Lord of Rot

After a full day’s march, as dusk approached, Three-fork River Castle finally appeared before them.

The mercenaries and militiamen, who had just endured a major battle, grumbled incessantly throughout the forced march.

But they had finally returned to the vicinity of Three-fork River Castle, and this group’s work was done. The families of the fallen would receive a stipend, and the survivors would collect their pay.

Of course, this pay was for the mercenaries; the regular militiamen received little compensation for their military service.

The Fosak Knight from Iron Stone City, for instance, immediately left with his thirty-odd mercenaries. It was unclear if this was how many he had brought in total, or if this was all that remained after their losses.

”What a great location,” Leech sighed, looking at the Three-fork River.

Though not as reliant on its waters or as abundant in produce as Waterfall Land, Three-fork River’s conditions for waterway transport were excellent. It also had rich mineral resources. Its overall situation was very favorable—the kind of place where one could live a comfortable life without much effort.

In the villages along the way, one could see people living leisurely lives, completely different from Porcupine Territory. The Porcupine People worked in an orderly, bustling fashion. Though they earned more, they also lived a more tiring life.

As for which life was better, that was a matter of opinion.

Leech was willing to stay for three reasons. First, Steven’s insistent invitation. Second, he wanted to discuss waterway traffic and the possibility of using their routes to open up new trade channels in the future. Third, Philip and his group had not yet left, and Leech was very interested in the five Transcendents.

It would be even better if he could learn the identity of the Red-haired Grand Sorcerer from them, but that seemed a bit difficult at the moment.

The main gates of Three-fork River Castle were wide open.

A man who bore a slight resemblance to Steven walked out. After exchanging a few words with Steven, he approached Leech and the others.

”Thank you all so much for your help. The Linsen Clan will forever remember this!”

This must be the Baron of Three-fork River Castle, Hawkwood Linsen.

Leech didn’t have a strong impression of him. Among the dozens, even hundreds, of noble families in the Eastern Gorge, clans like the Linsens—somewhat famous but otherwise unremarkable—were a dime a dozen.

Philip stepped forward as their representative to offer some pleasantries. Truly worthy of the name Midnight Sun.

Seeing the way the accompanying maidservants’ eyes sparkled, it was clear they were already utterly captivated by Philip.

Leech and the other nobles dismounted, handing their horses over to their squires.

They entered the castle.

Three-fork River Castle was about the same size as Porcupine Castle, though its architectural style was slightly different. Porcupine Castle, after all, had to account for sea winds and other issues. Three-fork River Castle, however, was sheltered by Pig Spine Valley and didn’t need to worry about typhoons, so its walls weren’t built quite as high.

The open-air courtyards were used to park carriages and as a resting place for the soldiers.

The nobles, meanwhile, were led by servants arranged by the steward to the inner keep. There, male attendants would provide personal service, helping them scrub their bodies clean.

Leech declined this particular perk. It wasn’t out of shyness or embarrassment; he simply wanted to soak quietly in a bath, maybe doze off for a bit, and relieve the fatigue of the past few days.

Although Transcendents weren’t afraid of the cold, with winter fast approaching, a hot bath was still a comfortable pleasure. He never refused to indulge himself.

The world was already so barren when it came to entertainment. If he didn’t enjoy the few good things available, he might as well move into a monastery instead of living in a castle.

He closed the door to his room. The Dragonbone Armor he’d taken off had already been given to Luobo, his squire, for cleaning. After they returned to Porcupine Territory, it would be given to the blacksmith for maintenance.

Sinking his body into the wooden tub, Leech let out a long, comfortable sigh.

”Ahhh~”

He hadn’t been enjoying it for long.

CREAK~

The door was suddenly pushed open. Leech’s eyes flew open as he looked at the person who had entered.

”Lady Agnes?”

’Trying to exploit my weakness again?’

’Pulling this kind of stunt right after arriving at her fiancé’s home? Steven’s going to be wearing a green hat. At least... she could have waited a bit, like until after midnight?’

”Lord Leech,” Agnes said, biting her lip. ”I would like to borrow some money from you.”

