Don't Burn Them! Even Witches Have Value!

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”There is one thing I am curious about.

Why did that bastard go through so much trouble to target Blackstone Fief?”

Lynn furrowed his brow and raised a question he had been pondering for a long time.

Although he had alleviated the Viscount’s son’s snake venom and disrupted the Blood Snake Society’s plans, an unexpected situation like that was completely unworthy of them taking the risk of being discovered just to target him like this.

Dispatching two assassins of considerable ability one after another, solely to target him, the Baron of Blackstone, yielded absolutely no worthwhile return regardless of success or failure.

At present, Lynn was at most a variable, and could hardly be called a threat.

And if he were killed, it would inevitably draw a certain degree of attention from Milan.

After all, although Blackstone Fief was small and remote, two lords dying in succession within a short period of time was something Milan could not possibly leave uninvestigated.

Even if such an investigation might amount to nothing more than a formality, for the Blood Snake Society operating in secret, it was a risk that was absolutely intolerable.

When the costs and benefits of a certain course of action could not be placed on an equal scale of comparison, there was only one possibility.

And that was that the other party’s fundamental objective was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

And if Lynn himself was ruled out, then the only thing that could possibly be the target was Blackstone Fief itself.

This was not without basis, in fact, he had long since had his suspicions.

Ever since making contact with Dawson, he had always been puzzled by one thing, why had the other party made things difficult for the Baron of Blackstone?

Although a wealthy merchant himself need not fear a baron, in a world of transactional interest, there was no need to be so absolute about it.

At the time, he had simply thought it was because that fat pig was arrogant and haughty, but looking at it now, the root cause likely had nothing to do with the other party himself.

Combined further with what the Viscount had implied during their earlier exchange that if it was related to Baron Rose, things would not be easy to handle. It was clear that the other party had been targeting Blackstone Fief itself from beginning to end.

Yet after reasoning through it this way, it became all the more baffling.

Why target this godforsaken place?

”Because of its geographical position.”

Griffin slowly spoke:

”Blackstone Fief is one of the border regions between the Frost Kingdom and Milan.

And the Blood Snake Society wishes to take control of this place. It is as simple as that.”

He paused, then continued.

”I do not know how much you know about the Blood Snake Society, but I must tell you their true nature.

A group of utterly cold-blooded madmen steeped in fantasies of past glory and future power.

They are the former royal tribe driven out of the Frost Kingdom and the ambitious local figures of the Northern Border.

Under years of prolonged infiltration, a vast net has already been cast across the Northern Border.

That bastard……Baron Rose is merely one node in this net.”

Griffin’s tone turned ice-cold in an instant.

As though sensing that he was losing control, he drew a deep breath and made an effort to restore calm to his voice:

”In truth, he is not even the one in charge of this region. The true Blood Snake Society branch leader is an old snake by the name of Richard.

I do not know information from higher up the chain, nor do I know how far their scheming has progressed.

But one thing I am very certain of, at the very least, they themselves believe the time is ripe.

Milan is seething with undercurrents beneath the surface, the Frost Kingdom has yet to recover from the aftermath of its civil war, and the Blood Snake has been lying dormant for a long time.

They intend to incite a war between the two nations, and then reap the benefits, seizing the Frost Kingdom’s throne and Milan’s Northern Border.”

Since Ai’na had deliberately withheld more information from Lynn, this was the first time he had come to know in detail what he was facing.

He had originally thought the Blood Snake Society was merely a minor conspiratorial group that dabbled in slave trading on the side.

And now he had suddenly discovered that the other party had already woven a vast net blanketing the Northern Border!

What in the world was this?!

The image of Ai’na’s haughty face wearing a contemptuous, mischievous smile suddenly surfaced in his mind, as though she were right there in front of him, mocking him.

For a moment, Lynn began to entertain the possibility of turning around and handing Griffin over as a token of good faith to make peace with the other party.

But it was no more than a passing thought.

Perhaps when Griffin had first come to capture him and bring him in for a face-to-face meeting, siding with them might still have been a possibility.

