The Price is Everything of Yours (76 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 143

The Marquis Tipian’s procession arrived in nothing short of a clamor.

Unlike last time—when he had come merely accompanied by a few knights and attendants, as if visiting a close relative casually—this time, banners bearing the Marquis’s crest and soldiers surrounded his carriage. Several knights on fine steeds stood at the front with imposing expressions, and behind them trailed several officials seemingly from the Marquis’s household.

Yet the most significant difference between this visit and the last was not its scale. Seeing the Imperial crest deliberately placed higher and ahead of the Marquis’s own emblem, Cledwin and Neris both smiled faintly at the same time.

“He’s come.”

“He has.”

Though they hadn’t planned it, both spoke these words simultaneously. Seeing this, Talprin—the soldier—made a playful expression as if to say, “You two are something else.” He quickly composed his face before the bewildered onlookers nearby could read his expression.

Through the window of Cledwin’s office, the Marquis’s procession could be seen recklessly entering through the gate. When Neris moved to stand up, Cledwin immediately stopped her.

“No need to go out. Not for that sort of thing.”

The “that sort of thing” he dismissed so contemptuously clearly referred to the Marquis and Adrian. Neris considered it unnecessary to give them any pretext to find fault, but decided to see what Cledwin intended to do. What had he prepared for the Imperial brat disliked by every noble?

Cledwin raised his hand and summoned Aidan, then issued crisp instructions.

“Only arrest the escaped prisoner. If he resists, leave him.”

Didn’t that imply he could be killed if he resisted? Of course, killing another high noble before an Imperial was out of the question—but since Aidan was accustomed to far harsher orders, he was momentarily confused. True to his nature, however, he immediately obeyed and left.

Neris smiled inwardly. The previous visit had been entirely unofficial and implicit—from its purpose, to the status within the regime, to the detention and escape. That meant either side could frame entirely different arguments depending on how they spun the logic.

Hence, despite being the escaped party, they had arrived so boldly, flying their banner proudly, insisting they had come to “receive an apology.”

Cledwin, it seemed, intended to make his stance clear from the outset—that the prior imprisonment had been entirely justified, and the Marquis should expect no better treatment.

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