Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 349 - 238: Embrace (2)

Chapter 349: Chapter 238: Embrace (2)

Malin, having dealt with the Lich, ultimately did not face any strong criticism. Perhaps Lady Manli decided to abandon her pursuit upon seeing her husband’s lack of interest in delving deeper into the matter.

This made Malin somewhat cautious, and he couldn’t help but feel a need for a certain level of wariness towards Nobles—a creature one has to be on guard against. Lady Manli clearly aimed to tarnish Malin’s reputation—if not kill him. Yet, mere rumors were not enough; Malin even had ways to get the Archbishop of the Church of Justice to speak for him—with Malin’s standing at the Church, the elder would surely be willing to do so.

But Lady Manli had given up, which made Malin respect... no, fear her all the more.

Someone so good at judging the situation would likely not act just to sully someone’s name. If that were her intent, she could have targeted any of these girls related to Malin.

Besides Faye, there were countless ways this Lady could play dirty, although that would essentially mean an open confrontation with Malin.

She did not wish to tear their relationship apart with Malin, yet sought an opportunity to strike at him, which piqued Malin’s curiosity. What was she really after all?

Of course, curiosity alone would not elicit answers. Since Lady Manli had chosen to forsake her plan this time, Malin had no intention of stooping to her level. Malin believed in equal retaliation, so if someone attempted to kill him, he would surely plan to kill the assailant in return. And if that Lady were determined to smear him, Malin had plenty of ways to smear her back—being from an era of information overload, concocting some character assassination was a piece of cake, right, dear and respectable dirt-dwelling grotesque The Queen.

You see, this is the power of words. You play your first move, I play my fifteenth. How delightful.

Now the problem was, since neither party had engaged in hostilities, Malin naturally did not wish to make the first move—since the situation was under control. Since the Lady only wanted an opportunity to give her son-in-law a slight, her son-in-law would just have to wait for a chance to respond in kind.

Hence, after resting for a night, Malin visited the police station the next day and met with Cohen’s father.

This old father had bloodshot eyes, clearly having not rested well for several days. Upon seeing Malin unscathed, then his own son equally intact, he sighed with a mix of relief and confusion, "Mr. Malin, it seems you are already aware of what my child has done, right?"

"Yes, Earl Vanter, your child indeed is a bold fellow," Malin nodded. It seemed that this father had already been informed of his son’s "reckless" actions.

"I’m sorry, but I’m very happy that you would spare his life. As a Noble, I am willing to pay to redeem my child’s life. He can be sentenced, break rocks, or become a redemption knight in the Eastern Kingdom, as long as you spare his life." The Earl said so, his emotions for his son flooding Malin’s view, pleading, begging, and even pulling out a large bag of Crystal Stones—a real hard currency, far more valuable than Mowish Paper Money.

Without further ado, he stuffed the bag to Malin—this fellow must have some giant blood, as a two-meter-tall man holding the bag caused Malin to grasp it with both hands—not because it was heavy, but it was just too large.

"Didn’t you tell your father?" Malin looked at Cohen, who now wore an embarrassed expression.

"I got this job on my own, so why should I tell my father?" Cohen replied, taking the bag from Malin while still needing both hands to hold it.

"Ah...han’t you two already gotten so close?" The poor Earl still hadn’t grasped the situation of his son, prompting Malin to pat Cohen on the shoulder in front of him, "Esteemed Earl Magrubb, please allow me to formally reintroduce your son to you, Cohen Vanter, agent of the Royal Intelligence Service."

The young man stood at attention, holding the bag with one hand and saluting with the other, "Father, standing before you is an agent who has been working for the Royal Intelligence Service for two years."

The old father, with his bloodshot eyes, looked at Malin, "You’re not conspiring to deceive me, are you, Mr. Malin?"

"Of course not. Although I’m forgiving, I’m not so magnanimous as to show mercy to someone who tried to kill me. For specific questions, please consult with Your Majesty. He will surely be very willing to provide you with answers," Malin replied, nodding and taking a bottle of wine from the Chief of police, "This bottle of wine is my token of gratitude to you. Your child has shown a very reliable side in actions concerning me. Although he still needs some experience, I believe he will become a very brave agent, not dishonoring the Vanter family name."

The old father looked at Malin, eventually trembling as he took the wine from Malin’s hand—a very formal expression of gratitude. In the Middle Ages, Nobles expressed thanks by presenting wine, which was then a top luxury item. Now, Nobles kept a record of each wine giver along with his wine in their cellars.

This was a very formal acknowledgment of gratitude, and it even implied that one day in the future, the bottle of wine might secure aid from the giver’s descendants.

So, the father finally smiled, "I, I actually thought until the end that this bottle was made of woodwork, that you had it made to humiliate me."