Chapter 293: Chapter 292: Departure

When Ronin had brought up Wubei Territory’s population shortage to Wiggin, the latter promised to gather ten to twenty thousand people. He also asked Kabil to transfer some people from Splendid City, but he didn’t give a specific number at the time.

Ronin had thought that five or six thousand would be excellent, but he never expected Kabil to actually gather ten thousand people for him—and to do it before Wiggin, no less.

It was clear that Kabil was taking his brother-in-law’s affairs to heart. His attitude toward Ronin hadn’t always been this way.

The reason for this was the monumental shift in Ronin’s current identity, status, and power compared to before.

Before Ronin was stripped of his inheritance rights, Kabil had been in a rather awkward position.

After all, if Bretton were to inherit the Marquis title in the future, Kabil, as the Leader of the Wushan Castle Knight Order, would have had to pledge his loyalty to him.

This wouldn’t have been an issue in itself. The crux of the matter was that Kabil was married to McKinney, making him Ronin’s brother-in-law.

If the Hyde Clan held any reservations about him, he would be put in a difficult position, much like Viscount Marvin of Pasture City.

And that was indeed the case. His relationship with Barrington was poor, and following the recent dispute over command authority, their mutual disdain had only intensified.

Now, with Ronin’s meteoric rise and the high regard of Lurans, Kabil’s concerns about the Hyde Clan naturally diminished.

That was precisely why he placed such importance on Ronin’s affairs and was even more eager for Ronin to marry into the Oduin Clan. It was also why McKinney had deliberately sent Erin away to admonish Ronin.

Ronin felt a little resentful about others interfering in his personal life. ’After all, it’s an infringement on my freedom.’

However, he also knew McKinney’s warning had merit.

His predecessor’s past may have been unsavory, but at the time, there were no plans for a marriage alliance with the Royal Family, so a bit of philandering was excusable.

Now, outsiders could guess at the marriage alliance. And while there was truly nothing going on between him and Erin, if someone with malicious intent used their relationship to spread rumors and slander him, it would be incredibly difficult to defend his reputation.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Ronin made a point to go and express his gratitude to Kabil, strengthening their bond.

Afterward, he visited Wiggin and finalized a rough timeline for receiving the new population.

Ronin planned to transport all twenty-five thousand people back to Wubei Territory.

With these people, the development of Wubei Territory—including land reclamation and the expansion of the Mulberry Fields—would be significantly accelerated.

As for the Chishan Iron Mine, he was confident that supplementing the workforce with people from Giant Stone Territory would be sufficient.

After handling these matters, Ronin bid farewell to Lurans and left Wushan Castle, carrying a personal letter from Lurans addressed to His Majesty Bruno.

On the mountain behind the castle, Carlos was already waiting. As a draconic mount, he was the very picture of diligence.

“Come on.”

Ronin extended a hand, ready to pull Erin up.

She had been silent the entire way, a stark contrast to her usually cheerful personality.

Erin hesitated for a moment, but considering she couldn’t get up on her own, she took his hand and let him pull her onto the dragon’s back.

Her heart had been pounding with excitement on the way here, but on the way back, it was heavy with gloom.

Once she was on the dragon’s back, she tried to put some distance between them. ’It’s not that his embrace isn’t warm,’ she thought, ’it’s just… this isn’t appropriate.’

“If you keep squirming, you’ll upset Carlos,” Ronin teased with a smile, pulling her firmly into his arms.

Erin struggled for a moment but couldn’t break free, so she had no choice but to let him hold her.

“My Lord, this isn’t right. If someone sees us, it will damage your reputation. His Majesty the King will be displeased.”

Ronin couldn’t help but chuckle. “Even your form of address has changed. Did my sister, McKinney, tell you to do that, too?”

“No. When I was leaving the banquet hall yesterday, I happened to overhear some nobles discussing it.”

’Goes to show, no matter where you are, there’s always someone gossiping.’

He smiled and deliberately hugged the girl tighter. “You’ve looked so listless this whole trip. Didn’t you sleep well last night?”

Erin hummed in agreement. It wasn’t just that she hadn’t slept well; she had barely slept at all.

“Overthinking things will only bring you more worries. It’s better to cherish the present. Just get some sleep here in my arms.”

