I was a lord farming, how did I become an emperor?

Chapter 258 The Winter Guards don't need evidence to arrest people!
……

……

Frostleaf Town, Lord's Manor Hall.

“Their caravan did not originate from Red Griffin Castle; our men did not detect it.”

Durant reported, "It was our people in the western provinces who discovered it was an unfamiliar caravan, and after investigation, they found it belonged to the Red Griffin family."

Rhodes seemed to be deep in thought, then slowly began to speak.
"Since they have started trading, it means that Longwinter Town has reached some kind of agreement with the Red Griffin family."

“I remember the Baron Lord of Longwinter Town is from the Shieldbreaker family, right?” Rhodes asked.

"Yes, Slor the Shieldbreaker, nephew of Earl of Rock Shield Mountain."

Durant explained, "We had a brief collaboration with Baron Bloom when we were clearing the lizardmen's burial pits."

"I never expected him to be cooperating with the Red Griffin family now..."

Durant couldn't help but sigh.

"The reason we fought the lizardmen together was simply because we had a common enemy; there was no real friendship between us."

Rhodes was not surprised at all, and said with a hint of sneer, "As long as the Red Griffin family provides enough benefits, temporary partners like us are nothing."

Durant nodded in agreement.

Rod paused for a moment and then instructed, "Go and call Bronn over. He and that Sloan have worked together frequently before, so he should know quite a bit."

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Durant responded respectfully.

Just as he was about to turn around to look for Bron, a guard rushed over.
"My lord, the patrol has spotted a messenger."

The guard reported, "The messenger claims to be from Longwinter Town and is an envoy of the Baron of Longwinter to deliver a letter to you."

Rod frowned slightly and exchanged a glance with Durant.

"Sending me a letter at this time is probably not a good thing."

Rod waved his hand and ordered, "Bring him here."

……

……

after one day.

In front of the gate of Frostleaf Town Manor.

A man wearing a dark blue formal coat stood in front of the guard.

The man's blond hair was neatly combed, and the emblem of Longwinter Town was embroidered on his chest. He wore a professional smile.

“I am Koog Whitewood, a messenger from Longwinter Town and an assistant to Baron Slor.”

The man bowed slightly to the gatekeeper, his movements as precise as if they were from a textbook.

"I have come to see the esteemed Lord Rhodes and deliver a letter."

The Winter Guardian, expressionless, sized up the pretentious man, a strange sense of disgust rising within him.

"Wait where you are."

The Winter Guard turned and entered the mansion.

Keog stood still, his posture as dignified as a statue.

But his eyes were secretly observing everything around him.

"This Frostleaf Town is richer than I imagined. There are forty or fifty guards here and there, and they've even built city walls..."

Koog pondered to himself, "I wonder if the Baron's decision this time is right or wrong."

"However, with the Red Griffin family's orders, Baron Rhodes probably can't do anything about it."

As Keog thought about it, he felt a surge of confidence and straightened his back.

A moment later, the guard returned.

Two guards with swords followed behind him.

"The lord agrees to grant you an audience."

The guard, Cerf, stepped forward and said expressionlessly, "Items are prohibited. We need to conduct an inspection."

“I am a messenger, and I have no weapons.”

Koog spread his arms. "Please feel free to examine me."

Severus stepped forward and searched carefully. After confirming there were no weapons, he stepped aside.
"plz follow me."

Keog nodded his thanks and followed lightly behind Serf.

He appeared polite, but actually deliberately slowed down, secretly observing everything around him.

"The scenery in Frostleaf Town is truly enchanting."

Koog said to his bodyguard, Severus, "No wonder Miss Avril is willing to stay here for so long."

Severn didn't understand what Korg meant, but he felt uncomfortable listening to it and didn't respond.

Cerf quickened his pace and led Korg into the hall.

In the hall.

Rhodes sat upright in the main seat.

Standing beside him were Vivian and Lawrence, their faces partially obscured, while Durant, Ryan, Wolfhoof, and Sejuani stood on either side of the hall.

Gunther and Chris were capturing barbarian laborers in the wasteland, not in Frostleaf Town, otherwise they would have appeared in the hall.

Koog glanced around and immediately realized that something was off.

However, he had anticipated this before becoming a messenger and was not too alarmed.

Keog removed his hat and performed a perfect aristocratic gesture.

"Greetings, Lord Rhodes."

“I am Koog Whitewood, messenger of the Lord of Longwinter Town.”

"I have come today for an important matter."

Rhodes remained expressionless, simply looking at him indifferently.

