Meanwhile, in Viscount Monyme’s mansion, a servant that had been sent to look into Merlin’s whereabouts, had come back to report to his master the situation Merlin had found himself in, and the way he had used to solve it. Hearing the report, the viscount’s face lost all color, and he started trembling.

*Just, who the hell did I provoke earlier?* wondered the viscount, terrified. *I was really lucky that he chose to leave instead of attacking me, with such power, not even all the guards of my household together would have been able to stop him, would he want to kill me…*

When the realization that he had looked the death in the eye and survived by pure luck, finally sank down on him, the viscount almost wetted his pants. However, it also made him all the more adamant about making Merlin take part in his plan.

The viscount sent out a messenger, with orders of finding Merlin and giving him a letter, its contents being the following:

[Highly esteemed adventurer Lefey,

I beg you to pardon my previous rude behavior, it was unbecoming of me, and it should have never happened. I wish to set things right with you, and I would like to invite you to the banquet I will be holding tonight in celebration of the safe arrival of my niece and nephew whom you saved from that ambush.

Regarding the other matters, I won’t try to force your hand anymore. However, I would really appreciate it if you could at least hear my story before deciding if you wish to help or not. I won’t ask anything else.

I’m fully aware that our relationship hasn’t started with the best of the beginnings, but I would like to mend it, and try to make peace with you. As I said before, I hope you could find it in your heart, to forgive my past offenses and come to hear me out. I’ll make sure to make it worth your while.

Sincerely yours,

Viscount Zesh Monyme]

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Merlin had started noticing something strange when he went looking for an inn. In fact, there were 2 things he had noticed: someone was spying on him, and people in the street had started avoiding him.

*Looks like the news about what I did back in the guild have spread quite fast!* he thought.

Although it could be troublesome to be that infamous in the long run, Merlin didn’t mind it at the present time, because that would drive away any potential problems in the immediate future.

As for what would happen later on, Merlin didn’t bother to ponder about it, he probably would have built himself a good reputation at that time, and his current infamy wouldn’t matter anymore.

He found an in which suited his needs, and went to take a nap. He had found a good inn, it cost him 1 silver / day, but for a room with an individual bath, that price was on the low side. Usually inns had shared baths, only separating men and women, while the inns which had individual bathrooms in each room, usually charged between 1,5 and 3 silvers /day.

Merlin was having a very nice dream, when he was suddenly awoken by the knocking on the door of his room. Not having asked anything to the innkeeper, he thought it was very strange for someone to come knocking on his door, so he unsheathed the dagger on his waist, and kept his right arm behind his back, ready to strike if needed.

He carefully opened the door with his left hand, and saw a servant carrying a rolled up parchment in his hand. The servant was sweating beads, and he started trembling the second Merlin looked at him. Having taken a quick look at the letter, he dismissed the servant, telling him to inform his employer of his assistance.

*What is that viscount scheming now?* wondered Merlin.

The tone of the letter wasn’t that of someone who had actually regretted his actions and wanted to set things right, and that made Merlin wary of the possible schemes the viscount might have laid down to rope him in.

Merlin was spot on about the viscount schemes, but what he didn’t know was that the viscount was a proud man who never before had apologized to anyone, and he had tried his best when writing the letter. Not wanting to think about it anymore, he decided to go to a tailor’s shop to get an attire for the evening. He would have used one of his own, but the ones he had would have given his real identity away.

************************************************************

The night quickly came, and Merlin arrived in front of the mansion of the viscount. Upon seeing him, the guards started trembling and hurriedly gave him way. Their reaction shocked Merlin, who started to wonder if things had gotten a little out of hand.

*Am I really that scary? To think that even veteran warriors would start to tremble just because they caught sight of me…* thought Merlin, worried.

What Merlin didn’t know was that in order to prevent any incident from occurring, the viscount had given his description to all the guards, and warned them not to start any conflict with him, or not only would their heads roll, but also those of all their family members. That, coupled with the rumors of what had transpired at the Adventurers Guild, had made them terrified of that innocent looking 13-year-old young man.

Once inside, Merlin was surprised by the serious lack of people. After observing for a while the people in the ballroom, Merlin discovered that everyone there belonged to the household of the viscount. The viscount saw Merlin and went toward him, however, when he arrived to his side, the viscount noticed Merlin’s worries and hurriedly tried to explain himself.

V. Monyme: “My highly esteemed guest Mr. Lefey, please don’t worry about it. They are all from my household, that’s true, but the things I wanted to discuss with you tonight are of a delicate nature, and I wouldn’t want anyone else to learn about them!”

