Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

Chapter 337 Freya's Seduction
Lucia stepped forward and said softly:

"The distant relative Malfoy mentioned should be the eldest prince of the Southern Empire, Greg Alvis."

Freya concealed her emotions and said slowly:

"What you say is correct, sir. The Lorthermar family and the Southern Empire have indeed been colluding for a long time."

Lucia responded:

"Gregor is probably plotting to sideline His Highness and secretly take control of Guimian City."

Freya's lips curled into a faint, almost imperceptible, contemptuous smile:

"He's probably in dire straits himself, so don't worry about him. The master has a plan for him."

We'll discuss everything after the gentleman arrives.

If Malfoy asks about your meeting with that distant relative in the next couple of days, make up an excuse to decline.

Lucia nodded to indicate that she understood.

After finishing the business, Freya began to inquire about Cohen's schedule, her tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of excitement:

"Didn't the gentleman say when he would arrive?"

Lucia answered quickly, clearly having prepared in advance:

"We will arrive in Guimian City in three days."

Freya's eyes visibly brightened, and then she gave the instructions:
"The Princess of Windsor and Miss Melantha also came with the gentleman. Please make arrangements for their accommodations."

Both privacy and comfort must be considered.

"Yes."

……

Malfoy Lorthermar did not go home after leaving the palace, but secretly went to a private apartment in the city.

Greg, upon meeting Malfoy, didn't engage in much formality and went straight to the question:

"What did your princess say?"

Malfoy looked very excited:

"Her Highness has agreed. All five thousand men will be sent to her side as family guards of our Lorthermar family."

Gregor showed no particular emotion and then asked:

"What about the meeting?"

"They agreed, but didn't give a specific timeframe."

Greg frowned slightly and said:

"Hurry up, I don't have much time to waste here."

Malfoy responded respectfully, then asked:

When does Your Highness plan to make your move?

Greg said:
"The time to make a move is when your princess meets me."

Malfoy was taken aback and said:

"Are you in such a hurry? We haven't even figured out the situation of the guards around His Highness yet. It might not be appropriate to act rashly like this."

Greg, however, was dismissive of this and said indifferently:
"What powerful guards could a little princess have? I brought a total of three legendary-level and ten gold-level guards with me this time."

"More than enough to control a teenage girl."

Malfoy said in a deep voice:
"And then there's the Gavin family. Guimian City is the core of the Gavin family, and their power should not be underestimated."

Greg sneered:
"Does the Gavin family dare to go head-to-head with the Southern Empire?"
The Gavin family knew how to choose: to exchange a puppet princess with little real power for the support of the Southern Empire.

"Here's what we'll do: once the time for meeting the princess is confirmed, could you arrange for me to meet that young master from the Gavin family beforehand? I want to talk to him first."

Malfoy paused for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully.

After a moment of silence, he whispered a reminder:
"The Gavin family is only one aspect; outside the city, there is also a legion of 10,000 elite orcs led by Marshal Alnold of Effie."

"What if the commotion is too great and alerts the Effiin people outside the city..."

Greg interrupted Malfoy abruptly, saying in a cold voice:

"Just try not to alert them, not to mention that I brought a thousand 'special forces' soldiers with me this time. Dealing with a bunch of brainless orcs is just a matter of charging in."

Besides, I only control Guimian City, and I have no other conflicts with Effie.

Controlling Guimian City was also for the purpose of better attacking Gaius's side, as they shared common interests.

"If that King Efein had any brains, he wouldn't have attacked me."

Seeing Greg's confidence, Malfoy didn't say anything more.

Greg stood up and said:
"In short, urge your princess to agree to meet with me as soon as possible."

The sooner we act, the better it will be for our plans. We should try to take complete control of Guimian City before I return home.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to send troops to you!

Malfoy responded in a low voice:
"Yes, Your Highness, I will do my best."

……

Guimian City, Princess's Palace, Sleeping Room.

Cohen looked at Freya, who had grown into a beautiful young woman, and felt quite emotional.

It had only been a few months since they last met, but Freya's childlike innocence had completely disappeared from her face.

Freya was even bolder, hugging Cohen tightly and refusing to let go.

Cohen gently patted Freya on the shoulder and said with a smile:

"Alright, now that you are the Princess of Ceylon, the future Queen of Ceylon, it's not good for others to see you like this."

Freya leaned on Cohen's shoulder for a long time before slowly letting go under two slightly unfriendly gazes.

She then gave Windsordale and Melantha a sweet smile as a greeting.

After exchanging pleasantries, the group began to get down to business. Cohen asked:

"I saw from the intelligence you sent that Greg has already started his operation?"

Freya replied:
"Yes, he had Malfoy arrange a meeting with me. I suspect he wanted to use this meeting to launch his operation."

