Chapter 40

The servant took three men down to the auditoria, where important guests were usually received.

- Welcome!

As soon as they came down, a stocky man dressed in a colorful mantle jumped up from his chair and loudly greeted them.

Robert Akitas.

The great Lord of Aquitaine, Robert, was already old and incoated, and there was no loved one next to him.

His youngest daughter was a very gifted girl, so she was considered his heiress, but she died in battle, and the two remaining sons went missing many years ago.

In the East, there were also rumors that they both left the family after a big quarrel with their father over their sister's death.

And now all the old lord has left is those who flattered him when they wanted to get something from him.

- Thank you for agreeing to meet me.

However, Lennox Carlisle didn't care at all. At the moment, he was not interested in the affairs of Lord Akitasa, as the purpose of this visit was completely different.

- Haha, well, you're not worth thanks!

Despite Lennox's indifferent greeting, Robert, Lord Akitas, received him with all his cordiality.

- You can stay here as long as you want, so don't worry about anything.

Robert gave a quick glance at his vassals and took Lennox and his companions out of the audience.

- Well, dear guest, come with me. I've even taken care of the treat for you.

He seemed to want to show off his guest of honor to the vassals following him.

Robert led their company almost through the entire palace personally.

Then they went down to the lower floor and entered a luxurious banquet hall with bulky tasteless furniture and a long table filled with magnificent dishes.

As soon as the people in the banquet hall saw the guest of honor, accompanied by two of his men and a lord with vassals, they abruptly got up from their seats, and the room was filled with the sound of sliding chairs.

In general, the atmosphere in the banquet hall seemed a little tense with an admixture of slight nervousness.

Hardin, whose facial expression almost did not change, did not react to it, but Jude whistled quietly, which immediately attracted the attention of his master.

Lord Akitas' hidden intentions were obvious.

It was clear that he wanted to demonstrate his friendship with the ruler of the North in front of the vassals.

"Unfortunately, that was the only thing he could boast of."

Jude looked at Lord Akitas with pity for some time, but as far as he knew, his master, Duke Carlisle, hated when he was tried to be used in this way.

Nevertheless, contrary to Jude's expectations, Lennox suddenly sat down quietly next to Lord Akitas without saying a word.

Hardin and Jude were also forced to sit down at the table slightly discouraged by their master's uncharacteristic behavior. It was probably the first time Jude didn't know what to say, so he just sat silently.

The musicians began to play on the orders of the Lord, and the servants filled the cups of all those present.

A couple of moments later, Lord Akitas, who had been silent before, suddenly patted Lennox on the shoulder, as if he were his father and said:

- Your late father and I knew each other very well. So feel free to think of me as a father.

Lennox knew very well that if his father had been alive, he would never have contacted someone like Robert Akitas. But he didn't bother to point it out.

- Ahm...

One middle-aged man sitting at the banquet table cleared his throat to attract the Lord's attention.

- Oh, that's right. I completely forgot that I wanted to introduce someone to you.

The man who coughed just before the lord spoke came up to introduce himself.

- It's a great honor for me to meet you, Your Serene Highness. I am the head of the trade guild of Viscount Cayman.

Cayman was an ambitious man.

And so ambitious that he was able to wait for an opportunity to win the favor of the Great Lord Aquieataa, who was very cunning and very insidious.

Catching rare animals and selling them to fighting arenas, kidnapping children of subras representatives and selling them at auction - all this brought a huge income to the Red Chariot guild, most of which settled in the pockets of Robert Akitas.

The slave trade was illegal under imperial law, but the laws of the Empire meant little in the East.

No, not.

The Great Lord Akitas, the nominal ruler of the East, simply turned a blind eye to all illegal actions in exchange for gold.

But the reason Cayman went so far that he even served Lord Akitas was that he was waiting for the opportunity to be represented and accepted by other nobles through him.

And his expectations were met. Even on a larger scale than he thought.

"Duke Carlisle"

When Robert Akitas dropped the name of the family that ruled for a millennium in the North in a conversation with him, Cayman did not believe him.

Isn't that a too amazing guest for such a worthless lord? Even if the emperor himself visited him, Cayman wouldn't be so surprised.

However, after several cups with a strong drink, the tension began to weaken and his mind relaxed.

"And in general, what grandiose rumors about him were spread. It's hard to believe in them."

Cayman dug his gaze at Lennox, sitting at a table with an indifferent view.

"This sucker hasn't dried up the milk on her lips yet."

Arrogant young man.

If Cayman had married earlier, his son would have been at that age.

The moment he first saw the Duke of Carlisle, he was just amazed.

".. .... "Is he" the famous Duke of Carlisle?"

However, it is worth noting that the stunning appearance of this young man was certainly unforgettable.

When Cayman was told that this guy had performed a legendary feat a few years ago, he naturally imagined that his height exceeded two meters.

And although then he thought that the story was somewhat exaggerated, at the same time he was imbued with respect for him and secretly admired his merits.

However, what he saw now before his own eyes is a young man who looked like a court lady, and who was not even 30 years old.

Confident posture and strong athletic physique undoubtedly would not have been achieved without daily fencing for many years.

