Above the mage!

Chapter 462 Roland's Past

"Isn't this gift a bit too valuable?" Gao De pondered for a moment before not accepting the land deed directly.

The gifts from other noble families were worth no more than 1,500 gold coins, so Gao De could accept them without any psychological barriers.

However, this manor in front of us is clearly too expensive as a congratulatory gift.

There is no free lunch in the world.

The overly expensive gift made Gaode hesitate.

It seemed that Earl Roland had given prior instructions. Faced with Gao De's question, the master of ceremonies was not surprised at all and slowly said, "The Earl means that Gao De's attack yesterday was most likely related to him. This manor is both a congratulatory gift and compensation to Gao De."

"Some connection with the Earl?" Gao De frowned, puzzled.

"Venerable Master Gaode, the Earl also instructed me to explain the specific reasons to you in detail," the master of ceremonies added.

"What is your relationship with Count Roland?"

The fact that Count Roland could entrust such an event to a master of ceremonies clearly indicates that this master of ceremonies was no ordinary one.

“Master Gao De, you can just call me Butler Howard. I am the head butler of the Earl’s mansion and have been working for the Earl for over forty years.” Butler Howard naturally understood Gao De’s doubts and immediately revealed his identity.

Upon hearing this, Gao De's doubts vanished.

A steward is essentially like the chief eunuch around an emperor. Because they serve their master in every aspect of his daily life, they inevitably know a lot about him. Therefore, they are often the master's confidants, and the master's level of trust in them may even be higher than that of his bedmate.

"Butler Howard, please speak." Gao De immediately indicated that he was all ears.

After a moment's thought and a few words, Butler Howard continued, "Master Gaode, you may not know this as an outsider, but in our Auckland, all the nobles know this: the Earl is not actually a direct descendant of the family."

Upon hearing this, Gao De narrowed his eyes slightly.

In the Plantagenet Dynasty, or rather in most countries on the Nolan continent, noble titles are basically hereditary and follow the primogeniture system.

That is, the family's title, main territory, and property are preferentially inherited by the eldest son born to the principal wife.

The eldest son not only inherits the title but also controls the core power and resources of the family, ensuring the continuation of the family's status and wealth.

Of course, the eldest son is not just the eldest son; the condition of being born to the principal wife is also extremely important, namely, the so-called direct bloodline.

If there is no eldest son, some nobles will implement the eldest daughter succession system, but this is relatively rare and is prone to controversy.

More often, the inheritance is passed down to male relatives within the family who are closely related by blood, such as second sons or nephews.

Therefore, in this situation, the fact that the Count of Roland, who is not a direct descendant, was able to inherit the family title suggests that this short sentence likely contains a love-hate and melodramatic story as thick as "The Count of Monte Cristo".

"That late autumn, the eldest son of the Roland family, and the only direct descendant of the Roland family, Young Master Ruowa Roland, went to sea with the family's caravan to the Central Continent."

No one expected that after the caravan arrived on the Central Plains, it would encounter the Holy Empire's army that had landed there," Butler Howard said, seemingly recalling the events of that year, and couldn't help but sigh, "The entire caravan, along with any news of Young Master Ruova, vanished without a trace."

"Everyone believed that Young Master Ruowa and his caravan had met with misfortune and were brutally slaughtered by the Holy Empire's army." "The old count naturally did not want to accept this fact, but at that time the Holy Empire's army was expanding its territory on the Central Continent and waging a great war. The situation was chaotic, and the old count could only send people across the sea to search for them sporadically, but in the end, there was no news."

"Four years have passed just like that. The old Earl was already quite old, and this incident further aggravated him." At this point, Butler Howard paused, not saying it explicitly, but his meaning was quite clear.

"Young Master Ruowa was the only direct descendant of the Roland family at the time, so before his death, the old count had no choice but to pass on the title to his nephew Simon Roland, who became the count."

"The Earl was the most talented person in the family at the time, and his talent as a mage was also extraordinary. That's why the old Earl chose him to inherit the title. After inheriting the title, the Earl did not disappoint the old Earl's trust. He did not make the Roland family bigger, but at least he preserved the family business."

"What happened next?" Gao De asked.

Butler Howard couldn't help but sigh, "If things had continued like this, it wouldn't have been so bad, but twenty years after the Earl inherited the title, young master Ruova actually returned."

"Young Master Ruowa was indeed attacked by the Holy Empire's army back then and was powerless to resist, but he managed to escape with his life thanks to the full protection of the family mage."

"At that time, the Central Continent was engulfed in war and in chaos. The original ports were either occupied by the Holy Empire or destroyed in the war. Trade between the Nolan Continent and the Central Continent almost came to a complete standstill."

"Under these circumstances, he would naturally be unable to contact his family on his own and could only wander around the Central Continent, avoiding the war."

"It wasn't until the Holy Empire's army was stalled and the situation on the Central Continent gradually stabilized that he found an opportunity to return to the Golden Flower Dynasty by ship."

"But by this time, more than twenty years had passed since he disappeared, and everything had changed."

"The first thing Young Master Ruowa did after returning was to ask the Earl to return the title to him."

"The Earl was naturally unwilling, so Young Master Ruowa made a huge scene. Because the matter was too big, and because Young Master Ruowa's mother's family was quite powerful, the Earl could only divide up many properties to Young Master Ruowa to appease his dissatisfaction. But obviously, things will not end there."

Gao De nodded silently.

The Earl of Roland inherited his title legitimately from the old Earl, with impeccable procedures and laws, and he has done a good job since inheriting the title.

How could you possibly return and hand over everything so easily? Only a saint could do that.

For Ruowa Roland, the Roland family was originally his. He suffered such misfortune on the continent of Midgard and went through great lengths to finally return to his homeland, only to find that his father had passed away and the family had become someone else's. How could he accept this?
Moreover, according to the law, he is the first heir of the Roland family.

In his view, Count Roland was a thief.

If we really want to judge, both sides have their reasons, and it's hard to say who is right and who is wrong. It mainly depends on which side you're on.

"Then came the ongoing power struggle that continues to this day. The Earl has held the title for many years, and in theory, Young Master Ruowa should be no match for the elders. However, the Earl has his concerns and doesn't want to go too far."

"Although Young Master Ruowa is no match for the elders, he is certainly capable of secretly sabotaging the Earl in various ways, and he has indeed been doing so all along."

"Regarding the attack on Master Gaode, Chief Theodore specially invited his friend to use [Prophecy] to question the mastermind behind it, all for the sake of giving you an explanation."

"Based on the reply from the [Prophecy] and the Earl's subsequent investigation, the mastermind behind this is most likely connected to Young Master Ruowa."

(End of this chapter)