Chapter 153: [Past Events of the Old Mansion] (Keeping promises, ten thousand words!)-The Kingdom of Hunters(Dancing)

Adeline was standing right beneath the tree, still dressed in men's attire, just as she had been when the two of them first met in the expanse of the Wildfire Plains. Her tall figure was draped in a loose robe, which gently swayed as the evening breeze blew. On her feet were a pair of dark leather boots, and on her head rested a felt hat that pressed down against the tips of her hair, leaving only a few strands of pale gold locks escaping from beneath the brim.

She looked significantly leaner, her chin somewhat sharper, which only made her eyes appear remarkably large. Standing in the distance, she gazed at Adria. Those large eyes seemed to carry a trace of an inability to conceal grievance and bashfulness.

Adria did not think much of it. The moment he saw the poor wretch, his initial vigilance melted away. He let out a hearty laugh and strode forward. Reaching Adeline, he looked the poor wretch up and down, then suddenly delivered a friendly punch to Adeline's shoulder, grinning as he said, "Ha! You rascal, was it you who sneaked around and tricked me into coming here?"

Having taken Adria's blow, the poor wretch sucked in a breath of cold air, silently cursing this bumpkin who had no appreciation for tender jade, yet suddenly recalled the events of that fateful night... Her heart softened, and her eye sockets grew hot and red. She merely bit her lip and remained silent.

Seeing the poor wretch's eyes, Adria asked in surprise, "Eh? Now that we've finally met, why are you crying? Sigh, you're still such a sissy. Weeping and wailing, not a shred of a man about you!"

With that, he pulled up his sleeve and wiped the corner of the poor wretch's eye, laughing like an older brother. "Ha, that's more like it! Though you're a bit on the ugly side, as long as you've got a manly spirit, you won't have to worry about finding a wife in the future."

As he spoke, Adria's expression suddenly turned strange. He looked left and right, then pulled the poor wretch off to the side. With a sneaky, shifty-eyed grin, he lowered his voice. "Come, come. Tell me, how have you been getting along lately? Ha! Let me tell you, I'm no longer a greenhorn! Ha! Looking at you, you must still be a virgin, right? Well, I certainly am not anymore."

It would have been better had he not brought that up; the moment he did, the poor wretch nearly vomited blood on the spot!

"Hey! How is it that you're about to faint the moment we start having a proper chat?" Adria grabbed the poor wretch, frowning as he said, "Your constitution is still this weak! No, no, you need to exercise regularly!" With that, Adria puffed out his chest. "I'm an official now, you know! I'm a general!"

"Hmph." Unamused, the poor wretch couldn't help but retort, "You're only a brigade commander. You're still a long way from being a general."

"Eh? How did you know?" Caught red-handed in his bragging, Adria didn't even blush. He simply stared at the poor wretch. "You're this well-informed about my official rank?"

Pausing for a moment, the bumpkin suddenly remembered, "Right, what kind of place is this anyway? Did you send people to trick me here? Why did you use the name of the Duke of Minis to lure me out? You didn't need to lie at all, you idiot. If you had just sent someone to tell me straight, knowing I was coming to see you, how could I not have come? You blockhead, you always mess things up."

Watching Adria order him around just as he had back in the Wildfire Plains, Adeline not only felt no annoyance; instead, the tender affection in her heart grew utterly uncontrollable. She thought to herself: If I could just stay by his side like this, listening to him scold me every day... actually, that would be rather nice.

Adeline did not answer a single one of Adria's questions. A sudden impulse stirred within her, and she merely gazed fixedly at Adria, her voice trembling slightly with emotion. Hesitating for a moment, she whispered, "Um... bumpkin. Tell me, through all these days apart, did you miss me?"

"Uh?"

Adria froze. Immediately afterward, the bumpkin's complexion turned peculiar, his entire face flushing red as he stammered and stuttered, unable to form a word, his gaze even darting around evasively.

Miss her?

Well... he had indeed thought of her, but...

Adria couldn't help but recall the various erotic dreams he kept having after the day he "lost his virginity." In those dreams, he constantly saw this poor wretch, and on several occasions, the visions had tormented him to the verge of madness.

