Reincarnated as the Baron's son: My Infinite Card Upgrade System-Chapter 56: Do you trust me?

It took three days for Alaric and his companions to finally arrive at Ernest County.

From afar, they could already see the giant wall with a huge gate surrounded by multiple guards.

"We’ve arrived, Lord Alaric," said Hina, who was the one driving the carriage.

Alaric, still exhausted from using Time Reversal, slowly opened his eyes with his head resting on Hina’s thighs.

As he opened his eyes, he immediately noticed the huge gate.

Even Ava, who was inside the wagon keeping the goods safe, could already feel the change in atmosphere.

"So, we’ve arrived," he repeated with a calm voice before sitting upright.

"It’s much larger than I expected. Should we pass the main gate to get in, or should we just sneak in from the back?" Hina asked.

"Sneaking in is not even an option. I doubt there’s any way to do that without getting caught. If we didn’t have so many barrels with us, it would be possible, but since we don’t, it’s better we don’t push our luck."

Hina looked behind her right after to take in the sight of the goods, and indeed, it was plenty.

"We’ll pass through the main gate. Since I have my father’s emblem with me, it will be easier."

Alaric reached for his inner pocket and drew out a round bronze emblem.

In the Kingdom of Verdenis, nobles are gifted special emblems depending on their ranks. For Barons, they all held a bronze emblem. This allowed them to gain quick access to places and get recognized quicker by other nobles.

Confirming that the emblem was indeed with him, Alaric moved to the next step.

’Aurora, can you hear me?’

Almost instantly:

(Masterrrrrr~ you’re hereeeeeeeee~!)

She screamed, causing Alaric to cover his ears for a bit.

’Yeah, sorry I’m late. How are you holding out?’

(Em, kinda good. I’m being chased by super-fast knights. I don’t know how much more I can keep going.)

’I figured. Calm down, I’ll send Laura to join you soon.’

(Thank you, masterrrrrrrrrrrrrrr~~~)

Alaric slowly turned to look at Laura, who was sitting right on top of the wagon with her arms folded.

His Mind Control skill had been upgraded to a point where he could now use it on two people.

Meaning, he had added Laura into the conversation from the beginning, and she understood everything.

"Are you sure you’d rather not have me by your side, Master? In case you run into trouble while trying to enter?"

"If I do, I won’t hesitate to call out for you."

Laura sighed. "Typical Aurora, making trouble for me."

With that, Laura leaped into the sky and was gone.

Once Laura left, Alaric, Hina, and Ava made their way through the front gate.

The moment they were closer to the gate and noticed the guards were moving towards them, Alaric stretched out his emblem.

A brief second later, the guards all moved away, allowing him to safely pass without causing any trouble.

Alaric was a bit surprised it worked since Barons weren’t all that respected in Verdenis.

Could the Count have told them about his arrival?

He didn’t think too much about it.

All that was on his mind was delivering the goods and rescuing his sister.

Finally entering the county, he made his way directly to the mansion.

Only to step in to seek an audience with Velmo and find Erica and Aurora kneeling at the side of the room with two guards beside them.

Hina and Ava knelt at the back, while Alaric was at the very front, his head slightly bowed.

With a look that held no interest, the Count looked down at Alaric from his throne.

"What business could you have with me? I’m quite busy, so I’ll appreciate it if you don’t waste my time and just get straight to the point," said Velmo.

He never knew the man kneeling before him was Alaric.

As a Count of one of the biggest territories, it wasn’t a shock to see nobles coming to visit him for favors and the like.

That was the same way Rashin got to loan such a huge amount of money.

Clearing his throat, Alaric began, "I have come to deliver your goods to you."

At first, Velmo raised his brows in confusion, then slowly, he began to understand.

"Alaric..."

As he called out with a bit of disgust and a grin, the guards all unsheathed their blades, more than ready to attack when given the order.

