Chapter 301 - 299: Invisible Deterrence

Chapter 301: Chapter 299: Invisible Deterrence

A ship flying the Starburst Banner slowly docked at Silent Harbor.

This was the new family crest Duane received after becoming the Earl of the Star of the Sky.

In his opinion, the Starburst Badge was much better looking than the previous Sword and Shield.

The moment the ship docked, Lloyd, who had been waiting on the shore, eagerly walked aboard.

"Haha, Duane, what took you so long?"

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Duane was very humble and polite. After all, the man before him was his future brother-in-law.

"Just before I left, a ship from the Smith Clan happened to arrive at Black Forest Port. I had to stop and receive them, which caused a bit of a delay."

Lloyd’s eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh, congratulations! Has everything the Marquis promised been delivered?"

"Five thousand Slaves is too many for one trip, so only about seven or eight hundred arrived this time. But everything else is here."

Gold Coins, Black Iron Ore, and Basic Water Soul Ore are all inanimate objects, easy to transport.

Slaves are living things, and their food and water needs must be taken care of during the journey.

What’s more, the voyage from Lapland Province to Black Forest Island, which goes around the East Sea, takes over a month, making it even more troublesome to transport people.

Before he left, Duane handed these Slaves over to Julian and the others to manage, arranging for them to go reclaim the land on the Southern Plain.

As a merciful Lord, he provided this group with food, drink, and lodging.

At the same time, Duane promised that as long as each person reclaimed one hundred mu of wasteland, they could shed their status as Slaves, become his serfs, and be allowed to marry.

After gaining the status of serfs, they, like the original serfs of Black Forest Island, could contribute value through their labor and eventually be "promoted" to Free People.

"Lloyd, isn’t today George’s engagement banquet? Why are you here greeting me instead of helping host the guests at Sea Cliff Castle?"

Duane felt that something wasn’t quite right. His status wasn’t so high that it warranted Lloyd personally welcoming him at the port.

Lloyd froze for a moment. "What, you didn’t receive the letter Natalia wrote you?"

"I received it!"

Duane asked, confused, "The letter only mentioned the start time of the engagement ceremony. It didn’t say you’d be waiting for me here, did it?"

"Not that letter. She wrote two more after that," Lloyd said.

Duane’s brow furrowed. "Before I left, no other letters were received on the island."

"This..."

Lloyd was astonished. "That’s impossible. Sea Cliff Castle usually makes three copies of the same letter and sends them with three separate Silver Gales. How could you not have received any?"

"And the crucial part is, all the Silver Gales returned alive!"

Duane grew even more confused. ’What went wrong here?’

"What did the letters say?" he asked.

Lloyd glanced at the time. "It’s getting late, and it’s still a ways to Sea Cliff Castle. Let’s talk on the way."

The two of them disembarked and boarded a carriage.

And so, Duane heard from Lloyd about Minister Hela’s visit to Sea Cliff Castle.

’Heh, His Majesty’s move... what a fine calculation.’

He had thought King Eric only intended to pressure him into breaking his agreement with the Kennedy Clan, but he hadn’t expected the King to work on both sides simultaneously.

The key was that he only used persuasion, not so-called coercion. The final decision rested in the hands of Duane and Count Kais.

Faced with such a great temptation, if either side’s position wasn’t firm enough, they would choose betrayal.

And in this way, the southern alliance of the Kingdom would naturally collapse.

But His Majesty hadn’t expected that Duane had no intention of agreeing, much less of skipping the engagement ceremony.

Likewise, the other side was even more surprised that Count Kais hadn’t immediately agreed either.

"It’s a good thing you weren’t delayed for too long. Otherwise, if today’s engagement ceremony passed and my father thought you had torn up the marriage contract, he would have had no choice but to look for a remedial measure."

Lloyd was somewhat relieved. Although Duane hadn’t arrived early, he was still perfectly on time.

"Lloyd, you’ve served as a Clerk by His Majesty’s side for a while now. What kind of person do you think he is?" Duane asked.

Lloyd gave a helpless smile. "Although I’m a Clerk, I’m not present for the discussions on certain matters. Take Hela Hill, who came this time, for example. He’s His Majesty’s true confidant."

