Chapter 102: Untitled

Some people said that women were like fine wine. To develop charm, they had to be aged just right by time. Time was a carving knife. It mercilessly stripped away a woman’s innocence, but it also added fuller curves. The captivating noblewoman before him, with her pair of heterochromatic eyes, had a plump body with curves that were almost perfect. It seemed a single glance or a slight bend could sway with an alluring charm. Even the most stunning young woman utterly lacked this kind of allure. It was like wine aged for ten years; a slight swirl of the glass would release its unique fragrance. That kind of intoxicating temptation from nature, every frown and smile carried a hint of subtle provocation. Even though Constantine was filled with endless vigilance at this moment, he still felt a restless desire stirring in his heart.

“We have a pair of eyes and ears. While hearing the voice of god, we would of course also see the temptations of devils. Fortunately, we only have one heart. Even in this complicated world, it belongs to only one person.”

The young man narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the other’s pupils which held not a trace of a smile, and gave himself a warning in his heart… The more beautiful the wine, the more intoxicating. And for an intoxicated person, reason and wisdom would immediately leave them… Especially this glass before him, which was undoubtedly the legendary bourbon whiskey, “The Water of Life,” distilled dozens of times. Just one drop was enough to break one’s spirit and wound one’s soul.

As the leader of a thieves’ organization, she could openly visit the Western Frontier Governor’s Mansion of the Empire. It seemed to show unreserved sincerity. But it was also a display of fearless strength.

“What an interesting young noble lord.” The thief leader, dressed as a noblewoman, narrowed her alluring heterochromatic eyes. She elegantly extended a fair and delicate hand towards Constantine. The young man was taken aback for a moment, then reached out to take it, bringing it to his lips—only to find himself receiving surprised looks from the surrounding people. He then remembered that similar etiquette existed in this world, but it wasn’t common, and it wasn’t the standard courtesy in Phoenix, where the Three Gods were the primary faith.

However, this thief leader seemed completely unconcerned about this. She just smiled with a playful look in her eyes and whispered, “The desire to possess a virgin is exactly the same as an explorer’s desire to be the first to conquer a majestic mountain. But, mountains always hold endless dangers… A man’s first time should be entrusted to a woman who is skilled in technique…”

“I originally thought, Madam, that you came here to discuss certain matters?”

Constantine scratched the tip of his nose and finally had to choose, as if admitting defeat, to shift the topic to the main point. His words, however, elicited a series of charming giggles: “Whatever the subject of conversation, it shouldn’t be conducted on the street outside the door, should it?”

…

“Secrets and intelligence, stealing secrets and keeping secrets, this is a special field of struggle… Whether in the war-torn years or the peaceful times of song and dance, it has never ceased. In a sense, intelligence is a vital weapon relating to the honor, disgrace, rise, fall, and even survival of every nation. Its importance can surpass all swords, even the staves and spellbooks in the hands of mages… Especially now, when all nations are constantly clashing, and the secret war, gradually intensifying, is becoming more and more fierce.”

Constantine’s eyes widened a bit. He looked with a somewhat incredulous expression at the woman who sat not far before him, in a lazy and seductive posture, lightly parting her crimson lips. It was as if he were looking at a little monster—he hadn’t expected that a noblewoman who appeared so coquettish, a person who was actually the head of thieves and thugs, would utter such words… That was almost a special conclusion only someone who had traversed the Crystal Wall barrier could make.

“You needn’t be so surprised… My Viscount, because these words were not spoken by me…”

The young man’s expression made the thief leader let out a series of charming giggles. She gently twisted her waist, taking the unsatisfied, meowing cat from the young man’s hands with a seductive gesture, and held it lightly. The pair of weapons on her chest, impressive enough for a Bard to praise the Creator, rippled with the sound of her voice, causing Constantine, who considered himself having seen many images, to also be somewhat stunned.

“You may not believe what I say, but I must declare to you again, this time the group from Prince Oriel’s family truly has nothing to do with me or my subordinates… Collecting intelligence is the primary business of our Eagle, although we sometimes take on some deceptive work as a side job, we are not professionals.” The noblewoman sighed, pulling on her face an expression of infinite disappointment: “In fact, I can tell you plainly, I have not the slightest interest in killing you or the Prince. And if I had received similar information beforehand, I would have had to consider stopping it with all my power, because that would harm my own interests…”

“You should be well aware, my interest in this matter is not great… I am a lazy person. Apart from those related to me, I don’t like to concern myself with others’ affairs.” Constantine showed not the slightest interest in this declaration from the other party. Smiling indifferently, the young man shook his hand. “I only wish to know, slightly, your thoughts on the parts of this affair that concern me.”

