What did you do with the dice?

Arlot smiled and said, "Not long ago, we just arrived too. Congratulations to Baron Rusalka on his promotion to Viscount."

Rusalka: "Haha, the royal family hasn't approved it yet, we can't celebrate in advance."

Arlot took a sip of tea and asked with interest, "It doesn't matter whether you agree or not, right? Are you a loyalist?"

Sanitieta said with a smile: "President, do you dare to ask this question now?"

Arlot didn't shy away from the question and smiled. "It's okay. There's no one else here. I understand the rules of the nobility. Before moving the first piece of furniture into the conference room, they must first carve a soundproofing inscription on the wall."

Rusalka: "There are three kings left in the kingdom. Which one do you think is the best to be loyal to?"

Crown, who was standing next to him, was so frightened that he kept drinking tea, not daring to put the cup down from his lips, for fear that if he did, he would have to get involved in a conversation that would have been too much for ten heads to discuss in the past.

Arlot thought for a moment and said, "I'm just a businessman. I'll do business with anyone, but Seven Sins' business isn't easy. If possible, I'd still prefer to do business with Esdi."

Sanitta knew that Arlot was testing Rusalka's side. To put it bluntly, it was impossible for the branch president of a region to not know that Rusalka's troops were related to the neighboring Esdi. It was just that he was still not sure whether it was true or not.

After all, Rusalka's origin itself is very mysterious. He is a wild awakened paladin. Early rumors say that he was exiled to Esdi by his family. He should have had some servants in Esdi, but now all the people who could prove his existence were dead when he returned.

It is said that he once lived in the cursed village of Esdi for a period of time, but unfortunately, the village has been razed to the ground, leaving no one alive.

And this rumor may not be true, because people who come into contact with the curse cannot possess the power of Holy Light, but Rusalka is indeed a Paladin and is favored by the Holy Light.

If we want to investigate further, we will have to go to the Pearl Tear Villa, which is too far-fetched.

The head maid of the Filin tribe might know something, but she has always lived in the Pearl Tear Villa and never says a word when she occasionally goes out to purchase things. She has been the head maid for nearly a hundred years, so she must be very tight-lipped.

So Rusalka's intelligence ended here.

As for Sanitta, the wizard has always been mysterious. If the information about Rusalka's background was completely cut off to a certain extent, Sanitta didn't even have a birth certificate. His information was at the same level as that of a wandering vagrant. It cannot be said to be almost zero, but it can only be said to be completely nonexistent.

So, is Rusalka an undercover agent from Esdi to Snidi, or an undercover agent from the Snidi Kingdom to Esdi? This needs to be made clear.

If Sneedi had sent them to Esdi, then Rusalka was a staunch royalist and would definitely march on Alice.

So if Rusalka is Esidi's hidden pawn to come to Snidi, then Rusalka... seems to have to fight Alice too, is that okay?

But no one thought that Seven Deadly Sins could really win this civil war relying on Alice and Grand Duke Oaks, the second of the three great dukes. It's not that they were not strong, but mainly because he took Alice City too hastily, forcing the other two great ducal families to cooperate. In this two-on-one situation, even a fool would know who would win.

Of course, the recent betrayal of the dragon has made the battle situation a little unclear, but dragons are inherently difficult to control. As long as Grand Duke Gode is not stupid, he will definitely not betray, otherwise Grand Duke Oaks would have chosen to move south long ago.

Therefore, after defeating Alice, if Rusalka can survive, which side will he choose to stand on, or in other words, to find out whether he has the help of Esdi behind him. This is very important to the Doug Chamber of Commerce. It almost determines whether the Sinidi Kingdom can still exist in the future. To grasp this first is to seize the business opportunity first - whether to choose to invest heavily in the royal family, or to switch to Esdi without hesitation.

To this, Sanita's teacher Rusalka replied: "Indeed, it doesn't matter who you are doing business with."

Of course, there was no second half of the sentence. Sanitta felt that the two of them knew too much, so they could not clearly stand on some sides.

If they were asked to choose to stand on the side of Esdi, then Sanita would definitely drink the bowl of golden water without hesitation (a term in Werewolf, referring to standing on the side of the prophet).

