Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

Melanie's face was very close, and her faint fragrance could be clearly smelled. Although she had a smile on her face, her aura was terrifying.

"You've already collected the 'admission fee,' you're not going to stand me up, are you?"

"Of course not, but I have been really busy lately, my dear Miss Melanie." Liu Xia looked at the angry, icy beauty and continued to laugh it off, his attitude like that of an unrepentant scumbag.

"How about I offer you some other form of compensation first?"

Ryuu smiled, and Melanie felt a blur before her eyes. Ryuu had slipped away from her grasp without her noticing. The ice barrier she had set up had long been shattered by the crimson battle aura, and her neck was still tingling.

That brat, Ryuu! He actually broke free of the ice seal in the blink of an eye while using illusion magic, and even left a kiss on his neck with a paralyzing dark magic effect! Mei misses me, but you're busy. Lin Zai isn't here...

Melanie clutched her neck in frustration and backed away, glaring fiercely at the brat in front of her.

He's becoming increasingly skilled at applying several types of force!

Melanie naturally understood what Ryuka meant by "compensation." Her body had already recovered from her first night, and she even felt a bit tingly of pleasure. When Ryuka teased her like that, she instantly felt her cheeks burning.

But she wouldn't admit it verbally.

"Pah! Who cares! You better remember Hetia, or I'll fly over to your territory every few days and hail some hail."

"Hah—you're bullying Ryuka! No way!"

Vitris pounced like a kitten, baring her teeth and claws, but Ryūka held her soft, short white hair firmly down.

"Okay, okay, I won't forget, we just have to wait a little longer~"

Ryuka smiled, but then Hetia's disgruntled shouts reached her ears.

"Ryusha! How long are you going to keep cuddling with that ice-cold woman?! The people from Sochi are here!"

Chapter 15 Unexpected Peace

On the distant horizon, a group of about twenty or thirty people carrying the banner of Sochi City slowly appeared. After lining up in the distance, the old man at the head urged his horse forward, accompanied only by five people, towards Liu Xia and his companions.

Melanie had long since disappeared. Ryusha comforted Vitry and had her take over from Baron. Then, she and Baron rode up with Hetia to greet them.

“Mr. Baron Mills, we meet again.”

The old man speaking was around sixty years old, with a melancholy yet kind face. His simple and elegant armor made him appear very dignified, and his white beard and hair were neatly groomed, but his pampered hands revealed that this Earl of Duke was not a skilled swordsman.

Ronald Duke first nodded to Baron, whom he had met a few days earlier, and the latter returned the greeting somewhat nervously. Then the old man shifted his gaze to Hetia, but lingered on Ryusha for a couple more moments.

“Viscount Tartu.” The old count first bowed on his horse, his tone calm, “My foolish son has made a mistake in your territory, please accept my sincere apology.”

“Lord Ronald Duke, I also bear some responsibility for this. The policy of Lake Lin was intended to attract refugees, but it unexpectedly caused your slaves to mutini. However... Young Master Bran's actions are simply unacceptable.”

Hetia was polite and courteous, speaking in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant, and she was accompanied by many of Kania and Ryukyu's repeated admonitions.

"Under no circumstances can the Tartu family allow other people's soldiers, fully armed, to enter their territory in several small teams without prior notification. Please understand..."

After exchanging pleasantries, the two groups of people came to a long table with a canopy.

Throughout this time, Ryūka kept observing the old lord, Ronald Duke. If he wasn't just a polite old man on the surface, he must be a cunning and shrewd fox.

The other person also seemed to be observing this rumored fifteen-year-old governor from time to time. Although there were various rumors about her, Ryuka still felt that the other person's gaze was a bit too much.

This made him somewhat wary.

"Your Excellency."

Upon entering the shed, Kira was the first to rise and bow, indicating that she had met the count before. Ronald nodded in response and addressed her as "Miss Kira."

Bran Duke was the only one who remained extremely silent. Vitrilis and several soldiers had brought him over, but Bran's guards were still tied to the carriage outside.

The father looked at his son, but the son turned his head away. Even after the old earl went up, removed his gloves, and slapped Bran hard across the face, Bran didn't look at his father once.

Let's get straight to the point.

Earl Duke sat down at one side of the long table and gestured for a servant to bring over a chest. The heavy, iron-clad wooden chest thudded onto the table, and when opened, a dazzling golden hue shone through. (The rest of the text appears to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.)

One thousand gold coins.

Of all those present, only Baron showed a look of utter astonishment, while Hetia and Kira remained unfazed.

