Chapter 35: Pacification
“Very sorry to have caused you trouble.”
Facing Monica, who claimed to be the granddaughter of Marquis Visen, even Akar didn't dare to put on airs.
He was arrogant and unruly, but he wasn't actually brainless.
Previously, shooting an arrow at Andre could be excused with the phrase “didn't know his identity, thought he was a bad guy sneaking into the Marquis's residence.”
But facing Monica Kasein, who clearly came to calm the situation, announced her identity upon arrival, and brought several guards and a third-tier bloodline user to back her up, Akar and Yam very simply bowed their heads and admitted their mistakes.
Not to mention facing Marquis's granddaughter, even facing Andre Billy, they were of a lower status.
“Having a knight like Akar with true chivalry is a blessing for Baron Ster,” Monica said with a smile.
“Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared, I won't disturb you any further. My grandfather and the Baron don't know how long they'll be talking. If you're hungry, you can go to the dining hall first. The food is ready.”
“Thank you,” Yam said politely, then escorted Monica out of the room.
Glancing at the sudden deployment of guards at the corners of the corridor outside, Yam wisely said nothing, just smiled as he watched Monica leave before closing the door.
But as soon as he turned to Akar, his expression darkened.
“You were actually thinking of killing someone?”
If Akar had initially fired a warning arrow, by the time Andre charged onto the balcony and attacked from above, Akar had truly developed a killing intent.
If Yam hadn't interfered, Andre would have had several holes through him, and even the best physician or a skilled healer wouldn't have been able to save him.
“He wanted to kill us first,” Akar sneezed. “If you have the intention to kill, you should be prepared to die.”
“He's the heir of Gem Territory!” Yam said sternly. “If you had really killed him, you would have to pay with your life!”
Akar immediately fell silent.
He wasn't a fool, especially after becoming a bloodline user. He realized that not only was his energy better than before, but his thinking had also become clearer.
That's when he fully understood why ordinary people could never match bloodline users.
Not to mention the manifestation of bloodline abilities and the enhancement of physical attributes, just the feeling of “becoming smarter” was enough to create a significant gap between bloodline users and ordinary people.
Especially recently, under Livia's personal guidance, he and Yam had been learning about bloodline users, bloodline nobles, political structures, and factional perspectives.
To say he had instantly become an excellent politician would be an overstatement, but to say he had transformed enough to be a qualified bloodline user was accurate.
So he naturally understood that as the first heir of Baron Gem, whether he knew Andre's identity before or not, killing him would mean his own death, and it might even drag Yam down with him.
“Is it worth risking your life for someone like that?”
“I was wrong,” Akar said with a deep breath, his voice muffled.
“Of course you were wrong,” Yam said coldly without mincing words. “But do you know where you went wrong?”
“He's of noble status...”
Slap—
Yam had already slapped him, causing Akar to stagger.
Facing Akar's shocked expression, Yam grabbed his collar, pulled him close, and whispered, “When you killed that lord before, why didn't you think about his noble status?”
Akar pursed his lips and said nothing.
Yam let go, pushed Akar away, and said coldly, “Remember this, this is Marquis Visen's residence!”
Akar's previously dim eyes suddenly brightened.
He had understood Yam's meaning.
“Brother, Livia has taught you well.”
Yam gave Akar a cold glance, then softened his tone and said, “I think it's time to find you a wife. You're too impulsive. Maybe starting a family will help you calm down.”
“Brother, I think that Miss Anna...”
“You'd better kill that thought right now!” Yam frowned, his tone lowered. “Not to mention her status, can you even think about her looks? You should be glad Miss Monica didn't take Andre's side. Otherwise, if she had insisted on standing up for the Billy family, you definitely wouldn't have escaped punishment. Do you think that third-tier bloodline knight was here for nothing?”
Even Yam couldn't deny that Anna's beauty was on par with Livia's.
But exactly because he clearly recognized Anna's beauty, Yam wanted Akar to give up on that idea. She wasn't someone of their status could aspire to.
Akar clearly understood this too, so while he said it, he didn't feel any resentment.
...
“Thank you, Uncle Shrode.”
Monica quietly understood the third-tier bloodline user accompanying her, her demeanor dignified and graceful. Even if no one knew her identity, her bearing alone would make it clear she came from a noble background.
“Miss Monica, there's no need to be so polite,” Shrode said softly. “But, what should we tell the Marquis?”