Leech breathed a sigh of relief. ’Phew. So she wasn’t here to ride me after all.’

But borrowing money... Leech felt that was a non-starter.

’You can earn my money, but you can’t borrow it!’

”Perhaps you could wait until after I’ve finished my bath?” Leech said tentatively. ”We can talk then.”

”Let me help you wash,” she said, walking closer.

”No!”

Leech quickly stopped her. If anyone from the Linsen Clan saw this, there would be no explaining it away.

He sank deeper into the tub, leaving only his head above water. ”What do you need to borrow money for? To buy something? Or are you in debt?”

’The Leopolds are poor? Even a side branch... with the Golden Thorn Sword Clan’s wealth and influence, any family member who isn’t a complete idiot could make a fortune just by doing a little business.’

”Everything I brought with me was stolen,” Agnes said with a sorrowful expression. ”And many of the lords helped me a great deal this time. I want to reward them.”

’If you’re short on money for rewards, why not just ask your fiancé? They own Linsen Castle. They might not have a massive fortune, but they should be able to scrounge up a few hundred Jinri.’

Seeing that Leech remained unmoved and knew her excuse wasn’t convincing, she could only say it plainly: ”I want to be in your debt, and then become your friend.”

Agnes didn’t believe that Leech had failed to understand her. Perhaps he felt they were already familiar enough with each other that such pretenses were unnecessary.

Back in East Port, Agnes had heard of the reputation of Philip from Midnight Sun. But when Philip came to rescue her with four others, he ended up captured instead.

Baron Porcupine, on the other hand, had single-handedly turned the tide.

Not only did he crush the Dark Gold forces in a direct confrontation, but he also rescued her, Philip, and the others.

After this experience, Agnes had come to see one thing clearly: her fiancé’s family couldn’t protect her. They couldn’t even protect themselves.

Yet Agnes now had no choice but to marry into Three-fork River Castle. If it weren’t for her beautiful red hair, the opportunity to marry into the Linsen family would never have fallen to her.

But if she could maintain a friendly relationship with Baron Porcupine—a man with powerful soldiers and formidable personal strength—perhaps she would have another ally the next time trouble arose.

Besides, Porcupine Territory wasn’t too far from Three-fork River Castle.

The fastest ways to close the distance between two strangers—and ensure the other person would always keep you in mind—were, one, to make him fall in love with you, and two, to be in his debt.

Agnes had tried to have a... ”deeper exchange” with Leech, only to find he was exceptionally upright—a man who absolutely could not be swayed by feminine wiles.

Such men were extremely rare among the nobility. So far, she had only seen Philip of Midnight Sun be so principled, and she hadn’t expected Baron Porcupine to be the same.

Or rather, perhaps he wasn’t so principled, just not attracted to her beauty.

Since making him fall in love with her wouldn’t work, her only option was to owe him a debt.

’Borrow my money to become my friend? What kind of logic is that?’ Leech thought. ’You don’t want to be my friend, you want to be my grandpa!’

Still, he had a rough idea of what Agnes was thinking.

This was a person who was extremely insecure.

She was in a state of extreme distrust toward Three-fork River Castle. Only he—the one who had rescued her and knew all her dirty secrets—seemed more like a reliable ”one of us.”

She could tap into her potential when her life was threatened.

But once she was safe, instead of relaxing, she fell into endless panic and anxiety.

Of course, it could also be understood that Agnes simply wanted to get to know a powerful baron and make him an ally. This was how minor nobles formed connections.

’Share the wives and kids, you sleep with mine, I’ll sleep with yours, and then we’re all good friends.’

”I think we could adjust that idea,” Leech said. ”There are many ways to be friends. I’m very interested in the mineral resources of Three-fork River Castle. Moreover, the merchant caravans from Porcupine Territory would also like to use the Three-fork River. Perhaps we could become friends in business.”

”Steven greatly admires you,” Agnes said. ”I believe he would be very willing to become business friends with Porcupine Castle.”

Agnes finally turned and left. Leech let out another sigh of relief.

It wasn’t that he didn’t dare to indulge, but one had to be cautious about who they indulged with. Not every noble lady could be taken to bed.