizes Food Creation magic to produce edible bread on a large scale?”
Earl Robert nodded repeatedly, “Yes, yes, yes, that’s right. It seems you have indeed learned something from my sister.”
“It’s like this.”
“A High Mage from Kao, along with his disciples, came to me and said he’d created a very powerful Food Creation spell. As long as I’m willing to invest, he can build me a factory that produces 100 tons of bread every day.”
As soon as Rosen heard this, he knew it was unreliable, but it was very deceptive.
Because this was a very popular magic research topic at present, its popularity was no less than that of perpetual motion machines in modern Earth times.
But unlike perpetual motion machines, large-scale Food Creation wasn’t difficult to achieve; the real difficulty was the production cost.
Currently, all methods had production costs that were tens or even hundreds of times higher than traditional farming.
Although countless mages were working hard to solve this problem, Rosen knew that the solution was far off, perhaps even impossible.
Because there might be an otherworldly version of the ‘laws of thermodynamics.’
But because of this, the hype was significant, providing ample opportunity for scammers.
After thinking for a moment, Rosen asked, “A High Mage from Kao… Kao is a magic powerhouse with over two hundred Masters, but I know the names of every one. ”
“Your Excellency, could you tell me the name of this High Mage?”
The Earl looked at Rosen in surprise once again, “Young man, you do have a good memory.”
“His name is Ruwakado. I had someone look into it, and he’s indeed a well-known High Mage, promoted ten years ago. His skills are definitely not in question.”
As soon as Rosen heard the name, he shook his head, “Your Excellency, if I may be so bold, I know this Ruwakado. His mana level has indeed reached Fourth Circle Master, but his achievements in magic are not high, even inferior to many High Mages.”
“Moreover, his area of expertise is not Food Creation, but Longevity Potionology within Alchemy.”
At this point, it was quite clear.
But Earl Robert felt Rosen was unreliable. He frowned, “Young man, are you a Low-level Mage now?”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Since you’re just a Low-level Mage, it’s best not to comment on the knowledge of a Master.”
Clearly, the Earl didn’t believe in Rosen’s abilities at all.
Serena wanted to help Rosen persuade him, but magical knowledge was vast, and each mage could only master a small part of it.
Although she was a High Mage and had learned many spells, she had only learned existing knowledge and didn’t understand the latest developments in the magic world.
At this point, she naturally didn’t have the confidence to speak. To avoid appearing foolish, she could only remain silent.
Rosen was not surprised by Earl Robert’s reaction at all, because ‘judging by mana cultivation level’ was the most common cognitive error made by outsiders.
If the other party was just his mentor’s brother, he wouldn’t bother saying more, but he was also the Earl of Shire County, who controlled vast resources.
Therefore, this scam had to be exposed.
So, he said, “Your Excellency, I happen to specialize in Food Creation and closely follow its developments around the world.”
“How about this? Next time you negotiate with Master Ruwakado, give me a chance to listen in and ask them a few professional questions?”
The Earl was about to refuse without hesitation because he worried that Rosen, not understanding, would ask foolish questions, thereby annoying the High Mage from Kao.
But before he could speak, Countess Edelina spoke up.
“Grant, just bring Rosen along. He’s Anna’s apprentice and Ted’s son. Even if his skills are limited, he wouldn’t harm you, would he?”
That was true.
But Earl Robert shrugged, “But that would make the Master feel disrespected. You know mages are very proud.”
The Countess was speechless.
Princess Serena added, “Earl, I think you’re mistaken about a fundamental fact.”
“The fact is, it’s them who need your investment now. You’re the one with the gold, so they should be the ones being cautious, not you, Earl.”
This made the Earl pause. After a few seconds of hesitation, he still shook his head and refused.
“Your Highness, times have changed~”
“In this era, the most important thing is knowledge, not money, and certainly not brute force.”
“I heard your husband Rosen defeated Salas of Aaron. That’s indeed impressive, but when it comes to academic matters, you need to maintain a humble attitude.”
“These Kao mages possess very valuable, even unique knowledge, while there are plenty of wealthy lords in the world.”
“I must respect them.”
Seeing that Serena was about to persuade him further, he impatiently waved his hand.
“Alright, Your Highness, you have enough troubles of your own. Don’t bother with this trivial matter of mine!”
This was a very clear refusal; any further discussion would lead to a falling out.
Rosen immediately gave Serena a look and then smiled, “Your Excellency understands the situation best. Your judgment is definitely sound.”
“You understand.”
The Earl nodded, his attitude noticeably colder.
It was clear that the Earl didn’t truly take them seriously.
The princess’s noble status only qualified them to learn about the Earl’s core affairs, but it didn’t mean they had the right to participate.
Rosen immediately switched targets. After silently eating a few bites of fried fish, he looked at the Earl’s eldest daughter, Alice.
“County Princess Alice, I have a proposal regarding Victory Chess.”
“Oh~ Tell me about it?” Alice, with her girlish curiosity, was immediately intrigued.
“I’ll let you make the first ten moves. If you can beat me, I’ll teach you a wonderful Food Creation recipe.”
“Simply put, it’s using maple tree trunks and soybeans to create delicious fish meat.”
Alice was also learning magic. Although only 15 years old, she had already obtained the qualification of a Formal Mage. Hearing Rosen’s words, her violet eyes, which resembled her aunt’s, sparkled.
“Firstly, no one can beat me after being given a ten-move advantage. Secondly, no one can create fresh fish meat with Food Creation!”
Rosen smiled gently, “Dare to try?”
Alice agreed without hesitation, “Why not? Let’s try!”
