"God of Light above, who brought that fellow here?"
"My goodness, did she just finish an entire turkey?"
"How vulgar, how rude..."
The people in Viscount Milangell's mansion looked in shock at Iyanna, who was sweeping through the food like a whirlwind scattering remaining clouds.
She was inhaling almost every piece of food her small hands could touch... and she was only staring at the meat.
"This is truly… quite an appetite."
Viscount Milangell's mustache twitched in shock.
Although Lynn, who was sitting to his right, was also gorging himself at this moment, the visual impact of the other was still too strong.
At first, when Viscount Milangell heard Lynn tactfully ask if the girl accompanying him could be allowed to dine with them, he readily agreed.
After all, the other party had traveled a long distance, and seeing how close they appeared to be, he assumed that she was one of the few people this former Count of Lion's Ridge could rely on after the incident with the Elcasinoreas family.
In that case, adding one more set of cutlery was no big deal.
Moreover, perhaps this seemingly plainly dressed young girl had also once been a member of some status within that behemoth of a noble family.
Whether in terms of expense or etiquette, such permission should pose no major problem…
At least, that was what he had thought at first.
But facts proved that this might not be the case.
"My Lord, shall we serve another round of dishes?"
A servant of the Viscount's mansion cautiously leaned close to Milangell and asked in a low voice.
"Of course."
The Viscount's eyelids twitched, but he still nodded just as he had the previous two times.
"This has truly caused you great expense, Lord Milangell."
Moving elegantly but with extremely fast hand speed, Lynn, whose mouth was already gleaming with grease from eating, offered his praise as such.
"Please don’t be too surprised or blame her for her lack of manners, My Lord.
Blackstone Fief has recently encountered some minor food troubles, and this one from my family here has an appetite that’s just a little bit larger than normal."
Just a little bit?
Milangell couldn't help but smile as he lowered his head to take a bite of the beef on his plate.
He didn't feel heartache over the cost of this bit of food. On the contrary, he felt that the meal was much more appetizing than usual.
However, he quickly pondered over a certain meaning in Lynn's words.
"Minor food troubles. What do you mean?"
Lynn put down his knife and fork and sighed.
"Alas, My Lord may not know, but our food has always been supplied by the Golden Ear Merchant Guild of your esteemed city, since Blackstone Fief isn’t suitable for farming.
However, recently, for certain reasons, they’ve refused to sell food to us, which has led to a food shortage in Blackstone Fief."
The Golden Ear Merchant Guild's refusal to trade and Blackstone Fief's food shortage were both facts, but the causal relationship wasn’t as Lynn had stated. However, this wasn’t important.
Arranging existing facts in an appropriate manner to achieve one's desired goal— this was the art of language.
"I’ve heard that the owner of that merchant guild has a relationship with the Viscount. I wonder if you could mediate the situation between us?"
Lynn didn’t expose the matter of the tax evasion because that would be considered directly tearing away all pretense of cordiality.
If he truly pushed that fat pig into a corner, and the other party became dead set on cutting off their supplies to the point of using the power of money to cut off other grain supply channels, Blackstone Fief would have a hard time outlasting them.
At that time, unless the Viscount was willing to help him completely confiscate the other party's property, they would still be the ones with no food to eat.
The current situation could still be considered the phase of exchanging harsh words. As long as the Viscount stepped in, there should presumably still be room for mediation.
Lynn didn’t like doing things that harmed others without benefiting himself because there was no positive return, and it could also lead to a potential increase in costs.
However, if some fellow insisted on harming his interests, then he would absolutely do his utmost to bite the other party to death.
"Dawson?"
To Lynn's surprise, upon hearing his statement, the Viscount's face, which had originally been smiling because of Iyanna's table manners, changed to one of difficulty.
He even clearly caught a hint of apprehension... and a trace of disgust?
Speaking of which, Dawson had said that his older brother was the Viscount's father-in-law.
However, the Viscount's wife and children weren’t at the dining table.
Lynn was particularly curious about what exactly had happened to them.
Was this some kind of gossiping instinct?
Seemingly sensing the blazing fire of curiosity in Lynn's eyes, Viscount Milangell sighed.
"Dawson isn’t difficult to deal with. But his older brother, Baron Rose... How should I put it? He’s very tricky."
The Viscount set down his half-eaten slice of steak.
"If this matter is Dawson's own idea, then I can help you resolve it.
But if it's not just his idea, then it’ll be difficult to handle."
Hearing this sentence, Lynn felt relieved.
Because clearly, this matter was just a grudge between himself and that fat pig.
It couldn't possibly be that he would have any conflict with a Baron Rose who had absolutely nothing to do with him, right?
Impossible, absolutely impossible
Thus, a well-fed and elated Lynn expressed his satisfaction.
"In that case, then we won't disturb you any longer. We’ll go back and await My Lord's good news...
Oh right, there’s one more thing."
Seeing Lynn suddenly become serious, the Viscount couldn't help but sit up straight.
"What else is there?"
"Um, the unfinished food, can we pack it up and take it with us?"
"...You... can."
"My my, Iyanna, hurry up and thank the Lord Viscount!"
"Mmm! Thank you, Lord Bishcount!"
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"Who... Who are you people?"
Looking at the leader of his bodyguards lying in a pool of blood, Dawson, the fat all over his body trembling, shrank behind the counter.
In his line of sight, several tall figures wearing black cloaks stood with a terrifying sense of oppression.
They stepped over the messy hall and the fallen bodyguards, slowly walking toward him.
"Eek! Don't... Don't come any closer!"
But just as they approached the trembling Dawson, who had raised his arms, they neatly parted to both sides.
"Inferior and filthy human."
A voice as cold as ice and snow echoed from among the men, along with a figure wearing a pure white cloak.
"Answer me, where did you transport my subjects to?"
Under the shadow of the hood, Dawson saw a pair of blood-red pupils.
"I don't know... I really don't know...
They... They gave me money... and then I lent them the convoy...
I really don't know anything..."
Dawson felt his thighs become damp and hot for some reason, and tears and snot flowed down his fat-covered face at this moment.
"Please, I beg you, let me go..."
"Then answer one more question for me. Who do you think would know?"
Hearing this sentence, Dawson, as if having caught a lifesaving straw, immediately spoke.
"I'll tell! I'll tell! The one who knows the inside story is definitely my... Urgh... Urgh..."
As a small knife flying from behind pierced Dawson's throat, the second half of his sentence was muffled by the overflowing fresh blood.
He turned his head in disbelief, then his eyes widened, and finally he mouthed a name—
"Paul..."
And then, he completely stopped breathing.
"Miss! Step back! The opponent's Battle Aura isn’t ordinary!"
As the black-robed men formed a vigilant protective formation…
A figure slowly walked out from the shadows.
It was precisely the thin apprentice, Paul.
"...I’m only responsible for silencing him… Let me go."
He rolled up his sleeves, and his seemingly long and thin forearms revealed muscular edges as hard as granite.
And on the inner side of his left arm, a bizarre pattern shockingly appeared.
A twisted, coiled red snake
Seeing that pattern, the red pupils beneath the white robe abruptly contracted.
"So it's the Blood Snake Society again? Truly lingering ghosts that refuse to disperse. Kill him."
"As you command, Miss Ai'na."
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