Chapter 80 - 78: I Am Not a Good Person

Chapter 80: Chapter 78: I Am Not a Good Person

The Red Salmon and Cherry Pie tavern.

A guest room on the third floor.

Roy lay in the bathtub, his eyes closed, enjoying the comforting sensation of the warm bath as it relaxed his mind and body.

’If only Aili were here to give me a massage!’

The thought popped into Roy’s head unbidden.

But he quickly pushed it to the back of his mind.

His usual routine was to take a bath to wash away the murderous aura after delivering Count Rock Lion’s body to Sandru.

However, he had altered his routine slightly, putting off his bath until now, because he wanted to find out if the special effects that came with the Awakening of Flame Slash, Tornado Slash, and Earth-Splitting Slash were what he had guessed.

It was a little late, but it wasn’t a big deal.

After all, washing away the murderous aura from killing was just a personal habit.

Time ticked by.

Just as Roy was about to end his bath, change into clean clothes, and enter Chaos Square to begin his Breathing Technique cultivation, he heard a faint footstep.

The sound wasn’t coming from outside the room, but from the living room within.

The moment he heard it, he realized what was happening.

’Someone climbed in through the window!’

Without a moment’s hesitation, he leaped out of the tub and retrieved a set of clean clothes from Chaos Square to put on.

Then, he channeled his Fighting Qi, materializing a white Fighting Qi Cross Sword, and strode out of the bathroom.

’Did they go into the bedroom?’

Seeing no one in the living room, he immediately headed for the bedroom.

Soon, Fighting Qi Cross Sword in hand, he arrived in the bedroom.

And then, his expression turned awkward.

He had assumed the uninvited guest was a common thief.

As it turned out, he had overthought it.

There was indeed an uninvited guest in the bedroom.

But this guest wasn’t a thief. It was Catherine.

To be precise, it was a Catherine who had just taken off her Hunter’s Clothing and was standing there in her undergarments, her fiery and sexy figure on full display.

Er...

Catherine clearly hadn’t expected Roy to enter the bedroom at that moment. She froze, staring at him in astonishment.

Before Roy could speak, a tempting blush spread across her delicate, fair, and alluring face.

"Why did you come in without knocking?"

Catherine asked quickly.

’What a great body!’

Roy first marveled to himself, then dispelled the Fighting Qi Cross Sword in his hand and said with a calm expression:

"The door was unlocked... Besides, this is my room."

"Put your clothes on. I’m not in the mood tonight."

Although Catherine hadn’t stated her intentions, anyone with a brain could guess what she was up to.

After speaking, he turned and left the bedroom without waiting for her reply.

Watching him calmly walk out of the bedroom like an ascetic monk completely uninterested in women, Catherine frowned.

After discovering she couldn’t increase her chances of marrying Roy by tricking Tony, the persistent Catherine had decisively moved on to her third plan.

Subtle hints had been her first plan.

Tricking Tony was the second.

As for the third plan, it was the simple and crude approach of offering herself to him.

’Is my charm not enough?’

’He’s not even tempted by this?’

Catherine, who had never once doubted her own charm, began to wonder for the first time in her life if she was actually unattractive.

After standing by the bed and thinking for a dozen seconds, she picked up her Hunter’s Clothing from the floor and quickly put it on.

Once dressed, she left the bedroom without hesitation and went to the living room.

Seeing Roy sitting calmly on the sofa drinking tea, she sat down across from him and asked with a serious expression, "Do you have some... physical problem you’d rather not talk about?"

’A physical problem I’d rather not talk about?’

Though Catherine was being subtle, Roy immediately understood her subtext and quickly replied, "I’m perfectly healthy. There’s nothing wrong with me."

Hearing his answer, Catherine pressed on, "Then is it that I’m not to your taste?"

"No, you are very much my type."

"I already told you, I’m just not in the mood tonight. It has nothing to do with you. You don’t need to doubt your appeal or my... ability."

Roy said slowly.

He was telling the truth. Catherine was indeed his type.

But he truly wasn’t in the mood right now.

Or rather, he didn’t plan to waste too much time on physical pleasures before advancing to a Silver Great Knight.

For other men, a game of ’cards’ wouldn’t take much time.

But he knew his own situation very well.

Once he started playing ’cards’ with Catherine, the game would last a few hours at minimum, and at most, the entire night.

Because once the game began, stopping wouldn’t be so simple.

