245: Women's Choice

"What, can't bear to let her go?"

"If you can't bear it, just let her stay. Anyway, that Countess of Violet would surely be very happy to have a Legendary son-in-law."

Alistair glanced at Renn, a sour remark escaping her lips.

Withdrawing his gaze, Renn laughed and pulled his charming wife into his arms.

"I thought our rational and proud Archmage Alistair only swam in the vast ocean of magical truths. I didn't expect you to get jealous like an ordinary girl!"

"Hmph!"

Alistair gave a cold snort, her fair face quickly flushing a lovely crimson, which Renn found heart-stirringly adorable.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"What are you doing?"

"It's still daytime!"

"Careful, someone might see!"

Renn suddenly scooped Alistair up and walked toward the upstairs bedroom.

"So what if they see? Who would dare say anything to me?"

With a bang, Renn kicked the door open and then closed it again... (Three thousand words omitted here).

As the storm subsided, peace returned to the room.

"That girl Cecilia has been missing you terribly lately. You should go see her in a bit!"

Alistair held her beloved, but her words made Renn's heart tremble.

"That girl's strength broke through a while ago, reaching the Middle Gold rank. Her attainments in Potionology are already nearly equal to Master Capdo's. In the future, she will surely surpass Kapdo, and there's a high possibility she'll even become a Legendary Potion Master."

"Setting aside Cecilia's feelings for you, would you let such a talent become another man's woman? Would you be at peace with that?"

"If you can't, then make a decision early and don't make Cecilia wait too long. Some things, especially matters of the heart, can lead to unexpected changes if dragged out for too long. It's not impossible for love to turn into hatred."

"Don't let complications arise. Cecilia is twenty-one this year; she's not a child anymore."

Alistair spoke calmly. She knew clearly how important Cecilia and her grandfather Kapdo were to the Red River Territory and to Renn.

In fact, Cecilia had known Renn even before she did; she was the latecomer!

"I understand!"

Renn's initially conflicted heart instantly cleared after Alistair's few words.

When he first met Cecilia, she was only fourteen. This had caused Renn to always view her as a younger sister, a feeling that sometimes made it difficult for him to face her intense affection for him.

Looking at it now, Renn realized he had been deceiving himself and acting hypocritically.

"Master Capdo and Cecilia have trained a group of mature Potion Masters over the past few years, and the territory's potion production continues to hit new highs."

"Materials produced from gold magic plants have been refined into bottles of gold-grade potions. Over the last few years, more than a dozen Gold-rank Professionals have appeared in the territory. Isn't this all thanks to Kapdo and Cecilia?"

"Making a decision early will also put everyone at ease. I've noticed Master Capdo has been somewhat restless lately, and the main reason is that a certain someone has been neglecting his precious granddaughter."

Saying this, Alistair gave Renn a pinch.

As the mistress of Red River Territory, Alistair saw the territory's development with her own eyes and knew very well how these brilliant results were achieved.

Renn didn't respond directly, but instead looked down at the beauty in his arms and asked a question.

"Aren't you jealous?"

"I am. No woman is willing to share her man. However, I know that if I insisted on having you all to myself, I would lose you forever in the near future, and I am not willing to lose you."

"My father also had many mistresses after marrying my Mother. Before that, my Mother was also one of his mistresses."

"Now I am the mistress of Red River Fortress, and no matter what happens in the future, I will still be the mistress of Red River Fortress. Cecilia understands this, and I actually quite like that girl."

Alistair was two or three years older than Renn, making her about ten years older than Cecilia. In her eyes, Cecilia truly was just a little girl.

"Also, I've recently felt a faint inkling of a breakthrough. My personal accumulation and comprehension of laws have reached a bottleneck. I will try to break through in a few days."

Renn tightened his embrace on the beauty in his arms.

"Are you confident?"

Alistair said confidently, "Don't worry, I am. If you can break through to the Legendary Realm, so can I!"

The room fell silent as the two said no more, simply enjoying the peace and comfort of their private world... Violet Castle!

