Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

But Reslaufer had no reaction to this: "So you're still going to continue?"

"No," Edward shook his head, "because I realized I overestimated this brother. He's not someone who would do such a thing. Sir, of course you can understand that I don't mean that his moral bottom line is too high."

"But then, I'll temporarily lose my goal of revenge," Edward put away his wand, "so what I'm thinking of is going back to Zunqing City with you to see who the problem is. You won't refuse this kind of ride, right?"

"Your current identity is that of a thief who robbed the tomb of the Fengquan family's gifted child," Reslaufer reminded him. He had no problem with the other party's self-proclaimed "best and most talented" or similar. The magical talent he displayed was beyond the reach of many mediocre apprentices in their lifetime. "Out of responsibility for my current commission, handing you over is a more tempting option."

"Do you still have the strength to resist me now?"

"...Honestly, there's more," Edward tried to retreat, but he knew it was pointless, so he simply stayed where he was, his neck stiff. "I can still release a magic missile or two, and after summoning my wand, I can recover some magic power in time and use a darkness spell or a phantom step to escape - but I guess neither attacking nor escaping can actually prevent you from taking me back, right?"

"You can try," Leslaufer looked at him with a look of anticipation that made Edward tremble with fear. "My strength is almost exhausted. Maybe you can escape?"

"I'm only twelve and a half! You can't do this to me!" Edward shouted, "Please, how would killing me make you feel accomplished?!"

"I don't intend to kill you, but I'm sure I'll get a hefty bounty if I capture you," the mercenary shrugged nonchalantly. "Remember my companions? A druid, a bard, and a dwarf. The three of them combined couldn't come up with ten Imperial gold coins. Although the deposit I commissioned was substantial, I still have many mouths to feed—and Bella refuses to lure the beasts of the wilderness here to kill."

"This... I should be able to help," Edward thought for a moment, then suddenly bent down, rolled up his trouser legs, and untied a golden anklet from his ankle, which was obviously worth a lot of money. He handed it to Reslough, "This is something my mother gave me. Although it's not pure gold, it's worth a little bit, and it has greater symbolic meaning. You can give this to Philip and say that you pried it out of my possession."

"If I said I only stole this, no one would believe me. But it's different now that you're asking. As for the reward he gave you, no matter how much it is, I want to count it as my money. I hired you. Is that okay?" Edward looked at the object that embodied his loved one's feelings, tears welling up in his eyes. "Send me back to Qingzun City. That's all I ask. I'll take care of the rest myself."

"you sure?"

"I'm sure, sir," Edward nodded. He watched as Reslaufer put the leg ring away and suddenly asked, "This time... I shouldn't have misunderstood you, right?"

"Of course, dear employer," a smile appeared on Reslaufer's face under the blood. "The mercenaries from East Inassus are dedicated to serving you. They may not be loyal enough, but they are guaranteed to be worth the money - just look around and you will know."

Chapter 180 Mr. Witt

Midnight is a good time for almost all the common people in the town of Joffrey, and even for most of the nobles, to take a nap on the street. However, Lord Witte of the Louvallu family has never thought so.

This old man, who had actively avoided family power struggles and was living out his days in this town close to the empire, loved to have some midnight snacks at this time that only the Inassus nobles near the Golinoto Mountains had the opportunity to taste.

"Add more cinnamon to the rice pudding, and some plaster, and the wine should be warm..." Witt Lovalou was a short man. At this moment, he was lying casually on his side on the bed, instructing the chef downstairs to prepare tonight's delicacies as soon as possible.

These dishes were all imported from the Empire, and many of the ingredients were also imported. Even Witt's posture was based on what he had heard from merchants about the dining posture of the Magparess nobles. Witt thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of superiority that came with this. It made him feel more like an Imperial, rather than a native "foreign barbarian" like the younger generations vying for power in Qingzun City.

Alas, the Fengquan family. This made Witt think of the family he had dealt with all his life. Fengquan's ancestors were said to have migrated from the Empire. Why would they give up such a comfortable environment and come to Inassus to make a living? It was hard to understand.

