Chapter 75: Allies And Royal Gift!
The three nobles continued chuckling amongst themselves, each sharing plans for their next executions.
Unfortunately for Roderic, his suffering had only just begun.
Just as he wished to sneak away, the others turned back towards him.
’’Come!’’ Julian suddenly said, grabbing Roderic by the shoulder. ’’There are a few others you should meet.’’
Roderic’s eyes widened slightly.
’’Wait, I was going to get food!’’
Nobody bothered listening to him.
Before Roderic knew it, he had been dragged across the hall toward one of the large tables.
Several more young nobles were gathered there, most of them sons and daughters of Barons from across the kingdom.
Boring noble introductions quickly followed.
Roderic tried his best to remember their names, but after the sixth one, they were already beginning to blend together.
’There’s just so many of them!’ he thought desperately. ’This was the exact reason why I only memorized those from the Viscount rank and above.’
But he barely got time to think.
The questions came rolling in one after another.
’’Is it true you’ve become a knight?’’ a young woman asked curiously.
Roderic snapped out of his thoughts and nodded immediately.
’’I’ve formed my first seal, yes,’’ he replied.
Several surprised looks appeared around the table.
Another scrawny young man with a rat-like face leaned forward.
’’When did that happen?’’ he asked. ’’I swear there were rumors of you being a talentless loser before.’’
Roderic’s expression darkened slightly.
’Who the fuck is this guy?’
But for the sake of keeping it peaceful, he controlled himself perfectly.
’’I awakened just three months ago,’’ he replied, forcing a smile.
It hadn’t even been a second when the next question rang out.
’’Then the rumors about you personally clearing out bandits are true too?’’
’’Right, I’ve heard about those too. Did you really defeat a peak One Seal?’’
Roderic nodded once.
’’They are indeed true.’’
That immediately caused another wave of questions.
Apparently, news of everything happening throughout the Whitemane territory had spread much further than Roderic realized.
With each passing second, he felt his brain melt away, answering question after question.
Before he knew it, nearly twenty minutes had passed by.
Strangely enough, it wasn’t nearly as horrible anymore.
Some of these people were certainly strange, but they were around his age and most seemed genuinely curious rather than malicious.
’’So are you going to the Royal Academy now?’’
Roderic glanced back at a young woman seated opposite him.
She had been twirling her finger through her long brown hair for a while now as she stared at him.
’’No,’’ he replied firmly.
Surprise flashed across everyone’s faces.
’’Really?’’ the woman asked again.
’’Yes,’’ Roderic nodded. ’’I will not be going to the Royal Academy, or any Academy in that regard.’’
The young woman was about to speak up when Julian’s voice rang out beside him.
’’But your brother went there, didn’t he?’’ he asked curiously. ’’And isn’t your sister still studying there?’’
Roderic nodded, both statements being perfectly correct.
’’Then why wouldn’t you go?’’ Julian continued. ’’You could get knighted by the king himself upon graduation!’’
Roderic’s expression didn’t change one bit.
He shrugged casually.
’’I’ve just got too many other things to do.’’
That answer earned him several confused expressions.
Roderic simply ignored all of them.
’As much as I dreamed of it,’ he thought, feeling his heart sting. ’There’s absolutely no time to enjoy some relaxed academy life where I pick up multiple women.’
The future was simply far too chaotic.
Roderic knew that to survive, he needed to do everything he could to grow stronger.
’Some relief along the way might be good though. Wouldn’t want to die of stress after all.’
Just as he thought about it, the entire table fell deathly silent.
’’Roderic Whitemane?’’
An unfamiliar voice rang out behind him.
Roderic slowly turned around.
A young man with a serious expression stood behind him, dressed in an expensive dark blue outfit bearing the crest of Marquis Valemont.
The other barons surrounding the table stood up right away, bowing politely.
’’Young Lord Valemont,’’ they greeted almost in unison.
The serious young man acknowledged them with a small nod before looking directly at Roderic.
’’I’d like to speak with you,’’ he said, glancing at the others for a second. ’’Alone.’’
Roderic raised an eyebrow right away.
’Well, that’s not suspicious at all.’
A brief golden light flickered across his pupil.
[Vincent Valemont]
Age: 19
Race: Human
Current Rank: Peak One Seal Knight
Knight Talent: High
Merchant Talent: High
Notable Information: Eldest son of Marquis Valemont. Values profit heavily when forming relationships and alliances.
- - -
Roderic’s eyes widened slightly.
’Those are some damn good stats,’ he thought. ’Both knight and merchant talents are high?’
That was just one level below the extremely high talents Victor and Frederic possessed.
Quickly snapping out of his thoughts, Roderic nodded.
’’Sure,’’ he said, standing up.
Vincent quietly led him towards the hall, far enough that their conversation wouldn’t easily be overheard.
’’I apologize for pulling you away so suddenly,’’ he said, coming to a halt. ’’But it was preferred that this conversation didn’t take place publicly.’’
Roderic wasn’t bothered in the slightest.
’’It’s fine,’’ he replied. ’’You saved me from another twenty questions, in fact.’’
A smile immediately appeared on Vincent’s face.
’’I have no doubt about that. Your name has been popping up a lot lately.’’
Roderic scratched his cheek awkwardly.
’’Yeah, I’m starting to realize that.’’
Several chuckles escaped Vincent’s mouth.
He twirled the glass of wine in his hand slowly, letting silence fall between them.
’’That wasn’t actually what I wished to speak to you about.’’
Vincent took a sip from his glass.
Roderic’s eyes narrowed slightly, his attention sharpening.
’’House Valemont has always maintained trade with the Whitemane territory,’’ Vincent continued. ’’Your warhorses in particular have an excellent reputation.’’
Roderic nodded once, unsurprised.
It was their family’s signature business, after all.
’’My father has been interested in increasing the number we import,’’ Vincent said with a smile. ’’Significantly.’’
Roderic’s eyebrows rose slightly.
Now that was interesting.
’’How significantly?’’ he asked, tilting his head faintly.
’’At least double our current amount,’’ Vincent replied. ’’Potentially more depending on the price and how many your territory can provide.’’
Roderic’s expression immediately softened.
More money and a stronger connection with the Valemonts?
There was absolutely no downside to that.
Especially when considering that they currently had far more warhorses than people to ride them.
’’That can certainly be arranged,’’ Roderic said, smiling widely.
Vincent let out a laugh while nodding.
’’Good, good,’’ he said. ’’I knew you were an insightful person.’’
They spent the next few minutes discussing several smaller details before eventually reaching an agreement.
Just as Roderic prepared to leave, however, Vincent suddenly reached into his jacket.
’’Before you go, there’s one more thing.’’
He pulled out a sealed letter and handed it over.
’’His Highness, the First Prince, sends his regards,’’ Vincent said with a smile.
As Roderic accepted the letter, a wide smirk grew on his face.
By the time he looked back up, Vincent was already walking away.
But it didn’t matter to him in the slightest.
’Looks like Maximilian received my gift,’ he thought, rubbing his hands together. ’Enjoy dealing with that, Catherina!’