"The current situation of Castell?"

Charlotte's heart skipped a beat.

She raised her head and looked at Duke Borde standing in front of the map, pondering the meaning behind his question.

The old Duke didn't wait for her to answer. Perhaps the brief silence made him think the girl wasn't clear about the current situation, so he took the initiative to make his own judgment.

"Count Castell's territory is located at the northernmost part of the kingdom, separated from the capital of the duchy by three entire counties and two viscount territories."

"And among these three counties, there are those who have always coveted Castell, those who have always sought to defeat the sworn allies of Borde, and the faithful supporters of His Majesty the King, backing His Majesty in weakening the vassals, strengthening authority, and expanding royal lands…"

"It can be said that outside the duchy... the situation is quite difficult, with everyone keeping an eye on wealthy Castell!"

At this point, the old Duke took a deep breath, his expression turning somewhat grim.

"Even within the duchy, it's not peaceful."

"Those families loyal to Borde, each harboring ulterior motives!"

As he spoke, as if recalling something, a hint of anger flashed across the old Duke's face, and his voice trembled.

"Especially upon seeing Eleanor betrothed to the Third Prince!"

"The Third Prince is ambitious, but Eleanor is weak-willed, and that bastard Anthony is unreliable, idling about spending his days on divination and astrology, not focusing on managing the duchy!"

"The esteemed Borde family, all turned out to be a bunch of useless trash! Worthless!"

The old Duke angrily cursed his own kin, completely unaware that he himself was also a member of the Borde family, a piece of garbage incapable of producing a qualified heir.

Meanwhile, Charlotte lowered her head slightly, contemplating the information related to the Borde family.

She had already researched the Borde family's information, knowing that what Duke Borde was most irritated about was his only daughter's engagement to the Third Prince.

Initially, the old Duke intended to ingratiate himself with the Crescent royal family. After the engagement was arranged, he even boasted everywhere. But he didn't expect to be pierced by the spears of the enemy's pikemen on the battlefield, rendering him unable to produce an heir. In the end, he inadvertently entangled his only daughter, who was originally intended to marry a suitor, into the mess, leaving him completely dumbfounded.

As for the Anthony mentioned by the Duke, his full name is Anthony de Borde, not yet thirty years old. He is the Duke's half-brother, designated heir to the duchy, and titled the Count of Tulip, with his territory also being an enclave adjacent to the Castell domain.

This has been an old tradition of the Borde family. Although the Castell domain is an enclave, the Duke's mansion has always had a small indirect jurisdiction adjacent to the Castell domain, serving as the next Duke's territory, to strengthen control over the Castell family.

By the way, the Count of Tulip is also Lady Catherine, Charlotte's aunt's, only son, making him Charlotte's cousin. The relationship between the two families is quite good. In Charlotte's memory, he even played with her, a very elegant, gentle, and considerate gentleman to be around.

However, although he is the heir to the Borde Duchy, the Count of Tulip is not interested in inheritance and governance. His interests and skills are all askew. He is obsessed with divination and astrology, with almost zero managerial ability, leaving the tiny Tulip domain in a mess, and even being driven back by the rebellious subjects.

Now he has completely let himself go, either holed up in the Duke's mansion studying divination or running to the Mage Association to discuss astrological magic, unwilling to manage anything, much to the old Duke's disappointment.

These matters are known to the nobles of the Borde Duchy.

Clearly, if the old Duke were to die, the Count of Tulip, who is not interested in governing the territory, would be unable to control the duchy. The entire Borde Duchy might be taken advantage of by the Crescent royal family, with the Third Prince, Eleanor's husband, possibly becoming the next Duke of Borde.

At that time, the Borde Duchy would change its name, and the Count of Tulip, Anthony, that wastrel, might be excited because he'd got rid of the title of Duke, having more time to study astrological magic...

Anyway, astrological magic is different from other magic. It doesn't require much money, it just burns your brain circuit.

The old Duke continued to grumble, growing angrier as he spoke.

