Chapter 44: Distant Guests (3)

During dinner time, everyone temporarily avoided mentioning those unpleasant topics. Ophariel, as usual, did not attend, while Julian, as the host, had to be present at the banquet to entertain his guests. Of course, his expression wasn’t very good. In Viscount Bird’s view, although this young lord was trying hard to appear very calm, the shadows that occasionally appeared on his face betrayed his emotions. Obviously, his proposal was very difficult for the other party to accept, and it was precisely because Viscount Bird knew this that he deliberately put forward this opinion.

The dinner wasn’t lavish, but the juicy steaks and soft, delicious bread showed the unique flavor of the countryside. Paired with a bottle of fine-tasting wine, it was passable as a noble’s dinner.

But this wasn’t the problem.

Ophariel sighed softly. She withdrew her gaze from the dark forest outside the window and put down her teacup. Seeing her movement, the girl standing nearby immediately came forward, skillfully refilled her teacup, then blinked her bright eyes and curiously asked.

“Miss Ophariel, are you really not going down to dine with the master?”

“Now is not the time, Erin,” Ophariel shook her head. She understood the little girl’s thoughts. Since she became Julian’s adjutant, the two had been eating together every day, discussing and arguing. Ophariel always tried her best to offer her opinions and views to Julian, and Julian would always tell her stories and principles she had never heard before. It must be said that these were very peaceful and comfortable days for Ophariel. She couldn’t do this in the royal palace, and in the outside world, she had to be even more cautious. Chatting so casually with a young man like this was something Ophariel had never imagined. Moreover, Julian’s words were very witty and quite charming. But today, she could only stay in the study, facing dinner alone. Although today’s dinner was much more sumptuous than usual, without the mood to eat, even the most delicious food wouldn’t be appetizing.

What bothered Ophariel wasn’t this. She was still secretly “eavesdropping” on the conversation between the two parties in the dining room. Obviously, Julian didn’t intend to mention that unpleasant topic again, and Viscount Bird only occasionally chatted about some interesting stories from within the territory. It seemed there was no conflict between the two parties. But Ophariel knew very well that this matter wasn’t so simple. Especially after Julian found evidence of the Bird family’s collusion with the bandits in their camp, Ophariel understood very well why such a large family as Bird would suddenly pay so much attention to Julian, a small lord. Obviously, they already knew about what had happened before, and for some reason, they suspected Julian, so they sent a viscount to probe him.

The problem wasn’t here. Ophariel wasn’t inexperienced in solving such problems. She had even encountered more dangerous and urgent crises than this, but she had never felt as uneasy as she did now. There was only one reason, and that was that she completely didn’t understand Julian’s thoughts. All the preparations and solutions Ophariel had made were based on “reasonable” foundations. But this lord’s thinking often jumped out of the box, always developing some unimaginable and inexplicable routes.

And now, was this lord really planning to invite the wolf into the house?

Ophariel sighed helplessly. From his words, it could be seen that Julian knew the Bird family sending those people over wasn’t just for maintaining security. Viscount Bird’s words weren’t wrong. If trouble appeared in Twilight Forest, it would ultimately affect their Golden Trade Route. But from another perspective, if Twilight Forest really became prosperous, it would also affect the profits of the Golden Trade Route. Perhaps Julian would attract those merchants by lowering taxes and reducing costs, which naturally couldn’t be tolerated by the Bird family, who relied on the Golden Trade Route to make money. If they could collude with bandits and secretly obstruct before, now that they had lost Darlos, their biggest help, they had to think of new methods.

Would the lord really kill them and then… like he did with those bandits…

Ophariel shook her head desperately, throwing that unpleasant scene to the back of her mind. Then she took a deep breath and reopened her eyes. Outside the door, the heavy bell rang. It seemed she had been thinking for too long. Thinking of this, Ophariel looked towards little Erin, who was still standing nearby. The girl was obviously a bit worried about her long silence. Seeing her suddenly look over, Erin was a bit surprised. She hurriedly straightened her body and stood aside, but at this moment, her stomach made a “gurgling” sound.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Miss Ophariel, I…”

“It’s nothing,” Looking at the girl’s face, which had turned red from embarrassment, Ophariel laughed lightly. Then she thought for a moment and said,

“Since you’re hungry too, why don’t we eat together? I think the lord must be very busy now… he probably won’t come looking for us.”

Julian was indeed very busy.

“Frankly speaking, I cannot accept your family’s kindness,” Sitting in the study, Julian frowned, his expression gloomy.

“Although I admit this might cause many problems, I think your family should know that I am currently the master of this territory.”

“Noble fief, Mr. Felix,” Viscount Bird seized the opportunity to continue his words.

“Please don’t forget, just as nobles must serve the royal family, you must also serve us. Although you now have your own territory, this is a noble fief, not a royal fief. I hope you can remember this point. This territory is given to you by us to manage. So, I hope you can respect our opinions and suggestions.”

Saying this, Viscount Bird paused for a moment, satisfactorily appreciating Julian’s expression, before continuing.

