The Old Lady Who Stirs Up Trouble

"Since that's the case, there's nothing left for an old woman like me to do here. I'm a bit tired, so I'll go rest first."

Just as Dick was holding the chamber pot and eager to make his move, the old lady sitting to the side—Benjamin's grandmother—who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

Benjamin was somewhat surprised, and everyone else's attention shifted instantly.

"If you're tired, Grandmother, then do go and rest. These are all trivial matters; no one would blame you even if you didn't want to be here."

Before Claude could speak, Ax Fool immediately chimed in.

"I'm at such an advanced age that I must be present whenever something happens, otherwise, some people might think I'm no longer around. Wouldn't you agree?" The old lady replied in a nonchalant tone, sounding as if she were being sarcastic, or perhaps just stifling a yawn.

Ax shook his head hurriedly and said, "You're joking, Grandmother..."

Benjamin stood to the side, listening silently to their exchange. The moment the old lady spoke, the conflict between him and Dick was immediately pushed aside. It seemed his eccentric grandmother held quite a high status.

However, Benjamin had a vague premonition: by jumping in at such a moment, this old lady probably didn't really want to rest. Otherwise, why bother with such barbed remarks?

Stirring up trouble?

Go ahead, stir it up. The bigger, the better. It would buy him more time to figure out how to survive this ordeal.

"I'll have Anna attend to you so you can rest."

Claude also stood up, spoke to the old lady, and then turned to signal the servants outside the door with his eyes.

"No need. Do you think I've become that useless in my old age? I can walk on my own." The old lady waved her hand, leaned on her cane, and stood up.

"But..." Claude hesitated.

"But what? Mary hasn't said a word, so why are you in such a rush? Mary, wouldn't you agree?" The old lady impatiently cut him off and turned to look at Benjamin's mother, who was standing beside Claude.

Mary—Benjamin's mother and Claude's wife—was clearly surprised. She probably hadn't expected the old lady to suddenly turn the conversation to her. She widened her eyes and covered her half-open mouth with her hand.

After a moment of hesitation, Mary replied, "That depends on your wishes, Mother. I have no objections."

Hearing this, the old lady let out a soft huff, though it was impossible to tell what she was feeling.

Benjamin grumbled inwardly. So it's a mother-in-law versus daughter-in-law spat, and it doesn't even look like it's going to escalate. It seems this won't help me at all; it won't even buy me much time. Once the old lady leaves, the Fool family will immediately raise that chamber pot at me again.

He had no time to watch the show; these kinds of dramas played on every channel every day, and there was nothing interesting about them.

He had to hurry up and think of a solution!

If Dick really intended to smash that chamber pot on him, could he grit his teeth and resist? Claude wouldn't actually kick him out of the Riser family, would he?

But... what if he really was kicked out?

Thinking of this, Benjamin felt a chill in his heart.

If he were truly cast out, he would have no choice but to turn to The Church. The Church still wanted to use him to capture Michelle, so they certainly wouldn't mistreat him. But trying to learn magic under the watchful eyes of The Church was like entering hell-mode right after finishing the tutorial—this game was anti-human.

As for wandering the streets... that would be even worse. Though, The Church probably wouldn't allow him to wander the streets; they would likely keep him under control instead. In a way, staying with the Riser family was his best option for maintaining freedom of movement.

His head hurt...

Just as Benjamin was plotting his next move, the old lady, who was preparing to leave, suddenly performed a very strange action: she seemed to lose her footing, her cane slipped, and it suddenly swung out to the side.

The swing itself wasn't the issue, but the direction the cane flew was, unfortunately, exactly where Dick was standing with the chamber pot.

Before anyone could react, the cane struck Dick's heel with force. Dick's legs went weak, and he fell backward, crashing heavily to the ground.

The chamber pot in his hands was flung away as he fell, flying high into the air and tracing a graceful parabola. Then, it landed precisely on Dick's face as he lay on the floor.

Bang! A loud thud!

Dark liquid splattered everywhere, blooming from his face like a giant, abstract flower.

Everyone gasped and stepped back, distancing themselves from the stunned Dick as if he were carrying the plague.

Dick lay on the ground, his face a mask of shock. He reached out, wiped his face, and slowly moved his trembling hand before his eyes. Looking at the brown substance staining his hand, his entire face began to twitch, and a deep, profound despair filled his pupils.

"Ah—!"

With a heart-wrenching scream, Dick fainted once more, right into the puddle of filth.

Because the series of events happened so rapidly, everyone was too busy dodging to avoid getting dirty to react in any other way.

As for the culprit, Benjamin's grandmother, she had already retreated to the side of the living room door before the chamber pot even hit the ground, clutching her chest in panic and looking like an innocent, frightened bystander.

The living room fell into a deathly silence.

Benjamin came to his senses, looking at the old lady hiding by the door with wide, innocent eyes, and felt thoroughly shaken.

In this day and age, it wasn't just the young; even elderly grandmothers wanted to make headlines!

Looking at the stunned, almost catatonic crowd around him, Benjamin learned his lesson this time. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down; until someone broke the silence, he would remain invisible and completely transparent. He would absolutely not speak again.

Regardless, this was his second time facing such a scene; in other words, he was a person with work experience.

However, the people present seemed to have even more experience than him.

