Chapter 891: Act 67 – A Message for Xi VII
“Betisha, you’re back!”
As soon as the round-faced maid entered the room, she was surrounded by several other maids who chattered excitedly to greet her. Betisha patted her apron, raised her eyebrows to glance at the mistress of the house, then made a shushing gesture to her sisters and whispered, “Shh, tell me, has the Lord Earl been resting well since I left?”
Upon hearing this question, the sisters immediately frowned. Ever since Xi had been confined here by Her Majesty the Queen, she had been quite despondent, sometimes speaking to a long spear that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, making them suspicious and worried about whether the Lord Earl had lost her mind. They had to report Xi’s daily activities to Her Majesty—the Queen obviously still cared greatly about this Lord, as she personally took the time out of her busy schedule to listen to Betisha’s reports every time. However, regarding this Lord Earl’s peculiar behavior, the Queen did not express any opinion, and they naturally did not dare to speculate.
But Xi had always been downcast, eating little and sleeping even less, which had them all worried.
Seeing the sisters’ expressions, Betisha understood what was happening. She sighed and said, “Sigh, let the Lord Earl rest properly, don’t disturb her anymore. She must be homesick, but Her Majesty doesn’t allow her to go back.”
“Yes, yes,” the maids replied in unison, “Children from the mountains always long for their homeland. I often remember the maple trees covering the hills of my hometown.”
Another maid looked at Betisha’s face, and in a low voice asked, “Betisha, you don’t look well, is Her Majesty in a bad mood again?”
“Shh,” Betisha glared at the maid, “Don’t say such things, but yes, Her Majesty is indeed in a pretty foul mood today.”
“What happened this time?” This question seemed to pique the curiosity of the maids, and they quickly lowered their voices to ask.
“It’s still about that Lord Earl,” Betisha sighed, not even knowing how many times she had sighed that day, as if the Queen’s bad mood had affected her too.
“Is it that countryside Lord Earl again?”
“Lower your voice, you fool,” Betisha replied. “That Lord Earl is from Erluin; do you know Erluin? It’s a small kingdom to the south of the Empire. By the way, our Lord Earl is also from there. Don’t let her hear you speak like that about her homeland—it’s so disrespectful to call her a countryside Lord.”
The maids were startled, a look of concern appeared on their faces, and some even nervously peeked into the room.
But they noticed that Xi didn’t seem to be listening to them anymore, and they breathed a sigh of relief, quickly turning back to ask, “Betisha, quickly tell us, what’s wrong with that Lord Earl?”
Xi was confined within the courtyard of this ancient castle, and they, as maids, naturally couldn’t leave except for Betisha, who had to take the coach to the Rose Garden to meet Her Majesty occasionally. And at their age, the young girls were filled with vitality and curiosity, making outside news all the more attractive to them. Even the smallest matters excited them. Betisha, being slightly older and seeing the pitiful looks on her companions’ faces, could only respond, “That Lord Earl captured the local gentry in Seruf. I happened to see Duke Palute complaining to Her Majesty in the Rose Garden when I went there,” she said, suddenly breaking into a sly smile as she spoke disrespectfully of the duke. “You should have seen the look on Duke Palute’s face when he was in such a rage; I’ve never seen him like that before.”
“Betisha, you mean that Lord Earl has reached Seruf?” The maids, seeming to be accustomed to such news, did not appear surprised at all, as if it had become commonplace for the southern nobility to be utterly defeated over the past half month. Instead, they noticed something else and curiously asked, “So, does that mean we’ll get to see that Lord Earl in less than a month?”
“Before he completely annoys Her Majesty,” Betisha scoffed, having only been able to stand quietly watching when Duke Palute discussed matters with Her Majesty. However, it didn’t prevent her from sensing how bad Her Majesty’s mood was, and later, seeing the Queen’s face proved this—she usually had a cold demeanor, but today it was even colder, enough for anyone to see and shiver. She thought for a moment, and with a hint of apprehension, added, “Unless that Lord Earl gets captured and executed by Her Majesty, we probably have hope of seeing him.”
“Betisha, what are you all discussing?” At that moment, a slightly melancholic voice came over.
All the maids jumped, realizing they had been quite intense in their earlier discussion and hadn’t noticed when Xi had walked over. The mountain girl stood by her room doorway, looking at them, and the maids quickly fell silent like startled sparrows, making the room immediately quiet.
Betisha shot an annoyed glance at her disloyal companions and then whispered to Xi, “Lord Earl.”
“Are you discussing Erluin?” Xi asked, disregarding the rest of the matter and staring at her with an urgent tone.
