Chapter 77 - Enemy Attack
Charlotte learned something that left her unsure whether to laugh or cry – the entire nobility of Platinum City now believed Arthur Lekman was homosexual.
This piece of gossip originated quite innocently from Duchess Bonan, Edith Paste. Having arrived in Platinum City early, she mentioned it idly while chatting with other noble ladies during one of her tea parties. Eventually, the rumor reached the ears of Queen Mary Holowin. When the Queen received her younger sister, Duchess Green Plains, Rosie Mellerfeld, she couldn't help but bring it up. "Sister," she'd said, more or less, "it seems that Arthur Lekman prefers men. Will the Duke Green Plains have objections to you marrying your stepdaughter off to him?"
At the mention of this, Rosie sighed as well. "That's precisely what I'm worried about. A preference for young boys might be a minor matter, but I've had inquiries made. The Marquis Lekman's son hasn't even kept a mistress these past years. If he truly only likes men, then things become difficult."
By comparing notes, Queen Mary and Duchess Rosie both felt certain: Arthur Lekman was, indeed, homosexual.
In a place like Platinum City, teeming with nobles, gossip spread like wildfire. Now, Arthur Lekman's preference for men was practically common knowledge, an accepted fact throughout the city.
Upon learning this, Charlotte righteously condemned Rosie and Edith Paste in her heart for starting such rumors, conveniently forgetting who had actually originated the tale.
"Your father allows you to visit me? I thought he would demand you cut ties with this old man."
After seeing Marquis Niuyin off, Ethel Holowin began chatting idly with his granddaughter, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
"How could that be?" Charlotte laughed. "Father has never forbidden me from visiting Grandfather."
"Then why haven't you visited my Gatu Kingdom in over half a year?" Ethel asked.
"Wasn't I enfeoffed as a Viscountess? I've spent the last few months developing my territory. I plan to build something grand!" Charlotte declared earnestly, hands on her hips.
However, the more serious Charlotte sounded, the more likely she was to be dismissed as a child playing games.
Ethel casually remarked, "You mean that Lanwan Viscounty of yours? There's barely anyone living there. If you truly wanted a fief, you should have come to me. I could have given you a much more respectable piece of land."
Ethel meant this sincerely. In the Gatu Kingdom, within the prosperous regions of the Green Plains Duchy, a viscounty also consisted of over twenty knight's fiefs. But there, a single knight's fief could support ten or even twenty knights, unlike Charlotte's territory, which initially struggled to meet the basic standard of five knights per fief.
Still, Charlotte shook her head, declining Ethel's kind offer.
Firstly, the geographical advantage of the Lanwan Viscounty was hard to match elsewhere. Bordering the Aolan Empire to the east, the Lesalei Kingdom to the west, and controlling access to the Sokoya Peninsula to the south, it offered Charlotte ample room for growth. Secondly, she had already annexed Ambratu County, significantly improving her financial and military situation. Once the Lanwan Canal was completed next year, Charlotte believed no one would dare dismiss the Lanwan Viscounty as an insignificant speck on the board.
"I actually quite like the Lanwan Viscounty. If Grandfather truly worries about me, perhaps you could support me with some pocket money and supplies?" Charlotte grinned, rubbing her fingers together suggestively.
Ethel didn't refuse, asking directly, "What supplies do you need?"
"Dragon-Slaying Ballistas?" Charlotte tilted her head.
Ethel shot her a sideways glance.
"How about Griffinbane Arrows then?" Charlotte asked again.
"Those are critical military assets. How could I let you have them to play with?" Ethel chuckled, exasperated.
"You won't give me this, you won't give me that," Charlotte pouted. "Isn't Grandfather being a bit too stingy?"
"How about I support you with some Faberge Swords?" Ethel offered.
Faberge was the capital city of the Gatu Kingdom, and swords bearing its name were naturally the standard-issue weapons the kingdom took pride in. Faberge Swords were tough, durable, and could cut through iron as if it were mud – one of the key assets that allowed the Gatu Kingdom to dominate its corner of the Empire. Ethel Holowin's willingness to offer Faberge Swords to Charlotte showed how much he truly doted on his granddaughter.