A cup of warm fruit wine was carefully brought to the nobleman by his servants, followed by a rice pudding laced with plaster and an overdose of cinnamon. The elderly stomach struggled to digest rich meats at this age, so the dishes served were devoid of rosemary roast lamb chops. Instead, they offered a small bowl of minced, boneless stewed burbot.

"Hmm... ha." Witt didn't rush to eat or drink. Instead, he half-raised himself and leaned forward to take a deep breath. His face immediately showed an intoxicated look. "The Empire is the Empire after all. Look, even though these dishes don't contain any magic, they have such a fragrant aroma. They are a hundred times more appetizing than the food in Qingzun City."

"Poor little nephews and grandchildren of mine! They only have the title of clan leader, but what can they eat? Nothing more than boiled peacock, roasted chicken and snake wings, etc. Tsk tsk tsk, so boring, so boring."

The servants who served the old nobleman their meals stood respectfully to the side, ignoring the sentiments he had repeated for years. Aside from the occasional incident where he would hang a cook or punish a servant for cooking that didn't live up to Witte's vision of Magparese, the imperial capital, this nobleman, who ran the town of Joffrey on behalf of the Louvalou family, was peaceful to the point of being apathetic. He showed little interest in anything other than food and drink, let alone anything that could cause him to experience more violent emotional fluctuations.

However, tonight is destined to be an exception.

"Master! Master!" An armored guard stumbled in, pushed aside the serving nobles, and rushed to the front of Lord Witte. "This is terrible! A shadow body has been destroyed!"

"Then go find whoever did it," Witt said, waving his fork impatiently and putting a small piece of rice pudding into his mouth. "Why would you ask me for something like this? Could it be that I did it?"

"Uh, I wouldn't dare," the guard chief said quickly. "In fact, we've already arrived at the scene and found the perpetrators. Logically, we should arrest them, but they are... VIPs of the Fengquan family."

"The Maple Springs Family?" Witt still didn't get up from the bed. "Go negotiate with them. Wasn't there a kid from Qingzun City recently? Just tell him to pay the price—yes, what did they do? They want to destroy the Shadow Body?"

It was a magical item equipped by each patrol team in Joffrey. It recorded everything they did during patrols and then injected it into the recording matrix upon their return. Those guards with magical abilities could delete some of the footage, something Witt had always known about, but he had never taken any action.

But this time it’s a little different. Although the shadow matrix is not an inseparable set, it is still a magic prop after all, and the price of making one is not cheap.

"Well," the guard hesitated for a moment, "they wiped out the entire Daye Gang."

"...Tsk," Witt was stunned for a moment, then stuffed another ball of fish into his mouth. "A powerful dragon versus a local tyrant isn't exactly a strange thing. It's just that the Daye Gang has the Dieu family backing them."

"Let me guess, one of your colleagues is involved in some kind of conspiracy with that group? But the Shadow Body is effective when placed on the person, so how could it be destroyed? Are you guys using it to threaten them?"

"No."

"Then let the captain who was in charge at the time come to see me. You seem to know nothing about anything."

"I'm afraid he won't be able to see you, sir," the guard finally said, unable to hide the truth. He reluctantly cryptically explained what he had seen. "The 'extermination' I mentioned earlier doesn't just include members of the Daye Gang, but also includes anyone connected to them who was involved tonight."

"You're—Pfft!" The sentence was so long that Witt was almost fooled by his own men. However, when he understood what was going on, he spat out all the wine in his mouth. "Say it again?!"

The servant who had served him for many years tactfully left the room - but soon he had to come back again: "Master, the Dieu family requests your audience."

Almost no one knew what the two sides talked about. Only after the guard and Dieu left, the nobleman's servant finally saw a rare solemn expression on the master's face.

"I never expected that," said Lord Witte, looking at the cold midnight snacks in front of him, unable to muster up any appetite. "Our tiny town of Joffrey has attracted such attention... The Kingdom of Latour, and even a Dragonborn?"

"You, did you hear everything clearly?" Witt suddenly looked at his old servant. "I heard everything clearly, sir." The servant knew that Witt had no habit of killing people to silence them, and his memory and hearing were declining. When he asked this, he really wanted to confirm something.

"Just now they mentioned that the group was treated as VIP guests by Philip Fengquan because of what?"

