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nSylvester enjoyed the view of his new house that would become an essential part of history for the coming thousands of years if everything went well.

n“I wish I could see. Moments like these are the only times I feel sorrow for the lack of my eyes.” Sir Dolorem said.

nSylvester looked back and cheered the man up. “Don’t worry. I promised you that time, and I still remember it. I will one day get your eyes fixed, no matter what.”

n“Sylvester!”

nJust then, Felix’s shout came. Along with Felix was a small carriage driven by Gabriel and Bishop Lazark, while Elyon rode a horse. The four were going to the assignment in the Northern Duchy of Iceling to check the heathen activities.

nAugustus was with them, too, on his dark stallion with a lot of luggage hanging on the side and back. Most of it was exorcism-related equipment.

n“I still don’t understand what you do for a living.” Felix was, as expected, bickering with Augustus. “Sylvester and I also deal with all sorts of evil entities, and we don’t need any of those exorcism things.”

nAugustus was patiently replying to him. “That’s because the darkness you deal with is physical, such as demons or bloodlings. Meanwhile, my work involves exorcising souls that couldn’t cross over, effects of curses, or people possessed by some dark soul. There is evil outside that normal eyes can not see, and I deal with that.”

n“Ah, that’s sweet then. I think I have a curse on myself, too. Can you look at it? I can’t seem to be able to attract any decent sexy women despite being this big manly hunk.” Felix sounded as narcissistic as possible.

n“…”

nOf course, not only Augustus but everyone else was also speechless.

nBam!

nSylvester knocked on Felix’s head as he rode to his side. “Don’t bring his wits down to your retardedness. Let’s not waste any time here. The ship at the Happy Village must be waiting for us there.”

n“Max, you will never understand the aspirations of a true man.” Felix patted Sylvester’s shoulder as he moved. “A virgin can never understand the taste of the forbidden fruit.”

n“You’re also a virgin,” Gabriel muttered from behind.

n“Not for long, boy,” Felix exclaimed with a big grin.

nSylvester just sighed and let others move too. “Ignore him… A man can always dream. It requires no tax, after all.”

n“…”

n“Do you always belittle each other like this?” Augustus asked Sylvester, unable to see how Sylvester and Felix could accept being disrespected like that.

nFor that, Gabriel had a fitting reply. “Of course we do, Augustus. Because we’re not friends—We’re brothers. To us, our little bickerings are a sign that everything is alright, that we accept each other’s good and bad and are not afraid of pointing them out. For example, Sylvester is too damn pretty, which sometimes causes us trouble, or Felix is too dumb.”

n“I heard that, Gab.” Felix barked from ahead.

nGabriel ignored him. “See that, Augustus? A donkey is usually so thick-skinned that you must repeatedly beat it, so it works harder.”

n“Pfft…”

nFor the first time, Sylvester, Felix and Gabriel saw Augustus showing anything more than a dry smile. That was enough to make the three happy.

nJust like that, talking and joking about various things, they all arrived at the Happy Village, a place that got the name due to its proximity to everything amazing. It was beside the White River, just opposite the Green City, and Holy Land was not far away.

nThe village was known for its fantastic wax crafting, famous worldwide. The people created candles of all sorts of shapes and sizes, and designs. There were even some as big as a tower.

nA ship was waiting for them there. It was supposed to take Sylvester, Sir Dolorem and Augustus to the north, not far away. After that, they needed to enter the Duchy of Zon, and make their way on the flat farmlands farther east, to Broken Bay. Meanwhile, the same ship was supposed to take Felix and the rest to the Duchy of Iceling into the Duke Iceling’s keep.

nOn the way, Sylvester spoke with Felix, Gabriel, Bishop Lazark and Elyon. He was worried for all four of them as they were his staunch supporters and greatest allies. He knew that if something were to happen to Felix and Gabriel, the world would undoubtedly become much more depressing and worthless.

n“I believe the list I gave Felix was read by the rest of you too? It had most of the scenarios, but I’m not god. I can’t predict the future. So, please be careful and fall back at the first sign of a problem you can’t fix. If it’s a bloodling, don’t even attempt to touch it. Remember, I won’t be with you—I’m the torch that’s the bane of dark entities. Without me, even if you use a lot of Solarium and Light Crystals, it will be useless.

n“And if you found yourself in a human mess, or perhaps a political mess, then immediately contact the Holy Land, especially in case you sense a conspiracy. By default, I think that Masan is behind it.”

nSylvester briefed all four of them with complete seriousness. He honestly felt desperate and frustrated due to the lack of long communication tools.

n“Max, don’t worry. I will be careful with this. I know I can be lazy and playful most of the time, but when my life depends on it. Trust me; I don’t want to die.” Felix assured Sylvester.

n“Likewise,” Gabriel added.

nSylvester glanced at Elyon and Bishop Lazark. “If these two fools start taking an unnecessary risk, please drag them back to safety. Here, I have prepared these four pouches for you. They contain more than a dozen Solarium, Light and Explosion crystals. And take this bigger pouch as well. It contains many medicines and healing potions.”

n“How are you this rich?” Felix stared at Sylvester’s face. After all, the money they had extorted back in Ironstone Duchy had already been divided among themselves.

n“Stop thinking about that. May the Holy Light enlighten you four and always show you the right path.” Sylvester prayed for them.

n“Amen!”

nWith that, the preparations were over. The ship soon arrived at the small docks for little boats. There, Sylvester got off and made his way to Baroness Martha’s castle.

