Chapter 154: Another Transaction

Watching the carriage speed away, Yam and Lily stood still in place without moving.

Only after a long while did they both let out a sigh of relief.

“What did Marquis Visen say to you?” Lily finally opened her mouth to ask.

“He made a deal with us,” Yam said in a deep voice.

“What kind of deal?” Lily’s face finally could no longer conceal her emotions, and a look of hatred emerged.

Just now, she had kept her head down, holding her breath, seemingly in awe of Marquis Visen’s presence, but in reality, she was afraid that if she looked up and saw members of the Kasein Family, she would be unable to restrain the hatred she held for them.

Unlike Yam, who possessed an inexplicable confidence, Lily did not have much fear of those in power; of course, she was even less like Akar, who naturally disdained all authority—for outsiders, this perhaps stemmed from their inherited pride as descendants of the Bourbon Family.

Lily had grown up in a traditional Bloodline Noble family and had long known how much effort her family had poured into becoming the lords of White Mountain Territory. She also understood how a single sentence from a true powerholder could determine the rise or fall of a minor noble family. Thus, the fear of power was deeply ingrained in her bones, yet the hatred for the tragic death of her family made it hard to let go, and so a seed of resistance took root in her heart.

Yam looked at Lily, but suddenly found himself at a loss for how to tell her the words Marquis Visen had just said.

After a long silence, he finally sighed heavily and said, “The one who targeted White Mountain Territory wasn’t just Marquis Visen… The Senels Family also played a disgraceful role in it.”

“What did you say?” Lily’s breathing immediately quickened.

“Because Baron Ster submitted to Marquis Visen, it became a humiliation for Count Shuvaric. So, he threatened to withhold launching a war on Red Eagle Territory unless Marquis Visen gave up on Baron Ster. That was the deal between Marquis Visen and Count Shuvaric,” Yam said helplessly. “But there was an unexpected variable in the plan—that was us, who were returning to White Mountain Territory at the time.”

“Us?”

“Marquis Visen believed I was of the Bourbon Family’s bloodline…”

“You’re of the Bourbon Family’s bloodline!?” Lily exclaimed, looking at Yam with disbelief.

“Of course not,” Yam shook his head in denial.

Aside from the Soderbell family, only Anna had heard of the suspicion that he might belong to the Bourbon Family. After all, at that time Raven was imprisoned in the dungeon of Gem Territory, and during Anna’s questioning, Raven revealed all sorts of speculations. Regardless of what Anna had thought then, she already knew that Yam’s bloodline was identical to the Bourbon Family’s Flame Demon Hound.

“It was just due to some accident…” Yam looked into Lily’s eyes, and after a few seconds of silence, changed his original excuse with a helpless sigh, “Aches’s father, who was also my older brother, Arsen. He died at the hands of the Forest Witches while trying to seize a Bloodline Awakening Potion. We didn’t know this before—it was only recently that we found out.”

“Forest Witches?” Lily knew Yam had clashed with the Forest Witches before, but she didn’t know much about them.

“Only after speaking with Marquis Visen just now did I realize why those Forest Witches attacked me so madly when they saw me back then.”

“Because of that Flame Demon Hound bloodline?” Lily keenly grasped the key point.

“Yes,” Yam nodded. “The fall of the Bourbon Family was instigated by the Forest Witches. They fought numerous battles with them. The Forest Witches attacked the Bourbon Family relentlessly, causing the death of one powerful figure after another. And because of these continual losses…”

Yam recounted to Lily the truth about the Bourbon Family’s destruction that Marquis Visen had just revealed, and then shifted the conversation to his own bloodline.

“Actually, the bloodline material my father had prepared failed during creation. Then I remembered my older brother’s relics contained something very similar to what we had attempted to produce. Even the scent was the same. After trying it, I awakened the Flame Demon Hound bloodline,” Yam sighed. “But we didn’t know about the uniqueness of that potion until I revealed my bloodline power during the duel with Andre in Red River Territory. Only then did the Senels Family and Marquis Visen become aware.”

“So both the Senels Family and the Kasein Family began to value you because of this?”

“Yes,” Yam nodded. “I don’t know why the Senels Family values me, but Marquis Visen told me clearly—it’s because only I can open the secret vault left behind by the Bourbon Family. So after we answered the summons and went to fight in Red Soil Territory, upon our return, Marquis Visen arranged for people to protect me because he knew something was going to happen in White Mountain Territory.”

Lily’s face was filled with anger.

But Yam only sighed gently and continued, “We had originally planned to return directly from Gem Territory, but Atork suddenly approached Giggs with friendliness. Giggs thought we had a chance to win over the Senels Family as allies, so he changed the plan and returned via Red River Territory. …But in reality, the Senels Family had already made a secret deal with Count Shuvaric. They were tasked with delaying our return to White Mountain Territory to give time for the invasion of Fertile Territory.”

Lily immediately fell silent.

“Moreover, the one who killed Giggs was none other than Atork Senels.”

Lily suddenly raised her head, her face full of disbelief. “How could he dare…”

Yam, however, understood what she meant by that.

She wasn’t shocked that Atork dared to kill Giggs, but rather that after killing Giggs, he could still appear before them as if nothing had happened, even acting with such warmth and friendliness, as if they were old friends.

