Master Leonardo Michelangelo

After Yveta and the others left the castle, they asked a few farmers for information. As it turned out, everyone said the Lord only had one son and no daughters.

This made Yveta start to think that the quest was a prank.

Or perhaps, he had misinterpreted the old Druid's meaning. Maybe the quest to recruit a blacksmith on the last plank was indeed the prophesied quest!

He really hoped they could still get that quest if they went back now.

Even so, it would be a waste of a pile of supplies and an eight-penny processing fee.

As the sky gradually darkened, it was time to decide whether to leave.

Black Wolf suggested that staying in this strange place overnight was not a good idea, let alone when the owner here didn't welcome them.

It was better to camp in the wild than to stay here.

The Old Witch, in a rare show of support for his decision, advised them to leave immediately.

Yveta also realized that Baron Moro was very concerned about others knowing about his son. What if he wanted to silence them?

Although the probability was small, they couldn't be too careful.

Thus, they got into the carriage, pulling the cow along, and set off again, leaving the Moro Baron Territory.

Alicia's child had been very well-behaved. He seemed to understand his mother's difficulties, so even with all the travel, he didn't make a sound.

He just slept soundly.

After Yveta let her child sleep inside the carriage, Alicia expressed her gratitude.

The sky had completely darkened. As they were about to leave the Moro Baron Territory, something moved in the bushes by the roadside.

Black Wolf reacted quickly, grabbing the short crossbow on his back, jumping out of the carriage, and aiming at the bushes. "Who's there!"

The Old Witch's tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, revealing a cold glint.

Yveta also touched the Gryare Eye Ring, ready to use the Lightning Curse it contained.

Were they being pursued by the Boar Knight Order, or were they assassins from the Little Brotherhood of Faith?

"Wait a moment, it's... it's me..."

A head emerged from the bushes. It was Branton, Baron Moro's eldest son.

Branton looked at the crossbow bolt in Black Wolf's hand with a hint of seriousness and waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no, no... it's me."

Black Wolf put away his short crossbow and frowned. "Your father just drove us away, and now you're stopping us."

"What do you mean by this?"

"No one in the Moro family has any hospitality."

Branton said urgently, "Everyone, I swear to God, I absolutely have no intention of toying with you warriors."

"I posted the quest because I really have a sister, and she was captured by an Ogre."

Yveta stepped out of the carriage. "But your father said you don't have a sister, and the nearby villagers all said your father has no daughters."

"One person can lie, but can everyone lie?"

"How do you explain this?"

Branton's face turned red. He took out half a painting, which depicted Baron Moro holding the hands of a girl and a youngster.

The youngster looked very similar to Branton, just younger.

"Look, this is a famous painting I secretly kept."

"This is a work by the art master from Ambrose, Mr. Leonardo Michelangelo. His signature is in the corner. You can disbelieve my words, but you should believe this master, shouldn't you?"

Yveta walked over and took the painting with half-belief.

Below the painting, there was indeed the artist's name, along with a blessing phrase—

[To Baron Moro and his happy family. You have a clever son and a lovely daughter.]

Black Wolf leaned over to look at the painting, then looked up at Branton in disbelief. He said to Yveta, "If the signature isn't forged, then this master's words can be trusted."

"Is Mr. Leonardo Michelangelo very famous?" the Old Witch said dismissively. "Couldn't this Baron's son have coerced that young painter into forging it?"

Black Wolf and Leili looked at the Old Witch speechlessly.

Branton was directly shocked. He looked at the Hearthstone Great Witch with a look of horror. "You call him a young painter?"

"Do you know his status in Ambrose?"

The Old Witch had always been indifferent to things among mortals that didn't involve money.

Leili coughed and reminded her, "Mr. Leonardo Michelangelo is one of the most reputable painters in Ambrose. It is said that the Mayor of Pavela once spent three thousand six hundred gold pounds to ask him to paint a representative piece on a wall of the landmark church in Pavela city."

"To make this painting and the church the pride of Pavela city."

"As a result, Mr. Leonardo Michelangelo suddenly felt that three thousand six hundred gold pounds was too little to pay for his superb artistry when he was halfway through the painting."

"Therefore, Mr. Leonardo Michelangelo only painted half of it before leaving, stating that a painting as large as a church wall would be worth at least seven thousand two hundred gold pounds."

"The Mayor of Pavela was almost angered to death, but this incident became the event that established Mr. Leonardo Michelangelo's reputation."

Only then did the Old Witch understand that this person was not some young painter, but a master renowned throughout the Viscountcy.

She snorted.

Yveta found things were getting stranger and stranger, and judging by the situation, this mission might very well be the one foretold in the prophecy.

He looked at Branton. "But how did you get this painting? You shouldn't be able to afford such a high price."

From the common knowledge he'd gathered from those around him, combined with some knowledge from his memories, he knew that a small barony's annual income was only between seven hundred and a thousand gold pounds.

If it was a particularly poor region, it might be even less.

Branton felt something was off. He sensed the other party wasn't just some ordinary explorer.

Ordinary explorers lacked culture and were easily fooled.

But these people opposite him, each one of them spoke eloquently and was knowledgeable.

Conversing with them, he even felt like he was talking to a group of nobles.

This made Branton unconsciously lower his own standing. He said, "It was due to some fortunate coincidences. My grandfather had some acquaintance with the master, so he painted this for us. But it's only one painting."

"I don't know what happened that made everyone forget my sister, but thankfully, there's still the painting left by that master."

"But this is the only evidence."

Yveta frowned, looking down at the painting.

"But if we help you find your sister, or rather, your sister's body, how much commission should you pay us?"

Branton had initially intended to play a trick, like taking advantage of the explorers' lack of knowledge to lower the commission.

But now he changed his mind. He was afraid of angering Yveta and the others, causing them to leave.

The situation had already fallen under Yveta's control.

Branton thought for a moment and named a huge sum. "75 pounds!"

"This is all the money I've saved."

"Is that acceptable?"

Yveta considered it. In reality, this price was already dozens of times higher than for a normal mission.

If it weren't for the other party's special circumstances and their urgency to find their sister, they wouldn't have offered such an outrageous price.

In other words, the reason he could offer such a high price was because it was Branton's sister's life-saving money.

And now they were Branton's only hope, the only mercenaries he could possibly hire.

But this wasn't his goal.

He wanted something beyond money.

However, he decided to observe the situation first.

"120 gold pounds," Yveta said. "Not a penny less."

"And if new circumstances arise, and we deem it necessary to increase the price, we will do so."

"You..." Branton gritted his teeth. "Alright, afterwards, I can borrow some money from the merchants to pay you your reward."

"I hope you're worth the price."

"And that you can help me find my sister."

Yveta tried not to give him too much room for fantasy and reminded him, "That's assuming your sister is still alive. Otherwise, we can at most find her body for you."

"We don't have the ability to bring the dead back to life."

"You should understand."

Branton sighed, knowing Yveta was speaking the truth. "Yes, I understand."