A glint of light flashed in Cohen's eyes, and he chuckled softly:
"I was just worried about not having an excuse to lure Greg out, but he delivered himself right to my door."

"You stall him for now, and while I discuss the plan with my two 'allies,' we'll lure him into the trap."

After finishing their business, Cohen began to inquire about Freya's recent life.

Seeing that Cohen and Melantha were talking so enthusiastically, Windsordler and Melantha exchanged a glance and left silently.

He only gave Cohen a sharp, warning look before leaving.

Once Freya saw that no one was bothering her, she became noticeably bolder, slowly getting up, stretching, and revealing her alluring curves.

He walked over to Cohen and said:
"Sir, I'm a bit tired lately, and I feel very exhausted."

I heard from Sister Windsor that you often give her massages, and they work very well. Could you give me a massage too?

Before Cohen could even agree, his clothes were already falling off.

Cohen thought to himself, "Why are you taking off your clothes for a massage?"
Could it be that Freya saw the massage game I used to play with Windsordler?
Fortunately, Cohen managed to maintain the most basic principles; he quickly restrained Freya's movements and changed the subject:
"Freya, your father is outside the city. Have you met him?"

Upon hearing Arnold's name, Freya stopped seducing Cohen and replied:
"I have met him, but there were too many people watching me. I met my father under the pretext of the Ceylon princess visiting the reinforcements from Effie, and we didn't talk much."

Cohen sighed:
"You've worked so hard. It's all my fault for putting such a heavy burden on you, making it impossible for you to even recognize your own father."

Freya immediately said:
“If you say that again, sir, I will be unhappy. I must thank you for giving me this opportunity to become a queen.”

Cohen greatly admired Freya's spirit:
"Yes, a queen of her generation! My Freya will surely become the renowned Queen of Ceylon!"

Freya's eyes flickered slightly, and she brought up the topic from before she left last time:

"Then, sir, what kind of person do you think is suitable to be the Queen Consort of Ceylon?"

Cohen's face immediately turned extremely embarrassed. He turned to leave, but Freya had already reached out and grabbed his collar.

Seeing Freya's red lips getting closer and closer to him, Cohen quickly took a few steps back, coughed lightly, and said:

"Freya, it's getting late. You'll be busy with official business tomorrow, so get some rest."

Freya's expression instantly turned sour, and she let out a soft snort:
"Does the gentleman still treat me like a child?"

Cohen deliberately changed the subject:

"Um... I'm a bit tired today, I've been traveling all day. By the way, where did you arrange for us to stay? Is it far from the city center?"

Freya was about to continue holding onto Cohen when a soft cough rang out.

Windsordler gave the two of them a strange look.

Freya then slowly released her grip and calmly said:

"It's in a mansion in the west of the city. Let Lucia take you there."

Cohen waved his hand and said:
"Just tell me the location. Lucia is someone close to you, so she's too obvious a target."

Freya said sullenly:
"Alright, then please be careful, sir."

After a brief farewell, Cohen hurriedly left the palace as if fleeing a disaster.

Melanie, who was outside, chuckled softly upon seeing this:
"I can't believe you held back. I thought I was going to have another girlfriend tonight."

Windsordale, who came out with him, also sneered repeatedly:

"If you don't keep an eye on him, something bad will happen. Even such a young girl has fallen deeply in love with you. You truly are a master of romance."

Cohen stammered for a long time, too embarrassed to refute.

Windsorler kicked Cohen in an annoyed tone and said:

"Let's go, I'm exhausted after a long day, go back to sleep!"

……

In a private room of a club in Guimian City, three men were whispering and plotting something.

After hearing Cohen's plan, Joren showed a look of great interest.

Xia Zuo, standing to the side, calmly sipped his tea, seemingly lost in thought.

After thinking for a moment, Qiao Lun said:
"I didn't expect that the Southern Empire would send someone this time, and even send the First Prince. It's quite unexpected."

Xia Zuo scoffed and said sarcastically:
"Alright, Joren, everyone knows that your Central Empire's Noble Council has intelligence agents all over the continent. You're probably the first to know that Greg is coming to Ceylon."

"We've come this far, why are you still hiding your true abilities?"

A faint sneer appeared on Cohen's face.

Qiao Lun was somewhat embarrassed when Xia Zuo ruthlessly exposed his little scheme.

Fortunately, Cohen changed the subject in time, giving Joren a way out:
"If Young Master Qiao Lun has no objections, then shall we get started?"

Joren coughed lightly and continued Cohen's words:

“It’s fine to do it, but we can’t alert too many people, at least not the Effiin people outside the city.” Prince Xiazuo nodded slowly.

"That's a good suggestion. Our ultimate goal is to deal with Efein's orc army, so we can't expose ourselves prematurely."

Cohen echoed this sentiment and offered his own suggestion:

"Then behead him. Find a way to lure this eldest prince out, and take him down by surprise."

