The Marquis of Sanlche sat on a gray marble chair with an anxious expression.

Feeling the cold touch coming from under his ass really made him a little restless.

But if it's just uncomfortable to sit, as a very powerful warrior, it's not like he can't overcome this little difficulty.

But what really unsettled him was the occasional sense of oppression around him.

It was as if there was a heavy stone pressing down on his throat, making him almost speechless.

Even the cold feeling from the seat seemed to be invisibly magnified.

Marquis Sanlche slowly raised his head and looked into the distance.

Look at the bear man who is carefully pinching the kettle with two thick fingers, watering the brightly colored flower beds around him.

Obviously he is extremely large, and if he walks into the garden, he can trample the flowers under his feet to pieces.

But Sancheel, who was sitting on a stone chair, saw it very clearly.

The bear-man was like a hill of lightness enchanted, nimble and graceful.

The pace of movement is always just right to avoid each flower, and every movement appears precise and discreet.

Even the butterflies collecting nectar in the flowers were not disturbed in the slightest.

Although it seems awesome, the problem is.

Is that really what he should be doing?

This kind of work, logically speaking, should be in charge of the cat-eared maid who led him in before.

No, that's not true.

In the long history of the kingdom, the position of the subhumans in society was almost comparable to that of slaves.

Due to their untamable nature and strong aggressiveness, they are difficult to be servants in the household.

Therefore, there is only one end for the subhumans in the kingdom, and that is to be captured and used as coolies.

Because the subhumans simply can't do all kinds of delicate work.

As a result, the Cravina family not only brought a cat-man maid, but even a bear-man butler who could water the flowers?

Because that's what Leah called him at the time-

'Helm Helnerthan. ’

The Marquis of Sanlche is no stranger to the bears, a race of subhumans, after all, the kingdom has a long history of subhuman enslavement.

Catching, selling, and raising subhumans has become the norm within the kingdom.

He himself had been involved in hunting wild subhumans, and knew that bears were extremely rare and dangerous.

Like cat people and canine people, it is arguably the most common subhuman population.

Families usually own a few slaves for work.

But bear people are extremely rare, and almost no nobleman owns and uses them.

Ten years ago, in the Kingdom of Kante, subhuman auctions were commonplace.

However, the Casidra Chamber of Commerce never sells bears.

Not only because of their rarity, but most importantly, this kind of subhuman is just too difficult to catch.

Temperamental, rough-skinned, aggressive, and has a strong body.

Capturing a bearman of the same rank may require a dozen warriors to barely subdue.

And that's without taking into account casualties.

In addition, bears are brutal and will not succumb as easily as other subhumans even if they are caught.

Therefore, they are mostly regarded as precious ornamental objects in the kingdom to show the strength of the family.

In general, it is extremely valuable, but not practical.

Now, of course, times have changed.

Ever since Seuburn had elevated the status of the subhumans following the example of the empire next door, he had forbidden the subhumans to work as slaves for any nobles.

Want to make sub-people work for the nobility?

No problem, but only if you give sub-workers the same treatment.

Similarly, when the Cascipera Chamber of Commerce announced that it would no longer trade subhumans in any form.

The royal city and other realms also began to change their attitudes towards the sub-people, trying to improve their living conditions.

Even the capture of subhumans has become secretive, and they can only rely on the power of their own family to catch them secretly.

Mercenaries are no longer willing to accept the task of capturing subhumans.

All of this changed in part because the Kingdom of Kanter had experienced a revolt from the subhumans.

Ten years ago, the subhuman rebellion went down in history.

A group of alien subhumans organize a rescue operation to join forces from within the kingdom.

Almost all the sub-people in the royal city were rescued, bringing unprecedented destruction to the royal city.

If it weren't for the assistance of Master Victor at the time, many nobles might not have been able to wait for outside help.

While recalling this history, the Marquis of Sanlche fell silent.

alas

Thinking of that young and talented mage, who died young, I couldn't help but sigh that God was jealous of the talent.

At this moment, his mind is a little erratic.

On the other side, Liya elegantly picked up the saucer, took a sip of warm tea and slowly put it down.

Then he turned his gaze again to the worried marquis.

Obviously, Helnerson's appearance startled the other party.

With such a deterrent, the follow-up conversation becomes much simpler.

So, Leah opened her mouth and asked tentatively:

"Mr. Sanelche, is the tea not to your taste?"

After giving the other person a deterrent, give the other person the right to talk.

The other party will definitely fall into a panic situation because he is not sure of his thoughts. Even if you have already figured out the wording in your head from the beginning.

Sure enough, hearing Lia's words, Marquis Sanlche was visibly stunned for a moment.

The slightly confused eyes slowly lifted and refocused.

It seems that he is still sorting out his thoughts, and he has not fully recovered his senses.

He pondered for a moment, then hurriedly grabbed the teacup and took a careful sip.

Only then did he regain his previous elegance and respond with a smile:

"It's very good, it's just that people in our kingdom usually drink less tea."

"Is that so? Then maybe the next time we talk, I can consider getting some coffee or something. ”

Lea smiled in response, tactfully reminding Marquis Sanlche that it was time for him to speak.

Otherwise, their conversation will have to be postponed until the next one.

The Marquis of Sanlche also seemed to sense Leah's intentions, and he slowly put down his teacup and coughed lightly.

After that, he asked with some hesitation:

"I've heard that Miss Leah has been here for a month, but she has never returned to the territory."

"Is there something inconvenient?"

Sure enough, starting to be curious?

Leah's face was calm, without revealing the slightest flaw, and she said the words she had prepared for a long time:

"Marquis Sanelche, you know it too."

