Chapter 59 - The False Ennoblement and the Turmoil in the Green Plains Duchy
The "three hundred superhumans" Logan mentioned were citizen-soldiers recalled from the Aye Alliance front lines by the Elders' Council of Ambradul. They represented the Council's last hope for a fighting force. Unfortunately, before they could return, the city-state of Ambradul had already fallen.
Logan promised Charlotte that if she granted him three hundred knighthoods and a sum of money, he could persuade those three hundred superhumans, along with an additional seventeen hundred citizen-soldiers, to surrender to her.
Charlotte didn't hesitate long before deciding to trust the one-eyed Logan. For her, the decision came easily.
Firstly, these two thousand citizen-soldiers posed a significant threat to Ambradul County's security. Although they were now like stray dogs without a home, Charlotte commanded fewer than two hundred knights. While not impossible, engaging such a larger force would undoubtedly be a difficult battle.
Secondly, Charlotte had learned from Jonathan Hackman that the Little Sassenians had recently sent envoys to negotiate with the Ambradul Elders' Council. Apparently, there were still over five thousand Ambradul citizen-soldiers in Little Sassenian slave camps, including at least eight hundred superhumans.
Such a large number of enemy soldiers scattered abroad would eventually need to be dealt with. Otherwise, they would inevitably become the vanguard of the Aye Alliance's future counterattack against Ambradul.
That's right. With Ambradul secured, Charlotte had to begin considering her next strategic adversary.
Although Ambradul was located at the northernmost point of the Sokya Peninsula, it remained part of the Aye Alliance. Charlotte had exploited the Aye Alliance's intense battles with the Delmore Alliance on the front lines to betray them, which would undoubtedly provoke their anger. Charlotte wasn't sure how far the Aye Alliance would go for Ambradul, but she needed to prepare for the worst-case scenario from the enemy's perspective.
Successfully persuading a portion of the Ambradul citizen-soldiers to surrender now would lay a solid foundation for resolving the issue of the five thousand prisoners of war later.
The Viscounty of Lanwan, Viscount's Castle.
"The campaign to conquer Ambradul was a resounding success, and all of you performed exceptionally well…"
Charlotte looked down at the thirteen burly, armor-clad warriors kneeling before her.
These thirteen warriors were all squire knights from the Lanwan Viscounty's territorial guard. The public treasury of Ambradul had made Charlotte considerably richer. Besides a large quantity of orichalcum ore, Charlotte had also discovered various superhuman materials, such as powdered mithril, in another treasury. However, the amounts were small, nowhere near as visually impressive as the room filled with orichalcum ore.
With a wave of her hand, Charlotte produced these superhuman materials and instructed the knights who had participated in the Ambradul campaign to recommend thirty of the most outstanding squire knights for a spiritual awakening ceremony.
Ultimately, thirteen of the thirty squire knights successfully awakened. The success rate wasn't particularly high, but it wasn't low either.
The squire knights who had successfully awakened naturally knelt in sincere gratitude for Charlotte's generosity. However, Charlotte's words caused some internal grumbling they couldn't quite suppress.
During the campaign against Ambradul, these men had essentially just ridden their horses back and forth, capturing a few unarmed civilians along the way. If capturing a handful of ordinary people qualified as "exceptional merit," then how should one describe Cecilia's achievement of capturing over six thousand Ambradul citizens in one fell swoop?
But Charlotte didn't seem to realize her words might be ill-received. She continued, oblivious, "To reward your contributions, I hereby bestow upon you the title of knight."
The kneeling squire knights couldn't help but show their joy.
"However…" Charlotte added, "as you all know, Lanwan is currently undergoing extensive construction, and I can't find suitable land to grant you at the moment. I plan to compensate you with money instead, and you can purchase land for yourselves in the future. How does that sound?"
The squire knights exchanged glances. Many were locals of Lanwan and knew perfectly well that over thirty vacant knighthoods still existed within Lanwan's twenty-five knightly territories. So, when Charlotte claimed there was no land to grant, it was clearly a fabrication.
Nevertheless, the squire knights' accomplishments this time were indeed minimal. They hadn't even engaged in a proper battle. They surmised that Charlotte was in a generous mood and wanted to reward them with knighthoods but felt their contributions weren't quite deserving enough, so she intended to grant them titles without land. They lacked the courage to object, as this was the reality of the situation.
Thus, they all agreed to Charlotte's proposal: "As you wish."
