Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 3

Shivers had to use considerable willpower to restrain himself from drawing his sword on the arrogant rabbit, but the Duke showed a maturity beyond his years at that moment.

No one expected the young Duke, who always held his chin high, to suddenly stand up and perform a standard noble bow, softly asking Charlie to accept his commission.

This, instead, was somewhat disappointing to Charlie, who had hoped to see the other’s usual expressionless pale face turn red with anger—he had just whimsically wanted to tease him, given his imperious demeanor from the start.

It felt like bullying a child.

But the party concerned didn’t carry such a heavy psychological burden.

Recalling the incident later, Dwight calmly stated that asking for help didn’t make him feel ashamed—in fact, he said that if there were enough benefits in exchange, he wouldn’t mind even dancing a striptease in a skirt.

Astrology was one of the world’s most mysterious arts because the vast majority of people couldn’t discern what the stars hanging in the sky each day truly signified, let alone predict the future from them.

When astrology was monopolized by a handful of astrologers, there were those who attempted to decode their secrets over the centuries, drawing inspiration from the patterns of the nebulae and the positions of the moon, but no one ever succeeded. Astrology was a truly divinely bestowed ministry.

It couldn’t be learned, taught, or faked—from ancient times to the present, the prophecies of astrologers had never failed.

And the rare astrologers clearly weren’t sufficient to meet the predictive needs of the entire continent, so they all had their own ways of living in seclusion.

But the confident rabbit shopkeeper assured the Duke that it would only take three days to contact the legendary astrologer, and he warmly invited him and his knights to stay at his shop.

This time, without Dwight needing to speak, Shivers firmly declined the invitation.

If it weren’t for Miss Priscilla, he would have thrown down his glove at the audacious rabbit long ago.

Thus, when the news spread that the young and handsome noble Duke had come to Maplewood, the sheriff’s wife also received the infuriating news—the Duke was indeed staying at Mona’s inn!

She was the richest and most influential woman in Maplewood, and the only person who had ever made her taste defeat was the beautiful Mona, for no amount of fancy skirts and jewelry could attract a man’s gaze as much as a charming face.

That filthy little inn had actually invited the Duke, and that woman Mona must be seizing the opportunity to flaunt herself and rise to prominence.

The sheriff’s wife felt that if the duke took Mona back to the luxurious Brandenburg when his journey ended, she would surely have a heart attack.

She wasn’t the only one with such thoughts.

Thus, nearly half the town rushed to the Treehole Inn, hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous Duke Dwight and see if Mona had indeed become his mistress.

Regrettably, the doors of the Treehole Inn were tightly closed.

Even the travelers who had been staying at the inn for the winter had been asked to leave, but clearly, the Duke had compensated them well enough to find another cozy bar to exchange their handfuls of gold coins for beer.

In fact, Innkeeper Mona was also quite frustrated.

If it weren’t for her pleading with the Knight Commander, she would have nowhere to go if she left the Treehole Inn, and perhaps she too would have been sent elsewhere. As for the Duke clearing the place upon his arrival, she hadn’t even seen what the distinguished guest looked like.

So when the sheriff’s wife loudly demanded that Mona step aside, “Don’t obstruct her from arranging this filthy inn’s living room for the Duke. At least lay some carpets to avoid soiling His Lordship’s boots,” Mona also exploded.

You should know, not to mention Mona, the sheriff’s wife was hardly a proper noblewoman herself. Perhaps she had spent a lot of money to hire tutors for her two daughters, but once angered, she wouldn’t hesitate to roll up her sleeves and take off her earrings for a fight—a real lady would never do such a thing.

Dwight could hardly believe that mature women could scream and shove each other in public, with disheveled hair and jewelry clinking to the ground. If his eyes weren’t deceiving him, the two were already starting to tear each other’s dresses!

My gods above, Priscilla had never spoken in such a piercing tone in her life, and any woman appearing in Brandenburg, even just a laundry maid, would have her demeanor specially trained by a lady-in-waiting.

“Excuse me, Shivers,” he said sarcastically from the second-floor corridor to his knight commander, “could you please ask that lady—”

He paused for a moment.

“‘Agate on a silver cup, a midsummer night’s dream’. Can you calm them down a bit? Their screaming is giving me a headache.”

Shivers was at a loss for words, and although he was brave and skilled in battle, no one had ever taught him how to calm two frantic ladies down.

In fact, he wasn’t the only man present lacking such confidence. The sheriff himself stood uncomfortably to the side, trying to intervene but utterly unable to get a word in.

The sheriff’s wife even managed to loudly warn him ‘not to try to touch that bitch’ while the innkeeper, seemingly completely crazed, screamed curses at her, calling her a jennet waiting to be slaughtered.

“Good heavens, what’s going on here?”

A calm voice abruptly cut through the two women’s curses.

Mona was the first to recover, looking towards the door.

A man stood at the entrance, backlit and indistinct— but it didn’t matter. Just seeing those two ears was enough to know who it was.

Yes, unless this town had another furry-faced, self-satisfied freak. Dwight looked down from above at the fuzzy head and thought this condescendingly.

The two women stopped their movements.

“Charlie.” Mona adjusted her hair somewhat uncomfortably. “Oh!”

