Chapter 497 Visiting nobles (13)
When we entered the manor, I was even more surprised.
After all, this didn't seem like the manor of a noble at all.
It was still a manor, but there weren't any fancy decorations at all. It was a very minimalistic and simple design that focused more on function than style.
At the same time, it didn't seem like they hired many servants as we only passed a single maid when heading to the reception room.
They even stopped when passing that maid to exchange a few words with her.
The way that they talked to the maid seemed like they were talking to a friend rather than talking to a servant. The maid also treated them with friendliness that didn't seem like they were addressing their master.
After we arrived in the living room, the butler who had been waiting brought some tea for us as we sat down.
The first thing that Viscount Henry asked was…
"How was your trip?"
He didn't flatter me or say anything else related to business, he just asked how my trip was as if he genuinely cared about this.
It was just like how a friend would talk to another friend, rather than a noble talking to another noble.
So I couldn't help being taken aback when I heard this.
Rose covered for me by saying, "It wasn't a bad trip. A few parts of it were a bit bumpy, but it was overall fun."
I looked at her with a grateful look when I heard this before following up by saying, "It's just how any trip would be, there wasn't anything special about it like Rose said."
This time, it was Viscount Henry's turn to reveal a slightly surprised look.
There was also a strange tone in that gaze as he looked between me and Rose.
It was almost as if he didn't believe that I would let her speak for me like this.
But that look quickly disappeared as he said, "I'm glad to hear that." With a sigh, he continued, "There have been reports of bandits roaming around the area, so I was worried that you would encounter some of them."
"Bandits?" Rose asked with a raised brow.
Viscount Henry was no longer surprised that Rose spoke for me, so he turned to look at her and said with a nod, "That's right. There have been many bandits reported in the area, but they've always managed to escape before my troops arrive."
After a momentary pause, he added, "From what I've heard, it seems that they've been coming from the direction of a certain noble's territory."
He didn't need to say which noble it was, we could already guess.
But it seemed that he was still a noble in the end.
When we got down to it, he still talked about business like a noble would.
Still, it could be said that I was biased since I believed him when he said that it came from the direction of a certain noble's territory.
After all, we had just come from that noble's territory and had seen what was happening there.
I had seen the adventurers that he had been hiring as mercenaries and it made sense to use those adventurers for this kind of job.
So it wouldn't be strange if it actually was the case.
Still, that wouldn't be enough to move me. Before I saw what this Viscount Henry was all about, I wouldn't make my stance clear.
The topic went from bandits to some other casual things.
We talked about territory management and some other things that nobles would chat about in their free time.
Though…it was mainly Rose that talked with Viscount Henry while I chimed in from time to time.
Even if I had wanted to join the conversation, it wasn't as if there was much for me to say since I left territory management mostly up to Rose.
Even Viscount Henry couldn't help being impressed by how knowledgeable Rose was when conversing with him.
But I had to admit that I was surprised that he could keep up with her.
It seemed that this muscular man wasn't just all about fighting, he also had quite the brain.
During this time, I couldn't help peeking at the two beautiful women sitting across from us.
Both of them just had calm smiles on their faces as they listened to everything that was said.
It didn't seem like either of them were bored by this, it even seemed like they were focused on listening to everything that was being said. I could even see the sharp glow that was in their eyes.
Both of them shouldn't be empty vases, they should both be women of great intelligence just like Rose.
They were just silently listening and absorbing any information that they could.
During this, the daughter saw me looking at them, so she looked back at me with a bright smile on her face.
I could only reveal an awkward smile at being caught before turning my gaze away.
After talking for a bit, Rose and Viscount Henry finally ran out of things to talk about.
Viscount Henry gave a powerful laugh as he said, "I never thought that I would enjoy our time together this much."
He turned to me and said, "Count Zwein, you really have a good one on your hands."
Hearing him praise Rose like this, I said with a smile, "It's my blessing to have someone like her."
Rose couldn't help revealing a blush when she heard this, but she also revealed a faint smile.
Viscount Henry gave a nod before saying, "You are quite the ladies man, aren't you?"
I just revealed a smile without saying anything.
There was a silence that filled the room, but it wasn't awkward since we were sizing each other up during this time.
Finally, I made a decision.
"Viscount Henry, how about we talk about some business now?" I said in a calm voice.
But Viscount Henry narrowed his eyes a bit after hearing this and gave a slow nod.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