Chapter 78 - 76: Alliance and Marriage Alliance, The Real Gift

Chapter 78: Chapter 76: Alliance and Marriage Alliance, The Real Gift

Rock Lion Castle.

The study on the fifth floor of the main keep.

Mitchell, clad in black armor, walked up to the study door, raised his right hand, and knocked gently.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

The sound of knocking rang out immediately!

"Come in!"

Catherine’s voice came from inside the study.

With Catherine’s permission, Mitchell pushed open the study door, turned to Tony behind him, and made a gesture of invitation. "Lord Baron, please," he said respectfully.

Tony, wearing silver-white armor, nodded and entered the study, his heart filled with apprehension.

As soon as he entered the study, he saw Catherine. She was sitting in a high-backed chair, dressed in magnificent black Hunter’s Clothing with gold trim. Her face was stunning, her figure enchanting.

Just as he was about to bow to Catherine, who was now a Countess, she stood up and walked straight toward him.

Soon, she was standing before him. "May I call you Tony?" she asked softly.

"Of course!"

Tony replied quickly.

"Then I’ll just call you Tony from now on. And you don’t have to call me Lady Catherine or Your Excellency. Just Catherine is fine."

Catherine said with a smile.

"Alright!"

Tony nodded.

After the pleasantries, they sat down on the guest sofa.

Catherine didn’t waste any time and got straight to the point. "Mitchell should have already told you about the alliance," she said to Tony. "If you agree to it, we can discuss the details now."

Hearing her words, Tony didn’t hesitate and quickly asked, "The Beluns... no, the Olson Clan’s strength far surpasses the Wesley Clan’s. Even if you picked any of your subordinate families at random, their strength would be no less than ours."

"To the Olson Clan, the Wesley Clan is not a suitable partner for an alliance."

"Catherine, do you want to form an alliance with the Wesley Clan to win over the Dark Night Knight?"

On the way to Rock Lion Castle, Mitchell had told him that Catherine had hired the Dark Night Knight to kill Count Rock Lion.

Like Mitchell and the others, he couldn’t think of any other reason besides Catherine wanting to win over the Dark Night Knight.

Catherine wasn’t surprised by Tony’s question. She said slowly, "No, I don’t want to ally with the Wesley Clan to win over the Dark Night Knight."

"The alliance with the Wesley Clan is part of his payment for the job."

’Payment?’

’Does the Dark Night Knight think that highly of Roy?’

’He doesn’t want to take Roy on as his successor, does he?’

Tony immediately frowned, various speculations flashing through his mind.

Although Roy had recently sent a large number of weapons and armor to the Ice Wolf Domain in the Dark Night Knight’s name, it hadn’t made Tony draw too many conclusions.

After inspecting the weapons and armor, he had guessed why the Dark Night Knight did it.

He had seen the family crests of the Knight Clan and the Sheen Clan on the armor.

Catherine noticed Tony’s confusion and doubt, but she didn’t plan to explain much. She continued, "I heard your brother Roy broke through to High Tier Knight after only half a year of cultivation and possesses excellent Cultivation Talent."

"That’s right. His Cultivation Talent is much greater than mine."

Tony replied.

"He’s already of age. Have you looked for a noble lady for him to marry?"

Catherine continued to ask.

"Uh... not yet."

Tony had a bad feeling.

Soon, his feeling came true.

Catherine stopped beating around the bush. "Since you haven’t," she said with utmost seriousness, "then let him marry me."

’What?’

Tony stared at Catherine in disbelief, completely stunned.

More than ten seconds passed before he recovered from his shock. "Catherine, you must be joking, right?" he managed to say.

"Who’s joking with you? I’m serious!"

"I, Catherine Olsen, want to marry Roy Wesley and become his lawful wife!"

"You’re his older brother and the Patriarch of the Wesley Clan. As long as you agree, he will agree too."

Catherine replied quickly.

’This isn’t something I can decide!’