Monica fell silent.
She knew exactly what Shrode meant.
As a Marquis family, the Kasein family had many knights serving under Marquis Visen, including third and fourth-tier bloodline users.
But few remain truly neutral, as most had previously sided with her third uncle, Wade.
In fact, she didn't think there was much to say about such alignments.
After all, her third and fourth uncles were born after her grandfather, Visen, became a sixth-tier bloodline user and awakened his bloodline mark.
Leaving aside her fourth uncle, her third uncle had a decent bloodline talent and was essentially the future heir to the Marquis title.
Moreover, her third uncle had fathered her fourth brother, Burton, a genius who became a bloodline user with just three potions, a natural sixth-tier bloodline user.
And Burton didn't waste his talent, working hard in his bloodline cultivation. By the age of twenty-two, he had reached the peak of the second tier, a year faster than the standard three-potion bloodline users.
He even became the family's first heir.
But just as the entire Kasein family supported him, Burton mysteriously died!
Monica didn't know how her fourth brother died, but she knew her grandfather locked himself in his study for an entire day, then unleashed a massacre that indirectly led to the execution of two family knights.
Now, while the Kasein family still seems strong from the outside, internally, factions were beginning to form.
Like the family knight Shrode, who now stands by her father's side, supporting him in the fight for the title, her father, Tylot Kasein, was the family's second heir; the first heir was her third uncle, Wade Kasein, the father of her fourth brother, Burton Kasein.
Now her father wasn't in Red River Territory. The only second-generation member of the Kasein family brought to Red River Territory by her grandfather was her third uncle.
Among the third-generation members, although there were a few, her status was the highest, as she was the family's third heir.
Naturally, she wasn't tasked with receiving dependent lords, but she was responsible for taking care of the lords' children, like Andre and Anna.
In fact, her grandfather, to test her capabilities, had her managing most of the Viscount residence's affairs, which, with the increasing number of arriving nobles, kept her increasingly busy, giving Andre the opportunity he seized today.
Honestly, she wasn't aware of Baron Gem's intentions.
And she didn't reject the idea of an arranged marriage due to her background.
After all, those who enjoyed family privileges but refused to take responsibility for the family only exists in stories, in her view.
But Andre, from the moment she saw him, she couldn't suppress her visceral dislike.
So today, seeing Andre suffer such a setback, she chose to calm the situation rather than stand up for the future Baron Gem.
But her approach was ultimately wrong.
After all, Gemstone Territory had always been the Kasein family's top ally, so not standing up for Andre harmed the relationship between the Kasein and Billy families, which was against the Kasein family's political interests.
Now, Shrode asking how to report to the Marquis was a subtle reminder for her to quickly find the right words and excuses to distance herself from the incident, not to alienate the Kasein family's allies for the sake of the White Mountain Territory knights.
At the same time, his words reminded her that if she didn't handle this well, it would also harm the knights currently supporting her father.
“My fourth brother hasn't been dead for long, and someone already dares to target Anna,” Monica said coldly. “If he wasn't Andre Billy, he'd already be a corpse.”
“Miss Monica, it's best not to interfere in the Billy family's affairs,” Shrode said softly.
His words seemed to advise Monica not to meddle in the sibling issues between Andre and Anna, but Monica understood Shrode reminded her that Anna was no longer connected to the Kasein family and was part of the Billy family.
If Andre finds an excuse or forces Anna to corroborate his story, it would be very disadvantageous for Monica.
She needed to find a proper excuse to formally intervene; otherwise, her earlier handling of the situation was still inappropriate.
Monica thought for a moment but hadn't yet found a suitable excuse, so she asked another question: “What do you think of the Soderbell brothers?”
“The 'Blazing Bow' is just an impulsive young man, not worth much attention,” Shrode said after some thought. “But Yam Sodobel has some skills. If he hadn't intervened earlier, the situation would have been very difficult to manage.”
Monica didn't speak for a moment.
At that moment when Andre leapt and attacked, the killing intent Akar emitted was clearly felt by both Monica and Shrode, who was even ready to step in and take Akar down.
But Yam's intervention completely reversed the situation.
What was truly remarkable was the calm and composed manner in which he acted.
Recalling the glance she exchanged with Yam, seeing him standing there calmly with his sword, Monica nodded: "He's talented. I know what to tell my grandfather."