397 A Nice Play
Lucius smiled at their promises and the five minor nobles did their best to smile back in return.
All of them were completely unaware that they were like lambs being led to the slaughterhouse and willingly came forward.
“Well then, I do not wish to take up too much more of your time now that I already have your answers,” Lucius said. “I would like to bid all of you a wonderful evening and hope that you can enjoy the rest of the night.”
“T-thank you, Young Lord Asher!”
“And to you too, Viscount Felldan. It is a shame that we were not able to speak with you.” A noble tried to say politely.
“Oh, is that the case? I can perhaps linger here for another conversation or two…” Viscount Felldan said with a teasing smile. He had already enjoyed seeing Asher torment them in length and didn’t actually mind doing it yet again.
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“We already appreciate your presence and will not also keep the two of you here with us any longer. Thank you so much once again for the invitation, Young Lord Asher.”
It was almost clear and visible in their faces that the conversation with Young Lord Asher had aged the five minor nobles immensely as they struggled to keep up with his demands and friendliness.
“Haha, shall we go now, Viscount Felldan?” Lucius said with a polite smile.
“Of course, I will accompany you to where you wish to go, Young Lord Asher,” Viscount Felldan said, and looked at the five nobles with one final smile. “Until next time.”
The two nobility then left the other five and went on to a far less populated area so that they could speak in private without any concern of anyone eavesdropping on them.
Once they were out of earshot and sight, Lucius decided to ask Viscount Felldan some questions.
“What do you think, Viscount Felldan? Have I spoken well enough?”
“You were remarkable, Young Lord Asher.” Viscount Felldan turned to Asher with a genial smile on his face. “I love how you ‘played’ and led the conversation. I think they were a bit preoccupied with my presence, but perhaps you also thought about that?”
“Well, you are known as a good speaker. Of course, they will be bristled when you are there and pay less attention to me,” Lucius said. The reason why Lucius brought Viscount Felldan was merely to observe him, but the Viscount assumed that his presence was beneficial.
It was true, but Lucius knew that either with or without Viscount Felldan, he would have still insisted on the five minor nobles and they would find it hard to reject him due to his position.
“Haha, you’ve thought about everything and used it all to your advantage, Young Lord Asher. You’re already quite remarkable enough on your own and I think you would have fared well even without my presence there,” Viscount Felldan admitted with a rub of his chin. “Though I can’t help but wonder…”
“Wonder about what, Viscount Felldan?”
“Have you thought all of this through when you invited them to Inanis territory? It is clear that you wished to see them struggle and bend themselves a little over upon your arrival. I understand that it is a way of punishing them for their words earlier, but what will happen when they go to Inanis city?”
“I will be the one who will take care of it, Viscount Felldan. You need not worry about it,” Lucius said with a smile.
“Well, I am quite sure that you’ll be able to think of something and use it to your advantage. It is actually quite good to bring them into a territory where you control the environment more. Perhaps you thought of that already,” Viscount Felldan said. “I can perhaps give a couple of suggestions on what you can do now that you have another advantage. Or perhaps Count Inanis will help you once he hears about this. You still intend to inform your father about this, right?”
“Of course, Viscount Felldan,” Lucius said. “My father will be informed that these five nobles will be visiting and why they are there in the first place.”
“Good. Good. I trust and hope that Count Gabriel will be able to handle things in case they slightly get out of hand,” Viscount Felldan chuckled. “I would love to be there myself, but similar to their excuses, I also have to take care of matters in my own estate.”
“Please do not worry about it, Viscount Felldan. You’ve helped me enough tonight,” Lucius said.
“I am glad to be of service to you, Young Lord Asher,” Viscount Felldan said. “In fact, please do not hesitate to come see and approach me again if you are in need of anything else. While I do not have all the resources like your father has, I will help you in any other way that I can.”
“Is that so, Viscount Felldan?”
“Yes, I promise you that.” Viscount Felldan smiled.
‘It is quite clear to me that Viscount Felldan sees my ability in speaking but does not seem to really think much of me beyond that of a child trying to establish and find my footing for the first time. Of course, it is what I’ve portrayed to him to lower his guard, but it is mildly infuriating to be treated in such this way.’ Lucius thought.
Viscount Felldan assumed that Lucius went through all his ways to interact with the five minor nobilities out of impulse and childish feelings? How antagonizing.
‘You may not be aware of it or think that I cannot see where I’ve put myself in to, but all of this is simply to seal the fates of the five minor nobles already. They are unable to reject my invitation due to my position and when they do come to Inanis city… well, they will either follow the Inanis family or perish through ‘unfortunate’ incidents beyond my control.’