Rose of the Northern Border

After arranging the purchase of slaves and supplies, Karl had Brendan and Roland return first, and he went to the Governor's Mansion again.

Tomorrow he would officially leave Fran City and head to that unknown territory, so it was only right and proper to bid farewell to the highest official in the city, Earl Rochefort.

This time, the person who greeted him at the entrance of the Governor's Mansion was no longer the cold-faced secretary, but an official wearing a more senior civil servant's attire and a slightly more amiable attitude.

Karl stated his purpose: "Please inform His Excellency the Earl that Karl von Schmidt will lead his troops to Carnford tomorrow, and I have come to bid farewell."

The official nodded, "Please wait a moment, Your Excellency Karl, I will go and inform you now."

He gestured for an attendant to take Karl to a side hall to wait, while he himself quickly walked towards the inner hall.

Sitting in the side hall, Karl couldn't help but mutter to himself, "What if I run into His Excellency's 'private time' again? Then this farewell would truly become a farewell performance."

Fortunately, his worries were unfounded this time. Not long after, the official returned, a polite smile on his face: "Your Excellency Karl, His Excellency the Earl is in his office. Please come over now."

Karl breathed a sigh of relief, tidied his armor, and followed the official towards the familiar office.

The official stopped in front of the heavy oak door, pushed it open for him, and stepped aside: "Your Excellency, please."

Karl stepped into the office, and the door quietly closed behind him.

The furnishings in the room were the same as ever. A large map of the Northern Border occupied one wall, and Earl Rochefort sat behind the desk, with the secretary standing respectfully beside him.

But this time, there was an extra person in the room.

It was a young woman standing by the Earl's desk.

She had brilliant, sun-like golden curly hair, casually tied back, with a few strands falling by her cheeks.

Her face was delicate, with a straight nose that tapered sharply at the tip, making her face appear much softer, perfectly balancing her heroic and gentle qualities.

Her eyebrows were high, and her pupils were blue, like a bay surrounded by a harbor.

She bore some resemblance to Earl Rochefort between the brows, and looked about seventeen or eighteen years old.

She wore a simple cotton shirt and trousers, casually covered by a leather vest, and a pair of knee-high boots with a bit of mud on them, clearly looking like she had just dismounted from armor, dusty and travel-worn.

She was tall, almost as tall as Karl, perhaps even slightly taller, though the thick heels of her boots certainly contributed.

The moment Karl entered, her gaze swept over him like a hawk's. Her eyes were sharp, direct, full of scrutiny and undisguised curiosity, with a natural aggressiveness that made Karl, accustomed to the rough gazes of Northern Border soldiers, feel a bit uncomfortable, especially since she was such a beautiful young woman.

He instinctively averted her direct gaze slightly, appearing somewhat flustered.

Seeing Karl, Earl Rochefort's face broke into his characteristic, somewhat teasing smile. He tapped the desk with his finger and said to the woman, "Look, Charlotte, speak of the devil and he shall appear. This is the Karl von Schmidt I was telling you about, the 'most useless' youngest son of Duke Schmidt."

"Just the day before yesterday, he led a hastily assembled ragtag army and achieved a 'world-shattering' great victory. At the cost of four unlucky souls, he annihilated a group of kobolds hiding in a canyon who wanted to grab some pelts for the winter. What do you think? Doesn't it sound like a story a bard would tell?"

The woman named Charlotte, upon hearing this, focused her gaze on Karl again, the scrutiny in her eyes intensifying, and a subtle curve seemed to appear at the corner of her lips.

Karl was made somewhat embarrassed by the Earl's exaggerated teasing, especially in front of a strange lady. He quickly lowered his head and said respectfully, "Your Excellency the Earl is too kind... it was merely luck."

"Too kind?" Rochefort scoffed. "I wasn't praising you, I was merely stating a fact, a fact that sounds like blowing a wildcat into a dragon. However, for the Northern Border, where even goblins fighting are reported as legion battles, your achievement is quite something."

Karl didn't want to dwell on this topic. He stepped forward and said earnestly, "Your Excellency the Earl, my troops and I are ready. We will depart for my territory, Carnford, tomorrow morning. I have come to bid you farewell and thank you for your recent care."

