Pérot Hull sat at his desk, subconsciously fiddling with a beautiful piece of parchment in his hand. It was the program list sent by the Longsong Theater every weekend afternoon. Usually, he would choose a favorite play, let the housekeeper pay a deposit, and then send the invitation to Shirley.
But now, he did not read a word.
Today was the seventh day of the expedition. If everything went well, his father should have returned with the Duke yesterday. Maybe he was delayed on the road, or maybe he was tired and rested in Border Town for an extra day? He comforted himself, but the uneasiness in his heart was slowly growing.
Roland Wimbledon, the 4th Prince, had left a deep impression on him. Pérot even felt it was inconceivable that such an outstanding prince had such a terrible reputation in King's City. Bad character, dandy, incompetent, ignorant and incompetent... any evaluation was different from the prince he knew.
That was why his uneasiness was so strong.
He was afraid that the Duke would lose to him.
"Young Master Pérot," the housekeeper shouted outside the door, "there is a letter from Stronghold."
From Stronghold? Pérot was stunned. "Bring it in."
Peeling off the cover, the first sentence on the letter left Petrov dumbfounded.
This was a letter from Prince Roland!
Duke Osmond Ryan attacked this King's territory with force and attempted to rebel, but failed. The Duke himself was executed on the battlefield, and now Longsong Stronghold is in my hands.
The Duke was defeated? His heart sank, and he continued to read.
Except for a few die-hards, most of Duke Ryan's accomplices had surrendered and pleaded guilty. Those who rebelled against the royal family should have been executed, but I am merciful and only executed the ringleaders and unforgivable people. The rest of the participants can redeem the captives with money according to the past war custom. The place of exchange is the Lord's Castle of Longsong Stronghold. The following is the list.
The wording of this official document was extremely awkward, and it was not the common diplomatic language, but the meaning was clear. The Duke failed in his rebellion and wanted captives. Redeem them with money.
Pérot looked down slightly, and his father's name appeared in the first row.
"Hades!" He shouted the housekeeper's name. "Prepare the carriage, I'm going to Stronghold Castle!"
…
Count Honeysuckle's territory was to the east of Stronghold. When Pérot arrived at the Castle District, it was already half an hour later. In front of the lord's castle stood the militia that he had never seen before. They did not have shiny armor, nor did they have capes or ribbons. In their hands, they held a strangely shaped short stick with a sharp spear at the top. Just by standing neatly in two rows with their heads held high and chests puffed out, he felt an oppressive aura.
After reporting his identity, Pérot was led into the courtyard and led to the castle hall by a guard.
He had been to this place many times, but today, it was as if he had stepped into a completely unfamiliar territory. The guards standing guard in the hallway were all faces he had never seen before. No one nodded or smiled at him, and they were all expressionlessly sizing him up. At the entrance of the hall, a Knight came to greet him.
"Your name?"
"Pérot Hull," Pérot replied a little unhappily. He did not like such an interrogative conversation, so he emphasized again, "Sir Hull."
"Oh." The other looked disapproving and flipped through the name list in his hand. "Count Shalafil Hull is your..."
"Father."
"Excuse me," the Knight said, but there was not a trace of apology on his face. "I am Carter Lannis, the Chief Knight of Prince Roland. Please come to the side room first, we need to check if you are carrying any weapons. "
After a search, Pérot's God's Stone of Retaliation was also taken down by the guards.
"That's not a weapon," Pérot reminded.
"Of course not." The Knight nodded. "We will return it to you after the meeting. Don't worry."
He opened his mouth, but in the end, he held it back. Return? That God's Stone of Retaliation could be regarded as a high-grade item. It was worth at least fifty Golden Dragons. It was simply impossible for it to not be exchanged for a defective item. Forget it, he thought, I'll just take it as part of the ransom.
Entering the hall, Roland saw Prince Roland sitting in the main seat, writing something. When he looked up and saw Pérot, he was startled for a moment, then smiled and said, "We meet again, Mr. Ambassador."
It was still a familiar face and tone. Pérot also relaxed a little. He bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."
"Sit down." Roland raised his hand and motioned him to take a seat. "You must already know what happened. Your father was not harmed in any way. He was one of the first to surrender. "
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness," Pérot said quickly. "I don't know how much ransom Your Highness wants. As long as Honeysuckle can pay, I will immediately send the money."
"I don't need money," Roland shook his finger. "I want livestock and people."
It was normal to want livestock. Even fifty years ago, when conflicts broke out between the Lords, the loser would compensate the cattle and sheep. Pérot had read about this more than once in the book. But … what does he mean by asking for people? "Your Highness, cattle, sheep, horses, there are a lot of them in Honeysuckle's territory. As for the people you mentioned …"
"It's very simple. I want masons, stonemasons, carpenters, farmers, and serfs." The Prince handed over a roll of paper. "You can convert them according to the value above. As long as the total is three thousand." He smiled. "By the way, because His Excellency the Count is regarded as the one who captured the most titles, his value is also the highest."
Pérot spread the roll of paper in front of the table.
He saw that it was full of professions and livestock types, followed by a number, such as: cattle 3, sheep 2, stonemasons 10, and so on. He immediately understood what the other side meant.
The value of three thousand meant that one thousand cattle, or three hundred stonemasons, were needed to redeem his father. Of course, his territory didn't have so many cattle and stonemasons. Moreover, just by arranging the items on the paper, there would be many choices. As a noble who dealt with trade every day, Pérot instantly realized that there was a lot to be done. As long as he was given a few days time, he would be able to calculate the optimal solution and meet the requirement of three thousand points at the lowest cost.
"Your Highness, can I …"
"One day, I can only give you one day," Roland stretched out a finger. "This refers to the time you have to make a choice. After all, if you want to gather so many materials and people, it will take at least three or four days. Moreover, I won't stay here forever. After a week, I will leave this place. "
"But one day is really …" Pérot suddenly froze and stared at the Prince. "Wait, you just said … you want to leave?" What does that mean? If the letter isn't wrong, the Duke has already died on the battlefield. Longsong Stronghold belongs to His Highness, but he actually said he wants to leave. Is this place not comparable to that small and shabby border town? No, this isn't the point! The point is, if His Highness leaves, who will manage this magnificent city? A storm was set off in Roland's heart. Will it be inherited by the Duke's children? Thinking about it, this is absolutely impossible. Will I wait for them to reassemble the army to avenge my father? In addition to the Ryan family, the five families, or the other noble families?
"Yes," Roland nodded. "I will take the ransom and return to Border Town."
Roland's heart suddenly surged with an idea. Once this idea appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.
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