I'm bad, but players love me

Tianta knew very well that he didn't have many chips in his hand, but it was precisely that little bit that was exactly what Knowles had in mind.

Anyway, this kind of betrayal is not the first time she has done it, and she is already very good at it and can handle it with ease.

Knowles sat in the room, carefully writing and drawing on the table with a quill pen in hand. But a closer look revealed that the table was not filled with any important documents, but rather a few disorganized and ugly scribbles.

Only then did I realize that this person was just pretending.

His mind was obviously not on the lines he had casually drawn, but on deliberately delaying time.

The servants had already reported that Tianta had been waiting outside the manor for a long time.

But Knowles turned a deaf ear to it. His eyes were fixed on the paper in front of him. He seemed to be concentrating on dealing with something important, without even glancing outside.

Without the owner's permission, Tianta was not qualified to enter the manor and could only stand outside in the scorching sun.

But she was neither anxious nor annoyed. She just stood quietly outside the carved arched door, her back straight, not relaxing at all because no one was watching her demeanor.

Generally speaking, if the host has urgent matters at home and is temporarily unable to receive guests in person, the servants will first lead the guests to the front hall to sit down and drink tea and eat cakes.

Some who pride themselves on being elegant will even give guests one or two treasured books to reflect their profound cultural heritage and unique taste.

So, no matter what, Knowles's move to shut Tianta out was inappropriate.

He refused to admit others but refused to say so directly, and only passed on the perfunctory words of "wait a moment" through his servants. This was undoubtedly a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for them.

Not only did Tianta not lower herself to supervise the "purification ceremony" of the "Old Church" believers as Knowles wished, she also dared to kill the subordinates he temporarily handed over to her to establish her own authority, and even intended to protect the existence that was regarded as a "heretic".

Each of these incidents seems to be no big deal, and even according to the rules, they should be handled with caution.

But the problem is that all of this is undoubtedly a slap in the face of Knowles.

How can Knowles relieve his hatred without giving Tianta some time to think?

An unknown amount of time passed before even the blazing sun began to show signs of fatigue, ready to set. At that moment, Tianta finally heard a servant from Knowles arrive, delivering the message, "Lord Tianta, Lord Knowles wishes to see you. Please follow me."

After saying this, the servant turned around and left without caring about Tianta's attitude or expression, or whether the other party's legs would be numb after standing for so long.

Tianta stamped her feet lightly, dispelling the discomfort that had accumulated from standing for so long. Then, without changing her expression, she followed him inside.

However, to her surprise, the other party had no intention of taking her to the living room. Instead, he took her through many twists and turns and directly into Knowles' study.

The study is decorated in a simple and elegant manner, but unfortunately the space on the bookshelf is quite large, but I forgot to put a few more books to make it look more presentable.

Generally speaking, the study is not a place to discuss official business, but a place to discuss private matters. After all, this place still has some privacy.

Tianta knew at a glance what Knowles was planning.

Fortunately, today they were destined to have a great time, and she would certainly not let Knowles' plan go to waste.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Knowles writing hard. Even though he had clearly heard the sound of Tianta coming in, he deliberately did not look up and pretended to be very focused.

After the servant led Tianta to the door, he quietly retreated, leaving her and Knowles alone in silence.

Tianta's legs were a little weak from standing for a long time, but Knowles was obviously trying to torture her, so he naturally wouldn't be so kind as to give her a seat to rest for a while.

Tianta thought to himself: This is good, it saves me from having to stand up from the chair and kneel down again. It saves me an action and saves me energy.

After a while, Knowles raised his head as if waking up from a dream, pretending to have just noticed that Tianta had come in.

A false apology crossed his face, and he said in a hypocritical tone, "Ah, Master Tianta, I'm so sorry. I don't know why there were so many things to do today, and everything seemed to rush to bother me. It's also my fault. When there are too many things to do, it's easy to forget. I even forgot that you were standing outside."

