Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Just as Laurist was about to grab a bottle of wine, he snapped his fingers and summoned the waitress. He then smiled at the lady in black. "I wonder if you've eaten, Miss. How about a lamb chop? The lamb chop here is quite good, and it's delicious when paired with the famous red wine here. May I have the honor of inviting you to lunch? "
The woman in black was startled. Her gaze passed through the black veil and scanned Laurist's face. She seemed to be trying to figure out what Laurist was planning with his sudden attentiveness. However, when she heard Laurist say that the roasted lamb chops and red wine were delicious, her throat hurriedly moved a few times as if she was swallowing.
However, the black-clothed woman still resisted the temptation of the delicacies. She stood up gracefully and nodded lightly. "If it's inconvenient for your convoy, then it's fine. It's my fault for disturbing your lunch. Please forgive me for my presumptuousness."
"Wait …" Laurist stood up and extended his hand. "Please wait, Miss. Perhaps I should introduce myself. I'm Norton Laurist, from the Norton Family in the north. My subordinates are looking for carriages to organize a convoy to return to the family's territory. This is my family crest. "
Laurist took out the golden family crest and placed it on the table. The crest had the image of a roaring bear, and the back of the crest was engraved with a complicated laurel pattern. Laurist's name was engraved in the middle of the pattern. This was the proof of Laurist's identity as a quasi-noble. Anyone who had received proper noble education would be able to tell the difference at a glance.
The lady in black gasped in shock and covered her mouth behind the veil. She clearly didn't expect to meet the person she was going to, and didn't know how to reply.
"Miss, what's wrong?"
"Miss …"
An old man who looked like a butler in his fifties stood up from the table beside her, along with a young maid who was about fifteen or sixteen years old.
The young maid rushed over to support the lady in black. She glared at Laurist with her large eyes, as if Laurist had done something infuriating to her Miss …
The old man who looked like a butler stood in front of the lady in black.
Haha, Lester laughed. This old man's aura, hm, Iron rank, loyal protector of his master, not bad.
The lady in black finally reacted, and hurriedly gestured for the old man and the little maidservant to move aside. She bowed towards Laurist once more, "I'm sorry, my lord. They were just worried about my safety …"
Laurist waved his hand and smiled. "It's fine, I understand. Now, can Miss sit down and tell me why you are going to our family? "
The little maidservant's eyes were sharp, and she immediately saw the gold badge that Laurist had placed on the table. "Ah, the badge. Is it gold?"
Then, he picked up the badge, put it in his mouth, and bit it …
"Don't …" Buckingham was shocked, but it was too late to stop him.
Sure enough, when the little handmaiden bit down, it was as if she had bitten steel. She held her cheek and cried out in pain, as if she had lost her badge …
"Miss, this person is an impostor. His badge isn't made of gold at all …" The little maid tearfully complained to the woman in black.
The woman in black rubbed her forehead behind her hood, looking as if she had been defeated by her unreliable maidservant.
Laurist held back his laughter, and picked up the family badge that had been thrown to the side. He secretly circulated his qi, and said to the little maid, "Little girl, no noble's badge would be made of pure gold. To verify the authenticity of the badge, one is to look at the patterns on the back, and the other is to look at this … "
Laurist infused the remaining qi in his bloodline into the badge, and black smoke rose from the surface of the badge. Slowly, the black smoke condensed into a giant bear that roared at the sky.
"How magical …" The little maid forgot about her toothache, and stared at the black bear that had condensed from the black smoke.
"This is because the badge has some special materials that can connect to qi. According to the pattern on the surface of the badge and the patterns on the back, it is very easy to achieve this effect after infusing qi into it. All the family badges of noble families can be distinguished based on this effect. The ratio of materials used to make the badges and the arrangement of the patterns are very secretive. It is very difficult for outsiders to make a fake family badge. Therefore, it is not easy to impersonate a noble, "Laurist explained with a smile, and the black smoke condensed from the family badge slowly dissipated.
"My apologies, my lord. Little Winnie was too rude …" The woman in black apologized as she took off her hood, revealing a delicate face. She had long chestnut-colored hair, big eyes, a small mouth, and a round chin. However, her skin seemed to be a little pale.
"It's alright, she is very cute. Then, beautiful lady, may I have the honor of inviting you to lunch? "Laurist invited her again politely.
"Lunch? Sure, I want to eat roasted chicken, steak, fried bacon, cream pudding, and egg tarts … "Before the woman in black could speak, the little maid, Winnie, had already excitedly listed out a list of things she wanted to eat.