But standing on Theresa's side? Forget it. Sanitieta believed that once she knew the true identity of Gemini, it would be more likely that she would turn around and kill them both after the cooperation.

Because he also thought so: the moment he took over Alice City, he would let Rusalka find a way to kill Theresa first.

This is also the reason why he doesn't want Rusalka and Theresa to meet. Now Rusalka says that she likes Theresa, but that is just empty talk to control her. Don't let them really develop feelings for each other when they meet. That would be called being controlled by a bad woman.

In Sanitta's opinion, Phoenix is ​​not a bad woman. The Holy Slash has been identified. At most, she is just a cat with many secrets. She is very murderous, but she is not a bad person in this world view. At least the target of her actions is neutral or above; but Theresa is definitely a bad woman. It doesn't matter what people think of her on a daily basis. The fair and just Holy Slash will definitely double the damage.

To put it bluntly, how Scorpio died was all her one-sided account. It was certainly true that the real Pope had taken action, but could she guarantee that she did not secretly act as a double agent and deliberately leak operational intelligence to the Pope in order to create a lose-lose situation?

Moreover, how did Saint Theresa get away from this seemingly large-scale operation in a reasonable and reasonable manner without arousing suspicion? You have to know that she transferred two knights guarding the cathedral according to Scorpio's request. The knights were attacked just after they were transferred. This coincidence is too hard not to be suspicious. She did not explain in detail about this, and she must have concealed something.

Scorpio, the only one who knew the truth, died. To be honest, when Sanitieta thought about it carefully, he suspected that the final blow was given by Theresa - she could be a believer of the God of Light and the God of Truth at the same time. Since she could deceive the God of Light, why couldn't she turn around and deceive the God of Truth again?

Furthermore, Leo died in the El Empire, in a divine battle. Who had informed Theresa of this information? Furthermore, her outfit always changed based on the content of the meeting. If she wasn't foreknowledge, then it meant the God of Truth had made advance arrangements with Theresa.

Let Rusalka comment: This parliament has a large group of people with small groups in the middle, and it has the beauty of a women's dormitory.

What's more, Rusalka has already confirmed that she has some means that even the black fog cannot block. She has been asking Rusalka to perform mysterious immunity assessments. What will happen if the other people in the twelve zodiac signs fail the immunity and fall into the trap?

Sanita never assumes the worst of human nature.

Rusalka's answer left Arlot speechless, but it was also expected. Rusalka was able to flexibly seize the opportunity to develop repeatedly under the nose of a powerful force. He must be a bit cunning. It was unlikely to expect him to expose himself.

Arlot quickly changed the subject upon seeing this. "Haha, indeed. Then I hope that the cooperation between our Chamber of Commerce and Viscount Rusalka will last forever. Here's a toast to you, and to Archmage Sanitta as well."

"You're welcome." Rusalka and Sanitta raised their glasses in response. It was easy to talk to smart people.

Chapter 81 Is this how you test your cadres?

"Lord Pearl Tear, we'll follow the previous contract for the processing area from now on." Arlot changed the subject back to the processing plant. "But for transportation, I can pay extra. I hope you can provide some small military assistance."

Rusalka: "No problem, I can even accept the goods from here and you can earn a processing fee."

Arlot wished Rusalka could produce and sell its own wares. Even better, Rusalka could conquer the entire kingdom. That way, the costs and risks of transporting weapons and goods would be eliminated. For him, it would be a perfect deal with zero investment and zero risk, just waiting to be paid. "No problem at all."

But this is just a thought. The Test Mine is only a medium-to-low-level mine. The quality of the minerals it produces is not that good, the refining process is quite long, and the production capacity is not high, otherwise it would not be allocated to the Barony.

After a few more compliments to each other, Sanitta and Allot renewed several resource transportation and trade agreements that were originally signed with the Viscount. However, the Doug Chamber of Commerce originally took a smaller share, so Sanitta agreed to give the Doug Chamber of Commerce a piece of land in Silver City as a shop because of his relationship with Crown.

Rusalka knew how to squander the empire he had won without any effort: "No rent, just make your weapons better."

This is almost like asking for something without asking for anything. Only a fool would not want it. Even if it's just a piece of wasteland, you can use it to grow green onions and make a vegetable garden. It's free anyway.