He turned his gaze toward the door, waving his arms in mock anger as he scolded, "Those servants are becoming increasingly unruly! They have no sense at all! They don't even know what's important and what's not. They're such idiots! If I'd known you were such good-for-nothings, I would have killed you all! I might as well just replace them all!"

But Tianta knew that although Knowles seemed to be scolding the servants, his eyes were deliberately looking at him.

It's clear who these words are insulting.

"Lord Knowles, you are so forgetful, how could we, a humble person, dare to take it personally?" Tianta straightened his back, casually bowed, and with a faint smile on his face, he replied with a mocking, seemingly praising but actually criticizing, "Lord Knowles is willing to work hard for official business, which is also a blessing for Sus Township."

Everyone knew what a desolate place Sousse was, with no official business to be done there. This was just Knowles using this as an excuse to suppress her.

In terms of territory, it borders the Kingdom of Machinery and has a superior geographical location. It can be said that as long as it is properly utilized, it can become a prosperous trading place.

This place seems to be a good place for doing business, but the people there believe in the "Old Religion" and are very secretive about outsiders, let alone doing business with them, so business activities are greatly restricted.

It's like begging with a "golden rice bowl" in hand. You know how to get rich, but you just can't.

In terms of strength, Susi Township is even more disappointing.

It has been many years since a God-favored One appeared, which means that Knowles cannot increase his power by recruiting God-favored Ones.

Although there is no rule that nobles can only recruit gods' favored ones from their own fiefdoms as retainers, it is not the turn of a poor little noble like you to win over gods' favored ones from other people's fiefdoms.

As a result, Knowles' life became so embarrassing - although he could barely make a living, he could hardly enjoy real comfort and wealth, and even couldn't enjoy the power.

After Tianta's sarcastic tone fell, Knowles frowned slightly, but did not reveal too much emotional fluctuation. Instead, he finally put down the pen in his hand and asked calmly: "I wonder, what exactly brought you here today, Lord Tianta?"

Some things, if they are not weighed, are only a few ounces, but once they are weighed, they weigh more than a thousand pounds.

Tianta also knew when to stop and went with the flow, pretending to be aware of his sins. Without hesitation, he knelt down with a "bang", as if he didn't feel any pain at all. His movements were decisive and crisp, as if he was ready to bear everything.

"What's going on?" Knowles pretended to be surprised, with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

First, he dropped his pen as if he was scalded, and then he covered his mouth in shock, but he didn't even think of going forward to help Tianta up.

Even on her knees, Tianta remained upright. She looked up at Knowles with a look of deep regret. "Lord Knowles, I come to apologize."

Knowles frowned slightly, as if he really knew nothing about this, and asked in a puzzled tone, "Oh? What crime is it that would warrant such an action?"

He knew that Tianta was like an old friend in a foreign land, and his heart was beating fast.

This time she met an old friend, the kind who hugged her and cried endlessly as soon as she met him, and even tried to find something to say to her on the way back. It was obvious at first glance that she was an "old friend" with whom she had deep feelings for him.

Knowles knew that Tianta would do his utmost to protect the "heretic" this time. This undoubtedly gave Knowles a huge opportunity, and he couldn't help but start thinking about his next move.

However, when Tianta finally spoke, her first words left Knowleston feeling at a loss.

Her tone was humble and sincere, with a slight tremor as she spoke, "In a moment of excitement, I accidentally killed a man assigned to me by Lord Knowles. I feel deeply guilty for this irreparable mistake, and I sincerely ask for your forgiveness."

What happened? Knowles's well-written notes suddenly became useless.

However, Tianta's actions did not stop there. She even knelt down deeply before Knowles, performing a profound ceremony, and muttered, "I am willing to accept any punishment."

Knowles laughed awkwardly twice, then quickly stepped forward and helped Tianta up. "Lord Tianta, you're too kind. He's just a subordinate. How can you say whether to punish him or not? And why do you have to show such a great courtesy? It really makes me feel uneasy."

