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Chapter 230: Your Reputation Was Never Good
🕑 Added 2025-01-27 11:10:01 +0000 UTCThat day, Charlot Mecklenburg camped outside the city, unwilling to return to his hometown.
By evening, his older brother, Mycroft Mecklenburg, arrived. After the Grand Duchess Josephine was killed by Hughes, her head taken as a trophy, no one cared about the Mecklenburg family anymore. Charlot’s father took the entire family and returned to Seagull City.
When Mycroft saw his younger brother, his emotions were deeply conflicted.
The last time they met, Charlot had appeared somewhat glamorous but precarious, as the South Seraph restorationists led by Lady Nancella were still camped outside the city. No one knew what the next day would bring. But this time, Mycroft already knew his younger brother had risen in rank again, even gaining the title of diplomat. Charlot had undertaken a mission to the Ingrima Empire, reportedly earning the emperor’s favor and even being offered a post there.
Charlot’s position in Strasbourg wasn’t high enough to make the newspapers, but in Seagull City, he was a hot topic. Stories about him had always circulated in his hometown, and recent events provided plenty of new material.
If Charlot had returned home or even read a few Seagull City newspapers, he wouldn’t still be clinging to any illusions.
Mycroft, adopting a slightly deferential tone, said, “I’ve come on Baron Valentine’s orders to ask you to withdraw your troops.”
“This is your hometown, after all. Must you bring war to this place?”
“Your reputation was never good to begin with…”
Charlot interrupted his brother, saying, “I am here under the orders of His Majesty Emperor Julius VI to take the Seagull City Knight Order. Do you think Baron Valentine’s commands can compare to those of Emperor Julius VI?”
“Brother, I don’t want to bring war to our hometown either. But the only way to avoid it is for Baron Valentine to follow Strasbourg’s orders and surrender the Knight Order.”
“I am not Lady Nancella. Treating me as an enemy is unnecessary.”
“And…”
“Dear brother, stop bringing up the past.”
“I am not asking as your younger brother but as Charlot Mecklenburg, Head Overseer of the Lukavaro District City Patrol, Commander of the West Wind Knight Order, Director of the Lukavaro District Administrative Bureau, Special Envoy and Plenipotentiary War Commissioner of the Fars Empire to the Ingrima Empire, and Chief Clerk of the twenty-seventh rank, third class.”
“Additionally, I remind you in my capacity as Charlot Mecklenburg, First-Class Counselor of the twenty-fourth rank and Red Dragon Palace Archivist in the Ingrima Empire.”
“Do not bring up the past again.”
“I don’t want our brotherly bond to be fractured because of it.”
Mycroft’s expression darkened slightly, and he said quietly, “I understand.”
Charlot spoke gently, “Go and tell Baron Valentine that I am not his enemy, nor am I here to attack Seagull City. I am simply following orders to transfer his Knight Order.”
“This command comes from His Majesty Emperor Julius VI. It is not something a baron can defy, nor something I, a mere third-class clerk, can overlook.”
Mycroft, finding himself with nothing to say, requested to leave. Charlot, however, insisted on keeping him for dinner, presenting him with gifts brought back from Britain to pass on to the family.
Charlot Mecklenburg was a wanderer at heart, lacking much affection for his family. Since arriving in Strasbourg, his letters to his family contained only one consistent theme: requests for money.
When Mycroft cut off his financial support, Charlot stopped writing altogether.
“Huang Haisheng,” although a better person than Charlot, had no real affection for the Mecklenburg family either. Thus, Charlot had no plans to support the Mecklenburg family significantly. Keeping them in Seagull City with occasional financial aid was sufficient.
However, Mycroft’s children—his nephews and niece—might be worth cultivating. If a few could become university graduates or even achieve extraordinary abilities, it would greatly benefit Charlot.
Mycroft had three children, two sons and a daughter. Charlot’s gifts for them included three rapiers from the Ingrima Empire, each worth at least six or seven flor. While their quality might not surpass those from the Fars Empire, their exotic designs made them more appealing.
Since Mycroft had come on foot, Charlot used the abundance of gifts as an excuse to give him a carriage, telling him it need not be returned and could be kept for family use.
The Mecklenburg family, being merchants, had a real need for carriages to transport goods and accommodate their large household. Neither Charlot’s father nor Mycroft had previously been willing to spend on such luxuries. Charlot had given one carriage before, and with this second, the family’s needs would likely be met.
Feeling conflicted, Mycroft returned to Seagull City with the carriage and gifts.
After seeing his brother off, Charlot, as usual, sent Dubin Alger and others out to patrol the area. This precaution, a habit carried over from his transmigration, had proven useful in detecting surprise attacks.
Although he believed there would be no enemies in Seagull City, Charlot maintained this habit. Breaking it would be foolish in his view.
He didn’t expect, however, that less than an hour after Mycroft’s departure, Dubin rushed back, reporting, “A force has left Seagull City and is heading toward us. They’ll likely attack in less than an hour.”
Charlot was slightly surprised and asked, “Seagull City has only a few hundred soldiers. Do they really dare attack the West Wind Knight Order?”
Dubin shrugged. “Maybe Baron Valentine thinks he’s a military genius?”
Charlot was speechless. He immediately issued several orders, pulling back half of the Knight Order to set up an ambush near the camp. Before long, a force of several hundred knights appeared outside their camp.
Baron Valentine led the charge, his face full of excitement as he whispered, “Charlot is a coward. Everyone in Seagull City knows what kind of person he is. I’ll shatter his myth and expose the so-called ‘Behemoth’s strongest knight’ as a fraud.”
“If we win this battle, every soldier will receive a centime!”
From a distance, Charlot overheard these words. Unable to contain himself, he shouted a command. Torches flared, lighting up the camp, and he raised Blood Glory, roaring, “Anyone who surrenders on the spot will receive twenty centimes! Whoever captures Baron Valentine alive will be rewarded with one hundred gold écus!”
Competing with money?
Charlot Mecklenburg feared no mere baron.
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