It had been a very long time since the father and son had last seen each other.
Reasonably speaking, they should have had plenty to talk about after such a long separation.
However, they just sat in the living room, staring blankly at each other, neither of them opening his mouth.
This was clearly not one of those scenes where men could communicate with just a glance.
They simply had nothing to say.
“I heard you went to prison. Is your health alright?”
“I'm fine. Prison life was more comfortable than I imagined.”
“Is that so? Well, a man's got to go to prison at least once in his life.”
“...Indeed.”
Li An picked up his teacup and took a sip.
A minute passed.
“The house has changed quite a bit.”
“Yeah, I didn't really think about remodeling the house either. But your younger sister threw a massive fuss at the time, so I spent some money.”
“Lucia certainly has that side to her.”
Another period of silence ensued.
This time, it was Baron Arthur's turn to drink his tea.
Five minutes passed.
Only then did Arthur notice someone sitting to Li An's right.
It was indeed Isha.
Their eyes met.
Isha politely bowed her head.
“Who is that young lady?”
“Her name is Isha. Though her abilities still leave something to be desired, she is currently my assistant.”
“Arthur Adolf.”
“...”
And then, they fell silent once more.
Although Arthur Adolf was a noble, he was essentially more like a soldier.
Rather than talking, he was more accustomed to taking direct action to solve problems.
Moreover, this was the countryside.
Country folk had always preferred action over words, so Arthur naturally had few opportunities to practice his conversational skills.
Still, this was his son whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
Arthur tried his best to search his stone-hard brain for a topic to discuss.
Finally.
“The Holy Night Festival is coming up.”
“Yes.”
“Usually, the Holy Night Festival is spent with family.”
Arthur paused.
“Do you not have a family?”
“...Huh?”
This direct, straightforward question was so powerful that even the usually calm Isha was stunned.
Li An's eyelid twitched, and he quickly explained from the side.
“My father means that the Holy Night Festival is usually spent with family. He was just asking why you went out of your way to accompany me back to the Adolf estate.”
“Oh...”
Isha was almost broken out in a cold sweat.
“My father hasn't been in good health recently, so he decided to stay home and rest. Since I happened to have some free time during the Holy Night Festival holiday, I asked my superior, Li An, if I could accompany him to the countryside to pray.”
“I see.”
Isha suddenly remembered something.
“But speaking of which, I don't seem to have obtained your prior permission, Baron Adolf.”
“Indeed.”
Arthur nodded.
“...”
Li An was utterly bewildered.
Why were these two talking like they were discussing other people?
He quickly chimed in to smooth things over.
“My father doesn't mind such things. There's no need to be nervous, Isha.”
“Indeed.”
“...I understand. Thank you, Lord Baron.”
The atmosphere fell into silence once more.
Arthur was quiet for a moment.
Suddenly, his gaze fell upon the sword hanging from Li An's waist.
“Come to think of it, we haven't sparred in a long time, have we?”
“Sparring makes me sweat,” Li An said, frowning. “And after sweating, I'd have to take a bath and change out of damp clothes. Let's skip it.”
Arthur looked puzzled.
“Why change your clothes? Can't you just let them dry on you?”
“...”
At this moment, Li An suddenly realized something.
Sometimes, speaking with elders did indeed create a generation gap.
But the situation between him and his father was different.
This wasn't a generation gap.
This was a chasm of hygiene standards.
“I'm not quite used to that.”
Li An flatly refused.
“Father, you should find your knights to spar with in the future.”
“Is that so?”
Arthur nodded.
He seemed entirely convinced.
Time drifted by slowly.
Isha sat to the side, awkwardly twiddling her thumbs.
She really couldn't stand this atmosphere.
Someone break it, please...
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps echoed from a distance.
Thud, thud, thud!
The footsteps drew closer and closer.
Even though he hadn't heard this sound in a long time, Li An instantly recognized who it was.
In the next second—
“Brother!!!”
“Let's get married!!!”
“Marriage!!!”
Li An's vision went dark.
She was here.
Lucia Adolf.
