Chapter 722
Son of Baron Beyad
The “Weight of Knowledge” tavern in the Blackfort District.
A bard with a handlebar mustache was strumming a lute, singing a “Port District Ballad” that was rarely heard inland and was known for its passionate and sultry lyrics.
Beside him, a dwarf disguised as a gnome and a dancer performed a mime with exaggerated gestures, dancing a comical yet sensual dance that drew laughter and cheers from the crowd.
“Have you heard?”
Someone was boasting, “Something happened out at sea yesterday!”
“You stupid idiot, are you talking about that sea monster?”
Clearly, there were other well-informed individuals who didn’t want the former to steal the spotlight.
The man, drunk, spoke in a coarse, slurred voice, “You’re talking as if everyone didn’t know!”
“What’s so rare about a sea monster,” an old fisherman couldn’t help but laugh. “The bigwigs at the Spirit Tower used to pay for news about sea monsters! Three gold coins for a reported location. I made eighty gold coins in a single month back then!”
“Enough, Old John!”
Someone cursed, “It’s because those lords were magnanimous that they didn’t bother you later! You bastard, you reported the information about a sea monster dozens of times, and you really thought no one knew?”
“It’s precisely because the lords are fair and generous that they deserve to be talked about more!” Old John shouted, his face flushed red. “That’s why everyone is willing to work for the lords—”
“Then did you go to test the medicine? You get twenty gold coins per try.”
“I, I won’t go… I’m already this old. Let the young people earn the money.”
As Old John finished speaking, it elicited bursts of laughter from the crowd.
At this moment, by a piano on the second floor, a black-haired woman with glasses, both intellectual and mature, also overheard this. She chuckled and said to the beautiful young maid beside her, “It seems the commotion was quite significant.”
“—It was quite significant. I have some special information myself…”
Suddenly, a blond youth with slicked-back hair and an aura that didn’t fit the bar approached politely. “Two beautiful ladies, if you are interested in that matter, perhaps we could move to the next room? It’s too noisy here, not a suitable environment for discussion.”
Alistair, in the Beyad form, turned her head with interest and looked at the youth.
At first, she thought he was an information broker. It was only after he finished speaking that she realized she had been hit on.
What a rare experience… Speaking of which, it’s strange. Eivass’s form should be more outstanding than Beyad’s form. Why haven’t any beautiful women hit on me? Is it because the customs in Avalon are ultimately too conservative?
“So,” Alistair said with a smile, “you know a lot about it?”
“Naturally.”
As if encouraged, the blond youth’s spirits lifted.
He respectfully and politely placed his right hand on his chest and bowed slightly: “Allow me to introduce myself—I am the Son of Baron Beyad. Landon Viness von Beyad.”
“…Baron Beyad?”
Alistair paused slightly and asked, “Is there a fiefdom called Beyad in Star Antimony?”
She hadn’t intended to engage with him. But upon hearing his name, she changed her mind.
“There will be soon!”
The blond youth, who called himself Landon, said excitedly with pride on his face. “My father has been ennobled as a baron and now has a fiefdom—whether he had one before, I’m not sure.”
“Aren’t you a Star Antimony person?” Alistair raised an eyebrow and asked.
“Yes! You are very perceptive, Miss.” The youth nodded enthusiastically, casually sitting down next to Alistair and inching closer. During this action, his arm pressed on the piano keys, causing an unpleasant loud noise and attracting the attention of others. However, he was still polite, as the distance between their knees remained about a palm’s length, not getting any closer. “Our family is from Iris, and we’ve only recently arrived in Star Antimony… May I know your name?”
“—I’m back, Young Madam.”
Just then, a stern voice rang out. Landon looked up and was startled—a stern-faced middle-aged man, dressed in understated yet luxurious attire, had appeared silently behind him. He completely ignored Landon, as if he didn’t exist. Instead, he bowed slightly to the black-haired young lady sitting at the piano, “The item has been obtained.”
“Then let’s go,” Alistair said with a light laugh.
