The guards led Ben out of the west wing, heading towards the North mansions, which is like the official section of the estate where the reception as well as offices are located, so Ben understood that he was being taken to Dongwhisper’s office.

Since Ben had never really explored the northern wing of the estate before, he took his time to enjoy the view along the way. It also worked perfectly since the archive was also in the northern wing, so Ben could simply head straight there after finding out what Dongwhisper wanted with him.

They meandered through the pathways of the North Wing until reaching a room with a large door; the guards stopped, and the two positioned themselves at the entrance, saying nothing else to Ben. It baffled Ben how some people could be so ignorant, yet so weak.

Ben ignored their clear attempts at provocation and simply pushed open the door, walking into a vast office space with a large desk and two other smaller doors on either side of the room. The space was fancifully furnished with the highest quality materials, even though it lacked most basic setups for an office from his world.

And behind the large desk at the far end of the space, in front of the window, was the man himself. Dongwhisper was sitting in a large chair, some parchments on his table he observed with mild interest, and standing to the side like a burly sentry, watching Ben walk in like a hawk, was a branded guard who was clearly trying his hardest to be as intimidating as possible to Ben.

Ben simply walked over and stood a few feet from the desk. Since the man wasn’t acknowledging his presence, he too would simply play along. And he did have a personal bone to pick with this bald man.

Curious, Ben tried to sense this man’s essence now that he was in the noble realm. But something soon happened that caused Ben’s expression to suddenly morph into serious concern—

’I can’t sense it.’

This discovery only meant one of two things. One, just like Ben, Dongwhispere was also using some type of realm concealment technique, or two—and this was the one that Ben most hoped to not be true—

And that was that this person before him had crossed over the noble knight realm stage. A Black knight.

Now Ben was starting to understand why the duchess was so careful about this person. He not only knew her secret, but he might just be monstrously strong.

This bodes negatively for Ben since his realm concealment ability was only effective up to the noble knight realm—meaning this meant Dongwhisper might currently be seeing through his very essence.

’Shit!—I should have just bought the upgrade to the concealment ability back then.’

Ben was starting to regret not buying the upgrade to the realm concealment ability when he observed the bald man’s reaction to see that nothing had really changed; the man wasn’t reacting to him at all. This probably meant that Ben was worrying for nothing.

’So he also possesses a realm concealment ability—good to know’

Ben was relieved, as if, in fact, Dongwhispere had seen through him and saw he was actually at the noble knight realm; there would have been a clear hint of reaction on him. Seeing him continue to ignore his presence and go through those parchments just made Ben pissed.

"If you have nothing to say to me, I’ll take my leave."

Ben remarked casually as he began to turn on his heel, ready to exit the room when he heard a loud yell from behind him.

"How dare you turn your back on his lordship, you bastard?!"

Ben turned just his head to see the young guard standing beside Dongwhisper, attempting to leave his post and show him the error of his ways, when Dongwhisper simply stopped his action with a casual look.

The young man stepped back, bowing while glaring at Ben. And Ben ignored him, directing his attention to Dongwhisper, who was now looking at him as if assessing him before he spoke, referencing one of the parchments.

"Hardwood Ben Dover—"

"No family—no relations—"

"No connections whatsoever that can be traced as far back as—thirty years."

"Tell me—how did you manage your way into this estate in the first place ?"

Ben turned back towards this man, observing him with a scrutinizing gaze and something else in his eyes. Clearly, they’ve tried to do some extensive research into his background but came up empty-handed, as he wasn’t even from this world to begin with. Ben figured he had to be careful with his responses.

"What do you mean by that ?....of course I was captured by the hunt squad."

"LIES!"

The sudden, clear retort from Dongwhisper as he sat back in his chair took Ben by surprise. How could this man be so sure that he wasn’t among the batch of rebels captured at that time? Does he also have a mole in the hunt squad that’s said to be solely under the command of Nymira?

Ben wasn’t feeling good about the direction this conversation was going. He was about to say something when Dongwhisper continued calmly—

"Hmm... listen here, young man."

"I don’t really care where you are from or what reasons you have for being here—"

"Right here and right now, I will give you an opportunity of a lifetime."

"Go on your knees and swear your life to me—and I will accept you as one of my own."

"Of course you will have to do everything I tell you to do going forward, but that’s a small price to pay for the benefits you stand to gain if you join me."

Dongwhisper made his offer to Ben with a confident smile, the young man to his side looking even angrier, and a little surprised that Ben was being made such a generous offer. After all, the plan that his lord had shared with him prior didn’t involve this.

Ben Dover, however, had several veins pop on his forehead hearing the bald man tell him to get on his knees and swear a literal slave oath.

If it was when he was still a powerless butterfly, he might have done anything to survive, even if he hated it, then planned his revenge for later on.

But now?

Ben was a peak noble knight. So, with his lips curving into a sneer, he said to Dongwhisper—

"Go fuck yourself, you bald-headed demon!"

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