Chapter 224 - 6: Surging Undercurrents
Chapter 224: Chapter 6: Surging Undercurrents
It was January 1st. In this world, there were no such customs as Christmas or New Year’s Day.
In the Southern Countries, the Algeria Kingdom and the Tilia Kingdom each followed their own cultural practices.
As for the Frank Kingdom, it did have the Knight King’s Expedition Day, but that was mostly limited to exchanging blessings. The Frankish Nobles were so focused on military spending—stretching every coin to its limit—that they had few holiday traditions. At most, they would host a banquet when a friend visited.
The southern district of the Frankish Royal Capital was the most prosperous area in the entire city. Commercial families from all over the Human World owned property here.
In a luxurious villa in the southern district, Count Sriphine listened to his subordinate’s report, rubbing his temples.
"You’re saying Earl Harold is feeling unwell? That he can’t meet with us?" Count Sriphine looked at Viscount Tanggeli’an.
Although he didn’t want to accept such a transparently ridiculous excuse, Viscount Tanggeli’an was helpless to do anything about it.
Earl Harold was a Gold Tier 8 Extraordinary. Generally speaking, after one stepped into the realm of the Extraordinary, ordinary viruses could hardly affect their bodies. Gold-ranks were basically immune to all poisons and diseases.
Of course, the world of the Extraordinary had its own extraordinary methods. While no natural virus could threaten an Extraordinary being, not all viruses were natural.
Count Sriphine was a typical member of the Northern Nobles’ inland faction.
The two heirs to the traditions of the Northern Nobles’ inland faction were Count Valentino of the Fengman Clan and Earl Harold.
In the past, Count Sriphine had always served under Earl Harold, just as his ancestors had served under Marquis George’s father.
But ever since he pledged allegiance to Marshal Grantham, the entire faction of Northern Nobles had essentially disowned both Count Sriphine and the Vidolan Family behind him.
Count Sriphine had once been part of the Northern inland faction and knew that the faction, now allied with Marquis George, had many disagreements with the Marquis’s methods. He had invited Earl Harold over precisely to probe the situation further.
According to Marshal Grantham’s wishes, it would be best if they could pull Earl Harold over to the military merit faction’s side.
But Count Sriphine had considered every possibility and prepared numerous arguments, yet he had never imagined that Earl Harold would refuse to even see him!
Count Sriphine’s expression darkened at the thought.
For a nobleman, this was the greatest possible insult. It also redefined his understanding of the conflict between the traditional aristocracy and the new nobles who had risen through military merit.
’It seems the extent to which the military merit nobles are ostracized is far more severe than the Marshal let on.’
Of course, Count Sriphine didn’t think Marshal Grantham would fail. Since the Marshal began challenging the Kingdom’s authority, he had rarely lost.
Grantham had managed to rise from the rank of a mere Viscount to his current position by almost single-handedly taking on the royal family and the Northern faction, relying on his continuous string of military victories.
This was also the reason for the rapid decline of Louis III’s authority over the past ten years.
"Lord Count, someone is outside asking for an audience."
Just as the two fell silent, a servant entered, breaking the heavy atmosphere.
"Who is it?" Count Sriphine looked towards the servant at the door. It was his butler.
"The visitor delivered this, but didn’t give a name." The butler handed over the letter in his hand.
Count Sriphine stepped forward and took the paper. Inside, surprisingly, was only an image.
"A soaring eagle?"
"The Gauss Clan? What are they doing here?" Viscount Tanggeli’an asked in confusion.
The Gauss Clan was one of the families recently granted a countship in the Northern Three Provinces.
As far as Viscount Tanggeli’an knew, the Gauss Clan had recently undergone a change. The previous clan head had been killed in action on the Eastern Front, and the current Earl Uman was the younger brother of the former Earl Berlick.
He had heard that after this Earl Uman came to power, he had caused quite a stir and used various schemes, which was how he finally caught the eye of Marquis George, elevating his family to an Earl Clan.
"Let them in."
’In any case, we’re going to be neighbors. The Northern faction and the military merit faction have always been at odds, but it wasn’t uncommon for the subordinates to find common ground, despite the discord between the major factions.’
Deep down, Count Sriphine didn’t want any bad blood with this future neighbor.
In fact, ever since becoming a Count, Count Sriphine had been constantly thinking about how to shed the "military merit faction" label. To a Frankish Noble, that label meant a lack of heritage and an illegitimate claim to one’s title.
Even though Marshal Grantham was always winning, the Viscounts who gathered around him were all eager to fast-track their rise into the ranks of the great nobles.
To become a great noble truly accepted within the Frank Kingdom, shedding the ’military merit’ label was paramount.
Soon, a rhythmic clatter of footsteps was heard—the distinct sound of riding boots from the Southern Kingdom.
This newly-appointed Earl Uman, like Valentino, had rushed home from Algeria King’s College after his older brother was killed in battle to stabilize his clan’s situation.
Moreover, their fathers had both been killed in the same battle, dying less than a day apart from each other.
The door opened, revealing a medium-built man dressed in black robes.
The butler stepped forward to intercept Earl Uman. The Earl was visibly taken aback for a moment but offered no resistance.
"Now, can we have a few words?" Earl Uman removed his black cloak, smiling at Count Sriphine.
Count Sriphine stared at the space behind Earl Uman.
"Didn’t you bring any guards?" Count Sriphine asked.
"I had some, but to be precise... they were stopped outside. But I believe we can trust one another," Earl Uman said with a laugh.
Count Sriphine’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. ’Trust one another... He says that as if I could actually do anything to him here.’
"What’s with the disguise? What is it you want to talk about?" Count Sriphine asked.
At this, Earl Uman just smiled without a word, sat down in Count Sriphine’s guest chair, and looked at Viscount Tanggeli’an, who was standing nearby.
Viscount Tanggeli’an took the hint. He led the butler out of the room and closed the door behind them.
"Can you speak now?" Count Sriphine asked. He felt the current atmosphere was like a clandestine meeting between a cultist and a Beastmen chieftain.
"I heard Count Sriphine was snubbed elsewhere?" Earl Uman asked.
"It’s not that I was following you. You military types are warier than alley cats...
Earl Harold tore up your letter. He tore it up right in front of me. I was visiting him at the time," said Earl Uman.
Although Count Sriphine knew that Harold had rejected his invitation, having the snub thrown in his face so bluntly was rather mortifying.
Especially in such a humiliating way.
"Why don’t you stop beating around the bush and say what you mean!" Count Sriphine’s face soured. Although Harold was the one who had insulted him, Earl Uman’s blunt delivery also angered him.
"Don’t be in such a hurry... Sriphine, you have no allies. Do you understand your situation? Neither the Northern nor the Southern factions will have you. The King hates the military merit faction to the bone. And while Grantham supports you, he can barely protect himself, let alone give you much aid.
Why don’t you take a look at my plan? Perhaps we can join forces. Don’t you want to get rid of the stigma of the military merit faction? Hear my proposal. We can work together." As Earl Uman spoke, he produced a letter from behind his back.
Count Sriphine took it and read it carefully. An expression of utter disbelief filled his eyes.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Earl Uman smiled as he looked at Count Sriphine.
"What do you think of George and Oscillate?" Earl Uman asked, looking at Count Sriphine.
"And what about people like Wei Man, Harold, and Ancient Temple Yate?"
The more Earl Uman spoke, the greater the shock in Count Sriphine’s eyes became.
"Sriphine, believe me. These people are not as formidable as you think. Their positions are not as unattainable as you imagine.
You’re from the military merit faction. Everyone wants to destroy you. You have no other choice!"