Rose Empire

"I just said that all the knights should take their seats, right? Sir, you are not a knight, why are you sitting down?"

Charlotte still had a smile on her face, but as soon as she said this, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense.

"I, I... I'm sorry, Miss Viscount, I didn't hear you clearly." The man in gorgeous clothes bowed his head and admitted his mistake to Charlotte.

Charlotte put away her smile, hooked her finger at Jarrod behind her, and said, "Kill him."

Jarrod was unable to react immediately to the change that was faster than turning the pages of a book. He hesitated for a few seconds before drawing his sword and walking towards the man in fancy clothes.

The man in fancy clothes looked at Charlotte in shock. He didn't expect that he would be killed for making such a small and almost unreasonable mistake.

"Miss Viscount, Miss Viscount..." At the critical moment, Adams stood up again, stopped Jarrod, and said to Charlotte with a smile, "Miss Viscount, although this old butler is not very knowledgeable, he has served the Richards family for many years and is deeply trusted by Knight Ron Richards. He is still working hard for his master at such an old age. For the sake of loyalty, please forgive him once."

"Oh? The virtue of loyalty," Charlotte smiled again, "Who else here is not a knight but has sat down? Can you please stand up again so that I can see the loyal ones."

One by one, the stewards and nephews of the knights who had attended the banquet on behalf of their lord knights slowly stood up. Together with the men in fine clothes who were already standing, there were exactly seventeen people.

Someone next to Celine stood up, and Celine wanted to stand up as well, but Ed Adkins held her head down.

"Everyone standing here," Charlotte said, looking at the cup in her hand, "I want to ask, where is the Lord Knight you are loyal to now?"

For a moment, the only sound in the hall was the sound of gasps.

Charlotte looked at Adams again: "Knight Adams, where is Knight Ron Richards now?"

You could hear a pin drop in the hall.

Adams was speechless.

"Knight Adams, why don't you go and invite Knight Ron Richards here now? And you, you, you, you!" Charlotte pointed at the people standing one by one, her voice becoming high-pitched with anger, "Go and invite your seriously ill knight lords here now! I want to see them today, dead or alive!"

No one standing dared to look Charlotte in the eye, including Adams.

Where is Ron Richards Knight?

He was right in front of Charlotte.

The man in fancy clothes who claimed to be the butler of Knight Ron Richards was actually Ron Richards, but he was just an ordinary person without any extraordinary powers and looked a little weak.

Ron Richards' father was a real knight and a swordsman. After Ron Richards' father died, Ron Richards inherited his father's knighthood.

Originally, according to the laws of the empire, ordinary people could not become knights. However, no one in the Richards family had successfully awakened their spirits and became a transcendent. In order to preserve the noble title of the Richards family, Ron Richards had to pretend to be a transcendent, inherit the title, and become an illegal knight.

The former Viscount of Lanwan, Basilik, didn't care about anything at all, and in his later years he didn't even return to the Viscountship, so there was no need to worry about his lies being exposed.

Today, Charlotte suddenly summoned all the knights to a dinner party, catching them off guard. Ron Richards didn't have time to hire a superhuman to pretend to be him and attend the party, so this scene happened again.

The situations of the other eleven people were similar. Perhaps some of them were indeed just the lord's stewards, or the lord's nephews, but their knight lords were also "illegal knights" who had no right to inherit the title. They were just ordinary people when the lord called them over.

"Is this your loyalty? You want to deceive me the first time we meet," Charlotte's eyes fell on Jarrod, "Jarrod, what are you doing! What are my orders!?"

Facing Charlotte's sharp gaze, Jarrod actually felt that he dared not look at her. He quickly pulled himself together and shouted to Adams, "Get out of the way!"

Adams tried to stop him, but Jarrod punched him in the stomach. Adams, who was also a superhuman, was knocked unconscious.

Three wings appeared behind Jarrod as he burst out with extraordinary strength.

Three-winged swordsman!

Adams was dumbfounded. There was not a single three-winged swordsman in the entire Viscount Lanwan.

"No, don't kill me..."

brush!

Ron Richards, who pretended to be his butler, tried to escape, but was beheaded by Jarrod with a sword.

"The other eleven were all killed as well." Charlotte swirled the red wine in her glass, her tone indifferent and calm.