nThe road was non-existent as they rode on the farmlands. The only reason they took the ship was that if they were to go through the land, they’d have to cross the vast fields of small and big hills, some full of mud and some full of trees. It would have taken too much time.

n“Sir Dolorem, do you have any knowledge about Baroness Martha?” Sylvester asked. “Or perhaps you, Augustus?”

n“My knowledge comes from years ago.” Sir Dolorem spoke. “The last time I heard about her was when the Baron died, leaving behind a ten-year-old boy. But it became a topic of discussion as the Baron’s wife turned out to be extremely greedy, and instead of letting the child take over, she crowned herself the Baroness.”

n“And nobody rioted or complained? What about the minor nobles in her lands or her loyal soldiers?” Sylvester questioned.

n“That I can not tell.”

n“I can.” Augustus chimed in. “From my last visit, I could gather that the Baroness is likely warming the bed of her master of arms. Through him, she controls the military of her region.”

nSylvester rubbed his chin, wondering what approach to take with this, as his experience had taught him to treat every noble differently to maximise returns. “What would you say are her character traits?”

n“She’s not gifted in Knight’s or Wizard’s talent and is likely in her late forties. Yet she’s a beauty to behold, with a body that almost all her subjects lust for. But her beauty is overshadowed by her obnoxious attitude. She’s narcissistic, greedy, petty and hateful.” Augustus explained.

n‘So she fits the archetype of a spoiled noble. This can be easy as long as I hit the right spots.’

n“How would you define her lover?” He asked further.

n“He’s younger than the Baroness, likely in his thirties. He’s tall, strong, and a Golden Knight. I don’t know what he hides under his handsome face, but he acts warmly and respectfully to all. He even trains the Baroness’ son every single morning.”

n‘Hmm… I think I know what she likes now. It seems Sylvester, the womaniser, will have to get to work again.’

n“I will try to act like I’m attracted to her and seduce her to get to the truth and make the cooperation healthy. So don’t react negatively to anything I will do.” Sylvester warned his two companions.

n“I should change clothes. It’s better I wear something that reveals my muscles—Which is impossible in these baggy clothes.”

nSo they took a short rest on the way, and Sylvester quickly donned the light armour that he usually wore under the main golden armour. It was made of leather and showed his torso’s shape very well.

nAfter that, they moved fast and soon arrived outside the Baroness’ castle. It was small but picturesque, appearing nestled not far from the shore. Open lands surrounded it at the front, and dense forest behind it stretched as far as the boundaries of the Holy Land.

nIt stood tall with a small moat surrounding it and guards appearing to patrol it. The small town in front of the entrance was also clean and well-planned, and the people didn’t seem poor.

nPa!

nBut Sylvester didn’t have to wait too long as the castle’s gates opened, and the guards lowered the drawbridge. Following that, a small group of horses moved out, with one white horse in the lead, ridden by a woman.

nSylvester waited and noticed the woman’s features. It easily captured his attention. Perhaps it was her striking red hair or piercing blue eyes. But even more enticing was her fantastic figure, which was toned and slender with a large bust, despite her age.

n‘Is that… Why is she wearing light armour?’

nEventually, they met face to face. Sylvester dismounted his horse and walked towards the white mare. But before she dismounted the horse, she seemed to savour Sylvester’s form with her eyes, from head to toe, before watering her lips with a lick from her tongue.

n‘And that’s a hook!’

nShe forwarded the back of her hand towards him, which Sylvester graciously caught and kissed. “So the rumours were true. The beautiful rose of Rosewood Barony is far more gorgeous than my highest expectations. Please, accept these lowly tulips from this lowly bard.”

n‘Yes! The scent of rose and sweat—So much lust. A good hint of jealousy, worship and excitement too.’

nShe took the small bouquet and smelled it. “Famed Bard of Solis, you humble yourself with such words. Lowly is fit for these putrid peasants, not for a fine… exquisite man like you.”

nSylvester, however, didn’t let her hand go and kept it clenched tight. He used magic to make it warm while utilising his thumb to caress the back of her hand lightly.

nSylvester smiled and used his other hand to brush his hair back with his fingers. It was a move that always made women go weak on their knees. “As soon as I heard these lands were troubled by a bloodling, I rushed here. I hope my uninvited visit is not bothersome.”

n“Oh… Haha…” She blushed a little and used her free hand to cover her mouth. “Lord Bard, there is no woman in this entire world who would be bothered by your visit—Must I say, even if you had come here for no reason, I’d have welcomed you with… my open arms.”

nSylvester bowed his head to accept her compliment. “Then, shall we move to tackle the bloodling, or head to your castle?”

n“Bloodling, please. Those lowly filthy barbarians in the forest are praying to evil—I hope they can be stopped quickly, as I’m afraid for my lands. It’s hard being a single woman and running a Barony, my lord. So I came prepared with my best knights and armour to help you.”

nSylvester nodded and looked back. “Sir Dolorem and Archpriest Augustus, prepare to move. And my lady… Can you please…”

n“What is it, my lord? Anything! Just tell me what you need?” She fanatically asked.

nSylvester kept warmly smiling and looked down. Somehow, instead of him, the Baroness was holding his hand now. “Can you… Let my hand go?”

n“…”

n“Oh… Of course!” She blushed and stepped back.

n‘Haha… This is so easy! But…’

nSylvester was not foolish enough not to notice the scent of hardcore jealousy and rage from a certain Knight behind the woman.

n‘Should I kill him and keep the woman dependent on me? A Baroness in my pocket… I will never get another easy chance like this.’

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