The Wizarding World's Forbidden Book Administrator

Chapter 204 A Gamble for Power

Chapter 204 A Gamble for Power

The night sky over the plateau is very clear.

The Milky Way flows gently, its silvery branches shimmering.

But as Harriet stepped inside, the stars were swallowed by the cold gray bricks, replaced by countless bright moons, casting pale yellow light.

However, Harriet understood that those were not the real moon.

She had already learned from her last visit that this was a specialty mineral of Moonstone Castle territory, called Moonstone.

Harriet was overwhelmed with emotion as she finally returned home. She was almost ready to embark on her journey back!

A night visit to Moonstone Castle would surely disturb its inhabitants.

Harriet has no time to worry about the other person's sleep right now, and besides, one day she will become the other person's mistress.

Standing in the empty audience hall, Harriet felt intensely alone, even though Jarl was standing right beside her.

But this mercenary couldn't alleviate Harriet's loneliness; there was only one person in the world who could do that.

After a short wait, Count Morgan, surrounded by his servants, strode quickly toward his stone seat.

He had clearly been awakened from his dream; one could glean from his disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes that Morgan was fastening the moon-colored buttons under his arm as he sat down in the chair.

He ordered all his servants and guards to leave the hall, then said to Harriet:

"You guys really know how to torture me, always choosing to come late at night. I finally have a night when I can fall asleep quickly."

Mr. Mosley said that sleep quality is related to mental state, which in turn is affected by the glands in the body.

Harriet couldn't help but consider whether she could help Count Morgan if he had truly been suffering from insomnia for a long time.

However, she is not yet able to control her power with such precision, and she cannot guarantee that it will not cause other side effects.

Morgan adjusted his posture: "It's so late, even I don't have the heart to disturb my elderly heraldic officer. Don't you really think about my health?"

Harriet said, "But you still came to see us."

"Did I have any other choice?"

Morgan shrugged and asked a question, but his expression immediately turned serious.

"You should have come back a long time ago. I even thought you'd been skinned alive by those idiots from the Sack family. Since you're back, something must have happened along the way. Tell me, what did you do?"

Harriet nodded; she also knew what Morgan's biggest concern was:

"We met Earl Reggie."

"Oh my God!" Morgan exclaimed, rising to his feet in agitation. "Is he alright?"

"When we saw him, Count Reggie was very weak, but he is much better now," Harriet said.

"May the Lord have mercy—" Morgan quickly made a prayer gesture, "It seems you have truly entered Whitewood City."

What is the actual situation inside this place, once considered the last impregnable fortress on the plateau?

"As you know, Whitewood City is in the hands of Royce Seck."

Harriet answered based on her own observations and experiences.

"But Earl Reggie said that the Davis and Lines families had intermarried many times, and their bloodlines were deeply intertwined."

The Davis family has no cowards; the Earl and his heirs will never compromise or bow down to Chain Fortress and Gray City.

Morgan sneered: "The Davis family may be able to uphold their loyalty and honor, but Reggie cannot protect his granddaughter's virginity. When that girl turns fourteen, Royce's penis will pierce the heart of power in this ancient castle."

Harriet didn't know how to answer. She didn't want this to happen, but she didn't know how to stop it.

How should I respond? Should I say I sympathize with the girl?

Even though she was Harriet's potential rival, Reggie had considered marrying her off to Cathy.

But Morgan was determined not to listen to her sentimental talk, so Harriet straightened her expression and replied seriously:

"Count Reggie's eyes are still sharp; he can see the future fate of his family."

“You’re right, maybe I shouldn’t be worrying about other people’s families,” Morgan said, “but since you’ve managed to see him, you shouldn’t have come back so late.”

Harriet truthfully replied, "Count Reggie gave me a list, but I was instructed by the Count to establish contact with the people on the list—."

Then, Harriet recounted to Morgan everything that had happened since she left Whitewood.

She also gave Morgan the list that Reggie had written to read.

When Morgan heard what had happened in the pine forest, his expression inevitably became serious and tense:

"You mean, the soldiers came to search for you? There's a spies among you?"

