Ronin stayed with Lurans for a long ti.
During their conversation, he recounted so of the events that had taken place in Mountain Forest Town, such as how he had eliminated the Storm Demon Wolf and defeated Reisen.
At the sa ti, he also learned about so of the recent happenings at Wushan Castle.
The last ti Ronin visited, Lurans had asked him if they should attack the Black Gold Brotherhood.
His advice at the ti had been that it was not wise to make a move before the spring planting. Moreover, since Wiggin’s assassination attempt occurred on the lands of Haid’s County, it was Ossen who should give Wushan Castle an explanation, not Wushan Castle that should dispatch troops.
It was unclear whether Lurans had already planned to do so or if Ronin’s advice had been effective, but Wushan Castle had sent orders for Ossen to take action and avenge Wiggin.
Now, nearly two months later, Ossen had reportedly won two battles, but he had not killed any of the key figures in the Black Gold Brotherhood. It seed he had not achieved any significant results.
After leaving Lurans, Ronin went to visit Wiggin, accompanied by McKinney.
At present in Wushan Castle, Lurans was recuperating in the rear courtyard. It was almost always guests who went to visit him; he rarely made an appearance on his own initiative.
With Wiggin having lost a leg and his mobility limited, the task of receiving guests at Wushan Castle fell to the lady of the castle, Dianey, and Bretton.
Fortunately, they had years of experience, and with the assistance of Holwart and others, the reception of guests was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
"Hey, Ronin!"
Bretton ca up to greet him enthusiastically. He was wearing a well-fitting tailcoat today, with a golden mountain pattern embroidered on the shoulder—the crest of the Wushan Clan.
"I heard from Holwart a while ago that you were back. It’s a sha I couldn’t get away to see you."
"Receiving guests and ensuring Wushan Castle doesn’t seem impolite is more important."
Ronin rembered what Bretton had told him the other day. The young man before him still seed quite innocent. "You’re doing a great job today!"
Bretton smiled, then nodded slightly at McKinney and called out, "Sister."
McKinney’s attitude toward Bretton, however, was not very good. She just gave a lukewarm "mm."
"Where’s Father?" Ronin asked.
"Father is in the study. Marvin Viscount just ca by, and they chatted for a while."
Ronin nodded, said a brief farewell to Bretton, and walked toward the study.
"Ronin, why are you being so polite to Bretton?"
McKinney’s tone was not pleasant; she was clearly dissatisfied with Ronin’s attitude toward Bretton just now.
"Is there sothing wrong with that?" Ronin asked with a smile.
McKinney glanced left and right. Seeing no one in the hallway, she leaned in close to Ronin’s ear and whispered, "I heard from Kabil that Selena’s suicide was a conspiracy. They used despicable ans to fra you, and the one who benefited was Bretton!"
Ronin had no mory of how Selena had committed suicide. To be precise, he couldn’t rember anything that had happened that day. He absolutely refused to believe there wasn’t a conspiracy.
It was just that when he had first transmigrated, he’d had no way to resolve the situation, so what was done was done.
Ronin didn’t want to reveal his true thoughts, so he just said casually, "Bretton might not know the truth behind this. He’s still just a kid."
McKinney shot him a glare. "You’re still the sa as always... naive!"
Ronin spread his hands and joked, "So what do you want to do to Bretton? Go up and slap him a couple of tis?"
"Take back the inheritance! It should have been yours in the first place!"
McKinney said seriously, "You don’t have to worry. We will support you!"
Ronin was taken aback.
McKinney had said "we." It was clear she wasn’t the only one; Kabil must be involved, and perhaps even more people.
Perhaps this group of people didn’t want to see Bretton take over after Lurans and Wiggin passed away.
As long as Ronin took the lead, people would surely step forward to support him.
"There’s still plenty of ti, Sister!"
Ronin chuckled. "Our grandfather is still in decent health. And although Father lost a leg, barring any accidents, he can live for at least another twenty or thirty years. Who knows, maybe Bretton and I will die in an accident by then?"
