Bullying the Soft and Fearing the Hard

At the black-robed man’s words, Quentin finally let out a sigh of relief. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly departed.

“Good heavens, he’s finally gone,” Quentin muttered under his breath. “Treating me like a damn money pouch.” The thought of losing another large sum of money in two days made his heart ache.

As he emerged from the basement, a servant reported that Ard was seeking an audience.

Quentin’s eyes lit up instantly. Ah, the man who can stop the pain has arrived.

“Quick, quick, bring him in!” he said happily.

Ard was led in and was immediately taken aback by Quentin’s enthusiasm. The fat Baron slung a friendly arm over Ard’s shoulders as if they were long-lost brothers, calling him “brother” with every other word.

Ard wondered if the fat man’s head had been kicked by a donkey. Since when did he know how to treat a subordinate with such respect?

Quentin rubbed his hands together. “Brother, how did it go? What did the Sixth Master have to say?”

Ard nodded, handing Quentin the letter from Sixth Master. “Sixth Master has already investigated the matter of the treasury raid. Both times, it was the doing of that damned Ogre Chieftain. I don’t know where he got his information, but he knows the location of your hidden gold. He’s currently rallying his trusted men and preparing carts to empty your treasury and flee.”

The Baron’s beard bristled with rage. He had only ever robbed others; he had never heard of being treated like a fat sheep himself! The situation with the black-robed man didn’t count; that was a willing offering!

“How dare he!” Quentin channeled all the frustration he had suppressed in front of the black-robed man onto the Ogre Chieftain, letting out a roar like a wild elephant.

The two mercenaries outside the room burst in and immediately restrained Ard.

The innocent Ard was pinned to the floor, not moving a muscle. He was smart enough to know that any sudden move might get him killed by these two clueless mercenaries.

After the Baron’s roar subsided, he looked at his two men in confusion. “What are you doing? Why are you holding him down?”

“…”

The two mercenaries exchanged a helpless look. Another false alarm. This employer was so jumpy; he was truly a pain to serve. If it weren’t for the generous pay, they would have quit long ago.

“We heard your shout, my lord, and thought an intruder had broken in,” one of them said. “It seems it was a misunderstanding. Our apologies, young man.”

Ard was released. He rubbed his sore muscles, a victim of unfortunate collateral damage.

Quentin, still fuming, raged on. “I will kill that bastard! I will personally tear him to pieces! I’ll stomp him to death! Gather the men now! We’re going to the town to secure my treasure!”

Ard said in a panic, “My lord, please calm down! If you act now, you might truly lose your treasure!”

The Baron frowned. “Why?”

Ard advised him earnestly, “My lord, if you make such a grand move, won’t you be telling the Ogre Chieftain that you’re about to move your treasure and run? Isn’t that just inviting him to rob you? The Sunstone Stronghold’s bandits have lived by raiding for years; they are masters of guerrilla warfare. If they intercept you on the road, even with your troops as an escort, the consequences would be dire.”

Ard was being generous. He knew Quentin’s “lord’s army” was nothing but a disorganized rabble.

The Baron clearly knew what his troops were worth. He frowned and said, “Then what do you suggest?”

“That town is your territory, my lord. You can set up defenses there and dispatch troops to guard it. I know the people of the Sunstone Stronghold best; they are bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. They always avoid well-prepared towns. Besides, siege warfare is not their specialty. Your troops would be able to hold their own.”

Quentin thought it over and realized it made sense. But he was still unwilling to let it go. “So I’m supposed to just swallow this insult? What about my reputation?!”

“How can this be called swallowing an insult, my lord! This is clearly enduring humiliation for a greater purpose! A great man must have a broad mind. And my lord, it is all worth it. Think of your stolen treasure. Think of the Sunstone Stronghold’s treasury.”

Knowing the Baron’s character, Ard went straight for the root of the problem.

The Baron’s heart was hooked. That’s right, what am I getting worked up about? Can reputation be spent like money?

Quentin put on a magnanimous face. “You are right. A great man should have a sufficiently broad mind. Then I shall let him off for now.”

Ard continued to lay on the flattery. “As expected of you, my lord! That magnanimity could float a ship, and with room to spare!”

Quentin, no longer feeling the dejection from his meeting with the black-robed man, preened before these “subordinates.” “Exactly. So I will grant him a few days’ reprieve. But this reprieve is for you, not for the Ogre Chieftain, understand?”

Ard, with a look of sincere admiration, nodded. “Of course, my lord. You are being so magnanimous. If we were to fail to appreciate it, we would not be worthy of serving you.”

