Chapter 368: 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 (12)

“I will go myself.”

“. . .!”

The merchants were honestly surprised when the Count said he would go in person. They thought he would be a bit more stubborn. He was so adamant about not sending any troops that they thought he would either hold out until the end or hide inside the castle walls and pick them off.

‘𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵.’

‘𝘖𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘴.’

“You people from the republic need to help me!”

“What power do we have. . .”

“This won’t do, that won’t do! If you’re going to do business on my land, you have to pay a fair price. You all act so selfish and shameless!”

‘𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭.’

It was ridiculous to get angry at the harmless republic merchants after taking all their taxes.

However, a cornered rat is the most dangerous. The merchants decided to avoid provoking the Count unnecessarily.

“We understand, Count. We will do our best to help you.”

“That’s it. That’s what I wanted to hear. I’ll leave the task of explaining this misunderstanding to His Highness, the Duke.”

“Yes, I understand. I will do my best, as my connection with the Count runs deep.”

After the conversation ended, the servant asked the merchant who was walking out, sounding worried.

“Master, His Highness the Duke was apparently quite angry. If you defend the Count for nothing and end up suffering great losses. . .”

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of defending him.”

“. . .!”

The Count was still mistaken. Of course, it was a special privilege for the merchants to be able to travel around the fiefdom, but compared to the Duke, they were expendable.

It was better to just abandon the Count rather than make an enemy of the Duke.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Johan was puzzled when not only republic ships, but also ships flying Count Oldor’s flag appeared in the harbor.

“Did the republic people go and capture him?”

“Were the republic mercenaries that conscientious?”

“Well no, not really.”

Johan replied immediately to Mackald’s question. The dwarf smiled wryly.

“After interrogating the noblemen who rebelled, we heard that they gathered people under the Count’s flag. At the very least, he must have supported them to some extent, don’t you think?”

“Well, it’s a bit much to hold him accountable for that.”

When the exact situation in the empire was unknown, they had no choice but to assume the worst and respond accordingly. Johan had thought that the Count might have landed and led an army.

However, it turned out that the rebels were a ragtag bunch (even the reason they gathered was due to absurd rumors), and the Count’s army was nowhere to be seen.

It was a little suspicious, but Johan was willing to let it go. He was quite lenient when it came to things that didn’t benefit him.

But then the Count came sailing in on a ship.

“Do you think he’s trying to attack the harbor again in cahoots with the republic mercenaries?”

“That’s a bit too far-fetched.”

“Or maybe he captured the republic ships and is planning to disguise himself and launch a surprise attack?”

“If that were the case, he would have taken down the Count’s flag.”

Johan said that, but he didn’t let his guard down. The eyes of the soldiers patrolling the fiefdom were sharp and focused, as the rebellion had only just occurred.

The dwarves aimed their ballistae, and the centaurs prepared to charge in case of an emergency. They were confident that they could repel anyone who tried to land.

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐝━

The ship came to a stop, and a man who appeared to be the Count disembarked with his attendants. The Count had a thick beard and slightly sunken eyes. Johan was even more surprised by the fact that the Count had come all the way here himself.

‘. . .𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.’

“Just in case, take their weapons.”

“Yes, sir.”

The dwarves rushed forward. The attendants cried out in alarm as the heavily armed dwarven soldiers approached.

“Your Highness! It is not customary to detain an envoy as a prisoner! Please, hear us out!”

“. . .I’m just here to collect his weapons.”

“. . .Oh. Yes. Here you go.”

The attendants turned red and handed over the weapons as the dwarf looked at them incredulously. The Count, who was standing behind them, averted his gaze, looking embarrassed.

“Count Oldor.”

“Your Highness! This is an outrage!”

‘𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.’

Now that he was face to face with the Count, Johan became certain that he was somewhat involved. Someone who was truly upright and honest would not have made that kind of expression.

While Johan was lost in thought, the Count kept making excuses.

He said that he never would have thought the nobles here would use his name, that they must have misunderstood something after he invited them to a few banquets, and that he would never dare to make light of His Highness the Duke’s fiefdom. . .

‘𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦? 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥.’

Johan didn’t think the Count was that stupid. However, surprisingly, many people in the world deliberately believed the rumors they wanted to believe.