"Yo. Sorry, I’m kinda late. I had issues while coming here. I understand you are angry. I accept my late coming, but as men, let’s leave all that behind us and start afresh."

"Give me one good reason why I should not kill both you and your sister?" Velmo asked with a somewhat creepy smile.

To him, Alaric’s every move gave him the exact amount of excitement he needed.

Like a drinker who finally tastes a new brand of wine.

It was simply exhilarating.

"Just one reason?" Alaric asked as he raised his head. "Well, because I don’t want that?"

"Uhn?"

"Not a good enough reason?"

"..."

"Okay, how about we make a deal?" asked Alaric as he continued. "I shall bring forth my strongest knight, and you’ll bring out yours. If I win, you’ll have to forgive us, and if you win, I shall die alongside my sister."

Velmo once again felt that spark in his chest.

"And you feel confident your warrior would win?" he asked, taking a look to see Ava and Hina behind him.

(Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?)

Alaric read Velmo’s mind.

The way the skill worked, while Alaric is able to read a person’s thoughts, the person could just as easily read his.

Hence why he developed a method that would work for him.

Every time the skill was activated, he would close off his thoughts for a brief second, enough for him to read the person’s mind before immediately switching off the skill.

"Are you worried because I have women with me? Do trust, for every woman I have, they amount to ten men with you," said Alaric.

"You say that with so much confidence."

"I don’t say things I’m not sure of. I do believe the best way to prove ourselves is if we participate in the bet?"

Alaric and the Count locked eyes.

Ava, on the other hand, already gripped the hilt of her blade, more than ready to strike down anyone that tried to attack them. Her eyes constantly read her environment.

Velmo chuckled a bit. He didn’t see Alaric as an issue, rather, just a toy to pass time with.

And thus, he found no reason to reject the offer.

"I accept. But I’d like to add one more condition to the bet."

"Oh, sure. Whatever pleases you."

"Awesome, I’ll pick who to fight for you."

Alaric felt a tad bit shaken, but he quickly maintained his cool. "Oh, sure, that’s alright by me."

"Good, then I choose her..."

Velmo pointed at Hina.

Hina immediately trembled where she was knelt, not once did she raise her head.

"I’m sorry...?" Alaric uttered.

"You heard me. I want the girl in black to participate for you. Do we have a deal then? Or would you rather I kill you all in this very room?"

Gulping down his saliva, Alaric forced a smile and replied, "Of course not. I accept."

"Very good." Velmo rested his back on the chair. "You’ll spend the night here then. Tomorrow morning, the battle will be hosted on my knights’ training ground." He looked to one of the guards. "Escort them to their guest rooms."

’I guess this is happening... I didn’t expect him to pick Hina, though. Did he know she was the weakest?’

Alaric stylishly stole a glance behind him, and to his surprise, Hina didn’t seem moved by it. In fact, she had such a calm face it was almost like she predicted it to happen.

’Well, forgive my outburst. I did not know you played like that. It’s nice. I knew I could trust her. She’s not the type to panic easily.’

....

"I’M FREAKING PANICKING RIGHT NOW!!!"

Hina yelled as she roamed around the room.

Alaric and the rest were on the bed, watching her lose her mind while yapping to herself.

Ava, standing at the entrance of the door with her back resting against it, uttered, "Hina, calm down. Panicking won’t do much right now."

"Yeah, I agree. Besides, you should be thinking about how to win and not embarrass the young master," Laura spoke while hugging Alaric from behind.

"How to win?! I don’t even know how to fight?!" Hina shouted. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"And whose fault is that?" Aurora uttered, her head carefully rested on Alaric’s lap.

"That’s not the point! Lord Alaric!" Hina moved closer, looking him in the eye. "Please don’t make me do this. I’m a healer, I can’t fight, I have zero fighting abilities or experience, I don’t even know what a punch is, I can’t—"

"Do you trust me?" Alaric interrupted.

"Eh?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Y-yes."

"Then don’t worry about a thing. I’ll make sure you’re alright. I promise."