Evan Leffert was quite uneasy.
As the only son of Count Leo Lefold of Golden Tooth City, he received a good education from a young age and enjoyed a life of luxury. He was polite and a well-behaved boy, his only flaw being a lack of courage.
He was a young knight who lacked courage.
His knighthood was bestowed upon him by his father, Leo Lefred, a somewhat reluctant decision. Although Evan had received professional training in physical fitness, swordsmanship, and horsemanship, and possessed sufficient strength, he lacked both courage and daring. He was a handsome young man, good-looking but utterly useless.
He was the handsome young man entrusted by Sweet-Talking Ralph to test Jenny Westerling's loyalty under the name Ador Saloort. His temperament was more feminine than masculine, which was seen through and chosen by the seasoned Sweet-Talking Ralph at a glance.
This well-behaved boy won't mess around with Jenny Westerling.
Evan Leffert now regrets agreeing to help Sweet-Talking Ralph, because a bald, bearded man keeps watching him in the crowd. The man's right cheek twitches every now and then, like a spasm, making him look less than normal.
Evan noticed something odd about everyone around Sir Gregor, but the man's abnormality was obvious. This neurotic soldier who unsettled Evan was none other than Polliver, Gregor's die-hard fan.
Last night, when Evan, cloaked in black, escorted Jenny to the watchtower, everyone saw him, but he didn't see anyone else. He left in a hurry after completing his mission, thinking the matter was over, but today he discovered that he was being watched by a bald, bearded, neurotic man from Gregor's team.
When the guy saw Evan looking at him, he grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. It was as if he hadn't rinsed his mouth with salt in a long time, which made Evan feel nauseous and he almost vomited his breakfast.
Just as Evan was avoiding the neurotic man's gaze, the man appeared beside him, startling Evan. Polliver was a tall, strong man with no excess fat, but he walked like a ghost, making no sound.
"Good, good!" Polliver looked at Evan's fair and slender hands with a burning gaze. His tongue darted out of his mouth full of yellow teeth and licked his lower lip from right to left, as if he were sweeping away the grease stuck to his lips after eating roast meat.
A chill ran through Evan, and he quickly stepped aside, walking to his father, Leo Lefford's side. However, as soon as he stood still, someone grabbed his hand from the other side. Evan turned around and was shocked to see that this neurotic man had come around to his other side and was stroking his hand.
"What are you doing?" Evan shouted, forcefully shaking off Polliver's hand.
Evan felt a wave of discomfort at the spot where Polliver had touched him. If it had been a piece of clothing, he would never have touched it again. But it was his own hand, and despite his annoyance, he still wanted to touch it.
This low shout attracted the attention of many people around. There were many people around the training ground, and it also caught the attention of Count Leo Leford, who was watching the two knights' lance training.
Every morning, the Duke of Tywin's Great Parade Grounds would hold routine training sessions for his cavalry, focusing on lance fighting skills.
After watching the cavalry's morning lesson and having breakfast, everyone would return to their respective territories.
Polliver grinned, not finding anything wrong with his persistence towards Evan. He looked as if he had seen a priceless treasure: "What beautiful hands! Really, there are no more beautiful hands." Polliver grinned at Count Leo, "These hands are works of art. They should be cut off and preserved in a wine bottle, really!"
His strange words and neurotic laughter sent a chill down Count Leo's spine. Just as he was about to reprimand the odd fellow, Sweet-Talking Raff ran over: "Excuse me, Count, this is my brother, he likes to joke."
Sweet-talking Raff was familiar with all these nobles thanks to his silver tongue. After becoming a knight, he was even more qualified to associate with them. Several powerful nobles in the West knew that Gregor had Sweet-talking Raff by his side, a man whose words were sweet but whose actions were ruthless and vicious.
"No, Rapht, look, don't you think these hands are exquisite works of art? Cut them off, put them in a glass bottle, soak them in wine, add a few petals…" Polliver said to the sweet-talking Rapht with a look of utter infatuation. He gave the impression that he absolutely adored Evan's hands.
Sweet-talking Ralph immediately interrupted him: "Polliver, if you don't get back to the team, I'm going to tell Miss Jenny."
Before he could finish speaking, Polliver's expression changed, he gestured for Sweet-Talking Ralph to be quiet, and then he scurried away.
Sweet-talking Raff looked apologetic at Sir Leo and Knight Evan, and said in a low voice, "I'm so sorry, Sir Leo, please forgive me. Although Polliver loves to collect eyes, hands, and toes and soak them in wine to admire them, I can assure you, he would never touch Knight Evan's hands. However, Knight Evan's hands are indeed very beautiful, and it would be a great pity if they were cut off."
Sir Leo's face darkened. He glanced to the other side, where Gregor and Jenny were watching the jousting.
In the Westerlands, getting involved with scum like Gregor is a headache for anyone, to be honest.
Gregor was brutal and terrifying, having committed many horrific acts of cruelty. Like flies to dog excrement, the large group of people who gathered around Gregor were all no good.
The young knights nearby listened with trepidation. They were the same young knights who had been invited by Pollifer and Dunsen to chat at the mountaintop watchtower the previous night.
After comforting Leo and his son with sweet words, Ralph approached the group of young knights who were filled with fear. He lowered his voice as if someone was eavesdropping: "Hey, did you remember what Polliver and Dunsen told you guys last night?"
The boys nodded vigorously.
Sweet-talking Ralph was pleased with their reaction: "That's good. We'll be waiting for your good news. In a month, Lord Gregor will personally come to thank you."
The boys were quite frightened and repeatedly bowed to Sweet-Talking Ralph, asking him to tell Lord Gregor that they dared not trouble him to visit them, as they were completely unworthy of such an honor and felt unworthy of it.
What Polliver said just now really scared them.
It would be anything but pleasant if Gregor were to bring a bunch of lunatics like Pollifer to go after them again.
Because of the decline of the Westerling family, these young men's families bought a lot of land from the Earl of Gavin at extremely low prices, and the Earl of Gavin was even forced to mortgage nine plots of land to these families.
Land that has been mortgaged is easy to buy back; you can simply pay to redeem it. But land that has already been sold at a low price cannot be bought back with money alone. Land is permanent property, and there are people living on it.
However, Gregor used the pretext of'speaking ill' to intimidate the children of these families first. According to the experience of Earth civilization, children are the apple of their parents' eye.
The best way to start is to let these noble scions return with minor injuries and psychological trauma, and then have them relay a message for Gregor. The clan chiefs are right here, and even someone as domineering as Gregor has no right to approach them directly. Only this underhanded method works—it's clever, respectful, and won't spoil the happy occasion.
If these nobles are slow to react, lack initiative, or show little enthusiasm after receiving feedback from the boys upon returning home, then a month later, after Gregor's wedding, he will formally visit these nobles as a member of the Westerling family to have a chat.
In everything, giving a warning first is a form of politeness for a scoundrel.
Gregor, whose body and mind were taken over by a third-year science and engineering student who transmigrated into his body, lost his violent and bloodthirsty nature and gained more cunning and ruthlessness.
The story has just begun.
Thank you to Ouyang Cangyu and Rainbow and Cat for the generous donations!