He patted the back of Tianta's hand, his tone filled with comfort and understanding. "Young people, sometimes impulsiveness is inevitable. This is understandable."

However, Knowles' heart was far from calm.

I can understand it at all!

Knowles had originally planned to completely put the blame for the death of this subordinate on Tianta. After all, what were you, a foreigner, doing with such an arrogant attitude?

Did you kill an ordinary subordinate? You are clearly slapping me in the face and disobeying my orders! If you go any further, you will be challenging the authority of the entire Wind Kingdom nobility!

However, Tianta simply used the excuse of being "emotionally agitated" to gloss over all the points in the incident that could be exploited.

I admit that every mistake was my fault, but it was unintentional, not intentional. I just have a bad temper and act without thinking. But despite this, I still respect you, so I apologized as soon as I got back.

So, isn't it a bit too much for you to target me at this time?

Therefore, at this time, Knowles had been completely trapped by Tianta, and he had to let this matter go lightly.

Although Knowles looked down on Tianta, and there was really no need for him to look down on Tianta, she was, after all, a retainer of a noble and a person favored by God.

What could a person favored by God do wrong? It was merely a momentary impulse of youth, a move driven by passion. As long as she still had respect for the nobles, how could anyone punish her for an insignificant ordinary person?

Chapter 7: Surrendering a Little Quickly

Okay, you should return the favor wherever you took advantage of me.

Knowles's eyes casually passed over Tianta, who was still standing there upright, and then he slowly sat back on the luxurious and heavy wooden chair. The slight creaking sound seemed particularly loud in the silence.

"It's just a civilian who died. It's not a big deal. You don't have to worry too much, Tianta." He said this as if he was going to let Tianta go, but upon closer inspection, that was not the case at all.

The word "sir" in the conversation had quietly disappeared, replaced by a direct and cold "Tianta".

He was too lazy to even pretend anymore.

Tianta didn't answer, but just stood there, her eyes lowered to avoid looking directly at Knowles.

The sunset glow outside the window was blood-red, dyeing the sky a dim yellow. This dim light shone through the half-open window, casting a mottled shadow on her body. Her slender figure seemed even thinner in the interweaving of light and shadow.

He looked submissive on the surface, but Knowles felt uncomfortable no matter how he looked at him.

He frowned, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes, and rebuked in a deep voice: "Why? Didn't Sir Timothy teach you that as a human being, you should learn to say thank you?"

However, just as Tianta was about to bow in thanks, Knowles suddenly sneered. That laugh was like a sharp arrow, ruthlessly piercing the point that Tianta cared about most in his heart.

He sneered, "Is this how you teach etiquette to your nobility in the Mechanical Kingdom? This is truly eye-opening. It's truly a barbaric place. They can't even teach the most basic etiquette correctly, and they only cultivate a bunch of ignorant waste."

Then, he turned his gaze to Tianta, and said with a hint of advice, "Of course, Tianta, you are different. You should be thankful. If the Wind Country hadn't taken you in, you would have long been a pile of abandoned bones on the street corner. One should not forget one's roots. You should know exactly who you are, right?"

"Tianta is very grateful for Lord Knowles's kind guidance." Tianta immediately bowed in return, but there was a bit of deliberate hesitation in his action.

In fact, she knew very well that the other party was saying that her previous attitude was too arrogant. However, if she was not more arrogant and fearless, how could she let these people clearly understand her determination to protect Yun Shuo?

Everyone knew that she knew that Knowles had asked her to come to discuss the handling of "heresy".

So she had to show an attitude that "Yun Shuo is someone she has decided to protect, and she even dares to confront Knowles for him. What about the others?"

This way, we can avoid some people with ulterior motives from testing our attitude openly or covertly.

Tianta knew that it was almost impossible for her to protect Yun Shuo in secret and hide him for his entire life. Therefore, the only thing she could do was to push Yun Shuo out into the open, letting everyone know that he had someone backing him.

