"What's piqued your interest? Does our opinion of churches and religions correspond with your viewpoints?" Erwin asked with an amused smile once the young man by the name of Chahan had taken a seat.

"I wouldn't dare to badmouth the churches," Chahan sighed with a wry smile. "I'm just a lone man of humble upbringing, how would I dare to raise any objections against the churches?"

After hearing what Chahan had to say, Erwin became even more convinced that they were the same type of people, namely people who detested the very concept of religion.

"I see. If you don't mind me asking, why have you gotten so drunk on your own?" Erwin asked with a smile, turning the topic of the conversation toward the young man. He then took a glance at Chahan before asking, "From the looks of it, it must have something to do with a woman, right?"

Onean turned her face to the side, looking at the street scenery outside through the window.

A hint of dejection appeared on Chahan's face upon hearing this, but at the same time, he was quite surprised, and he conveyed his surprise through his eyes as he took a glance at Erwin. Their eyes met, and a tacit understanding between men was instantly formed between the two.

A wry smile appeared on Chahan's face, and there was no need for him to elaborate on exactly which noblewoman he had been dumped by.

As for why the word "dumped" was being used, that was because Erwin had already spotted some details from Chahan's clothes that told him that Chahan had most likely been living off a certain woman before. The coat that had been draped over Chahan's body just now was a very well-made piece of clothing with expensive materials used, so it was clear that it was quite a pricey product. However, the shirt that he was wearing beneath the coat was made from the most ordinary material imaginable. In fact, it could even be said that it was a cheap shirt, and it was quite apparent from just a single glance that it hadn't been treated in a very long time. The pair of leather boots that he was wearing were also extremely intricately crafted and were polished to the point of giving off a bright gleam, but the leather on the edges of the openings of the boots was already considerably worn and damaged, so it was clear that he had been already wearing these boots consecutively for a very long time.

Thinking back to how Chahan had just mentioned that he was a man of humble upbringing, this combination of his coat and his leather boots was clearly out of place on him. Erwin knew that the average commoner wouldn't be able to afford these two pieces of expensive clothing. In addition to that, as soon as Chahan sat down, Erwin was greeted by a whiff of perfume worn by a woman, and he became even more confident in his own theory. Even though Erwin took after his father in the aspect that he didn't like to attend balls and banquets, he still had a rough idea of what types of perfume were used by noblewomen. Thus, he could tell that the fragrance coming from Chahan's body belonged to a kind of perfume that was generally worn by noble women of a certain status and was a bit more mature in age.

This was why Erwin had used the word "woman" rather than girl or lady.

Of course, given how sharp Onean was, she had naturally also arrived at roughly the same conclusion upon catching a whiff of the scent wafting from Chahan's body. She was merely curious about why Erwin had invited this person to take a seat with them.

Truth be told, Erwin didn't detest people like Chahan, nor did he hold any biases, just like he harbored no negative emotions toward the hostesses in the mansions, who were only making a living for themselves, just like everyone else. Most importantly, he had taken a liking to Chahan's personality. Chahan was a smart man, yet he was also quite direct and straightforward, and it was always a good idea to make friends with people like him. In particular, after getting a rough idea of Chahan's identity, he felt like Chahan was definitely the right person to approach for his needs.

He just so happened to be looking for someone from whom he could enquire about the state of the Boll Dukedom. He wanted to know exactly what kind of person Duke Eru was and also what the power hierarchy in the dukedom was like. These questions could only be answered by someone with ties to nobility, so he couldn't just approach any random person on the street and expect to receive the answers that he desired. In his mind, a noblewoman who was willing to spend so much on a lover had to be a noble of a rather lofty status. What was certain was that Chahan's lover, or ex-lover at this point, definitely wasn't some wealthy merchant's wife, at the very least. Merchants were known for being stingy, and the wealthier a merchant was, the stingier they would become. With them setting an example, there was no way that their wives would be generous and magnanimous individuals.

As for why Erwin hadn't raised any of the questions in his mind to Lia, that was because he always had an instinctive feeling that there was some type of unexplainable relationship between the churches and nobility. Prior to ascertaining exactly what this type of relationship was, he had no plans to ask Lia any questions about the nobility. In addition to that, the power balance between the churches in the north was quite complex, so it was best to proceed with caution. Furthermore, Erwin had a feeling that Lia wouldn't be in a position to reveal too much to him. After all, given his sway and influence, he certainly didn't seem like any ordinary retired pastor.

After a few rounds of drinks, Chahan and Erwin gradually familiarized themselves with one another. Of course, the majority of their conversation centered around talking about Chahan's ex-lover. What Erwin was rather impressed by was that Chahan was quite a gentleman and that most of what he said about his ex-lover was complimentary in nature. Even his biggest gripes were only limited to how the noble woman's mood was always very fickle, often leaving him sad and confused.

At this point, Erwin deemed the two of them to be sufficiently familiar with one another, so he gradually began to shift the topic of the conversation toward the Boll Dukedom.

Chahan was too inebriated to notice the artificial shift in the conversation, and he was happy to tell Erwin what he knew.

Just as Erwin had anticipated, Chahan knew quite a bit when it came to insider information pertaining to the Boll Dukedom. In fact, he even knew some things about the Delair Dukedom, which was the Boll Dukedom's northern neighbor.

After hearing what Chahan had to say, Erwin discovered that on the surface, Duke Eru was still the ruler of the Boll Dukedom, but in reality, the internal structure of the dukedom had already split up into two factions, each of which had a severe distaste for the other. One of the factions consisted of the conservative nobles led by Count Onen, and they were largely gathered in the city of Zans. The other faction consisted of members of the Tellier Wine Trade Guild, and they were primarily represented by the Farody Family, with their informal headquarters situated in the city of Tellier. Of course, at the moment, the two factions still appeared to follow the leadership of Duke Eru.

