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“Marquis Dawson, I hope my intrusion has not disturbed your rest?”

Upon entering, Marquis Menam greeted him cheerfully.

Behind him was Count Anka.

Marquis Dawson replied with a composed smile, “Of course it hasn’t.”

After inviting the two men to sit down, Marquis Dawson ordered his personal guards to bring tea. Without haste, he quietly savored his tea, waiting for Marquis Menam to elaborate on his visit.

It wasn’t long before Marquis Menam took the initiative to speak. “Marquis Dawson, as you must know, Anka has just returned from Winterfell City.”

Marquis Dawson glanced at Count Anka, laughing lightly as he asked, “How did the mission go? Did the St. Hilde family agree to negotiate?”

“The attitude of the St. Hilde family was worse than we imagined!” Marquis Menam sighed.

Count Anka timely interjected: “I found out that the St Hilde family has even learned of Mr. Ji’s death, which was completely unexpected to me!

Moreover, this made the peace talks extremely difficult!”

Marquis Menam’s face darkened as he coldly speculated, “It is likely someone from our end secretly passed on the message. Otherwise, the St. Hilde family could not have known about Mr. Ji’s death so quickly.”

Although Marquis Dawson berated his foolish son internally, he kept his composure, tactfully changing the topic:

“So, does the St. Hilde family refuse to negotiate?”

Marquis Menam, oblivious to the traitor was the son of his ally before him, did not dwell on that issue and shook his head,

“No. The St. Hilde family is willing to negotiate. However, they put forth an extremely outrageous condition.”

Marquis Dawson’s heart skipped a beat, immediately recalling the intelligence his son had recently brought back. He asked with a smile,

“What condition?”

Marquis Menam stared intently into Marquis Dawson’s eyes and enunciated, “The St. Hilde family demands that I deliver you to them!”

The complexion of Marquis Dawson shifted and his gaze gradually hardened as he asked sternly, “So, Marquis Menam, do you plan to accept this condition?”

Marquis Menam continued to scrutinize Marquis Dawson, but did not respond immediately.

Marquis Dawson, in turn, matched his gaze unflinchingly.

They were like two beasts meeting on a narrow path, engaging in a silent face-off before a fight to the death.

The atmosphere in the tent gradually stagnated, the air almost becoming suffocating.

On the side, Count Anka became restless, breaking out in cold sweat, confused by his father’s behavior —

Why deliberately provoke Marquis Dawson?

Especially in his own camp?

Was he not afraid of being hacked to death by the furious guards of the Dawson Family?

Just when Count Anka was about to crack, Marquis Menam suddenly burst into laughter.

Following suit, Marquis Dawson immediately joined in the laughter.

The stagnant air seemed to flow again at this moment, as if everything before was merely an illusion.

Count Anka was a bit baffled, but relieved nonetheless.

“Marquis Dawson, do you believe I would accept such a condition?” Marquis Menam asked casually.

Marquis Dawson’s face was all smiles, treating as if he was entertaining his most intimate friend. “Of course not! The friendship between the Dawson Family and the Menam family has existed for a thousand years, and we are both vital in revitalizing the Dwarf clan!

“Why would we engage in fratricide?”

“Absolutely!” Marquis Menam applauded, declaring loudly, “Viscount Angler is too naive if he thinks he can create discord between us with such a treaty!”

“Haha, since you are so candid, I will not beat around the bush either. I just received a letter from Archbishop Agani. Her letter attempts to warn me that the Menam family is planning to betray the Dawson Family.”

“Oh?” Marquis Menam shifted his gaze, chuckling, “It seems that you have quite a good relationship with Archbishop Agani, she’s even feeding you inside info.”

Marquis Dawson waved his hand dismissively, “Well, I think this woman harbors ulterior motives; probably plotting how to use us in the Dawson family to her advantage.”

“Indeed!” Marquis Menam nodded. “I dare not get too close to that bewitching priestess for fear of being manipulated by her. Your choice to keep your distance from her is indeed a wise decision!”

