Yuran rose to his feet before making his over to the side of Lana's horse, then asked, "May I have a word with you in private, madam?"

Seeing the serious look on his face, Lana nodded in response.

"Be careful, Ms. Lana." Aike was clearly extremely wary of Yuran and his group, and Quinton was also inclined to extend words of caution toward Lana. Both of them were aware of Lana's powers, but Yuran had a terrible reputation, and no one knew whether he was going to try any dirty tricks.

"It's fine," Lana said with a smile.

The burly skeleton seemed to be pondering something in silence, while Perry was shaking the chest of Loonies from side to side, seemingly very intrigued by the sound of the coins clattering up and down within the chest. It was clear that neither of them was concerned for Lana's safety. In their eyes, if Lana couldn't even handle this group of inferior warriors, then her demise would almost be deserved.

Thus, Lana and Yuran separated themselves from everyone else for some privacy.

"You're not really planning to get your entire group to follow me, are you?" Lana asked with a resigned smile.

"Surely you don't think I was kidding, Madam," Yuran exclaimed as his eyes widened.

"I don't care if you were kidding or not," Lana said as a forbidding look appeared on her face. "And I don't care who you follow around, as long as it's not me."

"Why is that?"

"What do you mean why?" Lana asked as her brows furrowed slightly. "We've only met once, shouldn't I be the one asking you why you're determined to follow me?"

"All of us are able to look after ourselves and are capable warriors. We won't drag you down if that's what you're worried about."

"Are you sure you're all capable warriors?" Lana asked as she glanced at the patches of scorched skin on Yuran's body.

"We may be no match for you, but that doesn't mean that we're not capable warriors," Yuran protested with a slightly awkward expression.

"Even so, there's no reason for you to follow me," Lana said. "I already told you that I don't want the rest of the Loonies that you owe me. Why can't you just let me go?"

"I can't do that! I owe you the Loonies, and that's final. It's up to you to decide whether you want the Loonies or not, but this is a debt that I must repay regardless," Yuran said in a determined manner.

"Alright, then find a way to gather the rest of the Loonies and pay off your debt. There's no need to follow me."

"All we know how to do is win money through gambling. Now that we're no longer able to stay in this town, how are we supposed to gather that much money?"

"Can't you go to a different place and scam the people there?"

"But didn't you just tell us not to scam people anymore?"

Lana was stumped.

"So you're determined to become a liability for me, is that right?"

"That's not my intention. I already told you that all of us are able to look after ourselves."

"You know what? I think I should just kill all of you so I can get rid of you once and for all," Lana said in an expressionless manner.

An alarmed look immediately appeared on Yuran's face upon hearing this, and it was quite amusing to see such an expression on such a burly and intimidating man.

"Alright, let me tell you the truth. We have an ulterior motive for following you," Yuran hurriedly said.

"Well, what is it? Hurry up and tell me!"

"Truth be told, we're not a bunch of gamblers. Instead, we are freemen from Fort Roten."

"What? What is a freeman supposed to be?" Lana asked with a puzzled expression.

"We hold no religious beliefs, we don't belong to any church, nor are we nobles, but we're not willing to resign ourselves to the fate of oppressed commoners."

Lana nodded in response. "Alright, but what does that have to do with me?"

"We need powerful people like you on our side, Madam."

"I don't have the time to fight for your cause. I still have other important things that I need to do," Lana said in a straightforward manner.

"Our plight concerns all of the impoverished and underprivileged people of the world. Are you not interested at all in helping them?"

"Are you serious? You really are a conceited bastard, aren't you?" Lana snapped as she glared at Yuran. "Why the hell should I care about your bullshit cause? How does it have anything to do with me? And you think what you're doing is for the good of all of the underprivileged people in the world? I suggest you go to a doctor and get them to take a look at your head first. If you don't have the Loonies to see a doctor, I can lend you some."

An incredulous look appeared on Yuran's face as he stared at Lana. Never did he think that such an elegant and refined woman could speak in such a rough and unrefined manner. He was so shocked by this that he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"It looks like I was a little too hasty in my introduction," Yuran mused to himself.

"It's quite remarkable that someone as conceited as you was able to live to this day," Lana harrumphed in a cold voice.

"That's exactly what one of my brothers used to say to me," Yuran said with a smile.

Lana rolled her eyes as she looked up at the sun in the sky. She was on the verge of storming away from this conceited "freeman".

