Jack's gaze swept past the tax collector, and he saw a carriage parked on the road by the wooden fence.
The carriage was made of dark oak, sturdy but not ostentatious, drawn by two strong draft horses, and the body was adorned with a simple dark gold coat of arms.
The coachman, wrapped in a thick woolen coat, nimbly jumped down from the edge of the carriage, his movements deliberately light, as if afraid of disturbing something.
The door opened, and the first to step out of the carriage was an elderly, silver-haired butler.
He turned and extended a hand clad in a neat black glove into the carriage, his movements displaying practiced deference and a hint of barely perceptible anxiety.
"My lord, he's coming to." The butler's voice was low and clear.
An extremely pale hand rested on the butler's black-gloved hand, and then a figure appeared in the doorway.
He wore a long, dark green velvet coat lined with thick wool.
The collar and cuffs of the coat were trimmed with a ring of soft, warm beaver fur, adding a touch of luxury.
His face was deeply sunken, and his skin was thin and fragile, like washed parchment, revealing an unhealthy yellowish tint with a faint, gloomy greyish undertone beneath it.
His eyes were sunken, surrounded by heavy bluish-purple shadows, and his lips were almost bloodless and cracked.
His sparse black hair was neatly combed back, but it did little to hide his pale, broad forehead.
Although he tried to straighten his back and maintain an aristocratic bearing,
his thin body, even wrapped in thick clothing, still appeared to tremble, as if a slightly stronger wind might knock him down.
With the butler's help, he slowly descended from the carriage.
As his feet touched the ground, he shivered slightly, and the butler immediately steadied his elbow with his other hand.
"Cough... Cough!"
The man took a deep breath, and the cold air seemed to irritate his lungs, triggering a short, suppressed cough.
He immediately covered his mouth with a handkerchief, his shoulders trembling slightly.
The butler waited for him to calm down and quietly asked, "My lord, do you need me to...?"
The man raised his hand slightly to stop him, his voice hoarse but carrying an undeniable calm: "No, Hans. Let me... be alone for a while."
His gaze drifted across the low fence to Jack standing by the half-open wooden door.
His eyes were complex, mixed with deep nostalgia and a faint trace of shame.
And as soon as Jack saw the man, he frowned and wanted to close the wooden door.
But seeing the other's pale, withered face, he stopped himself from closing it.
He stood there by the wooden door, watching the man walk towards him step by step.
The butler, Hans, followed half a step behind, ready to assist at any moment.
"Long time no see... Jack."
"Alyssa... Is she well? Can I see her again?"
There was a plea in his words, and it seemed the man carried a sense of guilt towards Alyssa in his heart.
Jack raised an eyebrow, wanting to retort, but recalling Alyssa's final instructions, his expression softened again.
"Raymond... Alyssa passed away many years ago."
"Cough... What did you say?!"
"How is that possible? Alyssa is several years younger than me..."
Hearing this, Raymond coughed violently, his body swaying, his eyes filling with disbelief and rapid-onset grief.
Seeing this, the butler, Hans, hastily stepped forward, trying to support him.
Raymond reluctantly pushed the butler, Hans, away, stepped closer to Jack again, and looked into the house.
Jack shook his head slightly, sighed softly, and moved aside from his position.
Raymond was able to enter the house and look around the room, which contained only a simple wooden table and chairs, two beds, and bedding.
There were no women's accessories or garments, only a withered wreath and a portrait of Alyssa in one corner.
Seeing this, he was stunned, knowing that Jack hadn't deceived him, and Alyssa was truly gone.
In an instant, tears welled up in Raymond's eyes, he sobbed quietly, and slumped back in the chair from grief.
"This is all my fault. If I had insisted on leaving with her despite her objections, maybe none of this would have happened..."
"Hmph... A noble title—I'm just a poor wretch who couldn't be with the one I truly loved!" Raymond muttered.
After all these years, he had already figured out all the causes and effects.
At first, he confirmed that Alyssa had eloped with another man out of resentment towards him.
But later, he carefully recalled certain moments from his relationship with Alyssa.
Alyssa had expressed her concerns to him more than once about the gap between them, but he hadn't taken it to heart at the time.
On the contrary, he naively thought that if they truly loved each other, the family would eventually agree to let them be together.
However, it was only when his family arranged for him to meet a girl, marrying him into another family, that he realized aristocratic marriage wasn't as free as he had imagined.
But by then it was too late, and Alyssa had only left him a farewell letter, wishing him a perfect and beautiful marriage, before completely disappearing from his life.
Raymond gradually regained his composure, tears still flowing from the corners of his eyes.
His lips trembled, and he said in a hoarse voice, "I was glad to learn you had returned to Baron's Meadow, but I restrained my desire to see her."
"I've been suffering from the Pale Sickness, and I wanted to see her one last time before the end of my life and give her part of my assets, but I never expected..."
Even upon hearing about the substantial assets, Jack remained unmoved, silent and saying nothing about Karl's existence.
Because relationships among nobles were complex, Karl's status was strictly that of a bastard child, and he had no inheritance rights unless recognized.
The order of inheritance was the eldest son, then the second son, and finally illegitimate children, but legitimizing a bastard wasn't easy.
He didn't know the specifics of Raymond's family situation; revealing Karl's identity recklessly
might instead drag Karl into a dangerous maelstrom of inheritance disputes, which he didn't want to see.
Therefore, Jack remained emotionless and pretended to be surprised, asking, "You're a noble, so your spouse must also be noble."
"According to the law, the title and property should be inherited by the eldest son of the current heir, or the second son."
"Even if there are no heirs, it could pass to the spouse."
But Raymond shook his head and sighed deeply, a bitter expression on his face.
"I have no children, not even any bastards. As for my spouse..."
"Hmph, that stinking bitch accidentally died in the jaws of a Drowner while having an affair with another noble."
"If I don't find an heir, then... after my death, everything will be taken back by the King."
For a moment, Jack was speechless and didn't know what to say to comfort the other man.
He couldn't doubt the truth of Raymond's words, because relationships among nobles were very chaotic, and such things could happen.