Chapter 315 - 222: Courting Death

"Grand Duke Tarrenno?" Fang Zhen’s expression faltered for a moment as he registered the name.

’Grand Duke Tarrenno... wasn’t he one of the three great Dukes of the Kingdom mentioned in the mission background? A descendant of the fifth son of the former King of Zambein, Joseph II?’

’How did Dalia’s affairs get tangled up with Duke Tarrenno? And why would Tarrenno want to kill her?’

"My lord, you should know of Duke Tarrenno. He is cruel and tyrannical, yet exceedingly brave, hailed as the Kingdom’s greatest warrior. Count Henry is a vassal of Duke Tarrenno, and the original Viscount Ashton was, in turn, a vassal of Count Henry," Father Matthew explained, knowing Fang Zhen was not very familiar with the Kingdom’s noble lineages.

Fang Zhen understood.

’Zambein still operated under a feudal system, with a clear hierarchy of fiefs.’

’Drawing a comparison to the history of Blue Star, a Duke might have four to eight Counts under him. A Count would have a similar number of Viscounts, who in turn had Barons, and at the very bottom were the enfeoffed Knights.’

’The numbers weren’t fixed, but that was the general idea—a pyramid formed by successive layers of vassals.’

’So Dalia’s Ashton Territory was originally part of Grand Duke Tarrenno’s line of vassals.’

’But that didn’t fully answer the question.’

’Tarrenno is a Duke. Why would he bother with Dalia, the widow of a mere Viscount?’

The medicine helped Dalia recover some of her spirit. She held so many unspoken grievances. As the mistress of the territory, she had to bear many burdens alone. At most, she could talk to her female guard, but that offered only emotional comfort and did nothing to solve her actual problems.

But Fang Zhen was a man Dalia could trust and rely on.

Explaining the situation to Fang Zhen was different from simply venting her troubles; it stemmed from a sense of dependence and trust.

"Last time, you brought many luxury goods," Dalia said. "I used my connections within the Kingdom to sell them. They were met with an enthusiastic response, earning me a large profit in Gold Ropes."

"But this attracted the attention of Count Henry and Duke Tarrenno, and they started to make their moves."

"Count Henry may be a Count, but his position isn’t very secure. He is debauched and leads an incredibly extravagant life. He also has an army to maintain, and his income has long since failed to cover his expenses. He’s living off his ancestral savings and borrowed money, making him desperate for more."

"My commercial success led Henry to set his sights on me. Under the pretext of reaffirming my legitimate rule over the Ashton Territory, he demanded to meet me here in person."

"I wasn’t on my guard at the time. The Kingdom is in chaos, but some semblance of order remains. To legally possess the new Montagu and Von Klei territories, I need a higher-ranking noble to witness the transfer and grant me legitimacy. I could have gone to the Royal Capital to handle it, but that would have been far more troublesome."

"So, caught off guard, I agreed to it."

"But I never expected Count Henry to be so shameless. He actually brought an army to the Ashton Territory and camped outside the city to intimidate me. He even made... made insulting propositions."

"He demanded I become his mistress or marry him."

"With Henry’s reputation, what noblewoman in the Kingdom would be willing to marry him?"

As Dalia spoke, a look of shame and indignation appeared on her face, and her cheeks flushed red.

Fang Zhen gently stroked Dalia’s back to soothe her, his gaze shifting to Father Matthew who stood beside them.

Father Matthew sighed softly and said, "Count Henry’s debauchery is infamous throughout the Kingdom. Furthermore, his wife just died, so Count Henry is currently a widower."

"However, although the former countess was said to have died of illness, there are rumors circulating in the Kingdom. They say that after the Countess’s family lost power in a political struggle, Henry no longer valued her and began to treat her with contempt. And Count Henry is also rumored to have various special... bedroom predilections. The rumor is that the Countess was actually tortured to death by him."

"Count Henry’s peculiar tastes are well-known in noble circles, so it’s unlikely any respectable family would be willing to marry their daughter to him."

Fang Zhen’s eyebrow twitched, and a murderous aura flashed in his eyes.

But he quickly suppressed this killing intent, not wanting to frighten Dalia.

’Father Matthew had been rather euphemistic, but any adult could easily read between the lines.’

’It meant that this Count Henry had rather perverted sexual tastes, likely involving abuse and other extreme fetishes.’

’Of course, if a husband and wife have a good relationship, spicing things up in the bedroom is nothing to be concerned about. But that clearly wasn’t Henry’s style. The man was probably a genuine pervert—he’d even kill his own legal wife just because her family fell from power.’

’Fang Zhen’s contempt for Henry grew even stronger.’

’Even some of the wealthy men he knew played around, but they always did it on the side. They at least showed their wives respect, both emotionally and for the sake of appearances, especially if they had built their success together.’

’But Henry treated his own legal wife that way... Just how heartless and faithless could a man be?’

"Henry is after your wealth," Fang Zhen said.

"Yes, I know. So I refused him flatly, without sparing his pride. I could tell right then and there that he’d come to resent me for it," Dalia said. "He then proposed another meeting, claiming it was to handle the matter of ownership for the Montagu and Von Klei territories. Since it was an important and official matter, I couldn’t refuse. So, under the protection of Father Matthew and my guards, I met with him again."

"However, during that meeting, Henry never really touched on the core issue. It was during that meeting that I suddenly felt a chill run through my body and couldn’t stop shivering. Not long after I returned, I fell ill."