Charlotte was pleased and smiled as she bestowed knighthoods upon the thirteen of them.
However, these newly minted knights were unaware that Charlotte was setting a precedent. From this point forward, Charlotte had no intention of ennobling any more landed nobles with actual ruling power over territories. She would instead use the territory's tax revenue to pay these nobles stipends.
Announcing this policy directly would undoubtedly incite unrest within her territory. But with these thirteen examples, it would be much easier to implement in the future: your predecessors didn't receive actual land, so why should you expect different?
The Green Plains Duchy, Riverside Castle.
The Green Plains Duchy had been far from peaceful recently. The area surrounding the castle was heavily guarded, with knights constantly patrolling. Even the servants inside the castle moved with bowed heads, their expressions somber, and their steps hurried.
All of this stemmed from an open secret: the Grand Duke of the Green Plains, Jose Mellerfield, was critically ill!
It was termed a secret because the news had never been officially announced. The upper echelons of the Green Plains Duchy and the Mellerfield family remained tight-lipped, never discussing it openly. The castle's steward, Wolf Von Derlen, a close confidant of the Grand Duke, consistently maintained publicly that the Duke was in good health and that there were no problems.
It was considered an open secret due to the numerous clues suggesting Jose Mellerfield was indeed gravely ill.
Firstly, a large number of knights not currently on active duty had been summoned from across the duchy and assembled at Riverside Castle. Upon their arrival, no further military orders were issued, as if the Grand Duke's sole purpose in summoning them was to have them garrison the castle.
Secondly, the Grand Duke's annual inspection of the western border, a joint operation with the Bonn Duchy, had been canceled. This year, the Duke of Bonn had already arrived at the border as agreed, but Jose Mellerfield had suddenly decided not to attend. For nobles who valued protocol, such a breach of etiquette was deeply disrespectful.
Thirdly, many nobles of the Green Plains Duchy noticed a significant change in the handwriting of official letters and private correspondence purportedly from the Grand Duke. Initially suspecting these documents were forgeries, they came to Riverside Castle to verify their authenticity. Only after repeated assurances from Wolf Von Derlen did they reluctantly accept the documents as genuine.
As for why Wolf Von Derlen was the one providing these assurances, it was because none of the nobles had been able to see Jose Mellerfield in person.
Countless such signs existed, leading many to recall a recent rumor circulating throughout the territory: Grand Duke Jose Mellerfield was critically ill!
Rosie Mellerfield strode briskly up the stairs inside the castle, her face dark and her mood clearly foul.
The servants in the castle, seeing Rosie's expression, quickly stepped aside and bowed, fearing they might provoke the lady of the house, who seemed on the verge of an outburst.
Rosie reached the door of Jose Mellerfield's study, pushed it open, and swiftly closed the heavy mahogany door behind her.
Inside the study, Jose Mellerfield was half-reclining on a couch, covered with a light blanket. He didn't look well, but he was far from "critically ill."
Charlotte and Andrew's younger brother, Sean, were playing by José's side. When Rosie entered, the little boy smiled sweetly and called out, "Mommy."
Seeing her adorable son, Rosie's icy expression finally softened slightly. She patted her son's head and said, "Sweetheart, go play outside for a bit. I need to talk to your father."
"Okay," Sean nodded obediently and left the study, making sure to close the door behind him.
"What's the matter?" Jose Mellerfield asked, noticing his wife's expression.
"I can't keep doing this anymore!" Rosie's expression turned frosty once again.
Although Jose Mellerfield's critical illness was a pretense, Rosie was currently handling most of Riverside Castle's affairs.
This situation had begun a little over a month prior. Shortly after the Green Plains Duchy entered winter, Jose Mellerfield started feeling unwell, frequently suffering from headaches and fatigue, requiring him to rest in bed. Initially, José didn't pay much attention, assuming it was just a minor cold that would pass with rest. Fortunately, Wolf Von Derlen was meticulous and discovered that the red tea José often drank had been laced with hemlock leaves.
Hemlock leaves are a highly toxic herb. When dried, crushed, and mixed into fermented tea leaves, they are nearly indistinguishable. Yet Wolf had managed to identify the fragments within the discarded tea leaves.
Upon learning of Wolf's discovery, José immediately realized he had been the target of an assassination attempt, and the assassin was likely within Riverside Castle. To uncover the assassin and the mastermind behind the plot, José continued to feign drinking the poisoned tea. Then, one evening not long ago, he "suddenly fell ill" and fainted during dinner with his family.