He shrugged. "What’s the point of fighting over this?"
"Honestly... Must you talk like that?"
"Who jinxes themselves like that, saying they’ll die young?"
Hearing this, McKinney reached out and grabbed Ronin’s ear, just like when she used to discipline him as a child.
The two of them talked for a while longer before arriving at the study to see Wiggin.
Compared to the last ti, although Wiggin was still in a wheelchair, his Spirit was much better, and he even smiled during their conversation.
According to McKinney, Wiggin’s volatile temper had llowed considerably after losing his leg, making conversations with him much more pleasant.
Ronin felt it deeply as well.
The old Wiggin was always threatening to beat him to death. Now, he certainly seed a lot more agreeable.
’It’s often said that when you lose sothing, you gain sothing else. Did Wiggin lose a leg only to gain a relatively "gentle" personality?’
After leaving Wiggin’s study, McKinney went to chat with her friends.
Ronin didn’t know many nobles, and his predecessor’s old friends weren’t much to speak of. He couldn’t be bothered to make the rounds, so he decided to head back to his quarters to rest.
However, just as he was leaving the main hall, soone called out to him.
"Hey, Ronin!"
A slightly chubby youth called out Ronin’s na enthusiastically. "When did you get here?"
Ronin looked at the person in confusion, only recognizing him when he got a little closer.
It was Malik of the Green Clan from Lake Town. Ronin had saved his life on the road when he was heading to Mountain Forest Town.
He rembered that Malik hadn’t been chubby back then. How had he gained so much weight in just four or five months? Plus, he was dressed so thickly that from a distance, Ronin really couldn’t recognize him.
"Not long ago."
Ronin greeted him with a smile. "Why are you by yourself?"
"My parents took Marina to see Viscount Dennis. I was bored by myself, so I was just wandering around."
As he spoke, he was also looking Ronin up and down. "Haven’t seen you in almost half a year, and you’re looking much better than before. But aren’t you cold wearing so few clothes?"
Ronin glanced at his own attire. He was only wearing a couple of inner shirts beneath his coat, yet he didn’t feel cold at all.
He couldn’t help but be reminded of his middle school days, when there were always classmates who, for the sake of "style over warmth," would refuse to wear an extra layer or two even if their teeth were chattering from the cold.
He couldn’t help but tease, "Malik, you’re so young, how can you not handle a little cold? You know, if you wear less, more girls will think you’re tough, and that’s what makes them fall for you."
"Ah, really? Is that a thing?"
Malik took him at his word. After all, Ronin had a reputation for being good at pursuing girls.
’Should I take off this goose-down coat and change into sothing lighter that shows off my figure?’ he wondered.
Ronin burst out laughing. He had just been speaking casually and didn’t expect Malik to actually take him seriously.
He quickly changed the subject. "That ti you and your sister were attacked, did your father find any clues about the culprit behind it?"
Ronin now had the confession of the Shadow Assassin, which ntioned that Reisen had been the one to hire people to assassinate Malik and his sister.
Malik’s train of thought was pulled back to the present.
"No, they haven’t even gotten any results from the investigation into the Count’s assassination attempt, let alone ours!"
He shook his head and said in frustration, "Those people hiding in the shadows deserve to die. Now, whenever my sister and I go out, we need at least four or five Knights with us. It’s so restrictive!"
"That’s because your father cares about your safety. You should understand how he feels."
German had already experienced the pain of losing a son and a daughter. Now, in his middle years, if anything happened to his remaining children, the Green Clan would have no heir. He naturally wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen.
’Co to think of it, German must also hate the culprit to the bone.’
Once Ronin revealed that Reisen was behind it all, he should, in theory, gain German’s support.
’Should I reveal it to him ahead of ti?’
Revealing it early was simply a matter of building a good relationship, so that when Ronin made a request later, the other party would help put in a good word.
However, when he recalled the other party’s attitude during his visit to Lake Town, Ronin dismissed the idea.
’Perhaps I should give Grandfather a heads-up instead,’ Ronin thought to himself.
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