Seeing Adria stammering with a bizarre expression, especially with his darting eyes and flushed face, Adeline felt a surge of joy instead. All her lingering grievance and resentment were instantly swept away, leaving only a single thought in her mind: He *did* miss me!

Overjoyed and deeply moved, Adeline grabbed Adria's hand and pulled him toward the courtyard, her spirits soaring. "I knew you wouldn't forget me! Listen, I sneaked out today just to see you. I have to head back early tonight, or it'll be terribly troublesome, so let's have a good long talk... Oh, it gets harder and harder for me to slip away these days..."

Seeing that the poor wretch wasn't going to pursue that embarrassing question any further, Adria secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As he gradually calmed down, his suspicions reawakened: "What on earth is your background? I'm still quite confused even now. Is this seaside estate yours or does it belong to the Minis family? And why did you use the Duke of Minis's name to summon me?"

Pulling Adria along, the poor wretch led him to the steps at the edge of the courtyard, and the two of them simply sat down side by side. Hesitating for a moment, the poor wretch sighed and lowered her voice. "My... my family background is rather complicated, and I can't explain it clearly in a word or two. Um... coming to find you today was also because I knew you'd arrived in the imperial capital, and I missed you terribly... Ah, since we're old acquaintances, we had to meet at least once. That..."

She looked into Adria's face—the face she had yearned for in countless dreams—and suddenly felt an irresistible impulse to reveal her true identity to him. But then she thought better of it: her status was special, and once she confessed, she feared this bumpkin might end up in trouble instead... Hesitating over and over, she finally sighed and murmured, "I... as for me, I suppose I come from an aristocratic family. Um... I..."

"You what?"

"I have some friends in the capital, all of them nobles. Um... well, the son of the Duke of Minis, young Minis, is a good friend of mine. So, this mansion truly is property of the Duke of Minis. Today, I simply begged young Minis to quietly lend it to me behind the old Duke's back. This place is secluded, and if we meet here, we won't be discovered. So... you mustn't be angry that I tricked you into coming."

Adria was in high spirits at the moment. Aside from the joy of reuniting with an old friend, there seemed to be an additional layer of vague, indescribable emotion stirring within him—though the bumpkin himself didn't quite understand this feeling yet. With a wave of his hand, he chuckled, "Angry? Why would I be angry? There's nothing to be mad about! Ha! If I had known you were in the capital, I would have come looking for you long ago! But you're always so secretive—why did we have to meet all sneakily like this?"

Pausing, Adria suddenly frowned and looked at the poor wretch. "Could it be... those troubles of yours still haven't been resolved?"

He was referring to the pursuit by the two squadrons of cavalry they had encountered in the Wildfire Plains. Adria still had no idea that those pursuing horsemen were the infamous "Night Guards," but the sheer elite caliber of those troops was truly shocking. Thinking back on it, if someone could deploy such elite cavalry to hunt down the poor wretch, then this fellow's troubles must be substantial indeed!

"This... I have some misunderstandings with the elders in my family." At this, the poor wretch's eyes grew red again. "My parents are both dead, and now the elders in the family don't like me. Only one of my brothers still offers me some protection, sigh. But my brother hasn't yet inherited... um, inherited the family's authority, so there's only so much he can do for me. He can only keep me protected within his residence. Every time I go out, I'm taking a huge risk. Coming to see you this time... I'm afraid I'll be scolded by my brother when I get back."

Adria frowned, a wave of annoyance welling up inside him. He couldn't even understand where this irritation came from; a vague, hazy notion seemed to take root in his mind: If anyone is going to bully this poor wretch, it's going to be me and me alone! If anyone else dares to bully him, then I won't stand for it!

