CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 24, BANQUET IN THE LORD’S LONGHOUSE (PART 2)_2

Among the Wandering Knights, there was once a very famous figure, the "Rose Knight" Taylor, who was the illegitimate son of a Duke of the Empire. His mother was a lowly washerwoman, and after a dispute between the Duke and the Duchess, Taylor was ordered not to inherit any of the Duke’s property. Upon reaching adulthood, the Duke tossed him a sword and brought forth a horse: "Taylor, you are not a medal on my coat, there’s no need for you to stay at home, go forth and wander."

With that said, the poor illegitimate son was unceremoniously kicked out, marking the beginning of the "Rose Knight" Taylor’s legendary story.

"This Mr. Aik has thick calluses on his index and middle fingers, indicating he should be a proficient swordsman." Laine looked at the Wandering Knight, who was bragging incessantly to the bewildered soldiers about his various achievements, and said to the female sorcerer with ill intent: "I bet he’s only trying to get close because of your attire, establishing a good relationship with a noblewoman can surely aid in future adventures."

"Tut tut tut, Laine, don’t tell me you’ve picked up those Wandering Knights’ bad habits?!" The female sorcerer seemed to suddenly think of something, and a dangerous glint appeared in her silver eyes.

"Hahahahaha!" Laine burst into laughter, almost to the point of tears.

Indeed, the Wandering Knights were actually a group of restless fellows who quickly found a "shortcut" to wealth and fame.

That was to become boy toys for those lonely noblewomen.

"So, you know, I actually find those guys quite annoying, do you know? I often hear the White Wolf Knights colleagues complain in private, they always suspect their wives have something to do with the Wandering Knights within their domain." Laine casually complained: "Don’t they have a bit of awareness about that?"

"Hehehe~ Maybe they just don’t want to admit it~" Teresa rarely chuckled, glancing at the man beside her with twinkling eyes: "You really don’t? Well... I heard you and His Majesty the King’s granddaughter Caroline once had a thing..."

"Nonsense! I’ve only met Princess Caroline once." Laine didn’t seem willing to continue on this topic any further: "Can you tell me about the progress on your side at Jialan? Any breakthroughs in the exploration of the ruins?"

"No, ever since Rohart died in there, Aunt Martha said to temporarily stop exploring deeper." The female sorcerer shook her head and lifted a bowl of corn and ham soup. She used her silver spoon to take a delicate sip.

"’Bandit’ Rohart died too? My goodness, that’s the third Legendary Powerhouse killed by your Jialan." Laine mocked, as he obviously knew what the Jialan Council was up to.

"Let’s not talk about that." The female sorcerer seemed to recall something: "Can you tell me about Belte? How did a Demon Hunting Master end up embracing Chaos?"

"Belte, huh? Indeed, Belte’s life is usually divided into two phases." Laine sighed: "Before the age of 36, he was an excellent Demon Hunter, purging corruption, slaying evil, using his scimitar and fire cannon to cleanse the impure, respected as a Demon Hunting Master."

"36? What happened that year?" The female sorcerer liked this environment, it felt like chatting by the fireside, as the surrounding noise seemed less bothersome.

"A plague took his family, his wife, his daughter, and thereafter, Belte became somber, uncommunicative, reclusive, locking himself up all day. By the time Archbishop Innocen noticed something was wrong, it was too late." Laine shook his head: "There’s a banquet tonight, and I don’t want to discuss this. If you’re willing to listen, we can find a time to talk in detail later."

"The Lady of Mercy bestowed us the lean priest and the fat doctor, cheers~ Laine." The female sorcerer lifted her juice.

"Cheers!" Laine couldn’t help but smile at hearing this saying.

This saying implied that the fat priest wouldn’t give much aid to the poor, and the lean doctor’s treatments weren’t very effective either.

The medical standards of this world aren’t great, although with reference materials from Elf medical books, they’re somewhat better than Earth’s dark middle ages, but still quite limited. If not for his own Spiritual Energy capable of purging bacteria, Laine thought he too might be troubled by diseases.

Their conversation was enjoyable; the man’s humorous words made the woman cover her mouth and giggle, the female sorcerer’s stunning face appeared rosy beside the fireplace. She occasionally turned her head to look at Laine’s handsome features, thinking to herself that it was worth dressing up properly today.

Time quietly slipped away, and someone came to disturb them: "Mr. Laine?"

The person was Oliver, the Imperial Merchant, who finally found an opportunity to talk to Villarld, unfortunately, Villarld refused to send troops to escort them, but the Lord had loosened his stance on certain matters, and Oliver had gained something, hurriedly seeking out Laine.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, he immediately felt an extremely unfriendly gaze from Teresa, the female sorcerer’s gaze was like a needle prick, making the Imperial Merchant’s head feel a stabbing pain.

This wasn’t an illusion; it was a real perception of pain because even Laine could feel the magical fluctuations from the female sorcerer.

It seemed her condition had improved quite a bit.

Seeing the displeasure on Teresa’s face, Laine reached out to pat the back of the hand clad in a white lace glove: "Teresa, the business is important."

"So we haven’t been doing business before?" Who would have expected the woman to turn her head unhappily, her silver eyes behind the butterfly-patterned black-rimmed glasses fixed tightly on him, her purple eyeshadow lightly shimmered.

"After the meeting, we’ll have plenty of time to chat properly, won’t we?" The man knew this wasn’t the time to bicker with her, so he whispered in her ear: "I would, of course, love to spend more time with the beautiful you."

"Then let’s go together." Teresa finally nodded, and the enormous mental pressure that had been lingering in Oliver’s mind gradually dissipated. Oliver was sweating on his forehead and felt, for the first time, that traveling with Casters wasn’t as delightful.

Her wrath could potentially obliterate a merchant’s fragile life.

Casters, influenced by magic over the years, tend to undergo some personality changes. Teresa, an Ice Element sorcerer, is relatively mild, merely aloof and not fond of speaking to unfamiliar people. Oliver had learned that the temperament of the Fire Mage in Marinburg was extremely explosive, with any miswording possibly leading to immediate detonation.

Other Casters too, such as Earth element Casters who were notoriously stubborn, while Transformation Wizards were considered easy to deal with—these were all tidbits circulating among merchants. Some even compiled a manual titled "How to Deal with Casters," which sold well amongst adventurers and merchants.

When Laine and Teresa followed Oliver to their meeting at the round table, all the men at the table were stunned by the female sorcerer’s stunning beauty and elegant attire, and then each felt a needle-like sting to the head, quickly bringing them to sobriety.

"Welcome, Mr. Laine, Lady Teresa." It was the gruff voice of a short, middle-aged man, perhaps in his forties, by the round table. His hair, resembling unkempt straw, looked like it hadn’t been washed in ages. Wrapped in a dilapidated cloak that was ill-fitting for his frail frame, he bore the resemblance of a roadside farmer, with a face so forgettable, it was like it could be easily overlooked.

A very dangerous man; if Laine wasn’t mistaken, this should be Billger, the captain of the Gray Blade Mercenary Corps.

Interesting.