To make the act convincing, Jose Mellerfield ceased making public appearances from that point onward and delegated a significant portion of the Grand Duke's duties to Rosie.
At first, Rosie was delighted, seeing this as a prime opportunity to showcase her abilities and expand her influence. However, she hadn't anticipated the Mellerfield family's lack of respect for her.
The major nobles of the Green Plains Duchy were all familiar with Rosie's handwriting. To claim they couldn't recognize the official letters and private correspondence signed "Jose Mellerfield" as being written by Rosie was utter nonsense!
Of course, official letters and correspondence written by the Duchess on behalf of the Duke were genuine. But the members of the Mellerfield family insisted the documents were forgeries by conspirators, dragging their feet on executing orders or outright refusing to comply.
Rosie wrote stern letters reprimanding them, but they brought the letters to Riverside Castle to verify their authenticity, questioning whether such crude letters could truly have been written by the Grand Duke. Wasn't it more likely they were fake? This infuriated Rosie to the point where she nearly wanted to give up.
However, Jose Mellerfield had already sent Wolf Von Derlen to placate those nobles, so they shouldn't have been causing Rosie any further trouble. José was puzzled as to what had now caused Rosie to lose her composure and want to quit.
"What's going on now? My uncles should be behaving themselves lately, right?" Jose Mellerfield asked, confused.
"It's not your uncles it's your wonderful son and daughter!"
"Andrew? What has he done?"
"He's out there forming alliances everywhere, telling people that I've imprisoned you," Rosie said, pointing angrily outside the castle, "and that he's organizing a coalition to rescue you."
Jose Mellerfield couldn't help but frown. His eldest son had indeed disappointed him greatly. This wasn't because of the conflict between Andrew and Rosie, but because Andrew was spreading the news of José's critical illness far and wide.
Andrew didn't know that José was only pretending to be ill, but precisely because of that, as the eldest son of the Grand Duke, he should have helped Rosie maintain the secrecy of José's illness to stabilize the duchy and prevent opportunists from exploiting the chaos.
Over the years, Andrew had disappointed José countless times like this. José simply couldn't discern the talent and bearing befitting a Grand Duke of the Green Plains in his eldest son.
At times like this, José couldn't help but think of his younger son, Sean. Not only was Sean adorable, but he was also obedient and intelligent, learning everything quickly at a young age. He seemed like a promising heir. But when José remembered that Sean was only eight years old, he quickly dismissed the thought. Such a young child would never be able to control the powerful nobles of the Mellerfield family.
José sighed inwardly and said, "I'll send someone to bring Andrew back. He's getting married in the spring, so it's time for him to settle down."
Hearing José's response, Rosie secretly rejoiced and quickly added, "And your daughter, Charlotte."
"What has Charlotte done now?" José asked.
"She killed Harvey Sherwin and sent his body back to me!" Rosie said through gritted teeth.
"Harvey Sherwin?" José thought for a moment before recalling who that was one of Rosie's confidants. He frowned and asked, "Why did Charlotte kill Harvey Sherwin?"
Rosie handed her husband the letter Charlotte had sent back and said angrily, "She claims the city-state people killed Harvey, but Harvey had no quarrel with them, so why would they kill him? I think she killed Harvey herself and then pinned the blame on the city-state people…"
José unfolded the letter and skimmed its contents. Charlotte's message was simple: "My dear mother, your nephew was killed by the Ambradul people. Your daughter is preparing to avenge him, so please send some troops to support me."
After Rosie finished speaking, José put the letter away and ordered, "Have Stanley Mellerfield lead a thousand knights and three griffons to the Viscounty of Lanwan to help the Viscountess defend the Lanwan Isthmus."
Rosie was stunned. "Do you really believe what that girl wrote in her letter? That Harvey was killed by the city-state people?"
José looked at Rosie and replied solemnly, "Even without seeing how you replied to Charlotte in your last letter, I can guess that the two of you had some kind of falling out. So, I don't know who actually killed Harvey. But… you need to understand that Charlotte is likely engaged in a war with the Sokya City-State right now, and she desperately needs support. I can overlook your personal conflicts with her, but as a mother, you can't let your personal grievances allow outsiders to bully your daughter."
Rosie was speechless. After a long pause, she finally uttered a single word: "Understood."
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