The first to arrive was the messenger from Earl Pauly.
“My greetings, respected Lord. I am Hanna xi Pauly, the eldest daughter of Earl Pauly. My mother often says that the Pauly family’s pirate flag sailboats never fear the wind or waves — much like the winds of this Maritime Cliff City, which always carry the scent of freedom.”
Hanna removed the pirate-style tricorne hat from her head, held it to her chest, and bowed her head toward Anke.
Vera looked at Hanna, quickly matching the intelligence she had regarding Earl Pauly with the woman before her.
Earl Pauly’s ancestors were pirates.
Their fief centered around the two ports of Maritime Cliff City and Siren City, and their family crest was a black pirate flag sailboat.
They were one of the few noble families where titles were inherited by female descendants, and their female family members were not as conservative as those of other nobles.
“Welcome, Miss Hanna. Please wait a moment for the messengers of the other two Earls to arrive,” Anke said, greeting Hanna.
“No problem.”
Hanna replaced her family’s traditional pirate tricorne and began looking around the once-dilapidated Border City.
Another carriage came to a stop. An escorting knight personally opened the door to welcome the owner out.
The second messenger was also a lady.
Wearing a red and white noble gown, the lady walked gracefully toward Anke with the support of a maid. She lifted her skirt and curtsied.
“My greetings, Lord. I am Sola xi Rohark, the wife of Earl Rohark’s eldest son. My husband’s health prevents him from traveling far, so I have come in his stead to bring you the murmuring waters of Rivercenter City.”
Earl Rohark’s ancestors were knights. Their fief was located in Rivercenter City, at the confluence of the Golden River and the Abundance River.
Their family crest depicted the two intersecting rivers. Among the three Earls of Hanover Province, they ranked third in overall strength.
‘The messengers from Earl Pauly and Earl Rohark have arrived, so the remaining one must be the messenger from Earl Oca,’ Vera thought silently.
She then looked toward the final motorcade approaching in the distance.
“My greetings, Lord. I am the second son of Earl Oca, Hote xi Oca. I bring you the fertile soil of the Oca family’s seventeen cities.”
Like Hanna and Sola, Hote greeted Anke with noble etiquette.
Earl Oca’s ancestors were Wheel People.
His fief encompassed seventeen of the twenty cities in Hanover Province.
He was the de facto lord of Hanover Province and Anke’s primary rival.
As a Mimic Beast, Vera keenly sensed that Hote did not come with good intentions.
“Messengers, please follow me. Delicious food and sweet wine have been prepared within the castle to entertain our guests. Please rest for a moment, and afterward, you can accompany me to visit the Alchemy Workshop.”
Anke invited the three messengers to follow him.
Vera quietly observed Hote, remaining on guard in case he tried to do something unfavorable to Anke.
“Very well. However, the changes in this Border City are truly significant. It is so clean. There are even children playing over there? You must have put in a lot of effort, Lord. It seems the rumors from the Royal Capital regarding you are false.”
Hanna walked behind Anke, looking at her surroundings.
She pointed at several children chasing each other under the early winter sun and spoke to Anke with great familiarity.
“You flatter me. The rumors about me in the Royal Capital are true.”
“Oh? Then, Lord, the story about you facing ten dancers in a single night is also true?”
As Hanna spoke, her gaze began to drift downward.
“That one is false. Absolutely false,” Anke immediately denied.
“What a strong reaction, Lord.”
“When it concerns that kind of reputation, a strong reaction is normal. Those people in the Royal Capital really are something, making up such nonsense.”
As Hanna teased Anke, Sola also responded with a light chuckle behind her fan.
“Miss Hanna is always so straightforward, but the changes in Border City are indeed curious. Lord, how did you achieve this despite the rumors?”
“There is much to say on that. Lady Sola, let me tell you, the first point was establishing public toilets in the city!”
“Public toilets? What are those?”
“That topic is a bit heavy. Since we are about to have a welcome banquet, it is better not to go into detail, lest we lose our appetites.”
“Very well. I shall suppress my curiosity for now, Lord.”
Unlike Hanna and Sola, who were chatting animatedly with Anke, Hote was far from talkative.
It would be an understatement to say his words were like gold.
Since finishing his formal pleasantries, Hote had not uttered a second sentence to Anke.
“Wow! This looks delicious! Are these all royal court dishes?”
Hanna cried out in surprise as she entered the castle’s banquet hall and saw the delicacies on the long table — dishes she had never seen before and could not even name.
“The Lord’s banquet is truly impressive. Don’t you agree, Master Hote?” Sola opened her fan to cover her face, her eyes glancing toward Hote’s side.