"Winnie …" The woman in black looked at her maid suspiciously.
"But Miss, Winnie has already been eating potatoes with you for half a month. Winnie wants to eat meat …" Winnie blinked her large eyes at her mistress, feeling wronged.
The woman in black was greatly embarrassed, and her face turned red.
"Little Winnie, go to that table with the old man. Order whatever you want to eat. Don't worry, I will pay." As Laurist spoke, he gestured for the maid to come over, "Please give this lady a roasted lamb chop, fruit salad, and cream of matsutake. Also, a bottle of red wine. What does the young lady over there want? Please fulfill her request, ok? "
"Yes, my lord. Your order will be ready soon. Please wait a moment." The maid knew Laurist's noble status, and was very respectful.
"Oh, by the way, I have not asked for your name, my lady."
The woman in black calmed herself down, "It's my fault, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Nicole Trace. I am Nicole Arbeth's adopted daughter, and also her student … "
"Nicole Arbeth? That name sounds familiar. Let me think … "Laurist thought hard and quickly recalled something," She was a famous female scholar and professor in the Crisen Empire who studied ruins. She received the noble title of a Dame of the Empire, and wrote many books on ruins from the magic civilization … "
"Ah, my lord, how do you know so much?" Trace was very surprised.
Laurist smiled. "It's simple. I've been studying at Morent City's Dawn College for many years, and the study of ruins is one of the specializations I've studied. The main teaching materials for this specialization are the books on ruins written by your mother. Back then, I almost memorized all of your mother's books in order to pass the professional exam. Now that I think about it, those days of memorizing books are unspeakable! "
"Hehe …" Trace also laughed, "You memorized books to pass the professional exam. In fact, if you study seriously, you don't need to memorize them at all. My mother's books are very organized. As long as you understand a little, it's easy to connect the dots and understand everything. Memorizing books only means that you aren't studying diligently. "
"You're right. After passing the professional exam, I found that I quickly forgot the content I memorized. I can't remember it anymore. By the way, how is your mother, Dame Arbeth? "Laurist asked.
Trace's face darkened, and she looked like she was about to cry, "My mother is no longer here. Three years ago, the eldest prince launched a sneak attack, and the third prince led his troops to counterattack. Half of the imperial capital was destroyed in a chaotic battle. In that chaotic battle, my mother was robbed. In order to protect her research, she was killed. I packed my mother's manuscripts and research materials, and hid in the nunnery of the War God's Temple with my butler and Winnie to avoid the battle. After the battle ended, I found out that my house had been ransacked. In the past two years, the situation in the imperial capital has been terrible. As a scholar, I really can't make ends meet, so I could only accept my friend's advice and go to the north. "
Laurist was sad, "My condolences …"
"It's nothing …" Perhaps it was the hardships of life that had given the pale-faced female scholar an unusual determination. "In fact, going to the North to join the Norton family was my good friend's insistence, and also to continue my mother's research. My friend's name is Norton Christie. She said that although the Norton family's territory is in the remote north, we don't have to worry about war. I can continue my mother's research in peace there … "
"Norton Christie? My cousin? " A chubby girl appeared in Laurist's memory, but it wasn't a pleasant memory, because the girl was pinching little Locke's little face and making all kinds of funny faces. In his memory, little Locke was crying …
At that time, little Locke's mother was still alive, and he was only five years old. The chubby girl was the daughter of his second uncle, whom he had never met. She came to the north with her aunt to visit relatives, and little Locke became her favourite toy …
What a painful memory! Laurist shook his head, throwing these painful memories to the back of his mind, "Do you have news of my second uncle and his family? Can you tell me how they are now? "
Tressia shook her head, "I've been separated from them for two years, I don't know how they are now. But, Sir, your second uncle is no longer around. Seven years ago, when the eldest prince was rebelling, the Royal Guards that your second uncle was in were ambushed by the eldest prince's rebel army. They were completely annihilated, and your second uncle was not spared. Your second uncle was the vice-captain of the Royal Guards at that time. When the news came, your second aunt cried and fainted a few times … "
The veins on Laurist's hands bulged, "It's the eldest prince again. I'll remember this. We'll settle this score slowly …"
"Christie was a genius in impetus. She was only twenty years old, but she was already a 2-Star Silver. Our house was next to your second uncle's, and Christie often came over to play. She treated me very well, like an older sister to me. After your second uncle died, Christie joined the army to avenge your second uncle. However, less than a year later, she came back. She was very angry and said that the third prince was indecisive and only wanted to protect the throne. He had no ambition and was not worthy of her service. After that, she became close to the second prince and formed a team with the second prince to cause trouble for the eldest prince. "
"The last time I saw Christie was two years ago. The civil war was about to end, and the three princes and the dukes were already discussing a truce. Christie returned to the imperial capital and came to my house. She told me that the third prince disbanded the White Lion Army that supported the second prince and ordered the second prince to return to his own fief in order to prevent the first and second princes from fighting for the throne. Christie said that she wanted to follow the second prince, and this time, she returned to the imperial capital to bring second aunt and her two younger brothers to the second prince's fief. "
Tresti told her what she knew about Kristya.
