Chapter 65: Probing

The next evening, Della once again came to the inn where Julian was staying. However, unlike before, this time he was not here to assassinate the young Zach master.

“This is my master’s reply, Mr. Felix,” Della, hiding in the shadows as usual, respectfully extended both hands to hand over his master’s letter to Julian. At this moment, he had long lost his previous arrogance. After the face-to-face encounter, Della had realized that he couldn’t gain any advantage over this young nobleman.

Is he really just a high-rank swordsman?

Secretly glancing at Julian, who was intently reading the letter, Della unconsciously touched the wound on the back of his hand. Frankly speaking, he had crossed swords with several high-rank swordsmen before, except for the first mission, the rest were challenges he had issued to them specifically to hone his skills. Of course, high-rank swordsmen were indeed difficult to deal with, after all, they were figures who could fight a hundred on the battlefield. But when fighting those high-rank swordsmen, Della hadn’t encountered a situation like this. If fighting those guys was just somewhat strenuous and difficult, then the previous battle with Julian was utterly disorienting. In front of this young nobleman who looked only about twenty years old, he felt as if he was no longer a highly skilled assassin, but a novice who had just started fighting. Indeed, high-rank swordsmen were formidable, but he had long become familiar with their patterns, and at least had some power of resistance. However, these techniques were completely ineffective against Julian, as if the entire battle had ended as soon as it began, and he had no chance to choose or grasp any opportunity.

Is this level of strength really something a high-rank swordsman can possess?

Della doubted inwardly, but had no evidence. After all, his strength wasn’t high enough to understand the thoughts of a high-rank swordsman, so Della could only doubt his judgment, without being able to confirm it.

While Della was carefully observing Julian, Julian was fully focused on the letter in his hand. Clearly, the author of this letter understood his intentions and current position quite well. In the carefully worded and respectful content, he subtly put forward a request for cooperation, and hoped to have a face-to-face negotiation with Julian—of course, the time, place, and conditions were to be decided by Julian. It must be said that this person was quite bold, after all, not everyone could say such things. Moreover, although he knew Julian’s current position, the tone of the letter wasn’t very urgent, forming quite a contrast with the old man from before.

Was it confidence in their strength? Or a grasp of the overall situation? Or was he certain he could offer conditions attractive enough to move Julian?

An interesting fellow.

“I’ve finished reading the letter,” Julian closed the letter in his hand and passed it to Ophariel beside him.

“I sense your master’s sincerity… Since he wishes to have a face-to-face negotiation with me, then let him come here at this time tomorrow night. It doesn’t matter how many people he brings.”

At this point, Julian paused meaningfully.

“Of course, although it doesn’t matter to me how many people you bring, as they won’t pose a threat to me, considering the safety of potential clients, I’ll still be reasonable.”

Hearing this, Della’s face reddened slightly. Honestly, on the way here, he had been very worried that Julian might demand his master come alone to test his sincerity. After all, this inn was different from before. Just this morning, the Zach Family had sent their soldiers to dismiss all guests from the inn except Julian, not even sparing the innkeeper. Not only that, they had even dispersed the residents living around the inn, forcibly creating an uninhabited zone here.

This was of course to protect the young Zach master’s safety, at least that’s what they said openly, but what was really going on behind the scenes, no one knew. After all, up to now, the Zach Family hadn’t completely split internally, and many people couldn’t tell who was friend or foe. But they had all unanimously sent their subordinate soldiers to “protect” here, naturally with the intention of fearing the other side might strike first. The orthodox faction feared the opposition might take advantage of the chaos to take the person away from under their noses. And the opposition naturally also feared the orthodox faction might reach an agreement with Julian and take the young master back to the family. Thus, the forces of both sides began to confront each other in secret.

Of course, they didn’t dare to use harsh methods against Julian. Firstly, because of the terrifying strength of a high-rank swordsman, which wasn’t something these family private soldiers could handle. As for the other reason, doing so would bring the conflict between the two sides into the open. No matter which side wanted to get the young master, the other side would naturally do their utmost to stop them, and this would end the last peace of the Zach Family, followed by a fight to the death.

By that time, whether the young master was alive or dead would no longer matter. Because both sides would have torn off their masks, leaving no room for maneuver.

In this situation, if his master came alone, there was no guarantee nothing would happen. Although the family tried to avoid large-scale conflicts and battles internally, these private assassinations and struggles were completely unstoppable. Fortunately, Julian clearly didn’t intend to do this—or as he said, no matter how many people the other side brought, it wouldn’t be him who would suffer.

Was this blind confidence or a reflection of his strength?