But after hearing Marquis Visen’s explanation, Yam understood—it was because the Senels Family valued him. In fact, if Lily hadn’t been his wife, she might not have survived that day either.

However, such words were unnecessary for Yam to say to Lily.

“The Senels Family has completely revealed their ambition,” Yam said in a deep voice. “They want to completely replace the Kasein Family. But with Giggs’s personality, if he were to become the lord of White Mountain Territory, he would surely adhere to his knight’s code and never betray the Kasein Family. ...So, having successfully joined the Southern Duke’s camp through Count Shuvaric, the Senels Family would never allow Giggs to become the lord of White Mountain Territory.”

“So, what is the deal between you and Marquis Visen?!” Lily asked in a low voice, her eyes staring directly at Yam.

“First, tell me, who do you think our enemy is? Marquis Visen or Count Shuvaric?”

“Both of them!” Lily replied without hesitation. “If it weren’t for Marquis Visen, my father wouldn’t have died!”

Yam didn’t respond, but instead let Lily vent her emotions until she gradually calmed down. Only then did he speak again, “Then, who do you hate the most? Marquis Visen or Count Shuvaric?”

Lily remained silent for a while before finally speaking, “Count Shuvaric.”

She actually understood that in the conflict between Count Shuvaric and Marquis Visen, her father, as a mere baron, had no room for choice. Previously, he had been Count Shuvaric’s vanguard only because White Mountain Territory bordered Fertile Territory, making Baron Ster a thorn of Fertile Territory thrust into Red Eagle Territory—even Red River Territory was the same at first.

But regardless, geographically, both Red River Territory and White Mountain Territory belonged to Red Eagle Territory. Therefore, when internal strife broke out, other lord nobles could not interfere arbitrarily because it was within the “domestic affairs” of the Kasein Family.

At that time, Count Shuvaric had already sold out their White Mountain Territory and Red River Territory. Because of this, in order to preserve his family, Baron Ster had no choice but to bow to Marquis Visen and betray Count Shuvaric’s camp—something Count Shuvaric never expected, especially that Marquis Visen would actually spare Baron Ster. Thus, Count Shuvaric naturally became the laughingstock of the Southern Region.

What followed was only predictable.

To wash away the shame, Count Shuvaric would never let go of Baron Ster, nor the entire Bole Family.

To ensure the strength of Red Eagle Territory, Marquis Visen would also not start a war with Count Shuvaric at that time, as that would trigger a war engulfing the entire Southern Region—something Lily hadn’t understood before, but now she did. Due to the chaos in the Western Region, surrounding territories had entered a tense state of combat readiness. At such a time, the royal family would not support the Kasein Family, so without reinforcements, Marquis Visen naturally wouldn’t go to war with Count Shuvaric then.

Thus, the fate of Baron Ster was sealed.

And in this conspiracy, to curry favor with Count Shuvaric, the Senels Family poisoned Giggs.

Lily was not foolish—she had only been overwhelmed by anger due to her family’s deaths. Once she calmed down, she could analyze everything logically and clearly recognize the sole root of all these events: Count Shuvaric.

It was Count Shuvaric who first abandoned her father, leading to everything that followed.

From Marquis Visen’s standpoint, she could understand his actions.

But the ones who died were her father and brother, so Lily naturally could not bring herself to forgive Marquis Visen. Yet just as Marquis Visen had told Yam earlier, her brother also bore a degree of responsibility for her father’s death—if he hadn’t trusted Atork Senels so easily, perhaps her father, Baron Ster, would not have died, and even Giggs might have lived.

Therefore, if there was someone she hated the most, it would undoubtedly be Count Shuvaric.

Second, the Senels Family.

Marquis Visen had even fallen to third place.

“So, what do we get from this deal?” Lily asked. “Marquis Visen is such a shrewd figure. He wouldn’t give only empty promises like Atork, would he?”

“Within two years, after I reach Third Tier, Marquis Visen will ensure the Senels Family becomes history,” Yam said in a deep voice. “After that, I will help Marquis Visen open the secret vault of the Bourbon Family, and in return, we will receive one-third of Bayor Territory’s grain output. That would ease the food crisis in our territory. Also... as long as our descendants don’t awaken the same bloodline as mine, he will help conceal the issue of the Bourbon Family bloodline.”

Marquis Visen indeed did not draw an empty promise like the Senels Family, but chose to bind their interests together through tangible benefits.

He also clearly expressed to Yam that he did not need an oath of fealty from either Yam or Lily—as an accomplice to the indirect killing of Baron Ster, Marquis Visen understood clearly that neither Lily nor Yam could remain loyal to him. However, with both sides’ interests now deeply intertwined, their relationship would be stronger than a mere oath or political marriage.

Because the Bourbon Family’s bloodline legacy was eyed not only by the Karla Royal Family of the royal lineage but also by the Nibel Family—another royal house—as well as the Southern Duke Robert.

If the secret were leaked, the Kasein Family would inevitably become the second Bourbon Family.

Likewise.

If Yam’s identity as the legacy of the Bourbon Family were exposed, all those associated with the Soderbell Family would meet a grim end.

Both sides now held each other’s weakness, so neither Marquis Visen nor Yam dared to act rashly, nor could they afford to betray one another—and so, for the Senels Family, who also knew the secret, the only outcome was destruction.

After all, a secret known by too many is no longer a secret.

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