"Go ahead."

Korg maintained his smile and took a letter from his pocket.

"This is a letter written personally by my lord, mainly concerning Miss Avril of the Red Griffin family."

Koog held the letter high, as if displaying some treasure.

“Miss Avril has been bothering us for too long. The Red Griffin family has now formed a marriage alliance with the Shieldbreaker family, betrothing Miss Avril to Baron Slor. She is no longer suitable to stay in Frostleaf Town.”

The atmosphere in the hall instantly became tense, and everyone gripped their weapons tightly.

Even the usually calm Durant frowned and gritted his teeth.

But Koog seemed oblivious and continued to smile.

Rhodes remained calm, smiling and waving to Vivian.

Vivian frowned as she stepped forward, took the letter with one hand, tore open the wax seal, and placed it in front of Rhodes.

Rhodes's gaze swept over the contents of the letter.

After a moment, Rod raised his head and said calmly, "I understand."

“Your Excellency, this matter involves two earl families.”

Koog smiled and said, "Please allow me to remind you that it's best to handle this according to the rules and get Miss Avril to Longwinter Town as soon as possible..."

"I said I understand!"

Rhodes remained calm, but the murderous intent in his eyes instantly froze the smile on Korg's face.

The temperature in the hall seemed to drop a few degrees.

Keog swallowed hard, forcing his trembling legs to stop, and lowered his head to shut his mouth.

Rhodes waved to Lawrence.

Lawrence immediately understood and stepped forward.

"Come, messenger, I'll take you to rest."

"Okay, thank you."

A slight tremor appeared in Koog's voice.

As soon as he stepped out, he was surrounded by four Winter Guards and escorted to the cabin where he would rest.

No sooner had Korg left than Wolfhoof turned to Rhodes and spoke.

"Holy Lord, if you just nod, I'll immediately go and hang him on the rack and strangle him!"

"Although I would like to do the same, we cannot kill this messenger."

Durant looked at Wolf Hoof with some helplessness, "This not only violates imperial law, but will also make us despised by other nobles."

"Besides, he was just delivering a message, and he followed standard etiquette throughout. We have no reason to kill him."

"He came to steal Miss Avril, isn't that a valid reason?"

Wolf Hoof's tone was sharp, "This is a provocation!"

“He carried out orders from the Red Griffin family; this is doing things the proper way.”

Durant sighed, "On the contrary, we don't have any engagements, which is against the rules..."

"Forget rules, if they dare to rob us, kill them all!"

Sejuani, hands on her hips, declared, "Anyway, I'm not one of your Empire's people, I'll do it!"

"Lord Rhodes, just give me a few men, and I'll wipe out Longwinter Town too!"

Sejuani yelled loudly, her face contorted with malice.

"We've killed the Lizardmen, what's killing a few more people!"

As soon as Sejuani finished speaking, Avril appeared in the hallway inside the inner room.

Everyone nodded and bowed, and the lord's hall fell into silence.

Avril slowly walked up to Rhodes without saying a word, but her uneasy expression betrayed her inner turmoil.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen."

Rod took Avril's hand, then pulled Vivian's hand as well.

"I won't let anyone take you away."

Avril nodded and gripped Rhodes' hand tightly in return.

Rhodes turned around and looked at the four of them.

“I will not kill this messenger. I need someone to go back with him to verify the authenticity of the marriage agreement between the Red Griffin family and the Shieldbreaker family.”

"Then, he died there."

As soon as Rhodes finished speaking, everyone was visibly taken aback.

Durant was the first to react, his eyes lighting up.
"Your Excellency, I can!"

Durant knew very well that as long as the messenger died in Longwinter, avenging the messenger would be a righteous act, and the clearing out of Longwinter would be justified.

In the chaos of battle, no one can control who lives and who dies.

"Stop joking, Durant. I know you're loyal, but you don't need to sacrifice yourself."

Rod quickly gestured to stop the others who were eager to try.
"Stop talking nonsense. I'm telling you to go down there and look."

Rod promised earnestly, "If he is willing, I will make arrangements for his family, and his children will become nobles of Frostleaf Town."

"Understood, Your Excellency."

Durant bowed and said, "I'll go find someone right now."

"I am coming too!"

Wolf Hoof bowed and withdrew, while Raine followed suit, bowing and going to find someone.

Sejuani pouted and plopped down in a chair.
"I have no one else under my command, so I have to lead the charge."

……

……

It didn't take long.

Durant led eight soldiers into the hall.

