Chapter 49 - 49 Destiny
49 Destiny
Rose City was the largest city in the Duke of Rose’s territory and the Western part of the Brad Empire.
In this city, there were plenty of sunlight and a lack of rainfall. These conditions were very suitable for the growth of roses which liked sunlight and dry weather.
The people of Rose City loved roses. Walking down any street in the city, one could see girls wearing roses in their hair, boys holding bouquets of roses, and roses of different varieties decorated on both sides of the street.
Even the locals’ clothes were embroidered with all kinds of rose patterns.
While strolling on the streets, Alesia couldn’t help but sigh as he looked at the colorful flowers and the endless flow of people.
“Duke of Rose is truly a hero of his generation. He managed to turn the Rose territory into a prosperous city. Unfortunately, the heavens were jealous of the talented Duke and he was killed by the Taikoo Red Dragon.”
“One day, I’ll kill that evil dragon and take revenge for Duke Dubo!”
Beside him was a tall and thin man who always had a gloomy expression.
The man was wearing a large purple noble robe.
In the Brad Empire, gold was the most prestigious and respected color because the royal family had the bloodline of the Golden Lion.
Only the royal family could wear golden clothes.
Second to gold was purple and only nobles with fiefs above the Marquis rank could wear purple robes.
This man obviously had an extraordinary identity, but he looked a little funny in his long robe.
The man was too thin, like a bamboo pole. The long robe that was supposed to set off the noble’s prestige was too loose on him, and there was no sense of authority from him at all.
“Your Highness Alesia, thank you for your affirmation of my father. We can talk about revenge later. The most important thing now is to continue the bloodline of the Rose family.”
“The title of Duke can not fall into the hands of unknown people.”
“Your Highness Alesia, please come in!”
The man led Alesia to a luxuriously decorated tavern. The two of them walked into a VIP room, and the guards stood outside.
After a while, all kinds of delicious food were served one by one. The man took the initiative to fill Alesia’s glass with wine and said,
“Your Highness Alesia, this is Rose City’s specialty, the Five-colored Rose Wine. It’s rich and fragrant. With just a sip, you feel like you’re bathing in a sea of roses.”
Alesia picked up the glass and sniffed it. Then, he raised his head and drank it in one gulp. He closed his eyes and clapped his hands in admiration.
“Good wine! This is a really good wine, Gray! Rose territory is really full of resources and talents. I wonder who will rule such a good land in the end.”
The man was none other than Lena’s older brother, Gray, one of Duke Dubo’s illegitimate children.
“Your Highness, Rose territory can only be inherited by me, and it should have been inherited by me. Lena and Allie have unknown origins. They are said to be father’s illegitimate children, but who knows the truth?”
“Who in Rose City doesn’t know that my father, Duke Dubo, is a sentimental man? The number of women he’s slept with is uncountable. I’m afraid that some of the women will claim that their bastard children, who are lowly commoners, have the blood of the noble in order to cling to him.”
Gray’s mother was the daughter of Duke Canbria, her name was Oroda.
The private lives of the nobles were extremely chaotic. Even after Oroda married a Marquis of Duke Canbria’s fief, she still did not change her lecherous behavior and continued to attract bees and butterflies.
Duke Dubo was also one of her guests.
After the death of Oroda’s husband, Duke Dubo even lived with her for a period of time. It was during that time that Oroda got pregnant and gave birth to Gray.
After all, Dubo and Oroda had an affair. Although Gray had a great background, he was still not a legitimate son. He was an illegitimate child with a low status.
Oroda was very fond of Gray and had kept him by her side to raise him. It was not until the Duke of Rose was attacked by the Taikoo Red Dragon that Gray came to the Rose territory to compete for the title.
From Gray’s point of view, he had the noble bloodline of two Dukes and was born to be a noble.
His older sister Allie’s mother was a merchant, and his younger sister Lena’s mother was a songstress. Both of their bloodlines were lowly, and could not be compared to his.
It was hateful that the Rose Knights and the forces of the feudal nobles had to support two lowly commoners.
Alesia stared at Gray with a sincere expression and said seriously.
“Whether you believe it or not, I can only tell you that Duke Dubo was attacked by the Red Dragon. This matter has nothing to do with the royal family and the royal family has no intention of taking over the Rose territory.”
“I’m here on behalf of His Majesty Joerger to support you in inheriting the title of the Duke of Rose and ending the power struggle in the Rose territory.”
Upon hearing Alesia’s words, Gray was ecstatic. He grinned so widely that his molars were exposed.
There were four forces in Rose City.
One of them was the Rose Knights, the Duke of Rose’s trump card. They had 50000 people and were extremely powerful. They supported Lena.
One of them was the noble force within the Rose dukedom, led by the Marquis of Blackstone, who supported Allie.
The other one was the city guards of Rose City, the main Army of the Rose dukedom. They had the largest number of people, 200000, and they supported Gray.
The last one was the vassal group of the City Hall. Although they did not have a lot of troops, their influence was not bad and they were currently staying neutral.
Other than that, Gray also had hidden support from the Kambia family.
