Being a knight is not easy

Chapter 158 Mine
As night fell, the Wilke family's banquet hall was ablaze with lights, its crystal chandeliers illuminating the entire hall like daylight. The long, gilded and carved tables were laden with delicacies, and the aroma of fine wine mingled with the fragrance of roasted meats, filling the air. Nobles, dressed in magnificent attire and holding goblets, gathered around Robin, vying to show their affection to the newly minted baron.

Viscount Wilk stood at the head of the table, his face flushed. He raised his glass and said in a resonant voice, "Today, my Wilk family has two celebrations! First, the crisis in the North has been resolved, bringing peace to the kingdom; and second, my beloved son, Alan, has been made a baron for his outstanding achievements! Come, let's raise our glasses together. Toast to Alan! Toast to the kingdom!"

"Cheers to Allen! Cheers to the Kingdom!" Cheers rang out in the banquet hall, and the sound of wine glasses clinking was crisp and pleasant.

Robin raised his glass and greeted everyone with a humble smile on his face.

In this lively atmosphere, he always remained calm in his heart.

An earl in a purple robe approached Robin, a flattering smile in his eyes: "Baron Robin is young and promising. I hope you will take good care of him in the future. If you need anything, please feel free to ask, and I will do my best to help you."

Robin responded politely: "Your Excellency is very kind. I will need to learn a lot from you in the future."

The enthusiasm of these nobles at this moment was not simply because of his achievements, but more because of the status and strength behind him.

Now that Viscount Wilk has joined the Knights Guild of the West, and the Viscountess has successfully squeezed into the Round Table Council, the North is in need of development, and it is a foregone conclusion that the Knights Guild and the Round Table Council will jointly develop it.

With Robin's current status, he can have a say on both sides. In addition, as such a young legendary knight, there is a chance that he will become a third-level Order Knight in the future.

At this moment, the door of the banquet hall was suddenly pushed open, and a tall and beautiful woman walked in.

She was wearing a white silk long dress with exquisite patterns embroidered on the hem, and a dazzling jewel hair accessory in her hair. She exuded elegance in every move.

"This is my niece, Miss Leah," a nobleman hurriedly introduced to Robin. "She has long admired Baron Robin's heroic deeds and has come to meet him."

Leah knelt slightly and saluted, saying softly, "I have long heard of Baron Robin's great name. Meeting him today, I can see that his reputation is truly well-deserved."

Robin responded with a gentleman's smile: "Miss, you are too kind." He keenly noticed that many of the nobles around him showed meaningful smiles, obviously wanting to take this opportunity to match him with Leia.

As the banquet reached its climax, the musicians played cheerful dance music and the nobles stepped onto the dance floor one after another.

Viscount Wilk took Robin's hand and said with a smile, "Son, go dance. Don't waste this beautiful moment."

Robin felt a little helpless. He was not good at socializing in these social occasions, but looking at his father's expectant eyes, he still walked into the dance floor.

Leah took the initiative to come forward, put her hand on his shoulder, and the two danced slowly to the music.

"Baron Allen, your experience in the North must have been thrilling, right?" Leah asked softly.

Robin nodded. "It is indeed full of dangers, but to protect the kingdom and its people, everything is worth it."

"You are truly admirable." Leah's eyes were filled with admiration. "Unlike some nobles who only care about pleasure and shrink back in the face of crisis."

Robin sensed the dissatisfaction in her words and was about to ask further questions when Leah cleverly changed the subject. "By the way, I heard that the baron's fiefdom is adjacent to Viscount Wilk's territory. I wonder what you think of the plans for the fiefdom?"

The two of them danced and talked at the same time.

Robin seemed to be handling the situation calmly on the surface, but in his heart he was thinking about what Leah said and the thoughts behind these nobles.

This banquet, seemingly a celebration of his success, was actually a social gathering filled with intrigue and calculation. As a newly minted noble, he had to navigate this complex environment with caution in order to gain a firm foothold.

When the dance reached the third circle, Leia's fingertips suddenly clasped Robin's palm tightly.

The scent of jasmine in her hair, mixed with the aroma of alcohol, drew closer, and her warm breath brushed against his ear. "Baron, are you aware that the Cangyan Valley, thirty miles southeast of your fiefdom, hides a secret even more dangerous than that of the Mechanicus?"

Robin's dance steps were slightly slow, but Leah pushed her lower back forward half an inch without leaving any trace, maintaining the illusion of an elegant rotation.

The halo of light from the crystal chandelier cast a subtle shadow on her eyelashes, and her once gentle face took on a chilling look. "That mine has been illegally mining mithril for three years, shipping it directly to the black market in the East."

The music in the banquet hall suddenly rose, covering up Robin's rapid breathing.

Mithril is the core material for forging legendary weapons. Kingdom laws clearly stipulate that the mining rights of all mineral veins belong directly to the royal family.

Cangyan Valley is located at the junction of the North and the West. It is the throat connecting the remaining forces of the Mechanical Church and the smuggling network in the East.

"Your father acquiesced in this." Leah's whisper was like a venomous snake spitting out its tongue, "The Wilk family's treasury has long been filled with this bloody mithril." She suddenly turned around to distance herself, and as her skirt rose in an arc, the parchment scroll hidden in her sleeve slid lightly into Robin's palm.

Unfolding the yellowed drawing, next to the densely packed mine tunnel distribution map, was the Wilk family's wax seal.

Robin's nails almost dug into his palms, thinking of the emperor's meaningful look when he was awarding honors in the daytime. It turned out that the arrangement of the fiefdom was actually a chess game that the royal family had laid out long ago.

"Why tell me?" Robin crumpled the drawing into a ball and hid it in his sleeve, his smile still gentle.

Leah's red lips curled up in a mocking arc as she took off a jade pendant from her neck. "Because my father was the Western Territory Inspector who was assassinated three years ago for reporting this matter." She pressed the pendant into Robin's palm. The cold jade was engraved with half a broken iris. "See you tomorrow night at midnight in Cangyan Valley."

The dance music stopped abruptly, and Leia knelt down to salute and then left gracefully.

Robin watched her disappear into the gilded archway, and belatedly realized that his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

Amid the clamor of the banquet hall, he heard Viscount Wilk's resounding laughter piercing the crowd: "Alan! Come meet an old friend from the Western Chamber of Commerce!"

Robin's hand holding the pendant was shaking slightly, and the iris on the jade was hurting his palm.

He took a deep breath, suppressed all his emotions in his heart, put on a decent smile again, raised his glass and feigned friendship with the nobles who surrounded him.

The light from the crystal chandelier stung his eyes, and Viscount Wilk's heroic laughter sounded like a blunt knife cutting flesh.

The old man who always called himself "my son" was not his biological father, but he handed over the territory account books and vault keys to him without reservation.

Suddenly, there was a sound of porcelain breaking in the corner of the banquet hall. Robin looked up and saw Leia surrounded by several noble ladies.

The pearl ornaments in her hair were scattered all over the floor, but she still stared at him stubbornly, her eyes like poisoned arrows.

(End of this chapter)