"Because one of them is a half-elf woman who is a noble of the empire."

"The Imperial nobility... Yeah, yeah!" Witt suddenly jumped up from the bed. "Quick, tell everyone to get moving! Before sunset tomorrow, I'm going to set up a banquet and invite them all to the feast!"

"Master, what are you doing——"

"What the hell! An Imperial noble has come to Inassus. Do you know how rare this opportunity is? I have a hundred thousand questions to ask her—hurry!"

Chapter 181 A Party in a Small Town

"Yes! You finally returned my brother's belongings, but what? You created a bigger mess!"

After Philip put the anklet away, he began waving an invitation letter sent by Xingye and spitting at Edward, who had regained his dragonborn appearance. "They killed an entire team of guards! Oh my God, oh my God! I can't believe my ears!"

Even if he had a hundred times the courage, he would not dare to get angry with Leslough, and could only vent his fear and anger on Edward.

"Of course I knew that the Daye Gang was related to the Dieu family! It wasn't a secret at all! But you actually killed them all knowing this? Are you crazy?"

"If this is a question, you can get a positive answer," Angelita sat aside, checking the invitation letter in her hand over and over again, "but you don't have to worry too much. They won't dare to do anything to you, right?"

"But they are causing you trouble." Philip had to suppress all negative emotions when looking at Angrita. "Besides, that Witte is an old fox. He might pass the news back to Qingzun City. The Luwalu family will make a fuss about it."

"Putting pressure on the Fengquan family is secondary, but it will cause inconvenience to you."

"It's not inconvenient for me," Angelita shook her head, blocking Philip's suggestion. "Whatever that gang is selling, it's not allowed to circulate in the empire. I support Uncle Reslaufer's actions. Killing them is a good deed."

"Those guards who collaborated with the gangs deserve even more death. If they want to use the banquet to cause trouble, let them do it."

Philip felt that the noble lady had completely misunderstood his hidden meaning, but the truth was that Angelita didn't care whether this would cause trouble for the Fengquan family - after all, the end of her journey was not in Qingzun City.

"Rather than their subsequent actions, I think we should be more concerned about the Hongmen Banquet itself," Daisy said. "There are only a few of us. What if they use the smashing of a cup as a signal and five hundred assassins leap out from under the table..."

Similar plots have happened among the nobles before, so Daisy's talk this time was not crazy. At most, she was just citing an example that no one knew about.

"Don't worry too much about that." Philip had no other options at this point. He wasn't kidnapped to the chariot; he was part of it. It was too late to distance himself from it now. "Ruofrey Town is just a small town. Even if our three families joined forces, we couldn't stage an ambush on the scale of 'five hundred'. Especially..."

Philip looked at Leslough with fear, especially after being slaughtered by this man by nearly a hundred people in one night.

Leslaufer actually enjoyed such a look. At this moment, he changed into a new set of clothes. If the people here were not scared after seeing the scene last night, he would not mind doing it again.

Despite all the doubts, since Philip had neither the wisdom to destroy the two families of Louvain and Dieu in a casual manner nor the courage to make a quick resolution and gather troops to resist, it was finally Angelita who made the decision. When the sun of the new day fell under the mountain of Collinetto, the group appeared on time at the manor that was both the mayor's residence and the residence of the Louvain family.

That Witt Lovalou seemed to have prepared a truly grand banquet. In addition to the three most influential families in the town and Angelita and her group, other small families and even prominent civilians in the town were invited. The manor was bustling with people and was extremely lively.

What concerned Angelita more was something else: the number of cooks and servants here seemed to have completely exceeded the limit of a town noble. The table was filled with various meals, and the surrounding layout was almost completely modeled after the imperial style.

"Why do I feel like this is more like a welcome party than a censure..." Daisy and Vondar whispered, "Or are these people actually wearing soft armor and carrying swords?"

"You're a bit overly nervous," the dwarf said helplessly. "How many similar stories have you heard to develop this kind of persecution... delusion? Look carefully at these people's actions. They definitely don't have any armor, and I don't see any weapons in plain sight—oh, except over there."

"They are from the Dieu family, aren't they?"

