Chapter 4: CH-3
"My lord, my brother and I speak of the same mind, I don't understand what you mean,"
Rollo acted dumb, saying,
"What he really wanted to know was how far into the East we were going to raid this year."
"..."
Ragnar tried to maintain a normal expression; he was conscious that Rollo had changed, and he was most likely not doing this for no reason.
In the original story, before Rollo betrayed him and joined forces with Jarl Borg against him, his trust in people, particularly his older brother, was at its peak.
He said nothing and listened with a sharp, astute eye, waiting until later.
"Does your brother really speak for you, Ragnar Lothbrok? Why have I never heard of this?"
Haraldson chuckled mockingly and inquired, his gaze fixed on Ragnar, who was seated next to his brother, who stood.
Haraldson was no fool, so he questioned the prime person of interest, hoping to create a discord of opinions and uncover the truth.
Ragnar nodded intelligently and said,
"My brother does indeed speak for me, my lord. He used to prefer to stay in the background, until recently. But I trust him with both my word and my life."
Hearing Ragnar, the Kattegat townsfolk and others in the room looked at Rollo with curiosity, recalling recent battlefield rumors.
Haraldson had a disappointed expression on his face and said, bored, "Fine, then… Do any of you two dear brothers have anything else to bring up, or can we get this much-anticipated feast underway? My people look hungry and thirsty."
He mostly looked at and gestured at the tables of food and wine waiting, but his gaze lingered on the tall and strong Rollo for a moment as he spoke.
Rollo knew it wasn't over... But at least Ragnar was not targeted tonight.
With Ragnar's new permission, he spoke for both of them again, saying,
"Please stop jesting, my Lord; when do you need our consensus on anything? We are also hungry and thirsty subjects waiting to fill our stomachs with your kindness."
Haraldson smiled, whether nicely or not, and said,
"Then let us sit down and start feasting on that mouthwatering food! Everyone, enjoy! We'll discuss the raids afterward."
People from town and other parts of the earldom nodded loudly and happily before sitting down to eat and drink.
Rollo, his brother, and nephew were also enjoying a good supper when Ragnar asked him what he had been waiting to,
"What was that all about, brother?"
The room was large, and the tables were well-divided, so there was no need to be concerned about being heard.
Though, Rollo didn't care if he was heard; to him, it was just a cabbage problem.
He was conserving troops and population, which were the lifeblood of his nation.
He did not want to have to massacre most of the men in this room and the earl's troops.
Rollo, while eating a chicken leg, replied,
"The Earl is not who you think he is... He is a worse and more petulant man than you can imagine. I just saved not only you, but both of us, from having unnecessary migraines."
Bjorn ate well but listened.
His father inquired,
"What do you mean? Is he worse than we thought?"
Rollo nodded and said,
"It really doesn't matter how bad he is... You just need to understand that he will never allow you to sail west. If he learns of your intentions, he will undoubtedly try to hinder and have us killed. We can only accomplish our goals in secret or get rid of him directly."
"How do you know all of that?"
Ragnar inquired with confusion and curiosity.
Rollo teasingly replied,
"First, I can use my head better than you. I proved that. Second, I have my channels and credible sources. Lastly, if I have to live in your shadow for the rest of my life, you need to be able to rely on me when the times call for it... It kind of is the point of my existence."
Bjorn looked at his father, who said with amusement,
"You are indeed wiser than me, Rollo... I recently understood it, but what is this about living in my shadow? When did I ever ask you for that?"
Rollo replied,
"You never did… But the sun requires a moon. I'm taking on that role by myself. Two people cannot be king at the same time. I don't want to be king, either."
"King?"
Ragnar was taken aback,
"Who is going to be king?"
He was ambitious but had never even been an earl before; he was just the son of a farmer right now, and a good soldier.
"You, of course... Your son also. But that is far in the future. Let's eat quietly and discreetly and then leave."
