Section 112 Investigation

Ashruphat smiled and ran his hand over the little girl's eyes, wiping away her tears.

"That's not what a queen should say. He said softly. "I remember telling you that as a queen, you have to be very careful not to shed tears at will...... The king has no tears. Ah, the essence of this sentence is not to say that you can't cry, but that you can't show your weakness. At least not in front of outsiders. My teacher once said to me, 'If you are calm, your subordinates will only waver.' If you waver, your subordinates will be terrified. If you panic, your subordinates will collapse.'" The king is the supreme leader, which is a basic quality. ”

When he finished saying this, he suddenly remembered the sentence he couldn't help but say. The words seemed to be in his head, in his mouth, and spat out of his mouth without realizing it, completely unguarded. His teacher? Did he have a teacher? Of course, since he had so much knowledge and skills, then he must have a teacher. But who was his teacher? Who was he?

Ashrufat's mind was in turmoil, but in the next moment, he drove it out of the city.

"Can you stay with me for one night like before...... Last time?" she demanded. Fortunately, the meaning of the little girl does not include men and women, but just a simple request.

......

Ashrufat gently moved the little girl's hand to the pillow beside her. The bed in the room wasn't very large, and Ashrufat easily crawled off the edge of the bed. In the eyes of outsiders, his appearance of folding his hands and feet like this may cause some misunderstanding, but in fact, he lay down in his clothes and lay down with the little girl for a while. The little girl fell asleep with his arm resting on it, but he easily replaced his arm with a small pillow.

The little girl was already asleep. It was only at this time that she looked more like a girl of her age than the little girl who tried her best to disguise herself as a queen.

How strange is it, why can't help but choose to help her? Ashrufat asked himself in his mind, but there was no correct answer. It's like his heart...... He originally thought that he had been as calm as ice, and his unwavering heart sprouted a strange impulse at that moment. No, maybe not impulsively, maybe just as Rhodia said, he was originally an ambitious man. When the opportunity came, he would naturally make that choice.

He walked to the door, but saw the old woman standing there. The old woman, still dressed in her usual ascetic robes, looked at him with a smile. It was just such a threatening old woman, but Ashrufat unconsciously felt his heart twitch.

"Lord Ashrufat...... It seems like you're all talking about you out there. The mother-in-law finally spoke, and her voice had a gentleness that was characteristic of her age.

"What are you discussing?" asked Ashrufat. The question was redundant—Ashrufaat had a hearing beyond human limits, so he could hear a lot of voices that others thought he couldn't hear, including, of course, the discussions of the officials of the new court—especially about him. Everyone knew who he was, but the way they discussed him sounded to outsiders like a wild child who was unruly and liked to overturn the table at dinner.

"They intend to ...... I'm going to wear you out. The mother-in-law said. "Lord Ashrufat, it's better for you to pay more attention to your health. ”

"Rest assured. Ashrufat smiled. He couldn't tell what the old woman wanted to do, sometimes he felt that this old woman seemed to have extraordinary observation and intelligence, but other times, he felt that she was more like an old fool who spoiled his grandchildren. "As long as they can do everything as quickly as possible, I don't care about the rest. ”

"Then when does Lord Ashruphat plan to summon your courtiers?" asked the mother-in-law. Normally, the only people who can see the queen at will without additional approval are the members of the Council or the messenger who has received additional approval, and other officials cannot see the queen anytime and anywhere. Such a provision was of course not wrong in the first place, but in this case, it was equivalent to cutting off the communication channels between other officials and the queen. Anyone can't help but think in the direction of the "Queen". In a way, it was more thorough than what Byron did back then.

"About two months. Ashrufat replied. "I want to put things ...... A lot of troublesome things are done first. ”

“...... The above is the latest situation from Eagle Falcon City. The clerk respectfully finished reading, and then handed the letter in his hand to one of Duke Byron's attendants.

"Very well, guys," Byron said, looking at his men around him, "do you have any opinions?"

Like all cunning people would do, Byron left enough eyeliner when he evacuated Falcon City. Although he has been expelled from the royal city, with the convenience of magical communication, every move in Eagle Falcon City cannot escape the eyes of the former regent.

"Is that Ashrufat crazy? Someone said. Although there was never a limit to the number of part-time jobs a person could have, such as Garunas, the Sage of the Wilderness, who often held the dual positions of Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, Eshurufat's behavior was beyond normal sanity and bordered on madness.

