HTLCCBFT Chapter 137

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 137

“What!!!” [mfn]this line is originally english in the raws.[/mfn]

The moment he heard the servant’s report, Slaev’s cold sweat instantly drenched his back.

He no longer dared remain seated in the carriage, nor did he put on his usual pretense of needing servants’ assistance to slowly disembark.

Before his valet could even clearly see what was happening, there was a flash before his eyes as his master agilely leaped off the carriage and rushed straight toward the back of the procession.

“Honorable Lord, I beg you to spare a moment to hear poor Slaev’s explanation,” he paid no mind to the astonished gazes around him as he ran frantically to the rear, bowing toward the imposing figure on horseback and pleading pitifully: “That was entirely my foolish servants’ idea! Your Slaev is willing to hand over those idiots for your—”

“Merchant.”

Fosse, caught off guard by his kneeling salute, frowned deeply, the murderous intent in his eyes nearly overflowing.

His voice was pressed extremely low, like a sharp blade slowly scraping against a whetstone, elegant yet carrying a rough quality that made one’s scalp tingle: “Look clearly at who you should be bowing to.”

Slaev’s breath caught.

An unprecedented sense of foreboding surged within him, and when he slowly raised his eyes to look up anxiously, his heart suddenly sank.

Fosse’s sharply defined features, as if carved by knife and axe, could absolutely be considered handsome.

But from Slaev’s perspective, he could clearly tell the other was at least in his thirties.

And neither the dark brown short hair, sharp green eyes, nor the underlying ferocious anger could possibly match the legendary “angelic beauty.”

Damn it, what had he done!

Shame and panic surged simultaneously, his face flushing crimson for the first time in ages as he stammered: “T-ten thousand apologies, I beg your forgiveness for my discourtesy…”

“No need.”

An extraordinarily clear and melodious voice, one that would make even the most famous bard feel ashamed, suddenly spoke.

Oliver naturally felt astonishment and anger toward the servant who dared whip his Laina people without reason right under his nose.

Even after witnessing Slaev’s ridiculous display, he found nothing amusing about it.

“This is Laina territory.”

The golden-haired Lord seated atop a tall, pure white steed without a single blemish coldly repeated Fosse’s earlier declaration, stating: “Only friendly guests are welcome. Those who commit offenses against my people without cause are scoundrels.”

Since they are scoundrels, they shall face merciless expulsion.

Still immersed in that breathtaking beauty, Slaev took a moment to collect himself before nodding vigorously: “Y-yes, you are absolutely right!”

Watching as the servant who usually served him diligently was dragged toward the city gates by burly guards with a cloth gag in his mouth, he showed not the slightest intention of pleading for mercy.

As a major slave trader with vast business interests, he certainly wouldn’t pity one or two foolish servants who had made mistakes.

He only feared that because of that incompetent fool, this incredibly beautiful Duke might form an utterly terrible first impression of him.

This Oliver was no longer the man from a year ago who showed mercy to criminals and hesitated when administering punishment.

Moreover, it was spring, the season when wild food was most abundant.

Even some physically weak slaves could survive by gnawing on roots until they walked to other cities—why couldn’t that servant do the same?

As for whether he would be accepted after walking to another city, in what form that acceptance would take, and whether his fate would undergo a dramatic transformation…

What did that have to do with him?

Oliver only knew that if he couldn’t even protect his own subjects in front of outsiders, then his title and authority, his guards and weapons, would become nothing more than flashy, meaningless ornaments.

Furthermore, when others openly violated the rights of his people, no matter how minor the act, it was undoubtedly a sign of disrespect toward him—the master of this Laina territory.

If he tolerated such individuals, his dignity as the Duke and Lord would become a laughingstock in others’ eyes.

Just as the guards were roughly dragging the servant away, the man somehow found a chance to spit out the dirty cloth gagging him and shouted in despair and resentment, “That’s not right! Those people aren’t Lainans! They’re Albury people! Relatives of slaves!”

How could he be foolish enough to whip Lainans?

They were clearly Alburies and shouldn’t be punished under such laws!

Hearing this, the Albury people, who had been anxiously huddling together and embracing one another, couldn’t help but show guilty expressions.

They… they indeed weren’t considered Lainans.

The steward had emphasized on the very first day that the Lord would not forcibly conscript them as slaves, nor would he allow them to directly become commoners.

Though they were determined to stay here and prepared to pass any harsh trials, they still didn’t know what kind of test the great Cat God would impose.

Oliver didn’t speak, merely glanced faintly at Fosse and smiled slightly.

As the Duke and Lord, he had no need to explain himself—and the other party was entirely unworthy of such an explanation.

Fosse understood instantly, snorted coldly, and urged his horse forward.

When he reached the man, he reined in his horse, his powerful right arm gripping the whip tightly, and without hesitation, lashed out once!

“Aaaaaah!”

Caught completely off guard by the devastating force of the whip, the man’s flesh split open on the spot, and he let out a heart-wrenching scream!

For scum who were about to be expelled and reduced to slavery, Fosse had no desire to strike more than necessary—he stopped at just one lash.

This was already the lightest punishment he could administer under extreme restraint for a subordinate who dared question Lord Oliver’s decision.

Fosse had fully grasped the meaning behind the young lord’s smile.

—As a reward for the man’s courage in raising a reasonable question, an explanation would be given, and no severe punishment would be inflicted.