Ryuka's eyes were filled with delight, but she didn't show it too obviously.

After prior negotiations, the ransom agreed upon by both parties was 1,200 gold coins. One thousand coins were for Bran's ransom and compensation for the incident, while the remaining two hundred were to redeem the surviving cavalrymen. Two of these knights came from other minor noble families in Sochi…

Of course, their equipment, such as armor, was very valuable, but the warhorses were gone forever.

"The remaining two hundred coins, according to the agreement, will be converted into grain and various goods, and delivered in installments over time. If there are no problems, please sign the agreement."

Ronald Duke's guards took out two identical copies of the agreement and laid them on the table.

So quick? Liu Xia and the others exchanged glances. Then why did the other party want Kira to appear?

This is no small sum, and even with the changes in the capital, the Duke family shouldn't be so subservient to the small Linhu territory. Judging from the relationship between father and son, the old count doesn't seem to dote on his second son.

Even after the agreement was signed, Ryuka still suspected that the old man in front of her might have some kind of conspiracy.

"Next, the Sochi Territory hopes to establish friendly relations with the Linhu Territory, including in various aspects such as trade..."

The clerk behind Earl Duke then produced another document and handed it to the Linhu lords for review.

It was a treaty that was too fair, rather than fair, unlike anything that would be signed between a large territory and a small territory.

Apart from controlled resources such as ironware, warhorses, and magical ores, the various aspects of the treaty can be described as a mutually beneficial 'strategic alliance'.

"Why?" Even Hetia sensed something was wrong. The other party's attitude was too good, and everyone found it unbelievable.

Lord Duke dismissed his servants without changing his expression, and Baron hesitated for a moment before taking Bran away from the negotiations.

"For the sake of peace." The old count's attitude was very calm.

“Miss Tartu should understand what I’m saying. I’m old, and I only have two sons, neither of whom are particularly good. My eldest son is honest and kind, but as everyone knows, he lacks decisiveness, something Miss Kira, who has lived in Sochi, should know. You all also know about my second son’s character…”

"As for things above that, my wife is very ambitious and wants to support her sister. There are many people in the territory who share the same idea as her, including the Snowfield family, who are cousins ​​of the Duke family. Many of my allies are thinking about going further."

At this point, Earl Duke glanced at Ryukatsu.

“But I don’t think so. I have never left Sochi City in my entire life. I took over the territory from my father when I was thirty. Sochi City is now the result of half my life’s work.”

"At least in my lifetime, I don't want to see war, murder, or turmoil, nor do I want to become a pawn of powerful figures far away in the capital..."

"Is this acceptable to everyone?"

The count's attitude was very sincere, even somewhat weary; one could only wonder what storms he had weathered within his territory.

"Could we leave for a moment?" Faced with such a windfall, Hetia felt she should ask Ryūka for permission. If she agreed without authorization and stepped into some trap, she didn't want to be punished even more severely.

"Please go ahead..."

……

Outside the tent, Ryusha chatted with Hetia and Kira for a while. Kira's assessment of Count Duke was that he was a famously kind-hearted man, but too soft-hearted. The prosperity of Sochi was thanks to him, but the infighting among the nobles and some of the unsavory atmosphere were also inseparable from his weakness.

Hetia didn't have much to say. She admitted that she wasn't as smart as Ryusha and knew that the decision wasn't in her hands.

Ryūka, on the other hand, felt that the magical catapult had been brought for nothing. He had wanted to show off his skills during the argument, and the target was already set up 500 meters away.

It can only be said that anything can happen unexpectedly.

Back in the tent, Hetia expressed her gratitude to Earl Duke, and then Kira, as the trade steward, finalized the treaty details. Both families then signed their names and affixed their family seals…

"Besides that, I have one more request..."

After the dust settled, Count Duke suddenly turned his gaze to Ryusha.

Liu Xia frowned, a chill running down her spine.

This old count has been staring at me for a while now... surely he doesn't have some strange fetish?

Chapter 16 The Vicious Mature Female Knight's Duel Challenge

"This young gentleman must be Mr. Ryusha, the rumored young governor of Linhu Territory? May I ask your background?"

"I have no special background; I just happened to gain Miss Hetia's favor."

In response to Count Duke's question, Ryuka gave a generous and open reply.

"Is that so?" Count Duke's fingers tapped lightly on the table. "I've heard you're a young prodigy, possessing both wisdom and courage... I wonder what your current strength is?"