“I think you also know that noble fiefs themselves are not hereditary, unless it’s someone who has made significant contributions to our family. And you obviously don’t fall into this category, which means your descendants cannot continue to live on this land. Mr. Felix, I know you’re a young man with ideals, but I also hope you can understand that sometimes compromising with reality is also very important.”

All kinds of naked threats.

Julian sighed inwardly. It seemed this Bird family really intended to provoke him. Since entering the study for negotiations after dinner, this Viscount Bird had used various ways to provoke him, from identity, from status, and now even age wasn’t spared.

The time is about right.

Looking at Viscount Bird’s smiling face, Julian felt the time had come. If he continued to deadlock like this, not giving the other party a chance to back down, then his next plan would be very troublesome. Thinking of this, he deliberately didn’t speak, but silently thought for a moment before raising his head and letting out a long sigh.

“…It seems I have no choice?”

“This is the Bird family’s goodwill, Mr. Felix.”

Seeing the other party finally soften, Viscount Bird also smiled. At this moment, his heart was no longer confused. He believed he had completely understood this young lord. It seemed just as he thought, he was just an ordinary young man, with ideals, ambitions, enthusiasm. And some unrealistic self-esteem and face – well, come to think of it, those maid uniforms were really quite nice.

“But, I also have a few requirements,” Julian’s words were completely within the viscount’s expectations. After all, he was still a young man, he still needed to save face. So he didn’t say much, but nodded with a gentle smile.

“I’m all ears.”

“First, I hope the people you send will fly our family’s flag. Please understand, Viscount, I also have my difficulties.”

“This… of course, no problem,” Viscount Bird thought for a moment, then nodded in response. This wasn’t a difficult thing, and it would also be more beneficial for the development of their plan.

“Second,” Julian held up two fingers.

“I hope your family can give me a clear division map.”

“Division map?” This request sounded a bit strange to Viscount Bird. What did he want this for? But Julian obviously saw his confusion and quickly explained to him.

“It’s like this, Viscount. When I received this fief from your family, although I already had complete and legal authorization documents, the border division wasn’t very clear. I only know that Twilight Forest is my territory, but I’m not clear about the specific border parts. After all, as you said, this place was previously managed by your family, so there has never been a clear border line division. But now, since your family is sending a guard to help me, this issue must be resolved. Otherwise, if some accidents occur and we can’t determine who should be responsible, don’t you think this will become very troublesome?”

“This… what you say makes sense,” Hearing this, Viscount Bird was stunned. He really hadn’t considered this problem, but now hearing Julian say this, it was obviously an issue that couldn’t be ignored. After all, if there really was some trouble on the Golden Trade Route in the future, and this lord rolled his eyes and pushed all the responsibility to their side, it would indeed be troublesome.

However, shouldn’t such things as border division have been prepared when the territory was handed over?

Thinking of this, Viscount Bird couldn’t help but frown. He certainly guessed the reason. Presumably, those people under the family also knew that this lord was coming here to die, and facing a person who would become a corpse in half a year or a year, naturally, there was no need to bother specially dividing borders for him. After all, when he died, wouldn’t Twilight Forest return to the hands of the Bird family?

Moreover, border line division wasn’t an easy task. Although previous lords had their own border divisions, with the changes of the times, the scope of Twilight Forest had undergone considerable changes. Lands that previously belonged to Twilight Forest had now become part of the Golden Trade Route. If they brought out those previous border divisions, wouldn’t that be handing over part of the Golden Trade Route’s income? This was absolutely not something the Bird family would want to see.

Because of this, border division was a very energy-consuming thing, and it even required negotiations, compromises, and recognition. Although facing such a small lord without much strength, there was no need to negotiate with him. But wasting time on a dying person, even Viscount Bird thought there was no need for this.

But now it seemed their thoughts might need to change.

“I understand your meaning. I will go back and handle this matter.”

“No problem,” Julian nodded with an unpleasant expression. Obviously, he still seemed a bit dissatisfied with this decision, but he opened his mouth and didn’t say anything more.

“Well, the night is deep… Viscount… You must be very tired from the long journey. Please rest well.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Felix,” Viscount Bird stood up, smiling and nodding, then turned and walked out of the study.

Because of this, he didn’t see the cold smile that flashed across Julian’s lips at the moment he turned around.

The heavy sound of the door closing echoed in the study. Julian crossed his hands and leaned back in his chair silently. Then, he reached out and picked up the bell on the table, gently shaking it.

“Knock knock knock.”

Soon, a knock sounded, and then a blonde-haired maid walked in. Her fair and cute face wore a calm, gentle smile as she looked at Julian, her emerald eyes sparkling with curious light.

“Is there anything I can do, master?”

Faced with the maid’s inquiry, Julian didn’t answer. He first turned around and looked at the night outside the window before speaking.

“There’s no moon tonight. It’s really good weather, isn’t it?”

“Charlotte, inform your sisters. Since we have distinguished guests coming from afar, wouldn’t it be a waste not to show them the charm of this ancient castle?”

“Understood, master!”

Hearing this, a flash of excitement passed through the maid’s eyes, and she smiled and nodded in response. However, then the maid slightly curled her lips, seeming a bit dissatisfied with Julian’s words.

“But, master. Please forgive my rudeness, it actually has more flavor during a full moon, you know?”