However, as a former knight, unless it was to defend his master’s dignity, he disdained bullying the weak who were unworthy opponents.

Slaev’s eyelids twitched violently.

It was only one whip.

But whether it was the overwhelming aura of power or the butler’s sharply defined profile, everyone around held their breath, not even daring to gasp.

“No matter who they are,” Fosse said, his voice cold as ice. After sweeping his gaze around the room, he continued slowly, “as long as they have obtained permission, entered openly through Laina’s city gates, and built their homes upon Laina’s land… they will receive the protection of the Great Lord.”

Not far away, Gennaro stared unblinkingly at that dreamlike, ethereal figure, completely unable to tear his gaze away.

That was the divine messenger!

Realizing this, his heart seemed to tremble.

It was his first time seeing someone so beautiful—so breathtakingly beautiful that he couldn’t possibly describe it with his limited vocabulary.

The young man’s face flushed red without him realizing it, and he hurriedly averted his gaze, shifting it to the butler who was rumored to guard his master like the most loyal ferocious beast, never leaving his side.

When everything settled down, the survivors of the catastrophe temporarily bid farewell to their bewildered relatives.

Unlike their previous incoherent state, they now watched with hopeful anticipation of a soon reunion as the slaves were led toward the direction of the town.

Excellent!

As long as the Lord was willing to purchase them, even if they remained as slaves, their lives would be better than those of many free citizens in the cities.

And as those who had arrived earlier, they could certainly offer some assistance.

Only when the group had moved far away did Gennaro realize how tightly he had been gripping his sister Sue’s hand.

“I’m sorry, Sue.”

Gennaro crouched down sadly, examining Sue’s reddened hand: “It’s my fault.”

But Sue didn’t complain at all.

Her eyes sparkled as she understandingly hugged her beloved brother, patting him comfortingly while happily saying, “Brother, Uncle Bard and Brother Gad are both here!””

“Yes.”

A smile involuntarily appeared on Gennaro’s face: “I never thought we’d see them again.”

Though they looked emaciated and covered in wounds, far weaker than they used to be.

But his heart felt just like the other Albury people who had been fortunate enough to choose to come to Laina and actually received the gentle protection of the divine messenger, allowing them to believe in the most generous and benevolent God in the world.

He was full of hope for the future and felt completely at ease about their circumstances.

The Lord had indeed always protected them.

Even though they hadn’t passed the trial yet and weren’t true Laina people, as long as they lived on this vibrant land, they were constantly under the divine messenger’s care.

Thinking of the divine messenger’s holy and beautiful figure made his face heat up again, and he quickly said, “We must work hard to pass the trial and repay the Lord sooner…. Have you read the newly distributed book? Sue?”

Though there was no explicit instruction, Gennaro keenly sensed that the recently distributed ‘Primary Textbook’ was likely closely related to the trial they were about to undergo.”

Even if there was no connection, he didn’t mind.

Being able to acquire more knowledge was something he had always dreamed of, having lacked such opportunities before.

Sue tilted her head in a confused manner.

Her brother had just said yesterday that she wasn’t old enough to read books yet.

But she also liked those distributed “textbooks” very much.

Thinking of this, she tightened her grip on Gennaro’s sleeve and shyly whispered, “Brother, please understand that book quickly and continue telling me the story!”

The same conversation was happening among many former residents of Albury.

The Lord, who was the subject of their sincere gratitude, sat alone in the hall at this moment, seemingly deep in thought.

Fosse wasn’t by his side, having been sent to negotiate with Slaev about purchasing slaves.

Oliver wasn’t naive or self-righteous enough to oppose slave trading itself: social classes had taken nearly a thousand years to become fixed, and the driving force that motivated people to climb higher was precisely that slim possibility of class mobility.

He didn’t have the power to break this system.

What he could do now was to superficially follow the mainstream while improving slaves’ living conditions as much as possible, increasing pathways for class advancement, and providing them with resources to acquire knowledge needed for promotion.

Laina currently didn’t lack labor, but Albury did.

If these were slaves from other regions, he would need to put more thought into their settlement—but these former residents of Albury were undoubtedly the most suitable to be sent back to Albury.

He couldn’t directly restore their commoner status, as that would risk breaking established rules and wouldn’t be fair to Laina’s current slaves either.

But at least he could improve their treatment and lower the threshold for regaining freeman status… It would be even simpler if they already possessed some special skills themselves.

The slave issue was quite manageable.

After the successful sales at the Autumn Market, Laina’s financial situation could be described as quite healthy now. Unless Slaev wanted to thoroughly offend him, the Duke, by making outrageous demands, purchasing a few hundred slaves wouldn’t constitute any significant expense.

While Oliver was lost in thought, he suddenly sensed something.

Though he hadn’t heard any unusual sounds nor caught any anomalies in his peripheral vision, he keenly detected something different.

He instinctively looked to his left.

—Just as expected.

The cat-eared deity, who had for the first time left without saying goodbye during his discussion with Arte about illustration content—making him go out specifically to search—had now returned as if nothing had happened.

He stared intently at the deity, who looked guilty with shifting eyes but still pretended nothing was wrong.

—It wasn’t his imagination.

There were indeed traces of faint black mist clinging to him.

Oliver’s gaze slowly traveled downward.

Hmm, mostly on his hands.

What had he been doing?

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