The Herb King

264 Gilbert’s Arrival

Another few days passed by after Aethelwolf visited the Dustin Empire.

The Grand General of the Dustin Empire, George Dustin, personally came to visit the Reynolds Household to cancel the engagement between Prince Jonas and Samira. This surprised the Reynolds Household, but they eagerly helped the envoys of the Dustin Imperial Family in dealing with this. They were against the marriage in the first place and were only forced due to the deterrent force of the Dustin Empire.

Soon, the envoys left and the members of the Reynolds Household felt as if a heavy boulder was lifted off their chests.

In the Lassiter Household’s estate, Samira was listening to Aethelwolf as he gently sang a song that was foreign to her. The mellow music coupled with Aethelwolf’s refined guitar skills, a beautiful melody was created.

Samira stared at him with an infatuated look on her face. She already heard from her family about the cancellation of the engagement and she knew that it was definitely Aethelwolf’s doing. He was the only person who has the power to change the mind of the Dustin Imperial Family.

Meanwhile, Aenwyn and Olivia were also silently enjoying the song. The elven princess had her eyes shut tight while listening to Aethelwolf’s singing. As for the little girl, Olivia, she moved her head from side to side and eagerly swayed her legs along with the rhythm of the music.

After Aethelwolf sang the last line of the song, he looked at the three ladies with a smile. “What do you think of the song?”

“I like it! It’s beautiful!” Olivia clapped her hands with a big smile on her face.

Samira also nodded her head in agreement. “It’s indeed beautiful and soothing to the ears.” She muttered.

.....

Aenwyn remained silent and just stared at him with a calm look.

Aethelwolf chuckled upon hearing their words. He then kept the guitar inside his storage space and said. “Let’s go outside and get some fresh air.”

The four of them went out of the mansion and walked around the garden as they chatted about random things, but soon, a guard came and reported in an urgent tone. “King Aethelwolf, someone is here to visit you and they told us that they are from the Zion Empire. They are now in the guest hall and Madam Melissa received them personally.”

Hearing this, Aethelwolf frowned with a serious look. “They finally came? I’ll be there. You return to your post.” He muttered to the guard.

“Yes, King Aethelwolf!” The guard saluted before he left.

“Aethelwolf, is it really the people of the Zion Empire?” Samira heard their conversation and she anxiously looked at him. In her eyes, the Zion Empire was one of the strongest empires in the Regalis Continent. Even if Aethelwolf was now a Level 5 Esper, the Zion Empire has 2 Level 5 Espers. She believed that it would be dangerous to confront them since they only had Aethelwolf as their sole Level 5 Esper.

No one in the Leone Empire knew about the Holy Rankings and the Heavenly Might Rankings because they were unqualified to receive information from the Mystic Island. Only the big empires and some empires with connections knew about the two rankings.

Aethelwolf shook his head as he replied. “We don’t know yet. I’ll go and talk with them.”

He went to the guest hall and the three ladies followed him silently. When they arrived, they saw Melissa chatting with an old man with sleek gray hair. He was wearing a set of formal clothes and the air of nobility and grace could be felt in his presence.

‘A mid stage Level 5 Esper? Is he the strongest expert of the Zion Empire?’ Aethelwolf frowned as he stared at the old man.

Melissa and the old man also noticed their arrival.

“Aethelwolf, you’re finally here. This gentleman is Gilbert Holt. He is a general of the Zion Empire. General Gilbert, this man right here is Aethelwolf Lassiter, the King of Barden Territory.” Melissa introduced the two of them.

Hearing this, Gilbert was a bit surprised when he saw how young Aethelwolf was. He took the initiative to shake hands with Aethelwolf. “Greetings, Sir Aethelwolf. I apologize for coming here without notice.” The old man said as he smiled gently, showing two rows of healthy white teeth.

Aethelwolf also smiled in response as he grabbed the old man’s hand. “You’re welcome to visit our estate, Sir Gilbert.” He noticed that the old man was intentionally putting some strength in his grip, and Aethelwolf did the same.

