Lucian had just returned to the castle when he saw Joanna emerge from a side corridor, carrying a two-handed greatsword.
"Lord Evans, the corpse puppets inside the castle lost control after that evil necromancer was killed by you, but we have already cleared them out," Joanna reported, lowering her eyes with an appearance of respect.
In her heart, besides the fear and admiration she held for Sir Lucian's power, there was also considerable dissatisfaction. A Holy Knight of his formidable strength had hired their adventurer team for protection clearly to create a diversion, to mislead Baron Habero and the necromancer while conducting his investigation and launching a surprise attack. However, this had forced her, her husband, and her sister—people of far lesser strength—to be drawn into a battle between the powerful, where they had nearly been killed by that wretched, terrifying owl.
Lucian looked around calmly and asked, "Are there any other living people in the castle? Where are Simon, Betty, Weiss, and Mars?"
Joanna was not a young girl like Betty. Mature as she was, even with her dissatisfaction, she answered the Holy Knight's question very earnestly. "Aside from Mr. Mars, there are no living people left in the castle. They were all turned into corpse puppets by the necromancer. Simon discovered disturbances in Ashen Mist Town and went over to handle them, suspecting it was a small number of puppets that hadn't escaped. Mr. Weiss and Mr. Mars have been hiding in the storeroom, afraid to come out. As for Betty, she is in the restroom, vomiting."
"Vomuting?" Lucian's left hand was pinching his spellcasting materials.
A look of disgust also appeared on Joanna's beautiful face. "While dealing with the corpse puppets earlier, Betty found the ingredients for the dinner we were about to enjoy in the kitchen. They were all rotten chunks of human flesh—there were eyeballs, tongues, fingers... covered in writhing white maggots..."
Just speaking of it made her feel like vomiting. That scene was clearly something she never wanted to recall.
Lucian nodded. It seemed the baron had intended to use rotten corpse poison and other things in the food to deal with him more easily, but with Cailin and the others dead, those ingredients had lost their deceptive appearance. "Miss Joanna, you don't need to address me as 'Lord.' Just call me Mr. Evans. I hold no title or rank."
Joanna looked up slightly puzzled, and her gaze happened to meet Lucian's deep, captivating eyes. Instantly, she felt as if she had fallen into a vast, dreamlike starry sky, unable to extricate herself, her gaze becoming hazy with admiration. "Very well, Mr. Evans."
Lucian slowly asked her about her memories of the earlier battle. Finding no issues, he used a hypnosis spell to slightly adjust a few details without triggering a mental backlash from Joanna.
"I have no further questions. Joanna, go into Ashen Mist Town to help Simon, lest he encounter danger alone," Lucian said, releasing the "Charm Person" spell.
Joanna suddenly snapped back to awareness, her cheeks flushing red. She had actually just been staring blankly at Mr. Evans, finding him utterly charming. How embarrassing! Like an underage girl! But with Mr. Evans' powerful strength, handsome appearance, elegant manner, and gentle disposition, it was only natural that every woman would find him attractive. She just needed to maintain an appreciative attitude.
"Mr. Evans, I will go to Ashen Mist Town immediately." She felt her face burning, so she hurriedly walked towards the castle exit.
Lucian watched Joanna leave quietly, then turned to find opportunities to discreetly adjust minor details in the memories of Betty, Weiss, and Mars, as well as to clean up the few traces of combat in the baron's room.
……
The dim candlelight flickered in the bedroom. Lucian looked at Simon, Joanna, and Betty before him. "Thank you for helping maintain order in Ashen Mist Town, and for assisting me during the battle. According to adventurer's convention, you will receive one-tenth of the wealth in Baron Habero's castle. The remainder, after deducting my one-third share, will be handed over to Viscount Stanley and the Church to handle. Lock your rooms securely and do not give thieves an opportunity."
Lucian still wished to maintain his overt identity for the time being. Therefore, to avoid arousing suspicion from the Church and the nobility, he did not confiscate all of Baron Habero's wealth. It was handled as a passing knight might normally do upon encountering such a situation.
Actually, Baron Habero's liquid wealth was not substantial. What was truly valuable were his castle, fiefs, and manor. His cash had dwindled because he needed to purchase infants and children, maintain a lavish lifestyle, and bribe officials to prevent the bishop and priests of Corth City from discovering the problems at Ashen Mist Town's chapel. Thus, only a total of sixty Gold Thalers in coin remained, along with his ancestral second-grade supernatural weapon, "Boulder."
Nobles in the central and southern regions of the continent, apart from a select few at the very top, rarely possessed one or two Arcane Magic or Divine Art items like the titled and wealthy nobles of Altor could. Therefore, the designation of the continent's most destitute region was quite fitting.
Furthermore, the only set of supernatural armor Baron Habero possessed had already been paid to Hunter as compensation, and Hunter had subsequently pawned it off to purchase materials.
"We can take twenty Gold Thalers?" Even a man as shrewd and steady as Simon couldn't help but swallow hard. The one-tenth share wasn't just one-tenth of the coin; it also included the depreciated value of that supernatural longsword. Only items with distinctly noble characteristics, like the castle, fiefs, and manor, were excluded.
Based on the common knowledge Lucian had learned from Natasha, in Altor, apprentice-grade supernatural items were priced within ten Gold Thalers. Low-grade items (first or second-grade) ranged from dozens to several hundred Gold Thalers. Mid-grade items (third, fourth, or fifth-grade) cost thousands to tens of thousands of Gold Thalers. Supernatural items above that were difficult to value in money at all, typically exchanged directly for materials, goods, fiefs, ports, cities, potions, or knowledge.
However, supernatural items had always been priced but rarely on the market. They were scarce, and unless one had entered circles like those of mages or the nobility, possessing Gold Thalers alone wouldn't buy them. Had Natasha not known Lucian possessed the strength of a knight-in-training, she would never have discussed such matters with him. For instance, Victor's annual income had been around a hundred Gold Thalers, yet he had never so much as touched a single supernatural item.
"This two-handed greatsword is a second-grade supernatural item. It allows the user's strength to approach that of a third-stage Great Knight, crushing enemies just like a boulder. Although it has certain strength requirements, its value of one hundred and forty Gold Thalers is not excessive." Lucian had originally intended to make up the difference in Gold Thalers and take this second-grade greatsword for himself, but it required the strength of a formal knight to wield. Thus, he had to give up.
At the same time, Lucian silently noted that it was a good thing he hadn't given Baron Habero the chance to obtain "Boulder" back then; otherwise, matters would have been far more troublesome.