“Respected Viscount, do you know? From the moment we met, I believed you should be our friend… or ally…” The woman named Aphra had a proud gaze like a Persian cat, but that didn’t hinder her at all from revealing a subtle, affectionate provocation that made Constantine feel a certain warmth. “Towards our friends, the Black Eagle has always adopted the most friendly attitude… And this incident, although due to our inadequacies it caused some misunderstandings, I believe that with the efforts and sincerity of both sides, all obstacles will cease to be obstacles.”

“Ally… Ah? Seems quite interesting…”

Constantine lowered his head slightly. A faint purple light swirled in his eyes, but his vision showed no issues… Yet he knew something wasn’t quite right—right at this moment, he felt himself somewhat wavering, as if involuntarily wanting to believe the other’s words. Fortunately, after much meditation and magic training, his mind was vastly different from ordinary people’s. This slight anomaly wouldn’t affect him too much.

This strange feeling still made him frown. Although legends said peerless beauties could always produce a special persuasive power, the woman before him obviously hadn’t reached such a level of stunning beauty.

But the young man soon discovered the trick. The room had, at some unknown time, filled with a strange fragrance. Constantine touched his nose, noticing that within the thick scent, there was secretly mixed a hint of rosemary… This herb seemed to also be a spell component for a certain mind magic, but used alone, it could similarly have the special effect of clouding one’s mind. It was said that at special times, many places in the Law Enforcement Office and City Guard used this incense to persuade criminals.

The young man sneered inwardly. Would such a little trick have any effect on him?… But the next moment, he suddenly had a new thought.

“To become your ally, Madam, must certainly be an interesting thing. However, my father taught me that an alliance without benefit is like a rootless duckweed. Even a light breeze can blow it away… No different from a politician’s oath, a merchant’s promise, or a prostitute’s chastity, only to be taken as a tasteless joke.”

This was a truthful statement. Naturally, he didn’t believe it in the slightest… Although thieves weren’t considered powerful figures, they were the best at hiding in the darkness. Especially an eagle this well-fed and strong was absolutely not something a small lotus bud like himself, just beginning to sprout, could bear. And unless it lost its head, the eagle had no reason to land on this rootless foothold… The greatest possibility for approaching him was simply that in this pond where the lotus grew, there swam countless plump fish.

“Cunning little nobleman… I know, you probably don’t believe a single word I say in your heart… But I have a way to prove it to you. By the way, you and I, Constantine, we seem to have a special connection. It seems as if a special power in the unseen is pulling us together.” The woman smiled. That smile was as sweet as the air in the room.

“Mutual… If possible, I’d like to see your sincerity. Beautiful Miss Aphra.” Constantine responded. Then, in those heterochromatic pupils, he saw a hint of disappointment.

“Although heavy crossbows are contraband, obtaining them isn’t all that troublesome… According to regulations, in the armories owned by various territories, a batch of scrapped items are retired every year. Therefore, one only needs to do a bit of tampering to get the new ones and the retired goods out together. A new crossbow costs two hundred gold coins, a retired one costs one hundred gold coins. Within the industry, this is almost an open secret…” Pausing briefly, the female leader of the thieves gently stroked the cat in her arms and said slowly, “However, generally, all those who make a fortune through this route also have their own rules. That is, regardless of new or old, they never leave the magic mark on the crossbow. Especially the Griffin emblem… You might not be aware, your kinsmen’s management of weapons has reached an unprecedented level of strictness.”

“So, to achieve the current result, if they didn’t directly obtain them from the Connallyvis Family’s armory, then there were only two methods… It could be trophies recovered from the battlefield, or it could be burning the magic mark onto a blank, unmarked heavy crossbow… But the items used in this incident aren’t quite like either of those. Crossbows recovered from the battlefield would necessarily bear marks of combat. Marks not applied through official Mage channels would be blurry. The information I received is that those crossbow strings and arms were as new as if just glued, and although the magic marks had been scraped off to varying degrees, they were still thirty percent more standard than those freshly produced in the Western Frontier.”

The woman named Aphra fluently delivered a series of analyses. In that instant, she seemed to show a face completely different from before. The precise and meticulous vocabulary and analysis made her more like a qualified and confident analyst. Constantine touched his nose, sighing inwardly. If the other party knew his preferences and released the original charm potion at this moment, he might truly have no way to resist this unusual temptation.

