284: Chapter 284 Grace's Intentions! Preparing to Head to Aksai City!

Aurora was surprised to hear this.

She carefully scrutinized the exceptionally young-looking woman before her, secretly feeling astonished.

She had heard of the Mist Corridor Academy before.

It was an institution in the Ancient Abyss Mediterranean region of the northern continent that specialized in research into ancient civilizations.

In an academy of that level, anyone who could obtain a teaching position was a top scholar in their respective field.

And the young girl before her, who looked to be about the same age as her, was already a professor?

Aurora suppressed her surprise and quickly adjusted her expression to respond: "Hello, Miss Grace. Welcome to Gino City."

Grace chuckled softly upon hearing this.

She waved her hand, walked a few steps to Aurora's side, and naturally patted her on the shoulder, saying:

"There’s no need to be so formal, Aurora." She blinked her slit-pupiled eyes, a hint of craftiness showing in her smile.

"Your mother and I have been good friends for many years!"

"When she wrote to me, she mentioned you, her daughter, quite often."

Aurora was slightly stunned and turned to look at her mother.

She knew that her mother, Natalie, indeed came from the Ancient Abyss Mediterranean coastal region west of Ascalon and had been a somewhat famous adventurer and scholar in her youth.

Natalie met her daughter's questioning gaze, nodded slightly, and smiled, saying:

"That’s right, Aurora. Grace is someone you can trust; you can rest assured."

Seeing this, Aurora also nodded, a sweet smile appearing on her face.

"Alright, Mother."

She looked back at Grace with a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"Ms. Grace, if it’s convenient, could you reveal what you wish to discuss with his lordship?"

Grace gave a light laugh.

"Rest assured, Aurora, it’s nothing bad. Erenville commissioned me for this meeting, hoping to form an alliance with His Excellency Count Golden Flame in the face of upcoming changes."

"The specific details need to be discussed with Count Golden Flame in person, but the general direction is mutually beneficial; I can guarantee you that."

Aurora thought to herself:

Erenville?

This should be the name of that legendary dragon deep within the Mess Mountains.

She just didn't know what attribute the dragon had.

Was it an elemental dragon, a gem dragon, a metal dragon, or perhaps an even rarer species?

Dragons of different attributes had vastly different personalities and behavioral styles, which would also affect the future method of cooperation and level of trust.

She pondered for a moment and then looked up at the sky outside the window.

A layer of fiery red appeared on the horizon; there was still some time before it became completely dark, but it wasn't much.

She thought about it and said to Grace:

"Ms. Grace, I cannot give you a definitive answer right now."

"I will go to the castle personally later to report the news to his lordship and ask for his opinion."

"If his lordship is willing to meet, the earliest would probably be tomorrow."

"It’s already late today, and his lordship likely still has some matters to handle."

Grace nodded in understanding.

"No problem, I can wait."

"It’s also a good chance to catch up with your parents; we haven't seen each other in years."

Aurora spoke a few more words with her parents and arranged for them to settle into the Wizard Tower.

Then, she changed into an outdoor dress, tidied herself up briefly, and left the Wizard Tower, heading toward Golden Flame Castle.

...

Golden Flame Castle, study.

Rowan sat behind the desk, looking at the news Niss had sent from Aksai City, lost in thought.

The news mentioned that the Frost Giant legion of the Snowfield Kingdom had already advanced to the Andaman Mine Group in Ember Plains Province.

That was the largest composite mineral vein group in the North; he had heard of it before, and it wasn't too far from the border of Will Province.

According to the intelligence provided by the refugee nobles, after the Frost Giants had their fill, they would most likely continue their march.

And Aksai City, the capital of Will Province, would be their most likely next target.

Niss's letter invited him to Aksai City to oversee the situation and deal with the possible upcoming crisis.

Rowan put down the letter; he thought about it and felt it was about time to set off.

He had received news a few days ago.

Garuvi had officially become the new Marquis Lance, and the situation in Cangyuan City had stabilized.

With a new Earth Knight guarding the place, there shouldn't be any more trouble in the short term.

After all, existences above the 7th-Rank were extremely rare no matter where they were.

Before this, Will Province had only Duke Witton, a Sky Knight, overseeing it for decades on the surface.

Existences of this level rarely took action personally.

Taking himself as an example, his lifespan was now conservatively estimated to be over four hundred years; once he officially broke through to the Legendary rank, his lifespan would likely extend to over a thousand years.

The fact that even with such a long "standby time," 7th-Rank experts were still so few and far between showed how precious they were.

The longer one lived, the less likely they were to take action easily.

No wonder even after sacrificing so many resources, he still hadn't officially broken through to the Legendary rank.

The journey from 7th-Rank to 8th-Rank was truly too long and difficult.

He was currently only using his authority as the Red Moon Proxy to temporarily possess the ability to invoke the power of laws in the North, a land where the Red Moon was reviving, giving him combat power comparable to a Legend.

And only a Legend can contend with a Legend.

Thinking of this, Rowan stopped overthinking and made a decision directly.

Within the next two days, he would need to set off for Aksai City, the capital of Will Province.

But before departing, he needed to consider which people from his portable garden and temporary staff he should bring along.

First, since he wasn't sure how long he would be gone, those who were pregnant or needed to look after children definitely had to stay in the castle and couldn't follow him around.

This way, the range of choices wasn't actually that large.

After some thought.

Rowan made his selection.

Vanessa, Adeline, and Charlotte.

He would take these three.

They were all military talents who had undergone testing.

Vanessa came from a military noble family and had rich experience in troop deployment and city defense.

Adeline and Charlotte were female officials he had personally cultivated; their loyalty and ability were beyond doubt.

These three would mainly be responsible for military affairs, which was enough to handle general situations.

He would also bring Sophia.

When a noble count traveled, the personal guard naturally had to follow, but Cecilia had to look after children and Anna was already pregnant, so neither was suited to follow him around.

As one of the core members of the castle guard, Sophia naturally had to step up.

Moreover, she was about to break through the 90-point mark and was at a critical threshold, needing him to guide and watch over her at all times.

Melissa and Isabelle also had to be brought along.

Melissa would be responsible for financial matters.

She could help him roughly sort out the situation of his spoils of war within Aksai City.

Isabelle would be responsible for external communications.

She was articulate and well-mannered, excelling at dealing with various factions; when communication with other nobles or forces was needed, he would send her.

In addition, he would bring some of the distressed noble ladies he had taken in during the recent period of unrest to enrich the "flavors" of his portable garden, prioritizing those who had not yet "bloomed."

Then, for those staying behind.

The Cabinet of Female Officials would handle daily affairs.

Aurora would stay to look after the home.

For a count's territory, having a 5th-Ring Wizard overseeing it, plus a fully equipped Wizard Tower, the defensive strength was completely sufficient.

In the nearby areas, the only forces capable of threatening a 5th-Ring Wizard were the Cangyuan Marquisate and the Mess Mountains.

There wouldn't be any problems from the Cangyuan Marquisate.

And the monster herds in the Mess Mountains had begun to gradually retreat deep into the mountains after he killed Duke Witton, so there shouldn't be any trouble in the short term.

Therefore, he could leave for the time being with peace of mind.

Thinking of this, Rowan finalized the list and then summoned a maid to give the orders...

...