’You give me too much credit!’

Tony immediately grumbled to himself.

In terms of status, he did indeed have the authority to choose a marriage partner for Roy.

However, he had no desire to do so.

He knew that the children of nobility had an obligation to marry for the sake of their family, but that didn’t mean he approved of such "arranged marriages."

If he had approved, he wouldn’t have run away from his own arranged marriage when the Old Baron set it up for him.

Although he did end up marrying Erin, that was only because he changed his mind after meeting her.

Tony’s mind raced.

Soon, he thought of a very suitable reason for refusal.

"Um... Roy is the Dark Night Knight’s student. Why don’t you discuss it with the Dark Night Knight first, Catherine?"

Tony said to Catherine.

He had barely finished speaking when Catherine’s voice rang out.

"No need to discuss it. I’ve already spoken with the Dark Night Knight, and he doesn’t object to me marrying Roy."

"He also told me that Roy will be back in the Ice Wolf Domain in a few days."

"If we start preparing now, we can hold the wedding as soon as he gets back."

Although she had never discussed this with Roy, that didn’t stop her from bluffing Tony now.

Or rather, this was the real gift she wanted to give Roy.

The Inheritance Map for the Golden Eagle Breathing Skill was just an appetizer on the side.

She hadn’t originally planned to do it this way.

But after realizing that Roy seemed completely oblivious to her hints, she changed her mind.

In fact, Roy knew exactly what Catherine was up to.

If he couldn’t even tell when a woman was lusting after his body, he’d be far too dense.

Catherine’s looks, figure, and personality were all very much to his liking.

He deliberately pretended not to understand Catherine’s hints for a very simple reason.

’Women will only slow down my cultivation speed!’

Before he advanced to Silver Great Knight, he wouldn’t be very interested even if Catherine threw herself into his bed, let alone just dropping hints.

After advancing to Silver Great Knight, however, he wouldn’t mind having some... in-depth exchanges with Catherine, a bit of mutual sparring.

As for marrying Catherine, he hadn’t thought about it for now.

After a few seconds of silence, Tony said slowly, "Catherine, you’ve only met him once, at his coming-of-age banquet four years ago. You probably don’t even remember what he looks like, let alone know him."

"To marry him without knowing anything, isn’t that a bit too impulsive?"

’I know him better than you do!’

Catherine inwardly retorted.

"I’m not being impulsive. This is a decision I’ve made after careful consideration."

"I really do want to marry him. I’m begging you, please say yes."

"If you agree, I can give you half of my domain."

Catherine looked at Tony pitifully and began to plead in a soft voice.

Uh...

Tony’s expression became conflicted.

If Catherine wanted to marry him instead of Roy—assuming he were still unmarried—he would have agreed without a second thought.

From any angle, Catherine was a perfect marriage partner.

She was gorgeous, had a wonderful figure, and her Cultivation Talent was outstanding. At just twenty-two, she was already a Peak Knight.

Not only that, she was a genuine Countess with over a hundred Official Knights and a force of several thousand troops under her command. She also possessed an Earl’s Domain and the wealth the Beluns Clan had accumulated over many years.

If she were to announce she was seeking a husband, the line of suitors would stretch from the gates of Rock Lion Castle all the way to Redwood City and wrap around it several times.

After thinking it over seriously, Tony said slowly, "To be honest, I would be very happy if you became Roy’s wife, Catherine."

"But I really can’t make this decision for him."

"How about this? When he returns, I’ll personally bring him here to meet with you and discuss it in detail."

"You’re so exceptional, Catherine. Once he meets you, I guarantee he’ll be moved—just like I was when I first saw Erin!"

’If I could handle him directly, I wouldn’t have needed to invite you to Rock Lion Castle!’

Although that’s what she was thinking, Catherine didn’t let it show. She continued to look at Tony with a pitiful expression and said softly, "Alright. I suppose that’s the only way for now."

...