Vol. 1 - Ch. 22 - The Slave Trade is Too Inefficient!

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【Favorability: -10 (As expected, he's here. I've finally found him)】

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Was it his imagination?

Or was he opening the door with the wrong posture?

Lynn quickly shut the door.

Then, he switched to his left hand and once again carefully pulled open a crack in the door.

The scene hadn’t changed at all. The familiar face appeared once again, and her expression seemed even more terrifying now.

"Bang!"

After heavily shutting the door again, Lynn's brain entered a state of high-speed operation.

Did this conform to the logic of a normal person?

The other party hadn’t revealed her identity at the beginning, undoubtedly to secretly achieve some objectives.

And now that she was formally visiting the Viscount's mansion, it would undoubtedly affect the realization of those objectives.

Did she really need to pursue him so relentlessly?

Lynn analyzed the course of his encounter with the other party and felt that he had done nothing wrong at all.

Then, the only possibility was— the other party's true objective was related to him.

‘Sure enough, is it to pursue Iyanna?’

Lynn's world-shaking wisdom arrived at such a conclusion.

At the same time, Iyanna's sleepiness was conveniently dispelled by the sound of the door.

The wolf tribe girl’s nose twitched, and she immediately bared her teeth and fangs.

"Growl! The bad guys are outside!"

Because of the other party's night raid, the two of them hadn't had time to take their food with them. In her eyes, this matter was already a sworn, irreconcilable enmity.

Looking at the wolf girl's intense reaction, Lynn hurriedly pressed down on her head.

"Calm down, calm down."

The other party was currently conducting a formal visit.

Although not giving advance notice was clearly not in line with procedure, the actual situation had indeed reached the diplomatic level.

And this meant that he likely couldn’t run away before the other party left—

Because the other party could completely use the excuse of ensuring the princess's safety to have both sides' personnel blockade the Viscount's mansion together.

If that was the case, his leaving at will would imply diplomatic negligence on Milan's part.

This was undoubtedly the most taboo accusation for the Milan Empire, which placed extreme importance on the country's honor.

He just wanted to secretly make a big fortune. He didn’t want to be branded with the big hat of insulting the nation's dignity, and then invite unpredictable consequences upon himself.

Furthermore, he noticed that the tiger tribe demi-human who had previously followed them wasn’t behind the other party.

Looking on the bright side, he might be preparing security arrangements.

Looking on the bad side, he was highly likely waiting for him outside.

The other party clearly knew he was here, so her visiting directly might be to apply pressure and induce him to take the initiative to escape.

If he really ran, he would probably be followed by well-prepared personnel.

At that time, once he was outside the Viscount's mansion, he would highly likely have his throat secretly slit in a remote place.

He only had one life. He dared not gamble.

Looking at it this way, perhaps staying here and using the diplomatic environment to protect himself in reverse was the only solution.

And, what if, what if the princess had come for something else?

Just then, the Viscount, having dressed in his formal attire, walked toward this place with a large retinue.

Seeing the Viscount arrive, Lynn hurriedly urged Iyanna to remain quiet.

"Lord Viscount, could I trouble you to arrange for my attendant to work and eat with your servants?"

Hearing the word "eat," the Viscount immediately realized the situation.

After sending Iyanna away, the Viscount spoke to Lynn in a somewhat flustered, low voice:

"This is the first time I have encountered such a thing.

In the past, all diplomatic visits from Frost have been conducted at least in an earldom."

"Indeed, what is going on?"

For some reason, he saw that Lynn's expression was even more nervous than his own, and cold sweat couldn't stop beading on his forehead.

Viscount Milangell found it a bit strange. Logically speaking, the other party should have participated in this level of diplomacy quite a lot in the past.

Why did he look even more flustered than himself, who was meeting a foreign princess for the first time?

After straightening his cravat once more, the Viscount looked toward the main door, and then felt puzzled—

Under normal circumstances, the party initiating the visit should enter through the door, and then he would perform the salute and welcome them in the foyer.

But there was no time to think too much. He quickly stepped forward, opened the door, and then touched one knee to the ground, placed his right hand on his chest, and bowed his head in a salute:

"I am the Viscount of White Pine. To have kept the Princess of Frost waiting is truly my sin."

"I have come uninvited; the fault lies with me."

Lynn, who was saluting together with the Viscount behind him, heard that cold, clear voice drift over.

For some reason, he always felt that the other party was staring at him, not the Viscount, while speaking.

‘This is bad, it seems she really did come for me.’

The last trace of hope in Lynn's heart was gone.

Damn it, it was clearly the other party who coveted his Security Captain, so why should he feel guilty?

No, he couldn't admit defeat!

Thus, after the salute ended, a self-righteous Lynn fiercely glared back at the princess who was as beautiful as a snowflake.

Noticing Lynn's gaze from the corner of her eye, for an instant, an expression of incredible astonishment appeared on her face, which was as exquisite as porcelain.

And then, a faint, amused smile suddenly emerged.

For some reason, behind that warm smile, which was like the light of a winter sun, Lynn felt a scalp-numbing killing intent.

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【Favorability: -100 (I! WILL! TEAR! HIM! TO! SHREDS!)】

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At the same time, the other party's thick, scaled tail swung, bringing with it the sound of tearing air.

This was the first time Lynn had seen such a large drop in favorability all at once.

Speaking of which, since it was this negative, could it really still be called "favorability"?

The Viscount, completely oblivious to the true meaning behind the princess's smile, was somewhat captivated by her smile, but he quickly returned to his normal state:

"Your Highness, the Royal Capital did not inform us of this visit's arrangements in advance. I wonder what the reason might be?"

"Mhm, a sudden whim."

Hearing the princess's short and direct answer, the Viscount was momentarily at a loss for words.

After leading her into the Milangell mansion, he continued to ask:

"...Then I wonder what the purpose of this visit might be?"

"A small matter."

Hearing this, Viscount Milangell turned around with some curiosity:

"What small matter could it be?"

The princess's smile became even more brilliant:

"To investigate Milan's illegal slave trade of my country's subjects and to rescue our compatriots."

In an instant, the entire mansion fell silent.

Without a doubt, this was a direct accusation against Milan.

"Your Highness!"

The black-robed attendant behind the princess also seemed not to have expected this situation.

"Please rest assured, I am not accusing the Milanese officials of participating in this matter, and I am also very certain that you, Viscount, are innocent.

However, I have already obtained conclusive evidence proving that a Baron under your command has participated in this matter."

As she spoke, she raised her slender fingers, her pale fingertips pointing toward one person.

It was precisely the bewildered Lynn.

Him? Illegal slave trade?

What kind of joke was this?

If one were to say who detested slavery the most, then Lynn was undoubtedly one of them.

The reason was very simple—

Doesn't exploitation through contracts provide more labor than the slave trade?

"This is slander! Slander!"

Lynn jumped to his feet on the spot:

"I would never do something as low-efficient as the slave trade!"

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