“Mhm.”
Hote gave a heavy response.
If the clean walls and streets upon entering the city were just for show, then what was this lavish feast?
Was this also just a facade created for them to see?
“They aren’t exactly court dishes, just a personal hobby. If you are interested, I can have the chef provide a copy of the recipes to each of you as a token of my hospitality.”
“You researched all of these, Fourth Prince? You’re amazing! I want the recipes! I want the recipes!”
“Since it is a gift from the Lord, there is naturally no reason to refuse.”
“Thank you for the gift.”
Hote tapped his fingertip lightly against his wine glass, leaving a faint print on the rim.
His voice was deep as his gaze swept over the positions of the castle guards.
“There is no need for such politeness. After all, Border City — and indeed the entire Hanover Province — needs the assistance of all of you to become even stronger. I invited you here today in the hope that we can work together with the three Earls to build a better Border City.”
Anke revealed his objective and raised his wine glass.
“Fourth Prince, I support your idea,” Hanna said, being the first to raise her glass in support.
“If the Lord has need of it, I will naturally do my best to persuade my family,” Sola said, lifting her glass like a lady.
“Having grand goals is a good thing.”
Hote echoed the sentiment with a fake smile.
Just as his father had predicted, the Fourth Prince indeed intended to win them over.
It was a pity, however, that the Oca family had already allied themselves with the First Prince.
The Fourth Prince’s plan was destined to fail.
Not far away, Vera, who was responsible for maintaining the security of the banquet hall in secret, watched Anke as he conversed happily with the messengers.
‘Can that usually unreliable man actually be so serious?’
However, she still needed to remind Anke to be wary of Earl Oca’s messenger.
Vera found an appropriate moment to have a servant inform Anke that she had something to report.
“Everyone, please excuse me for a moment.”
After receiving the servant’s message, Anke spoke to the three messengers. He ordered Mustafa to take charge of the scene, then rose from the main seat and went to find Vera.
“Whew, I can finally relax a bit! Acting all serious and formal is so exhausting! And these clothes are not comfortable at all.”
The moment Anke met Vera, he tugged at his tight collar. In less than a second, he reverted to the version of himself that Vera was familiar with.
“By the way, Vera, what did you want to report?”
“I want to remind Your Highness to be careful of Earl Oca’s messenger, Hote.”
“Be careful of him? Why?”
“Because I can tell that he is different from the other two. He came here with hostility. I know it might be hard to believe, but please, you must believe me this time…”
Vera prepared herself for Anke to disagree, but instead, she heard the exact opposite.
“Okay, I believe you, Vera.”
Anke looked at Vera with a smile.
“You won’t doubt me?”
“Why would I doubt you? Do I need a reason to trust those close to me?”
“Those close to you…”
Vera felt her face heat up subconsciously after hearing Anke’s words.
“Aha! Vera, you’re blushing! Could it be that you’ve fallen for me?”
Anke immediately caught Vera’s shy expression.
“No, I haven’t! It’s just the cold!”
Vera raised her hands to rub her face, using her Mimic Beast transformation abilities to force her skin tone back to normal.
“Stop rubbing it, you’re making it redder… Oh, it’s not red anymore. What a shame, I only got to see it for a few seconds.”
“Your Highness, don’t focus so much on me. Don’t you need to borrow money from the three Earls? Don’t waste the opportunity to build rapport with the messengers.”
Vera urged Anke along.
“No rush. Let me rest for a while. Acting serious is too tiring.”
Anke took out a handkerchief, placed it on the ground, and sat down next to Vera.
“Besides, rather than just talking big at a wine table, I prefer to bring out the real deal and blind them with the results.”
After speaking, Anke rested for a while longer before returning to the main welcome banquet.
“My apologies. A servant just reported that the Alchemy Workshop has developed a new and wondrous alchemical creation, so I had to step away for a moment,” Anke said casually as he sat down.
“What is it? Can I see it?” Hanna asked curiously.
“An Alchemy Workshop? I had heard that Your Highness was well-versed in the wonders of alchemy back in the Royal Capital. I didn’t expect you to have built an Alchemy Workshop here in Border City as well. However, the costs of such a workshop are quite high. You must have invested a lot of money into it, Lord,” Sola analyzed carefully.
Hote did not speak, but his fingers continued to trace the rim of his wine glass.
“A thousand words are not worth a single glance. Once the welcome banquet is over, I will take the messengers for a tour. It will serve as proof that my words about reviving Border City are far from empty talk.”
Anke cast out the information about the Alchemy Workshop like bait, quietly waiting for the big fish to bite.