After pushing Yun Shuo to the surface, she still needed a strong backer - that is the nobleman of Sus Township - Knowles.

As long as she could pull Knowles onto her boat, the people she wanted to protect would naturally be protected by Knowles. This way, Yun Shuo could rest easy in Susi Township.

Tianta had a very good plan. In the future, Yun Shuo would live in Sus Village permanently. With Knowles around, no one would dare to bully him.

Therefore, Tianta's attitude at this time was completely different from before, as if he had been reborn like a phoenix after seeing that "old friend".

Although her attitude at first was not enthusiastic and could only be described as lukewarm, she was polite and respectful after all, so Knowles was naturally willing to give her some face.

But now he actually dared to be tough with me openly. The submissiveness and humility he once had were gone, replaced by an indescribable calmness.

This made Knowles wonder: Could it be that Tianta was really bewitched by that so-called "old friend" and was under some kind of bewitching trick?

In just a few moments, a dog that could only lower its head, wag its tail, and beg for mercy was transformed into a person with a strong and proud character?

From this point of view alone, this "old friend" is indeed worthy of the title of "heretic".

There are many ways to "gently let it go", but Knowles just doesn't want to let it go.

He couldn't touch Tianta for the time being, but could he not touch that "heretic" either?

Knowles's gaze was like a sharp sword, sweeping slowly from top to bottom, sweeping over Tianta's submissive expression. "I heard you met an old friend here?"

"Yes," Tianta replied briefly.

Knowles waited for a long time but there was no follow-up. He raised his eyebrows slightly, a little surprised at Tianta's silence at the moment.

This time, Tianta was well-behaved and didn't make any more stupid remarks like "Your Excellency is really well-informed." It was a pity that Knowles didn't have a broad mind.

Are you being quiet now? How dare you rebel against Tian Gang and tell me what to do?

In this remote territory where no one cares, Knowles has long been accustomed to his authoritative position like the "second god", and he always "has the final say".

His will is the law of this land, which cannot be questioned or challenged.

Knowles fiddled with the quill on the table, watching the ink on the tip fly everywhere under his movement. His eyes followed the splattering ink, no longer focusing on Tianta.

"An old friend?" he said calmly. "Since it's an old friend, then he must have some inextricable connection with the Kingdom of Machinery. What's his name?"

"Yun Shuo."

"Yun Shuo?" Knowles loosened his fingertips, letting the pen sway on the edge of the table for a moment, then instantly lost his balance and fell suddenly to the ground with a "click" sound.

He lowered his head and casually glanced at the ink stains on the pen. The originally pure white feather was now stained with mottled ink. He exclaimed, "What a good name."

But the next sentence he said started to bring up something else entirely, "I heard that person got into quite a bit of trouble recently and was treated as a 'heretic'?"

He didn't even bother to look up at Tianta's expression. He just crushed the quill with his foot and said casually, "Since he is a heretic, then kill him."

"After all, we are of the Old Faith. Tianta, you should know how a stranger could come to our place to seek a living? Not to mention that he is even considered a foreigner."

His fingers tapped lightly on the table, making a rhythmic "dong dong" sound, and he put on a fake smile. "That's your old friend. I can understand your soft heart. But Yun Shuo must die, because this is the rule, the doctrine. As a believer in the God of Wind, you should be able to understand my good intentions, right?"

But Knowles's smug smile froze when he saw Tianta's face. He thought his words would be like sharp arrows, piercing Tianta's heart and making her look panicked or uneasy.

However, Tianta seemed to have expected this and his expression did not change at all.

But before Knowles could curse himself in his heart for being too hasty and wasting an opportunity to use emotions to shackle Tianta, he saw Tianta suddenly bend his knees and kneel down.

The difference was that this time she did not kneel down slowly before worshipping, but bowed directly with her head lowered and her hands folded in front of her forehead. Her whole body seemed to express the deepest respect to Knowles.