Everyone was immersed in unbelievable shock, staring at Dick in the puddle of filth. No one made a sound, and no one's expression changed in the slightest. They were all intoxicated by their own "shock," and despite the stench spreading, not a single person seemed inclined to cover their nose.

It was as if someone had frozen time, leaving only the crows outside the window to let out their somewhat tragic cries.

The entire scene seemed to have turned into a test of endurance, and Dick's scream became the phrase, "We are all statues, no talking, no moving."

Benjamin felt a bit confused.

What were these people doing?

"They are all nobles, and they all have more experience than you," the system muttered in his mind. "Of course, it's also possible that the people in this world just have very slow reaction times, and no matter what happens, it takes them a long time to process it."

"..."

Benjamin was speechless.

In this eerie, "shocked" silence, he didn't know how much time had passed before a strange sound finally ended it all. Benjamin froze for a moment, then realized it was his stomach growling.

In such an environment, that "gurgle" sounded exceptionally clear and piercing.

...He was hungry.

Everyone's gaze converged on Benjamin once again.

Benjamin regretted it deeply. He only just realized that he hadn't eaten anything since transmigrating into this world. He certainly hadn't eaten while he was conscious, and as for whether anyone had fed him during the three days and nights he was in a coma, he had no idea.

And the breakfast he was supposed to have eaten had been ruined by his grandmother. Therefore, he was actually extremely, extremely hungry; it was just that so many things had piled up that he had forgotten about it.

Until now, when the hunger reached a certain point, bang—the time bomb exploded.

He had become the focus of everyone's attention once again.

Just as he was screaming "Oh no" in his heart, the old lady suddenly seemed to snap out of it and spoke up:

"Oh, this... I am truly very sorry. I suppose I've used this cane for too long and it's become a bit slippery. I accidentally lost my grip and hurt this child. Count Fool, you aren't angry, are you?"

Once the old lady's words were out, it was like a spell breaking a curse. Everyone's faces shifted to expressions of realization, as if they had truly just recovered from their shock. They looked at each other, exchanging the lingering disbelief of their "shock," and not a single flaw could be found in anyone's expression.

"This..." Ax Fool looked at his son lying on the ground, the fat on his face quivering, still looking as if he were too stunned to know what to say.

"Mother, are you alright?" Claude asked the old lady.

At his signal, several servants walked in, intending to help the old lady.

"No need. I'm an old bag of bones; what could possibly happen to me?" The old lady waved them off.

Ax looked at Dick on the ground again, his expression gradually turning ugly. Behind him, several people Benjamin didn't recognize—likely other members of the Fool family—exchanged glances, their expressions becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

One of them patted Ax on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear.

Ax's eyebrows furrowed deeply. He looked at the old lady, who appeared to be still shaken, and after hesitating for a moment, he spoke:

"Old lady, you are making things difficult for us."

Hearing this, the old lady smoothed her hair and said sternly, "Don't worry, I'm at such an advanced age, how could I possibly make things difficult for you? I will certainly give you a satisfactory answer for today's events. Didn't your child advocate for fairness? How about this: we'll prepare another one of these things, and let the boy smash it on me. That way, we'll be even, and we won't have to take this to the Bishop and let other nobles laugh at our two families. Wouldn't you agree?"

As soon as these words were out, before Ax could react, Claude was already horrified.

"Mother?"

"This is my affair; I will handle it. You stay out of it." The old lady waved her hand, suppressing Claude. She then looked at Ax and asked with a straight face, "Do you have any objections to me handling it this way?"

Ax was stunned, his expression turning to one of confusion; he clearly couldn't understand the old lady's proposal:

"This... how could we do such a thing to you? Please, stop joking, old lady."

The old lady, however, looked righteous: "How can that be? Isn't your child bent on revenge? For the sake of noble honor, one cannot go back on one's word. Since the previous incident where Benjamin accidentally hurt your child had to be handled this way, the incident where I accidentally hurt your child must be the same. Come, go ahead and smash that thing on me. To earn your forgiveness, I will never go back on my word."

The old lady's solemn tone startled Ax. He felt that something was wrong, but pressured by the inexplicable aura of authority suddenly radiating from her, he couldn't think and could only respond instinctively:

"No, how could we ever do such a thing? It was an unintentional mistake on your part; we forgive you."

Hearing this, the old lady's face showed surprise. She glanced at the unconscious Dick, raised her eyebrows meaningfully, and rolled her eyes. Suddenly, she looked at Ax again and said:

"The Count's generosity is truly admirable. In that case, on behalf of myself and my grandson Benjamin, I thank you for your generous forgiveness." Saying this, without waiting for anyone to react, she turned to the servants at the door and ordered, "Alright, the matter is finally settled. The guests from the Fool family are leaving, why haven't you escorted them out yet?"

After giving these orders, she immediately turned back, moving with an agility that didn't look like that of a woman nearing seventy. Before Ax could object, she continued speaking to the Fool family, using an "amiable" aura to block the words Ax had just brought to his lips:

"I would love to keep you as guests longer, but the Count is so busy. Today's matter has been resolved so perfectly, your grievances have been settled, and everyone is happy, so I won't keep you."

At this point, she paused slightly, and then, a kind smile appeared on her wrinkled face:

"Count Ax, travel safely. I wish you a pleasant life."

Count Ax stood there, completely bewildered.