It’s over, the Lord Earl must have heard, Betisha thought. However, she didn’t dare to lie and answered honestly, “Yes, Lord Earl.”
“Tell me the truth,” Xi said, her face somewhat pale; in fact, over the past few days, she often found it hard to sleep, her mind disturbed by thoughts of the Lord.
“We’re discussing a Lord Earl from Erluin.”
“A Lord Earl from Erluin?” Upon hearing this, Xi suddenly broke from her usual demeanor, taking three rapid strides to Betisha’s side, urgently grabbing the round-faced maid’s arm and asking loudly.
“Ah!” Betisha had never seen Xi like this and couldn’t help but be startled.
“Where does that Lord Earl come from?”
“Lord Earl, I don’t know; Her Majesty and those noble lords didn’t mention it, and I didn’t dare to ask.” Betisha hurriedly replied.
Xi pressed her lips together and remained silent. The young girl’s sharp intuition suddenly made her grasp something, yet she couldn’t decide how to ask.
Betisha, trembling slightly in front of this Lord Earl, seemed to understand from the determined and eager look in her eyes, and she cautiously asked, “Lord Earl, do you want to hear about his deeds?”
Xi nodded earnestly.
“Alright, it goes like this…” Betisha took a deep breath and began to speak slowly.
…
After Duke Palute left, Constance’s expression eased slightly. At this moment, the Empire’s Chancellor, Fiona Nidwen, known as ‘Young Nidwen’, hurriedly entered the Queen’s private study located in the Rose Garden. The supreme ruler of the Empire looked at her and asked, “What’s the matter, Chancellor? Has that Lord Earl caused more trouble?”
Young Nidwen looked at the Queen with a bit of surprise; he had heard from an attendant before arriving that Her Majesty was in a rage, but it didn’t appear to be the case now. The Queen not only wasn’t angry, but seemed to be in a relatively good mood. Still, he didn’t dare to be lax, and hurriedly bowed respectfully before awkwardly replying, “Your Majesty, you are as perceptive as always. Indeed, that Lord Earl captured the nobles of Seruf, and now a group of young people wants to take revenge, but unfortunately, they all ended up being taken as hostages. I’ve heard that the southern nobility have lost all temper toward this Lord Earl and are now discussing paying a ransom to get them back, but the old duke seems reluctant to lower his face.”
The old duke he referred to was naturally the former head of the Palute family, which represented the emerging nobility of the Cruz Empire. They had deep connections with the local nobility of the south, which was no secret. In fact, the Queen herself had supported them to become an important force in court precisely because of this.
“Which families have the captured children belong to?” Constance casually asked.
“Mainly from House Orkans and House Ji’en, Your Majesty; the Duchess hails from House Ji’en,” Fiona Nidwen reminded her.
“I don’t need you to remind me; I know that,” the Queen replied. “Those self-important fools don’t even think much of my invited guests; let them suffer a bit.”
Young Nidwen seemed to have understood the situation and quickly added, “Your Majesty is right; however, that Lord Earl truly does not care about preserving the Empire’s face. Since he advanced here, our nobles can’t endure it any longer.”
“Hmph,” the Silver Queen gently snorted, “It’s normal for the young to be impetuous, but indeed, his grandfather was far more composed than he is. It’s not a problem; a capable person can be unruly, and the Empire is not so small-minded that it can’t tolerate this much. But he shouldn’t create too much chaos. He simply wants to attract our attention; however, if every embassy has to deal with such a situation, the Empire can’t bear that. Even a mere Erluin can tread on their faces; House Orkans and House Ji’en should be embarrassed.”
The Empire’s Chancellor couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly, “This Lord Earl is truly difficult to describe; he has really done such a thing that I almost thought he was a madman.”
“He is not mad,” Constance replied. “This Lord Earl knows the Empire very well; he knows we won’t do anything to him, and this little fellow acts prudently. Outsiders can’t tell, but I don’t believe you still can’t see it, Chancellor.”
Young Nidwen felt a layer of cold sweat on his forehead. He knew that despite how casual this supreme ruler of the Empire appeared to be while speaking with him, it was an acknowledged fact that the position of the Nidwen family in this Queen’s heart was declining day by day. It was only due to a series of issues caused by Brendel that he had seen Her Majesty more frequently of late, and their relationship had slightly eased. Yet her words left him on edge again, and he quickly replied cautiously, “Your Majesty’s insight is sharp, and that Lord Earl is indeed that person’s grandson.”
