Chapter 108: The Beautiful Cook!

"Ernst, a few days ago, a flock of Rainbow-Winged Swans must have been frightened within the Death Mountain Range, so they migrated to the southern part of Storm Territory, to an area called Tianehu, to nest!"

"Now, they have completely adapted to the environment of Tianehu, so they produce goose eggs steadily every few days!"

Ernst: "..."

Ernst felt Gervas was joking, but he had already tasted a spoonful of the egg custard.

So, the egg custard before him was the best proof.

"Gervas, could this pot of soup be Rainbow-Winged Swan Soup?"

At this moment, a melodious voice came; it was Catherine, who always maintained elegance, speaking up.

Her gaze fell upon the porcelain plates of meat soup before everyone.

This meat soup clearly contained chunks of poultry meat, so Catherine made this guess.

And if this guess were confirmed, then Gervas was simply too generous.

Monster beast meat, Rainbow-Winged Swan eggs, Rainbow-Winged Swan meat; for any other minor noble to host guests, presenting even one of these would count as extremely attentive hospitality.

Yet Gervas brought them all out at once, and the quantity was very sufficient; this even looked somewhat wasteful.

"That's right. Speaking of it, I tasted Rainbow-Winged Swan meat once before; it is indeed very delicious, and it can also increase bodily lightness and agility. So, everyone, do not miss out later; taste it properly!"

Gervas nodded with a smile, his expression calm and unruffled, showing no intention to show off.

"..."

Silence fell.

Everyone fell completely silent.

Only in Catherine's beautiful eyes did an unusual light flicker.

"So, for now, we still cannot find out who the mastermind behind this is?"

"Yes! When we returned to the castle, the three knights who colluded with the bandits had already disappeared; subsequently, bodies were found in the wilderness and in Iron Wolf City!"

After the banquet ended, returning to the living room, Gervas and Catherine discussed the aftermath of the Scorpion Bandit Gang.

Just as Gervas had expected, the mastermind behind it had not been found.

Of course, the Violet Family had some foundation on the border after all; to say there was not a single clue would be impossible.

Catherine spoke in a low voice: "Lord Gervas, although I cannot obtain effective evidence to point out who plotted everything."

"But through secret investigation, and by using the connections my father left behind to inquire secretly, the matter of the Scorpion Boss is very likely inseparable from two very high-ranking nobles in Iron Wolf City."

"The first is Count Fario!"

"Because my subordinate's guard captain previously had contact with several of my traitorous knights, and even frequently entered the gambling dens in the city together."

"And just these past few days, I received a cooperation proposal sent by Count Fario; he wants to buy half of the Violet Crystal Mine shares for two thousand gold coins!"

"And my family's crystal mine produces ore worth at least five hundred gold coins annually!"

"And after I rejected this request, Count Fario, using his own influence, has already begun to unite a group of merchant houses to suppress the price of Violet Crystals!"

Good heavens! Gervas exclaimed, "Good heavens!"

Four years' worth of profit just to buy half of someone's mine; this Count Fario is truly a shrewd schemer.

However, recalling that to get Rose, Count Fario had caused her family to be ruined and destroyed, one could see how black-hearted this fellow was.

Moreover, the Wild Wolf Brotherhood was a gang funded by Fario; thus, funding a Scorpion Bandit Gang as well was nothing strange.

At this moment, Catherine began speaking about the second suspect!

"Gervas, the other suspect is the Commander of Iron Wolf City. I heard from my steward that after he delayed for one day before going to Iron Wolf City to request aid, the Commander of Iron Wolf City moved very slowly."

"Even though he followed the 'rules' and offered a bribe of thirty gold coins, and even promised over a hundred gold coins in bribes later, the Commander of Iron Wolf City still deliberately dragged his feet on the road."

"So, I suspect he may also be involved!"

"The Commander of Iron Wolf City, huh?"

This was unexpected for Gervas.

But thinking about it, the Scorpion Bandit Gang was well-equipped, possessing full sets of armor, albeit old ones.

But armor is equipment strictly controlled by the kingdom; only lords can freely equip it. For the Scorpion Bandit Gang to obtain so much equipment, without an inside man in a kingdom border legion, it would indeed be very difficult to acquire.

"Of course, Gervas, all of this is my speculation; I just want you to be as careful as possible; there is no substantial evidence!"

"Viscountess Catherine, I understand your good intentions!"

Gervas also understood that pointing out suspects randomly without evidence was obviously inappropriate.

But since Catherine said it, it must be to allow him to defend himself better.

Because it was already late, whether it was Andrew and the others, or the people of the Violet Family, all stayed overnight in Storm Territory.

And besides the banquet, Gervas had specially prepared a late-night supper party for everyone.

When Andrew, Catherine, and the others accepted Gervas's invitation and arrived at the open ground in the castle's rear garden,

servants and a beautiful, charming cook were already busy.

Ernst and Laniel widened their eyes, looking at the beautiful cook in surprise.

This cook's beauty was not inferior to Caroline's.

Indeed, because she was slightly older, she possessed a full measure of mature charm.

And this damn mature charm held a fatal allure for inexperienced newcomers.

For a moment, everyone's gaze toward Gervas became strange.

Having a beautiful personal maid was one thing.

But even the cook being so beautiful was really a bit excessive.

How much effort must it have taken to collect them?

Baron Mien and the others cast admiring glances at Gervas.

Even Catherine, standing nearby, looked slightly surprised, her eyes flickering as she wondered what to think.

"Ahem! This is my head chef, Rose; all the delicacies for the banquet were cooked by her!"

Gervas instantly understood the looks of the crowd and immediately offered an explanation.

His glorious image could not be tarnished like this.

After all, was it not true that he, Gervas, truly kept himself pure?

He had even resisted the temptation of his personal maid; what more could they ask of him?

What about Rose?

That was for cultivation... cultivation, you understand!

"Eh, are these Magic Sea Clams and Magic Conch? And lobsters?"

Just then, Baron Mien's exclamation of surprise finally drew everyone's attention.

Only then did the crowd realize that the ingredients cooked by the beautiful chef were all seafood.

Moreover, some of them were even Magic Seafood.

And in the Griffin Kingdom, even ordinary seafood did not count as monster meat.

The preciousness of Magic Seafood was therefore far above that of monster meat.

The reason was very simple... rarity!

"A few days ago, I accidentally saved a merman. To express his gratitude to me, that merman and his tribe sent me these shells and lobsters from the sea..." Gervas explained truthfully.

The crowd: "???"

Even saving a merman; the crowd truly did not know what to say about Gervas.

However, as the seafood finished roasting, the crowd no longer had time to think.

In this world, seafood was precious; minor nobles basically had no chance to taste it.

So, the instant they tasted the seafood, everyone almost swallowed their tongues along with it!