Count Anka finally reacted and immediately flattered, “Indeed, humans are too cunning and sly. We dwarves should stay united and resist foreign enemies!”

Marquis Menam nodded in approval of his son’s words, then caught a glimpse of the letter in Marquis Dawson’s hand, and asked, “Is this the letter from Archbishop Agani?”

“Yes, the contents are the same old tricks, trying to deceive me, but they are not quite there yet.” Marquis Dawson unabashedly handed the letter to Marquis Menam, saying, “Would you like to read it?”

“Okay,” Marquis Menam didn’t stand on ceremony and accepted it instantly.

But immediately, his eyebrows furrowed; he asked, “How come there are so many changes on it?”

Marquis Dawson casually responded, “Ah, this was how the original letter looked when I received it. Perhaps the Archbishop had some trouble with her words.”

Marquis Menam skeptically glanced at Marquis Dawson but said nothing further and continued to carefully read the contents of the letter.

After a while, he looked up, handed the letter back to Marquis Dawson, and said, “It seems the situation in Winterfell City may not be entirely stable.”

Marquis Dawson nodded, “Exactly, there must be people in Lion Roar Castle who are reluctant to see Vera succeed the Duke, moreover, the Uman clan, if Mr. Ji’s information is accurate, are blood feud with the Angler family.

The potential resistance within the city should not be underestimated. Perhaps, we can take advantage of it.”

Marquis Menam stroked his chin thoughtfully, and after a moment, nodded, “That is indeed a viable approach, but how do we make contact with people inside the city?”

Marquis Dawson coughed embarrassedly, “I have a way of getting in touch with Archbishop Agani, however, I don’t think she is trustworthy.”

Marquis Menam laughed dismissively, “There’s no need to trust her. Our relationship with the Church is one of mutual exploitation. You can pretend to agree to her demands for now and see what she has in store for you.”

Marquis Dawson seemed intrigued, thought for a moment, and then nodded, “Alright, I can try to get in touch with those inside the city who are discontent with Vera and see if we can win them over.”

“Good! I’ll leave that to you!”

“You’re too kind!”

Marquis Menam then stood up and bade Marquis Dawson goodbye.

The night outside the tent was deep, no moon could be seen in the sky, only scattered stars.

Marquis Menam and his son walked silently until they reached their own camp before Marquis Menam suddenly asked,

“Do you think Marquis Dawson was lying?”

“Er?” Count Anka was taken aback, “I suppose… not?”

“Heh,” Marquis Menam sneered, “Did you see that letter? It’s full of corrections. Dawson claims it came like that, but I suspect he intentionally modified the crucial information after receiving it!”

Count Anka thought for a moment, then nodded, “That’s certainly possible…”

Marquis Menam continued, “And the handwriting on that letter, did you notice?”

Count Anka was embarrassed because he hadn’t paid attention to the handwriting.

“Doesn’t it feel familiar?” Marquis Menam hinted.

Count Anka thought for a moment, then suddenly dug out the negotiation proposal from his chest, exclaiming, “The handwriting from the letter is the same as the one on this proposal!”

Marquis Menam nodded, then asked, “As I recall, you said this proposal was written on the spot by Viscount Angler?”

“Yes! I saw him writing it with my own eyes!” Count Anka finally realized, “So, the letter was not written by Agani to Marquis Dawson, but by Viscount Angler!”

“Yes, Marquis Dawson must have lied.” Marquis Menam’s face was grim as he added, “And that’s not his first lie.”

“He withheld other things?” Count Anka asked, surprised.

“Do you remember his reaction when I told him someone in the camp leaked the news of Mr. Ji’s death to Winterfell City?”

Count Anka thought for a moment and was shocked, “He didn’t react but changed the subject!”

“Exactly,” Marquis Menam sneered, “such an important matter as having a traitor in the camp, he shows no concern about it at all, don’t you find that odd?”

Count Anka immediately interjected, “Unless, he was the one who arranged for the traitor!”

“Yes,” Marquis Menam sighed, suddenly stopped walking.

He turned around to look in the direction of the Dawson family camp and murmured,

“Fran Dawson, how can I trust you?”