Both men, young and old, stared at each other with friendly smiles, but they were actually holding a secret competition of strength.

Unaware of what was happening, Melissa and the others sat down and looked at them with relieved smiles. The only person who noticed that something was going on was the elven princess, Aenwyn.

‘He’s strong!’ General Gilbert retracted his hand and hurriedly put it behind his back to hide that it was shaking. He felt his bones cracking after that short competition of strength and because of this, he discovered that Aethelwolf’s power was the real deal!

Aethelwolf deactivated his skill [Strength Multiplyer]. It was a skill that multiplies his strength by five times for a short period of time. Because of its large consumption of world essence, Aethelwolf rarely uses it. He never would have thought that he would actually use this skill in such a situation.

“Please take a seat first, Sir Gilbert. I’ll also tell my subordinates to bring your people to the dining area for a small feast.” Aethelwolf said. He then sent a glance to a servant and told them to prepare a feast for their guest. He also told Aenwyn to pour tea for him and General Gilbert.

“Is she an elf?” General Gilbert was surprised when he saw Aenwyn’s facial features. He hasn’t seen an elf for a long time and from his experience, the elven woman who was serving tea for them wasn’t just an ordinary elf.

Aethelwolf nodded his head and chuckled. “That’s right. Her name is Aenwyn. I taught her our language so she can understand what we are speaking. Though she’s not fond of speaking with strangers. Even to us, she rarely speaks.”

“Is that so?” General Gilbert’s eyes flashed when he suddenly recalled something about the elves. From what he could remember, normal elves had golden hair and only those with superior bloodlines have silver or white hair. He concluded that Aenwyn was a High Elf or even an elf with a royal bloodline.

“This tea is called Morning Jasper Tea. Its tea leaves are taken from the Carnivorous Jasper Tree, a Level 4 magical plant. Normally, the leaves of the Carnivorous Jasper Tree are toxic and deadly, but I developed a way to eliminate the toxins on the leaves. What do you think of this tea, Sir Gilbert?” Aethelwolf changed the topic to prevent Gilbert from asking more about Aenwyn. He didn’t want others to know about her background to prevent trouble.

Gilbert was a smart person and when he realized that Aethelwolf didn’t want to talk about Aenwyn, he immediately discarded the questions in his mind. He smiled as he answered. “This is a good tea. I’ve never had something like this in the Zion Empire.” The old man wasn’t stingy with his praise.

“Since Sir Gilbert likes my tea, I’ll give you a small sack of the tea leaves.” Aethelwolf immediately told a servant to prepare the tea leaves for Gilbert.

“Thank you for the gift, Sir Aethelwolf.” The old man laughed heartily.

“I wonder what brings you here, Sir Gilbert?” Aethelwolf’s expression turned solemn as he cast a glance at the old man.

Melissa knew that they were about to discuss something important so she dragged the ladies and the servants out of the guest hall.

After everyone left, General Gilbert stared calmly at Aethelwolf as he said. “First, I’m here to congratulate Sir Aethelwolf for ranking fifth in the Heavenly Might Rankings! The second matter is about the Ford Empire. They brought some people and instigated us to attack the Leone Empire. I already captured those people and I will hand them to you later. As for the third and final matter, I came here to propose an Alliance with the Leone Empire. We want to be friends with you, Sir Aethelwolf.”

Hearing this, Aethelwolf’s lips curved upwards. “On behalf of the Leone Empire, I accept your alliance proposal. Just send someone to the Leone Imperial Family to deal with the formalities.” Because he was now fifth in the Heavenly Might Rankings, the Leone Empire no longer had to worry about the Zion Empire.

Aethelwolf had to thank Eliazar and Nocturna this time. Because of them, he no longer has to trouble himself with another war.

General Gilbert heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing his words. “Good!”

Both men chatted about other matters. They only stopped after the small feast was prepared for the guests from the Zion Empire.