Her fingertips brushed past her earlobe, where the earrings had scratched and drawn blood.

“Don’t move,” Charlie said softly, tilting her chin to look at her ear for a moment.

“I request you return to your room and let Tracy help you with your ear, okay?” The rabbit shopkeeper’s tone was still unhurried but had a soothing power. “Scars don’t suit you.”

Mona lifted her skirt, not even glancing at the sheriff’s wife, and walked away proudly with her chin raised.

The sheriff’s wife bristled, but then saw Charlie magically pull a half-bloomed dahlia from his coat and politely asked if he could pin it to her hair.

The conflict ended in a peculiar way, with the sheriff’s wife even leaving with a smile.

The Duke and knights, who had witnessed everything from the second floor, found it unbelievable.

“Tell me,” Dwight said.

“Tell what?” The rabbit-headed shopkeeper approached the Duke’s temporary room, surprised to find many items clearly not belonging to the Treehole Inn.

The four-poster bed was brand new, and on the matching bedside table was a set of sparkling, immaculate tea set that looked more like a work of art than household items.

“You wouldn’t want to know how much it costs to replace that crystal cup. Put it down,” Dwight said lazily as he reclined in the high-backed chair.

Charlie reluctantly withdrew his hand.

“How did you manage to say to her, ‘A beautiful woman is more fragile than a flower, and to lose even a single petal would break one’s heart’?” Dwight said bluntly. “If the sheriff wasn’t standing there, I would have thought she was the butcher’s wife.”

“Though compared to the sheriff, that profession would obviously be a better fit for that fatso,” he added.

Charlie shrugged. “Women are inherently more delicate and vulnerable than men. What’s wrong with what I said?”

Dwight thought to himself that there was a big problem, suspecting both Charlie’s vision and his sense of beauty were abnormal.

However, the Duke didn’t want to expend too much energy on those two eye-opening women. The rabbit’s presence here only meant one thing.

“Let’s leave today. Now that the heavy snow has just stopped,” Charlie said.

Shivers only then noticed a carry-on bag by his feet.

“I’ll arrange it right away,” said the Knight Commander.

“No.” Charlie turned to him. “You can stay here and wait for us to return.”

Shivers was momentarily stunned before realizing that Charlie’s “us” didn’t include himself.

“The Duke can never go anywhere alone!” Shivers immediately protested.

“How could it be alone?” Charlie asked, puzzled. “I’m going too.”

Dwight frowned slightly.

“It’s not the same.” Shivers pressed down his anger. “The Duke is of nobility and must travel with proper arrangements. Our departure is already hasty enough. We cannot further reduce our manpower. Not just me. All the knights must accompany him.”

“My Lord, Kurt being a reclusive astrologer isn’t without reason. Do you think he’d be happy if I brought a whole troop of knights marching to raid his lair?” Charlie said.

Moreover, he really couldn’t see anything ‘hasty’ about their appearance this time. The small town inn’s room had completely changed its look—even the curtains had been replaced with velvet bearing noble crests. Heaven knows how they managed that!

The forthright Knight Commander bluntly stated, “Even if what you say about Astrologer Kurt is true, you can’t guarantee my Master’s safety and comfort on the road.”

Charlie blinked. “Comfort aside, what’s unsafe about stepping out? Even wolves won’t come out in this weather.”

“Alright, Shivers.” Dwight enjoyed the confrontation between the Knight Commander and the rabbit-headed shopkeeper for a while before speaking up. “There won’t be any danger. You all wait here for me.”

“My Lord!” Shivers turned back. “We still can’t fully trust him!”

“If he’s a fraud, we’ll chop off his head and hang it on the tower,” Dwight said coldly. “I hope you’re not questioning my ability.”

Shivers glared, and for a moment, Charlie thought the handsome knight was about to decide to draw his sword and fight him to the death.

But he didn’t.

“But someone still needs to drive the carriage,” Shivers said.

He and Dwight both looked at Charlie.

Charlie’s long ears twitched slightly, then—

“No. My Lord, if we bring one more person, I guarantee no one will even touch the hem of Kurt’s robe.”

The corners of Shiver’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. “Then you might need to wear warmer clothes.”

Riding or driving a carriage in this weather was no easy task, especially since he didn’t believe that the slender yet lean peculiar shopkeeper could physically match the well-trained knights.

“Ah, no, no, no.” Charlie’s ears perked up. “I have a more suitable candidate.”

Shivers stared at him. “You said we can’t bring another person—”

“Correct,” Charlie said decisively. “No more, but I can take care of the carriage issue. Please don’t worry.”

Half an hour later.

A luxuriously unreasonable carriage for a long journey stopped in front of the Treehole Inn, with curious children from the houses nearby straining at their windows to get a clearer view.

“Tom! Tom! Do you think those carriage windows are made of gold? Pure gold?”

“Did you see that crest? It’s shinier than mom’s earrings! Tony!”

Several tall knights stood at the door, looking at Charlie with unfriendly gazes.

Unaware, Charlie elegantly opened the carriage door for the Duke, then got in himself.

In the front of the carriage, a little tin soldier sat cheerfully on the seat, its bottom cushioned by a plump cushion.

“Ready?” it called out spiritedly. “Say goodbye loudly! We’ll be back soon!”

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