"So it seems Father already knew all along..."
Baron Jonas's behavior registered in Lei Lin's eyes, immediately sparking a suspicion — if he hadn't decisively sent Isabelle away, the baron would have dealt with her once he returned.
By then, unfortunate news might have arrived, or his cousin might have conveniently "died of illness." After all, the churches in this world showed absolutely zero tolerance toward worshippers of demons and devils, and even their relatives and friends would be implicated.
Father and son attended the banquet together in tacit understanding, as though both had completely forgotten Isabelle existed.
The entire banquet was a lively affair. Even a bard who had recently arrived at the port — Shinuo — had been invited to perform. The man's voice was indeed as melodious and sweet as a lark's, and the short poems he sang drew thunderous applause from the entire hall.
However, once the banquet concluded, Lei Lin noticed that the bard had been summoned into his father's study. It seemed the baron had invited him here for something far beyond a mere performance.
None of it mattered to Lei Lin anymore. After the banquet, he planned to move out and take command of the pirate group and trade affairs.
Of course, that would have to come after relations with Viscount Tim had been smoothed over — after the prisoners were exchanged and contracts signed.
……
*Crack!* A crisp slap landed squarely on the young man's face, immediately raising a massive welt on his fair cheek.
"Gods above! How could I possibly have such a foolish child?!"
Before the young man stood a middle-aged man brimming with fury, dressed in impeccably tailored noble attire. Complex patterns embroidered with gold thread adorned the edges of his garments, brimming with an elven aesthetic. On all ten of his fingers hung rings set with gemstones of every imaginable color, several of which radiated powerful magical auras.
This was the controller of the entire Bodie Archipelago — the younger brother of the current King of Danbres — Marquis Lewis.
Had it been a matter of titles alone, the king would surely have been generous enough to grant a court dukedom. But Lewis valued real power far more. A hereditary noble with actual territory was something even the king's own children might not necessarily obtain.
Moreover, as the kingdom's overseas territories continued to expand, trade profits kept climbing, which deeply satisfied Marquis Lewis.
The only thing that gave him a slight frown was that across the vast outer seas, a handful of small noble fiefdoms still remained, along with a band of unruly barbarian pirates — as conspicuous and irritating as nails driven into his side.
So when his good-for-nothing son begged for a fief of his own, Marquis Lewis simply went along with the request.
But looking at Viscount Tim before him now, Marquis Lewis truly felt that bitter exasperation of watching iron fail to become steel. "You fool! You've acted with absolutely no discipline — not only did the assassination on the mainland fail, but you couldn't even maintain control of the seas. You threw away the entire Black Tiger Pirate Group…"
Even saying this much made Marquis Lewis's heart ache. Those filthy, low-life pirates could have died by the hundreds and the marquis wouldn't have flinched, but their captain Steve — a level-10 warrior — had actually been a decent enough subordinate. And along with him went an entire cadre of thieves and assassins that Lewis had personally groomed.
"Furthermore!"
Marquis Lewis's chest heaved with rage as he flung a letter squarely into Tim's face.
"Look at this — Griffith made a point of sending it personally. This little stunt of yours didn't achieve a shred of success. Instead, you've pushed the Fairlan family straight into the camp of those backwater nobles!"
Tim let the letter strike his face without resistance. The stinging sensation kept radiating outward, filling his eyes with flames of fury.
"Father! Please give me one more chance! Just assign Bolujie to me, and I'll definitely—"
Baron Tim bore a striking resemblance to Marquis Louis, though he was far younger, with a pair of narrow, elongated eyes. At this moment, he was bowing his body in a show of deference.
"Get out!!!"
But what greeted his plea was the Marquis's hysterical roar.
Bang! The door was slammed shut with tremendous force. Only then did Tim touch his swollen face. That searing, burning pain stoked the fury in his heart even higher.
"My, my... dear little brother, it seems you've run into some trouble?"
The maids and attendants around them naturally dared not approach Tim in his current state — each one wished they could burrow their heads into the carpet like ostriches. But another young noble strode over without the slightest hesitation, a look of undisguised mockery plastered across his face.
"Big brother!"
Tim clutched his face and looked at the newcomer, flustered and embarrassed. This was the Marquis's legitimate son, the one who would inherit the title and the Bodi Islands one day — and on top of that, he enjoyed the backing of a noble maternal lineage, placing him who-knows-how-many levels above someone like Tim, who had been born to a lowly mother and had only risen to prominence through the Marquis's favor.
"Oh dear! Brother, however did you get hurt? Someone fetch a priest at once!"
The young man bellowed at his attendants behind him, playing the part of a deeply concerned elder brother to perfection. But Tim could see the hidden amusement buried at the very bottom of those eyes.
"Curse it! Curse it all!"