Not long after Fernon made his flashy appearance, the Baron retreated to his office, where his shady-looking guest, Arthur, or rather, Latif, was waiting.
In more than a way, Baron Lernon moved and acted like how nobles are perceived in fantasy stories back on Earth. He was elegant, dressed from head to toe in luxurious clothes, and bore himself with over-the-top arrogance, especially when he met Arthur.
Contempt and disapproval lingered in his eyes as he silently walked to his desk and slowly sat down.
"Do I have to ask for you every time in order to meet you?"
Although Arthur didn't know what was the relationship between Latif and the Baron, it wasn't difficult to come up with a couple of plausible speculations. Furthermore, from the way he was treated right now, it was crystal clear that Latif was some sort of an employee or an underling.
Since he didn't know how exactly Latif used to behave in front of the Baron, Arthur chose the polite way and remained standing a pace or two away from the massive desk.
"My apologies, I was busy with the experiments."
Arthur faked a couple of coughs and averted his gaze from the noble's. A bout of eerie silence flowed between the two of them before Baron Lernon grumbled and took out a stack of papers. He proceeded to carefully read them while asking,
"When will it be done? The Militant Inspector will come 'ere long and I want everything to be perfected by then."
"Yes, of course."
The Baron furrowed his brows and raised his head, scrutinizing the hunchback elder.
"I told you to start wearing clean clothes… look at your dirty feet!"
His eyes jumped to the old man's muddy boots. Unbeknownst to Arthur, Baron Lernon was almost obsessed with cleanliness and wanted everything in his household to be luxurious, orderly, and utterly void of any speck of dust.
"I will try my best."
"Hah! You always say that! If it weren't for your talent, I would've sent you to the gallows. Tch!"
"..."
Arthur refrained from offering a response, he merely stood there and waited for the man to finish his complaining. He still didn't have a clear idea about what the Baron wanted but it definitely had to do with Latif's secret cave and the dissected vampire bodies.
'Does he want to become a vampire? Or does he want to get rid of them?'
While it was true that Arthur had not read many books about vampires, there were a handful that mentioned this nocturnal and highly-dangerous race. Fortunately, Vampires are scarce in the Human Continent, however, their outstanding physical capabilities and their rare mental spells made them at the top of the most dangerous species.
Vampires were quasi-immortal, provided that they kept themselves nourished and away from potent Holy Artefacts and the constant blazing sun rays.
"You have a week, whether you're done or not, you will bring me what you've accomplished."
"Of course."
Arthur performed a clumsy bow and excused himself once he saw the baron wave his hand at him in a dismissive manner.
He had to wait for a long time just for a brief conversation which barely gave him any clues regarding Latif's circumstances. Nevertheless, upon witnessing the banquet and seeing the young nobles, Arthur was able to begin formulating a plan.
He simply could not remain In Latif's body for any longer, thus he had to set his eyes on the next target he was going to possess. Preferably, the next vessel should be a noble as it'll facilitate Arthur's life and provide him with ample opportunities to strengthen himself and vasten his knowledge about Astria, the Militant Syndicate, and its aristocratic structure.
As he exited the office, Arthur expected the knight from before to come and 'kindly' escort him back, however, he was left to himself. He had nothing particular to do in the Lernon estate, after all, it was heavily guarded and he did not come here to investigate the layout of the manor.
As the parasite made his way toward the backdoor, which was about five to seven minutes of walking, he was stopped by an unexpected person.
Feylord Lernon, the golden-haired son of the baron, suddenly stepped from a dark corner. He had the usual amicable smile, opposite to his father's constantly stern expression.
"Sir Latif, it's so good to see you."
"It's good to see you too."
Arthur reacted almost instantly, he cracked a soft smile at the young noble and bowed again.
"You can't be leaving this soon, right? The night has just begun!"
As it turned out, Feylord was literally the opposite of his father, or at least he seemed that way. Not only was he overly-friendly to Arthur, but he also spoke politely and took into account the age difference while ignoring their status.
Arthur went with the flow and accepted Feylord's gracious invite. They soon appeared in the veranda on the second floor, adjacent to Feylord's room.
There was a table filled to the brim with all kinds of delicacies, dishes and fruits that Arthur had never seen on Earth. Nevertheless, he didn't eat anything and was content with staring and listening to the very talkative youngster.
"You are my friend, right, Sir Latif?"
"I believe I am."
"Fantastic!"
Hearing this absolutely overjoyed Feylord, he heartily laughed and clapped his hands in excitement.
"I knew you'd choose me over my father."
'Wait what?'
Arthur was shocked but he didn't let it show on his wrinkled face. He slightly lowered his head and forced a faint, almost unnoticeable smile.
"My father is stubbornly trying to enter the Aristocratic Consortium. He spends all of his resources in developing something that might fascinate and encourage the Inspector. I, for one, don't agree with his way of doing things."
Feylord had a wide smile on his face, his eyes so intently focused on Arthur. He paused for a couple of seconds, enjoyed a long sip of his wine, then continued,
"The Consortium is powerful but it's not the only thing that can allow a noble to rise to prominence. We need to expand our territory and manage our lands yet my dear father refuses to listen to reason. Furthermore, he's at his prime so even if I'm the heir, it will take me a long time to take over."
Instead of maintaining silence or agreeing with a nod, Arthur actually opened his mouth and asked,
"Can't you deploy your men to do what you want? As the son of the Baron, I'm sure you have those you can trust."
"I have but they can be counted on one hand. The management is left to that decrepit old butler… he's my biggest hurdle. Anyway, with you, my new and dear friend, by my side, I'm confident that we can achieve great things."
Arthur was a bit confused by Feylord, not because of what he said but because he chose to speak so frankly. While he's still young, that doesn't mean he should trust people so quickly, even after they are his 'friends'. Either he's really foolish and inexperienced or all of this was an act to test Latif's loyalty. There's a chance that Feylord was not telling him everything or was just spitting lies.
Whatever reason it was, it wasn't that harmful to Arthur, at least not yet. He had been cautious enough not to reveal his true identity and once he switches vessels, he won't need to deal with Latif's problems.
In fact, this was a great opportunity to learn more about the circumstances and skirmishes in the Lernon Household.
It has not been long since Arthur appeared in Astria, and though his knowledge was lacking, he still was a cunning businessman and an ambitious yet mistrustful individual. Simply possessing a wealthy noble and living a peaceful life was one of his options, however, that wasn't enough to satisfy him.
He was not that much of an idiot to not realize the infinite potential of the Parasite Race. In a world such as this one, Strength was more relevant than money, and if he plans and works hard enough, there may come a day where he would become strong enough to not fear man or demon.
Changing into a better body was but the first step for Arthur. Many opportunities and ordeals await him and as someone who experienced hell back on Earth, he was determined to not repeat his stupid mistakes. It didn't mean that he was willing to forever act alone, however, it was difficult to find the right person to trust, especially for someone like Arthur, someone who had been betrayed by his own wife. Then again, what had happened was due to his inattentiveness to the people close to him.
The talk with Feylord lasted for about an hour before Arthur left the manor. Although he did not talk much, he still felt a bit tired, probably due to Latif's old body.
The strange game-like System gave him numerical details regarding his physical and even magical attributes, but it didn't give an explanation on why he's struggling despite having stats that were above average.
By the time Arthur reached his inn room, most of the residents retired to theirs. Only a handful of people were drinking at the tavern, though none paid attention to the elderly hunchback sitting in a corner, eating in total silence.