“Indeed.” The Queen nodded, as if she agreed wholeheartedly.
“Your Majesty, I heard before I came that you were in quite a rage again.” Young Nidwen suddenly asked cautiously.
“What about it?”
“Your Majesty, your health.”
“My health is fine; there’s no need for the old Chancellor to worry,” Constance knew this surely came from the old Chancellor Nidwen’s concern. This young Chancellor, though his mind was no less sharp than his father’s, indeed lacked an equal amount of courage and ambition. “I was angry because of those useless nobles of the Empire; instead of trying to regain their own glory after being shamed, they wish to tie their own losses to the entire Empire. The Cruz people have not fallen to that level.”
“It’s only natural they wish to retaliate against that Lord Earl; I think Duke Palute will not let this go easily, Your Majesty,” Young Nidwen shook his head in reply.
“Hopefully, he won’t cause me too much trouble.” Constance shook her head.
“Both House Orkans and House Ji’en are sensible,” Young Nidwen replied mechanically.
Constance shot him a glance and corrected, “I’m talking about him.”
The Empire’s Chancellor was taken aback for a moment and then smiled bitterly.
Young Nidwen stayed in the Rose Garden for about half an hour and then took the time to report the situation in the west and east to this supreme ruler of the Empire – the Lionmen were still attacking Baixin and the Ocas fortress group, and their mobilization was seemingly progressing slowly compared to their decisive gathering of troops. The Wind Spirits maintained pressure at the borders, and the Red Legion, as one of the four main military legions of the Empire, was not to be underestimated. The mobilization within the Empire was nearing its end, and the atmosphere of impending war could be felt even in remote areas.
After he took his leave, Constance watched the Empire’s Chancellor depart. Once the study was empty, she gently tapped the armrest of the long chair and murmured pensively to herself.
“Will he really arm himself for heaven? Could it be that Joslin, that old fellow, secretly went to Erluin…?”
“No, he wouldn’t be so shallow. Lady Gwenethlyn, I have a vague feeling he seems to be conveying a signal to us. What does he want to express? Or is this the stance of the Erluin people?”
Her cold voice echoed in the silent study, yet no one answered her questions.
…
“Not only that.”
The story in the room had evidently been ongoing for a while, yet it showed no signs of ending soon. Betisha continued, “Everyone thinks that Lord Earl has simply gone mad; he actually captured a fort of the Empire because he did not receive the treatment he deserved. My goodness, before this, I always thought we mountain folk were the most rebellious citizens of the Empire, but compared to this Lord Earl, it turns out we are nothing.”
“I heard long ago that the Erluin people have a great king who vowed to safeguard his people independently when he founded the kingdom; I never expected it to be true.” As she said this, the round-faced maid couldn’t help but sneak a glance at her Lord, but she saw disappointedly that Xi remained unmoved and merely numbly asked, “Then what happened?”
She sighed in disappointment and continued, “Then, of course, the Empire’s nobles would not let it go easily. They formed an army to teach this careless outsider a lesson. Of course, the result was far from what they expected—about the details that follow, I already told you, Lord Earl, that lord naturally captured them all. Moreover, he demanded a hefty ransom from their families for their release, claiming it was for something called ‘compensation for damage to reputation’ or ‘mental anguish fees’ or something like that.”
Xi seemed to shudder, raising her head to stare at her maid in disbelief, “You said ‘mental anguish fees’? You didn’t mention this to me before, Betisha!”
“But that’s not the main point, Lord Earl…” Betisha replied, somewhat confused, yet she hadn’t noticed that her Lord Earl had clenched her teeth.
In times past, only she, having stayed by her Lord Earl’s side the longest, was accustomed to such strange terms, once thinking that was her Lord Earl’s only bad habit.
Yet at this moment, those once incomprehensible terms now felt quite familiar.
Betisha continued chattering, “In my opinion, that Lord Earl didn’t really need to offend the nobility of the Empire so sharply; after all, he is an outsider, and flaunting for a moment could lead to repercussions later. Her Majesty has also been angry several times because of this; some duke has even been so resentful that he is gnashing his teeth. The only commendable thing is that this Lord Earl has made quite a name for himself; now, in the region near Rustra, there are probably very few who don’t recognize him. I don’t understand what he aims to achieve.”
She was speaking halfway when she suddenly froze, for she noticed that tears were streaming down her Lord Earl’s face. She hurriedly called out, “Lord Earl, what’s wrong with you?”
Xi shook her head vigorously.
Because she understood.
All of this, everything done, was merely to tell her one thing.
I have arrived, Xi.
Just as promised—