Leslaufer turned around and noticed several fully armed men and women walking into the banquet. Several of them kept glancing over here, their eyes full of forbearance.

The vendor who had been at the gate of the Maple Springs family estate was there too, but he was dressed differently. Leslaufer didn't like being secretly stared at, so he glared back without hesitation until these people no longer dared to turn around.

"Witt, I need an explanation!" Pierre Dieu was the only unarmed member of the family. He angrily walked through the crowd and approached Witt Loireau to demand an explanation. "They killed the town guards, and you're inviting murderers to your banquet?!"

"You'd better tell me that you poisoned the food and planned to catch them all!"

"Don't be so sinister, Pierre," Witte said slowly, adjusting his imperial-style attire. "They killed bad guards, guys who were colluding with criminals. They also killed those poisonous insects. Even if you take a step back, the merits and demerits are balanced."

"Latour has no such law, and the Dieu family will not accept it—"

"This isn't Latour's territory, Pierre—and certainly not Qingzun City," Witt said with a sly smile. "As for whether the Dieu family accepts it or not, what does that have to do with the town of Joffrey?"

"Could it be that among those guards colluding with the poisonous insects are your people? Or are those poisonous insects themselves your people? Or is it a combination of both?"

This was an unspoken agreement, and the Dieu family had no room for excuses. Even the military nobles had to swallow their anger for the time being. After glaring at Witte hatefully, they turned and walked aside.

Witt was very happy that he had temporarily suppressed the arrogance of the Dieu family. When he saw the half-elf girl in the report walking towards him, the old nobleman stepped forward with high spirits, bowed slightly to the hand extended by Angelita, intending to kiss the back of her hand.

"Dear lady, thank you for being able to--"

After crossing the Kolin Otto Mountains, Angrita pulled her hand back for the second time - what the hell is this place?!

Chapter 182: Rebellion at the Banquet

"I'm sorry, no one ever told me that the hand kiss is only for married women..."

Witt, who was already quite old, stood there awkwardly. After listening to Philip's somewhat gloating explanation, he almost wanted to dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it.

Philip was, after all, a young man in his twenties. He wasn't exactly handsome, but at least he looked like a noble. He was already that age! If the man across from him wasn't a half-elf, he could be the other person's grandfather!

How could he brag to his old friends who also yearned for the Empire about being an "Empire Expert" after doing something like this in broad daylight? It was hilarious!

"Those who cross the Kolin-Otto Mountains for business are generally married women. It's not entirely your fault..." Angrita replied weakly, bowing as standardly as a count's daughter could. "I'm Barty Antichi, the third daughter of Count Antichi. On behalf of my father, I extend my regards to the Loireau family. On my own behalf, I also wish you good health and a long life."

Count Antichi. Considering the origins of the Antichi surname, there were countless "Count Antichis" throughout the empire. The concept of three women was even more ambiguous: were they only female members, or both sexes? Were they only the direct lineage, or were they also considered the branches? These were all things that were impossible to verify. Even if Angelita had revealed her family background, she hadn't revealed any useful information.

But Witte was so amused by this little polite remark that he could hardly tell east from west, south from north. This was a true aristocrat, the daughter of an earl! Among the three Inassas, besides the king, the highest aristocracy was the title of "earl"!

Even though he knew very well that the power of the Earl of Inassus was much greater than that of the Imperial Earl, a title is just a title!

He immediately forgot the previous unpleasantness and quickly led Angarita to introduce the various families during the banquet, fulfilling his responsibilities as host. He moved quickly on this part because, in his opinion, the highlight of this banquet was not the living people who could not be served, but the dishes on the tables.

As the sky grew darker, magic-driven lights began to light up one after another in the courtyard of the manor. These lights were not simply white or dim, but were carefully arranged by Witt to better present the color of each dish at the banquet, so as to give "Miss Antichi" a better impression.

In fact, even Witt himself found it hard to say. Before meeting Angelita in person, he had doubts about whether she could guide him. But after a mistake was made in just a meeting gift, the old nobleman immediately and wholeheartedly showed all his attainments in diet, hoping to get Angelita's teachings.

Angelita was all too familiar with this—but it was far from the familiarity she wanted.

