Chapter 5 – That incident that happened in the Morcus’s estate (3)

Laney looked refreshed after finishing her bath.

Although she was alone and without her brother, she was very happy because she could get rid of the dirtiness that was bothering her for the past few days.

“Aren’t you liking it too much?”

“Do you not?”

“I like it too, but not as much as you sister.”

“Cleanliness is important for women. Although I understand there wasn’t much we could do given our circumstance, but it was still hard since I’m the only female in the party.”

Laney grumbled as she saw her brother that was already washed up and waiting in the room.

This was something that only women understood.

Of course, it was still better to be dirty rather than dead.

“I’m sure you were quite uncomfortable.”

“Are you sure you washed your body properly? You didn’t rush things because you were alone, right?”

“Do you think I’m a kid?”

“You are a kid to me. Maybe I should’ve washed you.”

“W, what nonsense!”

The young boy detested it.

It was horrible just thinking about it.

He quickly crossed his arms in front of his chest as if to protect himself from his sister.

He could tell from the look in his sister’s eyes that she was very serious.

“We always used to bathe together though?”

“That’s when we were really young!”

“I even used to wash our little Lloyd’s dick and butt.”

“Stop it!”

“Hehehe!”

Laney laughed as she stared at her brother’s red face.

He may not remember much of the past, but she remembered every detail of it.

Even if things may have changed a lot now.

“That was a long time ago!”

“Just from your outward appearance, you’ve grown a lot, but there were less things to worry about back then.”

“….It’s all because of that bastard. The child of that concubine!”

“Yes, but he drove us out. You guys are the same age, but he indisputably made a foundation for himself.”

Crunch!

Lloyd clenched his teeth with an angry expression.

However, he did not deny it, because he understood that he had been living his life with complacency.

He did nothing while the child of the concubine was sharpening his knife in the dark.

Knock knock knock.

“It’s me, my lady.”

“Come in.”

Heinze had quietly arrived at the siblings’ room while Lloyd was unable to control his anger.

“If you’ll excuse me then. Ah, it seems like I came a bit too early. I’ll come a little………”

“It’s okay. My hair just hasn’t dried yet. What about the others?”

“They’re all resting for now. The medicine Jade made must be working wonders. All of them seem much better.”

“We ate well on our way here too.”

Heinze openly nodded his head.

Their recovery speed was much quicker now that they were resting and eating well.

And, as a result, they had reached Morcus much quicker than anticipated.

“I want to hear your thoughts, princess.”

Heinze spoke after confirming that all the windows were tightly secured.

Not only that, but he utilized his aura to cut off all sound waves.

He wanted to make sure their conversation didn’t spill out of the room they were currently in.

“I’m actually more interested in your thoughts regarding this person named Jade. Tell me honestly.”

“To be honest, I’m not completely sure what part of him is real and what isn’t. If you look at his movements and posture, he definitely knows how to use the sword. And, he’s also carrying a dull sword with him. Summoners shouldn’t be outstanding when it comes to the sword, but one thing I can be sure of is he hasn’t shown us all of his power yet.”

“At the least though, he’s an intermediate summoner, right?”

“That’s right. But, realistically, he’s at least an advanced summoner and is skilled enough to be written in history.”

“Is an advanced summoner considered as a Master?”

Laney asked seriously.

She had ready many books due to her high social level, however, since the books she read were written in novel format, she couldn’t understand how strong an advanced summoner was.

They may be weaker if fought one vs one, but they have the advantage on the battlefield. Of course, this is just my opinion, but as much as there are differences in skills with Masters, it should be the same for summoners as well. Advanced summoners shouldn’t all be on the same level.”

“So, you’re saying you believe that he’s as strong as a Master?”

“Yes, and he must be of that level to survive in the Great Forest by himself.”

“Mm!”

Laney’s expression became serious, and it was the same for Lloyd who was sitting next to her.

Having been with Heinze, they both knew how monstrous Masters were.

“But I wonder how he’s living by himself in the Great Forest? Not only is he young, but since he’s as strong as a Master, he should be able to get a nice position with any Kingdom.”

“Thinking about the tendency of known summoner’s, it’s not weird for him to be staying in the Great Forest. They’re human but have similar tendencies as elves.”

“Ah!”

Lloyd nodded his head.

It really wasn’t weird for Jade to be staying in the Great Forest if he had the same tendencies as elves.

“Do you think it will be beneficial for us to recruit Jade?”

“He’s not just anyone but a strong Master. He would definitely be of great help to us.”

Heinze had been very cautious of Jade in the beginning, but it seemed as if he had softened up.

He also liked how Jade was prudent and cautious.

Of course, the thing Heinze was most impressed with was Jade’s strength.

‘I’m already seventy years old. If we were to kill the Marquis to reclaim the Kingdom, we need someone to replace his position.”

The only two Masters in Paulstein were currently aiming their swords at each other.

This meant that only one would survive, and if that was to happen, the overall strength of Paulstein would drop. Heinze believed it was absolutely necessary to recruit Jade into their group.

For Lloyd, Laney, and the future of Paulstein.

“I feel the same way as you, sir. I believe that we will be at a great advantage if Jade was to join us.”

“I think so too.”

Lloyd agreed with Laney.

Everything had changed ever since Jade had joined their group, so he immediately agreed with the decision.

Even more so since Heinze acknowledged him as a strong person.

“The only problem is the method of keeping Jade with us. Even if he’s from Paulstein, it doesn’t mean he HAS to have loyalty to the king. Not only that but were not in the best position right now either. To be blunt, it would be much better for him to join the other side rather than us. And, he has other countries he can join if he wants to so there are plenty of options available for him.”

“I will try and convince him. As a citizen of the kingdom, I’m sure he won’t be able to heartlessly refuse.”

“……Not everyone has the same loyalty as you, sir. You saw it this time.”

“…..”

Heinze’s face grew dark as he heard Laney’s sharp words.

There was no space for him to rebut, because there was a clear example set right in front of him.

“We cannot think of mister Jade as a commoner. Although commoners want to become nobles, mister Jade is a summoner.”

“Then we need to find and give him something he wants.”

“That’s right. We need to start with that first.”

“Hmm.”

Heinze stroked his chin.

He had no idea what to provide as an offer, since Jade didn’t particularly seem to show any greed for money.

A normal commoner would be greedy for a title, but Jade didn’t seem to care for neither land nor title.

If he did, he would’ve already settled down on a piece of land in Paulstein or Arhan.

“Do you have anything you can think of?”

“For an average guy it would be prestige, money, or women because that’s the normal standard for success. However, since Jade is a summoner, I can’t think of anything particular for him nor do we have anything worth giving a summoner in our royal treasury.”

Lloyd responded back seriously.

There didn’t seem to be a particularly certain method.

“Women, money, prestige huh.”

Laney gave a meaningful look to the serious Lloyd as she mused over his words.

“Why don’t we just tell him the truth and ask for his help? We can listen to whatever he wants if he can help us push back the rebels. Or we can just honestly ask him what it is that he needs.”

“That’s dangerous. If we don’t give him a charming offer, he won’t be moved. And, if we give him an ambiguous offer, he can defect to the rebel’s side. Whatever we can give him, the second prince can give as well. That’s why we need something more definite.”

“Mm!”

Heinze fell in deep thought after hearing Laney’s cold words.

He was confused.

This was the first time he had experienced a situation where he didn’t know what to offer the other party.