Chapter 174 - Lilith Kant’s Visit (2/2)

And only after she left did Gawain’s gaze instantly turn fierce.

That lantern in her hand!

That was the magic lantern that Gawain had seen serving as the center of a ritual in the basement of the Kant Clan’s castle in the dream realm. It was precisely the lantern that Gawain Cecil had gifted to the then Dream Bishop, Selena Gerfen, 700 years ago!

However, Gawain did not point it out then and there, nor did he take any action. This was because he hadn’t sensed any fluctuations of magical power from that lantern. This meant that the lantern was ‘fake’ —— it was either a counterfeit or the lantern had been reformed using magic, its true core of power still hibernating somewhere in this castle. And acting rashly in such a situation would highly likely only make things worse.

At this time, a voice coming from his side interrupted Gawain’s thinking. “Eh? Old— Gawain, why are you standing at the door?”

The door next door was pushed open; half of Amber’s head poked out from the door frame. She was staring curiously at him.

And she didn’t wait for Gawain’s response. She promptly stuck out her arm animatedly and waved it, a set of paper cards in hand. “I found a set of ‘King’s deck’ in the room! Get the poker face next door over, and the three of us can play cards!”

“I was intending to get the two of you here, but it isn’t to play cards.” Gawain glanced resignedly at this half-elf and then knocked on Philip’s door.

When he had gathered everyone in his room, Gawain spoke about the lady who’d visited earlier. “I met Victor Kant’s wife, Lilith Kant, just now. There seemed to be something very fishy about her…”

After listening to Gawain’s description, Amber’s sharp ears immediately quivered. “A man that old took a person who could almost be his granddaughter as his wife? Eek—— You bunch of aristocrats are really shameless.”

Following that, her thoughts unraveled. “A person with elven blood like me is still better. If I won’t say it, others wouldn’t dare to guess my age. Even if you, this 700-year-old, married me, you can go out and brazenly tell others that we’re actually of the same age…”

The always serious and solemn Sir Philip instantly stared at Amber in horror. The half-elf girl’s thoughtless and full-of-crap way of speaking had this pitiful upright knight in a real spin once more.

And Gawain’s response to Amber was a hit on her head. “Proper business!”

“We’ve never heard of the existence of such a ‘Viscountess’,” Sir Philip said solemnly. “That Viscount Victor Kant didn’t mention her either. This is very unusual —— even if the Viscountess is unable to receive visitors due to being sickly, it’s unlikely that the Viscount wouldn’t even mention her at all, right? Moreover, there are so many manservants and maidservants in the castle. Not one of them spoke in private about having a mistress here… This is too odd.”

“If we were to put it another way, I’d chatted with the people in the castle earlier,” Amber rubbed her head that had been hit by Gawain as she also joined in the discussion. “Though they didn’t speak of having a mistress in the castle, they mentioned that the old Viscount has a son called Belm. But he’d left the castle at a very young age. It was said that he’d gone traveling in the central region, and it seemed he hadn’t returned for several decades…”

Gawain stroked his chin. “Never returned for several decades? Had he gone traveling, or was he sold away?!”

Amber rolled her eyes. “Perhaps he’d gone to be a hostage in some big aristocratic clan in the central region who had benefits to be exchanged for? Isn’t that the vogue for all of you aristocrats?”

“Don’t spout nonsense. This wasn’t the trend in our days,” Gawain immediately defended solemnly. “In our time, forming alliances relied on one’s self. We didn’t depend on little games like exchanging hostages.”

Sir Philip instantly wore a look of admiration. “That is what a man of integrity ought to do.”

“No, it’s mainly because the old pigeons who founded the kingdom all had short tempers. At that time, anyone who went back on their words would be beaten up by the entire kingdom’s aristocrats. —— Occasionally, when the King had time, the King would personally go do the beating up. As transport wasn’t convenient, everyone took turns. Sometimes, old founding pigeons who dropped in to give a beating would come one after another successively for a whole year. Really, no one dared to break any agreements…”

Philip: “…”

“Oh damn, how did the aristocrats who were that straightforward and honest all end up how they are now,” Amber really yearned for the era that Gawain had described; associating it to the present time, she shook her head rather regrettably. “In short, the heir of the Kant clan, known as Belm, had indeed gone traveling because he often sent letters back. —— If everything goes well, after that old Viscount Kant dies, Belm Kant would end his travels and come back to inherit the family property.”