"Why are there so many?" Rod frowned slightly.

“Your Excellency, those eight have been discharged due to injuries and are now responsible for some simple tasks in the military camp,” Durant explained. “I originally asked which of the eight was willing, and it turned out they all were…”

"My lord, let me go."

A tall, young soldier spoke first, his face flushed with excitement.
"My child doesn't need to be a nobleman, as long as he becomes a knight!"

"I go!"

The middle-aged veteran shouted loudly, then revealed his empty left arm.
"I'm a useless person, I've had enough of living."

"If I can die with an army avenging me, it will be worth it!"

"I am willing to die for you."

"No, I should go."

……

More voices rose up.

Everyone was vying for this "certain death" mission.

There was no fear in their eyes, only excitement.

Rhodes was somewhat moved, not expecting these ordinary soldiers to be so loyal.

Rod cleared his throat.
"Let's draw lots."

"Wait, Holy Lord, there's still us!"

The sound of wolf hooves rang out, followed by the arrival of about ten people.

"It is our honor to sacrifice for the Holy Lord; the people of the Empire need not participate!"

Wolfhoof's attitude was tough, and Durant couldn't help but frown upon hearing it.

Sure enough, the retired soldier couldn't stand it anymore and shouted the next second.
"Lord Wolfhoof, you are wrong. We are all the Lord's subjects, so why can't we participate?"

"Of course it's different!"

The savage behind Wolf Hoof also spoke up.
"The Holy Lord is from our ancestors' prophecy, it's destiny's arrangement, and the Imperial Baron is conferred by the Emperor, so destiny must be the greatest arrangement!"

"That's right, that's right, this honor doesn't belong to you!"

……

The tribal savages spoke with great conviction, and the people from the Shattered Rock Empire refused to admit defeat.

Interestingly, among the retired soldiers were two members of a savage tribe, who immediately turned around and stood on the side of Wolf Hoof.

The lord's hall suddenly became even noisier than a bustling market.

"Quiet!"

Rod shouted, "Stop wasting time, draw lots!"

Rhodes turned to Vivian and instructed, "Tell the guards to prepare twenty wooden sticks, tie a string to one end of one of them, and bring them over for them to draw."

"Oh, yes, Your Excellency."

Vivian nodded repeatedly.

However, just as Vivian reached the door, Gala appeared there.

Rod frowned slightly. "What happened now?"

"No, nothing, Holy Lord."

Gala stared blankly at the room full of figures for a moment, then quickly came to her senses, took the cloth bag from her hands, and presented it to Rod.

"Your Majesty, this was brought back by the patrol team."

Gala lowered her voice and added, "It was Night Whisper who sent it back."

Rod took the bag, opened it, and pulled out two envelopes.

The wax seals on them are the emblems of the Red Griffin family.

An envelope was addressed to:

To my beloved eldest daughter

Avril Red Griffin, a direct descendant of the Red Griffin family.

The other one had nothing written on it.

Rhodes recalled the report from the previous Night Talk meeting: the old count was going to write a letter to Avril.

Therefore, without any hesitation, Rhodes turned to look at Avril.
"It's all for you."

Avril, lifting her skirt, quickly stepped forward and took the two envelopes.

"This is my father's handwriting!"

Avril eagerly tore open the wax seal on the envelope with writing on it and began to examine it carefully.

Rhodes then turned around and looked at Wolfhoof, Durant, and the others.

"I am pleased with your loyalty. I will reward you regardless of whether you are selected or not. Stop fighting over it."

"Furthermore, whoever lives in Black Pine Ridge is my subject, and I will treat them all equally and not look down on anyone."

Rhodes looked at Wolfhoof and the others, "I know what you mean, but don't say anything divisive again, or I will punish you severely."

"Yes, Holy Lord!"

The tribespeople lowered their heads and responded in unison.

Rhodes waved his hand.
"Now, let's go out and draw lots."

"Yes, Lord/Holy Lord."

Everyone gradually left the lord's hall, and the room instantly fell silent.

Rhodes let out a long breath.

Just then, the sound of sobbing suddenly came from behind.

"Ok?"

Rod immediately turned around and saw that Avril's eyes were filled with tears, and there was a clear line of tears on her cheek.

But her face showed a happy smile.

Rhodes looked on in astonishment.

Before Rod could react, Avril suddenly rushed up, tilted her head back, stood on tiptoe, and almost frantically demanded a kiss.

Immediately afterwards, a warm and soft sensation came from behind him. The familiar feeling made Rhodes realize that it was Vivian hugging him from behind.

