"You! Let go of me! I, I am from the Hall family..." Liujin yelled desperately.

"The Hall family, whose territory is located 150 miles west of the Kingdom of Coles, in the year 932 of the Empire, Yalin Hall followed Emperor Roland of the Roland Empire to quell the rebellion in the north. In 939, after the war ended, Yalin Hall was awarded the title of Viscount. His descendants enjoyed hereditary nobility."

"At first, their territory was less than 300 miles, but after many years of hard work, the Hall family reached its peak under the leadership of their chief, Rada Hall, your father, ten years ago."

"At that time, the Hall family's territory had exceeded a thousand miles, with hundreds of vassals and tens of thousands of private soldiers, known as the 'Northern Poisonous Snake.' Rada Hall was in the prime of his life, full of ambition to achieve great things."

Noira spoke coldly, recounting the history of the Hall family. Her eyes were chilling, as if they could see through Liujin completely. He was horrified by the gaze of her beautiful red eyes.

"But something strange happened. Rada Hall and his eldest son, Laro Hall, died unexpectedly, allegedly bitten by a venomous snake while hunting. The position of the chief could only be inherited by the only son left, Liujin Hall, that is, you, the Viscount."

Noira paused and said with a playful tone, "What do you think of this, Your Lordship?"

Upon hearing Noira's words, Liujin's forehead was covered in cold sweat, completely disregarding the pain in his hand.

The events of ten years ago were Liujin's deepest secret, and he had thought that no one would investigate it again after all these years. He never expected that this unrelated woman standing before him would bring it up suddenly.

"My father and my brother were obviously poisoned and died. I saw them being carried back home by mercenaries! There were even marks of snake bites on their bodies! The Empire's coroner confirmed it too!"

Noira narrowed her eyes and said in a cold voice, "It is true that they died from snake venom. But strangely, there were no traces of bleeding from the bite wounds on their bodies. It was clearly fabricated after their death. But I heard that the cook who prepared the food for them was actually your confidant, right? Am I right, Your Lordship?"

"You and your father have always had a strained relationship, rarely speaking to each other. But why did you kindly send someone to prepare a meal for your father on the day he had an accident?"

Noira's words struck Liujin's heart like a dagger.

In an instant, every hair on his body stood up and cold sweat flowed down from his forehead.

Regicide is a serious crime that would lead to the loss of all noble rights.

Once his patricide was exposed, he would become the target of everyone's hatred. The surrounding nobles would use the excuse of exterminating the criminal to plunder his territory.

Fear, anger, and finally, murderous intent flashed in Liujin's eyes.

He gritted his teeth, staring at Noira, unable to say a word. He couldn't understand why this mysterious woman knew so much?

Liujin's mind raced as he wondered how to free himself and find a way to silence this woman forever.

"No need to worry about silencing me, Your Lordship. I'm not the only one who knows about this. Do you think your pathetic tricks can deceive anyone?" Noira's voice came at the right time.

"The people above want you dead. There are a thousand ways to kill you, but for now, there is no need to act."

At the end, Noira's face completely darkened, and she whispered in Liujin's ear, "But if you dare to touch me or even touch a finger of the Sea Lion Mercenary Corps, I guarantee that you will pay an unimaginable price."

Finally, a hint of fear appeared in Liujin's eyes. "Who is above you? Is it Duke Brel or Duke Charles?"

He was truly afraid now.

Noira replied calmly, "You can guess who it is, Lord Liujin. But I advise you, it's best not to know things you shouldn't know. Be careful of your own life."

After saying this, Noira let go of Liujin's hand, wiped her own hand with a handkerchief in disdain, and said coldly, "Do you need me to accompany you, Viscount Liujin?"

Liujin had no time to think about his flirting plan now. With a gloomy face, he bowed to Noira and left the reception room dejectedly.

After Liujin left the reception room, Noira sighed deeply. She felt a bit exhausted. She turned sideways and saw her somewhat pale face reflected in the glass of the display window.

"The people above... hmm..." Noira chuckled self-deprecatingly.She closed her eyes with a mixture of pain, her right hand tightly grasping the ring finger of her left hand as if trying to break free.

"Hey, Chen Ai, how much longer can I stay with you?" her soft voice dissipated into the air.

...

Barrett, who was anxiously waiting outside the door, had just heard the viscount's scream in the reception hall. After a while, he saw the angry viscount come out of the hall and walk down the stairs without saying a word.

Not long after, Noira walked out.

He quickly approached her, concerned about her well-being and worried that the viscount had done something to her, given his previous behavior. However, based on the way things seemed, it appeared that Viscount Hall had suffered a great defeat. Barrett couldn't help but worry about the fate of the Sea Lion Mercenary Corps as well.

Noira saw through Barrett's concerns and smiled reassuringly, "Uncle Barrett, don't worry. The viscount shouldn't cause us trouble anymore."

With that, Noira forced a smile, although it seemed a bit forced.

"Noira, you..." Barrett expressed his worries.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Noira waved her hand dismissively. "I'm just a little tired. Spread the word and give the entire corps a week off. If there's anything, we can discuss it next week."

Without giving Barrett a chance to ask about the situation, Noira walked straight downstairs.

"It seems our deputy commander still has many secrets," Barrett sighed softly as he watched Noira's figure.

But from Noira's appearance, it didn't seem like she was lying. At least the crisis for the Sea Lion Mercenary Corps had been resolved.

...

Noira walked out of the council hall, and it was already noon. The square was not as quiet as when she first arrived, with many people gathered around the flower platform in the center, as if watching something.

Noira walked over and found a sleazy man standing naked except for his underwear, leaning against a tree and rubbing his body against it.

The man was thin, with a demonic sway, and his two wild buckteeth gave him an animalistic appearance.

The sight was unbearable.

The crowd below was also discussing this rare spectacle.

"Oh my, has this young man's brain been kicked by a donkey?"

"Is it because he's heartbroken as a single dog? But single dogs only pee on trees and don't rub against them. Could it be a single bear?"

"Hello, crazy."

Someone even shouted at the bucktoothed man, "Brother, come down quickly. What are you doing up there? If you have a mental illness, you should seek proper treatment..."

The bucktoothed man cursed while rubbing against the tree, "You're the one with a mental illness! Your whole family has a mental illness! I've been poisoned by the Deadly Thorn! I'm using the Green Jade Tree to detoxify! You know nothing!"

Deadly Thorn? It was not allowed to plant such dangerous plants in Heron City, so how could there be Deadly Thorn? Noira wondered.

Noira suddenly remembered that Michelle had planted "Purple Thorn" at the entrance of the Green Wild Fortress to deter thieves.

Purple Thorn itself had very low toxicity, but after being stabbed by it, the wound would turn purple and itch, which was very similar to the symptoms of being poisoned by "Deadly Thorn", often scaring the injured person half to death.

Only Michelle had planted Purple Thorn in Heron City, and since Michelle was away, who would come to the east square to rub against the tree for detoxification? Could it be...

Thinking of this, Noira looked at the bucktoothed man desperately rubbing against the tree and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

This must be another prank by that Chen Ai guy.

Though she had just been complaining about Chen Ai, with this laughter, Noira suddenly felt her terrible mood from earlier and resentment towards Chen Ai melting away.

"Well, since I have nothing better to do, I might as well go check out his shop." With the sun shining brightly, Noira stretched and leisurely walked towards Chen Ai's shop.