Rose Empire

The two groups stared at each other without saying anything. Their eyes were filled with indifference, ridicule, disgust, and anger, but there was no trace of friendliness. Ever since young people like Costa and Celine could remember, the knights in the southern and northern parts of Viscount Lanwan had been hostile to each other, even hostile. No one could tell when and where this hatred originated, but everyone hated each other as soon as they met. The southerners called the northerners fierce and barbaric, and the northerners called the southerners treacherous and cunning.

If Charlotte were here, she would definitely give an answer. This is one of the inevitable results of the unbalanced regional development under the primitive economic state. The northerners don't want to be poor, so they always want to develop in the south. However, in order to monopolize the small trade pie, the knights in the south must join forces to resist the northerners. As the two sides come and go, it is easy to form a feud that is difficult to resolve. The feud accumulates and becomes the hatred between the two communities.

It is actually not that difficult to solve this problem. As long as Viscount Lanwan can coordinate and balance the interests of both parties, or as long as Viscount Lanwan is strong enough to monopolize the trade routes, the contradictions between the North and the South will naturally be resolved.

However, the former Viscount Lanwan was a fool.

"The poor devil from the north is here, Knight Adkins. You came to the banquet with your family. Is your family too poor and you haven't eaten meat for a long time?"

In the end, it was the young and energetic Costa who was the first to mock.

"Costa, if a crybaby like you can come, why can't I? I think you deserve a beating again!" The tomboy named Celine on the opposite side was not to be outdone. She drew the sword next to the saddle and pointed it at Costa and shouted.

The sword was over 1.7 meters long, clearly a two-handed sword used in foot combat, but Celine held it in one hand as easily as if it were a stick.

Being pointed at by a sword, Costa's momentum suddenly weakened by three points. Although this girl was not as tall as her sword, in terms of fighting power, even his cousin Eric might have a hard time getting the upper hand. Costa had fought with Celine before and was beaten so hard that he stayed in bed for a month. Witnesses said that Costa was beaten so hard that he cried on the spot, and hiding at home to recover was too embarrassing and he didn't want to see anyone, but he firmly denied this rumor.

Costa still insisted, "The Viscount is inviting knights to the banquet. I am a knight so I can come. Who are you? You are nothing. Why do you come to the banquet?"

"I..." Celine was speechless and her face turned red. She really didn't have any title.

"Okay, Celine, put away your sword and don't make trouble in front of the lord's castle." A deep and hoarse voice came to Celine's rescue. The person who spoke was Ed Adkins.

"Hmph." Shilin snorted and put the sword back into the belt next to the saddle.

Ed Adkins ignored Costa and looked at Eric Scamario: "You knights from the south actually dared to come to the banquet. Aren't you worried that the new viscount will investigate what you have done?"

Eric Scamario smiled and responded, "Knight Adkins, don't worry about our affairs. I heard that the harvest in the north is not good this year. You should think about how to spend this winter, right?"

After mocking each other, both of them felt that there was no point in saying more, so they each led their teams and walked towards the castle in parallel.

On the other side, Charlotte had almost finished chatting with Pastor Fado. She asked Fado about the situations of each knighthood in the territory. Fado did his best to introduce Charlotte the situations of each knighthood and each knight he knew.

At this time, Jack Moore came to report that the knights who were attending the banquet had arrived.

Charlotte asked the servant to take Fado to the castle's living room to take his seat, while she went to change into a dress for the dinner.

Although he was not on good terms with the knights, whether they were from the south or the north, Fado still had to attend the dinner. The rich aroma of meat wafting from behind the castle had already made Fado salivate with greed, and his financial situation was even worse than that of the knights from the north.

In theory, the main income of the regional church comes from tithes, but tithes are a tax levied on agricultural and pastoral products. Those southern knights claimed that they had abandoned their land long ago, so they did not pay tithes. The main reason is that I don’t farm, so I don’t have to pay taxes, which is reasonable.

The knights in the north were too far from the church, but very close to the Campe Mountains. The knights in the north came to the church to pay taxes unconsciously. Fado, who was so poor that he couldn't even afford a horse, didn't dare to go to the church to collect the taxes. He was afraid that he would have to walk a long distance to ask for money, but instead of getting the money, he would be tied up and thrown into the Campe Mountains to be fed to the tribesmen who ate raw meat and drank blood.

