The news of the Black Rock Palace's cannon fire at the mercenaries spread, and before noon, everyone who heard the deafening cannon sound in the morning knew what was going on in the Black Stone Palace.

Similarly, Webb Rodney, the head of the Rupert family, who was not in the Blackstone Palace in the morning because of his business, soon learned the news. While the messenger sent by the Blackstone Palace was about to set off to ask Rodney to return, the steward of the Rupert family's territory had already returned to the Blackstone Palace.

Rodney walked briskly through the corridors of the Black Rock Palace with a gloomy face.

"So, you didn't stop Lord Ackerman from doing this stupid thing?"

His voice was as cold as the biting cold wind in winter, and the few young attendants who followed him bowed their heads deeply, not even daring to let out the air.

"This is how you take your responsibility? I have made you an attendant to Lord Ackerman, not because you are of noble origin, but because you believe that you have a discerning eye for right and wrong, and a loyalty that dares to speak out. Now, are you going to tell me that my old eyes are completely looking at the wrong person, are you?"

The faces of the young attendants could not help but turn pale, although Rodney's tone was very flat, but the storm hidden behind this insipidity was more frightening than directly scolding them.

Rodney stopped abruptly.

And several attendants who had been following him closely also hurriedly stopped, and even took a few steps back.

"What about your answer?" Rodney turned and stared at the young men with indifferent eyes, "Silence will not solve the problem, gentlemen, this is not in your home, this is the Blackstone Palace. ”

"We will never make such a mistake again. The attendants hurriedly responded, although Rodney's expression still made them extremely uneasy, but at least listening to his tone, they should not really actually punish themselves and the others, "Please rest assured, Mr. Steward, we will resolutely discourage all inappropriate behaviors of Lord Ackerman in the future, we assure you!"

Rodney's gaze was still cold.

Sweat gradually oozed from the foreheads of the attendants, but their hands still maintained the posture of swearing, and they did not dare to put it down at all.

"Okay, I see, hopefully don't let me down again. Rodney waved his hand and motioned for the attendants to go down, "Hold on to your posts, and before that, I would like to see your written review of today's matter, if you want to write anything else." ”

The attendants could not hear the subtext of Rodney, and they confessed to the chief one after another, and then hurried back to their rooms, or rather, to get away from Rodney, who had put great pressure on them.

Silently watching the attendants disappear into the corridor, Rodney's brow gradually furrowed, and he faintly felt that something was wrong with Ackerman's cannon intimidation of the mercenaries.

"The interest in painting is still very good, and it suits a weak temperament like Master Ackerman. Staring at the empty hallway, Rodney muttered to himself, "Or do you, Lord Ackerman, suddenly want to paint a magnificent depiction of war and add some blood to his new work?"

Rodney sneered, then turned and walked towards the studio at the other end of the hallway.

"Then let me have a good look at your work, Lord Ackerman. ”

The door to the studio was abruptly pushed open, but Ackermann, who was concentrating on his painting, did not look back at all, and had already focused all his attention on the canvas in front of him.

The maids, who were models, felt a little frightened, their eyes turned to Rodney's side, but their bodies were motionless, still doing their duty as models.

"Sorry, please wait a minute. Ackerman didn't look up, still focusing on the painting, "Just a few more strokes." ”

Rodney walked a few steps away from Ackerman and stopped.

"Alright. Ackerman put down his paintbrush, then waved his hand, signaling that the maids didn't have to continue posing.

As if pardoned, the maids hurriedly saluted Rodney and hurried out of the studio.

Rodney stared sideways at the maids leaving, and it wasn't until the studio door was closed that he turned his face away, looked at Ackerman and said, "Lord Ackerman, I heard that you ordered the garrison to use magic cannon shots to intimidate those mercenaries today, is there such a thing?"

Ackerman was wiping the sweat from his face with a towel, and when he heard Rodney's words, he put down the towel and turned to look at Rodney with a surprised expression. "Don't you think those mercenaries shouldn't be stopped, they're all coming to the Blackstone Palace, and I don't want to see these rude guys break in and destroy our precious artwork. ”

Rodney stared solemnly at Ackerman's face, a look that made the young Count's heir feel very uncomfortable.

"Then you shouldn't do it this way, it's going too far, and this time you're scaring not only the mercenaries, but also the nobles in the city - they're scared when your cannonball lands in the Golden Zone. Rodney said earnestly, but in his heart, he was secretly depressed as to why Lubigon had put Ackerman aside in the first place, neither close nor distant, so that he could not guess what he meant.

"That's right......," Ackerman cupped his cheeks, pondering, "Okay, I see, thanks for the reminder, I'll pay attention next time." ”

Rodney's eyes narrowed, and although Ackerman was hinting that he could end the conversation, Rodney didn't want to be so hasty.

"Now that you're aware of the mercenaries, what are you going to do about it—now that the Earl is gone, the Rupert family is up to you, so you should take some responsibility, no matter what, it's your mission. ”

"Wouldn't it be nice to leave it to you like anything else?" said Ake, looking reluctant to take care of it, "Isn't my father also entrusted you with the affairs of the territory, and I don't think I can be wiser than my father, so it's up to you to decide." ”

"Please take up your responsibilities. Rodney took a step forward, although his expression was not so vicious, but the momentum on his body overwhelmed Ackerman, "This is your responsibility, even if we vassals can help you deal with specific affairs, but the decision must be made by you, and the responsibility must also be borne by you, this is the obligation of the lord, and no one can replace it." ”

As if frightened by Rodney's momentum, Ackerman couldn't help but take a step back.

