Lucius could very well agree with Kiana's words and he did not want to reveal his trump cards so fast either. It was best if the Viscount did not meet him for quite a while. An unknown enemy was the hardest to deal with.

In Lucius' past world there were many methods of learning about others and spying and thus having information was quite easy. But in this world, while there were artifacts, they were not so prevalent as the ever-present surveillance of his past world.

Thus Lucius reckoned if he did not let the Viscount get an accurate idea of himself, he would always be on the more favorable side. In the mean time, Lucius could let Count Gabriel take the full brunt of Viscount Drew. At least in that case, both the men knew each other for years and it would not be as problematic as before.

As for whether the Viscount would spy on Lucius and get information from others? That would not work. Spying inside the Inanis mansion would be incredibly difficult as the servants there were all loyal to the Count, along with being there for a long time.

Each servant in the family was trained and educated by the Inanis family for years before they were officially employed. Kiana had gone through the entire process and knew that it was rather rough.

But it also allowed them to weed out the kind of servants that they definitely did not want. This prevented any spies and traitors from appearing in their midst. And in case they did manage to turn into someone that already worked in the mansion to their side, Lucius was sure the other servants or even Kiana would be able to find it out.

Some would even think that the Viscount may try to get more information about Lucius from others. But that would prove to be futile as all he would get is information about the old Asher and not Lucius.

This may even be favorable to Lucius, as he would be able to flip the odds in his favor. Though Lucius was sure that the Viscount would definitely want to know more about Lucius since he had killed so many guards.

Even the other guests who had visited the part of Bethany would likely gossip about it, and the rumors would start to spread. Lucius actually wanted this to happen, as he could add his own fabricated rumors to it, making it hard for one to understand what was true and what was not.

He would simply get more of their people to spread rumors around in the city, which would eventually get to other places. The nosy nobles were bothersome most of the times, but this was one of the few occasions when they would prove to be useful.

'I'll mink them for all they're worth…' Lucius thought to himself.

While doing this, his gaze went to Bethany, who was sitting in the second carriage to the side. The girl had almost become a mute since yesterday and had spent most of her time staring at the ground. Even when they rested at the Inn last night, it was Kiana who had kept an eye on her.

"How was she yesterday?" Lucius asked Kiana.

"Hmm, she definitely changed after you claimed her as a prisoner of the Inanis family. She barely ate and slept quite late at night. She tossed and turned on the bed and kept on muttering to herself.

The entire experience has probably caused some trauma in the girl." Kiana replied.

"I see… well, some trauma will help her in the long term. It will allow her to grow her character, after all, she is a noble heir too. Without experience about things such as this, how can one become a good noble?

If one is as naïve as she is, they would probably be eliminated in this harsh world." Lucius said in a cold tone.

Kiana listened to his words and found them to be very accurate. She had first hand experienced severe mental and physical trauma, and it had only allowed her to become stronger. They had shown her what she should not do and what she could do to prevent it.

She reckoned that had it not been for that, she may not have even lived for this long.

***

The sound of horse hooves grinding against gravel could be heard as the carriage came to a stop in front of the hospital.

Lucius and Kiana quickly boarded, while Donald got down from his horse, as well.

"Take the carriage to the side and get down, Lady Bethany." Donald spoke to the other guards.

While Donald was pissed at Bethany and would have killed her had he the chance, he still did not miss out on the decorum of a proper guard. He knew it would be bad for both him and his lord's reputation if he did not speak to another noble formally.

That was the only reason why he called Bethany Lady, otherwise, he would have just pulled her out by her hair.

~thud~ thud~

Bethany stepped down from the second carriage as well and walked to Lucius, while keeping her head down. If one looked at the second carriage, they would see that it was quite different from the previous one. 

This carriage had iron bars on the windows, while there were strong steel latches on the single door that was on its right. This was a carriage that was especially used to transport prisoners or criminals that had a high status like Nobles.

Lucius had intentionally gotten this carriage hired so that the stance of the Inanis family could be shown. This carriage was not bad from the interior either. It had comfortable and soft seats along with a good suspension that did not let the carrier shake much.

Most of the difference was only in the fact that if someone was placed inside, they would find it hard to leave. This would show the world that Bethany Harrels was their prisoner, while also showing them that she was not being mistreated.

A rather clever approach by Lucius to avoid giving the other party an advantage during negotiations.