Therefore, Fado had to farm after praying on weekdays. Fortunately, no one dared to occupy the church's land, and farming was enough to make a living, but it was impossible to eat meat regularly. Now there is a chance to open your belly and eat meat, how can Fado miss it?

The bedrooms and dressing rooms on the second floor of the castle had not been cleaned yet, so Charlotte had to go back to the carriage to change her clothes.

Renee picked out a white dress for Charlotte, but Charlotte shook her head, pointed to a cherry red dress in the box, and said, "Wear that one."

Renee didn't object and even helped Charlotte choose the right jewelry and makeup.

Charlotte looked at the red dress and nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, this color will be hard to see even if it is stained with blood."

Charlotte got out of the carriage and headed to the living room on the first floor of the castle. She had to pass through the area where the chefs were cooking outdoors. When she passed the side dish area, she unexpectedly noticed a furtive figure.

The girl was about 1.6 meters tall, wearing leather armor and short gray hair, but the curves of her chest and waist showed that she was a girl. The girl was taking advantage of the fact that no one was looking after the side dishes, grabbing meat and vegetables from the table and stuffing them into her mouth with her bare hands. Because her hands were too fast, her cheeks were stuffed with bulging food, like a hamster.

When Charlotte looked over, the tomboy also keenly noticed the arrival of Charlotte and the others. Charlotte was about to ask who she was, but as soon as she opened her mouth, the tomboy turned into a swift cheetah, instantly leaped in front of Charlotte, and covered Charlotte's mouth with her greasy left hand.

Renee was startled and almost drew her silver chain sword, but when she saw that the tomboy had no intention of hurting the young lady and Charlotte did not struggle at all, she restrained her impulse.

Charlotte looked at the tomboy in front of her with amusement. She chewed for a long time, swallowed the meat in her mouth, and finally freed her mouth to speak.

"Huh... I'm choking," the tomboy let out a breath and said to Charlotte and Renee, "Don't make any noise. I'll just eat a couple more bites and then leave. I haven't eaten anything since noon. I'm starving."

As she spoke, the tomboy pulled off another chicken leg and ate it in one bite until only a bone was left.

"You guys are here to steal food too, right? Well, this is for you. It's really delicious." The tomboy kindly took a meatball and handed it to Leni.

Renee was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. She didn't know whether to answer the call or not.

Seeing that Renee didn't reach out her hand, the tomboy handed the meatball to Charlotte, who took it politely.

The tomboy did what she said. She pulled another chicken leg, ate all the meat off it, and then ran away.

I really only took two bites.

"Miss, you don't mind the dirt." Renee threw the meatball out of Charlotte's hand and complained.

Charlotte let Renee wipe the oil off her hands and face, and she found it interesting: "I don't know whose child this is, he is so stupid."

PS: Thanks to alalala9 for the reminder. The errors in the previous article have been corrected. Thank you very much.

PS2: I feel like there should be a PS2, but after typing "PS2", I suddenly forgot what I wanted to say, well... I'll just ask for some free tickets.

Volume 20: Chapter 19 Chapter Blood Feast (I)

The table has been set up in the living room on the first floor of the castle, and the oil lamps and candles are lit. The dinner party will be held there later.

Jack Moore led the guests into the living room and sat them down as ordered, then went to report to Charlotte.

Halfway through, a figure suddenly jumped out from the temporary kitchen, leaving an afterimage in Jack Moore's sight before disappearing.

Jack Moore looked familiar. He felt that he should be a relative of one of the guests. If it was the young Jack Moore, he would definitely chase him and catch him to find out the truth. But now, old Jack could only look in the direction where the man disappeared and sighed:

"Hey, this young man..."

Jack Moore walked past the busy stove to the side dish area and saw Renee wiping Charlotte's mouth.

The young lady was actually eating secretly in the kitchen!

Old Jack discovered the "truth".

However, he is Old Jack, who has been a knight for most of his life, and he knows best the workplace wisdom of "turning a blind eye and turning a deaf ear".

So, Old Jack completely ignored the dishes on the table that had obviously been eaten, and said, "Miss, all the guests are seated, and the banquet can begin. Also, Miss, I just saw a stranger coming out of the kitchen. Do you want to send someone to check to prevent any tampering?"

