Chapter 214: The Count’s Attention
Sea Cliff Castle, in Count Kais’s study.
Natalia knocked on the door and entered. "Father, I’ve translated the letter Duane sent."
"Oh? What did he say?"
Natalia handed the translated text to her father and said,
"Duane thinks your plan is a good one. If His Majesty the King agrees, he’s confident he can take that enclave."
Kais laughed. "It seems that fellow is quite confident in his own strength!"
"He’s always been very confident."
Natalia’s tone suddenly turned a little resentful. She complained, "He’s just a bit dense."
"Dense?"
Kais didn’t quite understand. Duane was one of the shrewdest young men he had ever met; how could he possibly be described as dense?
Natalia didn’t explain, only complaining silently in her heart.
The book she had given Duane after the banquet that night was meant to facilitate correspondence between them. She never expected their first communication would be for her to relay a message for her father.
And Duane? He knew full well that his letter would have to be translated by her, yet he didn’t include even a single word of greeting for her in it.
’What else could this be but dense?’
"Father, do you think Viscount Raul will let his daughter out? Or is he really going to accuse Duane of sheltering Simone before His Majesty?"
Count Kais looked up at his daughter. "You seem quite interested in Simone and Constance?"
Natalia shook her head slightly. "I just heard they have a daughter. The thought of her growing up without her mother makes me feel sorry for her."
"There’s nothing to be done about that. Who told her to have such rule-breaking parents? Simone and Constance are both adults. Since they made a mistake, they must naturally bear the consequences."
Count Kais fully understood Viscount Raul’s actions and warned her, "You had better not do something like that!"
Natalia was taken aback. "Father, what are you talking about? How could I possibly do something like that?"
"Haha, I was just saying."
A flash of Fighting Qi sparked in his hand, and the letter turned directly to dust.
"As for your question about whether Raul will accuse Duane, he definitely won’t."
"For one, Constance is still his daughter. Now that she’s ended up unmarriageable, he, as her father, can’t be too ruthless, especially since Simone’s talent is quite good. If Simone really does have a chance of stepping into the Star Realm, I believe Raul wouldn’t mind accepting him again."
Although the number of High-Level Extraordinaries has gradually increased in the past two years, Star Realm Warriors are still rare.
For a Viscount Clan like the Stewarts, a Star Realm Warrior is an invaluable combat asset.
"Secondly, Duane’s recent performance has surpassed the expectations of all the Nobility. Until he has a clear grasp of Duane’s future prospects, Raul won’t openly offend him over such a trivial matter."
In Count Kais’s opinion, Raul’s attack on Simone at the banquet was purely to vent his anger and to make a statement to others.
After all, the situation in Avalon Province isn’t great to begin with, and there are a few troublemakers among the Nobility and Knights under Raul. He needs to maintain his authority as a Lord.
Hearing her father say this, Natalia felt much more at ease. "That’s good. I really thought he was going to accuse Duane!"
Count Kais looked at his daughter with a hint of deeper meaning and asked with a smile, "You’re very concerned about Duane?"
Natalia was a little nervous, but she admitted it all the same.
"He’s one of the partners in the Time Closet. There’s nothing wrong with me paying attention to him, is there?"
Count Kais shrugged. "In that case, you certainly should pay more attention."
Natalia gave a little laugh. Perhaps worried she might say too much, she prepared to leave.
"Do you need to write a reply to Duane, Father?"
She asked, "If not, I’ll take my leave. I still have to prepare for Magic Potion Class this afternoon."
Kais waved his hand. "Go on. If I need you, I’ll have someone call for you."
"Goodbye then!" Natalia left the room cheerfully.
Count Kais watched his daughter’s departing figure and let out a long sigh.
He had been through this before; he could see through his daughter’s little thoughts at a glance, but there was no need to point them out.
Natalia was not Constance; there were some things she would never do.
’In terms of talent, Duane probably ranks in the top five among all the young noble scions in the Kingdom.’
’It’s just that, while his talent is impressive, his family background and the development potential of his Territory are a bit too weak.’
The Kennedy Clan’s marriage alliances were meant to compensate for their deficiencies regarding Secret Realms.
But looking at the major noble families in the Kingdom, the direct descendants were basically already betrothed.
And the few who were available, Count Kais didn’t think much of.
’No rush. There are still a few years, so I’ll just wait and see for now.’
Kais picked up a pen and paper and began to write a letter of recommendation to His Majesty the King.
...
"AWOO~"
In the courtyard of Forest Castle, Duane was playing with Fur Ball.
A month had passed since his return from Heavenly Mountain. Fur Ball had opened its eyes and was gradually getting used to living with humans.
However, despite its adorable, tiger-like appearance, its affection was reserved for Duane alone.
If anyone else approached, Fur Ball would remain very resistant and wary.
This showed that its wild nature had not dissipated just because it was being raised by a human.
Duane’s plan was to use the Silver-Maned Wolf to cultivate Black Forest Island’s unique "War Wolf Cavalry," so he had to train Fur Ball to get used to being around people.
Therefore, whenever it snarled and bared its teeth at people, he would immediately rap it on the head and scold it.
And it had to be said, after a few such instances, it was actually starting to have an effect.
Over the past month, aside from feeding Fur Ball, Duane had focused his energy mainly on studying Magic.
He had now raised Arcane Missile and Multiple Arcane Missiles to the Skilled level.
He had also reached the Entry level with eight other spells, including the Level 3 Magic Flame Burst Technique and Wind of Inquiry, and Level 2 Magic spells like Wind Blade, Fireball Technique, and Water Arrow Technique.
Despite spending so much time learning so many spells, he had only gained 1.4 attribute points.
The main reason was his low affinity for the three elements of Water, Wind, and Fire. The speed at which he could Refine Magic Power during Meditation was quite slow, making it very time-consuming.
He feared that only by becoming a Level 4 Mage as soon as possible and mastering Shaping Magic, allowing him to use Arcane Magic Power to cast these three elemental types of Magic, could he solve this problem of it taking too long.
Besides raising his "dog" and practicing Magic, Duane had also extracted seeds from the black thorny vines he brought back from the Secret Realm. Now, a green nursery was growing in the castle’s backyard.
After more than half a month, the green shoots were already five or six centimeters tall and looked like bean sprouts.
The green shoots didn’t attack people or affect the environment, but it would be a huge mistake to treat them as ordinary plants.
Duane had experimented with them. When he touched a green shoot with Fighting Qi or Magic Power, it would snap rigid.
It was as if a soft rope had suddenly turned into a straight steel bar.
From this single characteristic, Duane thought of many uses.
For example, Magic Power-conducting weapons, Magic Armor, Magic Ropes, portable siege equipment, and so on.
If the green shoots grew thick enough, they could even be used as spear shafts, long staffs, or long whips.
"My Lord, Yanger has prepared the furnace and molds as you requested. Do you need to go take a look?"
Duane picked up Fur Ball. "Let’s go. We’ll check it out together."