"Yes," Harley nodded.

Morgan paced anxiously as he analyzed the situation:

"This will undoubtedly alert the enemy! Not only will it put Earl Reggie in a disadvantageous position, but it will also let the Zorc family know in advance that his opponents are still plotting in secret, and it may even expose Duke Casey's situation."

"If they investigate further, they might be able to trace the clues back to Moonstone Fortress and then launch a military retaliation."

Damn it, the heirs of the Zeman family have never been valiant lords!

Harriet reassured them, "My lady, please rest assured, until they reached the woods, they didn't know who had arranged to meet them, nor did they know Count Reggie's role in this operation, let alone my identity—"

"But they found out after that!" Morgan interrupted Harriet. "As spies, wouldn't they tell the people they're loyal to what they have?"

"Don't worry," Harriet said. "That spy is dead."

Morgan stopped abruptly upon hearing this, paused for a moment, and then asked:

"What do you mean?"

Harriet then recounted the events in detail.

At that time, Harriet had already used her abilities to distort the surrounding plants.

Branches were tangled and intertwined, and thorns bound the horse's hooves.

The cavalrymen who participated in the meeting used their weapons to cut through the brambles and thorns to untie their horses, thus escaping the place.

Jarl was in the same situation, and Harriet, who had no weapons, could only ask Jarl for help.

But Jarl remained unmoved, staring intently with his large eyes as he sharply surveyed the other knights.

Harriet felt a growing panic as she heard the sound of hooves approaching, and she urged Jarl on.

Jarl suddenly spurred his horse forward, charging towards one of the knights.

The other man's name was Adrian, and without saying a word, Jarl grabbed the double axes and began hacking at him.

The rider hurriedly brandished his sword to defend himself, but he was quickly overwhelmed.

After seeing Adrian deflect Jarl's attack, Harriet kicked the horse hard in the belly with the heel of her iron boot.

The warhorse neighed and roared, then reared up and charged forward in a frenzy.

But the direction he fled in was the direction the cavalry was coming from!

It was only then that Harriet realized what was going on.

Adrian is the traitor among them!

But how did Jarl find out? Harriet didn't know. All she knew was that once Adrian returned to the city with the intelligence, everything would be over. Her recent abilities would be wasted, and she would have let Reggie down, and even Cassie. Just as Harriet was at a loss, Jarl threw the axe in his hand.

The axe was surrounded by a dazzling red light, spinning forward in the air, leaving behind red nitrogen and argon trails like spilled hot blood.

Then, the axe pierced Adrian's back with pinpoint accuracy.

Adrian suddenly swayed and fell off his horse, which then ran off wildly, leaving its master behind.

While Harriet was still in a daze, Jarl had already returned to her side, cutting the thorns binding her horse, and said in a deep voice:

You owe me an axe.

Harriet could only nod and accept the debt, unable to think of any other words to respond.

Afterwards, Harriet followed Jarl as they escaped from the woods.

Having confirmed there was no danger, Harriet immediately asked Jar:

"How do you know Adrian is a spy?"

"Loyalty and integrity are the rarest qualities in the world," Jarl said. "Even the Unswearing Knights have had traitors."

I've encountered countless unfaithful people, and I can detect clues from their eyes and mannerisms.

"That's all?"

"Of course I have my own standards of judgment," Jar said, "but ultimately it's just my subjective feeling."

After that, Harriet and Jarl found Minos again.

After spending some more time, he was finally able to reunite with the same group of people.

It was through this conversation that Harriet finally gained the friendly attitude of five of them.

At this moment, after listening to Harriet's story, Count Morgan still had a furrowed brow:

"But no one can prove that the remaining people did not leak information."

Even Harriet could see it: "Count Reggie's proposal is a gamble in itself."

Morgan stared at Harriet for a moment, and finally couldn't help but sigh:

"Well—in the current situation, we really have no choice but to take a risky approach—"

Harriet said, "But even so, I still don't understand why Count Reggie would come up with such a plan. Knights are nobles, but they alone probably can't shake the current situation on the plateau."

