West Bay County, Sea Eagle Port.
Ines looked out at the garden through the window, sipping iced tea to cool off.
"Still no news from my brother?"
Hearing the princess’s calm inquiry, the Intelligence Officer respectfully lowered his head even further.
"I’m very sorry, Your Highness... The people we planted in the royal court seem to have disappeared into thin air."
The princess gently put down the teacup and withdrew her gaze.
"Never mind, don’t probe any further. No news is also a kind of ssage."
Having said that, she was secretly relieved that she had slipped away from the capital just in ti. Eric’s behavior was becoming increasingly strange, and she couldn’t comprehend her eldest brother’s actions during this ti.
The death of their father seed to have intensified this long-lost elder brother’s sense of suspicion.
She suppressed the doubts in her heart and gestured for the Intelligence Officer to leave. At that mont, she suddenly heard the faint sound of a carriage arriving in the manor’s front yard.
"Who has co?"
The young woman gazed toward the avenue within the manor.
"It should be Count Ackman. Before you returned, the Count sent an invitation stating he would visit shortly." The manor’s steward bowed respectfully and said.
Ines opened her fan and lightly waved it, understanding naturally that "Lord Sea Pig" had co to escape soone once again.
She hadn’t planned to greet him, but recalling her recent journey through ti with Leon, after so thought, she brushed off her skirt and rose to leave the side room.
Main hall of the main building.
Akman had his attendants hand the visiting gifts over to the steward of the princess’s manor, then eagerly began to quietly inquire about the whereabouts of his "little lovers" hidden within Sea Eagle Port.
But before he could turn to et his beloved, the plump count heard elegant footsteps coming from the curved staircase.
"You’ve co again. West Bay County isn’t your refuge now. If you keep doing this, if your father cos chasing, I can hardly use any more excuses to cover for you."
Ines stood with folded arms on the corridor, teasing from afar.
She scrutinized him and noticed that he seed to have slimd down quite a bit since last they t.
Ever since their father, the forr King, altered the plan to ally with the West Family through marriage, they no longer had the excuse of mutual cover, and she naturally had no obligation to help him deal with the old Duke of the Sea Dragon Family.
Seeing this little tyrant, Ackman’s rather haggard-looking plump face imdiately fell.
"Your Highness, you can’t chase away; at the very least, I’m a mber of the West Bay Knight Order, and Sea Eagle Port has beco my only haven away from father."
Ines descended the staircase slowly, shaking her head as she spoke: "Taking over the old Duke’s position is ultimately your responsibility. No matter how much you shirk or delay, you can’t escape it. You’ve been carefree for four years, haven’t you had enough fun?"
Akman’s expression instantly froze.
"Your Highness, you’re so smart; you have to help think of another way. You see, thanks to my help over the years, you had the chance to find a satisfactory beloved. You can’t forget my contributions and cast aside like a used shield; we are friends, after all."
The plump count lanted. Since the forr King ended the marriage intention with the West Family, his days had turned bitter. Not only could he no longer enjoy carefree days with his servant boys in West Bay County, but upon returning to Weststral, he felt as if he’d lost layers of flesh under his father’s loving yet harsh guidance.
Ines fanned herself to drive away the sumr heat, taking a rare serious look at this arranged marriage’s scapegoat she had used for four years.
"It’s precisely because I treat you as a friend that I advise you to face your path sooner. Do you really think, as the eldest son of Duke Vister, you can remain detached from family affairs? My brother, Prince Rickto, isn’t even the first in line for the crown, yet as you can see, just being the Crown Prince is enough to invite trouble."
Talking about that seemingly harmless second brother, Ines’s eyes dimd slightly. She shook her head before continuing to Akman: "Without preparation, you’ll surely pay a price when fate arrives. I hadn’t intended to ddle in your affairs, but since we’re talking... Your father’s patience will wear thin eventually, and as far as I know, you are not on good terms with several brothers. While the old Duke is alive, they may not dare act against you, but later? Do you really plan to live carefree in my West Bay County for the rest of your life?"
Annoyed, Akman scratched his head, still harboring so luck as he frowned: "Wasn’t this what we agreed back then? Get a sinecure at your Knight Order’s fortress; my brothers wouldn’t dare hassle if it risks offending you."
"Back then was back then, how could I foresee the nurous changes within and outside the kingdom four years later? Especially now, it’s because you’re a mber of the Sea Eagle Knights that they might be more inclined to target you."
Ines closed her fan: "You are the eldest son, capable of renouncing the duke title, but you also have the opportunity to reclaim it. Especially with my support, regardless of which brother becos the ruler of Weststral, they wouldn’t overlook your potential threat."
"But I wouldn’t do such a thing. You wouldn’t force either, right? I don’t even wish to beco the head of the West Family; I might not even have children, what threat could I pose?" Akman spread his hands in distress.
Ines raised an eyebrow indifferently: "Suppose in the future, the West Family becos an adversary to , and I need you to reclaim the duke title. As my knight, do you intend to defy your lord’s command?"
Akman was dumbfounded, opening his mouth, montarily at a loss.
"Further suppose, your brother becos Duke of Weststral, and to eliminate potential threats, he uses alliances or hostilities to pressure into turning a blind eye to your matters; how should I confront that?"
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