Chapter 200: Ch-200: Meeting
They were led to a luxurious room by Eleanor, who looked at them and said, "Please, sit down here. The Duke will be here in a moment."
The others nodded silently and took their seats.
After about ten minutes—
Step. Step.
They immediately straightened when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching the room.
Soon, Hilbert, along with Rina and Eleanor, entered the room.
Hilbert’s eyes immediately fell upon the three figures with two attendants beside them. Hilbert recognized them all and said with a smile, "Princess Amanda, Commander Rosen, and... Lady Maria, welcome to the Hall Duchy."
His lips twitched slightly when he saw Maria’s outfit.
"The pleasure is mine, Duke Hilbert. I have come to discuss something with you," Amanda gracefully stood up, said with a polite smile, and shook hands with him.
On the other hand, Maria also shook his hand as she bit her lips and said seductively, "I didn’t know the Duke was so handsome. Such a shame you didn’t find me before the King."
Hearing this, Rina and Eleanor furrowed their brows and cursed inwardly, ’This slut.’
The only one who did not rise was Rosen, who was sitting with his legs crossed as he looked at Hilbert.
Duke Hilbert did not seem to mind this at all and took his seat.
"Now, what pleasure do I owe for the sudden visit from all three Imperial factions?" Duke Hilbert said in a neutral tone, feigning ignorance, while Eleanor and Rina calmly stood behind him.
"Duke Hilbert, I will not beat around the bush. I want you to bend the knee to me," Rosen said.
"I expected as much. You also came here for the same reason," Duke Hilbert said, not surprised, as he looked at Amanda and Maria, who remained silent but were tacitly agreeing with him.
"Hah, what do you think? Do you think I will bend the knee? I am pretty sure you have not had much luck with the other Dukes," Hilbert said in a mocking tone, and their expressions darkened as he hit them where it hurt. Indeed, no Duke was willing to bend the knee to them.
Rosen looked at Rina and Eleanor and spoke with a smile, "If you agree to bend the knee to me, I will marry your eldest daughter and make her my official Queen after I rebuild the kingdom."
As soon as Rosen’s words fell, both Maria and Amanda became alarmed, as this was an offer that even Dukes would hesitate to refuse. They knew many Dukes would bend the knee, as such a close relationship would unite their strength, reduce the chances of betrayal, ensure their bloodline sat upon the throne, and bring greater benefits to their Duchies if the future King became their relative.
Sure, they would lose the opportunity to turn their Duchy into a Kingdom, but the benefits outweighed the drawbacks. Moreover, there was no guarantee they could survive the monsters and attacks from rival nobles when trying to establish their own Kingdom, so it was often wiser to bend the knee.
’Damn it,’ Amanda cursed inwardly. She knew she could not offer anything better than Rosen. The only option was for her to marry Duke Hilbert herself, but she did not want to sell herself. She would rather marry someone she liked than for political benefits. That was the reason she had remained unmarried for so long, no matter how much her brother pestered her. She could have easily secured the support of a powerful Duchy if she had offered herself in marriage to their heir or a Duke, but she refused to do so.
She shot Hilbert a glance and was surprised that his expression did not change in the slightest. However, when she looked at Rina, Amanda noticed her expression darken slightly.
"Duke Hilbert, what do you say?" Rosen asked in a confident tone, but the next words left him speechless.
"I am sorry, but that won’t work. My daughter has already been betrothed," Hilbert said in a neutral voice, and everyone’s expressions changed as they looked at him in disbelief, especially Rosen, whose disbelief quickly turned into anger.
Honestly, he had not minded marrying Rina before coming to the Hall Duchy. He had heard about Rina’s beauty, but seeing her in person left him breathless, and the desire to conquer her rose within him. Now, seeing that the cabbage had already been plucked left him both annoyed and furious.
"Oh, I did not know that. Who is so lucky to be engaged to the Hall Duchy’s most precious jewel?" Rosen asked curiously.
"That would be me," suddenly an amused voice came from the entrance, and Amanda, Maria, and Rosen saw an extremely handsome man and a beautiful, seductive woman enter the room.
