"Ha, it looks like this duchess certainly has some tricks up her sleeve," Erwin chuckled with a suggestive expression. "I had a look at the map earlier, and the Delair Dukedom is a lot larger than the Boll Dukedom."

"What are you trying to say? It sounds like you want to approach that duchess to see if you can get her to develop an interest in you," Onean said as she turned to Erwin with an intrigued expression.

Erwin couldn't help but choke on his tea upon hearing this.

Chahan also faltered slightly upon hearing this. He had never been able to gauge exactly what the nature of Erwin and Onean's relationship was. He didn't know if they were lovers or husband and wife, but he still decided to offer some words of caution. "Master Erwin, I must warn you that that's a very dangerous idea."

"Did you hear that? That idea of yours is a very dangerous one," Onean chuckled as she clasped a hand over her own mouth, then draped herself over the table as she giggled with mirth with her hand on her own stomach, occasionally thumping the table with her fist.

"Why is that? Are you trying to imply something?" Erwin asked as he turned to Chahan with an indignant expression. "Are you doubting my looks?"

Only after hearing that did Chahan realize that Onean had misinterpreted his words, and he hurriedly explained, "Nonono, I'm definitely not doubting your looks, Master Erwin. What I'm saying is that the duchess is an extremely dangerous woman."

"Oh? Why is that?" Erwin asked with an intrigued expression.

Onean also raised her head to listen to what Chahan had to say.

"In the years following Duke Silon's death, the widowed duchess has to have had dozens of lovers," Chahan said as he took a glance at Erwin. "But it didn't end well for any of her lovers."

"What do you mean by that?" Erwin asked with a perplexed expression.

"The duchess gets bored of her men extremely quickly, and whenever she becomes sick of someone, she'd have that person mercilessly tortured to the point of disability, then thrown out of the manor," Chahan said in a low voice. "In fact, the ones that only ended up disabled got off lightly. Many of her lovers were tortured to death, then buried somewhere like a deceased pet."

"That sounds like an extremely cruel woman," Erwin said with a surprised expression. "Have any of the dukedom officials serving under her been tortured by her as well?"

"She hasn't gone that far yet," Chahan replied. "All of the lovers who've been tortured by her have been young and handsome men selected from the common folk. She's still not demented enough to go after the nobles."

"I see," Erwin nodded in response with a faint sigh.

"Just like yourself, she's a fan of art as well. Actually, that comparison is inaccurate. She's only a hobbyist when it comes to art, while you can already be referred to as a master artist. Otherwise, the Universal Church wouldn't have commissioned you to draw that mural on the cathedral's ceiling," Chahan said. "All of the young men who managed to catch her eye were invited by her to act as models for her artwork, and they initially all accepted the offer with glee, not knowing the terrible fate that would befall them later. Even so, there are still many people trying to capture the heart of this cold-blooded beauty. I suppose those who are able to make it onto her bed will have everything they ever wanted, even if it's only for a short time with an extremely severe price to pay at the end. After all, such a luxurious lifestyle is extremely alluring for people from humble backgrounds like myself."

Erwin was silent for a moment before heaving a faint sigh, then cast a glance toward Onean as he said, "Beautiful women are always more dangerous than their appearance suggests. Unfortunately, this is a lesson that men seem to never be able to learn."

Onean nodded with a pleased expression upon hearing this.

Immediately thereafter, Erwin drew a sharp breath as he involuntarily winced in pain.

As it turned out, Onean had summoned an ice spike with a gentle tap of her foot, and the spike had struck Erwin's shinbone with vicious force. It was clear that her displeasure toward Erwin had been building throughout this conversation.

For a grand magic mentor like Onean, she was able to cast instant-release spells even without any movement from her hands.

