After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

"Long time no see, Duke Brian."

The man called Duke Brian was a middle-aged man in his forties with golden curly hair.

He is of medium height, with a well-proportioned figure, and is dressed in luxurious purple aristocratic clothing. His overall appearance is quite ordinary.

Behind him stood a blue-haired man dressed as a butler and several fully armed guards. At the guards' feet lay a huge box.

Sitting on the sofa, he slowly nodded and smiled at Xien's greeting:

"You're so polite, Viscount Edgar. Your father and I were friends before. There's no need to be so reserved."

"Thank you, Duke."

Xien nodded and sat down opposite him.

"According to the previous notice, wasn't Duke Brian supposed to arrive after daybreak? It's rather rude of me to arrive so late at night without even preparing a welcome banquet."

Although he said this, Sheen was actually very confused.

Aristocratic behavior, the higher the class, the more rules there are.

Arriving so early at night after agreeing on a visit time is not something that happens often.

Something must have happened.

Brian waved his hand:

"No way! I should be the one to apologize for pulling the Viscount out of bed so late at night."

As he spoke, he suddenly stopped smiling and his voice dropped several degrees:

"It's urgent. I have to come here at this time. Please forgive me."

Xien nodded and put away his fake smile.

"What's so urgent?"

Duke Brian didn't say anything, but just looked at the servants and guards standing in the corner of the room, and winked at Sheen.

Xien understood and turned around and said:

"My Lord the Duke and I have something to discuss. Please leave first."

"Yes!"

The guards and servants left obediently. Apart from the people brought by Duke Brian, only Sheen and his butler were left in the room.

This steward had been serving the family since before Sean's father ascended the throne, spanning three generations, and was undoubtedly Sean's most trusted person.

So it's okay to let him keep it.

Brian nodded and said:

"How much do you know about the Brave Squad Goddess Blade?"

Xien smiled bitterly and said:

"Not many, but I faced two of them the other day."

"How does it feel?"

"Although Her Highness is a little cunning, she's still quite astute. As for Leah Alfred, she's more...interesting."

Sheen racked his brains to find a word that was less offensive.

Brian hummed softly:

"Then, most importantly, have you met the brave man named Aize?"

"No, there isn't."

Although the legendary hero Aize has poor combat ability, his command ability and political skills are first-class, which makes a lot of nobles love and hate him.

I've heard of Sheen's name for a long time.

The Duke smiled softly:

"Do you know why?"

"No, I don't know."

"Because the hero Aize quit the team a few days ago due to internal conflicts."

"What!!?"

The young lord was stunned.

No wonder when we came to negotiate before, it was that stupid woman who showed up instead of the legendary Aize.

He had thought it strange before.

But wait, a few days ago? Aize?

Could it be...

Seeing Sean's increasingly troubled expression, Brian asked:

"what happened?"

Sheen shook his head.

"No, nothing. Is the Duke's visit this time related to the departure of the brave Aize?"

Brian nodded and waved his hand, and the two guards immediately lifted the large box lying on the ground and placed it in the center of the room.

"What's in here?"

"You'll know when you open it and take a look."

Sheen nodded, and the old butler beside him immediately walked forward and squatted down, opened the layers of boxes on the inside and outside, and lifted the heavy lid.

"Varied--"

The first time he saw the items inside, Sheen was stunned.

Because there was a person inside the box.

Blond, male, around twenty years old, curled up inside, hugging himself and not moving.

Most importantly, his face was identical to Sheen's.

Before he could understand what was going on, the blue-haired butler beside Brian had already started to move.

With a movement so fast that it was almost invisible to the naked eye, he raised his hand, and a ball of light immediately burst out from his palm and hit the old butler's chest directly beside the box.

"Well—Master…"

The old butler didn't even have a chance to struggle before he fell to the ground and lost his breath.

At this moment, the two guards carrying the box went around behind Sheen, grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back to his seat, while putting two swords directly on his neck.

After recovering from his shock, Sheen was extremely angry. He even ignored the etiquette of the nobles and wanted to rush up and grab Brian, but he couldn't move.

He could only roar in frustration:

"What the hell do you mean!!?"

Brian sneered, stood up from his seat, and walked slowly to Sheen:

"What do you mean? Of course I want to ask the Viscount to do me a favor."

"What's the favor?!"

"I want to borrow your identity and the city of Tafia to realize my plan."

"plan!?"

Sheen, who was so angry that he was about to lose his mind, stared in amazement as the other self in the box opened his eyes and slowly stood up.

He even saluted Sheen with a smile.

Sensing the profound irony, Sheen grew increasingly furious, and his reaction only excites Brian even more.

He even explained it proudly:

"This puppet was specially crafted using the skills of the witch clan. As you can see, it looks exactly like the Viscount. For the next period of time, it will manage this town on his behalf."

The young lord almost bit his tongue off:

"You...you're colluding with the demons? What else do you want to do to my fiefdom?!"

"No, you don't need to know that much, you just need to know..."

Duke Brian smiled and took out a small box from his pocket and threw it on the ground in front of Sheen, then nodded to the guards who were controlling Sheen, signaling them to let go.

Sheen, who had escaped, picked up the box on the ground and opened it, his face immediately turned pale.

Inside the box was an exquisite emerald ring.

It was given by Sean to his fiancée.

This thing is in his hand, and when he shows it at this time, the threat is self-evident.

"You...what did you do!?"

"Nothing, I just asked the young lady to come sit with us. She is safe now."

The Duke showed a very obscene smile:

"Well, what a beautiful lady! I'm a little moved by her. But after all, we have such a good relationship, we can't do anything rude, right?"

The implication is that if the relationship is "bad", something will be done.

Whether the so-called relationship is good or bad depends on whether you "help" or not.

Extremely shameless, but it works.

The series of events were so shocking that the young Sheen was helpless and completely wilted under Brian's continuous attacks.

Looking at the butler on the ground with sad eyes, Xien sighed and nodded.

"What do you want me to do?"

The blue-haired butler took out a small glass bottle and placed it in front of Sheen.

"Drink it. Don't worry, it's just some potion that helps you sleep. It won't threaten the Viscount's life. When you wake up, everything will be over."

Sheen picked up the bottle and looked at the clear liquid inside, his hands shaking.

With no other choice, he unscrewed the lid and poured the liquid into his mouth.

Almost at this moment, Sheen's vision was occupied by darkness and his body collapsed on the seat.

Duke Brian nodded with satisfaction:

"Stuff them in."

"Yes!"

The guards lifted the dead butler and the unconscious Sheen, stuffed them both into the box, and closed it again.

The work was successfully completed. Brian put away his fake smile and kicked the box in dissatisfaction:

"You little brat, you're such a tough nut to crack! I thought after I killed his dad and faked his death from an illness, he'd be overwhelmed and would come to me for help, so I could take over this town. I didn't expect him to be so resilient!"

The butler bowed:

"Master, the matter is not over yet. The guards and servants who were just sent out also saw us coming. If we want to carry out the plan, we must eliminate them all."

"Do you even need to say this?"

Brian waved his hand impatiently and turned to the puppet in the shape of Sheen and said:

"You, go gather those people and send them to the designated location outside the city."

"As ordered."

The puppet nodded expressionlessly and walked out of the room to carry out the order.

Once those people get there, they will disappear quietly, and no one will know that Brianti visited Tafia.

Perfect.

The Duke finally revealed a smug smile.