Revive Rome: Wait! Why not make the empress fall in love with me first?
Chapter 357 - 155 Falcon Family

Chapter 357: Chapter 155 Falcon Family

Falcon Castle, built upon a mountain near the small town of Hexingen, about 64 kilometers from Stuttgart.

All the castles in this world were not initially established to withstand wars—the blast from a rocket artillery barrage could level not just castles, but even solid concrete blocks.

In fact, most of these castles were fundamentally built between the First Epoch and the Third Epoch, with the purpose of preventing attacks by Extraordinary Creatures from the surrounding wild territories.

For example, the Ancient Solomon Republic of the Third Epoch, while expanding northward from the Italian peninsula, constructed a large number of military and civilian fortresses, embedding them like nails into the territories of the Barbarians and Extraordinary Creatures.

Whenever a beast tide or other existence that regular armies could not handle appeared, the official response of Ancient Solomon would be to organize the evacuation of the populace to the nearest castle. These castles, with their vast land area and substantial reserves of food, could maintain self-sufficiency for a considerable time, allowing the people inside to hold out until the arrival of Solomon’s field armies.

The castle of the Falcon Family was established in the early Third Epoch, constructed by an Ancient Solomon tax farmer... Let’s not delve further into the background for now. Naturally, the Falcon Family had no intention of holding out in this now obsolete castle, waiting to see the outcome of the war in Northern Franconia.

The sudden rebellion of the Griffin Family against the Empire had indeed disrupted their long-term plans. However, resigned to the situation, there was no point in regretting.

Taking advantage of the fact that the old Griffin was still the Monarch of the Swabian Duchy, how to leverage the official status of his son-in-law and quickly conquer the territories with lords nearby was what Count Friedrich Falcon was contemplating.

Clearly, he was not the only lord with such intentions. For instance, Count Albert of Furttemberg from Ulm City, the one with the family crest of three fish bones—the so-called Fishbone Count—had already stationed his troops close to Stuttgart, with his intentions blatantly obvious.

If it really came down to a classical war among the nobles, there would be no choice. Militarily, everyone was on equal footing; no one was sure to win, and a fight was still possible.

Yet even in victory over the opponent, the depletion of ammunition and materials was inevitable, and the plans for expansion would definitely be hindered. Therefore, both sides had their battle lines drawn but were hesitant to make the first move, out of concerns like these.

At this point, a young woman claiming to be from the Lixini Family came to visit the Falcon Family, proposing a deal for a significant amount of military arsenal.

No, not claiming. Several elders in the family with connections in Solomon City had confirmed that she indeed was the daughter of the main house of the Lixini arms consortium, Nora Valerius Lysinius, with no hints of Extraordinary Power used to disguise her face or identity.

Therefore, the Falcon Family promptly held a banquet to welcome this esteemed lady from Solomon City... and her secretary-cum-bodyguard.

Although Friedrich did not understand why a young woman of such status would hire someone of the same youth as her personal secretary.

However, according to those elders who had been to Solomon City, customs there were more liberal. Even unmarried women could openly have men, whether in a confirmed relationship or not, at their side, masking it under the euphemism of "free love," without worrying about tarnishing their future reputation.

Had it been the traditionally conservative Empire, if his daughter dared engage in such shameless behavior, Friedrich would kick her straight to a Monastery.

Anyway, private snide thoughts aside, Friedrich still made an extremely formal gesture of welcoming the guest, with no indication of anything suspicious in his speech or manners.

If Nora had not read his thoughts, she might have actually had quite a good impression of this nobleman.

"Actually, as long as the price isn’t too outrageous, we can accept it," Count Friedrich subtly probed after three rounds of drinks, "As you know, with the current instability in the Swabian Duchy, our demand for weaponry is exceptionally high, the key point being how much your company can supply."

"As long as the amount of goods reaches a sufficient quota, we can offer more favorable prices, high rebates, installment purchases, even part assets as collateral are up for negotiation."

After all, it was now a phase of land grabbing, the more invested early on, the more one could earn back in folds later. Friedrich knew this was not a time to be stingy, boldly stating that even price was of little consequence.