Hearing this, the people below couldn't help but get agitated. Some were eager to ask for mercy, some were startled and wanted to stop him, and some looked around and wanted to take advantage of the chaos to escape.

clang!

Ryan Nasazzi also drew his sword and burst out with all his might.

Another three-winged swordsman!

Those who wanted to plead or stop the fight lowered their heads involuntarily. Those who tried to escape were caught and beheaded by the ten knights brought in by Charlotte.

Sounds of begging, howling, and slaughter continued to ring out all around, reflected by the stone walls in the hall and echoing continuously.

Both the southern knights and the northern knights felt like they were sitting on pins and needles, as if they were in hell, but they were suppressed by the two three-winged swordsmen and dared not do anything.

The smell of blood became stronger and stronger.

The wailing became fainter.

When the sound of the last head rolling down was heard, the massacre finally ended.

The servants brought plates of exquisite meat to the table, their feet stepping in the warm pool of blood, making a snapping sound.

"Okay, the hypocritical deceivers have been cleared out. Knights, we can start our dinner."

Charlotte raised her glass, the wine in it was as red as blood.

PS: Thank you for the encouragement from Shuke22654595197. To be honest, as a newbie, I don’t have much confidence in my book, and I don’t know if it’s good or not. The encouragement from readers is my motivation to write, and I will continue to work hard in the future!

PS2: In order to repay all the readers, I will update earlier today.

Volume 21: Chapter 20 Chapter Blood Feast (Part )

The strong smell of blood filled the entire hall, mixing with the aroma of spices and the smell of cooked meat, forming a disgusting complex smell.

The guests had been looking forward to it in the afternoon. The most popular delicacies at the aristocratic banquet were placed in front of them, but no one picked up the knife and fork.

Some of those slaughtered were their companions, some were their friends, and some were even their relatives. Just now they were talking and laughing together, making fun of the poverty of the northern knights or the corruption of the southern knights, looking forward to the upcoming banquet, and commenting on the beauty of the new viscount.

Now, their heads rolled at the table legs, their headless bodies lay in disorder on the dining table aisle, their blood was sprayed on the walls, the floor, the tablecloth, and even on the gorgeous clothes of the southern knights and the armor of the northern knights.

Celine Adkins placed her hands on her thighs, clenched into fists, and her face was pale.

Ed Adkins thought he understood his daughter's feelings. The young man who just stood up on Celine's right was a neighbor who lived in the same knight territory as the Adkins family. The young man's grandfather was also a one-winged swordsman and a glorious knight, but the younger generation in the family was not promising. None of the three generations of sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons successfully awakened their spirits and became extraordinary people. So the young man's father had to pretend to be an extraordinary person and illegally inherited the title of knight.

Today, the new viscount's knight attendant invited the vassal to a dinner, and the young man's father hesitated for a while whether to attend. Adkins also persuaded them not to attend the dinner, and just pretend that they did not have the title of knight. If the new viscount investigates, the sword and armor symbolizing the title of knight will be returned to the new viscount. Anyway, according to custom, if the knight has no extraordinary descendants who can inherit the title, the lord will only take back the title, but not the fields and manors, so as to avoid the descendants of loyal ministers having no guarantee of life.

However, after much hesitation, the young man's father sent his youngest son to the party, and he lied that he was sick and could not go out.

Not only the Adkins' neighbors, but all the "false knight" families in the north and south made the same choice.

There is no doubt that Viscount Basilic Melfield left a very "good" impression on these knights.

The Viscount is a fool, stupid and lazy, indolent, and often indifferent to things - this idea has been deeply rooted in these people's minds for decades.

Therefore, they developed a strong sense of luck, and felt deep down that they could easily get away with it this time.

Now, the corpses all over the ground are their end.

No, this cannot be called the end.

According to the laws of the Empire, it was an unforgivable crime for a commoner to pretend to be a knight. The criminal and his accomplices would be hanged, and their families would be reduced to slavery. The new Viscount had already shown her ferocious fangs, and next, these "fake knight" families would probably be uprooted one by one.

The neighbor's little son was crying and begging for mercy, and he even reached out to grab Celine's armor and begged Adkins and his daughter to save his life, but he was still dragged off the dining table by the new viscount's knight and hacked to death with two swords.