Puffing out his chest, Adria declared loudly, "Then you should just run away from home! Anyway, from what I can see, there's nothing good about that family of yours! I've been appointed to a high-ranking post now, and in a few days, I'm heading off to take office in Morre County. It's very close to the Wildfire Plains and miles and miles away from the capital—you should just come with me! Once we're in my territory, I'll protect you! Every day we'll ride horses and go hunting as we please, and if anyone dares to utter a single word of dissent, I'll gore him with a pitchfork! We'll eat the finest food, drink the strongest liquor, ride horses, hunt, and flirt with pretty girls together! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

When he reached the first part of his speech, the poor wretch was so deeply moved that she almost agreed on the spot, but upon hearing the final phrase—"flirt with pretty girls together"—Adeline rolled her eyes in exasperation and glared fiercely at Adria. Yet, after an internal struggle, she ultimately let out a secret sigh.

So be it. Things between him and me... were never meant to be anyway. I'm weighed down by trouble right now. If I really followed him, given this fellow's temperament—even though he's overbearing and crafty, he's got a mouth of daggers and a heart of tofu toward his own people—if he ever found out about my situation, he'd risk his life to protect me, and that would only end up dragging him down...

It had to be said that Adeline understood Adria's character better than anyone else around him!

Despite the bumpkin's usual boisterous demeanor and his fondness for bullying those close to him—whether it was Ruhr, Doduol, or even Austin in the past, along with the poor wretch herself—they had all suffered under the bumpkin's torment. Yet his bullying was merely occasional mischief meant for amusement, devoid of any genuine malice. On the contrary, once someone was truly recognized by him as "one of us," if trouble arose, this bumpkin would genuinely risk his life to protect his companion!

Through all those life-and-death trials on the Wildfire Plains, Adria had always shielded his comrades with his own life. Faced with the pursuit of the Night Guards, Adria would rather fight to the death than hand the poor wretch over...

When falling into the hands of the Sky Attack forces, Adria had similarly chosen death over revealing Austin's whereabouts!

For no other reason than this: the fellow might seem like an unprincipled rogue, but those traits were simply the natural self-protection forged by living in a place like Wildfire Town. At his core, the bumpkin could actually be considered a genuinely kind-hearted, good man.

Adeline was thoroughly convinced that the moment Adria discovered her true identity and the full extent of her troubles, he would gladly toss aside his official rank. At a single word from her, he would undoubtedly risk his life to take her away—even if it meant abandoning wealth and glory to drag her back to the Wildfire Plains and live as a hunter, the bumpkin was entirely capable of doing it! And he wouldn't even furrow a brow if he had to face the endless pursuit of the Emperor's Night Guards thereafter!

At this thought, tender affection surged within Adeline's heart. Unable to help herself, she gazed intently at Adria and reached out with a small hand, gently stroking his chin and jawline.

This "overly intimate" gesture shocked Adria to his core!

The bumpkin froze there, staring blankly at Adeline. As he watched her slender fingers and soft palm caress his face, it felt ticklish yet exceptionally comfortable. What made this action even more astonishing to him was this: in those bizarre dreams from a few days ago, he had dreamed of this exact scenario countless times! Among them was precisely this scene: the poor wretch sitting before him, staring at him with those sparkling eyes and reaching out to stroke his face...

In those dreams, every time such a scene appeared, the bumpkin would shriek awake in terror and sit up in bed, panting heavily in a cold sweat.

Yet now, in this fully conscious state, the scene from his dream was playing out right before his eyes, and Adria was utterly dumbfounded!

For a moment, he even forgot to cry out, forgot to dodge, simply because the sparkling eyes of the poor wretch before him seemed to possess some kind of magic. In an instant, his mind went blank, and he found himself irresistibly drawn to that gaze, gradually sinking into an indescribable haze of emotion...

However, it lasted only for a moment. Just a few seconds later, Adria finally snapped back to his senses. Realizing that "a man's" hand was caressing his face like a lover, the bumpkin's complexion instantly turned ashen white, as though he had been slashed by a blade. With a loud shriek, he leaped violently backward, stumbling to the ground, and pointed a wide-eyed glare at the poor wretch. "You! You! What the hell are you doing! Damn it! Poor wretch! Only today did I figure it out! You... you're actually a rabbit [homosexual]!!!"

