Drinking Fine Wine and Holding a Maid [Seeking Recommendations and Collections!]

The nobles in Nafu City couldn't sleep that night. The five gunshots felt like they struck their hearts, leaving them sleepless and uneasy all night.

It wasn't until the next morning, when a notice was posted outside the city, that they finally felt a sliver of relief.

The assassins had escaped, meaning they weren't exposed. Thank goodness! Run, run as far as possible, and never come back! Useless trash, couldn't even get a simple assassination right!

After learning they weren't exposed, the nobles truly breathed a sigh of relief. They instructed their servants to prepare gifts and went to "comfort" the Viscount who had been targeted yesterday.

Of course, the main purpose was to probe for information and see if Claire suspected them.

"My Lord Viscount, this is my token of comfort for you. It was truly terrifying that assassins managed to infiltrate the Viscount's manor!" Baron Eugene said, feigning fright.

Claire glanced at the gift being offered. It was worth several hundred Gold Coins. If they weren't guilty, who would offer such an expensive gift as a show of comfort? Last time, they acted like their parents had died when she fleeced them out of five hundred Gold Coins, and now they were this eager?

The other nobles followed suit, presenting their gifts one after another, quickly piling up the living room table.

"Alas," Claire sighed theatrically, "I never expected something like this to happen."

"Are you injured, my Lord Viscount? We were worried sick after hearing the gunshots last night. It's not just us; your citizens are also very concerned," Eugene probed further.

Claire shook her head. "I wasn't injured. I was still awake when he broke in, and I drove him away with my gun." She told him exactly what he wanted to know.

The nobles present rejoiced inwardly. It seemed the attacker only got a glimpse of her, so they were definitely not exposed.

Claire continued, "Don't worry, everyone. Starting tonight, Knights will patrol the vicinity of the Viscount's manor every night. This kind of incident won't happen again."

Eugene's smile stiffened for a moment, but he quickly plastered a smile back on. This action had effectively thwarted their next assassination plan.

"Um... does the Viscount have any suspects?" Lord Wilbur cautiously inquired, poking his head out.

These nobles were very timid. They needed to be 100% sure they were cleared of suspicion before they could sleep soundly.

Claire narrowed her eyes. She was right when she called them useless trash. By asking this, even if she hadn't suspected them originally, she would have to be vigilant now.

However, she maintained an air of ignorance, resting her chin on her hand and pondering for a moment before saying, "I'm not sure. I haven't been back to the Barony for long, and I can't think of anyone I've offended. Who do you think is most likely to assassinate me?"

Claire threw the question back at them, and the dozen or so nobles were stunned, exchanging glances.

"Bandits!" Baron Eugene blurted out.

"Yes, yes, it must be those bandits from outside the city!" the other nobles chimed in.

"They saw the Lord return to the Barony, so they wanted to kidnap the Viscount to extort money."

"That's right, those bandits outside the city are ferocious. They've robbed our goods several times before."

"Exactly, my Lord Viscount must be wary of those bandits outside the city!"

Claire smiled. "Is that so?"

Baron Eugene was about to say something more when footsteps echoed from outside the door.

It was Knight Captain Hant. Compared to when Claire first arrived, he had become much stronger, and his aura even surpassed that of the previous, ill-fated Knight Captain.

"My Lord!"

Claire surveyed the nobles seated on the sofa. They also nodded wisely.

"Viscount, please carry on with your business. Now that we see you are unharmed, we shall take our leave."

Yes, now that we see you don't know who sent the assassins and are even trying to frame others, we can leave with peace of mind.

"Viscount, we take our leave!"

"Farewell," Claire said, waving with a friendly smile.

After confirming they had all left, Claire led Hant to the conference hall and sat down. She inquired, "How many Apprentice Knights are there in the barracks now?"

"Reporting, my Lord Viscount, there are a total of thirty-one Apprentice Knights in the barracks, three Bronze Knights, and myself, a Silver Knight."

Claire nodded. Although this strength wasn't yet the military might a Viscount's territory should have, it was sufficient.

"How has Kellan's training been recently?"

Upon hearing Claire ask about Kellan, Hant's eyes revealed a hint of admiration. "He trains very diligently every time. He should be the next to be promoted to Bronze Knight."

The last time she saw Kellan, he was already an Apprentice Knight, but she hadn't expected Hant to have such a high opinion of him.

Claire touched her nose and continued, "To what extent can the Battle Qi cultivation manuals of the Barony allow you to train?"

"These were left by the previous Viscount and are sufficient for us to train to the rank of Grand Knight."

Claire pondered for a moment. Generally, a few Gold Knights could uphold the reputation of a Viscount's territory, and Grand Knights, a rank above that, would be more than enough. However, Claire's ambitions extended beyond that.

"Use them for now. I'll find a way to get you Battle Qi manuals that allow for higher-level cultivation in the future."

Claire didn't have enough financial resources yet. The Battle Qi manuals sufficient for training to the rank of Grand Knight were purchased during the Griffin Family's wealthiest period, costing over six hundred thousand Gold Coins. Now, if she wanted to buy more advanced Battle Qi manuals, she couldn't afford them even if she sold herself.

"Thank you, my Lord Viscount!" Hant was secretly excited. His guess was correct; the Viscount intended to revive the entire Barony!

"How is the matter I entrusted you with progressing?"

At this, Hant's expression turned serious.

"Reporting, my Lord, it is all prepared!"

"Okay..." Claire replied softly.

Afterward, the two began to discuss in detail within the conference hall.

Meanwhile, in Nafu City, the citizens were enraged after seeing the posted announcement, so much so that they felt like they were about to explode.

What! The Barony had finally gotten such a good Viscount, one who had exempted them from so many taxes and was going to lead them to a better life, and now someone wanted to assassinate him!

And this happened right inside the Viscount's mansion! This was unbearable!

Not long after the notice was posted, citizens spontaneously formed groups and began patrolling inside and outside Nafu City, determined to find the assassins who dared to attempt to kill the Viscount.

However, just as it reached noon, a new piece of information began to spread: it was the bandits from outside the city who had sent people to assassinate the Viscount.

This news spread with incredible speed both inside and outside the city, and the hatred originally directed at the assassins was redirected to the bandits outside the city. The citizens were all cursing those damned bandits.

Only then did the nobles who had done all this truly relax. By shifting public opinion towards the bandits outside the city, no one would suspect them. This wasn't the first time they'd done something like this; they had plenty of experience.

As long as they spent a little money to have those small gangs help spread the news, they could quickly redirect public attention.

Meanwhile, they were drinking fine wine and enjoying themselves with maids in their own mansions.

I've made some changes to the previous parts, but they don't affect the plot. It was a reader who pointed it out to me, and I realized that Regan had revealed Claire's identity the first time he met Melly, and then I forgot about it later. I've corrected this.

Also, I miscalculated Yuna's salary before. Four hundred copper coins is four silver coins, meaning her annual salary was half a gold coin. So, I've changed the payment from a year's salary to a month's salary.

Therefore, the average family's annual income is around two to three gold coins, so it's normal for a black clinic to have an annual income of five to six hundred gold coins.