“Good, good. I’ll arrange a room for you. Go and rest. By the way, where is that ugly wife of yours?”

“Her? I left her at the stronghold. I was out on important business for you, my lord. How could I bring such a burden with me?”

“In that case, I’ll have a few beautiful maids serve you tonight. You’ve worked hard, after all.”

To be honest, for a moment, Ard was tempted. Then he crushed the thought. It wasn’t that he had any moral objections, but Ard couldn’t guarantee that he would be able to maintain his fighting spirit after indulging in such a decadent life. His will had been tempered through two lifetimes and was quite firm, but he had never experienced such a lavish lifestyle. It was inevitable that he would be tempted, but to indulge now would ruin his grand plans. He wasn’t sure what Yexi would think of him then. After all, she had only agreed to the contract because she had seen his soaring fighting spirit and felt there was a hope of fulfilling her wish.

In reality, the contract he had signed with Yexi was, in a way, unfair. Even if she failed to protect his life, at most he would be unable to fulfill her wish; she would bear no other responsibility. Why else would she have agreed so readily? The contract held little binding power over her. This was something Ard had deliberately asked that goddess to arrange. After all, their positions were inherently unequal. He truly had nothing but an empty promise, so he couldn’t expect her to bear more obligations. In short, he had given Yexi a great deal of room to maneuver in exchange for her agreeing to be his bodyguard. If one day she became very dissatisfied with him, she could just kick him to the curb.

So, when doing certain things, Ard had to consider Yexi’s opinion. Yexi didn’t care about small details, like his usual teasing and dishonest actions. He kept these within a certain range; interaction was conducive to building a relationship. Otherwise, with her personality, she would probably say no more than twenty sentences a day, and those twenty sentences would be extremely pragmatic statements like “Get up” or “Time to eat.”

All Ard had to offer now was his soaring fighting spirit and the intelligence he had brought from his past life. Both were indispensable.

Ard awkwardly refused, “That won’t be necessary, my lord. I had a bit of money on me before I came, so I… I went to the Moonlit Pavilion for a bit. Hehe.”

The Moonlit Pavilion was the pleasure house in Quentin’s capital city, a place for men to vent their frustrations.

The Baron gave a lewd smile and clapped Ard on the shoulder. “Then you should get some rest. I imagine you don’t have much energy left.” The Baron knew how the girls in that place could drain a man dry.

Ard returned to the room the Baron had arranged for him and lay down on the bed, feeling bored. It had been a month since he had slept alone like this. Without Yexi’s company, he felt a strange sense of unease.

When a man is bored, his mind tends to wander. And so, Ard began to daydream.

Yexi is so wonderful. She’s a master of laundry, cooking, and serving. She has strength, she has looks… it’s just that her service attitude could use some improvement. If only she were always like the wife she pretends to be.

Ard thought wishfully, “Maybe I should set a small goal: first, train Yexi into an obedient wife.”

But it was just a thought. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Ard sat up alertly. “Who is it?”

“It’s me,” an old voice replied. Ard raised an eyebrow. It sounded like the old steward.

Ard opened the door to see the old steward smiling at him.

“Me. Steward, it’s you. Please, come in, come in.” Ard quickly helped the old steward into the room and offered him a seat.

The old steward didn’t stand on ceremony. He smiled and said, “You’re a clever one, my boy. To be able to please the Baron so much.”

Ard said flatteringly, “I have no other strengths, my lord. Only a quick tongue. Unlike you, Mr. Steward, who is the Baron’s true confidant, able to solve all his worries.”

“You have a sweet mouth, boy. I like that.” The steward paused for a moment, then said suddenly, “But sometimes, a person cannot be liked by two people at the same time. You may need to make a choice.”

Ard was a little confused. He said earnestly, “Please, Mr. Steward, enlighten me.”

The steward said, as if disappointed in his lack of understanding, “Are you planning on being Sixth Master’s lackey for the rest of your life?!”

Ard said honestly, “I don’t want to, but what can I do? Sixth Master is who he is, and I am who I am.”

“Hmph!” the old steward snorted in contempt. “What’s his status huh? Just a distant cousin of the Baron’s, who acts recklessly because he has a little bit of a brain. Listen up, kid, you know why that ‘Sixth Master’ is a snitch in Sunstone?”

Ard said fearfully, ”I have no idea.”

“That’s because we told our lord about how that Sixth Master was secretly using the baron’s estate to pay off his debts. As punishment, he was sent there.”

Ard blinked. My, what juicy gossip.