Because the young man struggled and dodged, the first sword only cut off half of his skull and half of his face.

It took the second sword to cut off the young man's neck.

Such a tragic death happened right next to him, and Ed Adkins felt it was normal for his daughter to find it hard to accept it for a while. The pastor at the next table looked even worse than Celine.

The most tragic and innocent person at the scene was probably Chief Priest Faduo. Just now, for a moment, he thought Charlotte was really going to kill all the people who were not knights but were sitting down. He was so scared that his heart almost stopped. Later, he realized that Charlotte just wanted to clean up the "fake knights". However, even if he understood the whole story, Faduo was not happy. Because Faduo was sitting in the corner of the northern knight camp - his relationship with the northern knights was just cold, and he had many conflicts with the southern knights - just now, there were "fake knights" on both sides of him! Now the bodies of the two were lying at Faduo's feet, one foot at a time.

It's like being caught in the crossfire!

I clearly just wanted to have a free meal!

Fado just wanted to vomit now, and he no longer had any appetite.

Charlotte was the only one at the scene who was still leisurely sipping red wine. She even called in musicians to play the piano to liven up the party.

The musician who played the lyre was an old woman. She was originally a worthless old slave in the slave trade who taught young female slaves to play the lyre. She had no surname or given name, so the slave owner and the slaves called her the Old Lady of the Lyre. Charlotte accidentally heard the Old Lady of the Lyre play once and felt that her piano skills were really amazing, so she bought her.

The floating piano sound made the hall, which was already silent, even quieter. The long silence weighed on everyone's heart, making them dare not move, dare not speak, and their breathing became cautious.

The more careful she was, the longer time seemed to pass. After an unknown amount of time, the old and ugly musician finally finished playing her damn song.

The satisfied Viscountess also put down her glass: "Let's talk about some small things while we eat."

call……

As soon as the Viscountess opened her mouth, the guests almost breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't even mention the meal. The long silence just now was really too uncomfortable, as if Charlotte had deliberately left them so much time to savor the fragrance of their companions' blood.

"When I was walking around the castle with my maid this afternoon, I saw an abandoned field behind the grove in the southeast. According to nearby farmers, no one has cultivated that field for at least two or three years. I'm very curious, who owns that field?" After the Viscountess asked the question, she glanced around the room, but no one stood up to answer for a long time.

"Eh?" The Viscountess blinked and smiled, "Is it actually a piece of unclaimed no-man's land? But the villagers nearby said that it was the knight's land. Do you want me to invite the villagers over there to ask in person?"

After a while.

With a clang, the sound of knives and forks colliding with cups and plates was heard, and a middle-aged man with a Mediterranean hairstyle, a protruding belly, a suit, and a jewel ring, who looked more like a businessman than a knight, stood up from the southern knight camp.

"My Lord, My Lord Viscount, that is my family's land. Oh, no, no...that is the Viscount's land!" the middle-aged man said stutteringly.

"What do you mean? Whose field is this?" Charlotte didn't understand.

"It's Viscount Basilik's field!" the middle-aged man explained hurriedly, "It's just that Viscount Basilik has been away from the territory for a long time, and my family saw that no one was cultivating that field, so we borrowed it to cultivate it for a few years... Now that you, Viscount, are here, my family will naturally return the field to you. Now it's your field."

"Oh?" Charlotte raised the corner of her mouth, feeling it was interesting.

Although the middle-aged man spoke in a subtle way, Charlotte quickly understood what he meant. Borrowing and returning were all nonsense. To put it bluntly, this knight had occupied Basilik's land and even had the audacity to occupy the area near the castle. Basilik didn't know whether he was completely unaware or had no ability to take care of it, and he had never dealt with the matter.

"It turns out that I didn't farm." Charlotte smiled and said this to the middle-aged man so much that sweat beads appeared on his forehead.

"But I also heard that many fields around here have been abandoned. Why is that?" Charlotte asked again.

"This... Your Excellency may not know this," the middle-aged man answered stiffly, "The fields in the southern part of the Viscount's territory are actually not suitable for farming. There are often strong winds when millet and wheat are in the ear stage. The fields in the southernmost part are all saline soil, and crops cannot grow there."