Rollo wanted to use the word sons in plural, but he wanted to make Bjorn feel comfortable and not introduce the notion that there might be a fight for the position of prince and king in the future among Ragnar's sons, who had not even been born yet.
XX
The three men from the same family were finished feasting and preparing to leave, with Rollo enjoying some more wine and ale, surprising Ragnar and his nephew with how much he could drink.
Suddenly, someone approached their table and spoke on behalf of the Earl.
"Rollo Sigurdsson?" Earl Haraldson wishes to see you in his private quarters. Follow me."
It was a man carrying a sword at his waist.
He left no room for rebuttal or counterargument over the order of the earl.
Or so he thought.
Fortunately for him, Rollo loved his cabbages though…
He agreed to the order and said, standing with a napkin over his mouth,
"Lead the way."
Ragnar inquired with concern,
"Brother, did you do anything? What do you think this is about?"
Rollo shrugged,
"Who knows…"
He pretended that he had not the slightest clue in front of the earl's loyal dog ear.
"See you in a little while... Wait for me with Bjorn here."
Ragnar nodded, looking slightly concerned. It was funny to see him like this because in the original story, he smirked arrogantly when it was his turn.
The brother dynamic of who was more in charge between the two had changed, and so would the plot, it seemed.
After a short walk, at the door,
"My Lord, Rollo Sigurdsson is here,"
The dog barked for its master at the door.
"Enter."
Rollo stepped in without hesitation, appearing unconcerned.
The first scene greeting him was Haraldson eating with a fork and a knife, his eyes and attention focused solely on his plate, giving the impression of a relaxed great king dispassionate about unimportant matters.
He was doing his thing, as if he were following a routine he was comfortable with but not bored with, despite giving the false sensation of being so.
"Rollo Sigurdsson. Have a seat."
He said this after his guard, who had also entered the room, went to stand stationary in a corner.
People stood motionless in various corners of the small room, including his fat steward, like good watchful mutts.
"..."
Rollo said nothing and sat in front of him, amused internally by the plot's similarity.
"Do you want some?"
The earl pushed his plate of food in front of Rollo and invited him to take something from it.
Unlike Ragnar, Rollo refused, stating,
"I'm already very full thanks to you, my Lord. I wouldn't dare to eat from your plate anyway."
The words made everyone, including the earl, smile as Rollo passed the stupid little test.
Without insisting, the earl removed his plate from in front of Rollo and stated,
"Rollo, do you know why I called you here tonight?"
Rollo responded,
"I have no idea, my lord, but I am happy to serve however I can, if that is why I am here."
The earl nodded, satisfied, and said,
"I've heard about your great battlefield achievements in recent days. To be honest, I find some of them exaggerated... But no matter which of my soldiers I ask, the answers come back the same on your topic."
Rollo remained quiet.
The earl wasn't impatient and eyed him before asking,
"Are the rumors about you true? They claim you aren't a man. You are the god of war, Tyr."
Rollo chuckled; this world was strange and difficult to figure out; it was full of perplexing legends and Norse mythos, which sounded plausible because those Scandinavian seers appeared to be able to make prophecies; there were also eerie black birds at times.
Odin also seemed to roam the world and try to impregnate women, much like the lover boy Zeus.
Overall, people in this universe would often be forced to believe the legends; even during the future vikings raids of the plot, some Christians had to believe that Norse gods were real, if not more so than their own god.
Rollo replied humbly,
"I am only a man, my lord. The recent folktales about me are far too embellished."
Haraldson asked,
"Are they? They claim you have eyes on your back, can lash out at men on the front lines like a godly beast, and are invulnerable to both stab wounds and crowding incursions. They also argue that you can throw a spear a thousand feet away, while having it continue to sustain its momentum."
"If you are not fully a god, then what are you? A descendant of Odin, like your brother affirms?"
Rollo responded, denying,
"My Lord, I am just a man devoted to working for you. I admit that I seem to have the favor of the gods at times… Even so, those people's hallucinatory fabrications were made under the influence of post-war euphoria."
