It is said that the new lord comes from the prosperous capital of the kingdom and is quite a noteworthy figure.
The townspeople often talk about this in the taverns, hoping that their lives will improve because of it, but Ed never paid much attention to it.
In his view, all the nobles in this world are the same.
They are greedy, malevolent, and cunning. To satisfy their desires, these creatures in human skin will unscrupulously drain every drop of blood from ordinary people.
Ed suppressed his unease and habitually scrutinized the appearance of the counterpart.
Gray hair and gray eyes, so young...
Is this the new lord of Seagull Town?
Ed only found it absurd that the prominent figure hoped for by the townspeople turned out to be a young man about the same age as Wendy.
The next moment, he suddenly realized that, as a civilian of the Lion Heart Kingdom, he should kneel and salute the nobles here.
"Respected Lord, I am Ed, who runs the tavern in town..." Ed awkwardly bent his knees.
"Put the patient down first. I don't need useless formalities."
Lin Lan put down the coffee in his hand and looked at the two in front of him.
The man with the short hair and low-pitched voice looked rough, his eyes dark and somewhat haggard. He had a robust build but had lost both legs, with crude wooden prosthetics under his pants.
As for the girl he was carrying, she must be Lisa's sister, Wendy.
Lin Lan observed the frail girl placed on the seat.
The girl's ears were the same as ordinary people's, nothing special about them.
She was not tall, with a head of long black hair, and those beautiful, enchanting blue eyes were almost identical to little Lisa's.
It was apparent that the Blood Plague was devouring the girl's life, and the condition had almost deteriorated to an irreversible state.
"Lisa... Lisa..."
The girl's pale lips trembled slightly. Even as her consciousness was about to fall into the abyss, she still persisted in calling out something.
"Lord, as you can see, Wendy is a pitiful person. Her dying wish is just to see her sister Lisa."
Ed, standing nearby, hadn't forgotten his initial purpose.
He chose his words carefully, fearing to offend the noble: "They have no intention of offending your majesty..."
"Little Lisa is safe and sound, you can be assured of that."
Lin Lan's tone was calm. He stood up, and thoughtfully covered the girl with a blanket: "Warm up your body first, I have arranged for some hot soup, it will be delivered shortly."
Wendy instinctively clutched the blanket tightly, raising her head with difficulty, as her blue eyes reflected the figure of the gray-haired boy.
"Little Lisa is still asleep. Once she wakes up, you will naturally be able to meet her, but before that..."
Lin Lan's tone still unchanged, he looked at the man beside him: "Ed, let's have a chat first."
Ed was taken aback, his body tensed up.
Lin Lan proactively poured a cup of coffee for the man in front, then sat across from him: "Are you family to Lisa and Wendy?"
Ed didn't touch the aromatic drink, as he had never been good at dealing with hypocritical nobles.
"I..."
He instinctively shook his head: "No, I'm not, sir."
"Then why are you helping them?"
"I just found them pitiful, so I decided to lend them a hand." Ed hesitated, then answered.
The young, gray-haired lord nodded, seemingly lost in thought.
After a moment, the lord questioned again: "You are not from around here, are you?"
Ed's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
He merely found his throat dry, and his heart began to pound: "Lord, I..."
"The illness she contracted is called 'Blood Plague'."
Under the surprised gaze of the counterpart, Lin Lan pointed to the girl beside him: "Locals of the Lion Heart Kingdom are aware that only those who have desecrated the Lion Heart Royal Court would contract such a disease."
He said quietly, "You should know what this means, right?"
In that instant, Ed felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Desecrating the Lion Heart Royal Court? Blood Plague? Sinners?
What kind of joke is this...
The man's body gradually began to tremble.
Of course, Ed knew how the vile nobles would treat those they found guilty of crossing their lines...
Damn it! The Lord of Lion Heart in front of him would undoubtedly execute Wendy and Lisa without hesitation!
He... he had personally delivered Wendy right into the hangman's noose...
Ed looked up suddenly, and in a daze, the shadow of the gray-haired noble stretched infinitely, casting a huge shadow that obscured the hazy morning light, exposing its menacing fangs towards him.
It swallowed him whole.
The unease that had been suppressed in Ed's heart finally burst forth, ripping open the trauma buried deep in his memory.
Ed fell into the darkness, chaotic, disorderly, terrifying images flooding in from the depths.
The twisted smile of the Northern Border Duke, a War Giant Structure crushing the sky, faces buried under ashes on either side of the road, and grotesque shadows in the deep sea...
Ed's eyes filled with bloodshot lines.
He got up, took two steps towards the lord, a dangerous glint flashing in his eyes.
The next second, he met those calm and profound gray eyes.
Numerous illusions shattered swiftly under that gaze, and Ed jerked back to his senses, realizing there was only a single step left between him and the young lord.
"You'd better think clearly about the consequences of taking action here, Ed."
The lord's tone was still so peaceful, without a trace of panic in his gaze.
Ed's body wobbled for a moment, then he sat down on the ground in defeat, as if reality had sucked his backbone away.
Indeed, the flame burning in his chest had long been extinguished.
"Sir... no, Lord, please forgive my recklessness."
Ed slumped to the ground, as if accepting his fate: "I only wanted to tell you that they are just helpless children, not sinners who deserve to be executed..."
"Who said I was going to execute them?"
Lin Lan shook his head helplessly.
In Ed's confused gaze, Lin Lan approached Wendy, looking at the girl on the brink of death, his tone gradually becoming serious:
"I only wanted to offer them a choice."
Wendy slowly raised her head, her gem-like blue eyes rippling.
The sickly girl had been striving to listen to the dialogue between the two.
Choice...
"Listen, I intend to solve the Blood Plague haunting this land."
As a noble of the Lion Heart, Lin Lan spoke the most rebellious words in the calmest tone: "So I need a test subject to attempt some items that 'might' cure the Blood Plague."
Lin Lan did not dare to guarantee that items synthesized by the Reconstructor would surely solve the blood-red catastrophe spread by the Royal Court, nor did he intend to use lofty reasons to justify his actions. Instead, he would straightforwardly present the facts.
Arbitrarily using synthesized items might yield little result, the patient's condition might not improve, or might even incur additional costs.
But this was already the only option at present.
Whether it was the Celestial Calamity chasing the card set at sea or the aristocrats who treated lives like grass, neither gave Lin Lan any room for complacency.
He must race against time.