17. Eldest daughter and Rich businessman

Whether due to the sunlight or the throbbing in his head, Klaw couldn't make out the woman's features, but he saw the silhouette of her graceful figure and the healthy pigmentation on her hands. She was holding a wooden stick, the very thing that had just assaulted him. With confidence, she dropped the stick to the side, hands on her hips, exuding a rebellious wildness.

"...I am a guest of Lord Bard, I did not mean to offend you, miss. Please forgive my rudeness," Klaw hastily put on a gentlemanly tone, but he actually didn't care whether the lie worked. The missus who was stepping on him had a strange kind of magic, keeping him rooted to the spot, unable to move or escape.

However, the miss did not buy it. She abruptly pulled a pistol from behind her back and pointed the muzzle at Klaw's forehead. Klaw immediately woke up from his inexplicable fantasy, terrified, reflexively trying to move back, but quickly gave up due to the pain—Miss's shoes had anti-slip studs; although the dull studs wouldn't cause substantial harm, they were enough to cause great agony.

"Miss, I..."

"He's a thief, don't let him get away, Miss Charlotte!" Joe ran up from behind, holding up his pants, directly exposing Klaw's true colors.

But after the turmoil, Klaw was finally able to see the miss's face. She had bronze-colored eyes and brown short hair, the hand holding the gun was taut with muscles, indicating her long-term commitment to exercise. And the furrowed brow clearly showed that she was angry. But why was she angry?

Klaw fell into confusion, even forgetting the predicament in front of him. The miss was angry, but this did not detract from her beauty. On the contrary, it was precisely this touch of anger that made her look more charming at the moment.

"Give me a reason not to shoot you right now."

The beautiful miss said coldly.

Oh, the fantasy burst, Klaw finally realized the cruel reality.

"...I am a guest of Lord Bard, please, miss..."

"He is not, he's lying!" Joe shouted from behind, unable to deal with Klaw in front of Miss Charlotte because he was holding up his pants.

With a "bang," Klaw felt as if his eardrum had been shattered. He didn't expect that the miss would really shoot. He turned his head to look at the side of the ground, the lawn that had been meticulously maintained by the gardener, which originally only had some cream and wine, and now had become a black, smoking pit.

"Liar."

Miss Charlotte threw away the pistol that had fired the bullet, then punched Klaw to the ground. She didn't use too much strength, but because Klaw had not yet reacted from the shock, he was knocked down very awkwardly.

"Next time you pretend to be a gentleman, remember to check your clothes." The miss sneered.

"Yes, I will also reflect on how I used to judge a lady by her clothes." Klaw retorted sarcastically.

The miss seemed not to have expected that this down-and-out thief would be so tough. She stared at Klaw, but from Klaw's perspective, those bronze-colored eyes were as charming as cocoa.

Behind the miss came a familiar figure, it was the steward of Lord Bard's house, Duncan. He still had no expression, as if the turmoil in the mansion had nothing to do with him. He looked at Klaw and said dryly, "I warned you early, Mr. Klaw, to pay attention to your safety. Also, there are decent clothes in the cabin."

Klaw thought angrily, he should have used the elegant clothes in the cabin to tie Duncan up tightly and then thrown him into the sea to feed the sharks - although, those two burly bodyguards would probably cause some trouble, but it's not an impossible idea. And now, now he actually had to submit to the tyranny of this family, which was really unbearable!

In addition, the roar of the miss's gunshot was still echoing in his head, almost driving him crazy.

"Now we've got you, you little brat! Let's settle our old scores and new grudges together!" Joe said viciously. A few servants brought ropes and tied Klaw up tightly, then carried him into the house.

Joe bowed slightly to Miss Charlotte—his pants were still held up, and this was the limit of what he could do.

"Miss arrived... um... just in time," he said clumsily.

"Idiot," Klaw shouted loudly, deliberately for Joe to hear. Obviously, Joe was not a delicate person and knew very little about the art of speaking. Hearing this, he didn't care about his image, squatted beside Klaw with his pants held up, and slapped Klaw's face hard.

"You're the idiot. Do you know who you've offended, kid? Do you think that miss is as easy to talk to as Lord Bard?" He deliberately put on an angry tone, but he seemed to be afraid of being heard by Miss Charlotte, who was still outside the house. The final result was a hoarse voice, as if an old man who had eaten rotten crabs was trying to shout.

"Joe, dear Joe..." Lord Bard came over at this time and said weakly, "That's enough, don't hurt my guest."

"Guest?" Joe was confused. He had never heard of such a definition. And he had just told Miss Charlotte that Klaw was lying.

"Yes, let me go now!" Klaw shouted, completely like an uneducated savage.

Lord Bard's guest also came over and saw that the situation had been resolved, and now he could vent his emotions.

"Bard! I told you a long time ago, you always entertain these dubious people, and you will regret it sooner or later. I regard you as a friend, but you have also brought disaster to me. I demand that you severely punish this wild dog, I want him to suffer!"

Lord Bard smiled, but the smile was a bit stiff. Regardless of whether Lord Bard regretted it as the guest said, Klaw had already regretted it.

It is indeed refreshing to have a moment of pleasure, but the consequence was that he lost his freedom once again.

"You must give me an explanation today, I have been so humiliated, how are you going to compensate me?" Rocky insisted.

"Oh, come on, Mr. Rocky, you've just had a bit of a shock," Lord Bard said.

"Just a shock? Just a bit?" Rocky's face turned even uglier, his greasy face now swollen, Lord Bard was like a careless needle, pricking this balloon full of anger.

"Rocky, calm down first, we are healthy and our property has not been damaged. Maybe we were just a bit frightened, I believe a good drink will make it better, please sit in the living room, I will prepare it right away..."

