Chapter 506

“Lady Mary! Long time no see! I’ve been gone so long—did you miss me?” Gervas grinned broadly.

Lady Mary clenched her teeth, recalling how this man had already received his title, yet still deliberately swindled her.

“Gervas, I haven’t even settled accounts with you yet! Last time, you were already a baron, yet you still tricked me with the Black Pine Forest estate—it was utterly despicable!”

“By the way, today you sided with outsiders to cause trouble on the family’s lands—how can you face your father?”

Saying this, Lady Mary turned to Andrew. “Andrew, look—this is your good Gervas. Last time, you sent him so much supplies!”

“Now he’s bringing a count’s entourage to spend the night on our lands—this has brought you trouble!”

Clearly, Lady Mary still didn’t understand the situation; she assumed Gervas was merely a lackey to some count, come to Gail Lands.

“Enough! Mary, what are you talking about? These soldiers are Gervas’s own—how could they possibly bring us trouble?”

“What am I saying? Everyone knows noble entourages are the most unruly… you… what did you say? These are his soldiers? How is that possible? Isn’t that outside a count’s force?”

Mid-sentence, Lady Mary’s eyes widened again, doubting whether she’d heard correctly.

The Gail family was also a baronial house, and even counted as a semi-ancient baronial lineage.

Yet the Gail family’s military strength was at most one-tenth of the force outside the castle.

Not even counting the two hundred cavalry!

So how could this Gervas—just a newly appointed baron—possibly have so many soldiers?

“Mary, Gervas is now a count lord—this force belongs to him!” Andrew finally revealed Gervas’s true status.

“C…Count? Him?” Lady Mary was struck as if by lightning, staring at Gervas with wide eyes, frozen in shock.

Gervas smiled even more brightly, revealing a row of white teeth.

“Lady Mary, surprised, aren’t you? But I only just received my countship! Here is the count’s seal, here is the count’s sword…”

Looking at the gleaming golden seal, and the exquisitely crafted count’s sword inlaid with colorful gems,

Even though Lady Mary had a thousand reasons to refuse belief, she could only accept the truth.

Then her expression shifted repeatedly; after a moment, she forced out a smile. “G…Gervas, my tone was too harsh just now! I… I’m sorry!”

“By the way, after such a long journey, you must be exhausted. I’ll go to the kitchen right away and have the cooks prepare food for you! Go rest inside the castle with your father!”

“Thank you, Lady Mary.”

“N…no trouble at all! Gervas, don’t be so formal!”

Then Lady Mary fled toward the inner castle gate.

Clearly, she still couldn’t face Gervas now that he was a count.

The faint smile she’d managed to force out had already drained all her “noble self-discipline.”

Watching Lady Mary leave, Gervas’s lips curled slightly.

This was at least a small revenge for the original owner.

Andrew, too, let out a quiet sigh of relief.

His second son had risen in fortune—he was both astonished and delighted.

But upon returning to the castle and seeing Mary, he had grown tense again.

He knew well the strained relationship between Gervas and Mary.

He had only ever tried to suppress their conflicts, never truly resolved them.

He had feared that upon returning, Gervas would seize the chance to retaliate and oppress Mary.

If that happened, as both husband and father, he wouldn’t know what to do.

“G…Gervas? Are you Gervas?”

At that moment, a cry came from the castle wall—it was Gervas’s adoptive older brother, Ernst.

He had been waiting for Lady Mary’s signal.

But Lady Mary never gave him one; instead, she hurried back into the inner castle.

If he hadn’t caught fragments of words like “it’s you” and “Gervas,” he wouldn’t have known what to do.

“Huh! Brother Ernst, why are you on the wall?”

“I… this… that…” Ernst didn’t know how to answer.

“Ernst, come down quickly and meet your brother Gervas—Gervas is now a count lord!”

“What? C…Count? Gervas became a count…?”

…

Amid the escort of his father, older brother, and Viscount Pat, Gervas returned to the inner castle.

Originally, Gervas had planned to go to the parlor, but upon learning that the banquet hall was already hosting a dinner with neighboring nobles waiting, he changed his mind.

After all, these guests required Andrew’s hospitality.

At this moment, the music in the banquet hall had paused.

The nobles were gathered in small groups, chatting.

The topic was simple: whether Viscount Pat could persuade the count’s entourage to change their mind about spending the night in Springtown.

“Here they come! They’re back!”

“Huh! Who’s that? What an extravagant robe!”

“Wait—I feel like I recognize that young man. Isn’t that Andrew’s second son, little Gervas?”

“Huh, it really is little Gervas! He’s here too—and dressed so well? How extravagant!”

“Indeed! That robe must have cost dozens of gold coins at least—he’s only been lord for less than a year, and he’s willing to spend so much on such an expensive robe!”

“Probably spent heavily for this homecoming—he’s returning as lord for the first time, so he had to make a grand impression, dress properly!”

Among the crowd, many nobles recognized Gervas.

After all, among these baron neighbors were some of Andrew’s friends.

Yet when they saw Gervas’s lavish robe, they immediately assumed he was a noble trying to appear richer than he was.

Of course, this wasn’t meant as an insult to Gervas—it was simply how nobles generally behaved.

They presented only their brightest faces, hiding all flaws—nobles prized appearances above all.

“Gervas! It’s you! What are you doing here? Has Carolyne returned?”

At that moment, a sharp voice rang out in the hall.

Gervas turned—it was his half-brother, Roni.

He’d heard this brat had just sensed his battle aura, which was why tonight’s banquet was held.

Recalling how the brat had sobbed uncontrollably when he left last time, Gervas couldn’t help laughing out loud.

Roni didn’t know why Gervas suddenly laughed, but he felt certain Gervas’s gaze was mocking him.

Instantly, he flew into rage.

“Gervas! What are you laughing at? I’m asking you—where’s Carolyne? Did you bring her back?”

“You can return her to me now! I’ll become a Bronze Knight by fourteen at the latest—such talent means Silver Knight is certain, even Gold Knight is possible!”

“So now, return Carolyne to me—I’ll still forgive your actions!”