Chương 124: Shaking Hands and Making Peace?

Not long after.

Everyone entered a palace in the north of the city.

Here, they met with the powerful border count Heydrich, the lord of Silver City, and his numerous vassals.

The subsequent process was basically the same as when I first arrived at Longgun Fortress.

The count warmly welcomed everyone, praised Isabella's achievements, and then let them rest for a while before arranging a grand banquet to welcome them back.

Unlike Count Schneider, perhaps because he was wealthier, or perhaps because he had received advance notice, Count Heydrich did not treat everyone differently based on their status, but instead invited everyone into the magnificent banquet hall.

After everyone had finished their meal, he cleared out the tables and chairs and held a dance party on the spot.

As a time traveler, Richard had little interest in entertainment such as balls.

But since there were indeed a few noble ladies who were quite to his liking, he reluctantly went over and jumped around a few times.

Halfway through the jump, I felt more than one piercing gaze fixed on the back of my neck.

Turning around, they found that not only the noble ladies, but also their mothers were smiling and approaching, wanting to dance with the poet—even though their husbands were standing not far away.

Richard was a little flustered.

To avoid trouble, he politely declined the remaining ladies and instead went to Grace, who also had no interest in dancing, as a pretext.

After pretending to jump a couple of steps, they secretly stole a large plate of desserts when no one was looking, then hid in a corner, stealing imperial taxes while becoming bystanders at the ball.

Richard saw Holcher perform a rather wild dance that successfully attracted Josie, making the noblewoman sorceress his dance partner.

He also saw Count Heydrich exchanging pleasantries with Isabella, while the second prince Jonas went directly to Cinderella and her daughter and chatted enthusiastically, saying things like he regretted the death of the previous Grand Duke of Ash, cursed vampires, and praised Elsa for being extraordinary.

Clearly, this crown contender, while unable to offer timely assistance, still sought to strengthen his relationship with the future Grand Duchess.

On the other hand, having had the experience of Count Schneider before, Cinderella and her daughter were clearly more comfortable dealing with this kind of situation.

Especially Elsa.

Ever since she burned the vampire, the little girl's demeanor has changed.

His originally reserved strength gradually became apparent.

Although her speech and mannerisms still carried the air of a girl from the slums, she was no longer so easily shy.

Moreover, she seems to be deliberately imitating Isabella's mannerisms?

"Your Highness is too kind. If... if it weren't for everyone's help, I would just be a little kid who would cry from being scared of vampires —" Richard felt a sense of relief watching Elsa and the prince converse fluently.

The little girl has grown up!

Just then, a familiar figure appeared in front of him and Grace.

Richard raised an eyebrow.

"William————"

"Richard, it really is you." The poet's enemy approached him with a smile.

"I think we might need to talk?"

Richard nodded silently.

Seeing this, Grace very consciously got up and left—taking all the remaining snacks with her.

Richard had a premonition that he would probably never see those pastries again.

It's all your fault, William!

You ruined my appetite, what a heinous crime! This grudge must be remembered!

He sighed softly and turned to look at William.

"Where should we begin?"

"Let's start with how we got here. I'll go first~" William smiled politely and then recounted his experience.

He returned to the empire with the treasure, surprising his family who had always looked down on him. He was then recommended to the second prince, and fortunately completed several missions, thus gaining the prince's trust and becoming his personal attendant.

After William finished speaking, Richard began his own story.

He concealed Grace's identity and her experience of killing Jostein, as if dressing up his childhood friend who skipped class to go to an internet cafe in women's clothing, and then bringing out the old words he had publicly said to Ignas after dressing them up.

Upon hearing this, William exclaimed, "You've been through so much? I never imagined that a poet who could only cast charm spells could grow to this level!"

Richard stared into the other man's eyes: "You're not being honest, William."

William frowned: "Where have I been dishonest? My surprise is genuine."

Ha, you don't need to tell me that.

With my achievements as a poet, I could easily drink a whole barrel of wine in any tavern. It's normal to be surprised!

But that's definitely not all you're thinking right now.

Richard shook his head and smiled.

"I don't doubt your surprise, but I think what you're most concerned about right now is my attitude towards you, right? Like, am I trying to settle old scores or something?"

William sighed.

"You guessed right, since you already killed Bill—"

"So, what are you planning to do?"

"Of course I apologize!"

"ha?"

Meeting Richard's bewildered gaze, William adopted a frank and open expression and said in a deep voice, "I'm sorry for leaving you outside the red dragon's lair. If you blame me for that, that's perfectly understandable."

"But please listen to me, I absolutely did not intend to abandon you! I was forced into this situation!"

"You can recall the scene at the time. The only ones who actually took action were Jostein, Bill, and Wushao. As for me, I was at the very front of the carriage, busy casting an acceleration spell. By the time I realized what was happening behind me, you had already been thrown off the carriage."

"I'm all alone. Even if I react and try to save you, how could I possibly fight against Jostein and his two companions!"

William sighed as he spoke, then changed the subject: "Of course, no matter what, the result is still that you were left behind, and you have reason to be resentful."

"Therefore, I sincerely ask for your understanding and am willing to pay a large sum of money for it."

"The matter is over. Let's turn the page and live in peace from now on."

Finally, he reached out his hand to Richard.

Richard narrowed his eyes slightly.

Well then, let's think about it for a moment.

Is William's statement credible?

To be fair, if it were someone else, Richard might have accepted it—but William simply wouldn't.

Although they hadn't spent much time together, Richard believed he knew William fairly well, recognizing him as a typical high-intelligence mage skilled in planning and preparation for battle, and averse to risk.

When Jostein and the others abandoned him, William did not directly take action, but that was not because he did not want to or did not see it; it was simply because there was no need to.

This guy guessed Jostein and the others' intentions perfectly, and then tacitly approved of it all.

And most importantly— Richard, in William's eyes, had now become the risk itself.

He didn't want to believe William, and William would never believe him. Peaceful coexistence was just wishful thinking from the beginning.

The reason he still harbored such delusions was simply because William hadn't yet come up with a solution to his problem.

Of course, Richard was the same in this respect.

Thinking of this, Richard smiled kindly and took the hand William offered.

"Ten thousand gold coins, and I'll pretend nothing happened~"

"Cough cough—!"

William couldn't hold it in and almost coughed up his lungs.