Joren immediately agreed:
"This is the best way."

Xia Zuo said calmly:

"It would be best if we could lure him out, but... he's an imperial prince, how could he be so easily fooled?"

Cohen smiled slightly and said:

"Leave this to me. I guarantee he'll show up at the time we plan to."

Qiao Lun and Xia Zuo exchanged a glance, both seeing the apprehension in each other's eyes.

Cohen pretended not to notice their subtle interaction and then asked the most crucial question:
"You two should know very well what level of defense a prince of an empire has around him, so we must be fully prepared for this attack."

Now I'd like to ask you two, are all your personnel... present and accounted for?

Xia Zuo said calmly:

"I brought four legends, all of them high-level."

Qiao Lun also spoke up:
"I brought two legends with me."

Cohen asked casually:
"Did you only bring the legendary items?"

Xia Zuo said calmly:

"The five nations recently reinstated restrictions on Saint-level beings, so I can confirm that Greg will not have any Saints around him."

Cohen raised an eyebrow and continued:

"He must have a lot of life-saving items on him, which could probably even withstand the attack of a saint."

Xia Zuo said in a deep voice:

"Then let him not have the chance to use the props."

Joren then made a suggestion:
"How about we drug him?"

Xia Zuo frowned and asked:
"To knock out a Gold-tier transcendent?"
"Can you procure something to incapacitate a Gold-tier transcendent being in such a short time?"

Just as Qiao Lun was about to speak, he suddenly stopped, a look of hesitation on his face.

Cohen narrowed his eyes, a slight chuckle rising in his heart. He had almost forgotten that this wasn't the first time the Wertheimer family had done something like drugging others.

Xenise's father, the previous emperor of the Middle Empire, was poisoned to death by Heisenberg.

Heisenberg conspired with the King of Hell to create a cursed potion targeting the soul. This cursed potion contained the King of Hell's cursed power, more than enough to deal with even the emperor of the Central Empire, let alone an imperial prince.

Cohen believed that there must still be some medicine left in the Wertheimer family.

Joren also thought of this potion, though it wasn't as potent as the one the previous emperor of the Central Empire had taken, but it was still enough to temporarily put Gregor's soul to sleep.

He was in such a hurry that he accidentally let something slip. Now that he thinks about it, it would be terrible if using this potion revealed what the Wertheimer family had done.

Cohen chuckled and said to Joren:
"Young Master Qiao Lun, now that things have come to this, just say what you have to say."

Xia Zuo also noticed that Qiao Lun was trying to hide his feelings, and said calmly:
"I also have some poisons that can deal with gold-level poisons, but I don't have them on hand. If you have any on you, take them out and use them first."

"We're all seasoned veterans; everyone has their share of these kinds of things. There's no need to feel ashamed."

Cohen chimed in:

"Yes, Young Master Qiao Lun, there are only the three of us here, so no one will go out and talk nonsense. If you really have something, just take it out and use it."

Your Central Empire's Noble Council's intelligence system should have already told you just how much wealth the Alvis family has accumulated on the Northwest Continent.

Such a large sum of money is within reach; don't let some trivial matter cause you to miss it.

Qiao Lun knew that any further hesitation would only alert the other party, so he suppressed his emotions and said calmly:
"Since we've come this far, fine, then leave this matter to me."

Cohen and the other man's expressions softened considerably, and Joren continued:

"But how can we be sure that Rego will be able to drink it?"

Cohen answered quickly:
"Leave this to me; I'll make sure he drinks it."

Xia Zuo continued:

"After taking down Greg, what should we do next?"

Should we confront the Southern Empire directly, or what should we do?

Joren said:

"Let's not rush to confront him. Let's see if we can get anything out of him first?"

Cohen said:

"I'm not very optimistic. Ultimately, this matter will come down to negotiations."

My suggestion is that you two discuss this with your people now, and once you've succeeded, have them negotiate with the Southern Empire immediately.

Xia Zuo glanced at Cohen and said:

“There has to be a proper reason. We can’t just kidnap Greg for no reason and then use him to extort money from the Southern Empire.”

Cohen was prepared and said with a faint smile:
"How could it be for no reason?"
It was clearly the eldest prince of the Southern Empire, Greg, who wanted to harm His Highness the Prince and Young Master Joren by secretly kidnapping them in order to blackmail the Eastern Empire and the Central Empire.

As the fiancé of the eldest princess of the Eastern Empire, I happened to receive the intelligence and promptly notified the two of them, which enabled us to launch a successful counterattack.

What we want is compensation from the Southern Empire!

"Compensation for the attempted kidnapping of a prince of the Eastern Empire and a nobleman of the Central Empire!"

Cohen's act of falsely accusing someone left Joren stunned, and even Prince Xia Zuo, who prided himself on his cunning and scheming, looked somewhat uneasy.