Johan turned his head. The republic nobles who had come with him were standing nearby.

“What do you all think?”

The Count’s face lit up. Judging from the Duke’s attitude, it was clear that he intended to ask the republic’s people and leave the judgment to them.

‘𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥. . .!’

Wasn’t that why he had brought the republic people with him? The Count breathed a sigh of relief.

“We will abide by His Highness the Duke’s judgment. We would never dare to interfere.”

“. . .?!??”

The Count looked at the republic’s people with an expression as if he had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer. However, the nobles from the republic didn’t even glance at him.

“H. . .Hey, guys.”

“Well, do you have anything to say? Is there anything you can guess?”

“The Count did hire additional mercenaries and gather weapons.”

“Bastard!”

The Count tried to grab the republic people by the collar out of anger, but before he could move, the dwarf’s blade was pointed at him. The dwarven mercenary said curtly.

“Your Excellency, if you make any sudden movements, you may get hurt.”

“. . . . . .”

The Count glared at him fiercely, but that didn’t change anything. Johan took advantage of the opportunity to speak up.

“Take the Count into custody. We will hold a trial in court.”

“Your Highness!! Your Highness!!! No! This is an outrage!!”

Johan turned away, his expression filled with anguish. As the Count was dragged away by the dwarves, the centaur next to him said.

“You can relax now that he’s been taken away.”

“Thank you.”

Johan returned to his usual expression. He didn’t particularly hate the Count enough to want to cut off his head at this opportunity, and he had planned to take him hostage and ransom him off while he was at it.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“This lamp is truly a mysterious lamp.”

“Is there a genie inside that grants wishes?”

“Where would you find a lamp like that?”

“. . . . . .”

When Jyanina’s face fell slightly, Johan quickly changed the subject.

“Well, I suppose there could be such a genie. Your imagination is truly amazing.”

“. . . . . .”

Jyanina’s face turned even paler when Johan complimented her. Johan was starting to get annoyed.

‘𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦.’

She gets scared if I don’t compliment her, and she gets scared if I do. . .

Johan was currently touring the warehouse of the ship that had arrived from the East with a wizard.

The ships were entering the harbor one after another after the expedition, and each time, they drew cheers from the people gathered at the harbor.

When they saw the mercenaries and expedition members disembarking with all sorts of exotic treasures hanging from their bodies, even the merchants who held high positions in their guilds would rush out to greet them and try to entertain them.

And Johan kept aside the magical items that contained an aura of mystery from among those treasures. He planned to give one of them to Jyanina as a gift for her contributions.

“This lamp emits a light that is only visible to the person holding it, so it would be quite useful when you are staying at the palace.”

“Wow. . . That must be very expensive. . . I mean, it’s a beautiful item.”

‘𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘳𝘺?’

Johan decided to just look around separately instead of explaining it to Jyanina. In fact, there were quite a few treasures that even Johan didn’t recognize. Since they had gathered so many, Johan had taken a look at them once.

‘𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.’

It would make a good gift not only for the wizards, but also for Amien, Amien’s friend, and Ardolata, the third daughter of Viscount Ginolen.

“This is interesting. Do you know what this is?”

Johan took out a candle that was carefully wrapped in silk. It was an item that the eastern wizards had diligently written an explanation on in the ancient empire language. Jyanina cursed the wizards inwardly.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. . .’

“Apparently, it’s a candle that detects evil. It says that the flame will go out if an evil person approaches. Should we try it out?”

“N-No, that’s fine. It seems like an item that would be more useful for Your Highness than for me.”

“Maybe I’ll give it to Amien as a gift. . .”

Johan lit the evil-detecting candle. The green flame burned with a strange fragrance. Johan held it for a while before extinguishing it with his fingers.

Just then, Jyanina took a step towards Johan. Jyanina was startled to see that the candle’s flame had gone out. The dwarves who were with them stared at Jyanina intently.

“I put it out.”

“. . .R-Really. . .! Is that so?!”

Jyanina took a few steps back in a hurry. The dwarves asked suspiciously.

“Are you sure it was Your Highness who put it out?”

“. . . . . .”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

In the jade box, there is an ointment that heals wounds; a silver bell whose flimsy lock could be broken with a shake; an assassination weapon that looks like an ordinary bottle, but releases a deadly poison if broken. . .