“I will convey this to my master,” Della stopped thinking. Given his status and position, considering these things didn’t mean much anyway. But since the other party hadn’t specified, at least his master’s safety was guaranteed, and he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Thinking of this, Della didn’t say any more unnecessary words. He solemnly bowed, then disappeared back into the shadows.

“How is it?” Only after Della left did Julian turn his head to look at Ophariel, who was silently reading the letter. Before coming to Roya City, she had already used her eloquence and intelligence to extract a lot of information about the internal affairs of the Zach Family from the young Zach master’s attendants. And those attendants hadn’t suspected Ophariel’s intentions at all, telling her everything they knew without reservation. Of course, given their political acumen, the inside information they could know was quite limited. Fortunately, Kaister had also been gathering information for them along the way. Although not comprehensive, it at least gave them a general understanding.

“The other party indeed shows sincerity… The information we can currently get from the letter is limited to this,” Ophariel closed the letter, put it in her bosom, then replied. Then she frowned slightly, seeming somewhat confused.

“However, this Mr. Kyle Zach, if I remember correctly, should be the young master’s cousin. He is the son of the old patriarch’s sister and another collateral noble, and those attendants also said that he is one of the family members who strongly advocates protecting that child and restoring the rule of the orthodox bloodline.”

“And also the most powerful collateral blood competitor,” Julian raised an eyebrow, immediately giving the final answer.

“After all, family members too distant in blood relation, even if they participate, would find it difficult to rise to power in the end.”

Ophariel wasn’t actually surprised by Julian’s judgment. She just nodded slightly to show agreement.

This wasn’t strange. Although according to noble tradition, direct bloodline had absolute qualification for inheriting the patriarch position, this qualification could change. If there was one male and one female heir in the direct bloodline, the male would get priority inheritance rights. But if there was no male, then the female could also be recognized. But if there was no female either, then they could only find members close to the direct bloodline to inherit the family position, just like this Mr. Kaister. His mother was a direct member of the Zach Family, but after marrying into a collateral noble family, this part of the bloodline had already thinned. Of course, as the old patriarch’s sister, her direct bloodline relationship would still be recognized, but the children she gave birth to wouldn’t be. Although they had a blood relationship, they couldn’t be regarded as direct nobles.

In this respect, this Kaister was somewhat similar to Ophariel’s background. Although strictly speaking, they were both considered to have inherited direct bloodlines, if not in unavoidable circumstances, their blood relationships would basically not be recognized. Ophariel was accepted by the royal family because she showed royal characteristics. But this Mr. Kaister wasn’t so lucky. If he wanted to be recognized as having direct bloodline, he would have to wait for an unavoidable situation to arise before this possibility would emerge. And from this standpoint, only if the young Zach master died, leaving the direct bloodline completely without heir, would he have a chance to be nominated and step onto the stage. After all, this family was the Zach Family. Even if there were no direct bloodline heirs left, they absolutely wouldn’t let some collateral families with thin bloodlines take the position. And the old patriarch only had one sister, who only gave birth to one child, so this meant that as long as the young Zach master died, whether it was the opposition or the orthodox faction, the only candidate they could consider in the end would be him alone.

And once this situation arose, Kaister would gain recognition from both sides. In the eyes of the orthodox faction, although his bloodline wasn’t pure, he was after all the child of the old patriarch’s sister. They could reluctantly accept this. And in the eyes of the opposition, although he had a certain degree of direct bloodline, he was after all from a collateral family, so there was a good chance he would ultimately fight for their interests. If it were the young Zach master, the confrontation might not end in a short time, after all, he was a descendant of the direct bloodline, and no matter what attitude he showed, the separation of bloodlines couldn’t be ignored. Kaister was more ambiguous. If he took power, at least it could alleviate the contradiction between the direct line and collateral branches.

And now, since he was presenting himself as standing on the orthodox faction’s side, it showed that this person was quite clever. After all, he also knew that his identity was very sensitive. As the most powerful collateral competitor, if he openly joined the opposition, he would attract attention and hostility. But if he maintained the orthodox faction, although it might not convince everyone, at least he could occupy the moral high ground. And in this situation, once the young Zach master died, he could “reluctantly” accept the position of patriarch “under duress”, leading the entire Zach Family again.

Julian hadn’t met this Mr. Kaister yet, but judging from his performance in the letter, the other party was a very smooth person. If he could confirm that his client had such a personality when they met, then Julian would feel more at ease negotiating with him. After all, having a smooth personality and proper manners meant he should be able to navigate between the opposition and orthodox factions like a fish in water, advancing and retreating as he pleased. And cooperating with such a person would have a higher success rate, naturally allowing Julian to get more benefits.