But after a moment's thought, Charlotte refused. "I don't need swords; I'm not lacking swords. How about Grandfather supports me with a few Giant Eagles instead?"
"How can Faberge Swords be compared to ordinary blades?"
Ethel scoffed at his granddaughter's ignorance, but decided not to press the issue. Truthfully, while he was willing to give her the swords, it would still pain him. He was actually a little relieved she didn't want them.
Charlotte had her reasons. Like Griffinbane Arrows, Faberge Swords were the product of complex rituals. Their production rate was slightly higher than the arrows, but not by much. Within the entire Gatu Kingdom, only Ethel's elite confidants, the Companion Knights Order, were equipped with them extensively. Even if Ethel were willing to support Charlotte with Faberge Swords, production limitations meant he couldn't provide many.
Besides, the primary enemies the Lanwan Viscounty currently faced didn't necessitate high-end weapons like Dragon-Slaying Ballistas, Griffinbane Arrows, or Faberge Swords.
"How many Giant Eagles do you need?" Ethel asked casually.
"One or two hundred should be enough..." Charlotte mused.
"One or two hundred?" Ethel exclaimed. "What do you need so many Giant Eagles for?"
"My territory can't support Griffins, so I have to raise Giant Eagles instead," Charlotte replied.
"Giant Eagles are quite burdensome too..."
Ethel began to lecture his granddaughter on proper domain management. In the view of traditional Aolan nobles, Giant Eagles were primarily messengers, scouts, or mounts for nobles needing urgent travel. Raising them on such a large scale, as Charlotte proposed, was sheer foolishness. A remote place like the Lanwan Viscounty simply had no need for so many.
However, just as Ethel started, Charlotte interrupted him, nodding vigorously. "Exactly, exactly! That's why Grandfather needs to give me a bit more grain, plus a few hundred thousand Fuso for pocket money! Otherwise, I'll definitely go broke!"
She even held out her hand expectantly.
Ethel's mouth twitched.
"I've already arranged it with Sister Monica. We're planting roses in the territory next year. When they bloom, I'll definitely send Grandfather a bouquet," Charlotte stated matter-of-factly, shaking her outstretched hand.
"What kind of roses are worth hundreds of thousands of Fuso!" Ethel swatted her hand playfully, though he didn't explicitly refuse.
Charlotte giggled mischievously. She knew that although the exact amount wasn't settled, the aid package was essentially secured.
At noon, Ethel asked Charlotte to stay for lunch, but he himself wouldn't be dining at his residence. This Holy Grace Festival was, for Ethel, a war without smoke, keeping him incredibly busy. He needed to constantly engage with various factions, probe their intentions, and court potential allies. Consequently, Ethel spent his days hosting numerous guests or attending various banquets.
However, even with Ethel gone, there was another mistress in this luxurious residence.
Before lunch, Charlotte finally met the princess of the Gatu Kingdom, Helen's sister, Laina Holowin.
"Char-lotte!"
A tall, slender beauty, like a lotus emerging from water, with flowing violet hair and dressed in a pale pink gown, threw herself affectionately at Charlotte the moment she saw her.
Charlotte chuckled and sidestepped neatly, dodging the girl's flying leap.
"Eh?" Laina puffed out her cheeks. "Charlotte, you're so cold! It's been such a long time."
Charlotte wrinkled her nose, leaned in to sniff near Laina's ear, and then said with surprise, "Hardly any fragrance?"
Seeing her violet hair, many might assume Laina wasn't of Holowin blood, but she was indeed a genuine descendant. However, Laina's mother – Charlotte's grandmother – had Meiwa blood in her ancestry. For reasons unknown, this bloodline resurfaced strongly in Laina, making her almost a pure-blooded Meiwa.
Meiwa were a type of supernatural creature in this world. They had no fixed appearance, capable of transforming into swans, horses, eagles, snakes, wolves, or other animals, though they usually maintained a human form. Regardless of the species they took, Meiwa were exclusively female and possessed the innate supernatural ability to charm other individuals of that species into mating with them.
The Meiwa heritage wasn't just evident in her violet hair and captivating looks; Laina also possessed a strong libido and a body fragrance capable of inducing desire in others, among other traits. Laina's scent was usually faint, only becoming potent at the peak of arousal.
