Lord: I can see loyalty.

As soon as the old man finished speaking, the entire hall instantly became lively.

But the atmosphere was strange; everyone was speaking in hushed tones, and in each small circle, the voices were just loud enough for those inside to hear.

Occasionally, waiters would move among the crowd carrying trays, the wine glasses on the trays reflecting the firelight, yet not a single loud noise could be heard.

Vance understood what was going on. This wasn't an ordinary cocktail party. The truly important things—knightly swordsmanship, the secrets to advancing breathing techniques, and the secrets of a certain family—were not things that could be shouted out loud.

"Let's go," Sir Leeson said softly. "Let's take a look around the areas of the smaller families and see if we find any suitable targets."

Vance nodded, and the three of them followed Lisson as they began to move through the crowd.

They walked past several groups of people who were talking in hushed tones. Some were discussing the details of a battle, some were exchanging opinions on a certain sword technique, and others were simply reminiscing.

Vance strained his ears, trying to catch some useful information, but most of the conversation at the beginning of the party didn't get to the point.

Just as they rounded a stone pillar, a voice suddenly came from the side.

"Sir Leeson? I didn't expect to see you here!"

Vance turned his head and saw a tall, somewhat handsome knight walking briskly towards him. He was wearing well-fitting half-armor, with the crest of a certain family engraved on his breastplate.

Vance didn't recognize the emblem, but it didn't look as grand as those other major families.

Sir Leeson paused, his gaze lingering on the knight's face for a moment, as if trying to make out his features.

After several breaths, he finally spoke, as if struck by a sudden realization: "Sir Cody?! Your transformation... is truly astonishing!"

He looked the other man up and down, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes. Vance also keenly noticed the change in his expression in that instant... Lison recognized this person, and the change in the other man made him think of something.

Sure enough, Sir Cody spoke with a smile, his tone revealing a hint of undisguised smugness.

"Of course, I've learned a set of knightly sword techniques in recent years. That sword technique has a great effect on the body. You see, this is the result."

As he spoke, he deliberately puffed out his chest, displaying his obviously well-trained and robust physique.

Sir Leeson and Vance exchanged a glance.

Isn't this exactly what they're looking for?

"Congratulations," Sir Leeson said, turning to introduce them, "These are Mr. Gilbert and his squire, from the South, who are very interested in knightly swordsmanship."

Vance stepped forward, about to bow, when Sir Cody's gaze swept over him.

His gaze held a hint of scrutiny and a touch of condescension.

"The Southern Territory?" Sir Cody's tone rose slightly. "I've heard it's in chaos there, the banditry hasn't been quelled yet?"

Vance suppressed his displeasure and maintained a polite smile: "There are indeed some troubles, but Count Vio has already dealt with them."

"Earl?" Sir Cody raised an eyebrow, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed it back. He simply nodded slightly as a greeting.

Sir Leeson sensed the subtle tension and decided to get straight to the point.

"Cody," his tone was more casual than before, "since you're here too, why don't we have a chat? You know, I've always been interested in knightly swordsmanship..."

"Lison."

Sir Cody interrupted him, his smile unchanged, but his tone held a hint of distance.

"We've known each other for so many years, I won't beat around the bush." ​​He paused, "I learned this swordsmanship from someone else, and I'm still not very skilled myself, so I can't teach it to others. Besides..."

He glanced at Risen, his gaze carrying a hint of something hard to define.

"After all these years, you still haven't found the way?"

The words were left unsaid, but the meaning was already quite clear.

He was unwilling to give it.

Furthermore, they do not intend to accept anything in exchange for wealth, intelligence, or anything else.

Sir Leeson also fell silent.

Sir Cody seemed to realize he'd gone a bit too far, so he simply patted Lison on the shoulder and softened his tone: "Don't overthink it, this isn't directed at you. Everyone keeps these things tightly covered, right? There will be opportunities, take your time."

After saying that, he stopped talking and turned to blend into the crowd.

Sir Leeson stood still, his expression calm, but there was something unpleasant in his clear eyes.

Vance was at a loss for words, but Sir Leeson spoke first, his tone as indifferent as if nothing had happened: "Let's go, next one."

They continued to move through the crowd.

But the people they encountered next either lacked knightly swordsmanship, or politely declined like Cody, or offered ridiculously high conditions.

Vance gradually understood why Sir Rison, despite being a knight, had not been able to learn a complete set of knightly swordsmanship techniques all these years.

This thing is really rare.

Just as they were getting a little discouraged, Vance's gaze fell on a figure in the corner of the hall.

