Do you have a problem with necromancers?

Chapter 53 The Duke's Banquet

The Dacros family is a renowned noble family in the capital.

The current Duke's grandfather was the late Nemorton Darkroth, who served as the Imperial Chancellor for over forty years. Despite the Emperor's strong pressure, he persisted in defending the collective interests of the capital's nobility, earning the Darkroth family widespread respect and affection from them.

The current Duke Darkness is still living off the legacy left by his grandfather. Even though he is so incompetent that he cannot hold any court position, many nobles in the capital are still willing to protect him when necessary, to the point that even the royal family is wary of him.

Logically speaking, such a prestigious nobleman is not someone that a border marquis's son like Renn could aspire to.

Unfortunately, this time Renne has something on him, so there's nothing we can do.

The knights of the Fahre family were overjoyed, secretly thinking that Lord Renn was indeed worthy of the old Marquis's highest regard. During his time in the capital, he had not only become the commander of the capital's garrison and won the favor of Her Majesty the Empress, but now he had also received an invitation from Duke Dacros… His future was limitless, truly limitless!

Can other Fahrenheit do that? All they do is writhe in bed and give birth like boars!
The invitation to the banquet was addressed to "Raine Fahre and his wife" and was delivered to the inn where the family caravan was staying. This indicates that Duke Dacros was not issuing a formal ultimatum to the Imperial Guard, but rather engaging in social interaction with the nobleman Raine of the Fahre family, which is known as "building connections" or "cultivating relationships."

Although Renn didn't feel he had any connection with the Duke, it didn't matter if they weren't familiar with each other—they could cultivate a relationship over time.

He took Ellina with him, changed into the finest formal wear brought from his family, and then took a carriage to the Darkros manor.

Upon arriving at the mansion's entrance, Ellina looked around and couldn't help but have a strange expression.

In the era of the ancestral elven empire, this was not a noble residence, but a filthy market for buying and selling human slaves.

Because the elven nobles prefer places with beautiful scenery and a quiet environment, while this place is located at a crossroads, which is bustling but also noisy.

Who would have thought that the prestigious Dacros family would choose to build their family mansion on the site of an ancient slave market?

Raine, of course, had no idea that this place had originally been an ancient slave market. He simply got off the carriage, helped Ellina to the ground, and then nodded to the noble steward who was standing at the door waiting to greet him.

The butler, over fifty years old, with gray hair carefully styled with hair oil, nodded politely and elegantly, instructing the maid to bring bread and cheese.

After completing the guest etiquette, the two were led into the mansion and into the dining room.

Inside the brightly lit restaurant, the tables were already laden with all sorts of delicacies.

However, Ryan's mind was not on dinner at all; he was just frowning and staring at the host sitting across the table.

It wasn't Duke Dacros, but his son.

From a social etiquette standpoint, it was indeed unnecessary for the Duke to personally host the son of a border marquis. Having his own son entertain him on his behalf was a more equitable arrangement.

But I have leverage over you, and you still dare to treat me so disrespectfully?!

“Rello Dacros.” The young man stood up and shook hands with him.

“Rain Fahre.” Rain extended his hand expressionlessly.

“Your names all have the prefix Rey,” Ellina said abruptly.

Renn turned his head and saw that the elven princess's face was full of sweet but fake social smiles, just like when he had just resurrected her.

No, it wasn't a completely fake smile. The caged bird was actually quite pleased, probably because it was gloating over its humiliation.

I'll deal with her when we get back.

“To be honest, I didn’t originally have time to host you,” the Duke’s son, Reilly, said reservedly. “I’m attending Princess Dorothy’s banquet tonight… well, you know her, right?” “The Third Princess,” Reilly said calmly.

"Oh, it seems you've done your homework since arriving in the capital," the duke's son said in surprise, his face showing an expression of astonishment that "you, a country bumpkin, actually know the princess's name." "Very well, then I won't need to say anything more."

"The serial murders in the Southern District have dragged on for far too long. Your predecessor was incompetent and exhausted the patience of the royal family and the people. So my father... I mean, you must close the case as soon as possible to regain the confidence of the citizens of the capital, instead of continuing to waste time chasing some vague and elusive real culprit, do you understand?"

The other party's attitude became increasingly arrogant and rude, as if they were certain that Rennes wouldn't dare to turn against them on their home turf.

Renn was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled slightly:
"Of course, I believe that it is more important to give the public a sense of security as soon as possible than to find the elusive culprit."

"Ah, I knew you were a smart man." The duke's son said with great satisfaction, "A fool can't stay in the capital for long."

"Thank you for reminding me as well." Ryan raised his glass in a toast.

The duke's son did not return the toast, but simply took a sip of the wine in his glass, seemingly because things had gone too smoothly and he didn't know what to say for a moment.

“Yes, right.” He finally spoke again, “The judges and witchers imprisoned in the dungeons should also be released and exonerated, and at least compensated for their illegal detention during this period.”

“They can be released, but that’s all,” Renn replied coldly. “Her Majesty the Queen is furious about this matter, believing that the Inquisition is deliberately challenging her authority and going against the commander of the Imperial Capital she appointed, so I cannot make any further public statements on this.”

"Tsk." The other party looked somewhat annoyed, but ultimately, due to the Empress's authority, they couldn't press Rein too much on this matter. They simply complained, "Your Majesty is being far too sensitive. The judges are just doing their duty. In that case, release them as soon as possible... When can they be released?"

“I’ll release them when I get back tonight,” Ryan said with a smile. “It’ll be late at night, and no one will be watching, which will also prevent them from feeling ashamed.”

“Very good, very good.” The duke’s son couldn’t continue. He had achieved his purpose in hosting the banquet and had no interest in continuing to chat with a “lowly son of a border marquis.” “Then you may continue your meal. There are many dishes here that you can’t get in your Reach, hahahahaha!”

He laughed loudly, got up, and left to report back to his father in the study. Ellina and Renn were left alone at the dining table, the atmosphere extremely awkward.

"Why aren't you smiling?" Elrina rested her chin on her hand, her beautiful long white hair cascading onto the table, her smile as sweet as honey. "Don't you want to smile?"

"Eat something before you go." Ryan picked up a lamprey and put it on his plate. "We can't go back hungry."

“What you lose in terms of face can only be made up for in other ways.” Ellina sang this proverb as if in a song, her mood at its peak. “Eat, eat.”

Deep within the mansion, in the study, Duke Dacros breathed a sigh of relief after hearing his son's report.

The country bumpkin nobleman from the river bend used sweet talk to win the Empress's trust and actually got the position of commander of the capital's garrison. He was quite cunning.

But a country bumpkin is still a country bumpkin; he's not worthy of being spoken to by the Duke himself.

The fact that his son was negotiating smoothly with the other party showed that the country folk still had some self-awareness, which put Duke Dacros at ease.

He's smart!

Inside the restaurant, Renn ate his meal slowly and deliberately, and only after he had completely filled his stomach did he bid farewell to the butler who was waiting outside the restaurant, together with Ellina.

His calm and collected demeanor, however, made Ellina slightly suspicious after her initial joy.

A broad-minded person who turns a deaf ear to insults, offering the other cheek after being slapped on the left, is only possible among priests or Templars.

As for necromancers who are inherently evil... if they had such virtues and magnanimity, would they still become necromancers?
Ellina turned to look at the brightly lit Duke's mansion and suddenly had a very bad feeling.

(End of this chapter)