"These greedy bastards... all think that my Borde main line is about to die out, that the duchy might change its name, and each one wants to take a big bite out of us! Cough... cough... cough..."

Towards the end, as if touching on an old wound, he began coughing violently, a flush of abnormal redness appearing on his face...

"Duke...?"

Charlotte quickly got up, but was stopped by the old Duke's raised hand.

"Cough... it's an old ailment, I'm fine."

After taking a deep breath, the old Duke calmed down a lot, but his voice remained authoritative, suppressing his anger like a volcano about to erupt.

"Abductions, assassinations, rumors..."

"Hmph!"

"You see, look at what they've been up to lately!"

As he spoke, he took out a crossbow from under the table and slammed it angrily on the table.

"These greedy bastards even dare to slander my Borde family, thinking that just because I'm old, I can't deal with them anymore?!"

Seeing the crossbow on the table, Charlotte's eyelids twitched. She recognized it as the other crossbow carried by the mercenaries who abducted her that night.

Before leaving that night, she specifically asked Nice to find it, but Nice couldn't find it after searching for a long time. Combined with Leno hastily leaving that night, she now understood.

Perhaps at that time, Leno had already recognized that it belonged to the Duke's mansion, so he hurriedly took the crossbow back to report. Maybe... he might have thought it was his own doing at the time, so he left in such a hurry.

"It seems you've recognized it. This is the crossbow used by the mercenaries who abducted you that night!"

"Even now, they don't forget to sow discord between Castell and Borde!"

"If I hadn't called them over one by one these days and given them a good beating, the entire Borde City would have been turned upside down by them!"

The old Duke said indignantly.

Seemingly tired of speaking, he sat back in his seat, sighed heavily, and rubbed his temples.

After a moment, the Duke continued.

"Castell and Borde are of the same root, like brothers. Although one is the main family and the other a branch, the lord and the vassal, as the feudal lord, I have never regarded Castell as an outsider."

"During the Second Star-Moon War, it was I who, along with your grandfather, repelled the invading forces of the Fallen Star Kingdom trying to occupy the Castell domain. It was also I who, together with your father, thwarted the Northern Duchy's conspiracy attempt to subvert Castell's authority..."

"At the same time, it was the support of the Castell family for generations of Dukes that kept the various nobles in the duchy in check, preventing them from being unruly!"

"And now, difficult times are upon us again, and it's time for us to stand together once more."

At this point, the old Duke turned around slowly, his expression dignified and solemn.

"Without Borde, Castell will sooner or later be swallowed by other lords."

"And without Castell, Borde's strength will also be greatly diminished, unable to withstand the pressure from the royal family and other nobles..."

"We, are originally one family."

Upon hearing the implied implications in Duke Borde's words, Charlotte's heart skipped a beat.

She slowly raised her head, seeing a pair of resolute blue-gray eyes.

"Lady Charlotte."

Duke Borde's voice became serious.

After a series of preludes, he finally expressed his thoughts.

"Let our two families... form an alliance."

"Castell will eventually choose a marriage partner to consolidate its rule, but I think you also understand that those parasites in the duchy will only consume the declining Castell..."

"Only the Borde family has always been the solid support of Castell."

"Only by uniting can we overcome the current difficulties!"

Charlotte fell silent.

The inevitable would eventually come. Although she knew that the Duke likely wanted to form an alliance with her, when she discovered how determined and inevitable his intentions were, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

She knew that after this banquet, the Castell family would probably break ties with the Borde family.

At the same time, she would also completely lose the protection from the Duke's mansion, facing the malice of other nobles...

"Is it Lord Leno?"

Charlotte asked.

A hint of surprise flashed in the Duke's eyes, seemingly unexpected at the girl's composure.

He nodded.

"Yes."

"Although Leno is an illegitimate child and has a low background, he has already become a Silver Moon Knight at a young age."

"He doesn't even use the Awakening Seed, awakening naturally just like most nobles!"

