Rose Empire

Chapter 23 Truth and an Old Friend

When Celine woke up, it was already dusk outside the window.

In an unfamiliar environment, lying on an unfamiliar soft bed, Celine's mind was momentarily sluggish. She stared blankly at the food prepared by the servants at the bedside, lost in thought.

"Do you want me to feed you?" A familiar voice rang out.

Hearing this, Celine's body trembled slightly. "No, no need."

But Charlotte had already picked up the delicate porcelain bowl and brought a spoonful of stewed apples to Celine's lips. Celine had no choice but to open her mouth and take a bite.

"Really no need?" Charlotte put down the bowl and asked again.

"Mmm... I'm not hungry yet," Celine nodded, saying something even she didn't believe.

"Is that so?" Charlotte leaned down, reaching out a finger to tap Celine's lips. "You're not hungry, but I'm a bit hungry, huh?"

"Huh?" Celine didn't react immediately.

However, she soon understood what it meant for something fed to someone else to be "eaten" back.

By midnight, Celine, with her sore and aching body, sat up at the head of the bed. After confirming that Charlotte was asleep, she quickly grabbed the now-cold stewed apples from the bedside and devoured them in a few bites.

It was impossible not to be hungry she hadn't eaten properly since yesterday.

Moreover, Celine felt a bit dehydrated. As her calf touched the dampness on the bed, the young girl couldn't help but blush in the darkness. She never thought she could be so embarrassed in bed.

Just as Celine was about to drink some milk to rehydrate, a soft hand wrapped around her waist again.

Celine thought she had already suffered enough after a day of torment, but she didn't expect the next day to be spent in bed as well.

On the third day, Celine learned from the previous two days' lessons and prepared a cup of tea by the bedside to replenish her fluids at any time.

By the fifth day, Celine felt she had gained some experience. She thought that with her physical fitness and familiarity with the "battlefield," she could turn the tide. However, reality proved that the damn Charlotte still had countless bedroom tricks up her sleeve, and Celine was no match for her.

Seven days later, Charlotte finally told Celine that she had released Ed Adkins and that Celine could go home anytime to check on him and confirm whether she had kept her promise.

Celine immediately decided to go home; she didn't want to stay in the castle for a moment longer.

Putting on her dusty leather armor again, Celine felt an unprecedented sense of relief. For the past seven days, she had hardly worn any clothes.

However, once on horseback, Celine immediately felt uncomfortable between her legs. She didn't dare to whip the horse into a gallop, and the journey that usually took less than half a day from dawn to noon ended up taking her most of the day.

"Celine, what brings you home today?" Ed Adkins, practicing his sword in the yard, was delighted to see his daughter return.

Celine jumped off her horse and immediately asked, "Father, did that person mistreat you?"

"Who would mistreat me?"

"That Charlotte Mellerfeld!"

"Why would the Viscountess mistreat me?"

"Didn't she lock you up in the dungeon?"

Celine gradually realized something was amiss.

"Why would she lock me up in the dungeon? Besides, the Viscount's castle isn't that big there isn't even a dungeon."

Ed Adkins kindly explained to his daughter.

"Whether there's a dungeon or not doesn't matter!" Celine stared at her father, wanting to confirm a serious question. "The day after the banquet, where did you go? Why didn't you come home with everyone else?"

"The Viscountess kept me behind to discuss forming a territorial guard and winter defenses against the tribes. Oh, Erik Scaramario was there too, so I didn't get home until the afternoon," Ed Adkins said.

Celine stood there dumbfounded, her face and neck gradually turning red.

She had been deceived, and so thoroughly at that for seven whole days...

Suddenly, Celine turned around and pulled out her greatsword from the saddle.

"Hey? What are you doing?" Ed Adkins asked.

"I'm going to kill Charlotte!"

Celine grabbed the saddle with one hand and her sword with the other, ready to ride back and kill her.

Ed Adkins quickly stopped his daughter. "Forget whether you can even defeat a three-winged knight the Viscountess is your liege. How can you kill your own liege?"

"Don't call her Viscountess! Charlotte Mellerfeld is a big liar! A shameless liar!"

Ed Adkins was puzzled by Celine's sudden resentment toward Charlotte. Hadn't Charlotte said they hit it off immediately?

"How did Charlotte deceive you?"

Celine blushed and stammered for a while before saying, "She lied to me, saying she had locked you up and forced me to be her attendant, threatening not to release you unless I agreed."

"Is that all?" Ed Adkins laughed. "Then it seems the Viscountess really likes you. This is a good thing for you."

"How is this a good thing? I don't want to be her attendant!"

Her father's reaction only made Celine angrier. She wanted to say that her attendant duties weren't just about standing with a sword, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

It seemed her daughter truly didn't understand the difference between this kind of attendant and that kind of attendant. So, Ed Adkins had to explain the meaning of "Hermeos" to his daughter.