“They haven’t become suspicious?”

“That child has become somewhat suspicious, but after all, he’s just a child… Perhaps he’s never encountered failure before, so he’s still very confident in himself,” saying this, Ophariel sighed lightly.

“As for the others, although they haven’t discovered anything yet, I think that child might use them to do some probing.”

“Dealing with those brainless idiots must have been hard on you indeed,” Julian patted Ophariel’s shoulder quite emotionally. Although stupid people are generally easier to deceive, if they set their minds on something, persuading them otherwise isn’t an easy task. And dealing with these people sometimes takes far more effort than dealing with those cunning schemers. Julian didn’t want to deal with idiots, so he pushed them to Ophariel. But over these few days, it was clear that even the once brilliantly shining genius princess in the kingdom found it hard to cope with these fools. That beautiful, bright face had become somewhat haggard.

“Once this matter is over, I’ll definitely ask you for a vacation, my lord,” Ophariel revealed a bitter smile, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

“Frankly speaking, I’d rather go back to Twilight Castle now to handle those mountains of documents than deal with them anymore.”

“I’ll definitely approve it then,” Julian waved his hand, indicating the end of this topic. Then he thought for a moment, seeming to have realized something.

“Wait, Ophariel, is that child very lecherous?”

“Huh?” Hearing this strange question, Ophariel was stunned for a moment. She recalled for a bit, then a look of disgust flashed across her face.

“Frankly speaking, that indeed wasn’t the gaze of a child, especially when he looked at me… I really dislike that kind of gaze. Although he’s still a child now and can’t do anything, I always feel…”

“I understand,” hearing this, Julian nodded, interrupting Ophariel’s words.

“You can go rest now, Miss Ophariel. I think I have a better idea.”

Hearing these words, Ophariel tilted her head slightly, then she seemed to sense something. A blush quickly appeared on her face, and she turned to walk out the door. Shortly after, Kaister knocked on the door with a puzzled and curious expression, then entered the room.

“I’m very sorry to disturb your rest, Lord Julian. Miss Ophariel said you had something to ask me?”

As expected of the princess.

Hearing Kaister’s question, Julian smiled with satisfaction. He snapped his fingers, then gestured for Kaister to sit down.

“Indeed, I need your help with something.”

“Please feel free to instruct me, my lord,” hearing Julian’s words, Kaister immediately became excited. It’s worth noting that during this time, he had been constantly striving to gain Julian’s trust, but Julian had never particularly assigned them any tasks. And now, Julian was clearly planning to have them do something, which made Kaister very excited. If this continued, he would be one step closer to this lord, and their relationship would become closer.

“As long as it’s something we can do, we will spare no effort.”

“You must have been very tired during this time,” but contrary to Kaister’s expectations, Julian didn’t immediately get to the point, instead throwing out a strange, unexpected question.

“My lord, we’re not tired at all. It’s our honor to work for you.”

“It must be very tiring.”

“Well… really not at all…”

“It must be really tiring…”

“Uh… indeed, it is a bit tiring,” Kaister understood that Julian was forcing him to follow along with his words, so he stopped hedging and reluctantly answered.

“I am your master after all,” saying this, Julian took out a money bag and threw it in front of Kaister.

“Of course, I understand the situation is tense now, but everyone needs to relax, right? Drinking is certainly not allowed… but women, well, you can still play with them. Take this money, find a few beautiful women, and let everyone relax a bit. How about that, isn’t this a good suggestion?”

“My lord?” Hearing this, Kaister was truly at a loss. Of course, on this continent, there were many women who made a living by selling their bodies. They often appeared in taverns and inns, serving those men. And for soldiers like Kaister and his men, they hadn’t lacked such services either. But now, of course, they didn’t dare to do such things. Let alone what impact such indulgence would have on their future in front of Julian. Just the presence of Ophariel alone had already made these soldiers lose that thought. Doing such things under the nose of such a beautiful lady? If this got out… how could these grown men face anyone?

“Don’t worry about Ophariel, she can understand,” saying this, Julian leaned back, then revealed a gentle and elegant smile.

“But I have one condition, that is, when finding women, don’t forget to investigate their identities… This isn’t difficult for you, and I don’t want any trouble… Also, find the most beautiful one, I want to use her.”

“You… want to use?” Hearing this, Kaister was truly stunned. Those women from the taverns? How beautiful could they possibly be? How could they compare to Miss Ophariel? This lord was really… with such a beautiful lady by his side, yet he still wanted to find those dancing girls?

Now, Kaister truly couldn’t understand what Julian was thinking anymore.