This kid truly lives up to his pirate origins; he exudes shamelessness and cunning from head to toe.

The two were silent for a moment, then slowly nodded, tacitly agreeing to Cohen's suggestion.

Cohen continued:

“If you’re going to put on an act, you should do it properly. I think the Lorthermar family is perfect for being the scapegoat.”

"Young Master Joren, you should have people in Guimian City too. It shouldn't be too difficult for them to fabricate evidence that the Lorthermar family intended to kidnap the Prince of the Eastern Region and the Baron of the Central Empire."

Qiao Lun glanced at Xia Zuo and said calmly:

"His Highness must have quite a few trusted confidants in Guimian City."

Xia Zuo answered quickly:
"They can't compare to the people in the Central Empire's House of Nobles."

Cohen spoke up to ease the tension:
"Young Master Qiao Lun, I'll leave this matter to you."

Regarding subsequent actions against the Southern Empire, I believe His Highness is better positioned than the Council of Nobles to handle the matter.

To put it bluntly, Qiao Lun was ultimately just the nephew of the chief of the Central Empire's Noble Council, and he couldn't compare to Xia Zuo, who was the first in line to the throne of the empire and the first prince of the continent.

Joren's lips moved, but in the end he didn't say no.

Seeing that everything was arranged, Cohen snapped his fingers and said:
"That's settled then. Wish us success! Cheers!"

Cohen raised his glass and noticed that both of them looked rather unnatural.

He realized something, laughed heartily, downed his glass of wine in one gulp, and said with a faint smile:

"Don't worry, gentlemen, the wine here is not poisoned!"

……

Greg, looking at Malfoy who had rushed over excitedly, asked:

"Has Princess Freya agreed to meet me?"

Malfoy nodded and said:
"Yes, the time is set for three days from now, but not at the palace, but in another city in Gavin Territory, Breiburg."

Greg had a vague feeling that something was wrong. Although it would be more convenient to make a move outside of Guimian City, this unusual behavior still made him instinctively feel the danger.

Malfoy's explanation quickly dispelled his doubts:

"Starting tomorrow, Her Highness will be touring her territories, with her first stop being Breeburg."

Although it was called an inspection tour, it was actually a way for the princess to recruit soldiers. The princess herself would be more effective in recruiting soldiers.

Her Highness said that if we couldn't meet at Breiburg, we would have to wait until after her inspection tour.

Greg slowly nodded and agreed:
"It will be in three days. I can't wait that long."

Malfoy hesitated for a moment, then said:
"Your Highness, I hope you won't be too harsh on the princess... After all, she is now the spiritual icon of the entire Ceylon Restoration regime."

Greg glanced at Malfoy with amusement and said calmly:

"I know it well."

Upon returning to the capital, the grand carriage slowly departed from the palace, heading towards the first stop of the inspection tour: Breiburg.

Greg gazed at the luxurious carriage in the distance and the figure at the front of it, a barely perceptible desire flickering in his eyes.

He waved his hand slightly, and four figures with profound auras appeared behind him:
"Keep a close eye on her and see who she's in contact with, understand?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Four figures quietly followed the carriage. Inside, Koss, who was in Freya's arms, opened her eyes, revealing a human-like mockery in her pupils.

Then it wagged its tail and went to sleep in Freya's arms.

While Greg was watching the princess's carriage, Cohen and his two companions were also observing from another location.

After the carriage left, the three looked away, and Xia Zuo asked after a moment of silence:

"How did Commander Yann persuade Princess Freya to meet Greg?"

Upon hearing Xia Zuo's question, Qiao Lun also turned his gaze to Cohen.

Cohen coughed lightly and said:

"The lady-in-waiting next to Freya once made a deal with us for some reason."

Having been in Guimian City for so many days, Xia Zuo and Qiao Lun naturally knew that the most trusted female official by Princess Freya's side was someone she had brought from the "Lost Land".

Many people have tried to control Freya by targeting this female official, but unfortunately, she comes from the Lost Lands and there is no way to get to her.

Therefore, both Xia Zuo and Qiao Lun showed a hint of surprise after hearing Cohen's words.

The other party's reach is truly extensive, even extending to the "Lost Lands".

Truly worthy of being the son of a demon god!

Xia Zuo then offered a pointed reminder:
"Commander Ya'en, my cousin is very possessive. You'd better not get involved in any unpleasant rumors with this female officer."

Otherwise, not only will my imperial uncle not let you off the hook, but my cousin probably won't let you get away with it either.

Korn was taken aback by Xia Zuo's words and said with an unfriendly expression:
"Your Highness, please rest assured, my feelings for Grace are completely sincere."

Joren interrupted their conversation, saying:

"Let's go, I hope everything goes well."

(End of this chapter)