Sunita thought about it and didn't care. The cooperation with Doug Chamber of Commerce still had a long way to go. It was just a small piece of land. In the cities of this world, there were a lot of lands to be had, but not many good ones. Whether to give them good lands depended on their sincerity.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was a simple one for Rusalka, who went over to offer a few kind words to motivate the workers. This part was effortless for the charismatic Rusalka, who, despite his charisma, was completely speechless. He simply said, "I wish the factory continued success and the quality of our equipment improved. And for those of you who came to see me speak today, please come and receive three days' extra pay. That concludes my speech. Thank you."

Now Rusalka had just robbed the City Lord's Mansion, and the accounts looked very good, with several thousand gold coins. Paying three days' wages to more than a hundred people present was only about 3 gold coins for Rusalka, but it made the workers below clap their hands red.

Rusalka: (I've been fed up with this kind of long-winded talk since I was little. It would be better to give me money or a vacation. Now that the Viscount has given me a chance, I choose to use his money to realize my dream.)

Sani Tieta: (Boss is so generous, so why don’t you give us a holiday?)

Rusalka: (You want a holiday during wartime? That's the opposite! I'm working non-stop!)

Sunny Tower: (Haha, I thought the streetlight next door didn't need to hang people anymore, but it seems I was too happy.)

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Arlot also gave Rusalka a gift privately. He certainly didn't come empty-handed. "I heard that Master Sanita likes ancient books. Here are two ancient books that I found on the bookshelf in the ruins. I just thought of you. I hope you like them."

Sanitieta took the package handed to him by Crown. Now he understood why it was difficult to be an honest official. He really couldn't refuse this thing, especially since it was wrapped tightly in the package. It was not easy for him to open it on the spot, let alone refuse it - who can resist the temptation of opening a blind box?

Rusalka was very curious about what Arlot would use to test him as a cadre.

Arlot led him to a small warehouse, had the guard open the door, and then walked over to a weapons rack and said to Rusalka, "I've long heard of Lord Pearltear's bravery and skill in battle, but I've always lacked a suitable weapon. This is a mercury giant sword specially crafted by a swordsmith, and then engraved with runes that adapt to magic by a magic pattern master. This way, the power of holy light will flow more smoothly through the sword. Mercury itself has the ability to restrain evil spirits, so I'm sure it will make you even more invincible."

Rusalka accepted it happily: the challenge failed.

He immediately took off the giant sword he was carrying and threw it aside, then shouldered the new giant sword and said with a smile, "You're so polite."

Although he was being polite, Sanitta had no doubt that anyone who tried to snatch the thing on his back would be hit by his sword.

Arlot: "That's not true. You even gave us a good piece of land in Silver City as a shop. This is something our Chamber of Commerce has long coveted but couldn't get. After all, the Viscount preferred to cooperate with Kate Chamber of Commerce at the time. But now that Lord Pearl Tear and we are friends, our Chamber of Commerce's things are almost like yours. It's just a small gift, not a token of respect. If you need funds or supplies for running the city in the future, feel free to contact me in Crown. We will do our best to support you."

With just a few words, he made Sanitieta consider giving him a good piece of land. For a moment, Sanitieta felt that the package of ancient books in his hand seemed a little hot.

Well, Arlot is indeed much smarter than Crown, so let's make him our friend and rival.

The two sides shook hands, exchanged a few pleasantries, and said goodbye. Rusalka then rushed to Silver City to see her new City Lord's Mansion.

It has to be said that big cities are bustling. When Rusalka first returned to the Pearl Tears Villa, it was completely deserted and no one came to visit. But when she arrived at the City Lord's Mansion in Silver City, before she could even sit down, she heard the servants running to her and telling her that many people had come to visit her in person recently.

After hearing that Rusalka was not there and the City Lord's Mansion was still under renovation, they all stayed. Most of the nobles in this world did not work, especially the barons, who were almost always busy at home. It was normal for them to go out and play for ten days or half a month. Silver City was a city after all, and it was more interesting than the towns or villages in the baron's territory. They could just have some fun while waiting for Rusalka.

