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Chapter 535，Part2: A Delayed Letter (2)

“…I’ll rip apart those knaves who threaten to hurt Lord Brother and destroy this land,” Alicia furiously murmured with gritted teeth. However, she quickly snapped out of her trance to look at Roel. “Lord Brother, do you have any countermeasures?”

“It’s hard to come up with any good concrete plans since there isn’t much information to work from. I wrote to the Church and Rosa and requested reinforcement, but that’s about all.”

“I see…”

Alicia lowered her head in contemplation. Noticing the anxious look on her face, Roel tried to console her.

“You don’t need to be that nervous. It could be a huge misunderstanding. I might have heard Artasia wrongly. And the unease I’m feeling is not necessarily an omen of impending danger.”

“Lord Brother…”

“At the very least, nothing has happened yet. You shouldn’t let it get to you. The dinner banquet is about to start. You should adjust your mental state and deal with that first.”

“…I understand,” Alicia replied with a nod.

Roel stepped forward and embraced Alicia.

“Nothing is confirmed yet. If anything happens, I’ll do my best to protect you and everyone else. That’s why you shouldn’t get too worried about it.”

“Mmhm. I understand, Lord Brother.”

Alicia rested her head on Roel’s chest and breathed in his scent. Her heartbeat, which had hastened in a fit of rage, slowly calmed down.

Moments later, someone knocked on the study room’s door. It was Anna.

“Young master, young miss, the dinner banquet is about to commence,” she said through the closed door.

“Got it.”

Roel released the silver-haired woman from his arms, and Alicia reluctantly left the room with a maid to get her makeup done. He then tidied up the letters on the table before returning to his room together with Anna.

An hour later, the Ascarts’ dinner banquet commenced as planned.

…

Roel Ascart was a role model for younger nobles.

From the gentle smile that always seemed to linger on his face to his graceful bearing, he always remained graceful and magnanimous regardless of the situation. It also helped that he was born with a dashing face that allowed him to easily score points with others.

.

Few would dispute that he was the perfect successor that all noble houses wished for.

This was the role that Roel played in the Ascarts’ dinner banquet too. Despite his clouded heart, he maintained his poise and courteous smile when dealing with the nobles who approached him for a conversation.

Having organized this dinner banquet for several years now, it didn’t take him much effort to maneuver around the dinner banquet. In contrast, Alicia was having a bit of trouble.

There had never been a lack of nobles trying to network with Alicia, as it was a known fact that she had a close relationship with Roel and Carter. What was different this time around was that the nobles talking to her were treating her much more respectfully.

Part of the reason was her becoming a Ringbearer of Saint Freya Academy. Those who showed spectacular results in the Sia Continent’s most distinguished academy were guaranteed a bright future.

The other reason was the change in the relationship between Roel and Alicia.

Even before Carter’s return from the eastern border, there were already rumors that the Ascart Marquess was intending to betroth his two outstanding children to each other. Needless to say, the future matriarch of the Ascart House was much more highly regarded than a foster daughter.

And there would have been even more people swarming around Alicia if it became known that she was an Origin Level 3 transcendent. It would have shocked many to learn that someone as young as her had already become a high transcendent.

But… no matter how powerful Alicia became, her personality remained the same. Normal conversations weren’t a problem, but she could never get accustomed to such social occasions.

Seeing her fumbling around tempted Roel to lend her a helping hand, but barely after he took a step toward her, he shook his head and changed his mind.

Alicia was an adult. She could deal with such matters on her own. His intervention would only lead others to think that she was a flower in a greenhouse, causing them to underestimate her. Thus, he decided to just watch the situation for now.

Meanwhile, Carter was chatting with a group of similar-aged officials about the fiefdom’s progress over the last few years. Their bright complexions hinted at their satisfaction with the work that had been done.

Roel hadn’t told Carter about Artasia’s warning. It wasn’t that he was worried Carter wouldn’t believe him without any concrete evidence, but that he knew that Carter wouldn’t be staying in the fiefdom for long.

In the first place, Carter was only able to return from the eastern border under the pretext of reporting the progress of Tark Stronghold’s reconstruction to Holy Eminence John. Taking into account the long journey from the eastern border and the days he had spent in the Holy Capital, he couldn’t afford to stay in the Ascart Fiefdom for too long.

In fact, the plan was for him to set off for the eastern border tomorrow.

If Roel suddenly claimed that he was in danger at this juncture without concrete evidence, those who were hostile to the Ascarts would make full use of this opportunity to claim that the Ascarts were staging a play to shirk their responsibilities to humankind.

Things would be even worse if Carter believed him and delayed his journey because of it. That would be a violation of military laws. Carter could be charged for desertion. His return to the Ascart Fiefdom had already drawn criticism from others, and any further delays to his return wouldn’t be tolerated.

The united army was sensitive about such matters. It was a critical time for humankind, after all.

Of course, the Xeclydes, the Sorofyas, and the other allies of the Ascart House wouldn’t allow any harm to befall Carter, but the united army wouldn’t allow the Ascart House to get away with it scot-free either. Otherwise, they risked setting a precedent.

It was likely that the united army would officially denounce Carter and the Ascart House, leaving them unable to raise their heads before the entire Sia Continent.

With these considerations in mind, Roel decided not to share his baseless conjectures with Carter for the time being. He concealed his unease under a smile and focused his attention on hosting the officials in the room.

A while later, Anna suddenly approached him with a polite bow. She walked close to him and whispered a piece of news.

“Young master, the letter from the Country of Scholars that you told me to keep an eye out for has arrived…”