Merlin: “First, cut the crap, you are not that good at acting! Second, why me? How can you be sure it’s not against your interest to tell me? I could very well sell the information to third parties once I get out of here…”

V. Monyme: “I highly doubt that Mr. Lefey. If you truly had those intentions, you wouldn’t have saved my niece and nephew that time, nor would you have stormed out of my mansion like you did earlier in the afternoon.”

Merlin: “I could have a really shrewd mind…”

V. Monyme: “I highly doubt that, and even if that was the case, it wouldn’t change that your strength is the real deal. But let’s not talk about that right now, please, enjoy the banquet and the dance. We’ll talk about the other matters after the banquet or tomorrow morning.”

Leaving those words, the viscount left Merlin and went to entertain other guests. The household of the viscount was by no means little, he had over a dozen children, most of them married into other noble families, and they had come to the banquet with their respective wives and husbands, some of them even with their own children.

In the middle of the livelihood, Merlin discovered that for the others, the banquet was being held to celebrate the recovery of the viscount’s wife, who had nearly died a few days prior, from a sickness she had contracted.

On the other hand, the reason Merlin had been told was the safe arrival of the young boy and the young girl who had accompanied the viscount earlier in the afternoon. That put Merlin on his guard more than he already was, and confirmed his suspicions that this banquet was just a ruse of the viscount’s, for what purpose, he didn’t know, but he was sure it had something to do with the “talk” the viscount wanted to have with him.

The young girl he had seen earlier in the afternoon approached him with a smile. She was wearing a pale blue low-cut dress, which didn’t show too much skin, yet showed enough to enhance the impact of her well developed feminine attributes. Even Merlin, who wasn’t interested in relationships with the other sex at the moment, couldn’t help but gulp when he saw her.

She was bringing a wineglass in each hand, and offered Merlin one. After he took one of the wineglasses from her, she said she was bored and suggested that the two of them went to the balcony to talk. Merlin was at a loss of what to do, but in the end, he went with the flow, and followed her to the balcony.

???: “Thanks for following me here. Sorry, I don’t think I had the chance to introduce myself to you in the afternoon, I’m Camille.”

Merlin: “Nice to meet you, Camille, I’m Merlin.”

Camille: “I know. Thank you very much for saving my and my brother’s lives. And please, forgive our uncle, he has been under much stress lately.”

Merlin: “Is it related to that ‘talk’ he wanted to have with me later tonight, or tomorrow?”

When he mentioned the word “tomorrow”, Camille’s face suddenly got beet red, but Merlin thought it was due to the wine she had just sipped. She quickly composed herself, though, like nothing had happened at all.

Camille: “Yes, it is related to that. But let’s not talk about that, it’s too boring. I heard from the guards that you were a fighting expert who is out to experience the world and wanted to become an adventurer?”

Merlin: “Yes, that’s right. I registered earlier, right after I left this mansion.”

Camille: “That’s very interesting. Have you taken any mission?”

Merlin: “Not yet. I intended to familiarize myself with the city before taking one, why?”

Camille: “N-no reason! I was just curious, that’s all.”

Merlin made a strange face and moved his wineglass toward his mouth to take a sip, when something unexpected happened,

Camille: “DON’T!”

Right after her shout, she hit Merlin’s hand and made him spill the contents of the wineglass.

Merlin: “What th-? Camille, what did you do that for?”

Camille: “So-sorry, Merlin. You seem to be a nice boy, so I don’t want to entangle you in this political intrigue!”

Merlin: “What do you mean, Camille?”

Hearing his question, Camille got beet red again, and shyly embraced herself to cover her feminine attributes. Merlin had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but he wanted to hear it from her.

Camille: “The wineglass had a potent aphrodisiac. I was supposed to seduce you, and then ensure your cooperation with us by making you take responsibility for taking my chastity.”

Merlin: “I knew about the wineglass, I wasn’t going to actually drink from it, I was just testing your reaction.”

Camille: “Why?”

Merlin: “Why? I could ask you the same question. You obviously didn’t want to go through with this, I seriously doubt that you were even mentally prepared for it… So, why force yourself to do it? And why did you stop midway?”

Camille: “This is something that I have to do for my own survival and my brother’s. We need your strength, and I was resolved to do anything to ensure your cooperation but…”

Merlin: “But?”

Camille: “But this was originally our problem, we don’t have the right to involve innocent people! Besides, I’m a cursed child and the big sister, so no matter what you might have done to me, I wouldn’t have complained. However, you are a nice boy, maybe even a little too much! I just couldn’t bear to do that to you!”

*I’m such a nice boy that you ruined your uncle’s carefully planned trap, just because you felt sorry for me? Poor girl, you are the one who is too nice to play the schemer!* thought Merlin.

Camille wasn’t aware that Merlin had seen through the viscount’s scheme as soon as she entered the room dressed the way she was. However, he wasn’t sure of her exact involvement in the plan, so he had played along to find that out.

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