Apart from a few people who really couldn't come and had to ask others to deliver gifts on their behalf, more than a dozen barons came to the door, as well as some bosses who were already doing business in the city and various trade unions. They had to wait in line, and even the guild belonging to the gods sent people to visit.

There were even old friends among them, such as Baron Whitemyre.

Even the enemy came - Kate Chamber of Commerce also sent someone, but unfortunately it was someone she didn't know. Rusalka didn't want to be bothered by him, so she sent him to talk to Sanitita.

Come to think of it, it's because the branch president is too busy with affairs, or maybe he is more concerned about his reputation. When Rusalka thought that she would not be able to see Dai Luo this time, who once clamored in the duel arena that he would use all the resources of the Chamber of Commerce to kill her, she missed him very much for a while.

Rusalka now understood how Fan Jin felt about passing the imperial examination. Although Silver City was a small city and not worthy of so many people celebrating, he felt that the reason why even the Kate Chamber of Commerce had to hold its nose and entertain him was probably because of the powerful motherland, Esdi, standing behind him.

Rusalka: (So am I a Sneedi or an Esedi now?)

Sanitta: (You are definitely from Esidi now, but when you plan to kill Theresa, you will be a real Sinidi.)

Rusalka: (Good guy, you can switch between Beijing and Shanghai, right? By the way, why do you use the premise that I killed my wife as an example?)

Sanita shrugged and did not comment on Rusalka's question.

The only strange thing was that Phoenix acted out of character for some reason. She didn't hide in the black fog to observe humans, nor did she come out to greet him and remind him that it was time for dinner. Instead, she sat in the dining room in the main hall to eat. There was even a housekeeper and a maid pushing a food cart standing behind her.

Look at her sitting in the main seat, she arrived only one day earlier than me, is she planning to rebel?

When the butler saw Rusalka enter the dining room, he bowed slightly to him and pulled out a chair for him opposite Phoenix: "Master, you are back. Lunch is ready. Please take a seat."

Oh, I remember now. The last time I came to the meeting, Viscount Consenatus also sat in the seat directly opposite Phoenix. This side is opposite to the Pearl Tear Villa. It turns out that the seat farthest from the door is the main seat.

Rusalka: (That's strange, where does Phoenix sit?)

Sanita: (That's the wife's seat.)

Rusalka: (Huh? When did I marry her? Does getting married in a dream count as a de facto marriage?)

Sanita: (Why are you looking at me? I've always been with you. As for me, I've always had great confidence in you, so I don't know why she's sitting there. She must have gotten the wrong seat. Our Pearl Tear Territory guest seats are on the left, but the Viscount Territory might have divided them by distance.)

Rusalka glanced at the butler, whose expression was calm and professional, as if it was a matter of course. Rusalka was too embarrassed to question it. What if the layout of the villa was different from her own, and it was actually a guest house? Wouldn't it be foolish for her to bring it up?

And how should I answer the question about the cat eating early? Should I ask directly, "Why can Phoenix eat early?" or "Why did the cat eat at the table?"

It seems that neither of them is appropriate. It is possible that Phoenix is ​​just hungry, so she asked the kitchen to prepare something like this for her in advance. After all, when Rusalka was at home recently, she always asked Phoenix to eat with her.

It's understandable. Rusalka herself doesn't like these cumbersome aristocratic rules, such as etiquette between superiors and subordinates. Sanitieta has pointed this out many times, and Rusalka has heard it all, but she still does what she wants.

In this situation, just because she changed the place, she suddenly brought out the rules to pressure Phoenix, saying that what she did was wrong and not worthy of the position of the head maid, and that she should wait for herself to eat first. This would make her look petty and like a villain who forgot his roots after being promoted.

To put it bluntly, it's just a meal. Just fill your stomach. There's no such thing as a crappy rule of eating first and then eating later. In fact, if it wasn't for the purpose of accumulating long-rest benefits and not appearing abnormal, Rusalka could even skip three meals a day. What's so great about eating a meal?

So Rusalka nodded and sat down leisurely.

Sanitta admired his brother's courage. After taking a step forward, the butler very considerately pulled out the first chair on Rusalka's right for him. This made Sanitta confirm that the other party was very knowledgeable about aristocratic etiquette, which meant that the seat he pulled out for Phoenix was not pulled out randomly.