"In fact, it’s not just me. His Majesty keeps a certain distance from all the children sent by the other Nobility to the Cyan Snake Royal Palace."

Duane nodded slowly.

’This is normal behavior for a King, I suppose. After all, the Kingdom is full of powerful, independent factions; centralizing power is no simple matter.’

’For the King, dismantling the Noble Alliance takes priority over incurring the resentment of Duane and Count Kais. The latter is merely a necessary price to pay.’

"I’m afraid it was the joint accusation against the Holy Radiance Court by the Count, Marquis Sean, and the others that aroused such deep suspicion from His Majesty, leading to this series of maneuvers."

Duane thought of Marquis Sean. ’King Eric has probably taken some measures in Lapland Province as well.’

In fact, it was just as he had predicted.

However, His Majesty did not use a marriage alliance, as Pruck and Smith were already connected by marriage—the second princess, Rosamund, was married to Marquis Sean’s eldest son, Peter.

His Majesty simply spread some rumors secretly in Lapland Province.

For example, that the Marquis had secretly signed an agreement with the Church Court. After a branch court was established in Lapland Province, the Marquis would not have to pay any Radiance Tax, but his vassals would have to bear thirty percent of it.

Or that Clement would arrange for Missionaries to contact Smith’s vassals individually to negotiate the construction of the branch court.

By doing this, he could shake the loyalty of the Smith Clan’s vassals and diminish the clan’s prestige.

Of course, Duane did not know any of this.

The carriage sped along the wide road, and before long, it arrived at Sea Cliff Castle.

It was now just after nine in the morning, with more than two hours until the ceremony began.

The moment Duane stepped out of the carriage, a delicate figure rushed into his arms.

"Duane, thank you for coming!"

Natalia said excitedly, her body trembling slightly.

Duane pressed his face against Natalia’s hair, inhaling its faint, fresh scent. For her to be so forward in public was truly rare.

’Natalia must have had a difficult few days.’

He said softly, "I never go back on my promises, especially when it comes to anything related to you!"

Natalia was moved to tears by his words. Holding Duane at this moment, she felt as if she were holding the entire world.

After a moment, she recovered from her joy, stepped back from his embrace, and quickly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Only then did Duane offer his greetings to George. "Congratulations, George!"

"Your arrival was unexpected! But after this, I believe the friendship between the Kennedy and Brian families will be unbreakable!"

The two shared a brief hug. George then said, "Come on, I’m afraid we’ll need you to step in for what’s coming next."

"What is it?" Duane asked, puzzled.

Natalia gently took Duane’s arm and said, "Count Kudro is here. He’s putting pressure on my father."

Duane raised an eyebrow. ’I didn’t think the Mad Dog Count would actually dare to come and cause trouble.’

Meanwhile, in the main hall, Count Kais’s firm stance had already forced Hela to step in and mediate.

After some discussion, Count Kudro had also dropped his arrogant and aggressive attitude.

They both knew that with Duane’s arrival, the plan to have Natalia marry Prince Otto would be very difficult to execute.

Especially with Duane’s violent temper—the man had dared to cripple Thomsen and had even left Orisien an androgynous wreck.

Kudro was weaker than Thomsen; if he provoked Duane into acting, it would be even more troublesome.

This was, in fact, the exact effect Count Kais had wanted.

With the deterrent of a top-tier combatant present, many things became much easier to handle.

"Viscount Hela, I know your and His Majesty’s objective."

Count Kais said softly, "After the engagement ceremony, I will give you a satisfactory proposal."

With the Count’s promise, the farce came to a temporary end.

When Duane walked into the banquet hall, prepared to argue with Count Kudro and Hela, he found that a relaxed atmosphere had already been restored. He couldn’t even see the troublemakers.

George summoned the butler, Moer. "Where are my father, Count Kudro, and the others?"

The busy butler only then noticed Duane’s arrival. He immediately bowed and replied, "They went to the rear courtyard."

"Count Duane, my lord asked me to inform you that you should go directly to the rear courtyard to find him once you arrived."

Duane nodded, bid a temporary farewell to George, and walked toward the rear courtyard with Natalia.