"No need. These dishes are to be served to the guests first. Even if they are poisoned, our people will not be the first to die."

Charlotte knew that what Old Jack saw was most likely the tomboy who came to eat secretly. She wiped her hands and didn't intend to pursue the matter. She asked again, "How many guests are here?"

"There are a total of fifty-four representatives from the Southern Knights, five of whom are stewards and nephews who came on behalf of the Knight Lords. There are a total of fifty-nine representatives from the Northern Knights, twelve of whom are stewards and nephews who came on behalf of the Knight Lords." Old Jack replied.

Charlotte nodded. Viscount Lanwan's territory has twenty-five knight territories. According to imperial law, each knight territories should have at least five knights. Twenty-five knight territories should have one hundred and twenty-five knights. Now there are only one hundred and thirteen knights present from the south and the north.

Charlotte was not surprised at all that there were vacancies. Basilike had not taken care of his territory for decades, so how could the Viscount of Lanwan operate normally? It was normal for vacancies to occur.

On the contrary, the entire Viscountry had a shortage of only twelve knights, which was too few. Charlotte felt something was wrong.

"Call Knight Ryan and Knight Jarrod." Charlotte said again.

"Yes."

Jack Moore quickly called the two three-winged knights over.

"Later, the two of you will each bring five trustworthy knights to attend the banquet with me as my attendants." Charlotte instructed the two.

"Yes." Ryan Nasazzi still did not hesitate.

Charlotte was a little surprised at Ryan's obedience. Was this three-winged knight so easy to talk to? Was he so dedicated to his duties even when he was sent to such a poor and remote place?

In fact, what Charlotte didn't know was that Ryan Nasazzi's grandmother's surname was Melerfield. Although he was only a descendant of a side branch, Ryan Nasazzi was still proud of it and had a strong sense of identity with the Melerfield family.

Therefore, Ryan Nasazzi had no aversion at all to serving Miss Charlotte, who was well-known in the Melfield family.

The good reputation Charlotte had built up over the years finally paid off.

"Yes." Jarrod Garcia responded second.

This man was really helpless. He discovered in the afternoon that Harvey Sherwin, the confidant sent by Mrs. Rosie, had disappeared!

Jarrod Garcia was so anxious that he thought Harvey Sherwin was murdered. He imagined countless dramatic plots like internal fighting among nobles and bloodshed in the rich family. As a result, he learned from the groom that Harvey Sherwin felt that the Viscount of Lanwan was too poor and boring, and there was no place to play, so he went to Ambrato with the rogue knight named Robin Mancini to visit brothels and look for women.

Ambulatu is a city-state on the Sokya Peninsula. Starting from the Viscount Lanwan's territory, the first city-state you arrive at after passing through the isthmus connecting the Sokya Peninsula to the mainland is Ambulatu.

That damn fat guy! Why would Mrs. Rosie send such a idiot to do the job?

And Miss Charlotte too.

Your knight ran away!

Went to visit the brothel!

Didn't you notice?

However, no one could hear Jarrod's thoughts, and he didn't dare to speak them out.

His actual boss, Harvey Sherwin, ran away, and Jarrod can only obey the orders of his nominal boss, Charlotte Mellorfield.

After secretly eating in the kitchen, Celine quietly slipped back to her father's side.

"Father, there are really a lot of dishes prepared for today's banquet, all of them are meat!" Celine happily shared the news she had found out with her father.

"You went to the kitchen to eat again?" Ed Adkins pointed out the truth directly.

"How can you say I'm cheating?" Facing her father's sharp gaze, Celine shrank her neck and argued, "I just wanted to help everyone taste it first."

"Don't you still want the Viscount to knight you? If the Viscount sees you cheating, you'll never be a knight in your life." Ed warned again.

But Xilin still didn't take it seriously: "How can it be such a coincidence? I have eaten secretly at home so many times, and you never caught me."

The veins in Ed Adkins' temples were throbbing. His daughter, who was even more naughty than boys, was really annoying. He should give Celine a few slaps to teach her a lesson. But now he was in public, and the knights from the south were sitting opposite him. Ed didn't want to let the southerners laugh at him, so he clenched his knuckles and then loosened them three or four times.