Overall, the internal conflict of the Boll Dukedom was a fairly typical one, where the old guard and the new nobles were opposed to one another.

Recently, the new nobles had enjoyed a meteoric rise, hoarding large numbers of Loonies over the years. However, the old nobles, who had inherited their nobility titles generation after generation, weren't impressed by this. In their eyes, the new nobles had no class whatsoever. In their words, the new nobles would stoop to anything for money, and were a bunch of hillbillies who only knew how to plant grapes.

As for the new nobles of Tellier, they looked down on the old nobles for their relative poverty and their resistance to change. In order to counter the insults from the nobles, they had a classic insult of their own: "the noble emblems emblazoned on your chests are already showing through the holes in your tattered sheepskin coats."

Erwin couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this. It was truly a very vivid and humorous way to describe the impoverished yet stubborn old guard.

Onean was elegantly enjoying her meal in silence beside Erwin, and even though she was refraining from participating in the conversation, she had been listening this entire time, and a faint smile of amusement also appeared on her face upon hearing this. She was clearly impressed by the humor of the new nobles in Tellier as well.

Looking at the faint smile of amusement on Onean's face, a thought suddenly flashed through Erwin's mind, and he felt as if he had been struck by a burst of inspiration when it came to the mural that he was going to draw onto the ceiling of the cathedral.

"By the way, we've been talking extensively up to this point, but I still don't know your name," Chahan suddenly said.

"My name is Erwin Friar," Erwin replied as he filled his own cup with wine.

Chahan's brows furrowed slightly as he sifted through his own memories, but he couldn't recall such a name, particularly not in the circle of nobles that he knew of.

"Don't bother thinking too hard, I'm not a noble," Erwin said with a smile, having clearly gleaned Chahan's thoughts.

After a brief moment of disappointment, Chahan took a furtive glance at Erwin, upon which he discovered that Erwin didn't seem to be embarrassed by his own status at all. Instead, there was a look of unbridled confidence on his face, and that was something that Chahan had never seen before.

Chahan had come into contact with many nobles of the Boll Dukedom in the past, particularly the nobles of Zans, but never had he felt Erwin's unique disposition in anyone else.

There was an innate sense of freedom that was casually displayed through his words and actions, as well as a sense of unmatched pride, and all of this indicated to Chahan that he was no ordinary person.

He then snuck a glance in Onean's direction, and he became even suspicious about Erwin's claim that he wasn't a noble. How could an ordinary person possibly be accompanied by a woman so beautiful and refined? Among the daughters of Count Onen, not one of them could even compare with a single fingernail on this stunning woman!

Through the conversation that he had overheard between Erwin and Onean, Chahan already knew that the two of them were in a special relationship. At the very least, there was mutually requited love.

Furthermore, he had referred to Erwin as Your Excellency on more than one occasion, yet he hadn't displayed any reaction to this at all. This led Chahan to believe that Erwin was accustomed to being referred to as such.

Erwin couldn't help but feel amused at the sight of the barely disguised look of skepticism on Chahan's face.

"I'm not lying to you," Erwin said as he peeled back his own outer garment before pointing at the shirt inside. "Look, I have no noble emblem emblazoned on my shirt."

Onean almost burst into laughter upon seeing what Erwin was doing, and she hurriedly erupted into a coughing fit to disguise her own laughter. She then glared at Erwin with an exasperated expression before directing her gaze elsewhere.

Onean had reacted extremely quickly, so Chahan failed to notice this.

"Also, I'm not a wealthy man like the wine merchants of Tellier," Erwin continued, debunking what was undoubtedly the other theory in Chahan's mind. "Let me come clean to you. We were complaining about religion earlier because I accepted a commission from the Universal Church to draw a mural for them, but I don't know what to draw, so I've been complaining to let off some steam."

However, the more Erwin tried to paint himself as an ordinary and unremarkable person, the more convinced Chahan became that the opposite was true. In his opinion, there was no way that the confidence that Erwin was displaying could stem from nothing. Thus, Chahan was clinging stubbornly to a single thought: No matter how he denies it, I'm certain this man is no ordinary person.

Onean had remained silent ever since Chahan joined them at their table, but she was putting on an indifferent expression to Erwin's performance, and that was an indirect indication that Chahan was indeed correct in his assumptions. 

Unfortunately, Chahan's brain was still clouded by the alcohol that he had consumed, so he was unable to analyze the situation any further.

Then again, Erwin really had been telling him nothing but the truth, although perhaps it could be said that he was guilty of deception through omission.

"Your Excellency, regardless of what you say, I am determined to make friends with you," Chahan said with a smile, and as soon as his voice trailed off, he let loose a massive burp, which indicated that he was either truly completely drunk, or he had let down his guard entirely and was already treating Erwin as a friend. After all, Chahan was someone who clearly possessed great etiquette, so it was very uncharacteristic of him to be burping at the table like this.

Erwin nodded with a smile in response. "That's fine, but let me make this clear: we really are very short on money right now. In fact, I daresay we're in no better financial situation than you are."

Chahan's heart jolted slightly upon hearing this, and the thought to himself, How can he tell that I'm running short on money?

The image of the woman who had dumped him resurfaced in his inebriated mind, and he refilled his own cup once again with a distraught expression.

"By the way, you mentioned the Delair Dukedom earlier. Can you tell me about that?" Erwin asked.

"I already told you about it, didn't I? The ruler of that dukedom is the widow of Duke Silon, and she is an extremely promiscuous individual..." Before Chahan had a chance to finish, he was overwhelmed by the effects of alcohol again and fell asleep on the table.

Erwin still wanted to ask him about the Universal Church, but it appeared that it would have to wait.