Warhammer Divine Throne-Chapter 676 - 299, Trade Route Issue_2

"Ha, nonsense, do you even understand? The Count has already debunked this rumor a long time ago. Besides, the village you used to live in hardly had a hundred babies; it only had a few hundred people in total, right? To eat a hundred every day? The village would've been devoured with nothing but rats left within a week!" The local peasant infantry mocked, "There are many witches in that Wizard Tower, are they supposed to devour the whole city?"

"Hahahahaha~" The group of escaped peasants around the campfire burst into laughter. Having found a place to stay, they felt relieved and could finally smile.

"Anyway, it's such a tall and big Wizard Tower!" Some peasants were still filled with fear.

This point was agreed upon by everyone; the immense Wizard Tower brought tremendous oppression and fear to the peasants.

"Speaking of which, the Lady of the Lake's tall tower seems to be right behind that Wizard Tower!" a peasant interjected, "The locals say the farmland here is excellent, yielding high productivity, all thanks to the Lady's blessing!"

"Praise the Lady~"

"Praise the Lady!!"

The group hurriedly began praising the Lake Fairy fervently.

"Our Count is very devoted; he goes to the Lady's tower to pray one day every week!" At this moment, a peasant infantry said with admiration, "No wonder he's the Divine Chosen Champion favored by the Lady."

"But isn't it prohibited for civilians to approach there?" an escapee cautiously asked, "How do you know?"

"My uncle's neighbor's townsman was on duty at the Count's castle. He saw the Count come out of the Lady's tower late at night looking a bit tired. He must have received teachings from the Lady. The Count is really devoted!"

"Indeed, truly devoted!" The group sighed in unison.

Remon thought these secret tales sounded fake; historically, the Master Knights wouldn't let peasants guard their estate and castle but preferred trusting their escort and guards.

"To sincerely pray for the Lady's blessing and high-yielding lands, the Count works selflessly; it's really remarkable!" another escapee remarked.

"Indeed, truly remarkable!" The group echoed again.

Regarding this matter, Remon half-believingly nodded. The Lake Fairy would almost never appear before peasants; however, Count Laine is the Divine Chosen Champion of the Lake Fairy, and his deeds are well-known even in the countryside. So Remon felt it could be possible.

......

Meanwhile, in the Count's castle, Laine stood in the inner castle hall, waiting for his fiancée to arrive.

"Laine!" Surya walked into the hall with an entourage. Today, the lady knight was evidently well-dressed. She wore a double-breasted windbreaker in butterfly-flowered violet, with a pristine smile on her exquisite face. Her delicate feet were adorned with flesh-colored stockings and cream-white high heels, and pearl earrings swayed gently in the air. A golden double-headed eagle engagement ring on her left ring finger indicated she was already engaged.

Seeing Laine waiting for her, the lady knight blushed slightly, and taking advantage of the lack of outsiders in the hall, she leisurely approached Laine's side: "I'm here."

"Surya!" Laine embraced the lady knight and kissed her gently, breathing in the scent of her golden curly hair, tinged with the fragrance of iris flowers, and smiled: "Since you're here, I'm relieved. I have many things that need your help, my future wife!"

The dignified lady knight instantly turned red-faced due to Laine's words.

The two were already engaged, so being somewhat intimate wasn't unusual. Apart from the blush on her face, Surya didn't say much, and the engaged couple walked towards the third floor together. Ollica followed behind them, calling the lady obediently.

Ever since the lady knight and Laine got engaged, her infiltration into Laine's sphere of influence proceeded rapidly. The engagement hadn't been long before everyone in the domain was calling her the lady. Laine's knights and courtiers held exceptional respect for Surya.

Such is the daughter of a Great Noble, Laine thought to himself; she hadn't even married into the family yet and had already won everyone over, top to bottom. Her kind nature was one thing, but her exceptional political acumen was clearly inherited from Francois.

Laine clasped his fiancée's little hand, a warm smile on his face: "Has anything happened recently?"

"Nothing special lately, it's been quiet over in Winford. The peasants are busy harvesting winter wheat, and the knights are occupied with training. By the way, Laine, Father believes your fixed taxation is very constructive; he's planning to follow your lead in reforming the tax system, changing the Seventeen Percent Tax to a fixed tax." Surya said with a flushed face, "We might need someone from your side to guide us on this."

"Alright." For some reason, whenever Laine saw the lady knight's elegant demeanor, he couldn't resist wanting to kiss her.

Saying is action — just as Surya wanted to continue speaking, Laine kissed her lips again.

Surya closed her eyes, feeling a dizzying sensation instantaneously.

After two minutes, the lady knight, panting, sat side by side with Laine on the room's sofa. She playfully slapped Laine: "Laine~ You rogue~ If you do this, I won't come over anymore."

"Surya, I missed you." Laine wrapped his arms around the lady knight's waist, smelling the fragrance among her hair, and said indulgently: "It's been months since I last saw you."

"Laine... I missed you too." Surya was slightly moved by Laine's words.

The two lingered for a while.

"So, I'll leave the upcoming matters to you, Surya. I'll be listening from the inner chamber." Laine whispered.

"Alright!"

Half an hour later, in the meeting room of the Count's castle, several major merchants and the steward Kasenberg were already waiting. They were enjoying Imperial beer, Brittania wine, and delicate snacks from Wood Elves while waiting for the Count's arrival.

The steward, Kasenberg, stood beside the empty main seat, his tall and thin stature upright, temporarily hosting the major merchants. His wife had just given birth to a boy a few days ago, and the steward had obtained permission from the Count that this child would grow up and learn in the Count's court as a knight. Kasenberg felt his life now brimmed with hope.

The attending merchants had good relations with Laine, such as Oliver and Hadrian, a major merchant from Boldro named Ismail, a major merchant from the North named Fernan, and a major merchant from Winford named Yak.

These merchants possessed vast financial resources and had deep ties with local nobility.

"Good afternoon, everyone!" With the sound of high heels clicking on the floor, Surya appeared at the entrance dressed in Brittania marquis attire, accompanied by her maid Sylvia behind the Marchioness.

"Good afternoon, madam!" The several major merchants instinctively stood up, bowed, and greeted Surya.

Ismail, the major merchant from Boldro, covertly glanced at Surya's noble presence, murmuring inwardly, noting that Laine's fiancée was taking charge of this business discussion.

Regarding this daughter of the Winford Duke, the Royal Nobility often discussed her. As Francois' cherished jewel, her beauty, temperament, and skills were near perfection. Many nobles once sought alliances with Francois, but Francois had refused them.

Rumor has it that the lady was determined to marry well, with her requirements not only including a Holy Grail Knight but also youth and sufficient status.

And she actually found one! Ismail mused on how fortunate this daughter of the Winford Duke was, with the marriage sanctioned by the Lady herself, leaving the kingdom's Great Noble without grounds to object.

After sitting down, everyone first exchanged pleasantries, speaking of superficial topics. Soon, Oliver, relying on his close relationship with Laine, spoke first, "Madam, we've recently encountered some issues."

"Issues?" Surya sat at the main seat, her fingers interlaced, resting them on the table. Her tone was calm, her gaze gentle yet authoritative, ensuring no one at the meeting felt overlooked: "What kind of issues have arisen; could you elaborate, Mr. Oliver?"

"It's like this, madam, recently... the northern sea routes... have been unsafe; some merchant ships have gone missing and haven't reached Marinburg."

"Missing?"