CHAPTER 99: KNIGHTS [8] - BARON BLOODSHIELD

The meeting was long, complicated, and torturous, cataloguing to a great extent not only the casualties suffered by the earlier attack, but also the damage to the property, the subsequent hidden dangers, the overall state of the Earldom, etc.

Such conversation made Liora feel quite bored as she began to fidget in her seat like a student in the middle of the classroom.

Fortunately for her, the meeting gradually came to an end.

"So we should be more careful and continue investigating the movements of the Holy Church..."

Slowly, Eleanor’s voice faded away before finally coming to a stop.

As it did, the family members who seemed to have been enhanced by her words immediately woke up.

They didn’t seem to notice anything wrong about their previous state, and after exchanging a glance with their companions, they were about to get up and leave.

However, before they could do so, Eleanor stopped them.

"Apart from the attack on the mansion, there’s one more important thing that we need to discuss.", she said and continued:

"Not long ago, I received a report that a large number of women and children have gone missing throughout the Earldom. All in all, more than one thousand people have reportedly disappeared, seemingly erased from existence."

The moment her words fell, the family members gasped in shock. Especially those who were more familiar with the situation of the fiefdom.

One thousand people may seem like a small, insignificant number of people, but one had to know that the total population of the Black Tulip Earldom was only about two hundred thousand.

Thus, the damage that such an event would cause was unimaginable. Perhaps not any weaker than the attack of the Holy Church.

Recalling how Eleanor mentioned women and children, several people made an educated guess:

"Have bandits from the north entered the Iron Throne Empire again? How dare they attack our citizens?"

"I hope that we send a team to clean these bandits up as soon as possible!"

"That’s right! How can we allow them to do such gruesome things in the Earl’s fiefdom?"

A burst of indignant voices instantly spread throughout the room, as many family members cursed the damned bandits in low voices.

It seemed as if they would go through fire and water to find the culprits behind the kidnappings, clear out their stronghold, and save the innocents.

Seeing this, a trace of cunningness flashed across Eleanor’s eyes as her lips curved upward.

"I’m very happy to hear that everyone is so willing to take action and fight against the person responsible. I, too, am disgusted by such gruesome acts. However...", she paused.

"...your guesses are wrong. The people did not get kidnapped by bandits."

"Although it’s impossible to know the true culprit at the moment, we can be certain that the captured people were transported to Baron Bloodshield’s fiefdom."

The moment her words fell, the previous indignant voices ceased to exist. Utter silence shrouded the hall, making it quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

Baron Bloodshield—the mere mention of these two words caused the once furious family members to shut up.

In fact, these family members could not be blamed.

Baron Bloodshield held a very special status in the Earldom, not only because he was a Baron under the command of Earl Black Tulip, but also because he was the younger brother of the deceased Earl.

Meaning that he was actually the uncle of Eleanor and the current Earl.

Seeing their previous fury instantly disappear, Eleanor scoffed in disdain secretly, though she didn’t show anything on the surface.

"I understand everyone’s concerns. But if Baron Bloodshield is indeed involved in such deplorable acts, his connection with the Black Tulip family does not matter."

"If anything, it only increases the need to do something about it. After all, kidnapping innocent people will only tarnish our family’s name. If rumors about it spread, the Black Tulip name will face humiliation."

Eleanor’s words were very reasonable, and they indeed made great sense.

However, they did not serve to convince the other family members.

After all, although they had a slight liking for Eleanor due to the previous speech, this didn’t mean that they had truly lost their minds.

They could still accurately judge the situation.

"I think that we should not jump to conclusions just yet."

"That’s right. Baron Bloodshield has been our closest ally for so many years. There is no reason to suddenly assume the worst of him."

Though it was obvious that Eleanor had a plan in calling Baron Bloodshield out, no one dared to listen to it, much less agree.

This was not only because of the Baron’s special status, but also because of his strength.

Baron Bloodshield was a famous True Knight, while the current Black Tulip family could not employ a single True Knight.

Thus, antagonizing him at this moment would not only not bring them any benefit, but it would actually be extremely disadvantageous to them.

With that in mind, the eyes of many family members shifted to the young man seated not far from the young Earl.

The man had short black hair and black eyes, while his face closely resembled that of Wolf Knight Roger.

This was not a coincidence. This person was Alex, Roger’s only son and a Knight Apprentice.

Due to his extraordinary talent and high status, he had long reached the peak of the Knight Apprentice rank and, with some luck, could advance to a True Knight at any moment.

Thus, Alex’s status in the room was second only to Eleanor and the young Earl.

Feeling the many eyes on him, the young Knight didn’t show any nervousness. Instead, a faint excitement flashed in his eyes.

Although his father had been injured, the Earl’s death meant he was now the strongest person in the entire Earldom.

As long as he wished to, he could take this opportunity to meddle with the fiefdom’s affairs.

Thinking of this, Alex suddenly rose to his feet and, after casting a disdainful glance at the young Earl, stared straight at Eleanor.

"My Lady, I feel that we should not jump to conclusions just yet. It’s unknown whether the report you received is right or wrong. How could we possibly distrust the Baron’s loyalty based on a mere piece of information?"

After saying this, Alex continued:

"Moreover, Baron Bloodshield is a famous True Knight. At the moment, it’s not worth it to become his enemy for a bunch of citizens. We can always order the residents to have a few more children to make up for the lost population."