Chapter 255 - 25: Count Sriphine’s Request
Chapter 255: Chapter 25: Count Sriphine’s Request
Robson and Valentino had entered Fengman City in the morning, while the other nobles had remained outside the city walls.
A few days later, Earl Uman arrived at Fengman City with his clan’s artisans and began crafting the carriage Robson had requested.
Robson even made a special trip to South City to inspect the progress. Looking at the highly skilled artisans, his eyes filled with desire.
The Fengman Clan had such artisans as well, but unfortunately, Valentino couldn’t mobilize them at the moment.
It wasn’t that they dared to defy the Patriarch’s orders—that was impossible. A Household Servant’s power came entirely from the Patriarch; none would dare to openly defy her.
But while there was no open defiance, there was certainly plenty of subtle refusal.
For instance, they might claim that if resources were allocated to this project, another one would have to be halted.
This was their way of taking advantage of the fact that Valentino had only been in charge of the Fengman Clan for a short time.
Executing an order involved numerous details, such as personnel deployment and resource allocation. And only the Household Servants were familiar with these specifics.
This was why Valentino couldn’t purge the clan’s internal ranks in a short time. It would be easy enough to kill them all, but who would be left to do the work?
Robson, however, didn’t have this concern. His current status was unique. He was considered part of the Fengman Clan, but not entirely.
He wasn’t fully part of the clan, as he and Valentino had yet to marry; but he wasn’t an outsider either, since they were already engaged.
That was why Robson could act so decisively at the city gate, dealing directly with anyone who defied him.
Even if he dealt with those people, any resulting animosity would, for the time being, be directed solely at him. Only after their marriage would they bear it together.
Of course, there wasn’t much animosity to speak of for now. Although someone was killed yesterday, Robson hadn’t done it himself. After Claude killed the man, Robson had given him a very stern reprimand!
This was a piece of political wisdom: never burn your bridges, and always leave yourself options.
This gave Valentino an opportunity to eliminate the hidden threats within her clan. Of course, this would be a lengthy process. A transfer of power could only happen after suitable replacements were found.
Just as Robson was walking out of the Gauss Clan’s new workshop, a large carriage blocked his path.
Claude drew his Long Sword, and the guards surrounding Robson also drew their weapons. Fengman City wasn’t the Royal Capital, where the number of guards was strictly regulated.
But to Robson, Fengman City was practically his semi-private domain, so he could naturally be a bit more unrestrained.
"Count Sriphine," Robson said, looking at the carriage. "I heard you were leaving. Why the sudden visit?"
The carriage window opened, revealing a middle-aged man inside—none other than Count Sriphine, who had yet to depart.
"Ah... Viscount Robertson, please, get in. We can talk in private," Count Sriphine said, his expression embarrassed.
Robson didn’t overthink it. ’This is Fengman City. My Soldiers are garrisoned here, and I have more than a dozen guards with me.’
’Besides, Count Sriphine has no reason to plot against me. Caution is necessary, but too much caution becomes paranoia.’
"I thought you were setting out tomorrow? Why haven’t you left yet?" Robson asked as he boarded the carriage and accepted a drink from a servant.
"Well... you may laugh, but we were preparing to leave. Then one of my men came to me today and said our equipment and provisions aren’t fully prepared... Viscount Robertson, repelling the Beastmen is a major undertaking. I can only hope you’ll help me now."
Robson was stunned for a moment after hearing Count Sriphine’s words. ’Shouldn’t all of this have been prepared in advance?’ he thought. ’Why is he panicking at the last minute?’
Seemingly aware that Robson had noticed his predicament, Count Sriphine continued:
"It’s embarrassing to admit, but I assumed everyone would have prepared their own resources. I didn’t expect... Besides, I was in the Royal Capital at the time. I couldn’t do much, so I could only gather so much. When my men came to me, I thought they were..."
Robson now understood. Count Sriphine had once again stumbled due to his clan’s shallow foundation.
Count Sriphine had never led a large group of nobles before, so naturally, he didn’t know what specific preparations were needed.
In fact, even Robson and Earl Uman had only managed to complete their preparations with help from their powerful backers.
