"I don't know why, but the first time I saw you, I felt as if we had known each other forever. If you were a girl, I definitely wouldn't be able to resist pursuing you. However, since we're already on the same side, I can't help but look after a good brother when there are benefits to be had," she said, even draping an arm around Byron's shoulder with absolutely no sense of personal boundaries.
Alarm bells rang in Byron's mind as he realized what she was about to say.
This girl, who was tall for a woman, tiptoed and whispered in his ear, "I heard you are quite familiar with that great beauty, the 'Flower of the North,' Catherine. How about introducing me when you have some time?"
Byron glanced at her sideways, his brows furrowed. "Not a good idea. Miss [Chameleon], you should first consider if your less than one hundred pounds of flesh will be enough for all your future victims. Starting something and then abandoning it isn't a good quality. Besides, I am the Countess's [Guardian Knight]; the last woman who fancied Catherine has turned to dust."
Jacqueline clearly didn't believe him and made a face. "Stingy! What do you mean, 'starting and abandoning'? Don't make it sound so awful. I just want to give all the girls a home. What's wrong with that? When I love one, my heart also loves another. And you, a commoner, wouldn't understand the purity of spiritual love. Besides, my mother and your Hightins' Prince Sorrenberg are first cousins, and Catherine is the Prince's foster daughter. In other words, she's my cousin. When I meet my cousin, I'll ask to sleep with her, and she'll definitely agree. Jealous, aren't you? Envious, hehehe..."
Byron shrugged indifferently. Jokes on you, would I tell her I've already rolled in that bed eight hundred times?
"Eh? Lancaster's encrypted secret language?"
Just as he was about to retort, a thought suddenly struck him. On the surface, he was talking to Jacqueline, but secretly, the [Golden Law] was monitoring every move of the three Lancaster Party members behind him. Even if contact is to be made, intelligence work must be done in advance to be prepared. Rebellion isn't a dinner party; one careless move, and everything could be lost.
The three of them looked like normal security personnel diligently performing their duties, but their fingers, hanging naturally at their sides, moved with an almost imperceptible rhythm.
Long, short, long, long, short...
Byron read it effortlessly and, according to Lancaster's internal translation rules, converted it into normal text in his mind:
"Miss Jacqueline has tested the target. For now, he and Miss Catherine seem to be purely collaborators. Otherwise, he would already be flattering Miss Jacqueline, deploying every strategy from the sidelines and trying every possible way to pursue Miss Catherine."
"Not necessarily. There's another possibility: he already has an intimate relationship with Miss Catherine and simply disdains Miss Jacqueline's small favors. Do you think it's possible that Miss Catherine, whose forces are intact and rapidly expanding, has given up on His Highness?"
"Shut up! We've discussed this many times internally. I trust Miss Catherine's character. If we've seen the wanted poster for His Highness, she certainly has too. More than us, she's the one who longs most for His Highness's return. Miss Catherine must be enduring humiliation like us, quietly amassing strength, waiting for His Highness to return. No, not His Highness! As the last of the Lancasters, he is the next King Byron I, destined by the Mandate of Heaven to rule the Kingdom of Hightins! When he returns, that will be the day the usurper Edward IV is unseated."
The York Family had thought they would quickly capture the [Son of the Devil], so they issued the wanted poster. Little did they expect to suffer a defeat near the coast and then another at Iron Anchor Bay. Byron, however, grew stronger with each battle and was now close to hollowing out Heitings Colony. The mere news that Byron Lancaster was still alive gave this band of remnants endless confidence. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel⚑fire.net
"To be safe, once I'm a bit more familiar with things in a couple of days, I'll request a transfer to Georgetown Port. You two will assist me. By then, having The Sea Hunter's pass will be much better than us foolishly charging in on our own. I've heard that in the underworld Black Market, Georgetown Port has become a forbidden zone. All intelligence personnel speak of it with fear; its defenses are terrifyingly strong. Once there, if I get the chance, I'll contact Miss Catherine. Together, we'll find a way to seize control of The Sea Hunter's forces and offer them to His Majesty."
With just a few simple sentences, Byron understood their general plan. A faction of the Lancaster Party had successfully escaped to Bantaan but had no intention of living in obscurity. After all, a Bayfolk proverb says: All debts must be paid!
The most overtly powerful former Lancaster Party member was Countess Catherine Grenville. Now, they wanted to wage an indirect campaign: use Iris—this external support—as a stepping stone to get close to Catherine, and then build up strength overseas to strike back.
Heh, this has come full circle, Byron thought. I want to use the 'Heartfelt Trouble' to swallow the Newman Family whole, perhaps even seize all of Heitings Colony. The Newman Family wants to use The Sea Hunter's hand to swallow the Grenville family's title, fiefdom, and assets. Then, when the time comes to discard me, their 'Black Gloves,' they'll completely launder their gray assets. Now the Lancaster Party wants to use Catherine's hand to seize The Sea Hunter's enterprises and then overthrow the Newman Family. This little cousin of mine is probably not just a simple 'playboy' with only women on her mind; she might even be deeply involved in this plan.
Although their choice of The Sea Hunter as an entry point was doomed to be a huge blunder, the sight of so many people pinning their hopes—even their entire fortunes and lives—on him, ready to fight and die for him, still made Byron feel a sudden, heavy weight on his shoulders.
He who wears the crown must bear its weight! His understanding of this phrase suddenly became unprecedentedly profound. Great power comes with great responsibility. This wasn't just about his own life; he was also carrying the lives of many others. Just as every Sacred Relic is born with a historical mission, this too was the 'Mandate of Heaven' that the 'last of the Lancasters' had to bear.
In Byron's current position, he no longer had the luxury of irresponsibly saying, "I quit," and retreating to a quiet life in the countryside. Can one simply walk away from the Game of Thrones? The story of the "Twin Dragons" from his memory, with its extreme absurdity, was fraught with unfulfilled emotions. He couldn't afford to take even half a step back now. And, of course, he wouldn't.
Realizing this, the invisible [Anchor Chains] around him seemed to multiply, his Spirituality growing more stable.
However, Byron still decided to wait until after he advanced to the Third Order before finding an opportunity to gather his old followers and reveal his identity. Identity is one thing, power another. Power alone cannot win hearts, and identity alone is easily undermined. Only when the two swords are combined can one be invincible!
Byron made simple arrangements for a few people and then returned to the routine of constructing Torrent Fortress. The construction of auxiliary facilities also began simultaneously. The stone quarry was prioritized, and processing equipment was scheduled to arrive early.
I should make another trip to the Royal Port to reap some benefits, Byron mused. Before Torrent Fortress achieves large-scale production capacity, the external supply line must not be cut. Fortunately, as long as there's money, the Newman Family will sell anything: Fortress Cannons, shipbuilding equipment, mining equipment, metallurgical equipment, windmill components... Without their full support, many things would be hard to buy, even with money.
However, when he had the ship ready the next day and was about to initiate a Deep Sea Leap to procure supplies, he unexpectedly received a message from Admiral Newman first. The panic in his tone was barely concealed: "Byron, big trouble! I just received word. The Minister of Finance has secretly dispatched a team of Tax Officers to audit our Royal Port."