If it is divided by distance, the seat on the right is for blood relatives, usually brothers or father and son, but he and Rusalka obviously have no blood relationship. Even if Rusalka has no relatives, unless he actively asks to sit on the right 1, the butler can only open the seat on the right 2 for him to sit on.

Well, should I remind Rusalka that she's not in the wrong seat? Maybe Phoenix made the mistake?

But Phoenix has been working as a maid for so long, how could she not know the aristocratic etiquette of seating?

There is a probability, because she is not a noble and has never sat at the noble table, but logically speaking, she should have arranged the seating for the Pearl Tears Leader, and there is no reason for her not to know that her position is the wife's seat.

It is also possible that she had the same misunderstanding as herself, thinking that the Viscount's family sat according to the order of near and far seats, but when she saw that she was sitting on the right, she didn't seem to say anything?

But she didn't have any expression.

Who cares? Even his own brothers don’t care. If the emperor isn’t anxious, then why should the eunuch be?

Chapter 82 At Dusk

It is a very happy thing when someone comes to visit you, compliments you and gives you some gifts.

But people visited every day, and when this itinerary repeated over and over again filled more than ten days, Rusalka felt that receiving gifts and listening to flattery was a torture.

He had to put on a smile, repeat the same old polite words, and listen to the same old compliments. Everyone wore a mask of hypocrisy. When they were barons in the past, no one cared about them, but now they just bowed their heads and smiled in front of a viscount, which made Rusalka, who once dreamed of becoming a superior person, feel uncomfortable.

Fortunately, he didn't have to personally meet the businessmen behind him, so he simply let his good brother Sani Tieta meet them all.

He received so many gifts, most of which were valuable or rare items, but almost none of them were usable. After all, they were barons and could not afford any magic props to give to Rusalka.

If the most valuable thing was the weapons of the Doug Chamber of Commerce, then the gift from Baron Whitemy was the most interesting: he wanted to give Rusalka a maid, the kind to warm her bed, and said that she could pick any one of his people she liked.

He was also the only person who was successfully challenged by Rusalka. The key point was that Whitemai had played with all those maids. To be honest, this was really a bit unacceptable. The pure love warrior fell to the ground.

But Whitemai didn't get too anxious. Although Rusalka said she didn't need a maid anymore, it's not because I don't like you that I refuse to accept you. I know there are good tailors in your territory. My maid lacks some nice clothes. You can give her some nice ones, especially custom-made clothes with tail holes and ear holes for Phoenix.

Seeing that Rushaka was willing to accept the gift, Whitemay breathed a sigh of relief on the spot, and patted his chest and said that he would directly let Rushaka bring the tailor when they met next time, and he would make ten or eight sets of clothes for Phoenix on the spot.

Tailor: I have no objection.jpg.

Well, he is only willing to give clothes but not tailors. He knows what it means to need long-term use.

But the thought of this lazy guy coming to visit again gave Rusalka a headache.

But such a person undoubtedly relieved a lot of psychological pressure on Rusalka. When chatting with Whitemay, this bastard, she really didn't have too many concerns.

Whitemay is just a lazy little noble who lives a life of idleness and waiting to die. Others will more or less test Rusalka's attitude and future ideas, but only he is the most sincere in his conversation. It is really "don't talk about state affairs, just talk about love and romance", and he doesn't even mention the situation of the kingdom. Even when Rusalka occasionally mentions it, the other party shows an attitude of "it doesn't matter who is in power, just let me live my life and that's it."

Although I think he doesn't talk about it because he is not knowledgeable enough, this is the only person Rusalka can chat with without the help of Sanita. It's like meeting a worthy opponent.

The only downside was that the other party was very interested in Phoenix, or rather, the Filin people. He said to Rusalka, "When our kingdom can conquer the El Empire, I want to buy two Filin people as slaves. I also like the Fox people, but I heard they have a smell. The Filin people are better. They are clean, cute, and furry to the touch. You can also pull their tails to attack."

Although Rusalka wanted to call him obscene, he really didn't want to go against his conscience and replied, "That's right, I want a black one too."

Whitemay came up and said, "How about yours? I heard you married her. How does it feel?"