Count Sriphine belonged to the military faction. Although this faction was currently in the spotlight within the kingdom, they actually held little influence beyond Marshal Grantham.
The southern faction’s second-in-command was Marquis Guterres, along with Earl Wei Man. The northern faction’s second-in-command was Earl Harold. The royal family had even more supporters. As for the military faction’s so-called second-in-command, it was, surprisingly, Count Sriphine himself.
"Originally, I was going to see Count Valentino, but she said she was busy and told me to find you, saying that speaking with you was the same," Count Sriphine added.
Robson now fully understood the situation.
’Valentino has sent a "solution" my way,’ Robson thought.
Over the past few days, Robson had also figured out the Fengman Clan’s power structure, including aspects like internal affairs, city defense, and the Standing Army...
The old man from the city gate, Mr. Elvin, had been the old Earl’s head of internal affairs. After Robson entered the city last time, Mr. Elvin had directly surrendered his authority over internal matters.
At first, Robson had thought Elvin was just making a show of it, trying to warn Valentino that the Fengman Clan’s entire internal administration would collapse without him. To his surprise, Elvin had genuinely relinquished his power.
As a result, Valentino had stopped even practicing her swordsmanship these days, spending all her time moving between administrative departments and beginning to take control of the Fengman Clan’s internal systems.
Normally, Robson would have participated as well, but today he wanted to check on the progress of his custom-made carriage. After all, this concerned his future status in the entire Ehrlich Province and couldn’t be taken lightly.
Realizing all this, Robson was a little surprised.
He knew that once Valentino took over the Fengman Clan’s internal affairs, his own life would become easier, but he hadn’t expected the "ease" to arrive so quickly.
"Hmm... You know, she’s always valued my opinion. Can you tell me the details of your conversation?" Robson asked, thinking, ’Valentino sent the "solution," but she didn’t tell me how to handle it.’
’The matter was probably urgent, and Valentino didn’t have time to discuss the details, so she just sent Count Sriphine directly to me.’
’Valentino is at a critical juncture in taking over the family’s internal affairs; nothing can be allowed to go wrong. When it comes to choosing between immediate concerns and long-term plans, I, Robson, know what to do.’
"This is the list I gave to Count Valentino," said Count Sriphine. "I wonder, what kind of price does the Viscount think would be needed to resolve these issues?"
He was truly desperate now. It was his first time being the "boss," and he had no experience, which had led to this huge mess.
If they didn’t even have supplies, how could they talk about marching to war?
Robson took the list, sighing in relief. It seemed Valentino was reliable after all.
Looking at the items on the list, Robson couldn’t help but feel shocked.
This wasn’t just Count Sriphine being ill-prepared; this was him having barely prepared at all.
Robson had no doubt that if he refused to help, Count Sriphine’s army would be going hungry by morning.
"So much armor? Earl, as you know, the Fengman Clan’s armaments have been neglected recently. If you take so much armor, what if something happens in the future..."
Although Count Sriphine hadn’t been moving in high-level circles for long, he was quick-witted enough to understand Robson’s intention.
"You need not worry about that, Lord Viscount. We can provide one thousand soldiers to help the Fengman Clan defend its territory."
’So decisive?’
Robson was stunned. He knew this didn’t mean they could take the goods just by giving him a thousand soldiers.
What Robson needed was just an additional condition; to actually get the supplies, they would still have to pay.
Moreover, the soldiers Count Sriphine was offering were not like the ones previously provided by Oscillate and Valentino. Valentino and Marquis Oscillate had been generous because those reservists were subsidized by the government.
It was equivalent to spending the kingdom’s money to earn personal favors, which everyone was naturally happy to do.
"Since the Count is being so straightforward, I won’t beat around the bush. I’ll make the arrangements for you tonight."
With the matter settled, Count Sriphine was greatly relieved.
He could be so agreeable because the cost of this manpower wouldn’t be borne by Count Sriphine alone; all the nobles would share the burden.
As long as the problem was solved, that was all that mattered.
"Then I must thank you, Viscount Robertson."