Chapter 142 I'll Think About It Again

Under the protection of the Holy Musketeers, Horn mounted his warhorse and once again set foot on the land of Jeanne d'Arc.

Dark clouds still hung over Chateau Jeanne d'Arc, but the fierce quarrels and fights of yesterday seemed to have disappeared.

Ladies wearing veils and caps walked on the streets, notaries in puff-sleeved jackets strolled along the street holding rolls of paper, and craftsmen rolled up leather-wrapped tools under their arms and walked towards their workshops.

On the other side of the canal, the laborers picked up their shattered homes, covered the holes in the doors with rags, put on their brimless felt hats again, rolled up their sleeves, and picked up wooden barrels filled with wastewater.

If there weren't more beggars on the street than before, and there were unwashed bloodstains and piles of dirt from unremoved fences on the ground, Horn would have thought nothing had happened.

Led by a sergeant in a smock, Horn and his party walked across the creaking suspension bridge.

When passing through the city gate, Horn looked up and could still see the spiked iron gate bottom.

Several holes were specially opened on the top of the doorway. When the enemy walked into the doorway, the defending soldiers could pour hot water down from the holes or stab the enemy.

When encountering foreign enemies, the suspension bridge is the first line of defense, the iron fir door is the second line of defense, and the iron gate is the third line of defense.

Going further in, there are crossbow shooting holes on the walls on both sides. This is the fourth line of defense. If all else fails, there is a platform on the main building of the castle, which is the fifth line of defense.

It really feels like "my castle is impregnable."

Horn handed the horse to the servant and took it to the stable, and finally arrived at the castle that he could not enter no matter what.

But when his leather boots stepped on the fine wool carpet, a cold wind made Horn shiver.

Horn thought it was already quite cold outside, but he didn't expect that the Duke's castle would be even colder.

Led by the servant, Horn went up to the second floor and came to a waiting room. There was a hardwood round table next to the arched window, and a soft armchair with brocade cushions on each side.

"Please wait here for a moment. The Duke is changing his clothes and will be here soon."

Horn sat down on the soft chair and looked out the window. He could just see the rolling fields and the stacked houses in the distance.

The ant-like crowd is stumbling forward in the gradually cooling autumn wind.

He had not been sitting in the waiting room for long when the Duke of Darnay, whose name Horn had long heard of, finally opened the door and walked in.

Duke Darnay looks to be nearly forty years old, with a sense of premature aging.

Just like what Xixi said, he was indeed bald, with only a few scattered hairs on his temples and the back of his head.

But when Horn saw him, he still felt a little uncomfortable.

He was wearing a yellow and black short jacket with a collar, a shawl hanging from his hips, a two-finger-wide necklace inlaid with gold, silver and gemstones around his neck, and five gold rings on each of the five fingers of his left hand.

Originally, the carving on the ring should be a combination of the family name of the Duke of Kush [Kiabs], the ancient name of the Kush River.

But the one on his ring finger was replaced with an engagement ring, and the meaning of the ring became Kusabi.

The two men walked to the round table in a friendly manner, without mentioning what Bulwerf had done earlier.

"I fell into the water some time ago and I am indeed sick. I am sorry for neglecting you, hahahaha."

"Thanks to Mysella's blessing, you have recovered and are finally able to see people."

"How about red wine?" Letting Horn, the guest, sit down first, Duke Darnay took two hourglass-shaped golden cups from the servant and poured one for himself and one for Horn respectively.

Looking at the golden cup in his hand, Horn did not drink. He decided to get straight to the point and not engage in any witty remarks.

Looking at the Duke sitting down, he raised his head and asked, "Have you ever drunk blue blood wine?"

"I drank it, what's wrong?"

"Then do you know what it's made of?"

"This is the secret of the church. It would be great if I knew it." Picking up the hourglass-shaped golden cup, Dane poured the purple-red wine into his mouth.

"It's made of human flesh and blood." "Puff——"

The wine in Dane's mouth sprayed out instantly.

"Ahem, you, what, whose... Ahem..." He coughed violently, picked up the silk handkerchief on the table and began to wipe his mouth. "What are you talking about? Aren't we talking about Bulwerf?"