"Amy said you were entertaining a guest and it wasn't convenient for me to see you. Did that guest perhaps fail to 'serve' Her Highness properly?" Charlotte asked teasingly.
"What are you talking about!" Laina waved a small fist. "That girl Amy is always spreading rumors about me! The guest I received was Mother Banasha, not some beauty. What could I possibly do? I'll definitely discipline Amy later for saying things that cause misunderstandings."
"Mother Banasha?" Charlotte raised an eyebrow slightly. "The mentor matron from the Order of the Rose?"
"Mhm, yes," Laina nodded.
"How do you know Mother Banasha?" Charlotte sounded somewhat surprised.
At this, Laina suddenly put on a sorrowful smile. "For someone like me, besides being imprisoned in the palace for life, the only other choice is to become a nun, isn't it?"
Charlotte stared at the self-pitying Laina for a moment. Then, slowly, inch by inch, she began lifting her own skirt, gradually revealing fair, sensual thighs. Her fingertips traced higher and higher along her skin before she extended the pink tip of her tongue to lick her lips, offering a captivatingly seductive smile. "Want a taste, Sister?"
Laina's breath caught, the look of misery instantly vanishing from her face. She rolled her eyes and spat, "Bloody hell, I, a Meiwa, am actually being seduced!"
Duchy of Bonan, Western Border – Silver Wing Camp.
Silver Wing Camp was one of the three most important military camps established by the Duke of Bonan on the western frontier. In previous years, over five thousand knights would be stationed here each winter. However, as raids by the tribespeople had become increasingly infrequent in recent years, almost disappearing entirely, the scale of Silver Wing Camp had shrunk annually. This year, only slightly over two thousand knights were garrisoned there.
According to regulations, the knights guarding the border were required to take turns patrolling the surrounding dozens of kilometers on Giant Eagles or Griffins, monitoring for any tribal intrusions. But with the blizzard intensifying over the past two days, making flight nearly impossible for the creatures, and the knights themselves unwilling to risk freezing or falling to their deaths, the routine patrols had been delayed.
"Anyway, with snow this heavy, you can't see anything from the sky. And the snow on the ground is so deep, the tribespeople probably won't venture out of the mountains," the knights comforted themselves, sipping hot soup in the relative warmth of their barracks.
Even the sentries perched atop the watchtowers, huddled in corners wrapped in cashmere blankets, were drowsing out of boredom, seeking shelter from the biting wind.
The knights' Griffins lay sprawled across the open snowfield behind the camp, having entered a state akin to hibernation. Attendant knights had covered their backs with mats woven from sage; not for warmth – the Griffins could withstand the severe cold – but because the scent of sage helped them sleep more soundly.
Rustle...
A faint sound was almost lost amidst the swirling wind and snow.
Suddenly, from beneath the snowdrift beside one Griffin, a large snake burst forth. It was indeed large, as thick as a man's arm, yet still appeared slender compared to the massive Griffin.
The snake was almost transparently white, its only conspicuous feature a pair of jade-green eyes shimmering against the snow. More strangely, although the snow parted where the snake slithered, the wind seemed to scatter its crystalline body like smoke, only for it to coalesce again, as if it possessed no true physical form.
The snake crawled up the Griffin's leg onto its broad back, then slithered along the spine towards the creature's long, eagle-like neck. Then, the large snake truly dispersed into a plume of mist, which fragmented into countless tiny serpents that burrowed into the gaps within the Griffin's neck feathers.
This wasn't the only Griffin affected; one after another, eerie white snakes emerged from the snow beside the other resting creatures.
Rumble.
A low, muffled sound vibrated through the ground.
The sentry in the watchtower felt the structure beneath him tremble. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he initially thought he was dreaming. He yawned, stood up, intending to go down for a moment, but cast a casual glance outside the camp as he moved towards the ladder.
That single glance froze him solid.
"ENEMY ATTACK!"
The sentry screamed, his voice raw with panic.
But it was already too late.
A massive stone club, over two meters long, tore through the blizzard and slammed into the wooden watchtower.
Creeaak...
CRASH!
With a sickening crunch of splintering wood, the watchtower collapsed violently.