‘𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴.’

In the past, he would have taken them thinking, ‘𝘐𝘵’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?’. But now, he honestly believed that his trained fingers were more reliable than those things.

━𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲.

━𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞. 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐬.

Johan had a conversation with Countess Abner before he came. It was before the news of the rebellion had arrived.

━𝐈 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐛𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭.

━𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐭.

━𝐈’𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬.

Johan’s expression darkened. It was as though she were appealing, ‘𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦?’ Countess Abner continued speaking as though she were slightly taken aback.

━. . .𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞.

━𝐀𝐡. 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞.

The Countess was taken aback at the sight of the Duke softening his stance. Whenever she saw something like that, she couldn’t believe that it was the same person that she knew.

He’s clearly an up-and-coming young man with no equal among the Empire’s nobles. . .

━𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭?

━𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬’𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩.

━𝐀𝐡𝐚. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧.

━. . .𝐍𝐨.

━𝐍𝐨?

Johan looked puzzled.

━𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫?

━𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

The Countess replied with a smirk. To nobles, lovers were not treated equally. They were beings that could be thrown away whenever they grew tired of them.

━𝐀 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞-𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐠.

━𝐎𝐡. . . 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚.

Johan actively agreed. Ulrike, who would insult the Countess whenever she opened her mouth, wouldn’t insult her for at least a week if she received an expensive gift.

If she still doesn’t calm down after that, then it can’t be helped, but shouldn’t she at least try something?

━𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞-𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .

━?

━𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. ‘𝐀 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥. . .’ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬?

━𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

━𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭! 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞-𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐝𝐨? 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

━𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞-𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐠. 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭.

The Countess smiled at Johan’s cool acceptance. In fact, someone of the Duke’s stature could have refused to be bothered with such a bothersome and trivial matter.

The fact that he was accepting it without much thought was a symbol in itself.

━𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨. . . 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞-𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠?

━. . .𝐍𝐨. 𝐈 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫.

At Johan’s expression, which was becoming generous again, Countess Abner seriously wondered why God favored this man so much.

,

“I will go myself.”

“. . .!”

The merchants were honestly surprised when the Count said he would go in person. They thought he would be a bit more stubborn. He was so adamant about not sending any troops that they thought he would either hold out until the end or hide inside the castle walls and pick them off.

‘𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵.’

‘𝘖𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘴.’

“You people from the republic need to help me!”

“What power do we have. . .”

“This won’t do, that won’t do! If you’re going to do business on my land, you have to pay a fair price. You all act so selfish and shameless!”

‘𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘹𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭.’

It was ridiculous to get angry at the harmless republic merchants after taking all their taxes.

However, a cornered rat is the most dangerous. The merchants decided to avoid provoking the Count unnecessarily.

“We understand, Count. We will do our best to help you.”

“That’s it. That’s what I wanted to hear. I’ll leave the task of explaining this misunderstanding to His Highness, the Duke.”

“Yes, I understand. I will do my best, as my connection with the Count runs deep.”

After the conversation ended, the servant asked the merchant who was walking out, sounding worried.

“Master, His Highness the Duke was apparently quite angry. If you defend the Count for nothing and end up suffering great losses. . .”

“Don’t worry. I have no intention of defending him.”

“. . .!”

The Count was still mistaken. Of course, it was a special privilege for the merchants to be able to travel around the fiefdom, but compared to the Duke, they were expendable.

It was better to just abandon the Count rather than make an enemy of the Duke.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Johan was puzzled when not only republic ships, but also ships flying Count Oldor’s flag appeared in the harbor.

“Did the republic people go and capture him?”

“Were the republic mercenaries that conscientious?”

“Well no, not really.”

Johan replied immediately to Mackald’s question. The dwarf smiled wryly.

“After interrogating the noblemen who rebelled, we heard that they gathered people under the Count’s flag. At the very least, he must have supported them to some extent, don’t you think?”

“Well, it’s a bit much to hold him accountable for that.”

When the exact situation in the empire was unknown, they had no choice but to assume the worst and respond accordingly. Johan had thought that the Count might have landed and led an army.

However, it turned out that the rebels were a ragtag bunch (even the reason they gathered was due to absurd rumors), and the Count’s army was nowhere to be seen.

