Forty-four knots of torsion

Rook moved unusually quickly, and on the afternoon of his decision, he packed up and left with a small team.

It must be noted that Rook was a well-traveled man, who already had his own network in St. Jean, and this time he had money as a lubricant, so a few days after he arrived in Loren City, he won himself a chance to meet Princess Irina.

Princess Irina met him in the reception room, but not alone: in Princess Irina's deputy, a beautiful girl sit. A few minutes later, Rook decided that the girl was little Rowling, the daughter of the court director and the Countess Rowling, a stupid girl with a pretty coat but a mushy head in her head. The presence of this girl did surprise Luke a little.

"You're Rook, Ryan's messenger?" Irina took a minute or two to look at the gift list. However, Rook believed that she had not read the gift list yet, and had only flipped through a few pages very roughly.

"Emissary of the 'Duke' of Ryan. Luke bowed humbly and replied.

"I never remember that I ever canonized a duke!" Irina said in a stern voice. "This is a naked betrayal! Ryan has the audacity to call himself a duke, and he has raised the banner of the scorching sun sword that can only be raised by the Casillos royal family! I will never accept such a move, if his betrayal is ......"

"Your Highness Princess, allow me to explain a little. Rook waited patiently for the princess to lose her temper before speaking. "Your Royal Highness, please trust me. Lord Ryan has no intention of betraying Her Highness the Princess. The reason why he calls himself a duke is entirely to better serve Her Royal Highness the Princess. The most obvious evidence is that Her Royal Highness the Princess can take off this self-proclaimed 'duke' at any time if he wishes. ”

"Will Ryan do that?" asked Irina with some skepticism. In fact, the topic of Ryan has been a major topic of discussion in the near future. Some ministers considered this to be an obvious act of betrayal, and as soon as they broke through the defenses of the Paro, they would quickly dispose of Ryan and his troops by all means, including war. Others believe that if this happens, it will be a complete tragedy of cannibalism. After all, Princess Irina is the undisputed owner of the throne of Casillos, and all the knights of Casillos should be the princess's courtiers. An experienced diplomat, skillful negotiation, and appropriate means of appeasement are the best way to resolve the issue.

Everyone is arguing about this issue. And Irina didn't know what to do for a while. However, Irina stood on her own side, of course, not wanting to let the army of St. Jean and the army of Cassilos have a battlefield confrontation. No matter who wins or loses this kind of battle, those who die are her subjects.

"This is available whenever you want. Rook replied. "As I said, Ryan is doing this to serve you better. Do you know that in order to gain the support of the Knight of Cassiros and assemble an army, he must have a name for righteousness, don't you?"

"Is this the opinion of General Thomas?" asked Irina. She remembered the battle plan that Thomas had told at the meeting before the expedition, and that was part of it. Of course, Thomas didn't say anything like a duke at the meeting. And it turns out that Thomas is very conservative in his plans, or that the Paros are far less powerful than expected. Thomas didn't have to do this to defeat the Paro.

General Thomas didn't have a clear opinion, but he said that he could be flexible according to the situation. Rook replied immediately. How long Thomas will live is the only thing he can't be sure about at the moment. The only thing he knew for sure was that Thomas would not be able to return to Loren, but it was still possible that Irina would send a Pegasus Knight as a messenger to testify against Thomas what he had said.

Irina didn't speak for a moment, but little Rowling spoke. "So, Duke Ryan will give up his title of duke, and what about the knights who follow him?"

The beautiful stupid woman laughed, and Rook laughed too.

"As long as the princess sends someone who can replace Ryan in terms of bloodline and prestige. Rook replied cleverly. If King Rangier had been here, this sentence might have directly angered the king. But Princess Irina—as Rook had expected—didn't understand how real power was to be wielded, and she didn't know when to compromise and when to be tough.

In fact, when he saw Rowling Jr. present, Rook already had a chance of winning by eight or nine points. Among the closest people around Princess Irina, there was no such person at all—the only Thomas, who was far away in Paro, and was riddled with injuries and illnesses, and did not live long. In fact, it was impossible for Thomas to come back alive - if Thomas had any hope of recovery, then Ashrufat would have sent him back directly, or at least stayed at the Wolf's Mouth Castle to recuperate. Ashrufat continued to attack Paro with the banner of Thomas, which in itself showed that he was squeezing the most valuable use of Thomas.

It doesn't matter, let Ashrufat be complacent for the time being, he will find a way to deal with it sooner or later.

Rook noticed that Princess Irina was contemplating, but as far as he knew, Princess Irina's court was too pure, and it was made up entirely of St. Jeans—thanks to Paro—and there were no suitable candidates among her immediate ministers.

