Chapter 103: Rose Mountain City

  Several days later, a seemingly ordinary black four-winged carriage, under the escort of a group of seemingly ordinary mercenaries, quietly passed through the territory of the Asrelex family.

  The army marched south, skirting Haddington and entering the lands of the Hamiltons.

  The Hamilton family, leader of the Queen's faction, the largest and most prestigious old noble family in the Principality.

  Its territory is located in the southern region of the Principality of Bellmare, with convenient transportation and a vast territory. It borders the territory of the Sais family to the north and the Stormy Sea to the south, with a large port that echoes with Faro Bay in the east.

  Backed by mountains and facing the sea, with vast territory, fertile land and a large population, this is the domain of the most prominent aristocratic family in the country.

  It's not just that, from the Hamilton family to the capital of Haddonfield is only a short half-day trip. Most of the time, the Iron Duke would directly point out the mountains and rivers in Haddonfield, so there are also many people who think that the so-called national capital is nothing but a plaything in the hands of the Hamilton family.

  In the center of this vast and noble territory lies a city that is not too prosperous, but has a certain ancient elegance.

  Rose Hill Castle

  This is the center of the Hamilton family.

  This is where Fiona Hamilton was born.

  "Ever since I defeated my magic teacher, who had always looked down on me, with overwhelming superiority at the age of seven and was appointed by Grandfather as the first in line to inherit the family, this Rose Hill Castle has become my enemy." Fina's voice echoed faintly in the carriage as she gazed out at the distant horizon where the ancient castle walls were gradually appearing.

  Although it was only a short sentence, Meddy could easily imagine the kind of pressure a ten-year-old child would face being designated as the first in line to inherit such a large and complex family.

  Perhaps the majesty of the Iron Duke is enough to suppress all opposing voices. Perhaps the power of the Iron Duke is enough to protect Feena from being killed by various ambushes and assassinations. But that's all.

  Idle chatter, cold eyes watching from the sidelines, isolation and hostility, verbal violence and attitude attacks, all these Fina must bear alone, even if it is the strongest shield, the highest wall, can not withstand the attack of these intangible things.

  Even Fina's parents would probably not have a good expression.

  After all, directly inheriting the family from Iron Blood Duke means that Feina skipped an entire generation, skipping over her parents and destroying their hopes and ambitions.

  However, in the tone of the red-haired girl, there was neither anger nor sorrow, nor even loneliness.

  On the contrary, for some reason, a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, and she said: "However, this is also a good thing. After all, geniuses are geniuses, strong people are strong people, if there wasn't so much pressure, I'm afraid we wouldn't have reached such a level now, in that case...we wouldn't be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with you..."

  A girl who always had a refreshing and elegant demeanor, rarely showed a hint of shyness and weakness, and on her pale face, a faint, almost imperceptible blush also appeared.

  Is this a confession?

  This is absolutely a confession!

  Looking at the girl's slightly shy expression, Mide was stunned for a moment. He wanted to say something, but suddenly found that his throat had become extremely dry, and thousands of words were stuck in his chest, unable to speak for a while.

  "After all, if you can't even catch up with me, then don't even mention that black guy." The girl added this sentence at a very timely moment, as if pouring a large bucket of cold water on Midori's just-ignited emotions.

  That black-haired guy is naturally referring to Alice.

  This time, Alice stayed in the Eagle's Nest.

  Mediton suddenly understood that if it weren't for a stronger opponent being present, Feena wouldn't have spoken such words of admiration.

  Although this is indeed a confession, it's probably still not on the level of love. Moreover, Feena is more considerate of Eris, which makes Middy feel somewhat uneasy.

  Am I not even a man worthy of shame in your eyes? And when did you and Alice's relationship become so good that you started speaking well of each other behind backs instead of badly?

  Mi Di secretly scolded in his heart.

  But looking at Feena's smile, which changed from shyness to mischief, Middy felt that after going through so many battles together and creating so many shared memories, he and Feena should have a relationship that was at least more than friends but not quite lovers.

  Otherwise, why bother intentionally breaking words to play tricks on yourself?

  Otherwise, how could she have such an alluring and youthful expression?

  Mediterranean was lost in thought, and at the same time wondering if he should also try to probe around when the carriage suddenly jolted and then came to an abrupt stop.

  "Everyone get off immediately and accept inspection! Those who resist will be killed without pardon!"

  A sharp and piercing voice rang out, passing into the carriage, ruthlessly shattering the ambiguous atmosphere and two-person world that Mide had been dreaming of.

  On a red flag as vibrant as Fiona's long hair, three golden lions embroidered with vigor and majesty. In the Kingdom of Bellmard, this emblem is known to all, and it is the coat of arms of the renowned Hamilton family.