"Temporarily insane. Byron was a rare composure. "But...... I'm sure he won't die of exhaustion. When he collapsed, he would probably calm down when he lay down on the hospital bed. The former regent smiled, this foolishness would have dealt a great blow to Ashrufat's prestige and reputation, and of course, the reputation of the little queen would have been damaged. Either way, it's a good thing for Byron.

"What do you think about this...... Eshurufat had many contacts with the dwarven merchants who had come to Falcon City to do business. Byron continued. "Each meeting was a secret meeting, and no third party was allowed to attend. ”

Dwarves are not particularly uncommon in the Anthropocene. Especially caravans to and from large cities. Aside from the cautious and recalcitrant nature of the dwarves, they are usually very popular, especially the various metal utensils they make, which usually fetch a high price.

“...... Won't it ...... Borrowed money?" asked after a brief silence.

"It's a dwarven caravan, and even if you borrow money, you can't borrow a lot of money. It was a young man sitting next to the Duke of Byron, who looked so similar to Byron that a fool could tell that there was a blood relationship between the two. Even a complete stranger, as long as he knew something about the Duke of Byron, he could easily deduce that this young man was the eldest son of the Duke of Byron, Barheim.

"But you can contact the dwarven kingdom through a caravan...... The mountain kingdom of the dwarves contains an astonishing amount of wealth. From this point of view, borrowing a large amount of money is not a problem. ”

"But our Lord Count Ashrufat," said Bairheim sarcastically, the title, "does he have the face, to be able to borrow enough money from the dwarves, and I think there is no need to delve into it......

"Lord Duke," Esin said suddenly, "I think it's better to be cautious in this matter." Ashrufat was a mercenary by training, and perhaps during his career as a mercenary, he had the opportunity to meet some special people......"

"Mercenary mercenary, what kind of knowledge can a bunch of scum have, what kind of people can they meet, what kind of great people can they meet," Bairheim looked at Essien with disdain. "Do you still need to be a mercenary?"

He accentuated the word "mercenary" in his voice, causing Essien's face to turn red and white.

"Wait, maybe this is the case with Ashrufat...... It's a little different. Byron interjected and interrupted the conversation. "This is the latest I got from Brassian. This person may not be as simple as we think. ”

One of the attendants handed a document to the clerk, who immediately picked it up and began to read it clearly.

All the participants fell silent, including Bairheim, whose faces were a little unsightly.

This document is from the investigation report of Brasian. Brasín is a small town west of Gruny, one of those small places that is not rich or distinctive. The reason why Byron sent someone to investigate Brassian was entirely because Ashrufat had come from Brasian—at least on paper.

The clerk read slowly. The report clearly illustrates what the Ashrufat had done in Brasian, who was already one of the richest men in the town, with a great reputation and respect, who lived in an elaborate castle, owned a large estate, and had four fiancées at home. One of them is none other than Shirley.

Among those present, the slightly well-informed all knew that Shirley was actually the illegitimate daughter of Duke Byron. Although no one knew what Shirley suddenly disappeared, they did not expect that Shirley would be arrested for fraud and then bought by Ashrufat as a slave girl.

It must be said that the man whom Byron sent out was not a fool. The investigation was detailed and precise, especially when it came to Ashrufat's secret possessions. Although on the surface, Ashrufar only owns a small chamber of commerce called the Eurolock Chamber of Commerce (which is already remarkable for the squire aristocracy), in reality, he also controls a larger industry, which is the recent and mysterious appearance of the tobacco chamber "Xianghai". The various types of tobacco sold by this chamber of commerce have become popular among the nobles and wealthy merchants.

In other words, judging from this report alone, the man named Ashrufat is completely the kind of legendary character that only exists in children's stories, both civil and military, and both outstanding types.

Essien let out a long breath, and now he fully understood how stupid he had been to take his house worth 50,000 gold to buy Ashrufat. It's like a beggar comparing riches with a king. But on the other hand, he was a little happy: the failure of the purchase was not his personal problem, but the Duke Byron's purchase price was too pitiful.

"Everyone," Byron said. "Anyway, it looks like our little queen is determined to reuse Ashrufat, and I have to say she's very clever indeed. He looked around. "I don't know how far this Count of Ashrufat will do for his queen. But even if he gave away all his possessions......" he smiled wickedly. "It's just a month or two longer. ”