"My brother would always caution me not to be too conceited in what I did," Yuran said with an embarrassed smile.

Lana's demeanor also softened slightly upon seeing this, and she said, "You're just wasting your time here by talking to me, I truly have no intention of becoming a freeman."

"Are you really sure you don't want to consider it, Madam?" Yuran asked as he stared at Lana, and even though he wasn't willing to admit it, there was a hint of yearning in his eyes.

"I have a feeling that we're the same type of people," he suddenly said.

Looking at the hopeful expression in Yuran's eyes, Lana didn't rebuke him this time.

She could feel Yuran's passion toward his dream, but what she was afraid of was the obsession that laid beneath this passion.

"My apologies, but you're mistaken," Lana said in an expressionless manner.

"There's no need for you to apologize, we should be the ones apologizing for causing so much trouble for you."

"So I take it that all of the Loonies you earned from your gambling around these parts have gone to funding that so-called freeman organization of yours?"

"That's right," Yuran replied with a nod. "All of our winnings are being used as wages for our troops."

"So you have your own army?" Lana exclaimed. She had thought that these so-called freemen were only a small organization, but upon second thought, she realized that these gambling setups had to be quite lucrative, and if all of that money was going to Fort Roten, then they would definitely be able to financially support a large number of people.

"It's not going to hurt your organization that I took all the Loonies that you won, will it?" Lana asked with a slightly conflicted expression.

However, she then immediately added, "Let me make this clear: I'm not going to return the Loonies to you anyway."

Yuran faltered slightly upon hearing this, then burst into raucous laughter. "I lost fair and square, how could I ask you to return the money to me? I'm not that shameless."

"Good." Lana nodded in response. "Besides, this money was earned through unscrupulous means anyway. You proclaim that your freeman organization serves all of the people of the world, yet you're scamming common folk out of their hard-earned Loonies. Doesn't that go against the doctrine of your organization?"

"Some sacrifices must be made in order to achieve grand objectives."

"Ha! So no matter how noble you make it sound, you're no better than everyone else." Even though Lana had lost her memories, she was able to see right through such an excuse, and as a result, she was immediately struck by a sense of disdain toward this so-called righteous organization.

She had been heavily influenced by her father and her older brothers since birth, so ever since a young age, she had already realized that all so-called grand and noble visions merely stemmed from selfish desires.

Unbeknownst to Lana, her beloved Erwin was also guilty of the exact same thing.

"You don't look very old, but you seem to have seen a lot of things. May I ask exactly who you are? It seems like you're able to see right through us. In fact, it seems like you have a very clear understanding of how the entire world works."

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Lana chuckled, but in doing so, she was trying to disguise the dejection that had surfaced in her eyes.

I have a clear understanding of how the entire world works? I don't even know my own name, nor where my home is, and I certainly don't know where that accursed Erwin is. How does it benefit me to have a clear understanding of everything else? she thought to herself.

"No no, I wouldn't dare to insult you," Yuran hurriedly said with a wave of his hands. Having experienced Lana's power in person, he certainly didn't dare to treat her with any disrespect.

"I don't want to discuss these matters with you any further. In conclusion, I don't need you and your group to follow me, and of course, I'm not going to join your freeman organizations, nor do I have any interest in your goals and objectives," Lana summarized.

"It doesn't matter whether you join our organization or not, we'll still follow you," Yuran said with a slight shrug.

"Why is that?" Lana asked with furrowed brows that resembled a pair of sharp swords.

Instead of directly answering her question, Yuran replied, "Aike Dario is not just some ordinary noble."

"What are you trying to say?" Lana asked as her eyes narrowed slightly.

"We haven't interacted with him much, but we've heard many stories about his past."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Aren't you worried that he's plotting against you?"

A cold smile appeared on Lana's face as she thought to herself, You're not any better.

"What could he possibly want from me?" Lana asked.

"I'm assuming you don't know what position the Dario Family holds in the Fano Dukedom."

"Again, what does that have to do with me?"

"The Dario Family has ruled over the Fano Dukedom for generations, but Aike is the only male direct lineal descendant of the Dario Family in his generation."

"Can you get to the point?" Lana was beginning to run out of patience.

"He's been with a lot of women, but he still hasn't married yet," Yuran said as he took a glance at Lana.

"That's it?"

"Can't you tell that he has a romantic interest in you?"

"There are countless men in this world who are romantically interested in me. Am I supposed to go and address them one by one?"

Yuran had no response for this.