Chapter 219: Chapter 1: The Possibility of the Seventh Tier
The arrival of Earl Wei Man naturally called for a celebration throughout Thermopylae, not just for the officers, but for the vast number of common soldiers as well.
In an age without faith or higher education, this was the nature of long-term warfare. You couldn’t expect soldiers to endure a prolonged war fueled by loyalty to their homeland alone.
No matter how elite the warriors, they still needed something new to stimulate their nerves; otherwise, the loneliness would render them numb.
The evening party was mostly attended by southern nobles, many of whom were related to Robson in some way.
The royal edict for his enfeoffment had already been issued. Although Robson had not yet received his fief, he could now be addressed as a Viscount.
Marquis Oscillate had already announced that after he withdrew from the Western Front, he would, as an elder, arrange the marriage between Viscount Robson and Count Valentino.
This was basically an official declaration. Even the Prince had sent blessings on behalf of the royal family, leaving no room to back out, even if one wanted to.
Besides, the marriage alliance was completely in line with the interests of all parties involved, and even the two principals had no objections.
Of course, it was not in the interest of Marquis George, but Marquis George had no say in this marriage.
In such a setting, a soon-to-be-engaged couple would inevitably face some teasing and other such challenges.
Robson handled it all with finesse. ’The drinking culture in this world is just too simple,’ Robson could only say to himself. ’If I weren’t so young, I wouldn’t mind showing them what real drinking culture is all about.’
Last night, Robson had finally gotten a truly good night’s sleep.
"Hasn’t Viscount Robson woken up yet?"
"Count, perhaps..."
Drifting between sleep and wakefulness, Robson vaguely heard the voices of Valentino and a guard talking.
A thought flashed through his mind, and he was instantly wide awake.
The door opened. It was, as he expected, Valentino. She was wearing a Swordsmanship Uniform, clearly having just returned from her morning practice.
"You’re awake. I didn’t think you were one to sleep in." Valentino smiled and poured a cup of sobering tea.
"It’s only human, you know?
Are you all this intense? Waking up so early in the morning... The children of Counts are truly different," Robson teased, reaching out for the tea. In truth, he hadn’t been drunk last night; no wine could intoxicate a Golden Tier Extraordinary.
"If you have free time, you should be honing your martial skills, or studying etiquette and history..." Valentino frowned upon hearing this, wanting to correct Robson’s concept of time.
To Valentino, Robson was a perfect match for her, both personally and in terms of family. But sometimes, she felt their perspectives could be at odds.
This was only natural. No two leaves on a tree are identical, and no two people in the world are exactly the same.
Robson didn’t want to discuss the use of time with Valentino. He found that she was always like this with everything—extremely serious.
She trained diligently, studied hard, and managed her troops personally. Even when it came to their relationship, Robson could clearly feel that same distinct intensity.
Robson’s initial humor had been born from a playful desire to flirt and joke around with a girl.
But Valentino was completely different. From the moment she tacitly accepted their relationship, Robson could clearly sense that her every action was genuinely aimed at considering their marriage, a new family, and the rest of their lives together.
In the sullied society of Robson’s previous life, it was hard to find such sincere affection. This served as a harsh lesson for Robson, making him realize for the first time just how different this world was from his last.
Of course, this had its pros and cons. For instance, Valentino was a devout follower of the code she had lived by for over a decade. Robson considered himself an overachiever, but when faced with this world’s home-grown ultimate overachiever, he had to admit he was a step behind.
Robson quickly changed the subject. Just as the two were talking and laughing, the bedroom door was opened again.
"Sir Ais!"
"Is the Lord Viscount inside?"
"He is, but perhaps..."
"Lord Viscount, I think there’s something you must..."
"My apologies, perhaps I’ve come at a bad time." Ais opened the bedroom door and froze for a moment.
Robson was still in bed, sprawled out like he was on vacation in his past life, while Valentino was sitting at the foot of the bed. The two of them were talking and laughing.
The door was well soundproofed. Ais was just an ordinary mortal without heightened senses.
Human society was nowhere near as open as that of the elves; a man and a woman sharing a bed was enough to make one’s imagination run wild.
"It’s fine. What is it? Just say it." Robson raised an eyebrow upon seeing Ais had entered and asked him directly.
Robson held Ais in high regard.
If not for the lack of Magic Potions at the front, Robson would have gotten one for Ais to help him advance to the Extraordinary tier, one way or another.
Ais came from the peasants of the Odogin Family, which in Robson’s eyes, made him a man of good stock. This was especially true since Ais was an extremely fast learner who knew how to seize opportunities.
For Robson, the scarcest resource in the future would be capable and loyal talent.
The capable were not necessarily loyal, and the loyal were not necessarily capable. The best place to find such talent was from within one’s own family of origin.
"As you command, My Lord. A strange situation has appeared in the barracks...
How should I put this..." As Ais spoke, his gaze shifted toward Valentino by the bedside.
’This is the problem with being peasant-born,’ Valentino frowned. ’They have no tact.’
"This is my future wife and your future mistress. You can speak freely," Robson said.
The term "mistress" was perfectly acceptable. Peasants were, after all, bound servants, and Robson saw no need to change such social norms at this stage.
"Yes, My Lord."
"In the barracks, two soldiers suddenly collapsed this morning. We can’t wake them, and a strange mist is emanating from their bodies..." Ais said.
"The soldiers seem to be in great distress."
’Mist?’
Robson opened his Mount and Blade panel. He had slept so soundly last night that he hadn’t noticed anything happening.
On the panel, two Tier-6 Frankish Border Watchers were shown with the word "Promote" next to them.
’Could it be?’
Robson’s heart skipped a beat.
’I originally thought Tier-6 was the peak on the Mount and Blade panel. Can they really be promoted further?’
’Tier-6 was already more than enough, but if they could go even higher, why not?’
’Back when they were Tier-5, they could withstand a couple of moves from an Extraordinary. At Tier-6, a few soldiers together could even take down an Extraordinary directly.’
’So what about Tier-7? That would be the result of tens of thousands of experience points stacked up...’
With that thought, Robson stopped lazing in bed and rolled out of it.
"Take me to see them."
"Huh? You haven’t gotten dressed yet," Valentino reminded him.
Robson was currently wearing comfortable pajamas. One had to say, the nobles at Thermopylae really knew how to live, even arranging for pajamas at the front lines.
Ais skillfully retrieved the armor from a nearby rack, clearly not his first time doing so.
"By the way... don’t you have a handmaiden?" It finally dawned on Valentino. She had always felt something was missing from Robson’s side, and this was it.
In the Frank Kingdom, handmaidens weren’t very popular. But Valentino was from the south, where southern nobles loved to surround themselves with retinues of maids, leading to frequent scandals where the maids would arrive on the battlefield before the army.
"The front lines have been tense. Who has time to deal with such things?" Robson shook his head.
"Give it to me. I can do it too," Valentino said to Ais.
"This... My Lady, this armor..."
Before Ais could finish, Valentino took the armor from his hands. The thing weighed over a hundred pounds, yet she held it as if it were a toy.
Only then did Ais remember that the lady before him could probably beat ten of him with one hand.
"To think I’d get the Count herself to help me dress." Robson stood up, spreading his arms with a laugh.
This was actually quite common in the Frank Kingdom, but Robson’s situation was a bit special.
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