84: Moses Hansenton

"Baron Mosi Hansenerton came in person as well?"

Viscount Connor was quite surprised. Were the youngsters nowadays all this brave?

Surprise aside, he immediately responded, "Please, show them in."

"Yes, sir."

The Soldier respectfully complied and turned to leave quickly.

Viscount Connor withdrew his gaze and turned his head, only to find Lister softly murmuring Mosi Hansenerton's name, as if he wasn't quite sure of his background.

He chuckled and made a point to introduce him: "Lord Howard, Mosi Hansenerton is the third son of Earl Patrich Hansenerton. He took over his Baron Territory a few months before you did. His territory is right next to the western border of mine."

"I see. Thank you for informing me, Lord Kimmler," Lister thanked him with a look of realization.

Patrich Hansenerton was an inland earl under Duke Cornwall Frederick of the south; his territory was located in the southwestern part of the kingdom.

From what Lister remembered, the strongest knight in the Hansenerton Earldom didn't even seem to reach High-tier Silver rank.

Its overall strength was in the lower-middle tier among the kingdom's earldoms, a world apart from the Tulip Territory.

The reason for such a vast disparity in strength despite having the same rank was the inheritance system established since the kingdom's founding.

Due to the mutual constraints of various factions, the inheritance system for titles had always been hard to shake. Consequently, it was very difficult to reduce or reclaim a lord's territory through effective means.

After all, as long as you had an heir to inherit the land, it was impossible to reduce your territory for no reason—unless you had no heirs at all, but such a situation was almost non-existent in the kingdom.

Governing a territory wasn't just about talk; most lords actually didn't have very strong management skills themselves.

However, as long as they let talented magistrates who graduated from the great academies help with the administration, it wouldn't be too bad.

But some incompetent lords insisted on following their own whims, implementing flawed development policies regardless of the consequences.

This led to territories that were originally at the same level and on the same starting line growing further apart in strength after developing through two different models.

Patrich Hansenerton's territory was a classic example of this.

While he was lost in thought, two tall figures walked in from the door at a steady pace, slightly staggered.

Seeing Viscount Connor in the main seat, the leading young man bowed first and said, "Baron Mosi Hansenerton greets Lord Kimmler."

The Knight Captain behind him, Graham Osborn, also bowed and offered his greetings immediately after.

Viscount Connor stood up and returned the bow slightly, saying politely, "Lord Hansenerton, please have a seat."

After saying that, he noticed his youngest daughter, Mistya, was still staring straight at Lister, causing the corner of his mouth to twitch.

After he coughed several times, Mistya finally snapped out of it and bowed with a somewhat casual tone, "Mistya Kimmler greets Baron Hansenerton."

Mosi looked up at the sound, and with just one glance, he was struck by her beauty. A wondrous song from another world suddenly rang out in his mind... Summer, summer, quietly passing by, leaving behind a little secret~

Hidden in the heart, hidden in the heart, I can't tell you~

Damn, wrong song, that's not mine!

Coming back to his senses, he praised her from the bottom of his heart, "Oh! Miss Mistya, you are truly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Even the bright moon in the sky cannot describe your beauty."

As he spoke, he performed what he thought was the most elegant noble male salute. "I wonder if I might have the honor of becoming your dear—er, your friend?"

Phew~

Close one!

I almost said those two words. Thank goodness for my quick wits, or I would have lost the good first impression in front of this beauty.

What he didn't know was that Mistya wasn't paying attention to what he said at all. After her routine greeting, she looked back at the calm Lister, her eyes practically overflowing with affection.

However, Viscount Connor in the main seat heard every single word. He thought with disdain: 'You brat, are you in heat like the beasts outside? How dare you try to hit on my daughter right in front of me. Do you really think my daughter is some cheap goods?'

'A toad lusting after swan meat... No, you were so slow to provide support, I should just feed you a pile of crap instead. Ptooey!'

Although he was annoyed, he still said with a fake smile, "Lord Hansenerton, let's sit down and talk first."

Hearing this, Mosi, who was feeling slightly awkward since he hadn't received a response from Mistya, inconspicuously lowered his hand and nodded. "Alright, thank you, Lord Viscount."

After he took the first seat on the left, he noticed Lister sitting directly opposite him and asked curiously, "And this is?"

"Baron of the Ironthorn Territory, Lister Howard," Lister said in a flat tone.

Viscount Connor intentionally chimed in, "Lord Hansenerton, we owe the repelling of the beast tide entirely to Lord Howard's timely arrival. Otherwise, my territory would have faced a catastrophic disaster."

"What! The Baron of Ironthorn Territory! Repelled the beast tide!" Mosi looked shocked, but then realizing his gaffe, he apologized awkwardly, "Sorry, Lord Howard, I didn't mean anything by it. Please forgive me."

Repelling a beast tide?

He was naturally aware of the names of Ironthorn Territory and Lister, so no matter how he thought about it, he found it hard to associate Lister with repelling a beast tide.

If these words hadn't come so seriously from Viscount Connor's mouth, he would have definitely thought it was a joke.

Compared to Mosi, the Knight Captain Graham, who followed closely behind to protect him, was much more composed.

Since entering the room, he had noticed the heavy bloodstains on Lister and Red.

Especially the heavy, intimidating aura that Red emitted from time to time made even him, a Low-tier Silver knight, feel a very strong sense of pressure.

Now hearing what Viscount Connor said, although he was also shocked, he didn't show it because he had already had a premonition.

But Mosi was in a bad spot. Mistya, who already had no favorable impression of him, saw him like this, and her opinion of him instantly plummeted into a bottomless abyss from which he could never crawl out.

Viscount Connor was no exception. People really do need comparison; between the blustering Mosi and the composed Lister, anyone with eyes could see which one was more suitable to be a son-in-law.

Poor young and wealthy Mosi; the 'flower of love' that had just begun to bloom in his heart was ruthlessly shattered just like that.

"Lord Hansenerton, you overstate it." Lister waved his hand and looked back at Viscount Connor. "Lord Kimmler, have you considered what I said earlier about fulfilling the promise?"

"...Uh."

Startled for a moment, Viscount Connor snapped back and said generously, "Of course, no problem. It's just labor. Lord Howard, just say how much you need, and I will do my best to meet your requirements."

Seeing him make a public promise, Lister couldn't help but think a bit more highly of him. At the same time, he said in a good mood, "Haha, then thank you, Lord Viscount."

"Once I return to my territory, I will send someone over immediately to discuss the specific labor assistance plan with you."

"Now that the beast tide has retreated and there are matters in my territory that need handling, I won't disturb you any longer. Farewell."