"I wonder, Count, how much goods do you intend to purchase?" Nora asked softly.

"Hahaha, obviously the more, the better," Count Friedrich laughed heartily, and the guests around him joined in, complementing the atmosphere.

"Actually, I have no doubt that Count could digest this batch of goods," Nora remarked through the hidden Mind Communication Channel, chuckling after a few murmurs with Aske, "It’s mainly the impact of the Church Court’s export ban that we need to consider..."

"That is so," Count Friedrich replied with an expression that screamed ’I completely understand,’ "We certainly grasp your company’s concerns, but our Sorren Family does not seem to be on the Church Court’s list of export control bans, right?"

He glanced at the elder next to him for confirmation, and the formally dressed old man immediately nodded in agreement:

"Miss Nora, while our Sorren Family does have some assets near Stuttgart, within the whole Swabian Duchy we are merely a somewhat larger local noble power, hardly worth noticing by the Church Court."

"That may not necessarily be the case," Aske interjected, "According to our marketing department’s data, isn’t the Count the son-in-law of the Duke of Franconia?"

With an unchanged expression, Count Friedrich lifted his glass and said with a smile:

"Within our Empire, it’s common and frequent for nobles to marry equally and form alliances through marriage. Not only with the Hohenstaufen family, but our family members also maintain close marital ties with other nobles in Franconia and Swabia."

He casually explained away Aske’s implicit challenges with a few words, skillfully dodging them all.

"It seems this Count Sorren is rather reluctant to discuss civil war matters," Nora thought to herself while silently practicing mind reading, privately chatting with Aske, "However, he is not optimistic about the future of the Griffin Family and thus hopes that we can quickly move past this subject."

"Keep probing," Aske said.

"Actually," Nora smoothly took up the conversation, with a smile, "we also have another concern, which is that once the goods are sold to you, they might be transferred through the dense network of marital ties you just mentioned to some powers that are rather sensitive to the Church Court."

Now Friedrich was stumped by her question; you just said you’re all relatives, so how do I know you won’t turn around and sell the guns to your father-in-law up North? And if your father-in-law loses, what if those firearms end up in the Emperor’s hands?

Holding his wine glass, pondering for a moment, Friedrich finally said slowly:

"To be frank, I may as well be open here. The subsequent developments in Franconia have actually decided the outcome of this civil war within the Empire, and it’s not something our Sorren Family can influence."

"Should the Hohenstaufen family lose, and the Emperor’s Alliance moves south to join with the Weisbach family, the Wolf Family will stand no chance in this civil war."

"On the other hand, if the Duke of Franconia can staunchly hold off the Emperor’s Alliance and allow the Wolf Family to continue ravaging the Bavarian Duchy, then the civil war is likely to degenerate into a prolonged, grueling battle of attrition."

"And that is precisely what the Church Court wants to see. I venture to predict that if the civil war can persist for longer, by the time spring arrives, the Church Court’s forces in the Italian peninsula will probably head north to intervene."

"Thus, the current war in Franconia is truly an arena where titanic powers contest and battle to the death. Although our family is quite influential locally, if placed on the scale of the entire Empire, we are but a tiny existence that any side could crush with a flick of their finger. Therefore, even if we were unwise, we wouldn’t rashly extend our influence over there."

"I can assure you here that the military arms sold to us by your company will only be used for our expansion within the Swabian Duchy and will not appear on any battlefield beyond the duchy."

"We neither have the motive nor the sufficient ability to engage in superfluous actions. After all, family ties are family ties, and family is family."

"He’s telling the truth," Nora confirmed the credibility of his statements through mind reading.

This was troublesome, both of them felt a bit speechless.

That is to say, the current Falcon Family sees itself as a little lord within the Swabian Duchy, hoping to stealthily snatch some advantage while the old Griffin struggles to death with the Emperor up North.

You were concerned about which side they would pick, but it turns out they never considered taking a side... The big bad wolf curls up in its den, still thinking it’s a little white rabbit!