Landon immediately realized that the beautiful girl he had approached was not a commoner. She was, like him—or even higher than him—a noble.
But he was still somewhat unwilling. The charm of the other party had utterly captivated him… Not only because of her noble appearance and aura, but also because he felt an inexplicable closeness to her, one he couldn’t pinpoint.
He had been pressured to marry for a long time at home, and now, he had finally met the person he was willing to pursue with all his heart, the one who “felt right”!
Relying on the thick skin of the Iris people, Landon almost bounced to his feet, quickly straightened his bow tie, and quietly asked again, “Excuse me…?”
“—Alistair Crowley. Perhaps we’ll meet again… ‘Mr. Beyad’.”
She cheerfully gave her name and turned to leave. Landon remained standing where he was after they left. His face was flushed, perhaps from her charm, or perhaps from his own awkwardness. He felt a sense of loss—Landon felt that the other party seemed somewhat familiar and kind. If he had said so directly, it might have been better, he told himself.
At this moment, he heard the boisterous clamor from below. This made his already agitated heart even more so. If he weren’t waiting for a friend here, he would have probably stormed off long ago.
“—Let me tell you!” the loud-mouthed man shouted again. “You’ll never guess who killed that sea monster! This is absolutely top-secret information!”
“Who was it?”
“Who, tell us then. Don’t say it was some bigwig from the Spirit Tower or a Royal Alchemist or something.”
“It was Miss Crowley! Alistair Crowley, a beautiful young lady with long black hair!” the man yelled at the top of his lungs. “She’s also a young lady from the Crowley Count’s family!”
Hearing this, Landon was struck as if by lightning! The image of Alistair’s face and hair color suddenly flashed in his mind, and he instantly realized something—
The person just now… was the daughter of Count Crowley?
He was immediately filled with intense shame for boasting about his father’s newly acquired title.
“What have I done…” He swayed as he went to order a butterbeer, sat down dejectedly, and took a sip. The bitter taste that the drink couldn’t suppress immediately made him frown, his features contorting. But that bitter pain now felt like an intoxicating self-punishment. He found himself somewhat addicted to it.
“Sorry, I’m late…” Upon arriving, his friend was startled. “Landon, you don’t drink, do you?”
“I did something stupid, Jeanette!” Landon immediately hugged his friend, tears and snot streaming down his face as he wailed, “I’m so embarrassed!”
Jeanette Neumann quickly patted his head, comforting him. “It’s okay, it’s okay… What happened? Tell me in detail.”
The conflict between her duty to comfort her friend and her professional ethics as a reporter led her to unconsciously lean towards the latter—Landon was a resilient person, generally speaking, and didn’t require much comforting. He would eventually forget unpleasant things himself.
“I met a very beautiful woman, her name is Alistair Crowley…”
As soon as Landon uttered the first sentence, he saw fear on his friend’s face.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Alistair sighed slightly, “I didn’t expect the Beyad family to still be around…”
“After all, it was only after ‘you’ disappeared for a long time that the Beyad Group gradually faded away,” Honey Badger replied softly. “It seems they even sewed ‘your’ name into it as a middle name.”
To this day, she still wasn’t sure if Alistair was the true Lady Beyad. Therefore, whenever she referred to ‘you’, she emphasized the word to indicate her meaning.
“Let’s not worry about him for now. We’ll meet again if fate allows,” Alistair shook her head. “Have we reached the location of the hideout?”
Eagle Eye regularly changed their hideouts, and this bar was a meeting point for assassins. Since it wasn’t a place where missions were actually issued, it was relatively safer… It was like a “website publisher,” so the risk was much lower.
“Yes, we’re almost there…” Honey Badger’s mood was complicated. “Should we go directly?”
“No rush,” Alistair asked softly, “Have you been to Star Antimony before?”
“I visited a few times when I was young, but I haven’t been in over a decade.”
“Do you know where the White Dove Opera House is? Take me there first.”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s go.” Alistair said with a smile, looking up at the cloudy sky. “Of course, it’s best to buy an umbrella first. My suggestion is a black umbrella.”
(End of Chapter)
