Honkai Summoning.

The only thing that could unite them was to work together to drive Wilbur out of the capital, so that the old man wouldn't jump out and interfere with them at a crucial moment.

Wilbur clearly and explicitly told Tranton everything that had happened to the Worbs family during this time.

It also specifically mentioned some important things that need attention.

It's fair to say that Wilbur's words meant that even without returning to the capital, Tranton was fully aware of everything that had happened to the Worbus family, even if it was something that happened a month ago.

"And the fiefdom?" Tranton asked.

“Nothing unusual has happened in the fiefdom for the time being,” Wilbur said.

In the British Empire, the truly powerful nobles actually resided in the capital, not in their own fiefdoms, and the Worbus family was no exception.

The reason for this was that the British Empire had only recently been established, and Henry's most powerful family felt that it was easier to maintain stability if everyone stayed in one place. Later, after dozens of generations of development, the prosperity of the capital city made it impossible for the nobles who had enjoyed such privileges since childhood to leave.

To use a rather crude analogy, once you're used to flush toilets, who would want to use a horrible latrine unless absolutely necessary?

Su Mo is quite qualified to speak on this matter, as he is someone who has gone from the era of "latrines" to the era of "flush toilets".

Whenever Su Mo recalls those early days, he sometimes doubts how he got through them.

It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Even a man as resolute as Su Mo (who claims to be) cannot escape this fate. So don't expect any truly determined individuals to emerge from the nobility of this world.

Besides, what are you going back to your fiefdom for? Do you intend to start a rebellion?

"Young Master, are you planning to return to the capital?" Wilbur asked.

“Yes, I’ll get back as soon as possible,” Tranton said.

"Then please be careful, young master, after all, the enemy is lurking in the shadows." Wilbur's tone revealed a hint of worry.

"Hmph, when I return to Thorn City, it's not me who should be afraid! It's those people! I'll find them one by one and skin them alive!" Tranton's tone was chilling, with a hint of disdain.

The enemy is lurking in the shadows? To be honest, Tranton isn't afraid right now, because standing beside him is a demon butler who is far more terrifying than any of those lurking enemies.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Imperial Capital

After the conversation, Tranton went to rest.

To be honest, not many people got a good rest during their time on the ship. Although Tranton wasn't as anxious as Mrs. Liz and the others, he was pretty much one of them.

Now that they were ashore and saw the old steward, they felt a little more at ease and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Wilbur helped arrange a carriage to take Trenton to a nearby town.

"Your name is Sebastian?" Wilbur asked, looking at Su Mo. "And your surname?"

“Jia Maode.” Su Mo smiled.

Wilbur frowned. "A strange surname."

"Yes, the young master said the same thing."

Wilbur continued to stare at Su Mo, frowned slightly, and then said, "As a butler, I think you are not qualified. There are some things that I think I can teach you while the young master is asleep."

"Oh? What is it?" Su Mo asked with interest.

“For example, respect for one’s master,” Wilbur said.

He could tell that the man in front of him named Sebastian didn't have much respect for Tranton.

And that's not all. The way this guy looked at Tranton wasn't respectful at all; instead, it was filled with amusement.

It's like looking at a really interesting toy!

With such a person by Trent's side, Wilbur had no idea what terrible things might happen.

However, in terms of physical strength, even ten Wilburs tied up wouldn't be enough to defeat Su Mo with one hand. Therefore, Wilbur could only try to probe with words to see if he could find out the mysterious person's background and what this guy was up to.

Could it be that they're after the Worbs family's fortune?

"I have great respect for you, young master," Su Mo said with a smile.

“No, you didn’t.” Wilbur’s face darkened. To be fair, as a former butler, his stern expression carried considerable authority.

Unfortunately, while this aura might work on ordinary people and frighten one or two children, it had no effect on Su Mo.

He didn't ask the old man for anything; this is what it means to be invincible when one is without desires.

So, the very carefree Su Mo simply nodded seriously: "You're right, I'll pay attention to correcting it in the future."

"..."

Wilbur was taken aback, not expecting this guy to just admit it like that. What happened to the planned rebuttal? How am I supposed to continue saying things that will provoke you and make you blurt something out when you're emotionally charged?

If you're not cooperating, it'll be very difficult for me later!

After nodding to Wilbur, Su Mo turned and walked directly upstairs.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Wilbur asked.

“Naturally, we should wake the young master and head to that Thorn City in the Empire. The sooner we get there, the easier it will be to get things done,” Su Mo said.

“But the young master is still resting!” Wilbur said in a low voice. Unless there was something really wrong, how could a butler disturb his master’s rest?

Do you even understand anything?

“But the carriage has already arrived.” Su Mo ignored Wilbur and rushed upstairs.

Has the carriage arrived?

Is this your excuse for disturbing Young Master Tranton's rest? You just said you would pay attention and correct your ways, and now you've done something like this.

You were just saying it casually, right? You never really intended to change anything, did you?

If Su Mo knew Wilbur's thoughts, he might have turned around and said in a praising tone, "That's right, I didn't expect you to find out."

Fortunately, Su Mo was unaware of this.