He likely wouldn’t stop until he had played to his heart’s content.

Especially when his opponent was a beautiful woman.

And Catherine was, without a doubt, a beautiful woman.

Catherine fell silent.

After a few seconds, she continued, "Then when will you be in the mood?"

"In three days, I suppose."

Roy replied.

’Three days?’

Hearing Roy give a specific timeframe, a confused expression appeared on Catherine’s face.

Just as she was about to ask more, Roy said slowly, "I’ve set a three-day cultivation plan for myself. Before that plan is complete, I’m in no mood for that sort of thing."

An expression of understanding dawned on Catherine’s face.

"After you left Rock Lion Castle, I had my men ’invite’ Tony to the castle..."

Catherine didn’t hide anything, recounting the whole story of how she had tricked Tony.

When she finished her story, Roy didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He had guessed that Catherine was lusting after his body, or rather, that she had developed feelings of admiration and trust for him after he killed Count Rock Lion, Jeremy, and the others.

But he never expected that Catherine would actually tell Tony she wanted to marry him.

He sighed helplessly, looked at Catherine with a serious expression, and said slowly, "I’m not as good a person as you imagine."

"Let me put it this way: I might have a few more principles than the other nobles you know, but I’m no saint either."

"Let me give you a simple example."

"Even if I slept with you, I might not necessarily marry you."

"Because right now, I have no intention of marrying anyone."

"If you think you can win me over with your body or your feelings, you’ll end up just like those noble ladies who are used and abandoned by bards and Wandering Knights—nothing more than a laughingstock for idle gossip."

"I am not a good person. I wasn’t before, and I won’t be in the future."

Roy thought that by being so blunt, he could make Catherine realize he wasn’t a good person.

As it turned out, he had been too naive.

Despite all he had said, Catherine seemed to have only heard half a sentence—and completely misunderstood it.

"’Might not necessarily marry me’—that means you’ve thought about marrying me, right?"

Catherine looked at Roy, her face full of pleasant surprise.

"No! I haven’t! You’re overthinking things!"

"I need to start my cultivation. You should go back for now. Don’t come looking for me for the next three days."

Roy said to Catherine.

"Alright, then. I’ll come find you in three days."

With that, Catherine climbed out the window and left the room.

After Catherine left, Roy shook his head and closed the window.

Then, with a thought, he entered Chaos Square and began his night’s cultivation of the Breathing Technique.

...

Time flew.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

「Royal Capital Inner City.」

「The residence of the Minister of Military Affairs.」

The Ironblood Duke, a man in his early fifties, sat in the Minister of Military Affairs’ former office, clad in a suit of magnificent Golden Armor as he reviewed the documents in his hands.

It had been nearly half a month since the Royal Capital was captured, but he and the other three Dukes had still not left.

They had not yet finished dividing the spoils of their conquest.

The Peak Knights they had planted within the Vassal forces had successfully caused them to disintegrate.

However, the Royal Army itself had not been significantly affected.

Not only that, but the Eldest Prince had not foolishly led the Royal Army straight north toward the Royal Capital.

Instead, the Eldest Prince had split his forces into four, marching toward the Dukes’ own territories under the banner of avenging William II and punishing the rebels.

It had to be said, the Eldest Prince’s move had caught them by surprise.

And so, the problem had fallen back to them.

After considering all factors, the Ironblood Duke and the other three had made the same choice.

They would send only a portion of their subordinates and soldiers back to their territories!

As for themselves, they would remain in the Royal Capital to continue negotiations with the other three Dukes.

When they were discussing whether to join forces against the Royal Family, they had already talked about dividing the spoils after capturing the Royal Capital and had reached an agreement.

But after actually capturing the Royal Capital, they all changed their minds.

Each of them wanted the Royal Capital for himself.

The Royal Capital was no ordinary city.

Whoever controlled the Royal Capital would also control the entire Morning Star Plain.

This was the most prosperous region in the central Laine Kingdom.

Just as the Ironblood Duke finished reviewing the document in his hand, his Captain of the Personal Guard, James, appeared before him and said respectfully,

"My Lord, the latest news has arrived from Yorkshire. Catherine Belons hired a Dark Night Knight to kill Count Rock Lion, and she personally killed the other male heirs."

"She has now inherited the title, taken control of the Beluns Clan, and renamed the Beluns Clan to the Olson Clan."

...