"You added gypsum to the rice pudding?" Angarita was speechless as she looked at the rice pudding in front of her that was spiked with a lethal dose of cinnamon. "At least in the central part of the empire, we don't have the habit of adding gypsum. And you put too much cinnamon - is it produced nearby?"

Seeing the smirk on Witt's face, Angelita knew the answer: "And this roast goose... why did you paint its beak with gold powder? This, this, this, this is meaningless! And it doesn't look good at all!"

"And this rose candy—" Angelita had to pick out the piece at the bottom of the plate as best she could, because only there was no rich sweet and sour sauce that could be smelled from a distance, "its own flavor is completely covered up!"

"Actually, I think the pineapple pizza is pretty good, as are the sweet tomato scrambled eggs and tofu pudding—you guys keep chatting, bye!" The bard picked up a piece of rose candy from the plate, only one-third drizzled with sauce. She put it in her mouth and found the taste quite novel. But when she saw Angelita's expression, she tactfully slipped aside, ready to try other foods from this world.

Although Witte's imitation of the Imperial cuisine wasn't good, it didn't mean the food was unpalatable. On the contrary, many of them would have been considered rare delicacies even in Daisy's past. The bard discovered a large amount of spices and a small amount of magical fluctuations in them, and she guessed that this was one of the reasons why the food was so delicious.

But as Angelita thinks, under the cover of these seasonings, no matter what kind of food you eat, it loses the flavor it should have, which really makes it less fun.

Leslaufer casually pulled off a piece of lamb leg bone from the table and tore it into pieces without any courtesy. For him, as long as it was meat, it couldn't be too bad no matter what. The druid not far away was just the opposite. Bella shuttled between the tables, filling her plate with various fruits and vegetables that were rarely seen in the empire, and she didn't use any seasoning at all - she was so plain as if she were a rabbit or some other herbivorous animal.

"You really are birds of a feather." A voice suddenly sounded from beside Leslaufer. The mercenary looked up and saw that it was the member of the Dieu family who had been arguing with Witte at the beginning.

"Don't you think so? How can someone who only thinks about eating achieve anything?" Seeing that Reslaufer ignored him and continued to work on the almost-finished leg of lamb, Pierre took a step closer and said meaningfully, "You look like someone from the East. How did you end up in the Empire and accept the mission of escorting that little girl?"

"Of course, Imperial gold coins are more useful," Leslaufer curled his lips. "If you're willing to pay, I can also send you to the Empire."

"...I don't have any need for it, but I don't doubt your ability," Pierre said patiently. "I saw the scene in that alley. It was hellish. And yet, you were barely injured."

"You can choose to go and argue with other noble gentlemen instead of asking for trouble here."

"There are members of the Dieu family in there, and the Dieu family will never let go of their grudges."

"That's great," Leslaufer said, immediately becoming interested. "I heard the average age of your family is less than thirty. I'd be happy to help lower that number to eighteen."

Pierre Dieu's mind flashed through the mutilated corpses in the alley, and he couldn't help but take two steps back. "I think you misunderstood—but at the same time, the Dieu family also likes cooperation, especially with people like you who are willing to give everything for money."

"You think Imperial Gold Coins are better? No problem. Just name a number. We have the support of His Majesty the King of Latour, and we guarantee you'll be satisfied."

"What do you want?" Leslough looked at the man with interest.

"It's simple. I'll give up this commission. The rest, apart from the gold coins, has nothing to do with you." Pierre felt he had already won. The woman was merely from a count's family in the empire, and Dieu could certainly offer her a higher salary. "Or if you want to earn more money, you can do it yourself. What do you think of a noble title?"

Chapter 183 Witt's Ingredients

"A noble title," Pierre amused Reslaufer. "You think I can't do it, so I need you to give it to me? Let's talk about the money."

"First of all, you need to at least pay the balance that I'm supposed to receive. There's no doubt about that, right? That's six hundred Imperial gold coins."

"You're blackmailing me!" Pierre protested immediately. In today's empire, the value of imperial gold coins has skyrocketed, let alone Inassus. "She's just a count's daughter. There's no way she could come up with such a large sum of money!"