Neighboring territories being ruled by lords affiliated with the same household is no different from a single bigger territory.

Although Lady Solana couldn't believe it. But she didn't have any way to refute it either.

She couldn't believe that the tragedy that befallen her resulted from someone's greed for power and authority.

Anger burned inside Lady Solana's heart, but she had no way to vent it, nor did she dare to. She still had things she had to do.

She can't lose control of her emotion and go berserk.

Absolutely not.

Shortly after Lady Solana gave a long sigh to calm herself down, she handed all the books and research papers on abominations over to Vaan.

"Take it. You don't have more time until morning, so you better start reading immediately," Lady Solana stated.

Nevertheless, she did have much hope that Vaan could read everything in a single nightor so she thought.

However, Lady Solana was quickly dumbfounded by Vaan flipping through the pages every half-breath to two breaths.

That was certainly not enough time for a normal person to read through each page. It seemed more like Vaan was simply skimming through the pages to find something very specific.

Despite her strong doubts, Lady Solana chose to believe in Vaan.

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The young man shouldn't have spoken so much just to put on a show about his reading speed in front of her.

Several minutes later, Vaan finished his first before noticing Lady Solana had no intention of leaving the room. She appeared intrigued by his unusual reading speed.

"Are you planning on watching me all night, my Lady?" Vaan asked.

"So what if I am?" Lady Solana replied before asking, "Did you really just finish reading that entire book?"

"You can feel free to test me if you want, my Lady," Vaan said politely while offering the book to Lady Solana.

However, Lady Solana didn't accept the book even though she did want to test him.

"No, it's fine. I believe you," Lady Solana said after shaking her head.

"I wonder if Lady Solana can listen to another request of mine?" Vaan mentioned while picking up his second book to read.

"Speak," Lady Solana stated.

She wasn't in a hurry to accept, but she would at least to his request first.

"If Lady Solana doesn't plan to sleep, I hope you can guard Lady Linette and Lillias in the other room for me. Assassins have been commissioned to take their lives," Vaan stated.

"Oh?" Lady Solana smiled intriguingly before asking, "Even if there are assassins after those two ladies, what makes you certain I can stop them without my magic?"

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"There are six reasons for that. The first reason is that you did not outright deny the request. This proves that you possess certain confidence in yourself, even without your magic, my Lady," Vaan replied.

"Second, this is a world where the strong prevails. Golden Peacock Inn is renowned for its food and service. Even if it wasn't implicitly mentioned, security is definitely included in the service. Thus, Lady Solana has something to rely on other than your old status to protect your guests."

"Third, the calluses on your hands aren't normal calluses that one would gain from the work of running an inn business. They are the calluses of someone who rigorously train in a two-handed weapon like the long sword hung on the wall behind the counter."

"Fourth, even without magic, witches have stronger physiques than ordinary people even if they don't improve their physique through physical training. If they don undergo rigorous physical exercise, their physical strength would even exceed Aura Masters."

"Given those reasons, I'd estimate your strength to be comparable to a Rank 3 Aura Master. Should I continue, my Lady?" Vaan asked shortly after.

However, Lady Solana shook her head with a wry smile.

"No need." Lady Solana stood up from her seat on the bed and walked towards the door before turning her head back and saying, "You're a terrifying young man, you know that? I will protect the two ladies for the night, so you can rest easy and just focus on reading."

"Nevertheless, since I agree to listen to one of your requests, you should also listen to one of mine," Lady Solana stated.

Vaan nodded with understanding before he asked, "What is your request, my Lady?"

"When you reach Redpine City, I want you to secretly investigate and confirm whether Lady Helia had truly orchestrated everything that led to my daughter's berserk transformation. You can do that much for me, right?"

Vaan considered Lady Solana's request carefully for a moment before he eventually agreed with a nod.

"It can be done."

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"Great!"

Lady Solana was overjoyed by Vaan's agreement.

She was prepared to honor his request even if he was to turn her down. She was indebted to Vaan for opening her eyes to the truth surrounding her daughter's incident.

If Lady Solana had not met Vaan, she might have continued to be ignorant about it.

"Oh right," Lady Solana suddenly paused just as she was about to leave the room and said, "You know I am kind of disappointed that your request wasn't about spending a night with me."

"You didn't show any interest, and I am not one to pressure the other party if they are unwilling, my Lady," Vaan calmly replied.

"That was before. Now, I am kind of interested," Lady Solana expressed herself. Her meaning couldn't be more clear.

Alas, Vaan still shook his head with a wry smile and said, "I am also interested. Unfortunately, I do not dare to cross that line while you are still under the effect of the curse, my Lady."

"Perhaps when I find a way to undo the curse without harming Lady Aeliana, of course, it won't be too late for us then," Vaan added.

"It's a promise then," Lady Solana smiled alluringly.

"Un, it's a promise," Vaan nodded and said, "Goodnight, my Lady."

"Goodnight, Vaan."

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Shortly after, Lady Solana finally left the room, shutting the door quietly on her wait out and letting Vaan continue his reading without further distractions.