Adeline was also somewhat flustered. Her instinctive action just then had been driven by impulse; that night of passionate delirium at the pleasure house, she had handed over the chastity she had kept for over a dozen years to this damn bumpkin. Her past complicated feelings for him had previously been veiled in mist, but after that night, the veil had been torn away. Over these past days, Adeline had alternated between hatred and love for this damned man, tossing and turning until she grew thin. Today, she had finally summoned the courage to have someone trick the bumpkin into meeting her. She hadn't harbored any grand intentions—tormented by lovesickness, she had simply desired a single glance.

Yet now, having acted on impulse, she grew irritated and angry upon seeing the bumpkin's horrified expression. "What kind of nonsense are you babbling! I... I am no rabbit!"

"You! You *are* a rabbit!!" Furious, Adria glared with wide eyes. "You! What were you just stroking my face for?!"

Speechless, Adeline could only stare back at Adria with wide eyes.

Adria caught his breath, though he scrambled a bit farther away. Hesitating repeatedly, he looked at the poor wretch with a hint of fear. Seeing the grievance and resentment in the poor wretch's eyes, as if she were about to cry again, the bumpkin finally sighed and smiled bitterly. "Fine, fine! Even if you are a rabbit, I won't hold it against you—damn it, as long as you don't harbor any ideas about me! My whole life, I only like men... wait, pui-pui-pui-pui!! My whole life, I only like women!! Not men!!" Adria angrily declared, "I only like women! So, since we're friends, I won't mind whatever weird hobbies you have... just, just don't pull that kind of stunt in front of me!"

"Idiot! Shut up!" Adeline flew into a rage. "You! You're the rabbit! You're the rabbit! Your whole family are rabbits!!"

Adria glared. "Don't try to argue your way out of it! And I don't care whether you are or not... just don't ever do that kind of thing to me again!"

The two of them glared and puffed their cheeks at each other, staring in a stalemate for a good while. Then, quite suddenly, they both burst out laughing, feeling that the preceding scene had been indescribably comical. The awkwardness melted away with their laughter, and they shifted a bit closer together. Adria sighed, "Damn it, I must be having bad luck to have met a weirdo like you... you rascal, I call you a sissy, and you never deny it."

"Hmph." Adeline didn't bother denying it... she wasn't any sissy; she was a woman through and through. At this thought, Adeline found it rather amusing herself, and with a blushing face, she cast a stealthy glance at Adria.

Continuing briskly, the bumpkin pressed on, "Um... I'll be leaving the capital in a few days... well, how am I supposed to find you later? You rascal... sigh, what on earth are those troubles of yours? Can you really not come with me?"

Adeline sighed. "That's impossible... I'd love to go with you too, but in the end, I can't. If I left, my brother would be scolded. Besides... that elder in my family would never let it go either; he'd surely send people to give me trouble, and that would only end up implicating you."

Adria frowned. "Is that elder in your family really that formidable? I'm a baron now, and I've been entrusted with military authority over an entire county. I hear I even have tens of thousands of men under my command—can't they keep you safe?"

The poor wretch shook her head. "Far from it."

"Far from it?" Adria stared. "Then... what if I become a count?" He thought of the Emperor's promise to him: if he killed enough Odin soldiers, he would be made a count.

"Still not enough." The poor wretch shook her head.

"Then... a duke?"

"A duke?" The poor wretch pondered carefully, hesitating for a moment. "If you truly became a duke, perhaps... well, as long as you held supreme authority in your hands, perhaps... perhaps that would do."

"Good! Then I'll fight my way back to a dukedom!"

Startled, the poor wretch gasped, "Don't go doing anything foolish!" Looking at Adria, she whispered, "I know that during the grand hunt, His Majesty the Emperor promised you publicly that if you killed Hasting, you would be made a duke! But... killing Hasting is no easy feat! Don't go throwing your life away!"

Recalling how he had been utterly powerless before Hasting, Adria's bravado instantly deflated—speaking of killing Hasting truly was a fantasy for him. Whether in terms of personal martial prowess or the ability to command troops in battle, he lagged behind that Odin Martial God by tens of thousands of miles...