"Are you alright, Your Excellency?" Chahan's proficiency in martial arts was most likely inferior even to the likes of Erwin, and it only occurred to him to look under the table once he saw Erwin bend over and howl with pain while gripping his own shin. However, Onean's feet were resting peacefully in their place in a pair of high heels, and they were the very picture of innocence, making it impossible for one to suspect that they were the cause of Erwin's pain. Only then did Chahan realize that perhaps Onean wasn't just a woman who looked good.

"I'm fine," Erwin replied as he rearranged his own expression, putting on a calm and collected facade, even though he was still stroking his own shin to try and assuage the pain. "I accidentally kicked the leg of the table just now, but it's alright."

"Beautiful women really are dangerous," Chahan murmured in a voice that was audible only to himself, and he was beginning to feel a little sympathetic toward Erwin. It seemed that Erwin's sentiment about the perilous nature of beautiful women had been a genuine expression derived from his past experience.

Meanwhile, Erwin turned to glare at Onean with an indignant expression.

"By the way, I happened to run into a man by the name of Lucidy Farody today. Do you know anything about him?" Erwin asked, changing the subject of the conversation. He didn't want to directly ask Chahan about the Farody Family as such a sharp turn in the conversation would seem too artificial.

"Lucidy Farody? Are you referring to Lucidy Farody of the Farody Family?" Chahan confirmed.

"I presume so," Erwin replied with a nod.

"He's the eldest son of the head of the Farody Family, Mackney Farody, and he oversees many of the businesses under the Farody Family. Has he come to Zans?" Chahan asked with a puzzled expression. "Also, how did you manage to run into him? Weren't you painting in the cathedral all morning?"

"I met him while he was visiting the cathedral with Elder Lia." Erwin wasn't planning to hide anything as he wanted to ask Chahan about Lia as well.

"That's very interesting," Chahan said with a slightly taken aback expression.

"Why do you say that?" Erwin asked in a curious voice.

"Are you not aware, Your Excellency?" Chahan paused momentarily as he looked at Erwin, who looked back at him with an oblivious expression, and Chahan continued, "Most of the followers of the Universal Church are commoners, and the rest consist of some disgraced nobles. The Farody Family is one of the wealthiest noble families in the dukedom, so why is it that they have connections with the Universal Church? That seems very fishy to me."

Chahan was a little perplexed as he spoke. He felt like Erwin's knowledge of the situation surrounding the three churches was extremely limited.

"So you're saying that a wealthy and powerful family like the Farody Family should be a little closer with the Holy World Church or the New Light Church?" Erwin asked, and in doing so, he completely exposed himself.

A surprised look appeared on Chahan's face as he cast his gaze toward Erwin, and as a sharp individual himself, he was instantly able to extrapolate Erwin's words and arrive at a conclusion. "Master Erwin, if I'm not mistaken, you must be from the south, right?"

With that in mind, Chahan finally realized why he had never heard the name "Erwin Friar" before. After recovering from the effects of the alcohol from the night before, he carefully sifted through his memories again several times, but was still drawing blanks. Having been around nobles for so long, he was convinced that these two were of lofty backgrounds, and there was only one reasonable explanation for why he had never heard of them: it was because they had come from the southern side of the Terarody Mountain Ranges.

"Why do you say that?" Erwin was a little surprised that Chahan had been able to make the sudden realization that he and Onean were from the south, and he gave an embarrassed smile to disguise the awkwardness that he was feeling.

"Your Excellency, there's nothing that the Holy World Church detests more than the new nobles who only have money but don't have any foundation. There's no way that the Farody Family could possibly develop any ties with the Holy World Church," Chahan explained, and judging from the tone of his voice, this was common knowledge around these parts, so the fact that Erwin wasn't aware of this was a clear indication that he wasn't from the north.

Erwin couldn't help but internally denounced Lia upon hearing this, blaming the retired pastor for not mentioning these details to him. At the same time, he was also kicking himself for not asking Lia these questions earlier. However, even if he had raised these questions, it wouldn't have been so easy for Lia to answer them. After all, he was a retired pastor of the Universal Church, and he didn't seem to be the type of person who enjoyed stirring up controversy, so it was very unlikely that he would talk about other churches behind their backs.