It was a little suspicious, but Johan was willing to let it go. He was quite lenient when it came to things that didn’t benefit him.

But then the Count came sailing in on a ship.

“Do you think he’s trying to attack the harbor again in cahoots with the republic mercenaries?”

“That’s a bit too far-fetched.”

“Or maybe he captured the republic ships and is planning to disguise himself and launch a surprise attack?”

“If that were the case, he would have taken down the Count’s flag.”

Johan said that, but he didn’t let his guard down. The eyes of the soldiers patrolling the fiefdom were sharp and focused, as the rebellion had only just occurred.

The dwarves aimed their ballistae, and the centaurs prepared to charge in case of an emergency. They were confident that they could repel anyone who tried to land.

𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐝━

The ship came to a stop, and a man who appeared to be the Count disembarked with his attendants. The Count had a thick beard and slightly sunken eyes. Johan was even more surprised by the fact that the Count had come all the way here himself.

‘. . .𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.’

“Just in case, take their weapons.”

“Yes, sir.”

The dwarves rushed forward. The attendants cried out in alarm as the heavily armed dwarven soldiers approached.

“Your Highness! It is not customary to detain an envoy as a prisoner! Please, hear us out!”

“. . .I’m just here to collect his weapons.”

“. . .Oh. Yes. Here you go.”

The attendants turned red and handed over the weapons as the dwarf looked at them incredulously. The Count, who was standing behind them, averted his gaze, looking embarrassed.

“Count Oldor.”

“Your Highness! This is an outrage!”

‘𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.’

Now that he was face to face with the Count, Johan became certain that he was somewhat involved. Someone who was truly upright and honest would not have made that kind of expression.

While Johan was lost in thought, the Count kept making excuses.

He said that he never would have thought the nobles here would use his name, that they must have misunderstood something after he invited them to a few banquets, and that he would never dare to make light of His Highness the Duke’s fiefdom. . .

‘𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦? 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥.’

Johan didn’t think the Count was that stupid. However, surprisingly, many people in the world deliberately believed the rumors they wanted to believe.

Johan turned his head. The republic nobles who had come with him were standing nearby.

“What do you all think?”

The Count’s face lit up. Judging from the Duke’s attitude, it was clear that he intended to ask the republic’s people and leave the judgment to them.

‘𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥. . .!’

Wasn’t that why he had brought the republic people with him? The Count breathed a sigh of relief.

“We will abide by His Highness the Duke’s judgment. We would never dare to interfere.”

“. . .?!??”

The Count looked at the republic’s people with an expression as if he had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer. However, the nobles from the republic didn’t even glance at him.

“H. . .Hey, guys.”

“Well, do you have anything to say? Is there anything you can guess?”

“The Count did hire additional mercenaries and gather weapons.”

“Bastard!”

The Count tried to grab the republic people by the collar out of anger, but before he could move, the dwarf’s blade was pointed at him. The dwarven mercenary said curtly.

“Your Excellency, if you make any sudden movements, you may get hurt.”

“. . . . . .”

The Count glared at him fiercely, but that didn’t change anything. Johan took advantage of the opportunity to speak up.

“Take the Count into custody. We will hold a trial in court.”

“Your Highness!! Your Highness!!! No! This is an outrage!!”

Johan turned away, his expression filled with anguish. As the Count was dragged away by the dwarves, the centaur next to him said.

“You can relax now that he’s been taken away.”

“Thank you.”

Johan returned to his usual expression. He didn’t particularly hate the Count enough to want to cut off his head at this opportunity, and he had planned to take him hostage and ransom him off while he was at it.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“This lamp is truly a mysterious lamp.”

“Is there a genie inside that grants wishes?”

“Where would you find a lamp like that?”

“. . . . . .”

When Jyanina’s face fell slightly, Johan quickly changed the subject.

“Well, I suppose there could be such a genie. Your imagination is truly amazing.”

“. . . . . .”

Jyanina’s face turned even paler when Johan complimented her. Johan was starting to get annoyed.

‘𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦.’

She gets scared if I don’t compliment her, and she gets scared if I do. . .

Johan was currently touring the warehouse of the ship that had arrived from the East with a wizard.

