Chapter 30 030 Bribe 1

After nightfall, the temperature began to drop.

It was also quite cold at night in the spring in the Northern Territory.

In the camp, the soldiers lit a bonfire, heated the water, and cooked.

At the same time, they began to chat. The content was, of course, the meeting between the two marquises during the day, the whip of Marquis Garcia, and the cry of Marquis Charles.

Colin quietly mingled among these soldiers and listened to their idle chatter.

Then he suddenly discovered that the attitude of these soldiers toward Marquis Charles had unexpectedly changed.

Before today, these soldiers, especially the defeated soldiers who had escaped from the battle of Mirror Lake, had a very bad attitude toward Marquis Charles.

They despised, loathed, and hated him.

It was not surprising for a defeated general to have such a bad reputation.

Moreover, this Marquis Charles had also issued an emergency conscription order and used the conscripted people as cannon fodder bait.

If he was not the eldest son of the duke or had the backing of the Saint Hilde family’s fame in the Northern Territory, Marquis Charles would have been eaten alive by these angry soldiers.

However, the cry of Marquis Charles during the day seemed to have changed public opinion gradually.

Colin listened carefully to the discussions of the soldiers and gradually came back to his senses.

He did not know whether the cry of Marquis Charles was a display of his true feelings or a political show.

However, he seemed a natural at his craft.

That person was the expert in this area. The more he cried, the more popular he was.

Besides, when he thought about Marquis Garcia’s whip, Colin now felt that it had a deep meaning

At that time, Colin’s first feeling toward this was a single word.. domineering!

This whip was not only used to whip Marquis Charles but it was also used to whip Duke St. Hilde’s face.

Colin originally thought that Marquis Garcia was venting his dissatisfaction with the duke. After all, this crushing defeat was ultimately because the duke had shelved the Black Knights.

Now that he thought about it, it also had the intention of helping Marquis Charles get rid of the blame. He had already flogged him in public, so there was no need to hate him anymore.

That was probably its purpose.

From the looks of it, Marquis Garcia was actually showing some concern for Marquis Charles.

As Colin was indulging in his wild thoughts, a soldier suddenly came behind him.

“Sir Colin, Sir Charles is here!”

Colin was a bit surprised. He did not expect the marquis to come looking for him.

“Alright, please lead the way.”

Colin was trying to figure out why the Marquis was looking for him. He followed the soldier to a luxurious tent in the center of the camp.

“Greetings, sir!” As the first heir of the lord who was loyal to the Angele family, Marquis Charles had the right to accept Colin’s kowtow.

“Knight Colin, Please stand up!”

Marquis Charles quickly stepped forward and pulled Colin up.

The marquis looked like he was in his thirties. His face was covered with frost and his upper body was covered with bandages. It was hard to tell if he was injured or just putting on a show.

However, Colin did not care about that.

He was not one of those soldiers who would easily forgive and sympathize with someone who was in a high position.

“What can I do for you, marquis?” Colin shook off Marquis Charles’ warm hands and bowed.

Marquis Charles did not respond immediately. He turned around and took a two-handed sword from the guard and handed it to Colin.

“I’m sorry, Knight Colin. Your father, Baron Angele, died on the front line.. it’s all my fault.. This is his sword, please.. I’m sorry for your loss!”

Marquis Charles started sobbing again.

Colin could not help but admire the man’s acting skills; he could cry easily.

“Marquis, please don’t do this! It was his honor to sacrifice his life for the country, it’s not your fault.”

Colin tried his best to squeeze out a few tears. “I swear that I will kill all the trolls and avenge my father! Please give me such a chance!”

Marquis Charles’ eyes brightened up. He did not expect Colin to be so cooperative.

He grabbed Colin’s hands and shouted, “Don’t worry, Knight Colin! I promise you that I will kill all the trolls and avenge Baron Angele and the other soldiers of the Northern Territory!”

Colin tried his best to hold back the disgust in his heart. “Thank you, Marquis!”

“It’s my duty, Sir Colin!”

They held hands and looked at each other with tears in their eyes. The atmosphere was getting serious.

After a long while, the two actors settled down.

Marquis Charles relaxed and sat down with Colin. “Sir Colin, I heard about your escape from the trolls from Vera. On behalf of my father and the Saint Hilde family, I would like to thank you for protecting Vera from the trolls!”

“This is what I should do.”

Marquis Charles nodded, but his tone suddenly became a little ambiguous,

“Knight Colin, from my sister’s words, I can clearly feel that she values you. Moreover, I heard that she personally begged Archbishop Raven to save you with pure holy water. Haha, in all these years, I have never seen my sister value other men so much.”

“I can not repay Miss Vera’s kindness!”

Colin now understood that the marquis must have seen his military talent from Vera’s words, which was why he made this move to win people’s hearts.

However, if it was before this battle when Marquis Charles extended an olive branch to him, Colin would not hesitate to pledge his loyalty.

However, Colin would not get on this ship that was about to capsize.

“But, Sir Colin, even if you inherit the title of Baron of the Angele family and want to marry my sister, I’m afraid..” Marquis Charles continued.

“Marquis, how could I have such thoughts? Miss Vera is a goddess, I would never dare to disrespect her!” Colin would never admit that he had such thoughts.

“Haha, Knight Colin, You don’t have to belittle yourself like this!” Marquis Charles waved his hand with a smile. “With your talent, you will definitely be able to achieve great things on the battlefield, and it will not be difficult for you to advance to the rank of nobility.”

“Marquis, you flatter me. Fighting for the Northern Territory is my lifelong wish, I dare not hope for more.” Colin was a little disdainful in his heart. This marquis used his sister as a bargaining chip to buy people’s hearts. No matter how he looked at it, it was a little underhanded.

Moreover, regarding Vera’s marriage, Colin did not believe that Marquis Charles would have much say in it.

Of course, Marquis Charles might not really want to help Colin marry his sister.

The promise of such a political figure was just as unreliable as the cliche of a boss promising promotion if his subordinate worked hard

Therefore, on the surface, Colin was flattered and even showed some signs of attachment, but in his heart, he was secretly vigilant.

Marquis Charles did not seem to see through Colin’s perfunctory attitude and continued to treat him warmly.

The two talked for a long time, and it seemed like they hated each other for not meeting sooner.

It was not until late at night that Colin got up and took his leave.

Marquis Charles personally sent him out of the tent.

Just as Colin bowed and was about to say goodbye, Marquis Charles suddenly looked behind Colin and said in surprise,

“Eh? Sister, it’s so late, you’re still awake!”