“As for slaves… Although the teachings of the Three Gods of Light have been integrated into the thinking of Phoenix’s citizens for a long time, the slave trade in the Western Frontier is still one of their important sources of labor and funding. Strong Barbarians don’t get sick easily and are immensely powerful. Whether used in mines or logging camps, they are superior to several healthy ordinary slaves. Commoners and minor nobles naturally cannot get involved, but any family with some foundation can manage to get a group of Barbarian warriors, which isn’t very difficult. However, wanting to preserve their combat power is another matter entirely. All Barbarian slaves have parts of their tendons permanently severed. That doesn’t affect their movements, but to restore them requires a special process.”

“Therefore, behind this incident, there is absolutely the shadow of a figure who can touch the core of the Phoenix royal family. He should at least possess formal royal bloodline… to grant him the right to exempt himself from this series of security measures…” After finishing a series of analyses, the lady stood up gently, slowly paced a few steps, and slightly bowed her head to look at Constantine sitting behind the desk. This movement lowered her sexy strapless dress with its deep cleavage. That mass of white, soft flesh on her chest collided and pressed against each other, appearing even more unruly, as if it might break free from its restraints and bounce out at any moment!

“Viscount Constantine, I hope to obtain your reply as soon as possible. After all, a true ‘union’ is extremely beneficial for both sides.” The queen of the darkness world said with a double meaning. The corner of her mouth also revealed a mysterious smile. Her lovely face and elegant temperament set off a dignified charm that carried a different kind of allure and temptation…

…

“These youngsters’ affairs are truly worrisome.”

Behind more than a dozen walls, the head of the Connellyvis Family stood by the window. His gaze went over the Griffin Knights neatly lined up in the courtyard, projecting onto the street corner where an inconspicuous brown carriage sat quietly parked.

“The leader of Hayton’s largest thieves’ guild… Aphra Rae Willis, is a somewhat capable woman.” The Old Steward stood to the side, squinting his eyes slightly as if reciting from a book…

“Ten years ago, the local thieves’ guild boss, ‘Black Eagle,’ died in a gang conflict. He had eight adopted children. But at that time, it was this woman named Aphra, the youngest among the children, who killed her seven older brothers and took over that medium-sized guild as the sole heir, conducting a bloody purge of all old members within the guild. On the surface, this beautiful young woman was the proprietress of the Golden Finch Inn. But in Hayton City’s underworld rules, even the rats in the sewers knew this was a venomous snake with a gorgeous exterior and ruthless methods. She controlled an intelligence network covering the entire Hayton City. From nobles’ affairs to military secrets, as long as you had enough gold coins, you could move her.”

“Just a little one who thinks she has gained power… But Constantine was unexpectedly diligent this time, saving me a lot of trouble.” The Duke let out another low, cold laugh: “Speaking of which, that little scoundrel from the Ralphe Family is even more diligent. Now, rumors that the Connallyvis Family is the mastermind behind a certain assassination storm are starting to circulate… The timing he chose is indeed good. Exactly the day before the Knights arrived!”

“Such a matter, anyone with a slight understanding of the inside story would only regard it as a joke… Even those old fellows in the family wouldn’t be the slightest bit nervous about this news…” The Old Steward lowered his eyelids and responded quietly.

“Ha! That old bastard himself doesn’t believe it either… Otherwise, why would he so easily throw the authority to investigate to his own little bastard?” The Duke sneered, then picked up a piece of Parchment from the table, rustling it twice: “Look at this, his directive to me: For the smooth realization of stability and peaceful development, the Phoenix royal family must work in unison with the Connellyvis Family. He will serve as the strong backing of the Connellyvis Family… A pile of empty words!

“But this time it gave him a good excuse to seize upon… I think his real intention, under the major premise of peace, should be to have the Phoenix royal family confront the Connellyvis Family in every aspect—they probably have never let go of us, the Empire’s greatest destabilizing factor!”

Gently crumpling that piece of Parchment, stamped with a seal symbolizing the Empire’s highest authority, into his hand, with a slight clenching motion of his five fingers, a spray of fine gray powder erupted from the Duke’s hand. When he opened his hand again, that sturdy parchment had completely turned into a handful of gray powder, scattering with a puff.

“The throne is just an empty title. It’s just that the role of this empty title is exaggerated in the hearts of many nobles… As long as we have outstanding generals, elite soldiers, and ample money, having a crown or not is completely unimportant. A duchy, at least, appears much weaker than a kingdom or an empire, although the reality is often not so. Having our enemies underestimate us is not a bad thing. Our vision should be placed further ahead. These flashy but insubstantial things are better off discarded. We can make concessions in diplomatic etiquette, even in some unimportant interests, and remain fully humble. Suffering a small loss here is no big deal. But if they dare to lay a finger on our core interests, then for every finger they extend, I’ll chop off a corresponding number!”

The Duke murmured softly, as if speaking to the Old Steward, but also as if reminding himself.