The ships were entering the harbor one after another after the expedition, and each time, they drew cheers from the people gathered at the harbor.

When they saw the mercenaries and expedition members disembarking with all sorts of exotic treasures hanging from their bodies, even the merchants who held high positions in their guilds would rush out to greet them and try to entertain them.

And Johan kept aside the magical items that contained an aura of mystery from among those treasures. He planned to give one of them to Jyanina as a gift for her contributions.

“This lamp emits a light that is only visible to the person holding it, so it would be quite useful when you are staying at the palace.”

“Wow. . . That must be very expensive. . . I mean, it’s a beautiful item.”

‘𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘫𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘳𝘺?’

Johan decided to just look around separately instead of explaining it to Jyanina. In fact, there were quite a few treasures that even Johan didn’t recognize. Since they had gathered so many, Johan had taken a look at them once.

‘𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵, 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.’

It would make a good gift not only for the wizards, but also for Amien, Amien’s friend, and Ardolata, the third daughter of Viscount Ginolen.

“This is interesting. Do you know what this is?”

Johan took out a candle that was carefully wrapped in silk. It was an item that the eastern wizards had diligently written an explanation on in the ancient empire language. Jyanina cursed the wizards inwardly.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. . .’

“Apparently, it’s a candle that detects evil. It says that the flame will go out if an evil person approaches. Should we try it out?”

“N-No, that’s fine. It seems like an item that would be more useful for Your Highness than for me.”

“Maybe I’ll give it to Amien as a gift. . .”

Johan lit the evil-detecting candle. The green flame burned with a strange fragrance. Johan held it for a while before extinguishing it with his fingers.

Just then, Jyanina took a step towards Johan. Jyanina was startled to see that the candle’s flame had gone out. The dwarves who were with them stared at Jyanina intently.

“I put it out.”

“. . .R-Really. . .! Is that so?!”

Jyanina took a few steps back in a hurry. The dwarves asked suspiciously.

“Are you sure it was Your Highness who put it out?”

“. . . . . .”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

In the jade box, there is an ointment that heals wounds; a silver bell whose flimsy lock could be broken with a shake; an assassination weapon that looks like an ordinary bottle, but releases a deadly poison if broken. . .

‘𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴.’

In the past, he would have taken them thinking, ‘𝘐𝘵’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?’. But now, he honestly believed that his trained fingers were more reliable than those things.

━𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲.

━𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞. 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐬.

Johan had a conversation with Countess Abner before he came. It was before the news of the rebellion had arrived.

━𝐈 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐛𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭.

━𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐭.

━𝐈’𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬.

Johan’s expression darkened. It was as though she were appealing, ‘𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦?’ Countess Abner continued speaking as though she were slightly taken aback.

━. . .𝐎𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞.

━𝐀𝐡. 𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞.

The Countess was taken aback at the sight of the Duke softening his stance. Whenever she saw something like that, she couldn’t believe that it was the same person that she knew.

He’s clearly an up-and-coming young man with no equal among the Empire’s nobles. . .

━𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭?

━𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬’𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩.

━𝐀𝐡𝐚. 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧.

━. . .𝐍𝐨.

━𝐍𝐨?

Johan looked puzzled.

━𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫?

━𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.

The Countess replied with a smirk. To nobles, lovers were not treated equally. They were beings that could be thrown away whenever they grew tired of them.

━𝐀 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞-𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐠.

━𝐎𝐡. . . 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚.

Johan actively agreed. Ulrike, who would insult the Countess whenever she opened her mouth, wouldn’t insult her for at least a week if she received an expensive gift.

If she still doesn’t calm down after that, then it can’t be helped, but shouldn’t she at least try something?

━𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞-𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .

━?

━𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. ‘𝐀 𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥. . .’ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬?

━𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

━𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭! 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞-𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐝𝐨? 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫.

━𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞-𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐠. 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭.

The Countess smiled at Johan’s cool acceptance. In fact, someone of the Duke’s stature could have refused to be bothered with such a bothersome and trivial matter.

The fact that he was accepting it without much thought was a symbol in itself.

━𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨. . . 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐔𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞-𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠?

━. . .𝐍𝐨. 𝐈 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫.

At Johan’s expression, which was becoming generous again, Countess Abner seriously wondered why God favored this man so much.