After hearing it, Celine slumped to the ground. She didn't understand Charlotte's archaic term "Hermeos," but she had heard of "Companion Knights." After all, Celine's dream was to become a knight. Typically, noble families like the Mellerfelds would only bestow the title of Companion Knight to their trusted confidants or renowned knights. How could a village girl like her, who hadn't even earned a knighthood, have any chance at such a title?

For a moment, Celine even felt a bit of self-abasement had seven days not been enough?

Ed Adkins was baffled by Celine's reaction. He suddenly noticed a bright red mark on Celine's forearm, revealed when her sleeve was pulled up during her struggle. "What happened to your arm? Were you injured?"

Celine glanced at her forearm, her face turning even redder. She was covered in such marks. After seven days, she didn't know if there was any part of her body that hadn't been tasted by that woman. How could I think seven days wasn't enough? I must have been sleep-deprived and confused. Charlotte is a liar, a shameless pervert!

She angrily pulled down her sleeve and tapped her father's toe with the heavy sword hilt. "None of your business!"

Then, she agilely jumped up and went back to her room.

Ed Adkins grimaced in pain, hopping on one foot for a while.

During those seven days, aside from savoring the delightful girl in the bedroom, Charlotte really didn't have much else to do. It was supposed to be the tail end of the harvest season, the busiest time for farmers and tax collectors, but Charlotte had no crops to harvest and no taxes to collect.

The northern knights had planted a lot of land and should have paid taxes to Charlotte, but they unanimously claimed that their crops had been harvested before Charlotte arrived, so she had to let them off for the year.

Although the formation of the guard had been put on the agenda, it wouldn't truly begin until the southern knights Territory relocation completed.

The southern knights were still somewhat attached to their homeland and were dragging their feet on the relocation.

Following the noble governance philosophy of "strike with a slap, then offer a sweet date, then strike again and offer another sweet date," Charlotte felt that offering a high salary of three Forso for the guard was the sweet date. Now, it was time for the slap.

So, she sent Jarod Garcia to the homes of the former "fake knights."

These "fake knight" families had already been controlled by Charlotte's people, but she had deliberately delayed dealing with them.

This time, Jarod confiscated all the families' assets, hanged those who had impersonated knights, and enslaved their families, sending them to the castle to be used for various new territorial facilities Charlotte planned to build.

There was inevitably some resistance during this process, and under Charlotte's strict orders, Jarod Garcia once again left a trail of blood.

Jarod Garcia was almost speechless. He was just a double agent sent by Rosie, but now he was practically becoming Charlotte's personal executioner for dirty work.

With the renewed bloodshed, the southern knights' relocation efforts suddenly became much more efficient. The northern knights, though still not understanding the glory of paying taxes, sent some of this year's newly harvested grain to the castle, claiming it was for Charlotte's territorial guard.

On the eighth day, shortly after Celine left, a large caravan large by the standards of the poor region of Lanwan entered the Viscountess's territory from the direction of the Green Plains Duchy.

Upon hearing Old Jack's report, Charlotte eagerly rushed out of the castle to greet them.

Seeing Charlotte appear, a knight in full armor, riding a tall horse despite the long journey, immediately rode out from the caravan and knelt on one knee before Charlotte, performing a meticulous salute. "Lady Charlotte."

"Rise, Sir Hermann," Charlotte said.

This was Sir Hermann Green, who had escorted almost all of Charlotte's belongings, lagging behind as Charlotte hurried ahead.

"Lady Charlotte, you are now a Viscountess. There's no need for you to personally come out to greet us," Sir Hermann said as he stood up.

"These are small matters," Charlotte waved her hand and got straight to the point. "Sir Hermann, how much money did you bring?"

Currently, Charlotte only had some pocket money for daily expenses, the 100,000 Forso gifted by her father Jose Mellerfeld, and the private money she had taken from her brother Andre.

It had to be said, her brother was a bit poor. Andre had claimed that Charlotte had emptied his private money, but after counting, it was only about 50,000 Forso not even enough for Charlotte to send a gift to Archbishop Contao's nephew.

"Aside from the 170,000 Forso you left behind, I also sold your Lakeside Manor and castle for 850,000 Forso. It's all here now," Sir Hermann pointed to the caravan behind him.

"You got that much money? You're quite capable, Sir Hermann," Charlotte said, surprised. She had thought that rushing to sell the two properties would result in a low price, but it turned out to be much better than her worst expectations.

Sir Hermann, however, didn't take credit. "I'm not skilled in business matters. This time, it was thanks to your friend's help that we didn't disappoint you."

"My friend?" Charlotte was puzzled.

"Yes," Sir Hermann nodded. "Your friend has come with us."

A figure in a gray cloak stepped out from the caravan. From the gait, Charlotte could tell it was a girl. Sure enough, the person removed her hood, revealing golden hair and a tired face indeed, a girl.

However, Charlotte was still quite shocked. "Cecilia!"

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