The man stood against the wall, around thirty years old, with a somewhat haggard face, slightly sunken eyes, and an overall sense of exhaustion.

But his posture was very steady, the kind of composure that comes from someone who has practiced swordsmanship, and his gaze kept wandering through the crowd, clearly searching for something.

"That person..." Vance said in a low voice.

Sir Leeson followed his gaze and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"His skill is extraordinary." After a moment, Sir Leeson said softly, "He must have mastered knightly swordsmanship."

The group exchanged glances and decided to give it a try.

"Excuse me." Sir Leeson approached the man, bowing slightly. "My name is Killian Leeson. May I ask your name?"

The man looked up, glanced at them, his eyes showing a hint of wariness, but it quickly turned into weariness.

"...The Grey Wolf family, Leon." His voice was a little hoarse.

"The Grey Wolf family?" Sir Leeson thought for a moment. "The ones from the North?"

Leon nodded.

Vance was delighted; the middle-class families in the North wouldn't be as difficult to deal with as the nobles in the capital.

Lison clearly thought the same thing, and he went straight to the point: "Lord Leon, we are looking for knightly swordsmanship, and of course, not for free. If there's anything you need, we can discuss it."

Leon remained silent for a moment, then finally pointed in a direction not far away.

Vance looked in the direction he was pointing and saw three people gathered together, chatting and laughing.

There were two men and one woman, all dressed as knights. The woman was wearing leather armor, was tall, and was listening to a man next to her with a smile.

"That woman," Leon's voice lowered, "was the marriage partner my family arranged for me."

Lisson and Vance were both stunned.

"I like her a lot too," Leon continued, a hint of bitterness in his voice, "but...it seems she doesn't like me that much."

Vance and Lisson exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in each other's eyes.

They never imagined that finding knightly swordsmanship would require them to play matchmaker.

Sir Leeson cleared his throat and tentatively asked, "Um... what's the relationship between your two families?"

"They are both families from the North, with roughly equal strength. Our Grey Wolf family and their family have always cooperated, and they rely on us quite a bit, which is why they want to form a marriage alliance." Leon sighed. "But she is a ranger knight."

Rogue Knight.

Vance recalled the term Lissen had mentioned before: wandering knights, mostly knights who were descendants of fallen nobles.

Only a very small number of people truly want to leave to hone their skills, and this person is one of them.

Knights who voluntarily leave their families and travel around to hone their skills are all extremely strong-willed, so how could they possibly accept an arranged marriage?

"The two with her," Leon continued, "are also rangers and knights from the North. In our area, there aren't many who are willing to go out and hone their skills, so they are considered close friends."

Vance glanced at Leon.

His features weren't bad-looking; in fact, one could say they were quite handsome. But his face was etched with fatigue, his eyes were sunken, and he exuded an air of exhaustion. Compared to the spirited female knight over there, he was indeed...

"This is really difficult to handle," one of Vance's underlings whispered.

Sir Leeson couldn't help but look at Vance with a pleading look in his eyes. He himself rarely came into contact with women, let alone helped others.

Vance was also in a dilemma; before the Brotherhood, he was just an ordinary farmer's son.

But Leon's next words stunned them all.

"If you can help me..." Leon raised his head slightly, "I am willing to give you our family's Grey Wolf Sword Technique."

Vance's eyes widened.

So... hasty?

Leon noticed their confusion and could only explain with a wry smile, "The Grey Wolf Sword Technique is practically commonplace in the northern border of the kingdom..."

"You may not have seen it before, for two reasons. First, the Grey Wolf Sword Technique is only popular in our small area in the North. Second, practicing this sword technique has side effects..."

He didn't go on.

Vance and the others looked him over again, and a thought simultaneously crossed their minds: the side effects were indeed quite obvious.

But no matter what, something is better than nothing, and what Count Vio wants is knightly swordsmanship, even if it's "commonplace," it's still genuine knightly swordsmanship.

"Well..." Sir Leeson began, "shall we go over and talk?"

Leon nodded, took a deep breath, and followed behind them toward the three ranger knights as if he were going to battle.

The distance is getting closer and closer.

The three people seemed to sense their presence and turned around at the same time.

The female knight's gaze first fell on Sir Risson, who was leading the group. This handsome man, who didn't look like a knight, had clearly caught her attention.

Her eyes lit up slightly, and a smile even appeared at the corner of her mouth.

But when she saw Leon behind her, her smile froze, and then her brows furrowed slightly.

"Why are you here too?"