Chapter 328 — Good News From All Sides
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 3
That arrogant Karlov Horsman could see only profit, and probably could not see the dagger behind the profit. But Ropeni had no intention of offering any warning. She believed that even if someone did warn them, the great and petty nobles whose heads were addled by profit would blindly ignore all danger, and would think that even if the situation changed, everything remained within their control.
As for that, Ropeni herself was in truth not so sure. After all, compared with the whole of the southern lands... Gaoyang Cecil, a duke with nothing but a title, was still too isolated and weak.
……
While the lord and his guests sang and danced in the castle's banquet hall, celebrations were underway elsewhere in the castle as well. A small banquet was being held in a side hall at the southeast corner of the castle. The Horsman family's scholars and advisers had gathered here, drinking freely of the fine wine bestowed by the lord, enjoying sweets and meats rarely tasted in ordinary times, amidst a scene of laughter and merry chatter.
They had successfully mastered the complete technique for constructing an arcane net and had set the first arcane net running within this ancient castle. These talented, clever men had received lavish rewards from their master's house, and they had been permitted to feast and drink here until dawn—a rare honor indeed.
And at this small banquet, the center of attention was two young men in grayish-white cotton robes, one tall and one short.
Someone came forward to toast these two young men. A middle-aged gentleman with a broad forehead smiled and said, "Swearing loyalty to the Horsman family will be the most correct decision of your lives. Soon you will learn that the count's generosity is beyond anything that Viscount Andrew could match."
"Talented young men are welcome anywhere," another scholarly-looking man also came over, speaking with the tone of an elder praising his juniors. "When the weather warms up, I must invite you to visit my little estate on the outskirts of the city. It has the finest honey tea in this whole region..."
"And two daughters who can't be married off, right!"
At that, the room burst into laughter, and the atmosphere grew even merrier.
But the two young men, surrounded by the crowd, seemed a little unable to hold their liquor. They struggled to keep up for a while, then grew so dizzy that they had to go outside for some cool air. Naturally, no one at the scene would make things difficult for these two "great contributors," so the others continued to drink heartily, while the two young men each took a cup of sobering tea and left the side hall one after the other.
In the cold wind outside, the tall young man glanced back at the lamp-lit doorway and gave a soft snort of laughter. "The complete technique for constructing an arcane net... do these people really understand what 'technique' means?"
"At most, the complete craft of constructing an arcane net," the short young man said, showing no sign of drunkenness now. He muttered low, "But we can't demand too much of them. If you hadn't experienced it yourself, who would have thought that the deepest laws of the runes were hidden in those minimalist hexagons?"
The tall young man smiled faintly, looking at his companion. "After tonight, the arcane net will take root everywhere in the southern lands..."
The short young man smiled the same smile and lightly raised his cup, toasting with tea in place of wine. "A hymn of loyalty."
"A hymn of loyalty."
"By the way, do you know why the lord chose that phrase as the code for field agents?"
"Who knows. But we should be careful from now on. Unless necessary, don't mention 'that place' again."
"I understand."
……
Several days later, Amber brought the intelligence Gaoyang had long been waiting for.