Erin turned her head to look at Ronin, and as if she had mustered all her courage, she asked, “Will you… leave me, my Lord?”

Ronin looked at her cherry lips, so close to his, and at her expectant eyes. He couldn’t resist reaching up and gently tapping her nose. “I won’t.”

The intimate gesture made Erin blush scarlet all the way to the tips of her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut, not daring to open them.

Ronin let out a hearty laugh. “Now, get some sleep.”

How could she dare say another word? She could only turn to the side, burrowing into Ronin’s chest and pretending to be asleep.

’I don’t really know what this feeling called ’love’ is,’ Ronin thought. He only knew that he enjoyed his time with Erin. It was like the snowball fight at Mountain Forest Castle last winter; with her, he even felt like he was back on Earth.

’As for all this talk of political marriages and lovers… just as I told her, overthinking only leads to more trouble. I’ve already been reincarnated into this world; I should at least try to live a little more freely.’

Carlos spread his wings and glided steadily through the sky. Before long, they had returned to Swamp Castle.

Nearly twenty days had passed since the army’s withdrawal. Aside from Ridder, Joffrey, and the others who had been left behind in Chishan Town, Macken, Rogner, and the rest had already returned to Wubei Territory.

In the great hall of Swamp Castle’s fortress, Ronin summoned Wilson, Chahar, Macken, and his other retainers. He informed them of his promotion to Count of Wubei and his acquisition of two new exclaves: Giant Stone Territory and Chishan Town.

This news naturally drew cheers and celebration from his followers. From Baron to Count—the greater their Lord’s achievements, the greater the benefits for their own futures.

Rogner and Krami exchanged a look, each seeing the amazement in the other’s eyes.

Although Wubei Territory had yet to see its first Baron knighted, they could sense that Viscount Marvin had made a wise decision in sending them to follow Ronin.

In addition to this announcement, Ronin also needed to issue rewards to the Knights and soldiers who had followed him on the expedition.

His rewards, of course, would not be titles of nobility.

Setting aside whether he was even willing to grant titles and lands, the military achievements from this one battle were not enough to warrant a barony, not even for someone like Ridder.

Therefore, Ronin’s rewards came in the form of money: every man would receive three times his monthly salary as payment for the campaign.

A bonus of three months’ salary might not sound like much, but the total sum came to nearly Six Hundred Gold Coins, which was by no means a small amount.

Combined with the spoils of war that the men had collected on the battlefield, no one came away empty-handed.

“Next, I’ll be making a trip to the Royal Capital. Aside from David and Tom, who will accompany me, I have tasks for the rest of you.”

David and Tom froze for a second, then broke into excited grins.

’The Royal Capital! It was a place they had never even dreamed of visiting, and now they actually had the chance to go!’

The others couldn’t help but look on with envy, partly because of the opportunity itself, and partly because it showed how much the Lord valued these two men.

Sometimes, status isn’t determined by one’s official position, but by one’s proximity to the center of power.

As long as David and Tom didn’t make any major mistakes and continued to improve their strength, they were set for a promising future.

Next, Ronin laid out the primary responsibilities for everyone present.

Macken was to take two Knights and a squad of Infantry to assume control of Giant Stone Territory. Its civil affairs would be managed by Civil Servant Sailin, along with a few newly trained assistants.

All civil affairs in Wubei Territory would be managed by Wilson and Chahar, with Elron, Jenny, and others holding down the fort.

Rogner’s next task was to safely transport all twenty-five thousand people provided by Wiggin and Kabil back to Wubei Territory.

In addition to civil matters, Ronin also put military expansion on the agenda.

Although Ridder would soon be taking command of Wushan Castle’s Fifth Knight Order, Wubei Territory needed a Knight Squad of its own.

Typically, a Count should command at least one full Knight Order. Ronin currently had only a single Knight Squad, which was far from sufficient.

Therefore, both Wubei Territory and Giant Stone City would need to recruit and train a sufficient number of soldiers.

However, compared to training regular Infantry, the lack of Professional Knights was the critical problem.

Ronin’s only option was to have Rogner travel to different regions, publicizing Wubei Territory’s favorable policies to recruit suitable Knights.

This was destined to be a long and arduous process.

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