A flicker of genuine surprise crossed Earl Rochefort's face. "Leaving tomorrow? I recall the kingdom's deadline is still about ten days away. Your 'noble companions' are all still in the taverns and brothels in the city, squandering the last bit of pocket money their fathers gave them. Why are you so eager to go gnaw frozen earth in that godforsaken wasteland?"

Karl straightened his back and said with a serious tone, "The kingdom sent us to the Northern Border to stabilize the frontier and reclaim lost lands, not to live dissolute lives in Fran City. The sooner we depart, the sooner we can share the kingdom's burdens, and the sooner we can alleviate your pressure in the Northern Border."

Earl Rochefort chuckled and shook his head, "Alright, alright, noble ideals. Then I hope your small, yet-to-be-established territory can be like a hard nut to crack when the Sauron march south to raid next autumn, chipping off a few of their teeth and buying me a little more time to react. Alright, if there's nothing else, you may leave. I will see you off personally tomorrow."

Then, he turned to the woman beside him, "Charlotte, you go out too."

"Yes, Father," Charlotte replied, her voice clear and crisp.

She and Karl turned around almost simultaneously, walking out of the Governor's office one after the other. The heavy wooden door closed behind them, shutting out Earl Rochefort's gaze, which always held a hint of teasing.

The corridor was suddenly empty except for the two of them, and the clear, rhythmic "tap, tap" of Charlotte's thick-soled boots on the floor.

This sound echoed in the empty corridor, inexplicably striking a chord in Karl's heart.

The blonde girl beside him was almost as tall as he was, with a straight posture and the crispness of a soldier in her stride, yet it was wonderfully blended with the soft curves of a woman.

Her casually tied golden curls swayed slightly with her steps, their ends seeming to brush against Karl's heart, bringing a slight tickle.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't moved, but Karl didn't know what to say to break the silence.

Charlotte also seemed uninterested in conversation, her gaze fixed forward as she walked.

The two walked in silence through the long corridor of the Governor's Mansion, without a word, until they emerged from the main entrance into the cold night air.

Fran City was dark at night, but standing beside Charlotte, Karl felt as if the surrounding scenery had brightened considerably.

He guessed that Charlotte must have her own destination and they would likely part ways here.

It seemed this brief encounter was as fleeting as a rare sunny day in the Northern Border.

He couldn't help but feel a faint sense of regret.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to politely bid farewell, Charlotte, who was walking a step ahead, suddenly stopped.

She turned around, her eyes, as blue as an icy lake, looking directly at Karl. Her voice was clear and direct, breaking the previous silence:

"Karl... Schmidt? Right?"

Karl answered almost instinctively, his reaction so quick it was almost foolish: "Yes! What is it?"

A sense of anticipation inexplicably rose within him.

Charlotte's expression didn't change, still carrying that innate air of scrutiny. "Where are your troops? May I see them?"

Karl was a little surprised, not expecting her to make such a request. "Now?"

Charlotte raised an eyebrow slightly, her expression seeming to say, 'Or what?' Her words carried a hint of barely perceptible teasing. "Of course now. Do your troops automatically disband at night and reassemble at dawn? I don't believe a unit like that could win an ambush against seventy kobolds."

Karl was immediately rendered speechless, and at the same time, almost one hundred percent certain that this was definitely Earl Rochefort's daughter.

In that way of using exaggerated metaphors to tease, the father and daughter were practically cast from the same mold.

He couldn't help but chuckle, the previous tension dissipating considerably. "Of course not. My troops are at the City Guard barracks. If you're interested, you're welcome to inspect them."

He made a "please" gesture.

"Lead the way," Charlotte said concisely, motioning for Karl to go ahead.

Karl nodded, suppressing a strange flicker of excitement in his heart, and led this "visitor" of special status and even more special attitude towards the direction of the barracks.

He didn't know if Charlotte was genuinely interested in the troops, or simply out of curiosity, or perhaps looking for an excuse to spend a little more time with him.

But no matter what, it was not a bad thing that this thorny Rose of the Northern Border was willing to see the elite troops he had trained.