In December of the Holy Calendar 1445, the first snow fell in Castel County since the beginning of winter.
As a coastal earldom, Castres does not have snow every year, but the climate this year is obviously colder than in previous years. The snowflakes falling from the sky dye the earth with white spots.
Five days had passed since Charlotte woke up, and the rebels of the Legris family were still stationed in the upper reaches of the Dorne River. They seemed to have forgotten to continue the attack, had no intention of crossing the river, and even built a long-term camp on the north bank.
Outside the North Port, the noble army summoned from all over the place has been prepared. Tents of all sizes have been set up along the coast on one side of the Castel Bridge, with no end in sight.
On the coastline, shipping is busier than ever. Cargo ships set sail from the North Port dock almost every moment, and new cargo ships lower their sails into the port.
The strategic materials transported from various places gathered in Beigang, supporting the operation of tens of thousands of troops. The daily consumption of military rations alone was an astronomical figure.
The tense atmosphere could be felt almost everywhere in Beigang; the pace of approaching war was so pressing.
Especially when more and more warships entered the port, military sailing ships from various noble families were lined up in a row, and the row of black stone-throwing cannons on one side of the hull looked particularly oppressive.
For a time, rumors spread throughout North Port that the young Earl of Castel had appeared at a noble meeting and summoned the nobles to prepare to march north to fight the rebels.
The eyes of almost all Beigang citizens were focused on the Earl's Palace in the city center.
In the tavern, every drinker, while drinking, was betting on when the young countess planned to leave the city to quell the rebellion and how many troops she had assembled.
Some said 20,000, some said 30,000, and some even said a full 50,000 were gathered.
However, no matter what people discuss, there is one thing that seems to have been agreed upon in Beigang.
That is, although this rebellion in the north is huge, it will eventually be put down by the little earl.
The reason why people make this judgment is simple.
First, Castel mobilized almost all the nobles in the territory.
Even though the Leglis family was full of martial virtue, they were certainly at a disadvantage in terms of absolute strength in front of the coalition forces composed of the private armies of more than three-quarters of the earldom's noble families and the elite troops of the Castel family.
Perhaps the nobles were unable to work together before, and the fragmented North could hardly resist the army assembled by the Legris family.
But now that the young earl himself appeared in the Council of Nobles, the nobles had found their backbone.
A territory that is scattered and a territory that has gathered strength are two different things.
In the eyes of many people, the rebels of House Legris stationed in the upper reaches of the Dorne River had missed the best opportunity to capture Northport.
On the other hand, as time went on, more and more cargo fleets traveled to and from the Earldom of Tulip.
Even the most obtuse businessman could smell something different: the garrison of the Bold family stationed in the Earldom of Tulip seemed to have begun preparing for war.
Considering the relationship between the Bold family and the Castel family, many people believe that the Duchess of Bold, who declared neutrality, might not really remain neutral.
Especially as time went by, some rumors also came from the direction of the Earldom of Tulip.
It seemed that a drunken officer let slip in the tavern that the Principality of Bold was also ready to join the war.
After this news came out, many people believed that this was probably the result of the young Earl of Castel showing up and reaching some kind of agreement with the Bold family.
The Bolder family, a member of Castel's clan, will no longer remain neutral, but will join the war as lords to help Castel quell the rebellion.
Of course, in addition to these arguments, there is also another completely opposite statement circulating among other nobles in Beigang.
That is, there are still many people who believe that the Bold family is not trying to quell the rebellion, but is targeting the Castel family.
They are in cahoots with the rebels.
There are also many people who believe in this conspiracy theory.
The evidence they provided was that Count Castel had been ambushed on his way to the territory.
The ambush was ordered by the Duchess of Bordeaux's husband, Prince Philip.
These two opinions were diametrically opposed and were clashed fiercely in taverns and various aristocratic salons.
It was not until two days later that a nobleman claiming to be an envoy of the Bold family came by boat from the Earldom of Tulip and asked to see the young Earl of Castel.
"My Lord Earl, the Duke was very happy to hear that you were safe and sound, and sent me to ask you if you need the support of the Bold family."
"As Castel's backer, the Bold family is willing to assist you in quelling the rebellion as soon as possible and restoring order in the North!"
In the reception hall, the envoy said respectfully with a smile on his face.
Charlotte looked at the envoy from the Bold family expressionlessly.
After a moment, he said calmly:
"Oh? But didn't Bold already declare that he would remain neutral in this matter?"
"My Lord Earl, at that time, the Duke did not know about your safety. There were rumors everywhere in the south that you might have met with an accident. The Duke declared neutrality for the sake of safety, but in fact... the Earldom of Tulip has been preparing for war."
The messenger replied respectfully.
As he spoke, he looked at Charlotte with hope:
"Mr. Count, what do you think?"
Charlotte looked at him deeply, smiled slightly, and said:
"Your Excellency, I thank Bold for your support, but... this matter is very serious. Many nobles in Castel may not want to see the intervention of higher-level lords. I need to discuss it with the nobles and then give you a reply."
After sending the messenger away for the time being, the smile on Charlotte's face completely disappeared.
She came to the window, looked at the densely packed and spectacular military camp on the shore, and asked softly:
"What do the nobles of the territory think of the envoy from Bolder? I heard that he seemed to have publicized his purpose before meeting me."
Behind Charlotte, Sebastian, who was wearing a tuxedo, said respectfully:
"Master, opinions vary. Those who know the truth about the ambush in the Violet Forest do not believe them. However, the vast majority of nobles still believe that the Bold family is here to support Castel and help us put down the rebellion."
"Help us put down the rebellion? Hey, Sebastian, what do you think?"
Charlotte scoffed.
Sebastian hesitated for a moment and said:
"The Third Prince once wanted to kill you. He coveted Castel so much, so he must not have good intentions. Although I haven't found definite evidence yet, I also think that the rebellion of the Legris family was likely supported by Bold."
"Yes, they definitely don't have good intentions."
Charlotte sighed.
"Master, should we take the initiative? Or should we continue to investigate Bold's movements?"
Sebastian asked.
Charlotte pondered for a moment and said:
"Continue investigating, and don't act rashly for now. If Bold really wants to target us, the garrison of Earl Tulip and the rebels alone may not be enough. They must have other moves."
Sebastian hesitated.
"But... if they really want to attack us, the longer they wait, the more prepared they will be, right?"
"Don't worry, delaying will also be good for us. After all... we are not without backup."
Charlotte said.
"Backup?"
Sebastian's heart skipped a beat.
He followed Charlotte's gaze and saw that Charlotte was looking through the window at the sea outside.
That is the direction of the Falling Star Kingdom.
Sebastian's expression changed slightly, as if he was thinking about something.
At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside the hall, attracting the attention of the two.
Charlotte frowned slightly and turned to look outside the door:
"Sebastian, go see what's going on outside."
"Yes, sir."
Sebastian bowed and left.
After a while, he came back with a strange expression:
"Master, something happened to Bold's messenger. They were kidnapped outside the Earl's Mansion."
"Huh? Kidnapped?"
Charlotte was stunned.
Sebastian's expression became more and more strange:
"Yes, it was done by the Roman-Fol family. They are now outside the Earl's Palace asking to see you."