“You’re too kind, Ms. Bunyan.” The middle-aged man who always laughed a lot touched the back of his head and let out a hearty laugh, “In our customs, it should be me treating the guests.”
The lady with flaxen long curly hair and blue eyes nodded reservedly.
A well-hidden joy and satisfaction flashed in her eyes after hearing that she was called “Bunyan” instead of “Leona”.
Can she be satisfied just by being called by her last name?
Annan noticed the details, thinking silently in his heart.
Annan learned the tranquility and easygoingness that enabled him to get along well with anyone from the Prophet Wizard named “Ghirlandaio”… or rather the living sculpture that was given life.
It was the prototype of Annan’s [The Last Work] curse.
But now, Annan noticed another person in the underground world through Lin Yiyi’s eyes. The man named Nieusel had a clean, innocent, simple, and cheerful smile. So, Annan quickly absorbed and learned the relevant skills.
A marble stone statue was undoubtedly stiff, but “Ghirlandaio” was different.
It was not acting but the nature of the living marble golem imitating humans. It was natural, just like a cheetah knowing how to hunt and a goshawk knowing how to fly.
Then, Annan had a new expression to use.
Ms. Leona, who also had a smile, felt closely toward this stranger she first met.
—Naturally, it could not be because of the other party’s out-of-town merchant’s dress up.
The Bunyan family was not short of money.
Instead, it was because of that simple and cheerful smile.
Of course, Leona knew that a business person couldn’t have a soul capable of showing such a smile. So it must be his disguise or acting.
But so what?
It was not like she wanted to marry him, let alone do important business with him. The nature of the other party had nothing to do with her. If it was just a fair-weather friendship, then choosing the one she got along happily was the right choice.
As for the wisdom in picking friends, Leona was well-versed in it.
Or rather, the Bunyans were excellent at it.
“In our Austere-Winter, there is no rule of having the guests treat the meal.” Leona smiled and poured Ghirlandaio a glass of pale, stale wine before filling her glass.
She raised her glass and gulped it down.
Then, he smacked his lips happily, turned the glass upside down, and gestured to Ghirlandaio.
Ghirlandaio’s kind and cheerful smile never faded.
He just drank a glass of wine with a smile and put the empty glass back on the table without changing his expression.
“Compared to buying me a drink,” Ghirlandaio lamented, “I’m quite amazed at the fact that I’m drinking with a stranger for the first time in a conversation.”
“Of course.” Leona chuckled and filled her glass again, “Where do the Noahs like to meet strangers? Teahouses? Theaters?”
“Theaters sometimes, but we usually treat someone to a meal in our own family’s manor. Strictly speaking, most people around us are acquaintances. During the social season, the nobles of the Noah Kingdom hold banquets two to three times a week.
“Everyone is either holding a banquet at their own home or on the way to someone else’s banquet. At the banquet, we are already acquainted, so we’re no longer strangers.” Ghirlandaio drank his wine and replied casually.
Leona also drank her wine without changing her expression. Then, she poured more wine with a chuckle, “Your Excellency Ghirlandaio seems to have excellent alcohol tolerance. I thought only Austerian liked to drink.”
“Our Noah Kingdom’s drinking capacity is actually not that bad. Especially after practicing at the banquet.” Ghirlandaio said with a smile.
So, you want to make me drunk?
Sorry, it might be a waste of wine. I’m just a marble-stone golem.
A true heart of stone.
Leona frowned when she captured what Ghirlandaio meant, “Oh?“
The meaning behind his words was that “I often attend banquets.”
So she followed the topic and asked, “Could it be? Which family’s second son are you?”
In Austere-Winter Dukedom, the eldest son usually inherited the title and territory, and the other heirs would receive a share of funds after they reached adulthood. They relied on the connections they built when they were young and an initial fund to run their businesses.
They called this kind of heir who did not inherit the title and turned to business and politics, regardless of the birth order, the “second son”.
Ghirlandaio just smiled.
He did not answer this question but asked politely, “Before answering this question, I also want to ask…
“Bunyan—Is that the Bunyan I know?”
Of course, this was a pleasantry.
Sure enough, Annan had never heard of “Bunyan”.
At least it must not be a prominent noble. Otherwise, Annan must have seen the name in a book.
When Leona heard this, the corners of her mouth rose.
However, before Leona could answer, Annan heard another familiar voice, “Bunyan… They are crazy hounds. Do you now have a name that you can be proud of?”
A man sneered, lifted the heavy leather curtain to shelter himself from the wind, and walked into the private tavern with a few customers.
Wrapped in the frosty wind, the man sat beside Annan.
Leona frowned when she heard his words, and her face suddenly turned cold.
However, when she saw the face of the person who came, she was taken aback for a moment. Nevertheless, she immediately stood up, paying respects to the person who arrived, “Your Royal Highness Dmitri.”
It was Annan’s elder brother, Dmitri·Austere-Winter.
However, he was slightly different from the Elder Brother Annan saw in the two nightmares.
The Dmitri in his nightmare dungeon was a stylish man with no one hair out of place. He had a well-proportioned figure, a straight back, and long pure black hair hanging down to his waist. There was no mess on his head, no stains on his body, and no dirt under his nails.
However, Annan felt Dmitri had become ten years older than in his dream.
His habitually frowning had developed three deep wrinkles. The wrinkled skin under the furrowed brow looked like a ghost-like totem.
He was wearing a heavy Frost Beasts fur coat with his arms, not in the sleeves. The shirt underneath was rolled up to the elbows, and he had a thick cigar dangling at his mouth.
His hands were clean, but bulging veins could already be seen on the back of his white and burly hands.
“Long time no see, Ms. Leona,” Dmitri said in a deep voice, smoking a cigar.
Leona’s complexion turned slightly pale.
In Austere-Winter, the standard way of greeting people should be to address them as brothers and sisters or as uncles and nephews. Because of the Old Grandmother, the Austerians consider each other family — at least in terms of etiquette.
If the address was not carried out in this manner, it meant “they were not close”.
However, that was not the case with the Bunyans and the Austere-Winters.
His Royal Highness Dmitri seemed to be annoyed.
Leona did not dare to utter a word for a moment.
Dmitri sat on the right side of Annan, diagonally opposite to Leona.
His elbows leaned on the armrests as he crossed his hands and placed them in front of his stomach.
He spewed a puff of mist lightly, and the smoke from the cigar slowly spread around.
“I haven’t seen you for about two years.
“But, you still keep the word ‘Bunyan’ on your lips.”
He nibbled on the end of his cigar; his voice was still so low and magnetic, “It seems that time can’t change anything, can it?”
Compared to six years ago, Dmitri’s voice had become a little hoarse due to excessive smoking.
Dmitri did not continue to trouble Leona.
He only gave a slight warning, and his tone softened. Then, he looked at Annan beside him—or rather, “Ghirlandaio”.
“Who is this?”
“Ghirlandaio,” the black-haired, black-eyed middle-aged man smiled. He sat on a chair while bowing slightly. He had greeted Dmitri politely, “My full name is Ghirlandaio David Buonaro, Your Royal Highness Dmitri.”
Hearing the name, Dmitri’s pupils shrank slightly.