However, the impression of his beautiful face, which seemed to be the Almighty himself to create for a long time, was so strong that it blocked other thoughts.

But his red eyes didn't go too well with this appearance, as they looked terribly frightening.

"Hmmm. So this is our most dire duke."

He was terribly annoyed by the much more aristocratic appearance of this guy than he expected to see a great man.

The corners of Cayman's lips twisted slightly in a contemptent smile.

In addition, there was one decisive reason that fueled irritation the most in Cayman.

He didn't see his sword.

A sword that should be considered as the pride of a knight.

Only two knights were armed, who seemed to accompany Duke Carlisle.

Cayman, although he pretended to be his man, was the one who bought himself a noble title, as is often the case with countless new nobles in the East who managed to make a fortune with various trade.

The East was part of an empire where the authorities had stronger guilds more than the emperor's law, and Cayman was proud of himself for surviving in such a difficult place.

Despite the fact that he admired noble people more than anyone else, he hated them at the same time.

The same was the case with the Great Lord of Aquitaine, who was sitting in front of him.

Many years ago, the Akitas family may have ruled the East with an iron hand, but now they had to sell knighthoods to anyone who can pay generously for it.

So Cayman just used the old and decrepit Lord Akitas to achieve his goals, and when he achieved what he wanted, he calmly ignored him.

Even nobles with their blue blood become the same as everyone else before money and power.

And if so, wouldn't it be better to achieve everything without initially having anything, primarily with your own strength?

The same thing happened with this kid.

Of course, he was a young gentleman who kept away from the sword only under the pretext of heavy weight.

Maybe it was because alcohol hit him in the head, but when this guess came to his mind, he could not stop and developed these thoughts more and more.

Cayman began, without restraining, to express dissatisfaction with everything related to the young Duke of Carlisle, who was clearly younger than him.

It was obvious that it was a so-called noble and beautiful face with a happy pedigree.

Probably, this young duke simply took advantage of his position and appropriated all the merits of his subordinates. Most likely, not even a drop of blood didn't even get a drop of blood on his sleek hands.

And as soon as he thought so, the next moment Lennox Carlisle turned his red eyes to him.

Cayman shuddered like a blow, but managed to keep his facial expression calm.

At the same time, Lord Akitas, who had also been drunk by that time, spoke to him.

- Oh, Sir Cayman. As far as I remember, members of your guild are now looking for someone in Aquitaine, aren't they?

- Oh yes, it is. But that's not something you should worry about. Haha...

If we talk about the search for an unknown summoner, it would inevitably flow into the story of a werewolf whom he illegally captured.

Cayman, who wanted to make the most favorable impression on the duke, turned away, trying to avoid this conversation.

However, Lord Aquitas, whose mind had already relaxed because of alcohol, was unaware of it.

- No, tell me what's going on! Then I can help you to the best of my ability!

Thus, Robert Aquitas clearly wanted to demonstrate his superiority in the presence of a young duke from the North, so he was clearly not going to retreat.

- Oh, nothing bad happened...

Cayman could no longer unlock, so he was forced to confess with a benevolent smile.

- Just at the moment when we were transporting guild goods, one woman appeared and prevented us from delivering them to our destination.

Lord Akitas snapped his tongue sympathetically.

- Oh, how regrettable. It looks like this woman has outstanding abilities once she was able to stop you. So have you caught her yet?

- Not yet, but you have nothing to worry about, Great Lord Akitas. Will anyone want to make deals with me if the safety of the goods is questioned? Anyone who touches the goods of my precious customers must pay dearly for it.

Robert, inspired by Cayman's flattering words, began to bluff without hesitation.

- No, no, no! Then I can't stand it anymore either! If it's your business, it's mine too.

- You shouldn't worry too much about it. It's only a matter of time when we catch her, because it's not an ordinary woman.

- What do you mean, by the words of an unusual woman?

- Oh, well...

Cayman fell silent for a while.

But when he saw that all his eyes were directed at him, except for the eyes of the arrogant duke, he felt better and finally said:

- This woman uses rare evil witchcraft, so we'll find her in the blink of an eye.

- And what kind of evil witchcraft is this?

- She... Khmm, according to rumors, she is the owner of a demon from another world who appears in the form of a butterfly.

"!"

Not only other people in the banquet hall, but even Jude and Hardin, who sat silently, raised their eyes.

Encouraged by the turmoil, Cayman gave himself an important look.

- I don't know if you know the Duke of Kendall, but it's not so difficult to see the owner of a demon in the East.

Actually, Cayman met them only twice in his life, but now it wasn't that important.

Baron Hilben, who was waiting for an opportunity, also intervened in the conversation.

- I even have a clear description of what it looks like, my lord, so it won't be difficult for us to find it.

- That's exactly why, wherever she hides in the eastern lands, count it in my hands!

Robert Akitas, satisfied with the way the situation developed, just raised a glass as a sign of agreement.

- Did you say the owner of the demon?

At that moment, the air became cold throughout the room.

Duke Carlisle, who sat with a bored look throughout the banquet, showed interest for the first time.