The Viscount Wants to Go to the Mill - Chapter 24

Merchants who came to such a rural area wouldn’t have traveled to other countries, making it even more unlikely. Wasn’t this a town without a single knight?

It would be nice to come across a pretty woman. If there were no gains, there should at least be some romance. For him, a fiery romance during his rest period, and for the woman, a lifelong memory of an affair with a hero, would be a win-win.

The two horses soon entered the walls of Verdain. As he had heard, it was a lackluster place with few large buildings. But it seemed densely populated, with many people and a lively atmosphere.

In front of the Arett Baronet’s house, which also served as the mayor’s office, the mayor, his wife, and their children stood waiting. The man jumped off his horse. Although a servant stepped forward, Sir Wilberg personally took the reins. He couldn’t allow a mere servant to handle the hero’s horse.

“It is an honor to have you here. We were so surprised when we received the letter from the Marquis of Essen. Our children couldn’t sleep a wink last night.”

The mayor greeted him warmly with a bright smile.

“Please make yourself at home, Sir Revaston.”

“Thank you for the warm welcome, Mayor Arett.”

The man called Revaston smiled handsomely.

That evening, a banquet was held to welcome the hero Revaston.

Lily attended the banquet after a long time. She hesitated to attend due to the sudden invitation, but Mayor Arett personally visited and earnestly requested her presence.

[It is a banquet inviting none other than the renowned hero. To match the occasion, the Viscount must attend.]

She felt more apprehensive because of Briston than curious, but since she and Mayor Arett were the only titled nobles in Verdain, she had no choice. The other invited guests were local dignitaries carefully selected by Mayor Arett.

As the highest-ranking person at the banquet, Lily naturally sat across from the guest of honor, Revaston.

‘He’s handsome.’

That was her first impression. Although he seemed like a bit of a smooth talker, which wasn’t to her taste, her aesthetic sense was honest.

But his body…

‘Hmm. Do aura masters no longer rely on physical strength?’

He had quite bulky muscles and rugged arms, but they didn’t seem well-proportioned. His lower body muscles were coarse compared to his upper body, which was also somewhat disappointing. A hero didn’t need to have a perfect physique, but still.

‘Breck looks much better.’

Real fights are different from chopping wood, so perhaps that body was optimized for him. As she pondered this, Revaston gave her a gentle smile.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Lily answered flusteredly. She couldn’t say she was looking at his body.

“I was just wondering why someone like you would come to such a quiet place.”

“Because it is quiet.”

He smiled. The mayor couple and others listened intently, as if gold leaves were falling from his mouth with every word. Revaston spoke naturally, accustomed to such attention.

“Although wars between humans have ceased, there is no place without conflict. After fighting various hardships for fifteen years, I wanted to enjoy a peaceful trip in a quiet place for a while.”

“I see!”

The mayor’s wife exclaimed in admiration as if she had heard something extraordinary.

“If that’s the case, our Kingdom of Aiphe is the best place. Verdain too. There haven’t been any monsters in this area for over a hundred years. Take your time and rest!”

“But I can’t stay too long and impose. With the Marquis of Essen’s introduction, I’ll stay for about a week before leaving.”

“Listening to your adventures for a week wouldn’t be enough! How about sharing the most romantic incident you experienced during your adventures for my wife, who is completely smitten with you?”

‘Eek!’

Lily thought to herself. Expecting a romantic story from Revaston was undoubtedly influenced by the imaginative tales of Briston.

Revaston, whether aware of this or not, smiled and said,

“Well, if you mean my love stories, I don’t have any interesting ones to share. What kind of romantic incidents could a man wandering with just a sword have? But I can’t disappoint your wife. Let’s see… Ah, perhaps she would be interested in the story of a young man and his lover who were kidnapped by a river nymph.”

As he skillfully began his tale, Lily tilted her head. Indeed, Revaston must have had many opportunities to share his stories in such a manner.

The story was fascinating. It was as thrilling and romantic as Randolph’s novels. While listening, Lily thought to herself.

Randolph, Pulque, and she were lucky. Who would have thought Revaston would actually come to such a remote place? It was fortunate they had stopped the serialization in advance. Surely no one would bring old newspapers to expose them.

A hero wouldn’t be so petty, she thought, lifting her eyes to find Revaston looking at her. When their eyes met, he gave her a light wink. Lily, flustered, tightened her grip on her wine glass.

Breck cracked the shell of a boiled egg served for breakfast in the servants’ dining room, but instead of a white, springy egg white, a small folded note fell out.

‘Impressive skill.’

The sender was obvious. It was undoubtedly the Imperial Secret Intelligence Service.

If they wanted to contact him, they could have just written a letter. For secret communications, they could use magical ink or leave a note in the door handle of his lodging. There was no need to disrupt his precious morning protein intake like this.

He was already having a frustrating day, and this only made him more irritated. After ensuring no one was watching, Breck unfolded the note.

「What should we do?」

He stuffed the note into his pocket three seconds later, planning to throw it into the fire with the weeds he pulled out later.

‘What should we do, indeed. They mean to do something about the so-called Revaston.’

The rumor that Revaston had come to Verdain spread throughout the city in half a day. Even now, if he listened closely, he could hear four employees discussing the rumor over their meal.

“I had heard that Sir Revaston was in our kingdom, but I didn’t think it was true.”

“Is it really true?”

“They say it is. The Marquis of Essen recommended our city as a retreat.”

“The Marquis of Essen was introduced by Count Wepes in the capital.”

As the story passed from person to person, the initial source of verification disappeared, but people believed it. After all, it was said that Revaston had been in this country from the beginning. So it wasn’t strange for him to come to this city. And with the Marquis’s recommendation, it was certain.

“My goodness! Sir Revaston in our city!”

The cheers alone were enough to tell which street he was passing through. Flowers were thrown in his path, stores advertised what he bought, and the fruit shop where he had a single apple was ready to carve a new sign. Breck found it absurd to the point of wanting to laugh.

[Isn’t that all Sir Revi’s own doing? In a country where few people know your face, you left clues without properly revealing yourself.]

[I only met two people.]

[And those two people didn’t just play a game of chess and part ways. You turned the entire noble class upside down.]

He had nothing to say.

But was that his fault? Who could have guessed that the organization behind Greer was such an old garbage dump?

[You’re not just going to let it be, right? That guy is surely a fraud.]

[I’m just an apprentice gardener.]

Breck had sighed and answered. Dragging him out and beating him up in secret would be easy, but some clever agents might realize the real one was here. There were already many people loitering around because of the Imperial Secret Intelligence Service.

[You’d better ask us for help this time.]

Evangeline had said before leaving. Breck knew the Imperial Secret Intelligence Service would handle such matters much better, but he couldn’t owe her anything.

If it were just an impostor, he would have left it alone. He no longer cared about the name Revaston…

“Breck.”

“Oh, Mr. Cohen.”

“Not hungry today?”

Breck laughed, looking at his half-empty plate.

“I’m eating slowly.”

“That’s a good habit.”

“Have you finished your meal, Mr. Cohen? I came out late today.”

“When you’re old, you wake up at dawn and eat first. Ah, I came to deliver a message from the butler. You’re to take the morning off.”

“Why… am I off?”

“Why else? Sir Revaston is coming to see the mistress this morning. Officially, he’s coming to see the newly planted lilies in the garden. The mistress gladly agreed.”