Why is he asking this? To be on the safe side, Liu Xia replied, "Knight, I once studied battle qi under a retired veteran in Linhu Town, and then, with Miss Hetia's guidance, I managed to break through."

As for the veteran that Ryuka mentioned, it was Maya, who once had the strength of a trainee knight, and was Atina's father.

Anyway, the other party can't verify it, and I do have a close relationship with Atina's family.

"A fifteen-year-old knight, that's truly remarkable. At that age, I was just a helpless child," Earl Duke exclaimed, still leaving everyone wondering what he was up to.

After thinking for a while, he finally posed the key question.

"If you were to face a peak knight one-on-one, what would you think?"

A knight in his prime? Does that mean someone who is about to be promoted to Grand Knight?

From an ordinary person's perspective, a boy who becomes a knight at the age of fifteen is definitely a genius, but he is still no match for someone with rich experience who is about to become a grand knight.

"Please enlighten me, Your Excellency, what is the meaning of this question?"

Count Duke smiled. "Actually, there's someone in Sochi who's very eager to spar with you..."

At this moment, Kira suddenly seemed to have thought of something, and her expression became excited.

"You're not talking about Megan Payne, are you?"

“Ah, yes… Miss Kira is right.” Count Duke looked embarrassed and troubled.

"If we're talking about the top knights in Sochi City who have the audacity to challenge a young man who has just been promoted to knight, I really can't think of anyone else besides Miss Payne."

Kira leaned back in her chair, her chest heaving violently, showing none of her previous respect.

"Who is this Miss Payne?"

Hearing the two's cryptic conversation, Ryuka couldn't help but ask.

“She is my wife’s niece… The Payne family is an earldom in the northern part of the empire. The two daughters of the previous patriarch married His Majesty the Emperor and me, respectively. Megan Payne is the daughter of my wife’s brother, who is also the daughter of the current patriarch.”

Unlike Earl Duke's words, Kira's tone was quite cold.

"This Miss Payne was sent to her aunt's house in Sochi when she was very young. Her character and reputation are quite bad, and if you had to say, she is no less than Lord Bran... However, one thing is certain: she is quite beautiful and has never been married."

Just as bad as Bran... Ryuka probably understood how terrible it was.

But Kira, you said she was quite beautiful and unmarried, why did you give me such a deep look?

Ryuka mentally ranted and raved.

"Miss Payne is thirty years old this year and has been in the knightly class for a full ten years, yet she wants to duel with a child. Is it to avenge her brother Bran?"

Hearing Kira's sharp accusations, Earl Duke sighed deeply.

There are no secrets that stay hidden forever. It was quite normal for word to spread that Ryūsha had provoked Bran first, as many merchants and free people present had witnessed it.

Although in the folk tales this boy was a fearless genius, in some people's ears he was a criminal who attacked a nobleman without Lord Hetia's permission.

Not to mention that when Bran and Hetia were dueling one-on-one, Ryusha shot down Bran's warhorse with a giant crossbow, which was a shameless sneak attack, even worse than Kira's sneak attack with a dagger.

However, as long as Hetia insists that Ryukyu received her instructions, in the end, everyone will only have their own version of events, and the truth will remain unclear.

But Miss Megan Payne didn't care about any of that. A lowly commoner guard had ambushed two noble knights with such an evil weapon as a crossbow during their duel! She was determined to make this brat who had caused her cousin's capture pay the price!

"To be honest, there are quite a few people in Sochi who have been clamoring for Linhu Territory to pay a 'bloody price,' and many of them are from my wife's side..." (The rest of the text is a jumbled collection of characters and phrases, likely due to OCR errors. A direct translation isn't meaningful without further context.)

Count Duke was quite frank, even openly discussing the factional discord within his family and territory, though these matters were already common knowledge in Sochi.

"Is the price of blood war?" Hetia's tone became serious.

“No… Bran was ultimately in the wrong.” Earl Duke shook his head, seemingly very disappointed in his second son.

This is what is known as 'I will take care of your wife and children'.

Sensing the tension in the air, Earl Duke quickly changed the subject: "But I also know that your situation is somewhat different... so I'm trying to steer this matter towards a knightly duel."

His tone was ambiguous, and his gaze lingered on the three young men and women in front of him.

"I don't want this to become a new fuse. Most importantly, I've heard that Mr. Ryuka's combat abilities are beyond imagination... that even a high-ranking officer can't gain an advantage against you. If that's true..."

In the distance, a powerful, icy-blue mage sneezed…