"You don't have that skill just by riding a horse."

Morgan's gaze turned cold.

"But I can understand Count Reggie's intentions—"

Harriet listened intently, making sure she didn't miss a single word.

Morgan continued:

"Reggie's goal is the power behind the knights. I've seen the list, and I've heard of some of the knights' names. Their masters, without exception, are neither loyal servants of the Zorc family nor opportunistic fair-weather friends."

"Although they have temporarily switched sides to Gray City, they are probably not all sincerely kneeling at the feet of the Zorc bastards. And since they have switched sides once, they will certainly be willing to switch sides again."

"After all, apart from Chain Fortress and Stone Bridge Tower, the other territories won't gain any benefit just because the monarch has changed to Zorc."

Many long-time patrons are even fervently praying for the Lines family's comeback.

Harriet said, "But what does that have to do with the Cavaliers?"

"Like I just said, their attitude is unpredictable," Morgan said, "so we should directly negotiate with them."

The risk is too high.

"But it's different with the knights. Compared to lords, knights are often more upright and have some loyalty to their lord, so they won't easily betray their masters."

"Therefore, when making decisions, the master's perspective will be mixed in, so not many knights will be truly persuaded by you to kneel down and pledge allegiance to Duke Keshi."

"But as long as they are willing to show a friendly attitude, that will be enough. When their master is indecisive, if they are willing to say a few words on behalf of the Lines family, the impact on the situation will be considerable."

"Even if they are unwilling to do so, at least they can act as intermediaries when you or Duke Casey himself intend to meet with their master for a private discussion someday."

"I think these two points are what that fat pig Reggie really wants. Maybe he has other considerations as well."

But at least I couldn't have imagined it.

Harriet questioned the word "fat pig" the only thing she found objectionable, as Count Reggie was not fat at all.

However, thanks to Morgan's guidance, Harriet finally understood some of the reasons why she had put herself in such dangerous situations during this time.

Morgan chuckled a few times, then said:

"Since Reggie's plan has been executed relatively smoothly, it means that the revival of the Lyons family may not be hopeless. And you, Brown-Braided Jarl, to have completed my commission with such high quality, I can only say that the Unswearing Knights truly live up to their name."

“The Unswearing Knights don’t need praise,” Jarl said. “We’re mercenaries, we only do what we’re paid for, and now that I’ve done my job, it’s time for you to settle the balance.”

"Of course," Morgan readily agreed, "and I will also pay the bounty that was promised earlier."

Jarl nodded slightly, but did not express his gratitude.

Perhaps in his view, these were all things he deserved.

Perhaps so - after spending this time together, Harriet's stereotypical view of mercenaries has changed somewhat.

She still owed Jarl an axe, and she didn't know how to repay it.

Morgan stepped forward, took Harriet's hand, and kissed the back of her hand:

"Miss Harriet, please tell Duke Casey in detail what happened on the plateau, and ask him to remind you how much blood and sweat Moonstone Castle shed for the Lanes family."

Harriet nodded: "I will tell you the truth."

Is such a response appropriate for a future wife, in terms of status and etiquette?

After the conversation ended, Morgan walked out of the meeting hall.

Then, several servants came and brought many things.

One of the wooden boxes contained gold coins, which were Jarl's reward.

Jarl counted them; there were a total of 1,250.

In addition, dry rations and a small bag of gold coins were prepared for Harriet to ensure her safe return journey.

Perhaps Morgan wasn't lying; he may have already emptied his coffers this time.

Are all noble lords gamblers?

Harriet even suspects that the castle was won by Morgan's ancestors through a game of dice.

But Harriet believes that Casey is worth getting involved in this high-stakes gamble for power.

Then the servants tried to take Harriet and Jarl to the bedroom, as Morgan seemed to want them to stay the night.

However, Harriet's heart had already flown thousands of miles away.

"No! We're on our way now!"

Harriet's tone was firm and left no room for argument.

I must go back as soon as possible.

Harriet thought,

I have a feeling that Casey might need me —