Very soon, both parties wrapped up their conversation, and the leader left with a spring in his step, while the person who watched him leave stealthily tailed him for quite a distance.

After seeing the leader not make contact with anyone and mix directly into his gang, he finally confirmed there were no issues.

However, he probably didn’t expect that while he was tracking, a pair of peculiar eyes in the distance were watching him intently.

On the other side, that gang leader met up with his accomplice, immediately changing his earlier demeanor, cautiously approaching the two undercover agents to report what had just happened.

To ensure it was not him hanging in the balance, he dared not leave anything out, afraid of making any mistakes.

"Very well, catch them, and you won’t hang up there."

"Sir, then..." The leader cradled the bag of money, and his sleazy expression spoke volumes without needing words.

"Take it, what’s a little money? As long as you make a contribution, I’ll inform the Lord. Just wait for your reward."

The two undercover agents looked like they were only in their teens, wearing ragged clothes, their greasy hair a tangled mess indicating it hadn’t been washed for who knew how many days, their expressions looking rather sly.

But they weren’t chosen because they were young and small, but because of their brains.

So young, yet they already knew how to hyperbole, clearly potential leaders.

"Yessir!" The man grinned like a cooked dog’s head, initially somewhat resistant, but now even more cooperative.

"Sir, what should we do next?"

"Just follow what he said, we will spread this news."

The two had no intention of doing much, instead choosing to continue lulling them while also luring out more foes.

This is part of the plan...

Late at night, the candlelight in the Lord’s Mansion study room had not yet gone out, welcoming someone.

"Sir!" Laura quickly stepped inside, her cloak hem swaying with her swift steps, highlighting her brisk decisiveness. She stopped in front of the desk and spoke directly, "Those people have all been identified."

A hawk beside her landed directly on her shoulder when she stopped, its sharp gaze reflecting the man in the candlelight.

Lance slowly lifted his head to look at the visitor, but the first thing he said wasn’t about the case, instead...

"Have you eaten?"

This question left Laura at a loss, the carefully prepared report finding a pause.

"No matter how busy you are, you still need to eat. An irregular diet is bad for your health." Lance smiled as he nudged the snacks on the table, making a casual gesture, "Come, sit down and have a bite first, those guys won’t run away."

There was nothing exaggerated in his demeanor, just a simple statement, a casual gesture, yet it made Laura feel an inexplicable sense of closeness and respect.

He treated me like a person, not a tool.

As Laura sat down, she felt a bit embarrassed since she had never been afforded this kind of treatment, nor would it be possible to dine with nobility, bringing to mind those intricate noble etiquettes.

Should one be dignified and graceful, or what was it...?

However, Lance seemed to notice her discomfort, jokingly remarking, "Relax a bit, Hamlet doesn’t have those pesky rules, eating is just eating, it’s not as if you’re paying respects, why so many rules?"

Anyone who’s had any interaction with the Lord knows he loves to mock and ridicule the nobility, though no one knows why, nor do they dare ask, since he himself is nobility.

If you use flowery language, it would instead increase Laura’s pressure, but such coarse words actually allowed her to relax because she grew up in the wild and chaotic environment of the Eagle Flock.

Tasting a piece, she suddenly realized she had never eaten cookies before, the aroma of grains and fats baked into a delightful fragrance was truly enticing.

"Wheat flour, eggs, milk, butter..."

He liked to snack while working at night, and these cookies were ones he taught Susan to make, as an ordinary farm woman didn’t know these things.

But behind these little cookies was some of Hamlet’s technological progress, namely the production of butter and cheese.

Eggs can last ten days to half a month, but milk spoils quickly once extracted, requiring various methods to preserve it.

In fact, this world already has similar methods, but Lance wanted something stable and scalable.

Simply put, he wanted standardization and industrialization, while also starting to research various flavors and other process improvements.

However, Laura didn’t concern herself with these things, she only knew that these cookies came in both salty and sweet flavors, with nuts and petals providing different textures.

Quite delicious...

Seeing this, Lance didn’t say much, just poured her a cup of berry-infused tea, "Take your time, there’s more."

Perhaps feeling left out, the hawk that followed Laura suddenly spread its wings and flapped, seemingly discontented.

"Come here." Lance raised his arm and called to it.

Remarkably, it really flew over and landed on Lance’s arm, or gently tapped him with its beak, signaling Lance to help groom it.

Previously, it would bash itself in its cage, and now it was so obedient.

Of course, this was partly due to the thawing relations between Lance and Laura, as well as the influence of the Enchanting Voice.

Moreover, when Lance saw it listless before, he cast a Bless on it, and following its biological instincts, the hawk naturally desired more, becoming particularly close to Lance.

Lance lightly stroked its head with just a few fingers, making the hawk squint its eagle eyes, arch its neck, and even rub its head against Lance’s hand when released.

Initially, Laura found it strange, knowing that the hawk was raised by her from a young age, not close to anyone other than her, and would even attack outsiders, let alone become this actively close.

But then she reasoned, if even the hawk approves, the Lord must definitely be someone trustworthy.

The conversation took place in a very relaxed environment, so much so that Laura didn’t feel the pressure of reporting.

The fatigue from constant tracking and investigating over the past few days dissipated, her body feeling even stronger than before.

"Sir, those people are not weak, and they’re not alone. I’m afraid it might be troublesome, perhaps we should take them out secretly."

Laura carried out many assassination missions in Bastia, tasked with silently eliminating opponents.

Those people seemed somewhat skilled, and if those police are sent, the capture operation might encounter issues.

"Killing won’t solve the problem." However, Lance shook his head, rejecting the idea.

Paracelsus wants test subjects from me, if they’re killed, how am I to deliver?

Strong ones are good, those ruffians each one strong and healthy, probably enough for the doctor to play with for a while.

Laura never said much, the Lord’s word was law, and this suggestion was only made here; in front of Count Bastia, she wouldn’t utter a single unnecessary word.

"If you like them, take some more. I have more here; if left too long, they’ll go soft and lose their flavor."

As she left, Lance gave her two bags of cookies wrapped in oil paper; these were only produced in limited batches for testing, and she happened to encounter them.

Lance firmly believed that people’s happiness levels were closely related to food; even if you lived in a mansion, eating this stuff wouldn’t do you any good.

The main reason being Lance couldn’t withstand eating bread every day; a day or two was fine, but over time—who the hell could eat that?

If he wasn’t so pressed for time, the first thing he needed to tackle was food production.

Laura didn’t know about Lance’s frustration with those little cookies, in any case, she took them and bagged the two packets of cookies. Instead of going back to sleep, she planned to continue her surveillance.

The Lord asked her to lead those rookies, transitioning from the Honor Guard to the current police.

Her current role was no longer of dark plotting, filled with a negative atmosphere of assassination and functioning as a tool.

Instead, she stood at the forefront, with those she needed to protect, with genuine companions alongside her.

Previously, she couldn’t even sense her own existence, but in Hamlet, she found her purpose in life.