Despite the premonition, Vesper's hesitation lasted for just a split second before he reached out and took the stack of roots from him.
"Thank you, young Lord. I'll be forever indebted to you." He bowed, his expression full of gratitude.
Vincent looked at him in silence. He had noticed his hesitation and wariness.
'Well, seeing how we are complete strangers, it would be strange if he wasn't a bit cautious.' He mused, a hidden glint flashing in his eyes.
He then reached out and strongly patted his shoulder. "You are a good man. I hope to see you around. Alright, you can leave now."
Saying this, he walked into the inn with the young lady, while Wilfred, after muttering something like how Vesper was one lucky bastard to have gained his young lord's favor, started instructing the inn's staff to take care of their horses before entering the inn too.
Vesper held the stack of roots like they were more precious than his life,. He then slowly turned around after giving the inn a final glance, his lips twisting in a sneer as he walked away.
Inside the inn, as they were about to enter their respective rooms after deciding to leave in a few hours, the young lady suddenly turned to Vincent and asked, "What are you planning to do to him?"
"Huh?" Vincent was caught off guard, clearly not expecting her to inquire about it. He looked at her.
She was a beautiful woman with an almond-shaped face, bright brown eyes, a cute nose, and thin lips like rose petals. Her skin was fair and tender, and her waist-length black hair was tied into a ponytail. She was 5'7'', and from her long, slender legs and meaty thighs, one could tell she was hiding a curvaceous figure behind her armor and that pristine white dress.
The indifferent expression she seemed to wear perpetually on her face, instead of making her look cold, only enhanced her beauty and allure.
"What's with that look?" She asked, raising her delicate brows.
Vincent smiled, "I couldn't help it, Miss Sophie. After all, it is the first time I have seen you show some interest in something in the five days we have been together."
Sophie Valorene, she was the only daughter of his father's friend, Lukas Valorene, a Viscount just like his father.
His father wanted to strengthen their bond by marriage. When he found out Vincent was going out for a few days to hunt a 2-Star Silver Moon Wolf for its beast core, he talked to Lukas, who ordered her to accompany him on his excursion and gain some experience. Of course, their main motive was for them to get familiar with each other.
Sophie, however, didn't seem happy with the arrangement because she hadn't tried getting familiar with him at all for five days now.
He took initiative to talk to her for a few times but she would give a succinct reply before going silent. After a few times, he got annoyed and stopped trying to talk to her altogether.
Sophie just hummed in response, waiting for him to answer her question.
Vincent shook his head. "Why would I want to do anything to him? He hasn't done anything to anger me."
Sophie stared at him intently for a few seconds before she nodded and entered her room.
Vincent stood there in silence for a moment before stretching his shoulders and also entering his room.
…
As Vesper walked through the streets toward the Baron's mansion, just a five-minute walk away from the town square, many people recognized him and started whispering among themselves.
While a few elderly ladies started whispering among themselves with pitying looks on their faces, others just snickered and talked aloud, not caring if he could hear them.
"Hey, isn't that the fifth young lord?"
"Yeah. Why don't you go and greet him?"
"Keke, why would I do so? He is no better than us. If he doesn't greet me, why should I do it?"
'Well, no matter where, people are the same.' He mused idly, not minding their words. In due time, they would all come to respect him.
A while later, he arrived in front of the mansion, where two guards with spears in their hands and the Ironhart family's crest—a small flaming sword imprinted on an octagonal piece of metal—on their black and red light armors greeted him, reluctantly and without any respect in their voices.
"Welcome back, fifth young lord."
Vesper nodded calmly and walked past them, entering the mansion.
The guards exchanged a surprised glance.
"His luck is off the charts. Not only did he find the Yellow Beard Roots, he even came back alive." One guard said. The other nodded in agreement.
The Ironhart mansion was expansive, spanning over 100 acres. Within its grounds stood several smaller mansions and servants quarters. The smallest of these mansions, located farthest from the main residence where Baron Ironhart lived with his wives, was home to Vesper, his young brother Alric, and their maid, Selene.
Be it the family members, guards, knights, or even servants, everyone was required to report to the Baron when they returned from their business outside the mansion.
So, Vesper went to the administrative building where he handled matters related to his barony—the Ironhart town and a few nearby villages.
"Greetings, fifth young lord." Inside, he met butler George, who greeted him with a bow.
He then looked him up and down, and upon seeing that, apart from looking haggard, he didn't have any injury, he seemed to let out a relieved sigh and smiled, "I'm glad you didn't encounter any danger, young lord."
"Yeah. I was lucky." Vesper smiled.
In the Ironhart mansion, there were only a few people who treated him decently—meaning they weren't mean to him. Butler George was one of these few.
He was fifty years old but was still healthy and was always impeccably dressed in his butler uniform. He had short, graying hair and a sharp and thick mustache gracing his upper lip.
George nodded and looked at the Yellow Beard Roots he was carrying with a slight frown.
"These roots… You didn't find them in the forest, right?" He asked,
This didn't surprise Vesper because, although still fresh, these roots were several days old, while if he had found them in the forest, they would be at most a day old.
He nodded in affirmation before sighing, "I didn't find any even after searching for several hours. Then I got lost…"
He slowly reported to him everything that happened. Of course, he omitted the fact he was no longer the real Vesper or that he got a system and also had a tamed beast.
Butler George heard everything without much change in his expression.
"…Fortunately, young Lord Vincent had these, and he was gracious enough to give them to me; otherwise…"
Vesper finished, a grateful and relieved expression on his face.
"I see. It's good you got what you needed. You can leave now. I'll go report to my lord." Saying this, he turned around and walked toward the room Baron Ironhart was in.
Vesper shrugged and left the administration building and headed toward his mansion.