However, Erwin finally understood why the Holy World Church had been on a steady decline for so long now.

"I see." At this point, Erwin had already shrugged off his awkwardness, and he nodded with a serious expression as he asked, "Then what about the New Light Church?"

They were discussing the topic anyway, so he was planning to get as much information out of Chahan as possible.

"The New Light Church is a bit of a strange case. Their followers are all nobles who are self-proclaimed individuals with refined taste and lovers of fine art, but if you ask me, they're all just a bunch of pretentious and haughty fools," Chahan said with a hint of derision in his voice. "Let me put it this way: the followers of the New Light Church detest both the old nobles, who follow the Holy World Church and have no artistic appreciation, and they also detest the common folk, who follow the Universal Church. However, the New Light Church isn't averse to the wealthy and affluent new nobles."

"Doesn't that mean that it would make much more sense for the Farody Family to establish ties with the New Light Church? Why is it that they seem to have gotten involved with the Universal Church instead?" Erwin asked.

"That's also what I'm struggling to figure out," Chahan said. "Before I'm led any further astray, you still haven't answered my question, Your Excellency. Are you from the south or not?"

"If you think so, then that's up to you," Erwin replied with an ambiguous smile.

Chahan was very aware of the boundaries of other people, and he knew that even though Erwin was smiling, he had no intention of revealing his own identity. Thus, it would naturally be inappropriate for Chahan to pry any further on the matter. After all, with his prior experience, he knew how he had to interact with nobles. Furthermore, he was entertaining the idea of following Erwin in the future, so he naturally wasn't going to risk offending Erwin now.

"Can you elaborate more on Mackney Farody?" Erwin asked, changing the subject once again.

"Ah, yes. As I mentioned earlier, Mackney Farody is the head of the Farody Family and the one who calls the shots in the Tellier Wine Trade Guild. He's probably the most significant figure in the entire Boll Dukedom. There's even a saying among the kids on the streets that even Duke Eru in Newfando would shudder with just a single sneeze from Mackney Farody," Chahan said with a smile.

"Is he really that influential?" Erwin asked, and despite what he was saying, the tone of his voice was very nonchalant. Having witnessed figures of the same caliber as the likes of Prince Lazaar and King Cameron, he was struggling to develop much interest in what was essentially just the head of a wealthy noble family.

Chahan nodded firmly in response to accentuate his point. "The mid-range and low-range red wine produced by the Tellier Wine Trade Guild sells extremely well all over the entire northern continent, and in that trade guild, the Farody Family's Silver Oak Tree Winery is one of the best performing wineries in the red wine business."

"I thought they were only a red wine trade guild prior to this, but you said their name was the Tellier Wine Trade Guild, and not the Tellier Red Wine Trade Guild, right? Does that mean they produce other types of wine as well?" Erwin asked.

"They also produce some white wine and brandy, but what the Tellier Wine Trade Guild is most renowned for are their mid-range and low-range red wine," Chahan explained. "In the trade guild, there are supposed to be a few other wine-brewing families, but in reality, the Farody Family holds absolute control over the organization."

Erwin nodded in response and didn't ask any further questions about the Farody Family.

Throughout the course of this conversation, the reactions displayed by Erwin and Onean made Chahan even more convinced that the two of them were definitely not ordinary people. In particular, the nonchalant indifference on their faces was something that Chahan found to be very perplexing. After all, he was more used to seeing the unadulterated derision and distate on the faces of the nobles of Zans whenever the new nobles of Tellier were mentioned.

"What about Count Onen here in Zans? I'm sure you must know a lot about him, right?" Erwin said in a meaningful voice as he raised an eyebrow.

Chahan faltered slightly upon hearing this, and he was unsure of how to answer this question.