Before the Trial

The businessman Santos stood at the entrance of Ellington Mansion and told Boris Butler about the trouble he had encountered.

With a reserved smile, Boris Butler asked the businessman Santos, "Santos, how would you like me to help you?"

"Can you help me cancel next week's court hearing? I know this isn't a problem for you!" said businessman Boris, handing over a money bag Santos was holding.

Boris Butler looked to his left and right, but there were no elves around. The elven maids had all left sometime earlier.

He took the money pouch without saying a word, weighed it in his hand, and then put it in his pocket.

"Alright, since it's Santos who's in trouble, I'll certainly do my best to help. I'll talk to them about it in the next couple of days, and there shouldn't be any problem with dropping the trial!" Boris Butler said confidently.

Merchant Santos was overjoyed to hear what Boris Butler said and repeatedly thanked Boris.

"Remember not to do something so stupid again next time. If you want to crush your opponent, you must know their trump card..." Boris Butler said to the businessman Santos in a lecturing manner.

The businessman Santos nodded repeatedly, indicating that he would be more careful next time.

Boris Butler, waved to the businessman Santos and said, "It's my shift today, so I don't have time to entertain you. If there's nothing else, you can go back now!"

The merchant Santos had no choice but to bid farewell to Boris Butler...

Having sat in the Ellington Mansion for so long without even getting a sip of tea, the businessman Santos was about to slink away, feeling somewhat helpless...

Boris Butler entered Ellington Mansion and hid the money pouch in his pocket.

Dinner is ready, but he needs to confirm it one last time.

Boris Butler is one of the three head butlers at Ellington House. The job is respectable and easy, requiring him to work only ten days a month, with the rest of the time at his own discretion.

Boris often attends dances and occasionally plays cards at pubs.

He met the merchant Santos while playing cards in a tavern. Santos, having heard that he was the head butler of Ellington Mansion, often fawned over him and frequently invited him to drink. One time, when both of them were drunk, Boris gave Santos a letter of invitation from Ellington Mansion.

He didn't actually have the authority to do that; he was just a butler.

If the Earl of Ellington finds out about this, Boris probably will lose his job.

He never expected that Santos would actually come with a letter of inquiry. Luckily, he was on duty and managed to stop Santos outside the mansion.

He hurried through the spiral staircase into the treehouse, which was a magnificent palace like a castle. Boris Butler walked through a long corridor and went directly into the dining room.

Several waitresses were busy in the restaurant; some were arranging plates, some were laying out clean tablecloths, and some were already bringing out colorful fruits.

Boris Butler confirmed the type and freshness of the fruit and nodded.

As dinner began, family members from Ellington Mansion entered the dining room, each assigned a seat.

Before the meal, everyone was whispering about the news outside.

Ms. Edith followed the group of women and sat down with everyone. She sat quietly in her chair and did not join in the conversation.

Ms. Edith's father, Earl Dempse Ellington. Earl Ellington usually lived in Buenos City and only returned to Ellington Mansion for no more than two months each year.

These family gatherings don't happen every day.

Although the Ellington Family has gradually declined, its various rituals and etiquettes have been preserved.

Earl Ellington put down the Parchment Scroll in his hand and looked at the long dining table, which was already full of family members. He turned and nodded to Boris Butler Boris Butler then came out with a row of elven maids and began to add various fruits to everyone's plates.

Boris Butler was only responsible for serving the Duke of Ellington...

Duke Ellington seemed to enjoy the lively scene, and he turned to Boris Butler to ask, "Boris, has anything interesting happened outside today?"

Boris Butler was prepared. He stepped forward, poured Earl Ellington a glass of fruit wine, and said, "I heard that the little princess of the Stanlis family has won the favor of the Silver Unicorn. In the future, this little princess of the Stanlis family should become a Unicorn Knight."

"I've heard about this too. The Stanlis family is really lucky," Earl Ellington said.

He turned to look at his eldest son, and seeing that he was unmoved by the news, he asked, "Owen, I remember that little princess from the Stanlis family was your classmate?"

Owen sat upright next to Earl Ellington, exuding the aura of a soldier.

"Yes, Father!" Owen Ellington said.

He was such a dull sprite, always speaking in a serious tone, and rarely showing a smile...

Earl Ellington leaned back and said to Owen:

"Recently, a large number of human merchant ships have appeared on this coastline of the Endless Sea. It is said that Plane War have broken out in various parts of the Roland Continent, which has directly led to a shortage of Magic Herbs in human kingdoms. Therefore, many merchants have come to the Elf Continent by ship to purchase Magic Herbs. However, due to the frequent sea storms recently, those merchant ships can only temporarily dock in the Safe Harbor of the Outer Sea. These merchant ships have not yet entered the ports and docks of the Elf Continent."

Owen Ellington seemed quite interested in this, and he said to Earl Ellington, "Is another Plane War about to break out?"

"It's still uncertain, Owen. You also need to keep a close eye on the two seats of the family. Once you discover any signs of dark forces invading, you must deal with them as soon as possible," Earl Ellington reminded his son, Owen.

Owen was the kind of elf who was meticulous in everything he did, and he said to Earl Ellington:

"Understood, Father."

Earl Ellington nodded and asked, "You've been working at the courthouse for about two weeks now, how's it going?"

Owen looked up and replied, "It's alright, a bit busier than the logistics department, there are court hearings every week."

"It's good to be busy. You're still young and need to gain some experience," Earl Ellington said.

Ms. Edith sat at the dining table, looking every bit the well-behaved girl, quietly eating the fruit on her plate and occasionally exchanging a few words.

After having dinner, the Earl of Ellington left the restaurant early.

