De Arnisburg, a small stone castle located just south of Qianhu Lake.
Its geographical location is very advantageous. Not only does a small river that is not marked on the map run through the north and south, but it is also just stuck near the road between the important cities of Amn, Cremur and K'zura.
Normally, a territory like this with both water conservancy irrigation and convenient transportation should be prosperous.
But the problem is that when the castle was first built, Amn had not yet formed a unified country, and conflicts and even wars often broke out between the lords.
Therefore, in order to maximize the ease of defense and difficulty of attack, the leaders of the first generation De Arnis family built it at the southern end of the easternmost turning point of the Yunwu Mountains.
This is not only the birthplace of the rivers that run through the Lake and Ascatla, it is also a paradise for countless monsters and beasts.
The complex and rugged mountains and dense forests hide countless threats including trolls, ogres, orcs, goblins, snakemen, winter wolves, etc.
As the source of rivers, the water flowing down from the melted snow on the top of the mountains often causes flooding.
Therefore, the successive owners of De Arnisburg had to invest most of their tax money in the endless repairs of the dam and the elimination of monsters.
Generally, a small castle with thirty to fifty soldiers is enough to deal with most emergencies.
But De Arnisburg has to maintain a population of close to 150 people all year round, which directly fills up military expenses.
Otherwise, once it is besieged by monsters, it will be defeated quickly before reinforcements arrive.
Moreover, if there is a slight climate abnormality, the snow melts several times faster than usual, and the river embankments that were finally built will be washed away by the floods roaring down from the top of the mountain.
In the face of this kind of natural disaster, there is no good way at all. We can only tirelessly rebuild it over and over again.
After all, after repairs, floods may occur only once every few years or even more than ten years, and relatively small ones will basically be stopped by the dam.
But if it is not repaired, this thing will come every spring and summer, directly submerging farmers' fields into a muddy swamp, making it impossible to cultivate.
It is precisely thanks to De Arnisburg blocking here that the monsters are unable to rush into other castles, manors and villages in the hinterland of Amn to burn, kill and loot.
However, Amn nobles and wealthy businessmen who are used to being selfish will not feel any gratitude and want to repay them.
Quite the opposite!
Without exception, they all secretly laughed at the stupidity of the De Arnis family and their persistence in not knowing how to adapt.
At this moment, Sir De Arnis was sitting alone in his study, looking at the financial report that had just been sent by the castle steward, with a sad look on his face.
This powerful warrior who can wield the ancestral [Flail of Time] and easily smash the head of a troll is now so weak and powerless in the face of economic difficulties.
Of course, this does not mean that De Arnisburg is really too poor to pay a penny.
In the family's secret vault, gems, weapons, armor and various magic items accumulated over hundreds of years are also stored.
As long as you take it out and sell it, it won't be a problem to collect tens of thousands of gold coins.
But as a traditional land aristocrat, Sir De Arnis does not want to sell these precious "ancestral properties".
After all, magic items are easy to sell but difficult to buy back.
Many high-end goods are often not available with money.
And until now, he has not told the bad news to his only daughter Nalia, his adopted son Isiah, and his sister Deshia Kane, whose husband died and is now living at home.
Especially the last one, all he thinks about every day is how to participate in various social activities among nobles, and the expenses are simply not ordinary.
Even attending the most ordinary banquet or dance will cost at least fifty to one hundred gold coins.
Half of it is to buy clothes and dressing up, and the other half is to buy a decent enough gift for the organizer.
Otherwise, if you attend empty-handed or the gift you give is not valuable enough, you will definitely be laughed at by other guests.
This is undoubtedly worsening the already dire financial situation.
What’s even more frightening is that so far, I have sent so many loan requests to the surrounding neighbors, but not even one of them has responded.
Whenever he thinks of these, Sir De Arnis, who has just reached middle age, looks extra tired and old, and finally sighs helplessly.
"Alas - I am really incompetent."
Just when he was about to take a look at the vault to see if there were any unimportant things that could be sold off, a rapid knock on the door suddenly came from outside.
Then the voice of the castle manager came through the crack in the door.
"Sir, good news. Our neighbor to the northwest, Ibi Palen, the steward of Lake Castle, has brought a response from Sir Thos. They are willing to lend us 20,000 gold coins, but there is a small request."
