“Thank you for your hospitality, Sir Bosch. I apologize for visiting you so suddenly,” Lucas Crawlmarine said.

“Not at all. I am simply disappointed that I could not have prepared a better reception for you, my lord.” A man in his 30s responded while bowing his head. His name was Calburn Bosch. He was a knight of the Crawlmarine family, and he had become the new lord of Bosch last year in his dead father’s stead.

“Anyway, I have something urgent I need to discuss with you. Is that okay?” Lucas asked.

“Of course,” Calburn answered before glancing at the other members of the Bosch family. They gave a polite bow before leaving. As soon as the door closed, the dignified expression of the two figures disappeared.

“What brings you here, Your Excellency? Didn’t you say a year ago that you would never come visiting?” Calburn said.

“Do you really think that I came here because I wanted to, Calburn? There was no other choice,” Lucas answered. On the afternoon of the day Eugene departed for Marine Forest, Lucas left for the Bosch territory along with about a dozen knights and soldiers, and instead of taking the same path as Eugene, he took a secured, direct path without any roamers.

In the end, Count Lucas left later than Eugene, but arrived at...