His younger sister.
“Brother! Have you been doing well lately? Have you written to me? Honestly, I always have to write to you first before you'll even bother replying. You're such a heartless brother!”
“But speaking of which, I really breathed a sigh of relief when that prison matter was resolved smoothly. After all, that was Zarat, so I couldn't visit you myself and could only pray for you from afar. You must understand how I felt.”
“I originally thought you wouldn't come home for the Holy Night Festival this year, so it was a pleasant surprise when you actually showed up.”
The moment Lucia stepped into the living room, she unceremoniously sat down in an empty chair.
She acted so naturally, it was as if she were the true master of this mansion.
In fact, she practically was.
Their mother had passed away long ago.
Over the years, the Adolf family's internal affairs had mostly been managed by Lucia.
Even the investment in magic stones and the Jewel Frog business were probably heavily driven by her.
“By the way,”
Lucia suddenly leaned in closer.
“Since you're back this time, Brother, why don't we get your marriage sorted out while we're at it?”
“You're not exactly young anymore, are you?”
Li An remained silent.
Admittedly, he was indeed very grateful to Lucia.
If the family only had their father, the single-minded Arthur, the Adolf family probably would have been swindled out of house and home long ago.
Thankfully, there was Lucia.
But even so, Li An was still reluctant to see her.
Because Lucia simply talked too much.
“This is a list of potential marriage candidates I compiled for you.”
Lucia pulled out a neatly folded piece of parchment from her bosom.
“Fortunately, your current evaluation is very high, so I specifically filtered out suitable candidates from wealthy families.”
“Which means—”
She added with a beaming smile,
“You can absolutely marry above your station now.”
“I don't have any plans to get married for the time being...”
“What do you mean by that?”
Lucia's eyes widened.
“In this society, marriage is a necessity, not an elective.”
“And Brother, you know it yourself, right?”
“You are currently at the peak of your net worth.”
“If you don't marry now, when are you going to wait for?”
Li An was at a loss for words.
Thinking about it carefully, Lucia wasn't entirely wrong.
Although this empire was close to entering a modern era, it essentially still retained a heavy feudal noble system.
Marriage was never just about two people.
More often, it was the union of two families.
For example, one family might possess a powerful knight order but lack the funds to equip their knights with armor.
Another family might be swimming in riches but lacked the military power to protect their domain.
And by sheer coincidence, both sides had children of marriageable age.
If that wasn't a match made in heaven, what was?
The two families would naturally arrange an engagement as a matter of course.
But if, at this time, their son suddenly ran out, brought back a farmer's daughter, and announced:
“I'm going to marry her.”
The parents would probably suffer a heart attack on the spot.
Unless it was some lunatic noble, who could possibly tolerate that?
Li An knew this very well.
So he had never directly said, 'I absolutely will not get married.'
Instead, he dragged it out for as long as he could day by day.
“Maybe next year,” Li An said seriously. “Next year, for sure.”
“Brother,” Lucia wore a gentle smile. “Do you realize you've been saying 'next year' for two years now?”
“...”
“I have no more room to back down.”
With that, Lucia unfolded the parchment.
“The daughter of Baron Isabelle.”
“Background: 5.”
“Intellect: 6.”
“Appearance: 6.”
“Personality: 4.”
“Special Circumstances: Rumored to already have a lover.”
“But fortunately, her family is right next to our territory, so she's not entirely without value.”
Lucia took out a quill pen.
Scribble—
She crossed out the name directly.
Her cold and ruthless demeanor made her look like an utterly heartless marriage broker.
“The daughter of Count Helen.”
“Background: 7.”
“Intellect: 4.”
“Appearance: 8.”
“Personality: 5.”
“Special Circumstances: Suffers from a severe illness and likely doesn't have much longer to live.”
“It's highly likely she will soon meet the Gods.”
Scribble—
Another stroke.
And she crossed her out, too.
Li An couldn't help but ask, “Why did you even list her then?”
“She passed away last year.”
“...”
“I forgot.”
He had asked an unnecessary question.
