Rosie's Games

Chapter 347: Blaize and Quarris

Rosalind could not help but wonder how she agreed to accompany the Duke to his room inside the palace.

She could remember telling him that she should not be here. Then she recalled agreeing with him after hearing his explanation. Of course, she was now wearing another skin mask and acting like she was one of his trusted aides.

"Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Your Grace." Lachlan Blaize's words interrupted Rosalind's stupor. She stared at the man with bright red hair that immediately reminded her of Elias's hair. The two even talked the same. She could not help but wonder about their circumstances.

She recalled Valentin telling her that Elias was in a different situation.

"I apologize for taking too long, Your Blessedness. The battle against the beasts was pretty exhausting, even for me." Lucas had a polite, yet knowing smile on his face. He was clearly lying and they knew that he was lying, yet none of the two other men sitting across Lucas dared to call him out on it.

"We understand," Douglas Quarris gave the Duke a cordial smile. Watching the three of them speak and act like they were puppets was painful. Still, Rosalind wondered why the two of them visited the Duke.

It should be because of the tide, right?

"Since the Duke is tired then let me be more direct." Lachlan seemed to be the impatient type so it was not a surprise that he immediately went directly to the point. "We came here because we wanted to work with Wugari. To be more specific, we wanted to cooperate with the Rothley Estate."

"Oh?"

"We want to send a few of our people to train in your estate and familiarize ourselves with the beasts. This current beast tide is a wake-up call to everyone," Douglas added. "For years, we considered ourselves as the rulers of this land. We were stronger, we were Blessed and we were simply above the rest. The battle with the beasts is a painful reminder that we have been too arrogant."

"Oh?" Lucas seemed surprised.

Even Rosalind was surprised to hear Douglas speak like this. Douglas was a member of the Quarris Family. He had unique brown hair that would easily remind anyone of both the rock and the soil. By utilizing the rocks, he could launch an offensive against his foes. He was large, but not as tall as Lucas. Instead, he looked more robust, muscular, and… like a rock.

The man always had a stoic expression on his face. He did not like to speak a lot and seemed to be always thinking about something deep.

Even in her past life, he had always been like this.

At one point, she wondered if he disliked the Lux Family because of his behavior. Soon, she realized that the man was simply someone who did not like to speak too much.

He should be the exact opposite of Lachlan Blaize.

So, it was indeed a surprise to Rosalind that he would come here along with Lachlan Blaize.

Was the Duke's role in the battle against the beast responsible for this outcome?

If it was then… should she use the same method to show off his skills?

Wouldn't that mean that they would receive more gold?

Realizing her weird train of thought, Rosalind looked away.

Why was she suddenly thinking about doing evil things to earn gold? She was not actually that desperate, right?

After all, she was now someone that could be considered wealthy.

"And in return?" the Duke asked.

"Eh?"

"You said it was cooperation. So you wanted your younglings to go to Wugari and train. What about us?"

"Ah… then why not send some of your people to train in my Empire? As you know, there is a volcano just beneath my Empire. It would tamper their bodies and—"

"Does it look like we needed more of those, Your Blessedness?" Lucas smiled. josei

"Ah… no. Of course not. Still, I could not help but wonder if your people would like to fight against me! Fighting against someone of comparable ability would be advantageous for them, wouldn't it?"

"You have a good point," Lucas said. "But they can fight beasts in the North at any given time. Is there a need for them to fight you and tire themselves out?"

"Ah?"

Seeing Lachlan's expression, Rosalind had to purse her lips to stop herself from smiling. Clearly, Lachlan wanted to fight against Lucas's people, but did not want to say it outright. So, he suddenly used this to try and entice Lucas.

This man was exactly just like Elias!

Rosalind lowered her gaze when she felt Douglas's gaze. She still needed to be more careful in front of Blessed individuals as she did not want them to recognize her. Luckily, they did not seem to sense her Blessing at all, which was to her advantage.

"Since His Blessedness decided to be direct then let me reciprocate," Lucas was still smiling. "You can pay me instead."

"Pay…." Lachlan looked speechless while Douglas frowned. "Your Grace, do you … do you need gold? If you are in need of gold then perhaps we can establish a special—"

"We will get to that later, Your Blessedness. For now, I want to be paid monthly while your people stay in my estate. Naturally, I needed this to give them a good shelter and food. Life in the North has been… bad. How could we let them live in such a place? I am only thinking about their welfare."

"Your Grace… you…." Again Lachlan Blaize looked speechless and Rosalind was now pinching herself to stop herself from laughing. This man was indeed very entertaining.

"I think it is fair that we pay you," Douglas finally spoke after a few minutes of silence. "The Laimor Empire will be paying you two crates of gold monthly. In addition, we would like to offer you a trading path made by portals. I believe this is just the start of a very good partnership. Do you agree with me, Lachlan?"

"Ah? Of course, I do! I really do!" Lachlan said.

Rosalind's lips lifted into a smile. Indeed. This could be the start of a very good partnership. Still, one must be wary of dealing with the seven families.

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A/N: I already released EVE's GAMBIT! Please check it out and add it to library please....