266 Winter Hunting (1/2)
Chapter 266: Winter Hunting
Translator: Kris_LiuEditor: Vermillion
”Dear Mr. Peter,
”It is so nice to hear that we have a Vladimir family member here in Ural. Now, the storm has stopped and the weather has cleared up, therefore, in order to celebrate the upcoming spring and welcome our distinguished guest from afar, I would like to invite all the nobles in town to join together for a winter hunting in the forest belonging to my manor. May I have the honor?
”Baroness Carleena Lottnico.”
That was a fancy invitation, made of fine cardboard and printed with sunflower patterns, with her elegant and beautiful handwriting in Schachran language. The invitation also had the unique feminine scent, left by the mature and beautiful noble lady who wrote the invitation.
”Baroness Carleena Lottnico…” Lucien just heard the name from Sergey, who he suspected to be a swindler, so he was now feeling a little hesitant.
The caravan members saw that Lucien did not say a word after reading the invitation, so they asked out of curiosity, ”Mr. Peter, which is this noble inviting you?”
It was not Lucien's first time receiving invitations like that. Many suzerains had invited him before because of the family name, Vladimir. Out of a noble's courtesy, Lucien had accepted many invites and attended many parties.
Although after when the suzerains knew that Peter was only the son of a lord who failed to inherit the title, they became quite cold to Lucien, those invitations still brought the caravan good convenience in the empire.
”It's from Baroness Carleena,” answered Lucien straightforwardly. Schachran Empire had a vast territory and countless important and small nobles. Lucien really did not know them well, except Count Witte, and he was expecting that the caravan members could provide him with more information.
After having some good wine with his lunch, Berdychiv's face looked flushed, and his red nose looked even brighter, ”Baroness Carleena! Haha… A real beauty from Ural! A widow! She has all the wealth left by the baron, and Mr. Peter, you've got no idea how many young nobles are longing for winning her affection. The beauty, the manor, and the wealth… Think about it.”
Berdychiv was still a bit drunk. He looked at Lucien trying to give him hints, as this had always been the traditional topic among men.
”Baroness Carleena is called Black Widow and the Vain Fox,” added a blonde and green-eyed girl, a bit unhappily. ”She was born in a noble family, and she's also the niece of the count's second wife. But years ago, she rejected all the young nobles who were pursuing her and married Baron Lotnikov, a widower with no offsprings, who was at that time forty-six years older than her for the sake of wealth and his title. Baron Lotnikov's health condition was quite good when they first got married, but five years later, the baron aged a lot and got really sick. Soon, he passed away.”
”Irina, don't spread rumors,” said a gentleman in the caravan. ”Look around, we're in a fancy hotel in Ural, not in the middle of nowhere. What if some nobles heard it?”
Berdychiv waved his hands, ”Relax. Trust me, those nobles want people to spread Baroness Carleena's bad name. So they can have less competitors. Those nobles don't care about the baroness's reputation. They want the title, the money and the beautiful body.”
”She does have a bad reputation. She started inviting young nobles to her manor and having those extravagant parties only half year after the baron passed away.”
”Anyway,” Lucien smiled, ”the baroness has invited me, and we're not in any hurry to leave. I should be polite and not let the hostess down.”
Lucien had to play and maintain his noble reputation well. As he was not the only noble invited, the winter hunting should not be risky. And as long as he refused to be greedy, Lucien was confident that he would not be swindled.
After all, at that moment, Lucien himself was, in fact, a swindler as well.
Hearing that, the several caravan members had mixed feelings. Some started playing jokes, while some did not look too happy.
Lucien stood up and slightly nodded to them with a smile, ”Then, see you tomorrow, everyone.”
After he said that, he closed the book Работаактёранадсобой (An Actor Prepares) in his spirit library.
...
The land was covered with a thick layer of snow. Tall and big pines, from time to time, shook off the snow to get rid of the heavy burden. Several big, black Ural dogs shot out as fast as arrows, chasing after the rabbits.