Seeing Adria's expression, the poor wretch felt a warmth in her heart and said softly, "You... the fact that you think of me and hold this intention is more than enough for me!"

The words were spoken lightly, and though her tone was calm, falling upon the ears, it seemed to carry a vague, indescribable emotion. Even with a boisterous temperament like the bumpkin's, hearing this statement made his heart skip a few beats. Seeing the poor wretch's gaze flicker, he subconsciously averted his eyes and ducked his head.

At that very moment, the two sat in mutual silence, surrounded only by the blowing night wind and the rustling foliage of the garden. In an instant, the atmosphere turned rather delicate...

Suddenly, Adria's eyes lit up and he sprang to his feet!

Carried on the wind came the sound of hurried hoofbeats from outside the estate. Judging by the din, there had to be hundreds of horsemen! Moreover, while the hoofbeats were hurried, they were entirely devoid of disorder—neat and solemn, the unmistakable mark of well-trained elite troops.

The sound swept from afar, rapidly approaching the outer perimeter of the estate. Several low, resonant shouts, vaguely issuing commands, rang out, and the hoofbeats swiftly fanned out, surrounding the entire property!

Adria's expression changed instantly. Adeline, too, heard the distant hoofbeats; though she didn't know the situation, the sudden shift in Adria's expression led her to suspect a crisis.

Right at that moment, a commotion arose behind the corridor door in the distant garden, and a man's voice rang out, deliberately raising its volume to shout loudly, "Ah! You... why have you come?!"

Judging by the voice, it vaguely sounded like Roddy, the coachman who had tricked him here! The fellow was deliberately bellowing at the top of his lungs, as if purposefully tipping off the people inside.

When Adria looked at the poor wretch, he discovered that her face had gone entirely white.

Following that, further noises drifted in from outside. Roddy's voice seemed laden with reverence and fear: "Ah! And you're here too, sir... in the middle of the night, why have you..."

The heavy clacking of leather boots echoed as people entered the outer hall. As Adria frowned, the pale-faced poor wretch beside him grabbed his sleeve urgently and whispered, "Quick, hide!"

"Hide? Why should..." Uncomprehending, Adria started to argue, but seeing the terrified, pleading look in the poor wretch's eyes, he finally frowned and let her pull him toward the corner of the courtyard.

The two of them hunched over and crept into a corner of the courtyard. Long corridors flanked the garden, and only the innermost side featured large doors leading into the interior buildings. Flashing quickly through the doorway, they heard the newcomers enter the garden.

Judging by the footsteps, there were around several dozen people.

Adria and the poor wretch hid inside a dark room. The walls and wooden panels were exceedingly thick, and pressing his eye to the gap in the door, Adria peered outside. He saw several dozen warriors clad in light armor stepping into the courtyard.

These warriors were dressed in knightly attire, though their armor was simple, consisting merely of breastplates and leather boots. Every last one of them wore a long sword, and their uniforms were completely identical. As they marched in, their formation was orderly, clearly marking them as elite guards of some description. These knights vaguely formed a protective ring around an elderly man at their center.

The old man in the center wore a simple gray robe and had gray-white hair. Though his features were obscured from a distance and his stature wasn't particularly towering, standing amidst dozens of murderous warriors, he naturally radiated an underlying aura of authority. Even as he walked casually along in his plain gray garb, the dozens of lethal guards around him seemed reduced to mere backdrop props!

Such a person seemed born with an eye-catching aura, naturally existing as the focal point surrounded by thousands!

The two young people pressed against the door crack peered out. The moment the poor wretch looked over, her body trembled slightly, her breathing growing shallow. Grabbing Adria's hand, she traced a few characters onto his palm.

"The Duke of Minis!"

Startled, Adria narrowed his eyes to look more closely. Though the elderly man in the center walked with slow steps, they were exceedingly steady as he advanced into the garden. By the moonlight, Adria made out his features: they weren't particularly striking, but an air of steady composure, honed by countless years, emanated naturally from his facial contours. Adria felt a quiet stir of awe just looking at that demeanor! It seemed that with this old man standing there, nothing in the world could shake him!

Steadiness! The defining trait was absolute "steadiness"!!

Shortly thereafter, Adria spotted a figure hanging his head as he shuffled in. The newcomer was none other than the coachman Roddy. Upon entering, Roddy seemed terrified of the Duke of Minis to the extreme, standing off to the side with lowered head, completely silent.

Seeing this, a thought struck Adria. He glanced at the poor wretch and hesitated—anyway, we haven't done anything sneaky; we can just walk right out through the front doors. Though the mansion belonged to someone else's family, he had been invited here after all. Besides, since the poor wretch had borrowed it from young Minis, it wasn't a major offense! Why bother skulking around in hiding?

Just as he was about to speak, he saw another person step into the courtyard...

A man in a plain robe walked in. Judging by his age, he was considerably younger than the Duke of Minis, yet his hair was also tinged with gray, and his features were refined. Despite his advanced years, his appearance inexplicably made him look much younger, especially his expression, which carried an otherworldly detachment, a faint, lingering smile always resting at the corners of his eyes and mouth...

The moment Adria clapped eyes on this man, his previous courage was instantly doused as if by a bucket of cold water. His complexion shifted as well!

Cavishier?!

To think it was this terrifying fellow!!

If Adria were to name the people he truly feared right now, this unfathomable Cavishier would undoubtedly rank at the very top of his list! Though Cavishier had never actually done anything to him, for some reason, whenever Adria faced Cavishier, he was gripped by an overwhelming sense of extreme danger!

With Cavishier out there now, Adria wouldn't dare step outside for all the world.

Even if someone were to whip him with a lash at that moment, he would rather die than face that terrifying old man!!

In this courtyard, the Duke of Minis's presence had been as immovable as a mountain, but the moment Cavishier walked in, looking just as ordinary and calm as ever, he instantly projected an aura capable of standing toe-to-toe and rivaling the old Duke.

Adria looked toward the poor wretch beside him, only to find that her body was shaking more and more violently!

*(Eh? Does the poor wretch know Cavishier too? And she seems utterly terrified of him?)*

***

"How many years has it been since we last came to this estate?"

Down in the courtyard, after the two old men exchanged glances for a moment, Cavishier finally broke the silence.

The remark sounded deceptively calm, yet it was faintly laden with a sense of desolate melancholy.

The Duke of Minis wore an indifferent expression. After looking at Cavishier for a beat, he shook his head. "I forgot."

The old Duke's voice was very calm, matching his aura—steady and resonant.

"Forgot?" Cavishier's smile deepened as he looked at the old Duke. "Did you really forget? My Lord Duke... I remember it clear as day."

The old Duke's expression remained unchanged. He merely glanced at Cavishier, frowned slightly, and then recovered his composure.

"Twenty-four years, seven months, and thirteen days." Cavishier suddenly spat out a precise figure, then chuckled leisurely, fixing his gaze on the Duke. Finally, the Duke's eyes lost their absolute steadiness, flashing with a strange glint. Cavishier sighed. "It seems... you do remember after all. It's just that... many things are memories you'd rather not revisit."

Frowning, the old Duke finally raised his head to gaze sternly at Cavishier. "You arranged to meet me here tonight... hmph, surely not just to reminisce about these old matters?"

With a faint smile, Cavishier walked slowly into the courtyard, surveyed his surroundings, and let out a long sigh. "This courtyard has fallen into ruin as well. I remember the flowerbeds here were always planted with those blossoms... ah, he loved those plants the most... right over there..." Cavishier pointed to a patch of ruined flowerbeds at the edge and smiled faintly. "Every time he drank too much, he'd draw his sword right there and slash wildly... I remember, back then, you and he were the closest. As for me... hehe. Though you didn't say it aloud, I knew in my heart there was always a bit of distance between you two and me."

The old Duke's expression remained icy.

"I remember back then, he loved drinking more than anything, and every time, I'd smuggle some fine wine out of the imperial palace." Cavishier's eyes gradually flickered with a bizarre luster. "The only time I ever got drunk in my entire life was right here in this garden. That day, I was truly drunk, and the three of us laughed and holstered, ultimately passing out together right here on the ground. Thinking back... the three of us lay flat on this very earth and slept soundly for half a day. When we woke up, I still remember—you threw up all over him."

The old Duke remained silent, though it was growing harder for him to maintain his stoic composure.

Shaking his head, Cavishier fixed his gaze back on the Duke of Minis. "Now that you see me, are you too afraid to come without these bodyguards?"

As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward the dozens of armored iron guards surrounding the Duke of Minis.

The Duke of Minis let out a cold snort. Looking at Cavishier, his calm and steady gaze finally betrayed a flicker of emotion.

A trace of anger actually surfaced in the old Duke's eyes!

"I am afraid." Though his voice was calm, the old Duke's tone faintly carried an undercurrent of wrath. "I certainly wouldn't dare meet you alone."

Cavishier seemed to chuckle, speaking almost as if to himself, "Am I really that dangerous in your heart?"

He followed it with a sigh: "Back then... he seemed to say the very same thing."

Following that, Cavishier took a few slow paces until he reached a patch of boxwood shrubs near the edge of the courtyard. Stopping in his tracks, he turned back to look at the Duke of Minis and laughed softly! "Even though you've put on a very good act all these years... I know clearly that you haven't forgotten a single thing about what happened back then! In fact... you probably remember it even more clearly than I do."

He gestured around the courtyard. "This place, this exact location, this manor estate—it belonged to him back then! Later on, he gifted it to you. For all these years, though you've never set foot here once, you've sent people to meticulously maintain every brick and tile of this place every single year! You haven't moved a single table or chair out of place! Such dedication... Lord Duke of Minis, how could I not understand it?"

The Duke of Minis's brows knitted tightly together as he stared coldly at Cavishier.

Ignoring the old Duke, Cavishier looked instead at Roddy and suddenly smiled. "Roddy, seeing you here today caught me quite by surprise. Hmm... I hear that the upkeep of this place was entrusted to you by the Duke. You could say you've been managing this property all these years... do you know why your father cares so much about this place?"

The old Duke's voice was very calm, matching his aura—steady and resonant.

"Forgot?" Cavishier's smile deepened as he looked at the old Duke. "Did you really forget? My Lord Duke... I remember it clear as day."

The old Duke's expression remained unchanged. He merely glanced at Cavishier, frowned slightly, and then recovered his composure.

Frowning, the old Duke finally raised his head to gaze sternly at Cavishier. "You arranged to meet me here tonight... hmph, surely not just to reminisce about these old matters?"

The old Duke's expression remained icy.

The old Duke remained silent, though it was growing harder for him to maintain his stoic composure.

Shaking his head, Cavishier fixed his gaze back on the Duke of Minis. "Now that you see me, are you too afraid to come without these bodyguards?"

As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward the dozens of armored iron guards surrounding the Duke of Minis.

The Duke of Minis let out a cold snort. Looking at Cavishier, his calm and steady gaze finally betrayed a flicker of emotion.

A trace of anger actually surfaced in the old Duke's eyes!

"I am afraid." Though his voice was calm, the old Duke's tone faintly carried an undercurrent of wrath. "I certainly wouldn't dare meet you alone."

Cavishier seemed to chuckle, speaking almost as if to himself, "Am I really that dangerous in your heart?"

He followed it with a sigh: "Back then... he seemed to say the very same thing."

Upon hearing those words, Adria's body gave a violent start!!

Roddy?!

He... he was the son of the Duke of Minis?! The young Minis?!!

A wave of shock washed over him, immediately followed by realization: *So that was it! No wonder the moment I laid eyes on this fellow, I felt his martial skills and demeanor were far beyond those of a mere coachman's servant! To think he was actually the son of the Duke of Minis!!*

Roddy seemed somewhat intimidated in Cavishier's presence; the lazy demeanor he usually wore had long since vanished. Pondering for a moment, he looked at Cavishier and said solemnly, "Master Cavishier... I don't understand what you mean."

"Ha!" Cavishier chuckled. "This place is a haunted house... there's long been such a legend in the imperial capital. But you know what? There are no ghosts in this place itself. Rather, it is the hearts of men that hold ghosts!"

"Cavishier!!" Upon hearing that remark, the old Duke suddenly barked out in a stern reprimand! The old Duke's face was flushed with anger, and two sharp beams of light forced their way out of his cloudy, aged eyes as he glared at Cavishier, stating coldly, "All these years, I have exercised patience with you in every way possible. Don't push your luck too far!"

"Me... how could I be pushing it?" Cavishier shook his head, a hint of genuine sorrow actually surfacing in his pupils. Looking at the old Duke, he lowered his voice. "I know you haven't forgotten what day today is either. Otherwise, you wouldn't have readily agreed to my invitation to meet me here."

Pausing, Cavishier murmured, "Today... is his birthday."

The Duke of Minis finally broke!

The old Duke's expression clearly showed him losing his composure. He stood in a daze for a long moment, while sorrow, vexation, and remorse all surfaced unreservedly in his eyes.

At last, the old Duke let out a long sigh and looked at Cavishier. "You... you really remember?"

"Hmph." Cavishier said nothing, instead drawing a small, pure silver flask from his robes. Unscrewing the cap, he slowly poured a stream of clear, crisp liquid over the flowerbed, whispering, "This is the wine he loved to drink the most. I keep it in my heart, sigh..."

Silently watching Cavishier's actions, the old Duke finally raised his hand in a slow gesture.

"Everyone... out!"

***

Those guards were clearly the most loyal iron guards of the Minis family. At the old Duke's single command, the dozens of warriors silently retreated out of the courtyard. Even Roddy glanced at the old Duke before hurrying away.

When only the two old men were left in the courtyard, they stood in quiet stillness. After Cavishier finished splashing the entire flask of wine across the flowerbed, he tossed the empty silver bottle casually onto the ground. The old Duke, meanwhile, appeared to raise a hand to wipe the corner of his eye.

"We... both failed him!" the old Duke sighed softly.

Cavishier remained silent.

"I know." The old Duke looked at the fellow opposite him, his tone turning somewhat cold. "For all these years, you've plotted to kill me at least three times! Hmph... if I hadn't been careful, I would have died at your hands ten years ago."

"True." Cavishier smiled faintly. "And you've done the same. Over the years, I've faced thirteen assassination attempts, and at least half of them were dispatched by you in secret. Your family's dark guards lost quite a few men over it, too."

Hiding behind the door, Adria was struck dumbfounded by the revelation!!

These two pivotal figures at the core of the empire actually harbored such deep-seated grudges?!

They had been mutually plotting to assassinate one another?!

"It's a pity you couldn't kill me, and I couldn't kill you." The old Duke shook his head. "Our grievances will likely have to wait until the future, until we're beneath the earth, before they can be settled."

Smiling without a word, Cavishier strolled aside and gently stroked the leaves of the nearby shrubbery with his hand. After a moment, he spoke up, "The night wind is cold. The old injuries you sustained back then still haven't healed; every winter, they flare up on you."

"Hmph, your migraine hasn't exactly spared you much torture either," the old Duke retorted indifferently.

The two men exchanged glances and chuckled simultaneously. Cavishier pointed toward the door leading inside. "Let's go in and talk. After all, we're getting old, and standing out in the night wind like this is a bit chilly. If it were back in the day... heh!"

Without a word, the old Duke walked straight toward the very doorway where Adria and the poor wretch were hiding.

Both Adria and the poor wretch were startled. Exchanging a panicked look, panic flashing in their eyes, they immediately retreated deeper into the building. The rooms inside were vast, but pitch-black. Groping around in the darkness, they fled toward a corner. With sharp eyes, Adria spotted a few more doors further in and, in his haste, grabbed one without thinking. The door was unlocked, opening with a single pull. Feeling a wave of relief, Adria wasted no time and pulled the poor wretch through the doorway in a flash.

The moment they stepped inside, a bone-chilling aura rushed straight at them from within the room, enveloping them entirely!

It was freezing cold!! Adria shivered, a bizarre sensation rising in his heart!