"So, do you have any opinions? I—I think I should have listened to you first. ”

Rodney looked at Ackerman carefully, then nodded slowly. "It is also the duty of the courtier to advise the lord, and since you want to hear it, then I will share some of my opinions. ”

"First of all, we must not allow the situation to escalate further, but we must not bow to those mercenaries either. We can't pay them any compensation, because it's not our responsibility, and if we give them money, then where will the Rupert family put their face, and others will look down on us. So, I think it's imperative to get these mercenaries out of the Vortagan Territory as soon as possible. ”

"Secondly, I think it is necessary for you to give an explanation to the nobles about the damage caused by your shelling and intimidation of the mercenaries, which is indeed your fault, as a lord, you must not admit that it is not your own responsibility, and at the same time, you cannot deny your own fault, you should compensate the nobles who have suffered losses and calm their hearts. ”

"Finally, regarding Lord Earl, I think you should be mentally prepared. At present, I have sent my family henchmen to search for the Earl, but if there is no result, I ask you to inherit the Earl's position as soon as possible, so as not to attract the covetousness and unnecessary trouble of others. The search for Lord Earl should only be handed over to the close henchmen of the family, and if outsiders are allowed to interfere in it, I am afraid it will be against us. ”

Ackerman listened carefully to Rodney's words, and when Rodney spoke, he remained polite and did not interject a word. It wasn't until Rodney finished speaking that he spoke, "Well, how are we going to get these mercenaries out of the Vortagan Territory? ”

"Rest assured, I've got an idea of that. ”

"What's the idea?" the Ackerman Alliance asked.

Rodney, on the other hand, just looked at Ackerman with a straight face, but did not answer the other party's question.

"I can't know?" Ackerman frowned, obviously he said just now that the decision was up to him, but when it came to the key issue, this old guy was silent and didn't take himself seriously at all, which made Ackerman not be annoyed in his heart, "Listen, Webb, I am my father's heir, and I am qualified to know about this matter." ”

"Now is not the time. Rodney shook his head, "We're all worried about the safety of Lord Earl right now, so please focus more on finding Lord Earl, which is the most important thing you should do at the moment, as for the mercenaries...... Gentleman Chef, Master Ackerman, you only need to have this determination, and knowing too much may shake your determination. ”

Ackerman's lips twitched twice, but he knew he couldn't have a seizure, so he tried to control his breathing and calm his mind as much as possible.

"I see. Ackerman nodded, without any expression on his face, "Well, please take care of these matters, and if there's anything I need to know, tell me." ”

With that, he prepared to leave the studio, even setting aside the painting he had just painted.

"I hope you will reflect on today's reckless behavior, and of course, I have no intention of punishing you for this. Before Ackerman left the studio, Rodney said to him in a loud voice, "Your attendants have taken the punishment for you, and I hope you will take this as a warning in the future and not do ......."

"Things that shouldn't be done. ”

Ackerman paused, then turned half of his face sideways, and it took a long time to squeeze an answer out between his teeth, and then hurried away.

Rodney chuckled and walked out of the studio, but at the door of the studio, he just stood and watched Ackerman go away, not following him.

"Has he been in contact with anyone lately?"

Out of the corridor next to the studio came a gray-robed man, and the gray robe on his body was also embroidered with a goat's head.

"No outsiders have approached Ackerman, he is surrounded by people from the Blackstone Palace, and his every move is under our watch. The gray-robed man replied, "I'm sorry for the morning's events, I thought the attendants could stop his ......."

"Huh, those guys?" Rodney snorted, his expression very unkind, "If they really have the ability, how could I send them to Ackerman as squires?" ”

"But fortunately, there is not much loss at the moment, just smashed something, and it doesn't matter ....... ”

"It doesn't matter? Hmph-" Rodney snorted coldly, his face looking displeased, "Is that what you do? Thinking about the good in everything, and not planning for the worst, haven't you ever thought about why Ackerman deliberately used the magic cannon to intimidate those mercenaries?

The gray-robed man was slightly stunned, then lowered his head, and his tone became more and more respectful.

"There should be no problem with this...... "The gray-robed man replied cautiously, "Now that Ackerman has used the magic cannon to scare those mercenaries, it is even more unlikely that the mercenaries will help Ackerman, and Ackerman himself did it on his own initiative, so it will be easier for us." ”

"If that's all you can think of, then you might as well stop staying in the Blackstone Palace and go to the hostels outside the city!" Rodney turned his face and glared at the gray-robed man with cold eyes, "Don't you want to think about it, these mercenaries are so easy to solve? This cannon can't help but scare them, but it will make these guys even more difficult- At this moment, they and we are complete rivals, and those lowly mercenaries will definitely try their best to make things bigger, and when the time comes, will we really attack them with magic cannons? Ackerman wants to see such a situation, as long as that group of mercenaries really face us head-on, then he will have a chance, if the mercenaries win, he can completely put the responsibility on us, use the mercenaries' hatred to drive us away, and then he will personally govern and really take power into his hands. Even if the mercenaries are not our opponents, he can take this opportunity to elevate his status, after all, he is the only one with the surname Rupert now, and whoever wants to control this territory will serve him well. Don't underestimate this kid, he knows how to stand up better than you do. ”

The gray-robed man seemed to be frightened by Rodney's analysis, he couldn't imagine that this seemingly unexpected move could analyze so many things.