After Earl Ellington left, the atmosphere in the restaurant instantly became twice as lively, and everyone began to chat casually.

After dinner, Owen Ellington didn't intend to sit in the restaurant and listen to everyone's idle chatter.

Just as he placed the napkin on the table in front of him, stood up, and turned to leave, Boris Butler quickly leaned over and whispered to Owen Ellington:

"Young Master Owen, do you have a moment?"

Owen Ellington stopped and frowned, asking, "Boris Butler, is there something you need?"

Seeing that Owen Ellington was getting impatient, Boris Butler immediately said, "Young Master Owen, I have a cousin Santos. He's recently run into some trouble. I heard he's been sent to court and will be on trial next week."

Owen hesitated for a moment, but then casually said, "Okay, if I'm in charge of the trial, I'll reduce his sentence to the lightest possible level."

After saying that, he turned and walked out of the restaurant. Boris Butler quickly followed behind and said to Owen, "Young Master Owen, my cousin was clearly framed. He is a law-abiding businessman who usually pays great attention to his business reputation. Do you think... you could suppress this court hearing?"

Owen stopped again, looked at Boris Butler and saw the flicker in his eyes, then said, "I will check the files tomorrow to see what's going on and then give you an answer."

Boris Butler somewhat disappointed as he watched Owen Ellington walk out of the restaurant.

If it were the Earl of Ellington who heard his request, he probably would have readily agreed.

After dinner, Ms. Edith sat under a camphor tree in an inner courtyard, reading a travelogue.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor, followed by Owen's voice. "Edith, I heard that guy named Roy is from your Elf Academy. Do you know him?"

"Yes, when Princess Ophelia was teaching modern elven history, he happened to have enrolled in the course for a while, and that's when I met Roy," Ms. Edith said casually without even looking up.

"What's this guy's personality like?" Owen sat down next to Ms. Edith.

"His personality is a bit soft." That was Ms. Edith's assessment of Roy...

"I understand." Owen Ellington didn't press further, because some things simply didn't need to be asked.

Owen Ellington turned and left the inner garden, leaving Ms. Edith alone on the bench reading a book.

Roy followed Klayr into a large estate, which had many apple trees.

At this time of year, these apple trees are already laden with unripe fruit.

Through the dense Apple Orchard, you can see that the buildings in the estate are all lit up.

The carriage stopped at the manor gate. Klayr pushed open the carriage door and stepped out first. As soon as he appeared, he was surrounded by a group of Silver Moon Elf who kept asking him questions.

Klayr was surrounded by a group of elves, so Roy had to get off the carriage from the other side. Instead of going near Klayr, he wandered around the Dance Floor. He walked to a fruit platter area where all kinds of fruit were displayed. Roy grabbed an apple and ate a few bites.

The area was rather deserted, so Roy wandered around while waiting for Klayr.

He also saw tables laden with various fruit wines and Tree of Life Sap...

Roy stood quietly in front of a wine rack, looking closely at the fragrant fruit wines, but did not reach out to take any.

Just then, a group of noble ladies walked by together. Roy saw that they were also heading towards the wine rack, so he prepared to move aside.

"Hand me a glass of wine..." the Elven Nobles at the front instructed Roy.

Roy didn't try to explain and obediently handed over a glass of wine.

The other Elven Nobles ladies also took the opportunity to choose their favorite fruit wines and Tree of Life Sap, which Roy then handed to them.

Until Miss Christine stood in front of Roy and smiled slightly at him.

Roy handed her a glass of Tree of Life Sap, then, following the instructions of an Elven Nobles, took a glass of fruit wine from the shelf...

Roy acted as a waiter until all the Elven Nobles ladies had left before he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Miss Christine did not leave with the other noble ladies, but stood by the wine rack. She waited for Roy to come over with a glass of Tree of Life Sap before the two of them strolled casually along the manor's paths.

"What have you been busy with lately?" Miss Christine hadn't seen Roy much lately.

Roy smiled and said, "I've been selling Magic Herbs lately, and I plan to transport low-level Magic Herbs from the Pattington Plane to Castleton City..."

"You want to go into business?" Miss Christine stared at Roy in disbelief.

Roy nodded, then shook his head:

"It's not really business, it's just that I want to promote the low-level Magic Herbs from the Pattington Plane. This time when I went to the Pattington Plane, I first saw the miserable lives of the Half-Elf in Rampart Town, and then we went to the Pagisto Plateau. The Half-Elf living there weren't doing very well either!"

As he spoke, Roy introduced Miss Christine to some of the Half-Elf who lived in the mountains.

"There are places like this?" Miss Christine couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Roy stopped in his tracks. "I plan to buy back the Magic Herbs they've gathered and then transport them to Castleton City to sell. I think... their lives will gradually improve in the future."

Then Roy slapped his forehead and said to Miss Christine, "Oh, do I owe you a thank you? If it weren't for the Business Certificate you gave me, I probably would have encountered a lot of trouble even if I wanted to do these things."

Miss Christine waved her hands repeatedly and said, "This has nothing to do with me. My father asked me to give it to you."

From the Dance Floor came Klayr's playing; Roy knew those pieces very well. Every time Klayr performed in public, she won enthusiastic applause...

After Klayr finished playing three pieces, she stepped down from the stage...

He searched through the crowd for a while and finally found Roy.

Klayr grabbed Roy's arm and pulled him along, saying, "Come with me, I'll take you to see an Elven Nobles."

Roy followed, and other cheerful music echoed in the Dance Floor. The two strolled around the Dance Floor and eventually came to a rest area where some Elven Nobles were sitting. If it were Roy alone, he would never have gone to this area.

But once you follow Klayr into this area, no one stops you...