Therefore, in the current situation, Gray held the strongest power. If the royal family supported Gray, then the vassal group was likely to fall to Gray.
In this way, Gray was sure to win.
Gray was immersed in his beautiful imagination, and his soul wandered for a moment.
Alesia waited for a long time. Upon seeing that Gray didn’t speak, he could only continue.
“As for the nobles in the Rose dukedom, the Marquis of the Dolphin is one of my men. He will gather a group of nobles to support you. This way, you will hold most of the power in the Rose dukedom.”
“Now, you have two paths to take.”
“First, you can use your power to pressure your opponent and decide the winner in the arena in advance. You can use your current strength to defeat your opponent.”
“The second is to start a war and gather your subordinates to fight the Rose Knights and the remaining nobles. If you can win the final victory, you will become a Duke.”
“I choose the first option, ” Grimm said without hesitation. “We’ll decide the winner in the arena in advance!
Grimm didn’t want to start a war because the Rose Knights were extremely powerful. He wasn’t sure if he could win.
Moreover, if he became the Duke, the Rose Knights would be his trump card, and there was no need to start a war to damage his own strength.
Gray explained as he was worried that Alesia would not agree.
“Your Highness, I have hidden my strength. On the surface, I have a level 3 bloodline and a level 12 bloodline warrior. The truth is that I have a level 5 bloodline and a level 23 bloodline warrior!”
“My opponent, Lena, only has a level 3 bloodline, and Allie has a level 4 bloodline, so she can’t compete with me at all.”
“Moreover, I have the Kambia family’s support and the strongest external helper for the group arena.”
Looking at Gray’s proud expression, Alesia almost laughed out loud.
He knew that Gray had been under the care of his mother, Oroda, and had never lacked any training resources.
Now that he was 23 years old, he only had this little strength. His aptitude could only be said to be above average.
Yet, he still had that “I’m a genius” expression on his face.
If there was no other reason, Alesya would not even want to talk to Gray.
“Very good. Then, let’s gather all our forces and put pressure on our opponents. We’ll decide the winner in the arena in advance. We’ll set the time to be one week later!”
After the discussion, the two of them ate something.
Gray could not sit still. With the support of the royal family and the position of Duke at hand, he could not wait to start his plan.
After accompanying him for a while more, Grimm stood up.
“Your Highness, I’ll go and arrange the arena. You can have fun in Rose City after eating. I’ll pay for all the expenses. I’ve left you a local guide. If you don’t understand anything, you can ask him directly.”
After he finished speaking, Grimm left in a hurry.
Looking at his back, Alesia kept shaking his head.
“Such a rash person, what a waste.”
“He’s just a tool. You’re too strict, Allie!”
A voice rang out in Alesia’s mind. He seemed to be used to it and was not surprised.
“Lionheart, you shouldn’t be wrong this time, right? You’ve made me gain nothing in Duohuang.”
Upon hearing this, the scimitar on Alesia’s back kept shaking, as if it was angry.
“You actually doubt my ability? If it wasn’t for my Lionheart blade, you would still be playing dumb in the palace!”
With a bitter smile on his face, Alesia explained.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that the trip to Duohuang was too depressing.”
“You said that there were two heroic figures in Duohuang, half-elf Bruce and Star Elf Snow Fog.”
“In the end, when I went over, I couldn’t find any half-elves at all. Snow Fog was very beautiful, but I couldn’t see anything special about her.”
“You even said that with my physique, I could go to Duohuang and subdue the barbarians of the extreme wilderness. These barbarians would increase my strength greatly and even help me to unify the world in the future. However, someone else got there before me.”
“Fortunately, I made Ning Shi a bloodline servant in the end, otherwise I would have gained nothing.”
Lionheart Blade was also a little confused, but it didn’t care.
“Allie, fate is supreme and unpredictable. I can only get a glimpse of it.”
“Fate told me that Bruce would become the king of the half-elves, and under his leadership, the half-elves would gradually grow stronger and eventually become a powerful force that could compete with humans.”
“As for Snow Fog, she would become the first Star elf to completely master the divine artifact, Starfall, and become the leader of the three great elves.”
“As for Ning Shi, he’s a completely unexpected person. I can’t predict his future, just like yours, I can’t see your future.”
“That’s why I asked you to use the bloodline servant contract on him even though you’ve already successfully recruited him.”
Alesia was silent, and Lionheart blade continued, “If you’re still holding a grudge against the extreme barbarians, I’ll tell you a stronger race.”
“In the northeast corner of the deserted North Plains, there was a group of desolate people. They used the souls of their ancestors as their power and held totems in their hands. They killed wild beasts like dogs and were much stronger than the extreme barbarians.”
“When the matters at Rose dukedom are done, find an opportunity to subdue them.”
Hearing Lionheart blade’s words, Alesia’s smile returned and he asked curiously.
“Is Lena really as amazing as you say? You didn’t even let me stay in Duohuang for long, and kept urging me to come to the Rose dukedom.”
The blade of the Lionheart saber shook again.
“Of course. She is the first human to have a supreme bloodline. Bruce is legendary, and Snow Fog is powerful, but compared to Lena, they are just little kids.”