Instantly!
Sir De Arnis suddenly stood up from his chair, opened the door without saying a word and asked in a hurried tone: "What is the request?"
"According to Ibby Palen, due to the current poor finances of the castle, and also to prevent this loan from turning into a bad debt, Sir Soth requires that before the debt is fully repaid, if one day you die unexpectedly and fail to leave a will
, he will automatically become Miss Naria's legal guardian." The castle manager replied cautiously.
Because letting other nobles become guardians of one's children often entails huge risks.
Especially when parents and elders have passed away, leaving only a minor child.
Then the designated guardian will have unimaginably huge rights.
Not only can he manage and control his family property at will, but he can also obtain astonishing returns by manipulating the child's marriage.
Similar to the situation of the De Arnis family, which only has one daughter and no male heir, a marriage might be swallowed up by the other party and disappear completely.
The castle manager doesn’t think that his young lady’s innocent, kind and compassionate character can win in such a cruel and bloody battle.
"Okay! I agree!"
After thinking for a long time, Sir De Arnis finally gave an affirmative answer.
First of all, he doesn't think that given his strength and health, he will die within a few years.
Naria will reach adulthood in five or six years at most, and by then this restriction will naturally no longer exist.
Secondly, in his opinion, it should be impossible for a legendary spellcaster like Zuo Si, who has huge assets and a great reputation, to pry into the family's meager property.
Therefore, this additional condition is just a means to reduce risks and ensure that the loan can be recovered 100%.
What's more, Sir De Arnis really needs a lot of money now to ease his poor finances and prevent defaults on his previous debts.
Otherwise, once the credit goes bankrupt, the entire family will become a laughing stock among the nobility.
In this way, he immediately met with Ibi Palen to discuss the specific details, and soon signed a legally binding contract.
After the latter left in the carriage, Sir De Arnis immediately took the money and invested in repairing the dike, killing or driving away the jackal robbers, and providing seeds and daily necessities to the robbed farmers without paying any attention.
Until Isiah sees all his actions.
This young man is like an insidious and cunning snake, always looking for opportunities to retaliate against Sir De Arnis for his "betrayal" and "failure to save him."
For this reason, he even did not hesitate to approach and please Naria, hoping to make this innocent girl fall in love with him, and then seize the De Anis family's property through marriage.
When the thing is done, just kill Sir De Arnis and imprison the girl. Then you can torture, abuse, and vent the anger and desire in your heart however you want.
It's a pity that although Naria is somewhat naive and kind-hearted, she is not stupid. She saw through Isiah's evil nature from the beginning, and never gave the latter even the slightest chance to get close.
Moreover, she is also a very talented mage apprentice and has mastered the second-level arcana.
When I was a child, I often climbed up and down the castle, slid doors and picked locks, and developed my good thief skills.
This resulted in the coercion, inducement or violence that Isiah used to deal with civilian girls in the past, which simply did not work with Naria.
Not to mention the terrifying rage that Sir De Arnis might burst into after learning that his beloved daughter had been raped, just the magic missiles, acid arrows, and scorching rays released by Naria could make him feel like life was worse than death.
The taste of.
Therefore, after several attempts and all failed, Isiah completely gave up on starting with Naria and instead focused on Sir De Arnis himself and his stupid, arrogant and vain sister.
On your body.
By encouraging Deshia Kane to attend expensive social events among nobles, he succeeded in worsening the financial situation of the Deanis family.
Immediately afterwards, he secretly contacted a man who successfully evaded capture and was responsible for the slave trade in his family, and with the help of the other man, he created an artificial flood...
Yes!
The flood that caused Sir De Arnis to suffer huge losses was not a "natural disaster", but a complete "man-made disaster".
At this moment, Isiah was hiding in an unknown cave in the mountain behind the castle, talking quietly to a middle-aged man with short brown hair and an obvious scar on his face.
"Garys, how do you think I should make use of this matter?"
Isiah was the first to ask with a vicious light in his eyes.
The latter stroked the thick beard on his chin and thought for a moment, then quickly gave a meaningful suggestion: "My dear young master, the most important thing you have to do now is to first understand the contents of the contract.
To be continued...