"I'll let you go back. All you need to do is manage your own territory, keep an eye on Bastia for me. When I need you to fight, bring your soldiers and help me clear out the evil cult. When I don't need you to fight, preserve your strength and wait until I advance."

"You don't have to worry about the Earl sheltering the Transcendent. Just give me the crucial information; someone will naturally take care of it."

The importance of Lawrence quickly diminished in Lance's heart. Initially, he wanted to use him as a vanguard, but now he appears to be just a reserve force.

"What about my daughter?"

"I can send her to Totnes. Are you satisfied with that?"

Lawrence also understood that this was already the best solution because he knew Lance couldn't let both him and his daughter go.

However, the topic didn't end there; Lance suddenly asked a question that had puzzled him for a long time.

"Margaret has Barbarian blood; is her mother a Barbarian?"

Lance voiced a hypothesis to confirm Margaret's identity.

Initially, Lance made a mistake because of that head of red hair. As an Imperial Noble, he should have black hair like himself, while commoners usually have black, brown, or blonde hair.

Red hair, green hair, white hair, and other bright colors are often representatives of the Barbarian Tribes, such as Boudica's red hair, Grendel's green hair, and the Warwolf's gray-white hair, where there is an influence of Supernatural Power.

An heir with Barbarian blood is definitely not a good thing for a noble, but Lawrence still had the courage to admit it.

"Yes, Margaret's mother is a Barbarian."

At this point, there was no need for concealment between the two; it was just that Lance found it somewhat amusing upon hearing this.

This is very interesting; Lawrence, such a conservative and feudal person, and also the Earl's right-hand man suppressing the Barbarian Tribes.

Yet he has a Barbarian wife and even gave birth to a daughter.

What's even stranger is that he is in his prime and should be able to marry again without any issue, but he never did.

For an Imperial Noble, you can play around, but you can't marry a Barbarian, let alone acknowledge an heir with Barbarian blood. This is politically correct in the Empire.

But Lawrence clearly violated a taboo, and it's no wonder he wants to marry his daughter to Alvin in order to ensure she has a good life after he dies.

But I fear he never asked Alvin's opinion, right?

It's no wonder Margaret mentioned that Alvin dislikes her, which should be part of the reason.

"This is his debt to me." When Lawrence spoke of this, he finally lost his last shred of respect for Count Bastia, and there was a hint of resentment in his tone.

Lawrence knew if he didn't clarify this matter, Lance would not trust him, so he started speaking of his own accord.

Lance listened and felt it was somewhat melodramatic. Simply put, before Bastia City was established, that area had not been developed yet, although it lacked the perennial mist, it was still a place with high mountains and dense forests.

Back then, the war with the Barbarians hadn't escalated, nor had the Allied Army appeared, yet raids were frequently occurring.

The Earl wanted to gain a better understanding of the tribes within the Mountains, so he sought someone to venture inside and take a look. Such tasks were extremely dangerous, with barely anyone returning.

At that time, Lawrence chose to take on the task and venture into the Mountains to scout in order to make a name for himself, as expected he encountered danger and was injured.

Just when he thought he was doomed, a Barbarian woman found him and rescued him, taking him back to her tribe to heal. By Margaret's looks, one could guess the woman must have been quite beautiful, and Lawrence was in the prime of his youth.

Whether intentional or not, during the healing process there was unavoidable friction between the two, a fire even sparked.

Only Lawrence didn't realize at the time, as soon as he recovered, he hurriedly left the tribe to report back.

With Lawrence leading the way, the Earl made a name for himself with a single battle, gaining prestige in the surrounding areas.

And Lawrence, naturally using this as a starting point, courageously defeated enemies and claimed a series of victories, continuing to rise through the ranks.

When Bastia was established, defeating the Barbarian Alliance Army, he was promoted to Baron as one of the Earl's right-hand men. How glorious was that, revitalizing the family's honor was a success for him.

Everything was great, he even forgot about the woman who had saved him.

Until the victorious Earl ordered an attack on the surrounding Barbarian Tribes heading towards the Mountains, Bastia's troops approached that tribe.

That was a small tribe of no more than a hundred people, essentially all relatives, hence they saved him to borrow his seed, but they saved his life regardless.

Lawrence pleaded with the Earl to spare them, but the troops marched on.

These soldiers were not supported by any patriotic belief; they were filtered from the death, driven to fight and kill the Barbarians for money, for plunder.

Without slaughter and loot, the soldiers couldn't be appeased, and a rebellion wouldn't have been surprising.

The Barbarians rob the Empire, and now the Empire, strong and with an opportunity, robs the Barbarians; this entanglement has lasted for hundreds of years, even God couldn't resolve it.

To maintain morale, the Earl condoned this pillage; soldiers and bandits were indistinguishable at this moment, even Lawrence wanted to control those frenzied soldiers, he couldn't.