  It was not, however, a band of soldiers that came sweeping along, but rather a party of young nobles out for a day's hunting. The most conspicuous feature of the group was not the men, but the spotted hunting leopards that ran beside the horses.

  For the nobility, everything can be compared, reputation, poetry, mansion, money, women and so on. However, in these hundreds of years of comparison, many things have already fallen into clichés. In the past decade or so, various things that are difficult to obtain with money in a short period of time have become the main trend of comparison.

  For example, it takes decades to breed pure-blooded horses, pure-blooded hunting dogs, and even more noble and rare - pure-blooded cheetahs.

  Through the car window, as soon as he caught a glimpse of that beautifully running cheetah, Middy immediately understood.

  The newcomer is a group of nobles.

  "This is the territory of the Hamilton family, who dares to be so bold and play mysterious in front of me?" That sharp and piercing voice rang out again, not even bothering to report a name.

  The owner of the voice was a young man who looked still quite handsome, about twenty years old or so, with a complexion that had clearly become deathly pale due to excessive indulgence in carnal desires. However, under the adornment of exquisite hunting attire and martial gear, he managed to look somewhat presentable.

  And his narrowed eyes, however, were darting back and forth between Odelle and Aileen, his lust plain to see. In an instant, the sensitive half-elves couldn't help but lower their faces.

  At the same time, Feena's face in the carriage also fell.

  It's not because of the simplicity and ridiculousness of his thoughts, but because of something deeper behind.

  The Iron-Blooded Duke is in critical condition, this is an extremely confidential event, not to mention most of the nobles of the Kingdom of Balmoral, even the Hamilton family, there are not many people who know about it. Only the duke's closest confidants and Fiona, as the first-in-line heir, can learn about this information in the first place.

  This time difference is an advantage and a means of stabilizing the situation.

  And so, even the normally high-profile and straightforward "Magic Bullet Queen" chose to be extremely quiet this time, opting for a low-key approach and doing a lot of cover-up work before leaving the Eagle's Nest.

  Not only did he beg Alice to stay behind and manage the Gyokuryuu team, but he also didn't bring any items or followers that could expose his identity - including the undefeated Night Blade Leopard Cavalry. The only ones following in this unmarked convoy were Midichan's adventurers.

  In a sense, successfully escorting Fina back to Rosemont can be considered the first mission of the Hawkeye Team.

  One chance may decide an important task for the future of the country.

  This matter was too important, so that all the way, the adventurers who were extremely sensitive to differences in status and identity played the role of noble guards with extreme seriousness, not only without complaint, but can even be said to have done their best.

  And so, the team's low-key approach, combined with their formidable strength, made for a remarkably smooth journey, with neither the mutated monsters nor the marauding bandits able to slow them down in the slightest.

  Even if they were true nobles, they would be worried about the chaotic security situation on their territory at this moment. How dare they provoke a mysterious convoy with a large group of high-level adventurers as guards?

  But what about now?

  As soon as they arrived at the Hamilton family's territory, they coincidentally ran into a provocation from a noble, and Fiona vaguely remembered that the person outside the carriage was one of the most troublesome kind, although it was just a side branch, but the power behind them was also intricate.

  Is this a coincidence?

  Is it still inevitable?

  Fina couldn't help but start speculating.

  "There's someone behind this young lady, at least, someone is instigating her." Looking at the red-haired girl's slightly furrowed beautiful eyebrows, Midei said lightly, "I'm afraid from the moment we entered the territory, we've been targeted."

  "Why did you say that?" Fiona couldn't help but ask.

  "They didn't seem to be carrying any prey, and most importantly, those leopards were running too happily, not at all like they had just been hunting." Midinu said simply.

  When the prey is too small, these lazy people don't even bother to pick it up. After all, they hunt not for a living but to have enough big game to show off, so even if a hunting party returns empty-handed, it doesn't mean anything.

  However, the state of the leopard is enough to infer everything.

  Fina's small face turned red with embarrassment - this was in her hometown, her home turf, and yet she had failed to notice.

  But in any case, now that we know where the other party is from, what to do next is very simple.

  "Let's go out." Fina decided so.

  "If you show up now, the news of 'The Magic Bullet Queen Returns to Her Territory' will probably spread throughout the entire duchy immediately." Middy reminded.

  "It doesn't matter, since someone is already plotting behind our backs. The news of Grandfather's illness is probably not a secret to our enemies either. In that case, what's the point of hiding? Fina stood up, her voice as confident and refreshing as ever. "Besides, I'm the leader of the Hawk Team, so of course I'll be on the front lines, fighting alongside my team members!"