Without saying anything, Horn pulled a folded paper from his pocket and handed it to Darnay.

The excerpt on it was about how the priests prepared blue blood wine, and it was revealed that the Green Pied Piper was the church that was causing trouble.

Darnay did not bother to wipe the wine stains from his sleeves and collar. He hastily picked up the paper and examined it carefully.

As his eyes scanned the paper back and forth, Dane's expression became more and more ugly. In the end, his hands even began to tremble.

Darnay fell into a chair and threw the paper away as if he were avoiding the plague: "Do you have any evidence? Where did you get the information? This, but, that is..."

"Of course I have evidence." Horn stared at Darnay, "But I can't give it to you for now, Duke Darnay. I'm here to negotiate terms with you."

"Conditions? What conditions?" Dane recovered from his shock and was obviously confused.

"I know you want to use my name to revolt, but I will not stay in Jeanne Castle." Horn said slowly, "What you lack is just a legitimate reason to encourage the farmers to stand up against the church, am I right?"

"Oh, yes, yes, I have been thinking about this recently." Darnay nodded quickly, but he asked awkwardly, "Is this too much? Won't it anger the church?"

"Not everyone in the church is united. At most, it will only anger the current Pope. Cardinal Grandiva might even thank you." Horn shook the wine in the glass but did not drink a sip.

"What will it take for you to give me this evidence?" Darnay swallowed.

Horn frowned. Based on his previous image and methods, he thought the Duke was a man with a tough side. How come he looked like a coward until now?

Maybe I misunderstood, but Horn continued:
“First, I will not stay in Qianhe Valley. In order to prevent you from being too enthusiastic and keeping me here, the evidence will be given to you before I leave. Before that, I can only give you some copies of the evidence.

Second, my old camp can help you train 5,000 young and strong men out of the 10,000 into soldiers, and they will fight for you in my name. Some of the Holy Gunners will also go into battle.

But I made it clear in advance that my old soldiers are only there to help you fight and are not under your command. Only the 10,000 new soldiers are under your command.

Third, you must ensure the food and clothing supply of my old camp during my absence. I will come to pick them up in about one to two years. "

"As long as this is true, I can certainly agree to your request." Darnay agreed to Horn's conditions, stood up, and then suddenly sat down again. "Do you think this evidence can really motivate the farmers?"

“The Leia people have a good reputation, the Franks are always xenophobic, the Norns love their hometown, and the greatest characteristic of the Thousand Valley people is that they value kinship.

Almost everyone in Thousand River Valley has had the experience of relatives or friends being taken away by the Green Pied Piper.

But according to myths and legends, it was the people of Qianhe Valley who caused the disaster themselves. They cannot blame others and can only blame themselves.

What if you tell them that this has nothing to do with the people of Qianhe Valley, and that it was the church's doing?

Hundreds of years of resentment, Lord Franlea's tyranny, the murder of innocent Dean Juanno... With all these things piling up, can they still believe in the church?
At least before the local church undergoes a major change, they will definitely not believe in the Thousand River Valley Church anymore."

"Oh..." With a bitter face, Darnay subconsciously picked up the golden wine cup and put it to his mouth. He didn't drink it and put it back. "I need to think about this..."

"What are you afraid of?" Horn stood up and waved his hand to dispel the annoying smell of incense. "You are famous, rich, have a powerful secret army, and extraordinary knights from the remnants of your family.

With your reputation and legal principles, you can raise your hand and they will respond in unison throughout the Thousand River Valley."

"But that's only in the four plain counties." Duke Darnay said with a wry smile, "Those in the five mountain counties have long stopped listening to me. Many of them even think I'm a running dog of the church."

"But aren't you afraid that the church will take action against you? When you are accused of rebellion by the church, you better really want to rebel!"

After being rebuked by Horn, Duke Darnay's face showed no emotion. After a long while, he raised his head as if he had made up his mind:
"Well, I really should cheer up. I, I've decided... or I'll think about it again."

"Okay." Although Horn was speechless after being made speechless by Duke Dane, he still nodded reluctantly, "I hope you can make a choice as soon as possible. You know, Duke Hermash will probably be very interested in this as well."

(End of this chapter)