"I dare guarantee that his potential on the path of the extraordinary surpasses even mine!"

"Although Leno lacks some manners, he is righteous, a true holy knight at heart..."

"With him by your side, you will have nothing to worry about. I believe he will bring you happiness, and with Castell's support, Borde will also continue to remain great!"

"This is a win-win situation."

The old Duke's expression was sincere.

He was indeed sincere, at least from the perspective of Borde, because he had already disclosed all the family's difficulties, which was indeed a sincere approach in negotiations. But Charlotte was on the verge of cursing.

Win-win my foot! Happy my foot!

An ordinary girl might believe their nonsense, but she didn't!

It sounded nice, but ultimately, wasn't it because the Borde family felt they couldn't control the nobles beneath them, so they wanted to strengthen their power with the wealthy Castell?!

Yes, the situation of the Castell territory is somewhat delicate, but the Duke's mansion's plight is not a secret either. Moreover, the Duke's mansion is not the only choice for Castell, nor is it the best choice.

Even if she were to die right away, she would never let a man ride on top of her!

Her destiny could only be controlled by herself!

Taking a deep breath, Charlotte raised her head, preparing to politely decline with the prepared reasons. But the old Duke suddenly waved his hand to stop her:

"You don't need to rush to tell me your answer. You can go back and think about it."

"I know you have concerns, especially about Leno's identity as an illegitimate child. Being an illegitimate child is indeed a stain for the Castell family to accept."

"But, rest assured, at today's banquet, I will let you see the sincerity of the Duke's mansion first..."

...

Charlotte ultimately didn't manage to immediately voice her refusal. It seemed the old Duke had a premonition about her choice and directly blocked her.

This made Charlotte speculate about the "sincerity" the Duke's mansion mentioned...

However, the girl didn't care. Regardless of what the Duke's mansion's so-called sincerity was, her answer wouldn't change.

Her biggest purpose in attending this banquet was to put an end to the greedy thoughts of these nobles.

However, the deep conversation with the Duke made the girl realize how dire the situation of the Castell family really was.

It could be said that she was now dancing on a tightrope, with hungry eyes on both sides of the abyss.

Back in the main hall of the banquet, which hadn't started yet, the nobles gathered in groups of three or five, chatting quietly.

The girl picked up a highball glass filled with milk from the waiter's tray and sat alone in a corner to rest.

From the journey from the carriage to entering the Duke's mansion, she couldn't avoid being exposed to the sun, feeling somewhat uncomfortable in her body.

The conversation with the Duke also consumed her energy further, and now the girl just wanted to rest.

The band from Moon Bay played beautiful music, soothing and melodious.

But Charlotte found it noisy. Especially when she entered, those young nobles, excited like animals in heat, gathered around her one after another, showing off their charm like roosters that had taken aphrodisiacs.

Smelling the thick perfume intertwined on their bodies, Charlotte felt like she was suffocating.

She wasn't in the mood to talk to these peacocks now.

Looking at the handsome faces that would immediately light up with excitement when she glanced over, the girl narrowed her eyes slightly, thinking about how to give these energetic guys something to do, to properly trick them, and at the same time, find some fun to relax herself.

But at this moment, a graceful and gentle voice suddenly interrupted the young nobles' enthusiastic flattery.

"Gentlemen, continuously disturbing a lady's rest in front of a lady is not gentlemanly behavior."

"Can't you see the fatigue between the lady's eyebrows?"

Hearing this voice, Charlotte's heart skipped a beat because she felt the tone and voice of this flirtatious guy were somewhat familiar.

The girl raised her head and looked towards the source of the voice, then instantly froze.

Behind the young nobles stood a man in a black tailcoat, tall and handsome, with extraordinary red hair.

He wore a monocle, and in his crimson eyes, there was a faint smile. In the hand adorned with neat white gloves, he held a highball glass filled with red wine.

It was none other than the extraordinary person she had seen in the dream world of the Blood Calling — Sebastian!