Meeting(2)
Richard surveyed the room, finding that the little Baron was secretly watching the expressions of the middle-aged man. He asked gently, “Lord Fontaine, your father and I fought side by side not too long ago. Out families should only be growing closer.”
Before the young Baron could answer, his uncle snickered, “A frontier knight wishes to have a close relationship with a Baron’s family? Wait till you become a titled knight!”
Richard glanced calmly at the man, “Indeed, a frontier knight is not a noble.”
“A frontier knight clearly isn’t a titled knight!” the Baron’s uncle burst into laughter, “Wait till you have your own territory, and earn the recognition of the royal family. Only then are you a true noble. You need to be a title knight!”
Richard chuckled, but refused to explain further. Since the man couldn’t understand the meaning behind his words, there was no need to say any more. His gaze landed on the little Baron once more, “Lord Fontaine, it seems like you don’t want me building a castle in my lands?”
“Ah, no… Wait, what does your castle’s construction have to do with me?!” the youth answered in a panicky manner. Although he had a row of warriors behind him, they gave him no comfort.
At that moment, the silent middle-aged man finally spoke up, “Lord Richard, the location of your castle doesn’t seem to match up with the lands you’ve registered for yourself. If my memory doesn’t fail me, that piece of land should belong to the Direwolf Duke.”
Richard took a look at him, answering without a change in expression, “Yes. His Grace knighted me officially a few days ago. That piece of land is mine.”
The man frowned, “That land is much larger than a normal knight’s. This doesn’t seem quite right.”
“May I know who you are?” Richard asked with a smile.
The fellow waved his arm around, “It doesn’t matter who I am—”
“If it doesn’t matter,” Richard immediately interrupted him, “then shut up.”
The other party’s face flashed with indignance, and he even opened his mouth to rage, but in the end he quieted down. Although he looked extremely grumpy, he was cunning enough not to fall for the trap. He clearly had great background and status.
Still, Richard had already discovered that this middle-aged noble was the key to the Fontaines’ change in attitude. The uncle obviously held all the power over the youth, using the child as a figurehead for his own purposes. Most interesting was that Lord Moonbear was nowhere to be seen; the Lord had planned to stay behind to defend the barony for some time.
“Lord Fontaine. I have basically no residents in my territory. I need wood, stone, and people to hire. Can you provide them?”
The uncle answered ahead of the Baron once again, “My deepest apologies, Sir Richard. Our family needs to renovate Twilight Castle now as well, so we have few materials to give. It’s not that we won’t supply to you, but it will be slightly expensive.”
Richard suddenly laughed, shaking his head, “Ten times the normal price is slightly expensive? Ha, fine. I understand. Where’s Pierce? Hand him over, and I’ll leave right now.”
The little Baron paled slightly, apparently not expecting the matter to be resolved so easily. The uncle’s eyes flickered as well, he was clearly stunned. For his part, Richard stood up and began to admire the ancient decorations placed in the room. The Fontaine Family was several centuries old, so they naturally had many exquisite items. A vase on a platform and the oil painting on the wall were both quality goods with exorbitant prices.
Richard picked up the vase, flipping it over in his hand as he played with it. Seeing the crystal vase worth thousands of coins being tossed about, the little Baron couldn’t hold back any longer, “Sir Richard…”
*Crash!* The crystal vase fell from Richard’s hands, breaking apart into pieces. Richard turned and smiled gently at the young Baron, “What is it, Lord Fontaine?”
Everyone but Richard immediately focused on the crystal shards on the ground. Even without much ability at appraisal, one would know how valuable this vase was. Thousands of coins had disappeared in a single, crisp sound.
The young Baron grew incoherent, the boy having no idea of what he wanted to say, “Richard… You…”
“What about me?” Richard asked with a smile. His hand elegantly brushed by the mantel of the fireplace. A gorgeous, handmade enchanted clock made of expensive materials slid down from his fingertips, crashing hard into the floor. Thankfully, the thick carpet below ensured that the clock was only dented a little, but with how precise magic tools were any tiny harm could destroy the formation within. Restoring it would not be an issue of just a few hundred coins.
Watching another thousand coins disappear at Richard’s hands, the uncle couldn’t sit still any longer. He suddenly got up, pointing at Richard as he scolded loudly, “How dare a mere knight behave so atrociously in Twilight Castle?”
“Oh? I’m behaving atrociously, am I? I don’t think so, I’m just in a bad mood. Besides, I may just be a titled knight but don’t forget that I’m a frontier knight as well. Even if I’m behaving atrociously in Twilight Castle, what can you do about it? Are we going to fight? How about a war?!”
The baron’s uncle was stunned, wanting to shout, but found himself unable to speak a word. A true battle? He was the only remaining high-level swordsman in the entire Fontaine Family, and he was only level 11. The personal guard of the Baron looked fierce, but they were only level 5 or 6. In front of true powerhouses, they were no better than a group of sheep.
Richard’s men were only ten or so metres away, resting in the outer hall. Even if he ignored Gangdor, those barbarians alone left him terrified. The innate talent of their race allowed them to fight beyond their level. If they really were to fight, everyone in this drawing room would be killed in a matter of minutes.
As for war, no matter how haughty and ignorant he was even he wouldn’t think the less than two hundred experienced soldiers and a few hundred fresh recruits could stand up to Richard. The uncle was utterly shocked, frantically looking towards the middle-aged man who was sitting still.
This was not what they had planned. They knew Richard was a powerful mage, but he was also a child of a historied noble family. Despite his connections with the deceased Baron, the Fontaines were expressing their disdain. They also flouted the supply contract that the Direwolf Duke had arranged for. Richard should have furiously stalked off, looking for Duke Bevry to right this wrong. This was a common path in an altercation between two nobles who served the same lord.
As for any accidents that might occur on his way back, that would have had nothing to do with the Fontaines. But what could they do now? If they couldn’t fight, and they couldn’t wage a war… Were they supposed to reason with Richard?