Ⅰ
Once he had given the other party his entire fortune, what else could he offer?
The Marquis of Einhaas knew the answer very well.
Himself!
His own self!
He could only offer himself!
Aside from that, he had nothing left to give!
Likewise, he had tremendous confidence in himself.
That confidence came from his strength.
From his confidence as an Ascendant approaching the fourth tier!
So the Marquis of Einhaas had long since settled on an answer in his mind, along with the expression Arthur would wear-it would be delighted, perhaps even smug, but certainly not complicated.
The delight would naturally stem from the promise of an Ascendant like him.
The smugness would also stem from the promise of an Ascendant like him, but unlike the former, the latter would contain an extra measure of pride.
But a complicated expression?
The Marquis of Einhaas felt puzzled.
An expression that complicated could only appear between friends.
But did he and Arthur count as friends?
No!
Without the tempering of time, the word "friend" was far too nebulous.
At most, they were allies now.
Allies founded on shared interests.
Anything more?
There was none.
The Marquis of Einhaas pondered it through the lens of his own understanding, but the more he thought, the more puzzled he became.
And at that moment, the Old Count spoke up again-
"Stop thinking about it!
That young man Arthur's complicated expression isn't directed at you... no, I should say it isn't entirely directed at you. It's directed at the Witchers.
He knows what happened to the Witchers back then.
That's why he wore that complicated expression when you asked about that incident and wanted to dig deeper.
Deep down, he must be lamenting the fickleness of fate."
The Old Count's words were steeped in bitterness.