"She didn't invite you?" Laurist was a little puzzled. Why would his cousin let this young female scholar travel thousands of miles to the family's territory in the north instead of bringing her to the second prince's fief? It was obvious that the journey to the north was much more dangerous.
"She invited me, but I refused," Tressia explained. Tracy explained, "Two years ago, because of the signing of the armistice agreement, the residents of the capital thought that they would be able to live in peace. But they didn't expect that after the war ended, their lives became even worse. Prices soared and supplies were very tight. Public security was getting worse, and more and more people took the risk to become bandits. Although the war ended, there were more and more conflicts between the lords. The days in the imperial capital couldn't go on any longer, so I thought of joining the Norton family. "
"The biggest reason I went to the north was because of my mother's research. Is there a Black Swamp in your family's territory? "Tressia asked.
"You mean the Black Clay Swamp?"
"Yes, the Black Clay Swamp. After many years of research, my mother discovered that there might be ruins from the end of the magic era in the Black Clay Swamp, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the ruins. I wanted to go to the north to see the Black Clay Swamp. If I could find the ruins, I would be able to comfort my mother's spirit in heaven. "Speaking of her research, Tressia's eyes shone with a strange light.
Laurist curled his lips.
"It's true, I'm not lying to you. My mother really did discover something. I also believe that there are ruins in the Black Clay Swamp that have not been discovered by anyone. Christie also knows about it, so she wrote me a letter of recommendation. "Tressia thought that Laurist doubted the results of her mother's research, and was so anxious that she almost cried.
"Oh, that's not what I meant." Laurist hurriedly comforted the young female scholar, "I'm just doubting if you can get close to the Black Clay Swamp. It's one of the most dangerous places in the north. There's a very savage magical beast called the Ironspine Gulf Crocodile that lives there. There are thousands of them, and it's impossible to count them. I remember someone in the family seeing a 30-40 meter long Ironspine Gulf Crocodile. Without silver-ranked or above battle energy, don't even think about getting close to the Black Clay Swamp. "
"Is that so …" After hearing Laurist's words, the young female scholar was stunned.
Do you think that you can swagger around in the Black Clay Swamp and search for ruins? If that's the case, would you even have the chance to discover the ruins? They would have been dug out by others long ago. What a naive girl.
"How about this, Miss Tressia. As the head of the Norton family, I welcome you to join our caravan in the north, and we also welcome you to be a guest of our family. You can stay in our family's territory for as long as you want. You can continue your research with peace of mind, and don't worry about your daily life. We will take care of everything. We will do our best to satisfy you, "Laurist said.
At this moment, Laurist saw the captain of the garrison rush into the inn with a bitter expression. When he saw Laurist, he hurriedly walked over and bowed respectfully, "Sir, the local lord, Viscount Comus, has arrived. He invites you to meet him."
Laurist gestured for the captain to wait for a moment, "Miss Tressia, the caravan will set off in two days. Due to certain reasons, it might take a long time. If you need any help, please let us know so that we don't delay the caravan. Is that alright?"
The young female scholar blushed, as if she was not used to asking for help. After hesitating for a long time, she said that the three of them had two carriages, but they still needed three pack horses to pull the carriages.
Laurist nodded, "Don't worry, Miss Tressia. We will arrange it for you. You just need to wait for news of our caravan's departure. Please forgive me, but I have to meet the local lord now, so I can only take my leave. Your lunch is here, please enjoy it. If you need anything else, just tell the maids here. Put all the bills on my account, so please don't stand on ceremony. "
Laurist stood up and bowed to express his apology, then instructed the owner of the inn to take care of his three guests before leaving with the captain of the garrison.
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