‘This timing… isn’t it a bit too coincidental?’
‘I’m afraid they come with ill intent…’
“Man En?” Lifu looked at the stunned Man En, quite puzzled.
“Why not invite her in?”
‘Of all times, the King’s sister is still here…’
Man En looked at his father, who only gave him a slight nod.
“…Alright, please wait a moment.”
Despite his reluctance, he got up and left the banquet with Mei.
‘I had thought Sophien might come, but now that it’s actually happening, it feels incredibly troublesome.’
‘She’s probably already heard about the mercenary group.’
“If she’s here to demand an explanation… it’s going to be a problem…”
Mei said, “Sir Commander shouldn’t be so unreasonable, especially since it was her mercenaries who attacked the Matthews Territory.”
Hearing Mei’s words, Man En’s expression turned grim.
“Do you think she’ll hear the real story?”
“Well…”
“Forget it. I’ll deal with it as it comes. There’s no escape.”
Soon, the two arrived outside the courtyard and stood before Sophien and her group.
“Tsk…”
Seeing her hostile expression, Man En already understood.
“Why did you leave without saying goodbye?”
……
“And where are the mercenaries stationed in Matthews Territory? Why can’t I see a single one?”
Mei quickly tried to explain, “Sir Commander, it’s like this…”
But Sophien directly cut her off.
“I wasn’t asking you.”
Then she turned her gaze back to Man En.
“Don’t you have something to say, Mann Matthews?”
Beside her, Dulufu looked at Man En with equal confusion.
Behind Sophien, dozens of elite mercenaries radiated killing intent.
Man En stepped forward a few paces, shielding Mei behind him.
“Yes, they’re all dead. Killed by me.”
Considering the situation, hiding the truth would no longer solve anything.
So Man En didn’t bother to beat around the bush and said it outright.
Upon hearing this, Sophien’s eyes twitched, her killing intent intensifying.
“So you’re provoking me?”
Facing her killing intent, Man En instead showed disdain.
“Provocation? Isn’t this what you wanted to hear?”
“You only heard that I killed the mercenaries, right? Did you ever wonder why the territory was attacked right after the Evil God Sect’s uprising in Darquez was dealt with?”
“And this time as well, your arrival happened to coincide right after everything ended. Is it really that coincidental?”
“That’s just your side of the story.”
“Heh…”
Man En could only smile helplessly. He was too tired to explain further.
‘After all the consideration I had for her, it was ultimately unrequited.’
‘Now, the Evil God Sect has achieved their goal. Next, they’ll probably expose Sophien as the captain of the Griffin Mercenary Corps and frame her for the attack on the territory.’
‘I even thought of just standing by and watching, but we fought side by side. Despite being misunderstood, I don’t want to see her set up like this.’
‘And I don’t want those bastards from the Evil God Sect to succeed in their schemes.’
‘Forget it. I’ll try one last time. If she still won’t listen, then it’s her cross to bear. I’ve done my part.’
With that thought, Man En spoke again.
“The mercenaries attacked the territory, and they were dealt with. That’s a fact. I’m not going to deny it.”
“So give me some time. I’ll find out the truth and give you an explanation.”
“But in return, during this period, you need to completely sever ties with the mercenary group.”
As Man En spoke, he looked at the mercenaries behind Sophien.
“They can no longer call themselves Griffin mercenaries. This is for your own good as well.”
‘If she agreed to this proposal, at least she could extricate herself from the incident.’
‘After that, if he pinned the attack on the territory back on the Evil God Sect and rescued Chris, this crisis could basically be resolved perfectly.’
“We’ve known each other for so long. You should know what kind of person I am.”
“So, even if it’s just this once, trust me! I would never harm you!”
Sophien looked at his sincere eyes and fell silent.
She had to admit that Man En’s words made sense.
The timing of all these events was too coincidental; it was highly abnormal.
Combined with his reminder, if the Evil God Sect was behind it all, with their desire to take revenge on the Empire, shaking public morale would undoubtedly be the easiest method.
Unfortunately, she still knew too little, and Chris was unreachable…
“Imperial Princess…”
Dulufu reminded her softly from the side.
“In my opinion, given Lord Mann’s character, he is worthy of trust.”
Sophien glanced at him but said nothing.
Then she turned her gaze back to Man En. “I can agree to your terms, but you need to give me an answer by the end of this month!”
Hearing this, Man En finally breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Even though I’m not sure I can find anything out within the time limit, the most important thing now is to distance Sophien from the mercenary group.’
‘At least the situation hasn’t reached a point of no return.’
So he agreed without hesitation.
“Little Sophien, is it really you?!”
Behind Man En, Lifu suddenly stepped forward and gently embraced Sophien.
Her sudden appearance caught Sophien off guard.
“Au… Aunt? Why are you here?”
“Oh, it’s a long story. Let’s go inside and talk. You must be tired from the journey, right?”
“Uh? …Yes, I’ll follow you.”
Seeing her awkward reaction, Man En couldn’t help but mock internally.
‘Looks like she’s not good at dealing with overly enthusiastic types either.’
And since the misunderstanding was resolved, keeping people waiting outside was inexcusable.
With that in mind, Man En nodded at Dulufu, who immediately understood and began organizing the men to enter the Matthews Manor.
But just then, hurried footsteps sounded behind the group.
Man En turned around and saw a scout.
Seeing him so flustered made Man En’s heart tighten.
‘Definitely not good news.’
“Pant… pant… Young Master! The knight order dispatched by the King has arrived! They say they’re here to thoroughly investigate the Griffin Mercenary Corps case!”
“What did you say? Dispatched by who?”
Man En unconsciously grabbed the scout by the collar.
“It… it was personally dispatched by the King…”
‘Impossible. How could the higher-ups have learned about this so quickly?’
‘…Could someone have informed the King in advance?’
‘How is that possible? Doesn’t that mean this person can predict the future?’
‘Wait…’
‘What if someone planned it all in advance?’
‘What if the appearance of the Evil God Sect was just a diversion?’
At that thought, Man En broke out in a cold sweat.
He suddenly thought of one person: the missing Chris.
‘No… impossible. He has no reason to do this!’
Trembling, he released the scout and asked in a shaky voice:
“Who… is leading them?”
“It… it’s the Third Prince, Chris Uliken!”
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