Chapter 21 (1/2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After receiving an invitation to dinner from Viscount Andrew, Gawain and the party were temporarily arranged to stay in the guest room in the castle. Upon Gawain’s special request, Betty, the maid, Amber and the two soldiers were also allocated clean rooms.
Viscount Andrew’s castle was huge anyways.
After dismissing the attendant, Herti could not help but ask, “Ancestor, do you think Viscount Andrew can be trusted?”
Although he was their ‘neighbor’ of a neighboring territory, Herti was well aware of the aristocratic culture which lacked integrity and honor. Though they often emphasized these two values, those were the very things that they lacked. This was especially so in the wild, uncivilized southern borders far from the political center where the aristocrats lived in even more decadent ways. Now that Cecil Clan had fallen to their lowest point. Aside from the fact that an old ancestor suddenly popped up which gave them bonus points, Herti really had no confidence that they would be able to have any leverage when dealing with the other aristocrats.
“Can he be trusted? I haven’t considered that at all,” Gawain’s answer surprised Herti. “I didn’t even know what Viscount Andrew looked like a few hours ago.”
Rebecca was startled. “Ah? Then why did you discuss so much with him…”
“Because it was necessary.” Gawain looked at Rebecca. “It’s not too far off to say that we don’t have any other choice at this juncture. Let’s put aside those refugees who need to be sheltered and fed. Check your own pockets. Do you even have enough for the next meal? So we must ask for help. That Viscount Andrew is our only option. Do you know anyone else in the southern border besides him? On the topic of whether we can put our trust in him… I don’t know him, nor his clan, and I’ve only found out about the extent of his territory from you two days ago. How am I supposed to know if he can be trusted? ”
Rebecca could not quite understand him. “Then why do you think he will definitely help?”
It was not Gawain who answered but Amber, who had been lying beside the table and stuffing grapes in her mouth. The half-elf rubbed her mouth and gave Rebecca an eye roll. “Idiot, because he doesn’t want to lose money.”
“He doesn’t want to lose money?”
“When Knight Philip brought the refugees to Tanzan Town, Viscount Andrew had actually already made the decision,” Amber said impatiently, “He could have simply shut the gates and let the refugees go away or starve to death outside. They don’t even need to talk about the mutual aid law. In such remote areas, the gold coins of merchant’s are more useful than the kingdom’s laws. Now that Mr. Viscount has accepted the refugees, it means that he is going to demand compensation from the Cecil Clan since he already has the intention and believes that Cecil Clan will be able to repay the debt. You see, the deal was already set up then. As for today… it was only to expand and clarify the terms of the deal.”
Rebecca was stupefied as she looked at Amber. “How… how do you know these things? Is the prerequisite to becoming a bandit so high these days?”
Amber grinned. “Is this so hard to understand? I don’t know about the logic and rules behind how you aristocrats go about doing things, but at least I know that thieves don’t come back empty-handed. When it comes to benefits, how different are you aristocrats to the thieves who don’t want to go home empty-handed?”
Rebecca immediately became furious. She pulled out her staff and summoned a fireball as big as someone’s head. “If you’re not going to watch your mouth, why don’t you see if I will shoot this fireball at your face!”
Amber seemed certain that this young and immature leader would not actually do it for real as she smiled mischievously to provoke her. “If you’re so good, why don’t you come out with an ice arrow~~”
As soon as her voice fell, she felt a chill by her ear as an ice arrow brushed past her ear, almost grazing it, and ice formed on the wall behind her. From a distance, Herti maintained her pose, pointing a finger, her expression chilly. “The ice arrow you asked for.”
A drop of cold sweat streaked down Amber’s face. The ice arrow nearly grazing her ear was even more frightening than the ice arrow itself. She could not help wondering how high her magic control ability needed to be in order to reach this level of precision.
The corner of Rebecca’s mouth twitched as she thought, ‘Aunt Herti’s offensive magic is as usual, not on target…’
Gawain clapped his hands, ending this brief slapstick, “Alright. We’re all on the same side. Let’s dial it down a little.”
The old ancestor’s intervention was still effective as Herti and Rebecca both put away their staves to show their deference, willing or not. Though Amber had escaped a beating, she understood the principle of quitting while you were ahead (the main reason was because the ice arrow was really quite frightening). She flattened her mouth and kept quiet from then on.
Just then, knocks came from outside the room. After gaining Gawain’s permission, Betty, the maid, pushed open the door and walked in.
“My Lord, Madam Herti, Lady Rebecca,” Betty greeted them all but skipped Amber. “Knight Philip is here.”
“Oh, we were just waiting for him.” Gawain nodded. Then he noticed the pan in Betty’s hand. “Wait… Why are you still holding on to it?”
Betty batted her eyes, thought for a moment, and said, “Because… we’re not home yet. If I leave it somewhere. I’m afraid I might lose it.”
Gawain clutched his head. “You… Okay whatever suits you.”
A moment later, Knight Philip, the one who led the Cecil refugees break out came into the room.
What surprised Gawain was that he was a fairly young warrior. He seemed to be only in his early twenties, with short hair of light golden color, deep eye sockets, and a tall nose. Although he was not outstanding in his facial features, the heroic air of a warrior, and his tall build made him stand out among ordinary people. Since they were not in battle, he was not wearing armor but a normal garment. With a longsword slung at his waist, some bandages were exposed at his arms and neck.
Sure enough, he came out with injuries.
“My Lady, Madam,” Knight Philip saluted Rebecca and Herti as soon as he entered the house. “I’m so glad to see that you are safe.”