The "salt soil" the middle-aged man mentioned refers to saline-alkali land, and his words are not lies. There is no wheat that is resistant to lodging in this world, and the farmers do not know the effective measures to improve the saline-alkali land. Therefore, the agricultural environment in the southern part of the Viscount's territory is indeed much worse than that in the northern part near the Campey Mountains.

"I see. Crops can't be grown well in the south. This is a big problem." Charlotte tapped the table with her fingers, frowning in thought, as if she really believed the middle-aged man's lies.

After a moment, Charlotte turned to Renee and said, "Bring the map here."

Renee nodded and left, quickly fetching a large map and hanging it on the wall.

The map depicts the topography of the entire Viscount of Lanwan and the locations of the twenty-five Knight Territories. This map is probably the only valuable relic that Basilik left to Charlotte, but it was still not drawn by Basilik. When Renee found it in the relic pile, it was already yellow and brittle. Judging from the color, it should have been drawn when Basilik's father was the Viscount. A yellow and brittle map naturally cannot be used directly. The map hanging on the wall now was copied by Charlotte's craftsmen.

"I'm sorry, I forgot to ask how to address you, the knight." Charlotte took the charcoal pencil that Renee handed to her tacitly and asked the middle-aged man with the Mediterranean look.

"My name is Paul Martins, you can just call me Paul, Your Excellency," the middle-aged man said hurriedly.

"Knight Martins..." Charlotte searched on the map and soon found the target. "Your fiefdom is in this knight's territory, right?"

"Yes," Paul Mathis replied nervously.

Brothers Eric Scamario and Costa Scamario were also staring nervously at the location on the map that Charlotte had pointed with the charcoal pencil, because their fiefs also belonged to that knight's territory. In fact, Paul Martins and the two brothers were not only neighbors, but also cousins.

Then, Charlotte's next move made Paul Martins and the Scamario brothers' pupils widen suddenly - she directly put a cross on the Southern Knight's collar.

"Why don't you move the knights' territory here!" Charlotte drew a circle in an empty space in the north of the Viscount's territory where there was no knights' territory - at least legally it should be an empty space. It is very likely that the land here had already been occupied by the northern knights. However, Charlotte didn't care about that at all. The occupied land had to be returned to her.

"This place is far away from the ocean, the land is flat, and there is water. It should be a good place for farming." Charlotte was very satisfied with her vision.

"No, you can't..." Paul Martins said in a trembling voice, "I am loyal to the Viscount, please don't deprive me of my fiefdom."

"I didn't deprive you of your fiefdom. I just wanted to move the knight's territory." Charlotte said.

"You can't! You can't move the Knights' Territory!" Paul Martins suddenly fell to his knees.

"I am the lord, why can't I move the Knight Territory? Besides, I have found more fertile land for you."

Charlotte asked back with a puzzled look on her face, but everyone below knew that it was not a question of whether the land was fertile.

That knight's territory is located at the most critical position on the southern trade route. No matter whether it is a caravan heading from the Sokya Peninsula to the Quak Forest or a caravan returning from the Quak Forest to the Sokya Peninsula, 80% of them will pass through that knight's territory. Therefore, Paul Martins and the Scamario brothers have made a lot of money over the years and are considered wealthy among the southern knights. Paul Martins even invested most of his savings to set up his own caravan.

"You can't treat your knights like this. Doing so will only disappoint all your loyal followers... Your Excellency Viscount..." Paul Martins wailed.

"Loyalty? Viscount Basilik was calling out your names before he died, Knight Paul Martins." Charlotte said.

Paul Martins's crying was abruptly interrupted by this sentence. He looked up and saw the sarcastic smile on Charlotte's face.

Paul Martins didn't know that Charlotte didn't visit Basilic before his death. He felt that Basilic Melfeld must hate the Southern Knights, and might even be hostile to him, so he intuitively believed that Charlotte was telling the truth.

"Revenge, this is revenge, that's right..." Paul Martins muttered to himself.

The Melefield family is angry about what happened to Basilik. Sherlock's arrival must be carrying a mission. She wants revenge and to wash away the humiliation that the southern knights have brought to the Melefield family!

Paul Martins felt he knew the truth.