Chapter 1048: Mysterious Letter

"What did you say?"

Jason’s eyes narrowed sharply.

"Was I not clear enough?" Orlan frowned. "I’m asking you to send troops to the border to help Her Highness Elina deal with the rebels."

Jason fell silent, his face flushing with anger.

Send reinforcements?

Wasn’t that basically suicide?

He had lied to Elina, Freya, and Evalyn about the number of troops stationed in the city.

In reality, the Malvain family still had forty thousand troops.

However, Jason had deliberately scattered them across various cities to keep Elina, Freya, and Evalyn from finding out their true numbers.

Suppressing his anger, he refused in a cold tone, "I’m sorry, but I can’t. I only have five thousand troops left, and even they are needed to defend this city."

Orlan stared intently at Jason, trying to determine whether he was lying.

Unfortunately, Jason was a master at concealing his true emotions.

Although Orlan couldn’t tell for certain, he was convinced that the man was lying.

"All right, fine."

Orlan gave a faint smile.

"I’ll send my own troops. I’m sure the other nobles will agree with my plan as well."

He stood up and was about to leave when Jason stopped him.

"Are you serious about doing this?" he asked in a heavy voice.

Orlan glanced back over his right shoulder.

"There’s no other choice. As a duke, you’ve failed to fulfill the duties and live up to the trust His Majesty Ragan has placed in you. The southern region is now in chaos. People are terrified of the rebel forces, even though the imperial court has already sent troops to deal with them. You can’t blame me for taking matters into my own hands."

Without saying another word, he walked out of Jason’s study.

Sergan stared coldly at Orlan’s retreating back.

"Do you want me to kill him?"

Jason waved his hand.

"Don’t act rashly. That would be tantamount to suicide."

Orlan was a marquis, and more importantly, he belonged to Elina Lorian’s faction.

As Jason had said earlier, his death would only give the imperial court an opportunity to put pressure on him.

Sergan said nothing, but the murderous intent in his eyes was impossible to hide.

...

Orlan had just stepped out of the mansion when someone bumped into him from the side.

"Ouch! Sorry, I didn’t see you!"

The man hurriedly apologized.

Orlan looked at him in surprise. It turned out to be Fenric, one of Jason’s advisors.

"Mr. Fenric, it’s good to see you," he greeted him politely.

Fenric smiled back.

"Nice to see you too. Sorry for bumping into you."

"It’s okay."

Orlan shook his head slightly.

"By the way—"

Before Orlan could finish his sentence, Fenric cut him off.

"I’m sorry, Marquis Caltheron. I have to go."

Without waiting for Orlan’s response, he quickly walked past him.

Orlan raised his eyebrows slightly. Something about Fenric seemed odd, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

Pushing the thought aside, he continued toward the mansion’s gate.

The nobles who had been waiting for him immediately brightened at the sight of his return.

"Marquis Caltheron!" a portly count exclaimed. "How did your meeting with Duke Jason go? Is there any way to resolve this rebellion?"

Seeing the hopeful looks on the Count’s and the other nobles’ faces, Orlan couldn’t bring himself to tell them the truth.

However, he knew the matter had to be addressed as soon as possible.

Otherwise, they would waste their time standing there pleading with Jason, even though it was clear that their efforts would be futile.

Orlan shook his head.

"Unfortunately, no. Duke Malvain refuses to take action."

Everyone’s eyes widened at his answer.

"What did you say? He refuses!?" The Count’s voice rose in anger. "Is he kidding!? The southern region is in chaos right now! Millions of people have died at the hands of those savages, and he still refuses to do anything!?"

Seeing the Count lose his temper, the other nobles grew angry as well and started hurling insults and curses at Jason Malvain.

Under normal circumstances, they certainly wouldn’t have dared to do so.

However, some of them had fallen victim to the rebel forces’ brutality at the border and experienced firsthand just how horrific the situation was.

They no longer cared about the Malvain family’s "honor." All they wanted was justice and a swift decision from Jason to resolve the crisis.

Unfortunately, Jason refused to act, making their anger even harder to contain.

"Calm down, everyone."

Orlan raised a hand to quiet them.

"Although Duke Malvain refuses to help, I’ve been given the authority to act on my own. Would any of you like to join me?"

The angry nobles were shocked by his announcement.

"You’ve been given that authority? Did Duke Jason grant it to you?"

Orlan nodded.

"Yes, he did. He probably realized that sitting idly by wasn’t a solution, so he gave me the authority to take action."

That was a lie. Jason hadn’t granted him any authority at all. But it was the only excuse Orlan could use to rally the nobles and prevent their hatred for Duke Malvain from boiling over.

And sure enough, Orlan’s words gradually calmed their anger.

They exchanged glances and nodded in unison.

"In that case, we’ll follow you."

"Right! Just give us our orders!"

The others chimed in with burning enthusiasm.

They were merely low-ranking nobles, and without a high-ranking noble like Orlan to lead them, it would be difficult for them to act in unison.

"Let’s meet at the White Hart restaurant and discuss everything there."

The White Hart was a large restaurant in the city center. Since it was owned by Blue Moon, privacy wouldn’t be an issue.

The nobles nodded in agreement before turning and heading toward their respective horse-drawn carriages.

As Orlan climbed into his carriage and leaned back against the seat, he felt something in his right pocket.

He reached inside and felt a faint, rough texture, like a piece of paper. Pulling it out, he was surprised to find that it was indeed a piece of paper.

"Whose is this?"

He was certain he hadn’t put any paper in his pocket earlier.

Curious, he unfolded it and began to read.

His calm expression instantly turned to shock.

"Is this real?"

The letter revealed a terrifying truth: Duke Jason himself was the mastermind behind the rebellion on the border. His claim that only a few troops remained in the city was nothing but a lie.

Most terrifying of all was the situation involving Queen Vanessa Malvain. She was currently confined to her room, and her health was deteriorating by the day.

"Who wrote this?"

He tried to recall the people he had encountered at Duke Malvain’s mansion before suddenly remembering someone.

"Could it have been him? Fenric?"