Maria’s eyes lit up when she saw Victor and licked her lips.
"Who might you be?" Rosen asked, looking at Victor with hostility.
Victor did not say anything as he strode toward Rina and held her by the waist.
"Hick!" Rina yelped at his actions and blushed in embarrassment.
"I am Victor Silvernum, the Lord of the Silvernum Barony and her fiancé," Victor said with a charming smile.
"Silvernum... you are the one who built those Mechs?" Amanda’s eyes narrowed as she looked him up and down. She was surprised when she sensed that he was only Tier 1 and could not believe Hilbert would marry his daughter to such a weakling.
’Maybe it’s because of the Mechs and his large army,’ Amanda concluded inwardly.
Rosen had the same thought as Amanda and scanned Victor from head to toe. Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. ’Wait... could his Mech army be the one responsible for—or at least have aided in—the destruction of the Brightflame Duchy?’
"I see... There was another matter I wanted to discuss," Rosen said. His eyes narrowed as they shifted between Victor and Hilbert before he asked, "Did the Brightflame Duchy attack you?"
As soon as his words fell, a hint of killing intent leaked from Rina, Eleanor, and Emily as they glared at Rosen.
"Oh, right, it completely slipped my mind." Hilbert’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Rosen and said in a cold voice, "They did attack. Did you have anything to do with the attack?"
Facing the accusation, he replied calmly, "I have no clue. Why would I be involved?"
"Aren’t they your vassals?" Hilbert asked, and Rosen’s face instantly darkened, while Amanda and Maria, watching from the sidelines, had gleeful expressions as they realized he probably would not get any support, let alone make them submit.
"Indeed, but you should know that we can’t always control or monitor our vassals," Rosen said indifferently.
"I see," Hilbert replied, as he had expected such a response from him.
"Duke Hilbert, I would like the Brightflame Duchy’s lands that you acquired from them," Rosen said calmly.
"Hah, you are certainly bold. What makes you think I would return them?" Hilbert sneered as he looked at Rosen with a challenging gaze.
Rosen’s face darkened upon hearing this and was about to threaten him, but Victor interrupted them.
"Actually, I was the one who dealt the finishing blow and killed him."
"You did?" Rosen frowned, then relaxed, stood up, and released his pressure.
"I want you to return those lands to me, or else..." Rosen threatened as winds began to swirl around him, but his expression changed when he saw black lightning crackling around Victor’s body.
"You..." Rosen’s eyes widened in shock.
"Black Lightning... Wait, now I remember. There was a rumor that a Baron’s heir had awakened a mutated Lightning Bloodline. So it was him," Amanda suddenly exclaimed.
"I refuse. If you want them, you’ll have to defeat me," Victor said, flashing a grin.
"Good, good." Rosen laughed in anger. This was the first time a lowly Baron and a mere Tier 1 had dared to talk back to him. Veins bulged on his forehead as he looked at Victor’s smug expression with undisguised hatred.
"Then how about we fight using only our physical strength—no weapons, no Bloodlines. Do you dare?" Rosen looked at Victor with a malicious smile and glanced at Amber by his side, thinking, ’After I defeat you, I’m going to cripple you and make you watch as I take your girl.’
"I don’t think that’s fair. If I win, I keep the territory, but if I lose, I give it to you," Victor said with a raised eyebrow.
"If you win, I will give you an Epic-rank item," Rosen said with a sneer, as he did not believe he could lose, while the others gasped upon hearing this.
"Sure," Victor replied nonchalantly.
Rosen’s eyes widened. He had not expected Victor to accept the challenge so readily. Honestly, he had been a bit wary of Victor’s Lightning Bloodline, which was said to be the most destructive, especially since it was a mutation. If Victor had refused, he had planned to provoke him into accepting.
Amanda, seeing this, shot Victor a disdainful look, thinking he was far too overconfident.
Only Maria felt a surge of excitement at Victor’s domineering attitude and immediately wanted to take him to bed and indulge in all sorts of fantasies with him.
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