October 4, 1900: My notes have been abandoned since the time of Saint-Denis, and I have put away my pencils, but my life has not been idle, and everything is in full swing. If I had to single out one or two things to emphasize, it would be that I took over a gang, a gang that was on the brink. These days I have a resonance with an old man, do you know who he is? That's right, Joshua Finger, the Englishman whose life and death are uncertain. I hated him so much, but personal vendetta aside, he did save a group of people who needed his leadership, he needed to build his prestige, and I became his victim......

Now it's up to me to face these problems, and I've recently noticed signs of disobedience from people, and I'd like to talk to them calmly, even though I know it may not be of much use – I'm really tired now, so please give me time to get a good night's sleep.

……

"Jason! Jason!"

Jason's figure grew smaller and smaller in John's field of vision, until it shrank into a dark spot, and then an old face loomed around the dark spot, it was John's father, an old man who had long since died.

"Father!"

Before John could see his father's face clearly, the face changed from an indescribable smile to a twisted and strange spasm, and a golden bullet was carried by white liquid through the door of his head and headed straight for John.

- Nope!

John sat up with a scream, holding his sweaty forehead, and the scene in his eyes was reduced to the appearance of the room, it turned out to be a nightmare!

"What's going on? Young sir. An old woman knocked on the door and asked.

John remembers that after leaving the cave, they came to the Emerald Ranch of the farmer Schupel, who gave them a warm welcome from the Lady of the Farm, but Schupel remained silent during this time.

"It's all right, Mrs. Schupel."

"I guess you didn't sleep well, you woke up too late and missed breakfast." Madame Schupel pointed to the floor with her index finger with an emerald ring, "If you are hungry, the men have some rye bread there." ”

"Thank you so much! We can't repay you enough for your hospitality. John sincerely said how lucky he was to have met these kind people after going through so many tribulations.

It is a very large mansion from the huge bedroom where John rests, and although it is only a barn with new red paint on the outside, it is not difficult to see that the owner has put a lot of effort into the decoration when you go inside, and just by looking at the red and white color scheme of the floor and walls, you can see that this villa is the best in New Hanover.

John walked downstairs after getting fully dressed, he tried to behave in a way worthy of the house, but after trying hundreds of so-called "gentleman" positions, John eventually found himself pretentious, and the vulgarity in himself was like fate, and the more you tried to get rid of it, the tighter you got entangled.

But he didn't have to be so restrained, the farm couple was rewarded for providing them with habitat - they had to help with the farm work, and if bandits came to raid them, they had to defend the estate with weapons. Mrs. Schupel has repeatedly stressed that they want only transactions and not one-way handouts on the Emerald Ranch.

John walked to the kitchen and saw Catherine preparing lunch with the maids, and Catherine saw someone walk in, so she picked up the bread next to her.

"John, give—oh, there's not enough sauce in the kitchen, I've reminded Mr. Schupel many times, but he didn't pay any attention to me."

"I'll look for Madame Schupel, don't worry."

Just as John turned to leave, Catherine stopped him.

"About Gremes' injury...... The doctor said that fortunately, we were able to see her in time, and she was able to survive and her leg was saved. ”

John looked into Catherine's eyes - she had changed so much, from a cynical bastard to someone who really thought about the team, and this change was more or less visible in every gang member, and what had happened and was happening was affecting everyone.

After swallowing the bread, John wandered around the house, and Schupel went out, otherwise he would have had an awkward encounter with the man who admired silence as golden.

"He wasn't like that before, and he changed as soon as you came." Madame Schupel said about Schupel's strange behavior.

With a gap between lunch and lunch, John arrives at Strich's bedroom, where he has to figure something out, and his instincts tell him that the relationship between Ducky and Lemieuux is not easy.

"Hey, you're here. Look, we've found a great place, the Emerald Ranch is enough for you to recuperate, and I should leave in a while. Stridge sat cross-legged on the bed, quietly watching John come in.

"You don't have to leave us in such a panic, some of the previous things made me see your sincerity." John looked around, then found a chair to put his hand on the back of the chair, "I'd rather believe you're just a down-and-out entrepreneur, are you?" ”

Stretch sighed heavily, "You'd love to see me prove myself." ”

"You've done a lot, Miss Manstar, but your special status requires you to do more, not just to clear your name, but also to tell me what you know."

"Actually, I told everything I knew when I was at my manor."

"What is the relationship between Ducky van der Linde and Lemieu?" John asked.

"Lemieux never let me get involved in his relationships." Strichie's mouth was hard, but his eyes were involuntarily tilted to the side, and this was captured by John.

"How did you know his name then?" John put his hand on the scabbard, his eyes sharpening, "Don't force me to be rough, Lady Manstar. ”

Trych's voice began to tremble slightly, and she got up and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"That drinking party, remember? Lemieux had agreed to sleep with me, but he brought Ducky van der Linde in. ”

"You two took a picture?"

"No, I'm hiding in the closet, and Dutsy doesn't see me."

"Do you hear what they're talking about? Or rather, they were discussing something. ”

"What I've heard is nothing more than a stupid deal between two drunkards – one for money, one for wine."

"Maybe Lemieu is still cunning and cautious, and he called Ducky just to let your guard down, or maybe it was just an unintentional move." John clubbed his chin and thought for a moment, "At least they came to some kind of agreement." ”

At this moment there was a knock on the door, and the maid's voice sounded outside the door.

"Lunch is ready."

John went out of the bedroom to the dining table, and found that Mr. Schupel was already seated in the main seat, staring with wolf-like eyes at the white lilies that had been decorated on the table.

"Alice, please replace this bouquet with a gentleman's orchid after the meal." In John's mind, this was the first thing he had said since he met Schuppel.

The whole lunch lasted for a long time, and it was not until about two o'clock that people gradually got off the table. John also knew that the rich did things slowly, freeing them from the toil of running for life, and freedom became less unattainable, but the new life brought new shackles, imprisoning the couple in this dozens of acres of world.

In the afternoon, John and Thomas went out to carry the hay, and John had the opportunity to step from the hard tiles to the soft grass. The row of fences in the endless meadow was very abrupt, as far as John knew, it was not used to prevent domestic animals from running around, and the Schupels' cattle and sheep were kept in the stables, and the fences were used to prevent people, but John tried to restrain himself from thinking about how Lemieu's pursuers would have responded if they had chased here.

John looked up at the white clouds in the sky, and if it didn't rain, they would be able to move all the hay piles from the hay mill into the stables, and with the current climate, excluding insect infestations and other factors, the hay could be kept until next summer, when the stallions were bought in large quantities. Moving fodder was an easy job, and all he could do now was make the Emerald Ranch look like a farm—a farm that couldn't be more ordinary......