The Release That Witch
Chapters 119's

But he could not read a single word that was on the parchment.

Today was the seventh day of the expedition, if everything went well, his father should have returned yesterday with the Duke's entourage. Maybe they were delayed during their trip, maybe the horses were tired and they had to rest, or they might take an extra day of rest in Border Town, right? He tried to comfort himself, but the uneasy feeling in his heart slowly grew.

The 4th Prince Roland Wimbledon had left a deep impression on him, Petrov could not understand why such an outstanding prince, would receive such poor judgment from the King. Bad character, dandyism, incompetence, ignorance and without any learning or skill.

Therefore, his anxiety had only become stronger.

He was afraid that the Duke would lose against the Prince.

"Mr Petrov," cried his housekeeper, "there is a letter that has just arrived from the fortress."

Letter from the fort?

"Bring me," Petrov ordered.

Even before she opened the cover, she was already stunned by the identity of the sender.

This letter has been written by the 4th Prince!

"Duke Osman Ryan used military force to invade the territory under the rule of the King, trying in vain to start a rebellion. Furthermore, the Duke had already been executed on the battlefield, and now Longsong Fortress was once again under the rule of the Kingdom. "

Did the duke lose? His heart sank as he began to read further.

"With exception of the die-hard members of the Duke’s guard, the most of the others had pleaded guilty. Normally treason against the royal family would be punished by death, but because of the His Highness’ kindness, only the leader was put to death for his evil crimes, however the others still cannot be pardoned. So the rest of the rebels will be handled in accordance with the war customs and will be held until their freedom can be bought. The Longsong Stronghold’s castle will be used as exchange point, the following people on this list's freedom can be bought."

The document was extremely awward phrased. It was not written with the diplomatic turn of phrase, but it was still able to express its meaning clearly – the Duke’s rebellion had failed, and if they wanted to free the prisoner they would have to offer money in exchange.

When Petrov’s read the names on the following list, he saw that his father’s name was impressive written in the first line.

"Guil!" He shut the housekeeper's name, "Prepare the carriage, I'm going to strongholds’ castle!"

...

The territory of Count Honeysuckle laid to the east of the stronghold, so when Petrov arrived at the castle area, it was already half an hour later. The Lord’s castle was full of the members of the “militia” who he had never seen before – they weren’t wearing any shiny armor, either were wearing any cloaks or bands, etc, instead they held a strange baton in their hands, with a kind of spear on the top. They just stood there in two near and tidy rows, with their heads high and their chests out, simply expressing their power in their imposing manner.

After he identified himself, Petrov was allowed into the park and he was then led by a guard towards the Great Hall of the castle.

This was a place he had already visited many times before, but when he entered it today, it seemed like he was entering a completely new territory. All the guards standing in the corridor were guards he had never seen before, no one smiled at him after he greeted them, they just stared back blankly. He was stopped by a knight in front of the entrance of the hall.

"Say your name."

"Petrov Hull," Petrov replied a little sadly, he did not like the tone of the interrogations of others, so he emphasized, "For you, this is Lord Hull."

"So," it seemed that his colleague did not accept the statement as truth, instead he only saw the parchment in his hand, "Shalafi Hull, Count Honeysuckle is ..."

"I'm Carter Lannis, the 4th Prince's Chief Knight. Please come with me to the side room first, we need to check if you have any weapons hidden in your body."

After a thorough search, only the Stone of Retaliation of God Petrov was taken by the guards.

"It's not a weapon" Petrov warned.

"Of course not" the knight nodded. "We will return it to you after the meeting.

He opened his mouth, but in the end, he did not say a word. Are they really going to return the stone to me? His God Retaliation Stone was one of the strongest types, with a value of at least fifty gold nobles, so he did not believe that the other party would not replace it with a broken stone. It doesn't matter, he thought, I'll take it as part of the ransom.

When he finally entered the hall, he saw the 4th Prince sitting on the throne writing something. When the prince raised his head, he had a shocked expression on his face, but then he laughed, "We meet once again, Mr. Ambassador."

It was still a familiar face and tone, making Petrov feel a little more relaxed, so he saluted him, "I extend my greetings to you, Your Majesty."

"Sit down," Roland said, raising his hand to offer his seat, "Most likely, you want to know what happened. I can tell you that your father wasn't hurt, he was the first to give up."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty," Petrov said quickly. "I don't know how much ransom Your Majesty wants, as long as my father can get out, I will immediately send all our money to you."

"I don't need money," Roland shook his finger. "I want cattle and people."

It was normal to want cattle, and even fifty years ago, when the conflict between the rulers had ended, most of the time the losers had to pay for the cattle and sheep, he said, a story like this was something he often read in books. But... People, what does that mean? "Your Majesty, the cattle, the sheep, the horses, of those who own much of Honeysuckle territory, as do the people..."

"Very simply, I need a mason, a mason, a carpenter, a farmer, a slave and so on," the Prince handed us a scroll, "You can pay us according to the numerical conversion above, as long as you can reach a total sum of three thousand it is enough." He smiled, at ease, This Count is what he captured the most knights, so he also had to pay the highest ransom. ”

Petrov spread the scroll across the table.

Written on it the names of all kinds of pets and professions of people, followed by numbers, such as: cow 3, sheep 2, handyman 10 and the like, he immediately understood the meaning of all this.

The value of three thousand is equal to a herd of a thousand cows or 300 masons is just enough to redeem his father. Of course, his territory could not afford to provide so many cattle and masons. But with this paper, he had so many possible combinations of items, so many choices. As a nobleman who had to work every day with trade, Petrov immediately realized, how much proficiency had been put on this list. Just a few days would be enough to calculate the optimal solution for the minimum cost for his territory that still met the requirement of three thousand points.

"Your Majesty, I can ..."

"One day, you only have one day," Roland stretched out his index finger, "This just means you have to make your choice in one day, after all, you cannot gather so many people and animals in three to four days. But I can't always stay here, at most I will stay here for a week, then I will go.”

"One day it ..." Petrov suddenly became so shocked that he looked at Roland with big eyes, "Wait, you just said ... that you want to leave?" What does this mean? If the Prince had not lied in the letter, then the Duke would have already died on the battlefield. With this Longsong Fortress now belonging to His Majesty. But now that he actually said that he wanted to leave, why would he want to return to that small and broken Border Town? No, it's not important! The key point was that if His Majesty were to leave, who would manage this majestic city? His mind becomes a stormy sea, will one of the Duke's children inherit the throne? When he thought of everything he knew, this did not seem like a possibility, after all, it was only a matter of time until they built up a new strength to avenge their father? Other than the Ryan family and the other five noble families, is there anyone else who can take over?

"Yes," Roland nodded. "I'll take the ransom and then I'll go back to Border Town."

Petrov's thoughts were suddenly filled with outrageous ideas, and as he thought about them, he was unable to suppress them.

"Your Majesty" Petrov began, then he had to swallow and could only whisper. "Excuse me, is there also a numerical value that can 'redeem' Longsong Stronghold?"