Chapter 506: I Can Still Forgive What You've Done!

"Lady Mary! Long time no see! I've been away so long—wonder if you've missed me?" Gervas wore a brilliant smile.

Lady Mary, however, was grinding her teeth, recalling how last time this fellow had clearly already received his investiture, yet still deliberately blackmailed her.

"Gervas, I haven't even settled the score with you yet. Last time you were clearly already a baron lord, yet you still used the Black Pine Forest Farm to blackmail me—that was truly despicable!"

"And right, today you actually helped outsiders come stir up trouble in the family territory—does your father mean anything to you?"

Saying so, Lady Mary looked again at Andrew. "Andrew, look here—this is your precious Gervas. Last time you sent him so many supplies!"

"And this time he actually brought an earl's retinue to stay the night in the territory—what trouble he's brought down on you!!"

Clearly, Lady Mary still hadn't grasped the situation, assuming Gervas had merely become some earl's vanguard and come to Gale Territory.

"Enough! Mary, what nonsense are you spouting! These soldiers were Gervas's to begin with—how could they possibly bring us any trouble?"

"What nonsense am I spouting—everyone knows these great noble retinues, they're the most ill-mannered… you… what did you say? These are his soldiers? How could that be? Isn't that an earl's retinue outside?"

Lady Mary stopped mid-sentence, her beautiful eyes widening once more, wondering if she'd misheard.

The Gale Family was also a baronial house, and by reckoning a half-old-established baronial family at that.

Yet the Gale Family's military strength was at most one-tenth of this retinue outside the castle.

And that didn't even include those two hundred cavalry!

So how could this fellow Gervas, who had only just taken up the baronial lordship, possibly have so many soldiers?

"Mary, Gervas is now an earl lord—this retinue is his!" Andrew finally spoke out Gervas's true identity.

"Ear… Earl… him?" Lady Mary was thunderstruck, her eyes wide as she stared at Gervas, the whole of her falling into a daze.

Gervas, meanwhile, smiled even more brilliantly, a mouthful of pearly white teeth showing.

"Lady Mary, surprised, aren't you! Though this earldom of mine is something I only just received! This is the earl's badge, this is the earl's sword…"

Looking at that gleaming golden badge, plus the exquisite earl's sword inlaid with gems of every color.

Even if Lady Mary had ten thousand reasons not to believe it, she could only face this fact.

Then, her expression changed again and again, and after a moment she forced out a smile. "G… Gervas, just now my tone was a bit harsh! I… I'm sorry!"

"Right, the long journey must have tired you out, yes? I'll go to the kitchen now and have the cooks prepare food for you! You go on with your father to rest inside the castle!"

"Then many thanks, Lady Mary!"

"N… not at all! Gervas, you don't need to stand on ceremony!"

Then Lady Mary fled toward the inner castle gate as if escaping.

Clearly, for the moment she still couldn't face Gervas, who had become an earl.

Being able to force out a smile just now had already used up all of her 'noble self-cultivation.'

Watching Lady Mary leave, the corners of Gervas's mouth curved up slightly.

This could be considered venting the original host's grievance.

And Andrew at this moment also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

His second son had made good, so naturally he was both astonished and delighted.

But after returning to the castle, upon seeing Mary, he grew tense again.

He knew about the strained relationship between Gervas and Mary from before.

Only before he could only try his utmost to curb conflict between the two sides, yet had no way to truly resolve it.

Originally, he had still worried that after Gervas returned this time, he would seize the chance to take revenge and suppress Mary.

If it had come to that, he, as both husband and father, truly wouldn't have known what to do.

"G… Gervas? You're Gervas?"

At this moment, an exclamation came from atop the city wall—naturally from Gervas's bargain-bin big brother Ernst.

He had been waiting all along for Lady Mary's signal.

Who could have known Lady Mary ultimately gave him no signal, but instead hurried back to the inner castle.

Had he not vaguely caught words like "it's you" and "Gervas," he wouldn't have known what to do.

"Oh! Big brother Ernst, why are you on the city wall?"

"I… um… this… that…" Ernst didn't know how to answer.

"Ernst, hurry down and meet your little brother Gervas—Gervas is now an earl lord!"

"What? E… Earl? Gervas has become an earl…"

……

Surrounded by his own father, big brother, and Viscount Pat, Gervas returned to the inner castle.

Originally Gervas had wanted to go to the parlor, but upon learning that the banquet hall was actually hosting a dinner, with a group of neighboring nobles waiting, he naturally changed his mind.

After all, those guests also needed Andrew to entertain them.

At this moment, the music in the banquet hall had temporarily stopped.

The nobles were chatting in small clusters of three or five.

The topic was simple—naturally, whether Viscount Pat could make that earl's retinue change its mind about staying the night in Spring Town.

"They're here! They're back!"

"Oh? Who's that—some lavish formal attire!"

"Wait, why does that young man look so familiar? Isn't that Andrew's second son, little Gervas?"

"Oh, it really is little Gervas—he actually came too, and dressed so well, isn't he being far too free with his spending?"

"Right! A formal attire like that must've cost several dozen gold coins at least, and he's been lord for less than a year—yet he's willing to buy such an expensive formal attire!"

"It must be that he specially went all out to buy it for this return trip—after all, this is his first time back since becoming lord, so naturally he had to make it grand and dress respectably!"

Among the crowd, quite a few nobles recognized Gervas.

After all, among these baronial neighbors, Andrew did have some good friends.

And when everyone saw Gervas's lavish formal attire, they immediately took him for a nobleman who had slapped his own face to look fat.

Of course, this wasn't really a slight on Gervas—it's just that nobles were basically all like that.

Presenting a glamorous front while hiding all the unseemly parts—after all, nobles cared about face above all else.

"Gervas, it's you! What are you doing here? Has Caroline come back yet?"

Just then, a sharp questioning voice rang out across the great hall.

Gervas looked over—wasn't that his half-brother, the cheap one, Raniel?

He'd heard the kid had already sensed battle qi, which was why tonight's banquet was being held.

Recalling the scene of this little brat bawling his eyes out the last time he left, Gervas couldn't help himself and burst out laughing with a snort.

Though Raniel had no idea why Gervas had suddenly started laughing, he somehow felt that look in his eyes was mocking him.

In an instant, he was furious.

"Gervas! What are you laughing at? I'm asking you—where's Caroline? Did you bring her?"

"You can give her back to me now! I'll become a Bronze Knight by the age of fourteen at the latest—talent like this means a Silver Knight is absolutely no problem, and even a Gold Knight is possible!"

"So, give Caroline back to me now, and I can still forgive everything you've done!"