"Wait a minute, just wait a minute,"

Rod pushed Avril aside and pulled Vivian in front of him as well.
"In the end what happened?"

Avril sniffed and then burst out laughing.

"We have gained recognition."

Avril waved the letter in front of Rhodes.

Rhodes reacted instantly, grabbed the letter, and examined it carefully.

The characters are grand in form, but appear somewhat weak in strength.

The letter contained the old Count Red Griffin's longing and guilt towards Avril, followed by advice for her.

Finally, it was an affirmation of Rhodes's abilities—because someone who could be placed in Red Griffin Castle must not be a spoiled nobleman.

It was in this final step that Avril and Rod's marriage was acknowledged.

Rod immediately opened another envelope, inside which was a formal marriage contract.

The parchment has a warm, milky-white sheen, with subtle golden curls at the edges, as if it were inlaid with fine gold leaves.

The thick ink stains reflected a faint light in the sunlight, clearly indicating that the characters were written with a mixture of gold powder and ink.

Each letter is upright, carrying the solemnity and majesty of a nobleman.

The above text explicitly confirms that Avril is the legitimate daughter of Earl Red Griffin and is married to Lord Rhodes; the marriage contract is effective from today.

If the marriage is successful, Avril retains the right to inherit the Red Griffin family estate, and her children will have the right to inherit the territories and titles of both parents.

The two countries are allies and work together to defend their territories.

If one side is invaded, the other side should provide assistance with weapons, gold coins, and troops.

Most importantly.

The last line bears the old count's name and the family seal.

The red griffin soars into the air with its wings spread wide, and a longsword is thrust diagonally beneath its shield. The details are so exquisite that you can even see the texture of the griffin's feathers.

"If you agree, I will be your fiancée."

Avril linked her arm with Rod's, tilted her head back, and smiled sweetly.

"Even if you don't agree, I'm not leaving."

"Then I'll reluctantly agree."

Rod lowered his head and gave her a light kiss, then pulled Vivian close and kissed her as well, thus sharing his affections equally.

Immediately, Rhodes raised his head, his gaze icy.
"Next, it's time for liquidation."

At that moment, Durant walked in with a middle-aged retired soldier who had lost his left arm.

"Baron, Torre has drawn the winning lot," Durant reported.

Torre, his face flushed, bowed in respect.
"Good luck, my lord, I'll be at your service!"

"no need."

Rhodes shook his head slightly.

He then presented the parchment of the marriage contract to a bewildered Durant.

"This is... a formal engagement?!"

Durant's eyes widened, then he realized what was happening.
"Congratulations, Your Excellency!"

"Congratulations, Baroness!"

Durant performed a full knightly salute, his smile almost overflowing.

"Okay, Durant,"

Rhodes waved his hand and said with a smile, "Although it's no longer needed, I have witnessed everyone's loyalty and dedication."

"Everyone here will receive 30 jin of dried meat, 30 jin of grain, and three barrels of fruit wine."

The barrel Rod was referring to wasn't a brewing barrel, but rather a wooden barrel that was about a liter in size.

"In addition, notify the troops to assemble."

Rhodes took a deep breath, his gaze icy.
"The time for reckoning has come."

……

……

In a single-person apartment in Frostleaf Town.

Koog looked around at his surroundings and nodded in agreement.

"The place is nice, and it's quite clean."

With a smile on his face, Korg muttered to himself:
"It seems that Baron Rhodes is quite rational. He looked at me like he was going to eat me alive, but he still arranged such a nice room for me."

"This mission should be over soon."

Keog stretched and lay down on the wooden plank bed.

"What reward should I ask the Baron for when we get back..."

"Oh!"

Just as Keog was lost in thought, the door was suddenly kicked open!

Four Winter's Iron Guards clad in full armor rushed into the house and lifted Korg up!
"You, what are you going to do?!"

Joseph appeared in the doorway, slowly walking in, his voice icy.
"Korg Whitewood, you are suspected of stealing military secrets from Frostleaf Town. We are ordered to arrest you!"

"I don't!"

Koog shook his head violently. "What evidence do you have?!"

Severus stepped forward and grabbed Korg by the neck.

"The Winter Guards don't need evidence to arrest people!"

Immediately afterwards, Severus casually slipped a piece of parchment into Korg's arms.
"take away!"

　Thank you to Bei Minjun and Xin Dao Hunfeng for the donations. I've been revising the story until the very end and kept forgetting to thank them.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)