After several days of brewing, the news had made its way up the chain and then back down again.
Just as Rein returned to Flashgold Town in the glow of the setting sun, within a study on the second floor of the Habsburg manor castle,
Noble scion Dennis seemed to be engaging in some Knight Breathing Method training, with some specific parts of his body smeared with an oily dark liquid that emitted a distinctive medicinal scent.
And his captain of the guards, Rulse, was at the side, reporting something.
"What? A mishap?" Dennis's face bore an incredulous expression.
"How could there be a mishap?"
"This... the butler Michel says it was because we provided wrong intelligence, leading to the failure of the mission, so we must take full responsibility!" Rulse looked at the distressed young master Dennis, thought for a moment, and still decided to relay the exact words of the other party.
"Damn taking full responsibility!"
"Did that greedy bastard Michel really say that?" Dennis flew into a rage.
Rulse nodded and continued:
"Michel said that Baron Alonso is still unaware of the matter. He's given us three days to resolve this situation perfectly."
"Otherwise, he will report to Baron Alonso, and by that time, your Divine Blood quota for next month will very likely be gone."
Rulse's words seemed to gradually calm Dennis down.
Divine Blood had become popular among the nobles of Meister County in the last year, delaying aging for the elders and greatly promoting those who had not yet embarked on the path of the Transcendent Knight Breathing Method.
He had just sensed a clear improvement during his breathing method practice, which was worlds apart from before.
Most importantly, this 'Divine Blood' had no side effects. The only drawback was its scarcity and cost!
Dennis, bearing the title of a baron's son, only had a small vial's quota per month, and it required him to shell out a hundred shiny imperial Gold Coins.
He had found out just a couple of days ago that this 'Divine Blood' had originated from Baron Alonso himself.
As the steward and prime confidante of Baron Alonso, Michel's threat was not an empty one!
After pondering for a while, Dennis finally spoke, "Rulse, investigate this Rein further. Could he really be some rare swordsmanship prodigy?"
"If that's the case, we'll spend some money to have an assassin from the Shadow Stingers take care of him."
"Young master, that... if we wait until my investigation is finished before calling on the Shadow Stingers, it will surely exceed three days."
"How about this, once the investigation is over, I'll take action myself. I've bought a few bottles of poison commonly used by assassins, including one lethal poison that is extremely potent; just a small wound is enough to be fatal."
"This... " Though there was no doubt about Rulse's strength, as long as the other party wasn't a formal knight, he would surely succeed. However, Rulse's Combat Skills were all military-oriented, leaving obvious traces after a fight.
It was for this reason that Dennis had been reluctant to have his captain of the guards take personal action.
But now, with only three days remaining...
Unless he was willing to forfeit his quota of the Divine Blood, his captain of the guards was the best choice.
And moreover, Rulse had already prepared the poison...
"Fine then! Just make sure not to leave any obvious traces!"
"At your command, young master. It is my honor to serve you," Rulse bowed, then slowly left the study.
"By the way, send for Tina."
After Rein returned home with a three-month-old greyhound puppy, having taken a detour through the store, he immediately attracted the great interest of his sister Bo He.
"Brother, weren't you at the manor attending squire training? Why did you come back?"
"Wow! Brother, is this a hound? Are we going to keep it?" Bo He asked while excitedly reaching out her little hand to pet the black greyhound puppy.
Because it was only three months old, the greyhound's fur was still relatively soft, making it very warm and comfortable to touch.
Rein nodded as he saw the happy expression on Bo He's face.
"That's great! I've always wanted to have one," cheered Bo He unabashedly.
Previously, due to the modest conditions at home, having a small animal had always been a luxury for Bo He, so naturally she was overjoyed now that it was possible.
"Sister Anna, come and touch it, it's so comfortable!" Bo He called Anna over.
"Hmm," Anna was also beaming with joy, seemingly very fond of small animals as well.
The greyhound puppy was originally a bit shy, but it became less fearful after being gently stroked a few times by the two girls' soft hands.
Before long, it had indulged in the kneading of their four pale, soft hands, and from time to time it emitted a comfortable 'aowuu' sound.
"By the way, brother, what's its name?" Bo He looked up and asked.
"That... It doesn't have a name yet, how about... just calling it Skinny Dog?" Rein suggested offhandedly.
After all, a greyhound puppy would grow up to be quite slender.
The next second, Rein felt two disdainful glares coming from his side.
Rein awkwardly smiled and said, "I'm still considering. If you have any suggestions, feel free to share them."
"Brother, how about we call it Cookie?" Bo He suggested enthusiastically from the side.
"Cookie, like the cookie from a biscuit?"
The name didn't seem that great, but when Rein glanced at Anna, he saw her nodding in agreement.
Well then... It looked like he would have to go with the majority.
Rein ruffled little Bo He's hair and said, "Alright! We'll follow your suggestion, it will be named Cookie."
"You're the best, brother!" Bo He immediately gave Rein an enthusiastic hug.
Leaving 'Cookie' with the two girls, Rein then started to prepare a nutritious meal for dogs according to the instructions in the "Beast Taming Journal."
"Water grass, 2 ounces, two eggs, half a pint of milk, and either 20 ounces of pork or chicken..."
Rein mixed them together as he compared them against the requirements.
Soon, a plate of something resembling a soft and wet minced meat mixture was ready.
When Rein handed over the dish to the greyhound puppy, Bo He eyed it with some disdain and said,
"Brother, why are you feeding Cookie this? Why not give it bones to eat?"
Rein snorted with irritation, "Bones? Those things are far more expensive than beef."
"Ah?" Bo He exclaimed, looking at her brother's facial expression which didn't seem like he was joking.
She knew that because of her brother, life had been getting better at home, but they didn't have beef every day.
But for her brother to say that this dish, in fact, was even pricier than beef, that really surprised Bo He.
Anna too widened her beautiful eyes, observing the damp minced meat in Rein's hand carefully, seemingly perplexed by its high cost.
The greyhound puppy's reaction, on the other hand, was much more direct!
When Rein approached with the plate, the puppy immediately focused on the food inside, quickly standing up from its lying position, ears perked, and tail wagging around Rein, its eyes firmly fixed on his plate.
It was clearly hooked by Rein's gourmet "dog food."