Chapter 273 - 246: Sword and Rose

Chapter 273: Chapter 246: Sword and Rose

At night, a caravan was resting by the side of the road. Many were already asleep, but the guards on patrol were still diligently making their rounds.

"Who’s there?" a guard asked warily, his hand on the longsword at his hip.

"It’s me." Count Valentine emerged from the darkness, wrapped in a large fur cloak. The guard stared at him for a few seconds before asking for the password. After confirming it was correct, he said, "You haven’t slept yet, my lord."

Valentine pulled his cloak tighter, trying to block the cold night wind. "I can’t sleep. We’ll be at Plantagenet City tomorrow."

"You could have stayed in the town we passed through earlier," the guard said, accompanying the Count to a nearby bonfire. "It wouldn’t have delayed us much."

"It would still affect our schedule. I want to enter Plantagenet City first thing in the morning. The sooner we arrive, the better. After all, we don’t know when the Duke of the North will get there." He found a rock by the bonfire and sat down, then pointed to another one nearby. "Sit. Keep me company for a bit."

"I still have to patrol," the guard said.

"It’s fine. The others are also on watch; they won’t miss one person. Besides, we’re near the outskirts of the Royal City. No madman would dare cause trouble here."

The guard hesitated for a moment, then had no choice but to sit down beside him.

"Do you miss Torch City?" Valentine asked, picking up a twig from the ground and tossing it into the bonfire before them.

The guard was silent for a few seconds before replying, "I’d be lying if I said I didn’t. But missing it is one thing. Following you, my lord, was my own choice."

Valentine chuckled. "Auberto, I can’t say your choice was the right one, but what the Prince and I can offer you will certainly be no less than what the Merlot Clan gave you."

Auberto also picked up a twig. He held it casually, tapping it slowly against the ground instead of tossing it into the fire. "I know. I made my decision the moment you found me, my lord."

"If you had stayed in Torch City, the most you could have become is a Knight. But by following the Black Lion, you have a chance to become a Baron one day. Not to mention, the Third Prince is also part of the plan."

Auberto continued to tap the twig on the ground. He slowly nodded and said in a measured tone, "Yes. When I met you and saw those people from the Royal Capital, I understood that following you, my lord, would be the better path."

"But," Valentine said, his breath forming a white cloud in the air, "why did that fellow Shire just disappear?"

"I find it very strange as well, my lord," Auberto said, snapping the twig in his hand and tossing the pieces into the fire. "The plan was to escort him to the Royal City, but he vanished that very night. All the guards on watch fell into a deep sleep."

"Logically, I was the only one accompanying him. No one else was following. And yet, he just vanished." He spoke in a low voice, still baffled by Shire’s disappearance.

"It seems Baron Merlot had an ace up his sleeve after all," Valentine said, his tone laced with resentment.

"No, my lord, I don’t believe that’s the case." Auberto looked up at the Count beside him. "Based on my years of experience as a guard for the Merlot Clan, I’m certain I was the only one with Shire. Besides, Baron Merlot didn’t have the manpower to arrange something like that. Back then, nearly everyone in Torch City was working overtime."

Valentine frowned. Whether it was from the winter night’s chill or Auberto’s words, he pulled his cloak tighter around himself. "It seems Deepwater Port was truly busy."

"As long as you are prepared, my lord, the day will surely come when we take control of Torch City," Auberto said at the opportune moment.

But Valentine just chuckled, then turned his head to look at the guard beside him. "It’s getting late. After you finish your patrol, get some sleep."

He stood up, brushing blades of grass and embers from his cloak, and gazed into the distance. "It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Plantagenet City. I wonder what the Prince will say when I see him tomorrow."

Then, Count Valentine ignored Auberto, who had also stood up, and simply waved a hand dismissively before turning and walking slowly back to his carriage.

Auberto watched the Count leave, then reached behind his back to pull out an old, copper pocket watch. The watch was somewhat small. Though it was cracked in a few places, its basic function was unaffected. Verdigris stained many of the crevices, but the case was still polished to a shine.

’Dawn is breaking.’ Auberto flicked open the pocket watch’s cover and glanced at the time. Then, his gaze focused on the inside of the cover, where a relief was carved: a Rose with two crossed swords behind it.

’It’s been 500 years. I wonder what’s become of the Plantagenet Clan.’

...

"What else would they be doing? Still fighting amongst themselves, of course." Shire sighed and said to Uncle Musa, who was sitting across the table, "Every one of them wants to swallow Torch City whole. After all, I helped manage a lot of its affairs, so I have a general understanding of all the resource trades. They’re all drooling over that wealth."

"So, Young Master, you believe this is the reason our family met with disaster?" Musa asked, his face grim. He hadn’t expected so many parties to be plotting against the Merlot Clan.

"That’s right. The merchant guilds passed on information and incited the other nobles, while the Royal Family jumped in directly to seize a port and fiefdom that was raking in gold every day. At the same time, the Church was scheming in the background, and other nobles were cooperating with them. None of these groups are easy to deal with," Shire said calmly, his fingers drumming slowly on the tabletop.

"If your analysis is correct, Young Master, then our enemies are indeed powerful." Uncle Musa nodded. He hadn’t considered that there were so many twists and turns behind the scenes. Now, after hearing Shire’s analysis, he was more and more convinced the conspiracy had been planned this way. After all, a Baron being framed for treason had only happened twice in the entire history of the Fran Kingdom, and Baron Merlot was one of them.

"That’s why I plan to build up my strength in the forest." Shire smiled faintly. "Trying to fight back against the Church and the nobility within the Human Kingdoms, or rather, within the sphere of human influence, is harder than climbing to the heavens."

"But it’s different in the Nightmare Forest. Their reach can’t extend in here. Even if Adventurers constantly enter the forest to hunt goblins, they don’t dare—and aren’t able—to go too deep. This has led to the Nightmare Forest being described by many as something like the Eternal Dark Purgatory."

"Young Master, that’s very dangerous, isn’t it?" Musa asked with concern. He wanted to suggest they just give up and live a quiet life, but when he saw the determined look in the goblin’s eyes across from him, he swallowed his words.

"There’s some danger, but not that much." Shire gave a slight, confident smile. He didn’t complain to his elder about the forest’s environment—about how difficult the Bear Goblins, Magical Beasts, and Heart Stealers were to deal with, or how he had clawed his way to where he was now, one step at a time. He never mentioned how he had to constantly outwit foes many times stronger than himself, where a single misstep would have meant utter annihilation.

"See? I’m still alive and well, aren’t I?"