Chapter 21 — The Deal Struck
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 3
After accepting Viscount Andrew's hospitality, Gao Cenxing was temporarily lodged in a guest room within the castle. At Gao Song's specific request, clean and tidy quarters were provided for all of them—the two soldiers, the maidservant Betty, and Amber included.
The Viscount's castle was, after all, very large indeed.
Once the attendants had been dismissed, Hetty could not hold back her question: "Ancestor, do you think Viscount Andrew can be relied upon?"
Though they were "neighbors" whose domains bordered one another, Hetty knew well the ways of the nobility: neither honesty nor honor. They spoke of those two virtues constantly, yet it was precisely those virtues they lacked—and in the remote, wild southern marches, far from the political center, the nobles' manner of survival was all the more unseemly. Now that House Cecil had fallen to its very lowest, and apart from the sudden appearance of the Xuanmai Sect as a point in their favor, Hetty truly had little confidence that they could gain any advantage in dealings with other nobles.
"Reliable? The thought never even crossed my mind," Gao Song replied, to Hetty's great surprise. "A few hours ago I didn't even know what Viscount Andrew looked like."
Beside him, Rebecca was startled. "Huh? But you talked with him for so long…"
"Because it was necessary," Gao Yang said, looking at Rebecca. "It would be no exaggeration to say we're at the end of our rope now. Never mind that we still have to feed those displaced subjects—just look in your own purse. Do you have the money for your next meal? So we must seek help, and that Viscount Andrew is simply the choice we had no choice but to make. Apart from him, is there anyone else you know in the southern marches? As for how reliable he is… I don't know him, I don't know his family. I only learned the extent of his domain a couple of days ago from your own lips. How would I know whether he's reliable?"
Rebecca felt her mind struggling to keep up. "Then why do you think he'll definitely help?"
It was not Gao Yang who answered, but Amber, who had been lying beside the table all this while stuffing grapes into her mouth. The half-elf wiped her lips and shot Rebecca a look of contempt. "Dummy. Because he doesn't want to lose money."
"Doesn't want to lose money?"
"When Sir Philip brought the refugees to Tansang Town, that Viscount Andrew had already made his decision," Amber said, unhurried. "He could easily have shut the city gates and waited for the refugees to disperse on their own or starve outside. And don't bring up any mutual-aid laws—in these outlying regions, the kingdom's laws are worth less than a merchant's gold coins. Since the Viscount accepted the refugees, it means he intends to collect repayment from House Cecil. Once he had that notion, and believed House Cecil was capable of repaying its debts—well, the deal was struck right then. Today… was simply a matter of expanding its scope and making it explicit."
Rebecca stared at Amber, dumbfounded. "You… how do you even understand this stuff? Is the bar for thieves this high these days?"
Amber bared her teeth. "Is this so profound? I don't understand your noble logic and your mountains of rules, but at the very least I understand that a thief never leaves empty-handed. When it comes to profit, is there any difference between you nobles and a thief who doesn't want to leave empty-handed?"
Rebecca flew into a rage, drew her staff, and conjured a fireball the size of a head. "If you don't watch your mouth, so help me I'll really smash a fireball in your face!"
Amber, apparently certain that this callow young lordling wouldn't dare follow through, kept grinning and taunting: "Go on then—conjure an ice arrow if you've got the guts~~"