So Wilbur only felt a sweet taste in his throat, as if something called blood was rising up, and he couldn't even open his mouth to stop it. He wondered if he would spit out a mouthful of blood if he opened his mouth—but he only wondered, he didn't actually spit it out.

If Su Mo had said those words, Wilbur could have coughed up blood without any regrets.

"Why would there be such a... uh... person!"

Wilbur watched Su Mo's retreating figure. He had lived most of his life and seen all sorts of people, but he still couldn't find the right words to describe this guy.

This can't just be described as despicable or shameless; even despicable and shameless people don't act with such self-righteousness.

This person's way of thinking is completely different from normal people!

Regardless of Wilbur's thoughts, Su Mo, whose way of thinking was different from that of normal people, was still Tranton's only hope for revenge and the butler he could absolutely trust.

This will not change until Su Mo devours Tranton's soul.

As for disrespect, Tranton had long since gotten used to it after this period of training. Now he could remain calm in the face of Su Mo's various seemingly complimentary but actually sarcastic remarks.

He didn't react to Su Mo waking him up—if you take it easy, life is actually quite wonderful.

Tranton was actually quite easygoing. He didn't need anyone to serve him. He dressed himself, straightened his collar in front of the mirror, smoothed out the wrinkles, and then nodded in satisfaction.

Su Mo, who should have been doing this, was leaning against the door yawning. He looked like he was waiting for his friend, who was dawdling and even dressed up before going out to play. He was just short of urging him to hurry up.

"Alright, let's go." Tranton opened the door and walked out.

Seeing Tranton's clean and crisp clothes, Wilbur gave Su Mo a look that said, "This is barely acceptable."

Su Mo smiled slightly and accepted the praise that didn't belong to him. He wouldn't be so bored as to tell the old man that his young master actually dresses himself.

What if the old man dies from extreme anger?

After a brief but heartfelt farewell, Tranton and Su Mo boarded a carriage and embarked on their journey back to the capital.

Wilbur, however, chose to stay.

Originally, Tranton thought that Wilbur going to the capital with him would be of greater help. However, there's only one Worbus family; how could there possibly be two butlers?

Which housekeeper's words will be effective at that time?

Trent believed that Wilbur would be better than his devilish butler in some matters—at least in the short term. But Wilbur was getting old, and given time, Sebastian would surely surpass him.

It wouldn't have been impossible to let Wilbur stay in the capital to retire, but given the potential conflict between him and Sebastian... and Sebastian... can you really expect this demon, who barely respects even his own master, to respect another human old man?

Tranton certainly didn't want to wake up one morning to find his devilish butler standing beside him, holding a bloody head and grinning, "Young Master, look at this..."

For Wilbur's safety, Tranton thought it would be better for him to stay here and retire.

After all, this old guy's life was quite good; he had a house, a car, and women... Tranton felt that he couldn't even live such a carefree life.

As he watched the carriage sway and disappear from his sight, Wilbur's face gradually darkened, and he slowly strolled back to his house.

Inside, Darcy asked cautiously, "Father, is that man really Master Tranton? Didn't we hear he went missing?"

He had only seen Trent once when he was a child a long time ago. No one intended to train him to be the next butler of the Worbs family, and with his poor memory, he naturally couldn't recognize the young master of the Worbs family.

I only have time to ask this now.

"Do you think I'd admit my mistake?" Wilbur scoffed, looking at his son.

“Hey…” Darcy forced a laugh, then suddenly said, “Then why don’t we go back to the capital with the young master? In fact, as long as there is a place, I can guarantee that I will never appear in front of the young master in this lifetime.”

"The capital?"

Wilbur looked at his foolish son, his face growing even colder. Only in front of his son could he be himself, without needing to feign anything. "Go back to the capital? Are you courting death?"

"Looking for death?" Darcy was taken aback. "How could it be looking for death? That's the capital... the safest place in the empire."

"Idiot." Wilbur tossed out the words and walked upstairs without looking back, adding halfway up, "Since you're injured, take good care of yourself. If I find out you have any more unrealistic ideas, I'll break your other leg, and you'll never be able to leave again for the rest of your life."

Hearing his father's words, Darcy trembled, looking at his bandaged legs with a distressed expression on his face.

Could it be that he'll never be able to return to that bustling capital city in his lifetime, and will instead spend the rest of his life in this godforsaken little village?

------

"Is this the City of Thorns?"

Looking at the magnificent city gate before them, and the bustling crowds of people and carriages coming and going, Benson and Martin both gaped in astonishment.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, the black city walls and gates were tinged with red, the red and black intertwined, filling the city of thorns with a sense of oppression and pressure, not to mention the "thorn flower" symbol shining with golden light on the city walls.

Benson and Martin were stunned by the city, while the others did not react much.

Ten days had passed since they landed. Su Mo and his companions had spent ten days traveling at breakneck speed, barely resting, and finally arrived at the gates of the capital before nightfall.

Now their numbers have dwindled to seven. Lady Liss still has three pairs of demon master-servants—Su Mo, finding the Seven Sinners too numerous, forcibly merged them into one. As for the others—they weren't dead, of course, but rather useless. Transon certainly wouldn't bring these burdens to the capital; instead, he had Lady Liss settle those pitiful sacrifices.