But by the time that lazy snake had shown up, there was no longer any chance of switching sides.

Unless he immediately transferred his fief and title, the other party had surely already made up their mind to kill him.

”No, even if it means death, I cannot hand over my lawful assets to someone else!”

The option of surrender was immediately dismissed by Lynn.

What a joke! His grand ship of commerce was just setting sail, and not even a god could stop it!

They wanted to stop him from making money?

As far as he was concerned, the Blood Snake Society had already sealed their own fate.

From this moment on, Lynn officially regarded them as mortal enemies with whom there could be no coexistence.

Since the nature of their relationship had been confirmed as a healthy kill-or-be-killed dynamic, things were straightforward.

Lynn’s earth-shattering brilliance began to turn.

And then, a twisted smile surfaced at the corners of his mouth:

”Heh heh heh……I know how to deal with them now.”

However, before that, he needed to buy time.

In that case, paying the Viscount of White Pine another visit was clearly necessary.

It would also be a good opportunity to discuss road construction and the sale of graded charcoal while he was at it.

As long as the highest lord of this region began an investigation, the other party’s actions would inevitably be delayed or even brought to a halt.

And this would provide him with crucial time to strike the venomous snake at its vital point.

”Employee Number One, prepare the goods and the carriage. Remember to leave room for that snake, I am bringing her to see the Viscount of White Pine.”

”Why am I the one defaulted to doing all the heavy work?!”

Ignoring Elysia’s protests, Lynn snapped his fingers and continued assigning tasks to the others:

”Old hag, don’t forget to keep producing the wooden boxes, and stop spending every day fixated on growing trees.

Chief Scientific Officer, remember to develop our Machine Generation One, our patent is counting on you.

Security Captain, I won’t be taking you along this time, remember to supervise Elysia and make sure she doesn’t slack off.

Griffin……I’ll just call you Intelligence Officer from now on. You’re coming with me this time.”

With tasks assigned, he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.

Without realizing it, he had once again worked alongside his employees for twenty hours, it was time to rest……

……

In a vast expanse of white, Lynn’s eyes snapped open.

He rapidly sat upright on the spot, and then took in the thick fog swirling around him.

Strange, he had clearly been lying in bed. Where was this?

After a brief moment of thought, he pinched his own cheek.

Not a trace of pain.

Well then, it seemed he was dreaming, and a rare lucid dream at that.

As the saying goes, what occupies the mind by day manifests in dreams by night.

So then, what people and things would appear in his dream?

But the wide-awake of him could not possibly be deceived by anything in a dream.

He rubbed his chin, and then caught sight of some object suddenly dropping from above.

Ding.

The instant he heard the crisp sound, Lynn launched himself at it like a fly spotting dung.

”Oh ho, a copper coin.”

Looking at the object on the ground, Lynn drooled.

After he picked up the copper coin, another one fell not far ahead.

And so, without any sign of fatigue, he picked them up one after another.

After some unknown amount of time had passed, when he picked up the final copper coin, he heard a familiar cool and clear laugh:

”Heh heh— sure enough, you fell for it.”

In the next instant, a rope that appeared out of nowhere suddenly looped around him, and in the blink of an eye had him trussed up like a rice dumpling.

A thoroughly bewildered Lynn raised his head, and then saw, through the mist, an elegant figure swaying a thick tail as it sashayed gracefully toward him.

It was none other than Ai’na, a teasing and cruel smile across her face.

And in her left hand, a long whip formed of condensed ice was slowly undulating.

”Is this right? Why would I be dreaming about you?

Haah, wait, what are you going to, waaaah!”

……

Lynn’s eyes snapped open once more.

Had he woken up?

No,  his vision was blurry, his body was still restrained, and it was very cold.

Was he still trapped in this terrifying masochist’s nightmare?

And why on earth was he dreaming about something like this?!

Just as he was trying to voice his complaints, his eyes slowly refocused on their own.

Alright, now he understood why he hadn’t been able to see clearly just now.

So it hadn’t been a dream after all.

It was just that a somewhat familiar sullen sleeping face was pressed right up against his……

”???”

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