Lucia, however, didn't care in the slightest.
“But you don't need to worry, Brother.”
“Just as I said before, your reputation has skyrocketed recently, so you have many more options to choose from now.”
“This next one is my personal top recommendation.”
Lucia cleared her throat.
“The daughter of the Duke of Senistia.”
“Background: 9.”
“Intellect: 4.”
“Appearance: 9.”
“Personality: 6.”
“Special Circumstances: Currently employed in the Imperial Government.”
Lucia looked up.
“Like you, Brother, she is also an imperial official.”
The surname was somewhat familiar.
Li An fell silent for a moment, quickly deducing the details in his mind.
To his knowledge, there were no two Dukes of Senistia in the empire.
And among the daughters of the Duke of Senistia, there was only one currently serving in the Imperial Government.
“Sushia...”
Lucia's eyes lit up.
“You know her?”
“That makes things much easier then.”
“Not her.”
“Why?”
“Regardless of the reason, she's out.”
“...”
The smile on Lucia's face gradually faded.
Evidently, she was quite dissatisfied with this baseless rejection.
Just as she was about to press further, she suddenly noticed Isha sitting nearby.
She had been so engrossed in their conversation earlier that she hadn't even noticed another person was present.
Lucia immediately smoothed her clothes and bowed politely.
“Pardon my delay in greeting you.”
“I am Lucia Adolf of the Adolf Baronial House.”
“May I ask who you are?”
Isha also rose immediately and returned the gesture.
“My apologies, I have been remiss in my manners as well.”
“I am Isha Sinus, daughter of Viscount Sinus.”
Both of them wore perfect, polite smiles.
In that moment, an inexplicable scent of gunpowder seemed to drift through the air.
It was like a silent duel over whose noble etiquette was more pristine.
After the pleasantries ended, Lucia quietly leaned in and whispered in Li An's ear.
“You brought a woman back with you. Why didn't you tell me sooner?”
“I didn't bring her back with me.”
“It's all the same.”
Lucia glanced at Isha, her lips curving upward slightly.
“Hmm...”
“She is indeed an excellent candidate.”
“Appearance—10 points.”
“Your taste is quite good, Brother.”
“...”
Li An instantly had an ominous premonition.
Sure enough, Lucia picked up her quill pen again.
“Let me ask a few more questions.”
“What are the powers currently officially allied with the Empire?”
Isha answered without a moment's hesitation, “The official allies are the Ludivy Kingdom, the Kelly Kingdom, and the White Magic Tower.”
“What is the most important trade route in the northern part of the Empire called?”
“The Northern Sun Trade Route.”
“Which domain produces the empire's most highly acclaimed wine recently?”
“It's 'Baits Wine' produced in Viscount Laitel's domain.”
“Though, strictly speaking, the production area actually belongs to the crown lands of the Empire.”
“...”
Lucia was quiet for a moment.
“Intellect—10 points.”
Tap.
The quill pen lightly tapped against the parchment.
Then, she earnestly wrote down:
Isha Sinus.
Background: 7
Intellect: 10
Appearance: 10
Personality: ?
Lucia looked up.
“If your husband suddenly disappeared on your wedding night, and when you went looking for him, you found him having an affair with a prostitute...”
“Lucia,” Li An chimed in to stop her. “That's enough.”
This question was clearly crossing the line.
Lucia could only shut her mouth.
Isha, however, actually gave it serious thought.
Then, she answered calmly: “I would pour oil on them, then throw the candelabra in my hand at them.”
“Burn the woman to death, and leave the husband crippled.”
“And as for that immobile husband...”
“I will take care of him for the rest of his life.”
“...”
A dead silence fell over the living room.
Li An silently wrote a number in the personality column of her profile in his mind.
1 point.
Meanwhile, Lucia excitedly put pen to paper.
Scribble, scribble, scribble—
She didn't hesitate to change Isha's rating to:
Isha Sinus.
Background: 7
Intellect: 10
Appearance: 10
Personality: 10
Special Trait: A bit extreme.
Li An: “...”
Rate on N.U.
