Chapter 176: Catherine's Refusal!

The Iron Ore Master spoke only to the point, saying no more once he reached that limit.

Fearing he might bring trouble upon himself, he bowed deeply to Gervas, then boarded a carriage and left the mine.

"This... how can this fellow speak such nonsense? He has absolutely no professional ethics!" Old John's face changed drastically, fearing Gervas would be angered.

After all, this was the very first day preparations were made to begin excavating the ore.

An Ore Master questioning the mine's reserves—wasn't that deliberately pouring cold water on the situation?

Earlier, my lord had stated that the results came from Zuiyue's investigation.

Therefore, my lord certainly could not be wrong.

However, Gervas was certainly not angry; he smiled and said, "Old John, this Ore Master is excellent. If the territory has such work in the future, we can still hire him!"

The subordinates did not know Lord Pa Ke had fabricated the data, but Gervas did.

To falsify the ore reserves, Lord Pa Ke had carefully disguised the mine tunnels.

The fact that this Ore Master was willing to reveal some information despite the risk of trouble shows his professional ethics are quite good.

Moreover, the fact that he could, amidst interference, locate two tunnels leading to the main vein demonstrates he possesses some skill.

Old John was somewhat bewildered, but upon hearing this, he still responded, "Yes, my lord!"

"By the way, today is a joyous day for opening the mine. Tonight, every miner will receive a bowl of meat, and black bread will be available freely; we must make them happy too!"

"Yes, my lord. The miners will feel happy because of your benevolence!"

The Hernand Duke family is located on the eastern side of the kingdom, bordering the ocean, with hundreds of miles of coastline.

Although for many small families, bordering the ocean means danger.

For the Hernand family, however, it became an unparalleled foundation for maritime trade.

Relying on the ocean, the Hernand family's ships are scattered across the Bodia Peninsula, the South Hurricane Archipelago, and even further northeast to the Snowy Nations.

The Hernand family resides in Blue Sea City, a scale so vast it is no smaller than the royal palace.

"It's out! The results are out!"

A sudden cry of shock rang out from the outer living room into the luxurious inner chamber.

Inside the inner living room, which was larger than the banquet hall of her own viscount's castle, Catherine's body trembled slightly, and a hint of unease appeared on her Bai Xi face.

It was not worry that she would fail to climb up to the famous Hernand Duke family through this opportunity.

Rather, she worried: if the bloodline test were confirmed and she truly became a child of the Hernand family, what then?

How would she face this completely unfamiliar grandfather and family at that time?

Although she had only lived here for a few short days, Catherine had already vaguely sensed the complexity and undercurrents within this ducal family.

Soon, the castle steward hurriedly entered the inner chamber from the outer living room.

Hernand Duke, whose hair had already turned slightly gray, rarely showed a look of concern, asking, "What are the results!"

His tone revealed no emotion, yet he commanded awe without anger.

"Your Grace, according to the magical measurement by the court mage, Young Lady Catherine contains abundant Hernand family bloodline; she is your direct bloodline descendant!"

Boom!

The Hernand family children, who had previously displayed various expressions, suddenly stirred, all looking at Catherine with different looks.

"Let me see!"

Hernand Duke took the evidence; it was a test tube filled with deep golden liquid.

In the past, Hernand Duke had heard of and seen bloodline tests from other families.

That involved adding the blood of two people into a test tube.

A mage would cast the Bloodline Truth Spell; if the two drops of blood merged and appeared golden-yellow, it meant the two drops shared a bloodline connection.

And the deeper the golden color, the closer the bloodline connection.

And the golden-yellow color in this test tube at this moment undoubtedly indicated the close connection possessed only by a three-generation bloodline.

"Catherine!"

On Hernand's majestic face, softness actually appeared.

And it was this soft expression that made the hearts of the surrounding Hernand family children grow even more active.

"Sister Catherine, quickly pay your respects and greet grandfather; you truly are our Hernand family's bloodline!"

"That's right. Grandfather has five sons in total, but not a single daughter; your mother was grandfather's only daughter, and you are also our Hernand family's only granddaughter."

"Catherine, my name is Bunado. From now on, I am your older brother; you can come to me for any matter!"

But facing the surrounding noise, Catherine became increasingly uneasy.

Seeing this, Hernand Duke immediately scolded, "All of you, shut up!"

As the hall fell silent, Hernand Duke then spoke softly, "Catherine, back then I owed your grandmother, and I also owed your mother!"

"But they are no longer here; I can no longer make amends. However, since you are my Hernand granddaughter, then I will compensate you doubly!"

Next, Catherine was directly recorded into the Hernand Duke family genealogy.

Furthermore, to better compensate Catherine, Hernand Duke stated he could grant her a territory the size of a viscount's fiefdom from the ducal lands.

One must know this is a territory in the heartland of the kingdom.

At least no one has been granted a new fiefdom in this heartland for several decades.

One can imagine the value of this viscount's fiefdom.

However, just as all the children looked at Catherine with envy, Catherine suddenly shook her head.

"Thank you, grandfather, but I do not want the territory; I still wish to stay in Violet Territory!"

Hernand Duke frowned.

All the other children looked at Catherine as if she were a fool.

"Catherine, if you are worried about the Violet Family's estates, rest assured, I will arrange personnel to look after them for you; from now on, that place will still be your territory!"

"When you marry and have children later, send your second son to inherit it."

Duke Hernandez still thought Catherine was worried about the Violet Family's territory.

But finding that Catherine still refused, she said, "Thank you, Grandfather, I... I still want to stay in the Violet Family's territory!"

Duke Hernandez looked deeply at Catherine, but did not press further.

"Very well, then you may stay in the Violet Family's territory for now; my promise just made will remain, and whenever you figure it out, you may bring it up with me again!"

"Besides, since you are my granddaughter, your safety is also very important; I heard you were kidnapped before, so I will assign a cavalry unit to you!"

Immediately, Duke Hernandez bestowed countless items upon Catherine.

Their combined total value already reached three or four thousand gold coins.

This made the various family heirs extremely envious.

"Peter, go investigate later why Catherine refuses to leave the Violet Family's territory?"

"Is it truly simple reluctance, or is it because of some other person or thing!"

Duke Hernandez, old and cunning, deduced some possibilities in just a moment.

Especially Catherine's change of expression earlier.

She had been slightly surprised at first, but as if thinking of something, her eyes immediately became firm as she refused him.

Therefore, he deduced that there was likely some other reason involved.