'Did he suspect that I was summoner?' Fredrinn's face relaxed. 'The guy must have thought that I used a spell to summon those magical beasts. That saves me a lot of trouble.'
Summoners were people with a high affinity for magical beasts. Some called them animal whisperers because of their unique ability to communicate with magical beasts, but the official term to call them was 'summoner'.
The big guard thought that Fredrinn was annoyed when he saw the latter's expression so he quickly apologized. "I don't mean to disturb you, my lord. I was just excited since it's our first time to see a summoning spell."
Looking at his honest appearance, Fredrinn smiled. "It's fine. I was just surprised to see you react with such interest to my summoning spell. And to answer your question, you are right. I am indeed a summoner." He could only pretend to be a summoner because of the situation.
"That's amazing! I envy people with natural-born affinity like you, my lord! To tell you the truth, I had long been fascinated with magical beasts." The big guy scratched his head in embarrassment.
Fredrinn chuckled upon hearing this. The guy was more simple-minded than he had thought. "Is that so? If you want, I can call them and let you play with them for a while." There's no harm in acquainting himself with this man. It would also change everyone's perception of him.
"There's no need for that, my lord. I can't trouble you for my sake. Seeing those majestic magical beasts is more than enough." The guy responded with a carefree smile.
Fredrinn could tell that this man truly liked magical beasts. In his home world, there were a lot of people like him.
The two ended up getting to know each other after conversing for a while.
The man's name was Thurman Wadlow. According to him, his parents were both commoners. His father was a soldier who died for the kingdom and his mother was working as an assistant in a bakery. He had a humble background, but Fredrinn didn't treat him differently because of this.
"By the way, I haven't asked your name yet, my lord." Thurman stared at him curiously. Unlike most nobles, this man was polite and he also didn't react with contempt when he mentioned his humble origins. He wanted to know which noble family cultivated such a kind gentleman.
"Oh? I think you've already heard of me. I am from the Firecrown Household and my name is…"
"Fredrinn Firecrown…"
"Huh?!" Thurman's eyebrows shot upward when he heard this name. "You mean you are that Fredrinn Firecrown?" He asked hesitantly.
Fredrinn laughed and nodded at his reaction. He had already predicted that this would happen. "Yes, I am the Fredrinn Firecrown that you are thinking about…"
"How could that be? Then the rumors about you…" Thurman's face turned pale in fright.
"Well. Those things are also true…" Fredrinn shrugged with an unconcerned look.
"Y-You are absolutely different from the rumors, my lord." Thurman awkwardly chuckled.
"Are you afraid of me?" Fredrinn sent him an indifferent glance, making Thurman flinch.
"To be honest, I was afraid of you. People say that you are an arrogant noble who uses his status to bully the commoners. There were all sorts of bad rumors about you, my lord. However, seeing you today changed my perception of you. I don't think someone who has an affinity with magical beasts is a bad person." This was Thurman's genuine feeling after his conversation with Fredrinn.
Fredrinn smiled and shook his head. "You are a good person, but you shouldn't trust someone that easily after just one conversation. It's getting late, so I'll head back to my room." He patted Thurman's shoulder before he turned around and walked away.
"I enjoyed our conversation, Thurman." He waved his hand without looking back.
Thurman stared at his back view and let out a deep sigh. "Is this his true personality or is it only a facade?"
His subordinates walked over to his side and one of them asked. "Sir, who is that guy? He looks like a noble."
"Fredrinn Firecrown, the heir of the Firecrown Household." Thurman's reply made the guards jump in fright.
"What?! That guy is Fredrinn Firecrown?!"
"No way! He looks so kind and gentle!"
"Did you really have a good conversation with someone like him?!"
Thurman ignored them and walked away while shaking his head. He also couldn't believe that he had met that person. What was even more shocking was his personality which was very different from the rumors.
Meanwhile, Fredrinn headed inside the inn to wake up one of their family's bodyguards. "It's your turn. Inform me immediately if you discover something suspicious." He told the guard.
"Yes, my lord." The bodyguard left without saying another word.
Fredrinn surveyed the room. Other than him, there was also another man. He was soundly sleeping so Fredrinn didn't disturb him. 'With the Soaring Red-eyed Eagles observing from the sky, I can rest easy. I should get some sleep…'
After a few minutes, he soon drifted into sleep.
Suddenly, the man who was sleeping in the same room as him sat up and stared in his direction with cold eyes. He slowly pulled out a knife hidden from his sleeves as he silently stood up.
With light footsteps, he walked toward the sleeping Fredrinn. When he was only a few feet away from him, he stabbed out his knife, aiming for Fredrinn's neck.
Just then, he suddenly felt someone grabbing his arm, preventing the knife from reaching Fredrinn's neck.
The man turned his head in alarm and saw a scar-faced man glaring at him. He tried to pull his hand, but he found himself unable to muster any strength. 'Dammit! How did this guy appear here?!'
The man used his left hand to grab the sword on his waist.
Shiiing!
He then brandished his sword in an attempt to scare off the scar-faced man, but to his surprise, he realized that he had lost all sensation in his left arm.
A dull thud echoed as soon as the sword dropped to the floor. The man also noticed that a severed hand was still clutching the sword. 'Wait… Is that my hand?!'
He wanted to scream, but a calloused hand covered his mouth.
The last scene he saw before he lost consciousness was seeing a headless corpse.