"I won't be fooled by you anymore, Bard!" Rocky shouted. "I want to see you punish this cur. If you don't know how to do it, then give me the belt, and I'll teach you how to deal with the servants!"

Mr. Bard looked embarrassed, and Rocky snatched the belt from Joe—it had just been taken back, already half tied—he stared viciously at Klaw, the belt tightened in his hands, making a sound.

At this moment, a loud female voice came from behind.

"Who dares to make a scene in my uncle's house?"

Due to excitement, Klaw twisted his neck and shuddered painfully for a few seconds.

Then, he saw the formidable miss had stepped in front of the guests, hands on her hips, domineeringly facing Mr. Rocky, who was frozen in place, his face gradually turning red.

"Mr. Bard, I thought a family like yours would have good upbringing, but it seems I was wrong."

He said with bravado.

"Charlotte... this is Mr. Rocky, please don't..."

"You shut up!" The lady in red, Miss Charlotte, interrupted Lord Bard, who then let out a weak groan and obediently followed his strong niece's command, leaning aside and not making a sound.

"Mr. Rocky, right?" Miss Charlotte asked.

"Exactly, I come from a great family, miss, if you still have some decency..."

"If you still have some decency, Mr. Rocky, then leave my uncle's house immediately."

"What are you saying! I..."

"I thought the great Rocky family would surely understand good manners, instead of making a scene like a down-and-out madman in someone else's house!" Miss Charlotte said coldly.

"I... but it was clearly that guy." Mr. Rocky pointed at Klaw, his finger trembling violently with anger, The belt he had just used to show off fell powerlessly from his hand to the ground.

"I thought a gentleman like Mr. Rocky would be a good citizen who knows and obeys the law, and would not resort to private punishment of others in someone else's house."

"But my loss... the injury I suffered..."

"I thought Rocky was a man who wouldn't make a fuss over a little thing. But it seems I was very wrong, wasn't I?"

"You... you..." Mr. Rocky pointed at Miss Charlotte, his broad chest began to heave violently, as if he was out of breath, and then, to everyone's surprise, he vomited.

"Oh, my God!" Miss Charlotte looked at Mr. Rocky with disgust as the filthy vomit slowly flowed across the red carpet. The fastidious lady took a step back, and then, unfortunately, her non-slip shoe stepped on Klaw behind her again.

"Ah!" Klaw cried out in pain. Miss Charlotte sighed, looked at the two repulsive men, covered her nose and mouth, and walked out of the house.

"Hmm..." Lord Bard, who had been on the sidelines of the conversation, suddenly spoke. "I think we're even now, Mr. Rocky. My man frightened you, and you accidentally... er... messed up my carpet—it's from ancient Persia, I hope you understand its value—let's just let bygones be bygones. Today is a bad day, alas!"

He grinned and spread his arms, but seeing no response from anyone, he changed his strategy.

"Mr. Rocky, I told you, don't eat so much greasy food..." Lord Bard said, half comforting and half amused, seemingly trying to create an effect that made Mr. Rocky's "vomiting" seem like no big deal.

"You see, you made yourself so disgusting! But it's much better now that you've thrown up," Joe said tactlessly, and Lord Bard helplessly rolled his eyes.

"Enough!" Mr. Rocky said, and it seemed that because he had vomited a lot of grease, his face was much better, although still a bit swollen, it was at least not the strange red and purple color it had been.

"Bard, if you insist on relying on such a bunch of unreliable people," he glanced at Fat Joe, "uncultured," his gaze swept over the back of Miss Charlotte, "and... garbage that's all over the street."

He nodded at Klaw, his face full of contempt and disdain, "... I've decided not to participate in your daydream anymore, that's it."

"Mr. Rocky, you should think for yourself, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you miss this chance, there won't be another one!" Lord Bard warmly persuaded his guest, but the latter had no intention of changing his mind.

However, Klaw looked at Lord Bard's expression and felt that this was the result he wanted.

"Bard, don't waste your breath, I won't sponsor your plan, and as for this..." He pointed to the vomit all over the steps, frowning. "I don't know who did this, if you want to tarnish my reputation, I will definitely fight back!"

"What are you saying!" Miss Charlotte at the door heard this and strode towards Mr. Rocky, but was stopped by Duncan.

"Miss, getting angry with him now will do no good," Duncan said calmly. Klaw saw this and had to admire the butler's composure. Whether it was the furious rich man, the mess on the ground, or the helpless Lord Bard, nothing could affect Duncan's mentality. He remained as solid as a rock, giving a sense of safety and reliability.

"Just... that's it," Mr. Rocky said, carefully stepping around the irritable miss and scurrying away from Lord Bard's mansion.

The remaining crowd gazed in silence at the clumsy figure fleeing in a panic.

"Ahem, ahem," Lord Bard feigned a cough, drawing everyone's attention.

"In any case, dear Joe, you clean this up first," he said, pinching his nose and pointing at the mess on the steps.

Joe had just picked up the belt dropped by Mr. Rocky and tightly fastened it around his waist. Hearing Lord Bard's words, he widened his eyes in surprise and asked in confusion, "What? My lord, why me?"

"Because I don't have your talent for embarrassing Mr. Rocky so much!" Lord Bard said irritably.

"What's there to be embarrassed about? You people are too stingy," Joe complained.

"Besides, it was clearly him who caused the trouble."

He pointed at Klaw, who was tied up and sitting on the ground, looking harmless.

"Alright, alright. Mr. Klaw, right? Now, let's discuss your punishment."

Klaw nervously stared at Lord Bard, his mind conjuring up unpleasant associations: Charles I had his head chopped off, and Oliver Cromwell was posthumously hanged. Klaw wasn't sure which fate was more merciful; he just hoped the process wouldn't be too long.

"Why don't you two clean my carpet together?" Lord Bard said with a smile.