This is the most dangerous level. Luke knew that as long as Irina acquiesced to Ryan's position as duke at this moment, then she could not deprive her of it without a good reason in the future. However, if Irina was a decisive and far-sighted person, then she must have one or more knights of Casilos' name in her mind as candidates at the moment (after all, the two countries have lived together for a long time). If that happens, Rook will have to consider himself unlucky.

No way, our princess is not so far-sighted! a girl can't think so much...... Rook smiled, not revealing even a hint of uneasiness in his heart.

Irina continued to think.

"Her Royal Highness Princess Irina. Rook spoke suddenly. I can't let the princess think about it, and the fool will have a thousand thoughts.

"Oh?" Irina froze.

"I don't know if you noticed that among the things that Lord Ryan gave you, there are some special gifts. ”

Irina picked up the gift slip again. Rook's hand made a "four" gesture, and Irina turned to the fourth page and read them one by one.

Her body trembled a little, and countless complicated expressions flashed across her face, which turned to sadness at the end.

These are all items that Luke picked out for the use of the Cassilos royal family. As the saying goes, "seeing things and thinking about people", Princess Irina and her grandfather don't get along very well, so it is natural that they will miss other family members. Although she has long accepted the fact that "all her family members have died", when she sees these things at this moment, she will unconsciously recall the past time, her parents and brothers who used to live happily together.

Irina wiped her hand from the corner of her eye. It was only after this instinctive action that she realized her gaffe.

"You go down first. She turned her head so as not to let Rook see the change in her expression. But in fact, Rook has long been aware of all the subtle changes.

"So, about Lord Ryan......

"I'll think about it. Irina replied.

"I await your reply. On behalf of Lord Lane, I promise that if you send a suitable man who can be accepted by the Knight of Cassilos, he will be more than happy to hand over all the troops and all powers......" Rooker concluded the meeting with a beautiful and humble speech, and then exited the room.

Of course, he couldn't just leave, and a few minutes later, he saw little Rowling walk out as well. As he expected, in this case, Princess Irina just wanted to be alone and mourn her lost family.

Manipulating people's minds is a very skillful and challenging game, but Rook is a natural player.

Rook immediately followed Rowling Jr. Because they had just met, little Rowling did not refuse to walk side by side with Rook. With clever and attractive words, as well as some front-line war experiences, Rook quickly gained a chance to meet this girl again.

"Then, Lord Rook, we'll see you in the evening. The pretty girl waved goodbye to him. Without a minute's delay, Rook immediately returned to his residence as fast as he could.

"Bring the best shoemakers, jewelers, and tailors in town!" he commanded the servants. "The sooner the better. ”

"Sir, aren't you scheduled to see Sir Lem?" his servant reminded. "You will also see the four lords in the afternoon. ”

"Of course, these people still have to meet. But this matter cannot be left behind. Let these people come and see me at lunchtime. Rook replied. "Are the gifts for those lords ready?"

"It's all ready according to your requirements...... But my lord, why are the gifts you prepared for them so bad? Some are generous gifts, and some are just small gifts?"

"Of course, what can be bought is a generous gift, and what cannot be bought is just to express your heart. We do not ask them to speak for us, but that they do not become obstacles. Luke thought for a moment. "I'll write a few strips, and if the shoemaker, jeweler, and tailor come and I'm not there, then give them the strips. Remember to make an extra emphasis to them that price is never an issue!"

After a busy day, Rook sees little Rowling again at nightfall. They had not spoken a few words together, and Rook immediately said that he wanted to give the "most beautiful and charming girl he had ever seen" a few gifts.

Luke clapped his palms, and several servants walked in. One servant holds a box containing a set of exquisite diamond gestures, including hair accessories, necklaces, bracelets and pins, and the second servant holds a pair of shoes, and the moment she sees the shoes, little Rowling's mouth opens wide, this is the latest trendy style, and the upper is inlaid with huge rubies, making the shoes look very cute. The gift in the third servant's hand may not be so dazzling, but it is definitely intimidating, it is a silver fox scarf without a single stray hair.

"You...... You...... You're going to give me these precious gifts?" little Rowling couldn't even speak. Her original goal was just to hear about those front-line rumors, so that she could have a good topic to talk about when chatting with friends, "for...... For...... For what?"

"Because only your beauty can match these beautiful things, of course. Rook kept his usual smile. There was no need for any other reason, just from Rowling's expression, he knew that he had won. He had succeeded in planting a thread beside Princess Irina, a thread that he had longed for with ten times the effort and cost.