"If they dare to spread nonsense rumors again, I will hunt them down and kill them one by one until they stop disrespecting our gods by calling me the same."
He even offered to exterminate the ignorant heathens who spoke such nonsense.
Haraldson frowned and continued to press, but after Rollo kept himself humble throughout his search for answers, he decided to give up trying to figure out if the man was hiding cockiness behind his pretense that people were telling outlandish tales about him.
Haraldson didn't like people greater than him, but he seemed to hate even more those who displayed lack of humility and self-importance.
In his hawk-like eyes, he was the only most achieved, most respected and most outstanding man in his territory, the only weed that could stand out from the throng.
After some more discussion, he said, allowing Rollo to leave without incident,
"I believe you. You do not have to do what you mentioned, however... I don't want my people to argue and die over ridiculous issues. We are a free earldom; people can say whatever they want there. Even if it's some nonsense."
"Yes, my lord."
Rollo said happily and gratefully, then left.
After he had passed the door, the earl asked his fat steward,
"What do you think of him? Is he lying?"
The steward remarked,
"How could he? Although he is a great warrior, the ludicrous claims obviously ought to be an attack on him. Someone probably wants to pit him against you, my lord."
"Hmm… I am of the same belief."
After finishing his meal, Haraldson said,
"Whoever it is, it is most likely the same person who traitorously strangled my sons... If they are part of my people, as we suspected, let us not let them attain their unlawful goals."
Haraldson struck the table with his fist, making a bang sound!
"Once I catch these elusive mice, prayers will do little to alleviate the torture I will inflict upon them… Sending them directly to the slaughterhouse is not an option. My resentment for what they did to my sons would never go away so easily..."
He spoke the final sentence with a dark expression on his face.
He was a sad and vengeful man who had become deranged.
XX
'Being able to tame flies comes in handy…'
Outside the room of the earl, Rollo thought to himself.
He now had abilities that he had not used before and would not hesitate to use.
The Earl was persuaded.
That was all he was concerned about and needed to confirm through scouting.
After returning to Ragnar and Bjorn while keeping his secrets, he discussed what had happened and left with them.
They didn't go see the ugly seer.
Not yet.
Rollo did not need to be afraid since he could hide his fate.
The next morning, they left Kattegat early and traveled to Floki's house in the woods.
Floki and Helga had not yet become a thing.
Floki didn't even know a Helga, apparently…
Still, they were here to talk about ships, not women, so the conversation turned to that.
On his way, Rollo was horny and was of the idea to disguise himself as Floki to fuck Helga if she happened to be here, but it seemed that he would not have to test Floki's loyalty and allegiance to the gods in this life…
Rollo had become a magical expert at torture, but now he didn't have to stab Floki and give him a child who wasn't his.
Rollo did not want his children to be unaware that he was their father.
He wanted to raise his children, of course.
Moreover, using disguises to accomplish this sort of sexy thing sounded more captivating when real enemies and their women were the other side of the equation.
Floki had never been a true enemy of Rollo, not even in the story; he had no chance in battle against the normal Rollo; Floki was simply someone who was too much in Ragnar's ear compared to his real brother.
He, like Haraldson, enjoyed seeing enemies everywhere, but he was usually likable, comical, and unobtrusive.
The new Rollo didn't take him seriously at all, and even wanted him as his best friend.
Ragnar would still have Athelstan, the true and only real love of his life, who understood and empathized with him.
He was first ballot, first expedition slave.
Rollo was happy to welcome him in their group in this life, but he would first make him a eunuch to be safe.
Why?
Why not?
Since when did priests who made vows of chastity need to have a penis?
Rollo was not Ragnar, and he recognized the risks of treating slaves well.
When they were men.
Athelstan did not need to cuck anyone in this life.
Athelstan was a virgin, so he would have no clue what he was going to miss out on.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
daoistgingerale
daoistgingerale Like it ? Add to library！
Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone