My Son, Learn Restraint!

What went wrong...

Lynn pondered continuously. Using his noble status as a stepping stone and meeting Laud through trade was the fastest and safest method he could think of, but he hadn't expected to hit a wall at the very first step.

This left Lynn somewhat troubled. He even suspected that Laud might have received some bad news, which was why he was deliberately hiding.

If that were the case, it would be troublesome. Finding someone who intentionally wished to remain hidden was no easy task.

As Lynn was thinking, the dense crowd at the port suddenly became incredibly chaotic. Amidst screams, a beautifully decorated carriage sped through the narrow road towards them.

Whose noble was this arrogant?

Lynn frowned, about to step aside to avoid it, but the carriage stopped directly in front of him.

Before long, a well-dressed, tall, and thin middle-aged man alighted from the carriage and bowed respectfully.

"Finally found you, Young Master Lott! Please come back with me quickly. Lord Pedrol has something very important to discuss with you!"

Faced with the sudden invitation, Lynn almost didn't react. Fortunately, after recalling Lott's diary, he quickly determined that the person before him was the butler of Lord Pedrol's manor. A cold sweat then appeared on Lynn's forehead.

He had only intended to borrow this identity temporarily, as a stepping stone to enter Harbor Town and meet Lame Laud. He hadn't expected the real owner to show up now.

And much sooner than he had anticipated!

Should he go or not?

Countless possibilities flashed through Lynn's mind. After a second or two, under the butler's respectful and firm gaze, Lynn nodded, lifted the curtain, and got into the carriage.

Clop, clop...

The stationary carriage slowly started moving, trundling along the muddy road of the dock. The carriage swayed unsteadily, making Lynn, who was sitting inside, feel uncomfortable.

"Before we enter the manor, you'd best tidy yourself up. If Lord Pedrol sees you like this, he'll be very displeased!" The curtain was lifted again, and the tall, thin butler glanced at Lynn's hands as he spoke.

Lynn lowered his head and discovered that his hands were covered in a lot of yellow-black powder. He must have accidentally gotten it on himself while helping Halfling Bill move barrels earlier.

Wait... Lynn suddenly raised his hand and sniffed it.

This smell seemed like...

Sulfur?

Pedrol's manor was located in the northwest of Harbor Town, situated on the most prosperous street. The dark iron gate stood imposingly. As the carriage slowly drove through the gate, Lynn quickly noticed things hidden beneath the surface.

Fine weeds grew from the gaps in the paving stones, and the flowerbeds lining the road had already half-withered due to lack of care.

But it made sense. Pedrol's manor hadn't hired dedicated gardeners to prune the flowerbeds for a long time.

After a simple wash-up, Lynn was led by a servant to the manor's front hall. Baron Pedrol was already seated at the dining table, covered with a dark red tablecloth, waiting.

Also seated at the table was a brown-haired girl, about sixteen or seventeen years old. She was staring at him with an indescribable gaze. She was probably Evina, Lott's sister, whom Lott had mentioned...

Lynn observed silently and sat down in the only empty seat. On the dining table before him was a plate of steaming steak and two or three pieces of some unknown leafy vegetable. Clearly, this was his dinner for the day.

Compared to gnawing on Black Bread with water, this was already quite a feast!

"Where have you been? My son, I wanted to find you last night, but you weren't in the manor." Baron Pedrol asked with a displeased expression after Lynn sat down, his gaze inadvertently falling on the tall, thin butler who had entered with him.

"I found the young master at the port's dock," the butler replied without averting his eyes.

Baron Pedrol's expression immediately turned grim. He said in a deep voice, "I should have reminded you, Lott. It's fine to relax appropriately, but never spend the night in those low-class places, mingling with dirty prostitutes!"

Lynn was speechless. So you thought I went whoring?

What made him feel even worse was that he couldn't refute it. He couldn't exactly say, "Your son didn't come back last night because he committed suicide by jumping into the sea," could he?

Lynn anticipated Lott's likely reaction and finally lowered his head, remaining silent.

"I don't want to see a repeat of this!" Baron Pedrol's tone was stern. After a pause, he continued, "Also, for the next few days, all of you need to be vigilant. Harbor Town hasn't been peaceful lately."

"I heard that Bishop Antioch took a large contingent of men to Ur Town a few days ago to apprehend those Demon's Followers, but they suffered heavy losses. Out of a hundred elite guards, only a dozen or so returned alive. Not only that, but Bishop Antioch himself was severely wounded..."

"Are these Wizards really that powerful?" Evina shifted her gaze from Lynn and asked in astonishment.

After all, in the entire Secas Empire, although it was ruled by kings and lords, the true power lay with the Holy See!

Or rather, with the messengers of the great Lord of Stars, the Goddess of Creation [Ella], in the mortal realm.

And an Archbishop like Antioch was undoubtedly a representative of God in the Nordland Territory. It was hard for Evina to accept that such an unimaginable figure had been defeated while apprehending Wizards.

"These Wizards have been corrupted by demons and wield witchcraft beyond the imagination of ordinary people. They are not easy to deal with." As he spoke, Baron Pedrol couldn't help but shiver.

He had met Bishop Antioch a year ago. The bishop looked around his age, perhaps even younger, but tonight he saw an aged man of eighty or ninety. He couldn't imagine what kind of witchcraft could turn such a powerful bishop into that state.

What Baron Pedrol couldn't imagine even more was that the other protagonist of his words was sitting beside him, slowly and methodically cutting his steak with a knife and fork...

Lynn was somewhat surprised by the information that Antioch was still alive. He had thought that in that situation, the Bishop would have had only three outcomes.

Either poisoned to death, crushed to death by falling rocks, or sacrificed to complete that Divine Descent Technique.

Or perhaps that so-called projection of [Ella] had saved him again.

But it seemed the rescue wasn't entirely successful, otherwise Pedrol wouldn't have said he was severely wounded