The knights from the north all knew Celine, and at this moment they were all watching the daily communication between the father and daughter with a smile.

Suddenly, the sound of neat armor rubbing against each other came from outside the hall, diverting everyone's attention.

Two teams of knights escorted a girl in a cherry red dress into the hall. The girl had an exquisite dagger tied around her waist, symbolizing her status as a viscount.

Costa's eyes lit up. Although Uncle Christopher had said that the Viscountess was very beautiful, Costa still didn't expect her to be so beautiful.

"She is so beautiful, isn't she? Costa, I will compete with you for the heart of the Viscountess, and I am serious this time." Adams leaned close to Costa's ear and whispered. He was also amazed by Charlotte's beauty. In a poor place like Lanwan, where could he find a beauty of this level?

"Don't even think about it, Brother Adams. The Viscount is mine." Costa was not willing to be outdone.

On the other side, Celine suddenly twisted her body and tried to hide behind her father.

"What do you want to do now? Sit still!" Ed held Celine down. He thought his daughter was just restless and wanted to act weird again.

Celine was almost crying. She never expected that when she casually ate some meat, she would actually run into Viscount Lanwan by coincidence. She even handed a meatball to the Viscount!

Ruined!

Celine felt that her meatball was going to mess up everything.

Charlotte came to the high-backed chair at the top of the living room, in front of the door, and stood still. All the knights present also left their seats and stood up.

Charlotte glanced at everyone, and the moment her eyes met Celine's, she quickly lowered her head. Charlotte also noticed this little girl who was trying hard to hide herself, she smiled gently and did not deliberately pull her out.

The knights present were clearly divided into two groups, one on the left and one on the right. Charlotte could tell without introduction that the knights on the right were the knights from the south and the knights on the left were the knights from the north. Because the knights on the right were mostly wearing beautiful dresses, some of which were even made of silk fabrics, which were very expensive, while the knights on the left were mostly wearing leather armor and chain mail, and the armor plates also had traces of repairs, which were obviously not brand new. Wearing such attire to attend a noble banquet was not decent.

"Welcome everyone to the party I'm hosting for you." Charlotte made her opening remarks.

The guests in front of them all knelt on one knee: "It is our honor, Your Excellency the Viscount."

Charlotte bowed slightly in return and motioned for everyone to stand up. She smiled and continued, "I'm sure you all know that I'm Charlotte Melerfield, the daughter of the Duke of Green Plains. Not long ago, I was canonized as the Viscount of Lanwan by His Majesty the Emperor. From now on, I will be the owner of this land, and I hope you will dedicate your loyalty to me."

“I’m more than happy to give it to you!”

As soon as Charlotte finished speaking, a voice responded from below.

Charlotte looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man in a silk gown holding his chest and bowing to Charlotte, and said the second half of the sentence: "Beautiful Viscountess."

"Who are you?" Charlotte looked at the young man puzzledly.

"My name is Adams Bell, and I'm a knight at your feet," said the young man.

"Very good, you are very good at making girls happy." Charlotte covered her mouth and chuckled.

The people in the Southern camp also laughed along.

Only Costa gnashed his teeth. Damn it! Adams actually got there first!

The people in the north were also a little worried. It seemed that the Viscountess really liked the flattery of the pretty boy. It would be troublesome if she was really seduced by the pretty boy from the south.

"It's getting late. Please take your seats, knights. The banquet is about to begin." Charlotte said.

The guests took their seats according to the arrangement they had before Charlotte arrived.

Charlotte also sat down in a high-back chair, picked up the crystal wine glass in front of her, and looked at the guests one by one. Renee poured some red wine into Charlotte's glass.

"Sir," Charlotte suddenly pointed her wine glass at a thin, weak-looking, well-dressed man, and asked, "Excuse me, are you a knight too?"

The man in fancy clothes was stunned for a moment before he realized that Charlotte was referring to him. Although he was a little surprised, he stood up calmly and bowed to Charlotte, saying, "I am not a knight, but the steward of Knight Ron Richards. Knight Ron Richards is old and cannot travel far, so he entrusted me to attend the lord's banquet on his behalf."

Butlers have a special status in aristocratic families. Although they are called servants, they are often regarded as members of the aristocratic family. When the master is not convenient to travel, it is very common for the butler to attend the banquet on his behalf.