"Although the nominal territory belongs to the Clavenna family, the actual ruler is Victor's goddaughter, Prisis."

At this point, she spread her hands, shook her head slightly, and continued with a helpless attitude:

"Although she is a goddaughter, she theoretically has the right to inherit the head of the family."

"The problem is that she's Victor's goddaughter, not mine."

Between the lines, Leah's faint desperation was revealed, which made the Marquis of Sanlche in front of him feel slightly frightened.

I see, no wonder this lord of the Leah family came to Shulben but never returned to the territory once,

And that Prisis didn't take the initiative to greet Ria when she learned that Ria was coming.

It seems that the relationship between the two of them is not very good.

They may even quarrel with each other many times over the inheritance rights between families.

However, this is also the norm among the aristocracy.

"Strictly speaking, we don't have much to do with each other."

Leah continued.

"After all, the Clavenna family would not approve of a non-human family member."

As soon as these words came out, Liya raised her eyes slightly, observing the other party's reaction.

The sight of the Marquis of Sanlche did not show obvious joy.

Instead, his fingers gently pinched his chin, immersed in thought.

Seeing this, Liya couldn't help but feel a little funny.

Is it that she hasn't given enough opportunities?

She knew that these nobles were eyeing Shulben's territory.

But the reason why they have not been able to take action against Prisis is obviously because they are afraid of the Clevenner family in the empire next door.

And now, when she, the head of the house, openly stated that he had nothing to do with Priss.

These nobles still don't feel at ease to drive Prisis out?

Oh, I see, apparently there is still care.

As Ria had anticipated, the Marquis of Sanlche once again offered to ask:

"There's one thing I don't quite know."

"Since you have said so, then the reason why you came to the kingdom this time is ......"

As if to say, if it doesn't matter, why not wait and see around the Empire?

Instead, he ran to the kingdom to cause chaos, making it difficult for the nobles to move an inch.

Hearing the implication, Liya immediately narrowed her eyes and said lightly:

"Because nominally, that territory still belongs to our family."

"Anyway, if you want to take it away from me, you have to give us some good."

As she spoke, the corners of her mouth once again hooked up a shrewd smile, and a sly glint flashed in her eyes:

"Lord Marquis, you said yes?"

At this moment, the Marquis of Sanlche fell silent in his seat, and fell into deep thought again.

Therefore, the head of the Clevenna family knew that the territory was difficult to keep.

So plan to squeeze a sum out of the nobles of the kingdom before leaving?

I have to say that this is indeed the practice of smart people.

After thinking for a moment, the Marquis of Sanlche raised his head again and suddenly asked:

"Miss Leah, don't you want to keep the territory of Shulben?"

Liya was slightly stunned, feeling a little surprised.

"Oh? What does the Marquis mean by that? ”

The Marquis of Sanlche sat down and said earnestly:

"I suppose you don't have a good relationship with the Daughter of the Bloodline."

"But Schulburn's annual earnings should also be indispensable to the Kravenner family."

Isn't this nonsense?

Liya secretly complained in her heart.

Any relationship discord is all fake, Prisis is definitely a kind girl.

After learning of Victor's death, Prisis was so saddened that she even served Victor for three years.

Obviously, the father-daughter relationship between her and Victor is so weak that there is almost no one.

If it weren't for the adoption relationship, Prisis would have had little to do with the Cleviner family.

But for the past ten years, the proceeds of the Schulben estate have been delivered to the Kravina family every year.

The accounts are clear and there is no omission.

They even exchanged letters with each other, and Prisis often comforted her in letters.

Moreover, in the course of ten years, Prisis did not even set foot in the empire once.

This is to try to avoid criticism from the outside world, such as the possibility that someone may maliciously speculate that she covets the Clevenner family's property.

After Victor's death, she avoided suspicion with the utmost caution.

But she was also a tragic victim.

The image of Prichis in Leah's heart is that Jane is both sensible and kind to the extreme.

She had already completely accepted this family member in her heart.

However, in the face of outsiders, especially in front of the Marquis of the Kingdom, Leah still has to maintain a certain amount of caution.

And she also wanted to know what the purpose of this marquis of the kingdom was.

So, she nodded with a little regret and said:

"Anyone would want to be their own forever in a vast territory like Sulburn."

After saying that, she quietly observed the marquis's reaction.

As a result, after a long period of contemplation, the Marquis suddenly asked an unexpected question:

"Miss Leah, you shouldn't be married yet."

“……”

Leah smiled calmly, but there was a little more danger in her smile.

At the same time, even the bear-man who was watering the flowers nearby stopped moving.

His eyes seemed to be looking this way from time to time.

For a moment, it seemed to be stared at by a pair of anxious eyes.

The crisis was hidden in the quiet air of the Western Zhou Dynasty, blending into the hill of swimming breath.

It was as if the surrounding area had become a high platform for judging sin, and a heavy sentence was about to be pronounced.

However, the marquis in front of him didn't seem to notice this abnormality at all, and still said to himself:

"Actually, my only son is about the same age as you."

"He's very good, and he's not married yet."

“…… Oh? Is it? ”

Leah was still smiling, but her eyes were as cold as a glacier hidden in the depths of the cold sea.

Even the bear man put down the kettle in his hand and walked towards this side step by step.

And...... Silently.

This made the Marquis completely unaware of the great danger that was approaching him.

Maybe in the next second, his head may be about to hit the ground.

But he didn't notice it until now, but continued to keep his head down.

He looked distressed, as if he was still worried about some important decision.

In the end, in the midst of this extremely dangerous siege, he decided to say that sentence anyway.

"Because of him, he fell in love with a subhuman."

“…… Yes? ”