Rewards [Seeking Collections and Recommendation Tickets]

The next day.

Claire was enjoying breakfast in the Viscount's mansion when Regan entered from outside.

"Young master, Hant wishes to see you."

Claire took a sip of her drink and said softly, "Have him come over."

A moment later, Hant followed Regan in. As soon as he saw Claire, he excitedly knelt down.

"Lord! Everything you instructed me to do is finished."

Claire nodded gently. "Mm, were there any casualties?"

"No, thanks to the magic weapon you gave me. I killed their only Silver Knight right at the start. The rest were no match for us; we scattered their ranks in a single round." After speaking, Hant respectfully took a revolver from his bosom and placed it on the table where Claire was eating.

"Good." Claire also showed a satisfied smile. "Was yesterday's excursion unnoticed?"

"No, I only selected knights at or above the Apprentice Knight level. We didn't ride horses and left the city using the movement technique you gave us. The commotion was minimal, and no one would have noticed."

"Well done," Claire praised.

Hant's expression became slightly excited upon receiving the praise. "This is what I should do for the Viscount."

"Join me for breakfast," Claire said, gesturing to the spread of food on the table.

Hant swallowed as he smelled the enticing aroma, but still refused. "No, I've already had breakfast. I should go back and continue training those brats, aiming for all of them to advance to Apprentice Knight."

"Then here's a reward for you." Claire took a greatsword from her spatial ring and handed it over. It was one of the gifts from the nobles yesterday.

"No... this is what a subordinate should do." Hant quickly refused. With his discerning eye, he could tell this greatsword was worth hundreds of gold coins and could even have Battle Qi imbued into it. If he had it, his strength would increase by at least ten to twenty percent.

"You did such a good job, so you naturally deserve a reward. Take it," Claire said with a smile. "This is nothing; there will be many more valuable rewards in the future."

Hant's expression turned emotional, and he lowered his head even further, accepting the greatsword from Claire with both hands. "Thank you for your reward, Lord!"

"Mm, go back. And take some gold coins from Regan to reward the knights who departed with you last night."

Hant became even more excited and shouted, "As you command!"

Doing these things was what they, as knights, were supposed to do. And yet, their lord was actually rewarding them! They had to give their all to fulfill any future tasks to be worthy of their lord!

Claire smiled slightly. To make a horse run, you had to feed it grass.

Money didn't mean much to him. Rewarding his subordinates would increase their loyalty and efficiency. Why wouldn't he do it?

Compared to Claire's calm demeanor, the nobles were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

"What! The goods were hijacked! Are you sure you're not mistaken! How could they possibly have been hijacked? The goods of over a dozen of us nobles were all together!"

"Huh? The other nobles' goods were hijacked too? Even the knights we hired were killed, not a single one left? Even the Silver Knight's head was severed! How brutal!"

Since the bullet had hit the head, Hant had severed it to prevent the bullet from being discovered.

"Hurry and saddle the horses! I need to discuss this with Baron Eugene!"

It was the same room as before, but the nobles seated there were all filled with anxiety.

"How could this happen! Our goods haven't had any incidents for years. The last incident was six years ago!"

"Exactly! It's precisely because our goods were hijacked last time that we banded together to transport our goods jointly and pooled funds to hire a Silver Knight!"

When their goods were hijacked this time, their first thought wasn't of Claire, but of the bandits outside the city. After all, before Claire arrived, their goods had been frequently hijacked.

Originally, their goods were stocked according to their own shops in Nafu City, with their own supply channels. However, because they were easily hijacked, they eventually began dispatching their horse teams together and hiring mercenaries to escort their goods. This way, they were indeed rarely hijacked.

Yet, after a few years, their goods had suffered misfortune again.

The steward, however, was not anxious at all. Unlike these nobles, he didn't run any shops, so the transported goods didn't concern him.

Instead, he spoke, "What if our Viscount sent people to rob them?" Although he said this, he didn't really believe it himself.

Baron Eugene frowned and thought for a moment before speaking, "It shouldn't be. I was 'busy' until very late last night and didn't hear any horses leaving the city gates."

"Yes, he just arrived here. There's no way he could know our trade caravan's routes. Plus, I saw the knight team training this morning," Lord Wilbur added.

With a few words, the two of them cleared Claire of suspicion. They hadn't not suspected Claire, but there was no benefit for her to do this. It would also offend them for no reason, so why bother?

Most importantly, even if they were riding horses, Hant and the others couldn't have possibly traveled back and forth in such a short time and still be seen training in the morning. If they were on foot, it would be even more impossible. They had also seen Hant and the others training by running outside the city gates, and their speed was not even as fast as horses.

They just didn't realize that if they took off their heavy armor and combined it with the movement technique and Battle Qi, their speed would be even faster than horses.

The steward, Frank, picked up a glass of wine from the table and drank it, smiling. "I was just saying casually. You guys continue your discussion."

However, his remark did give the nobles something to think about. Claire now had a large number of knights. Perhaps they could find a solution from this.

"Ahem, Frank." Baron Eugene coughed a couple of times. "As the steward of the Viscount's territory, you are different from us and are under the Viscount's command. Could you go and speak with him, ask him to send his knight team to help us retrieve our goods?"

Frank curled his lips. He knew his relationship with Claire very well. Let alone offering suggestions, even seeing Claire made his legs involuntarily go weak. Besides, why should they ask him to be the scapegoat when they could go themselves?

However, he couldn't say these thoughts directly, so he could only decline, "I'll see..."

The other nobles saw this and didn't press him. They also knew that Frank probably didn't have much influence with Claire. They could only continue discussing and thinking of other solutions.

Before the gathering was even halfway over, Frank felt bored and left on his own. He had no stake in the hijacked goods, so he wasn't going to stay and watch them get upset.

However, as soon as he returned home, he encountered something unexpected: Claire had sent someone to ask him to go to the Viscount's mansion.

Recalling the last time he went to the Viscount's mansion alone, Frank couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.