Having rushed back all the way, Freya headed straight for a room deep within the castle.

With a bang, the door was opened, and Freya saw her Mother, Lelia, plotting something with two other counts.

"Freya, as a noble, you should know your manners. Why did you enter without knocking?"

Lelia frowned as she looked at her daughter who had burst into the room.

"I'm sorry, Mother."

"Good day, my Lords!"

Freya bowed to the three of them, while holding back the words she wanted to say.

"Your Highness, that is the situation. We absolutely support you and will never let that Illegitimate Son destroy our Stag Territory."

"Yes, Your Highness, we will always stand behind you!"

The two counts expressed their loyalty and then left the room.

After they left, Freya stepped forward.

"Mother!"

"Freya, take a seat."

Lelia rubbed her forehead and sighed as she sat in her chair.

"They are being pressured by that Illegitimate Son to the point of being unable to hold on. If it weren't for the Royal Family saying they would send people to investigate the noble massacres, and Heisenberg being busy dealing with the upcoming Royal team, they probably would have collapsed by now."

"Mother, has the situation become so severe?"

"It's even more severe than imagined. That ruthless Illegitimate Son has no intention of leaving us a way out this time. He wants to uproot us entirely, leaving none behind. If it weren't for that, these families would have surrendered to him long ago."

"I never expected Father to have such a cold-blooded and ruthless child. He wants to wipe out the very foundation of the Stag Territory."

"What can he possibly gain from doing this?"

"What can he achieve by relying on those low-life adventurer subordinates?"

Lelia was extremely perplexed by Heisenberg's actions. She didn't understand why he was so keen on destroying ancient noble lineages and insisted on propping up his so-called adventurer companions.

Admittedly, some adventurers did have certain means, but not all adventurers possessed such capability. Without the long-standing heritage and foundation of the nobility, would these adventurers have the ability to govern the territory well?

"Can they handle those Alien Tribes?"

In Lelia's view, most of these adventurers were likely just uneducated commoners who couldn't even read. They might be good at killing, but it was absolutely impossible for them to govern a territory.

"They all think I can persuade Lord Saint Spirit to deal with Heisenberg. They really think too highly of me!"

"If I could persuade Lord Saint Spirit, I would have done so long ago. Why would I wait until today?"

"That Illegitimate Son also has the blood of the Stag Family flowing in his veins. Lord Saint Spirit won't interfere in the internal affairs of the Stag Family. And I can't even meet Lord Saint Spirit, so how could I persuade him?"

Lelia felt a surge of frustration. Unable to find a way to deal with Heisenberg, they were currently in a state of slow death.

"Mother, then what should we do?"

"I have some connections in the Royal Capital. The Royal representatives coming this time will bring some trouble to that Illegitimate Son. We can use this opportunity to catch our breath."

"The Royal Family has always wanted to exert more influence over the Stag Territory. This time, I'm taking the initiative to give them an opportunity, and they won't ignore it. With the operation of my network of connections, the Royal Family won't let us be wiped out by Heisenberg."

"A North-South confrontation and a split Stag Territory align with the Royal Family's interests. However, while we may be preserved this time, the Stag Territory will suffer a heavy blow."

Lelia had been unable to make up her mind whether she should sacrifice the core interests the Stag Family had maintained for over a thousand years for her own benefit.

"Mother, we still have time. We can still think of other ways."

"You're right, Freya. We still have time. It hasn't reached the final moment yet; we still have a chance."

"By the way, did you come here in such a hurry because you have something to tell me?"

Composing herself, Lelia looked at her daughter. Her usually steady daughter must have something important to discuss to have rushed here like this.

"Yes, Mother. I had some unexpected gains during my trip out."

Freya recounted everything she had seen and heard in the Red River Territory to Lelia in great detail, and also told her Mother about the trade plan she had discussed with Renn.

Freya also took out some weapons, equipment, and potions from her spatial ring. These were samples Renn had provided for her to test and choose from.

Various items produced in the Red River Territory were thus laid out before Lelia.