'Just my luck!' Vesper cursed in his heart but kept a neutral expression on his face as he raised his brows in confusion and asked.
"What do you mean, my lord?"
From their expensive embroidered clothes, protective armors, and gem-adorned swords that were surely enchanted artifacts, he could tell they belonged to a noble family, and one of a higher standing than his Ironhart family at that.
And since he was no different from a commoner while they were surely novice mages, if not 1-star mages already, he had no choice but to speak respectfully even though he didn't like it.
The man, dressed in white, fitting clothes and black armor, narrowed his eyes. "Don't try to act oblivious, peasant. Just answer the question if you don't want to die."
Saying this, he slowly took out his sword from the sheath hanging on his side.
Gulp!
Vesper gulped nervously, knowing for a fact that he wasn't just trying to intimidate him.
Unlike on Earth, there was only one law in this world, and that was the survival of the fittest. If you were strong, you could do anything you wanted without fearing anything, but if you were weak, you should be grateful for each day you managed to survive.
Currently, he was the weaker one who they, the stronger party, could kill without any repercussion.
In his panic, he wanted to say he was a noble's son, but since he already realized they belonged to a higher-status family than his, saying that became useless.
Sure, the nobles had the protection of the king, but if both parties in conflict were nobles with one clearly stronger than the other, the king wouldn't interfere. He would only interfere if both parties were equally powerful and could cause mutual destruction, a loss for the kingdom.
"My lord, I really don't know what you are asking about." Vesper said after gathering his courage.
"You won't open your peasant mouth until I teach you a lesson, huh?"
Saying this, the man was about to jump down from the horse when his companion, the other man, who looked like a gentleman compared to him with handsome features, raised his brows in dissatisfaction and asked,
"What do you think you are doing, Wilfred?"
Wilfred, the violent man, visibly flinched and said in a low but respectful voice, "Young Lord, I'm going to teach him a lesson so he will speak the truth."
"You don't always have to be so violent." The man said before looking at Vesper with a smile, "I'm Vincent Ruth, son of Viscount Ruth of Adele City. Can I know who you are, young sir?"
Vesper almost shivered when he saw his smiling expression.
If it was the original Vesper, he would have thought this guy was a good person from how he was behaving, but he was from Earth and had interacted with many double-faced people when working in the corporate sector and could instinctively tell if someone was good or bad.
And his instincts told him that this guy wasn't as good of a person as he was trying to present himself as.
Hurriedly composing himself, he put on a surprised expression on his face before dipping his head slightly toward him in a bow and saying, "Oh, so it's the young Lord Vincent. I have heard a lot about your genius. It's a pleasure finally meeting you. I'm Vesper Ironhart, fifth son of Baron Ironhart."
"Oh, so you are Sir Ironhart's son." Vincent said. "No wonder I find you somewhat familiar. I saw your portrait. recently."
Vesper wasn't surprised. The town Baron Ironhart ruled over was adjacent to this forest. So, most people who came to hunt magic beasts here would try to find out about the local situation because being informed about the area you were in was quite important. So, when they gathered information, they would surely hear about the local lord and his family.
Vincent looked around before asking, "Why are you here without any guards, brother Vesper? You should know this forest is very dangerous for someone like you, who can't use magic, no?"
Wilfred snorted quietly when he heard Vincent call him 'brother', clearly not liking the fact he was giving a commoner such respect.
Vesper smiled bitterly, "Young Lord Vincent, since you know I can't use magic, you should also know how I am treated, right?"
Vincent's expression turned awkward. He surely knew how he was treated. He was basically an outcast in the Ironhart family. How could he have guards follow him?
"My apologies, brother Vesper. I didn't mean to…" Vincent apologized.
Vesper immediately felt Wilfred's gaze, which was already unfriendly, become filled with murderous intent, which almost made him shiver.
Cursing Vincent in his heart, he hurriedly interrupted him, "I know you weren't trying to mock me, young lord. Please don't apologize."
Vincent nodded, and without trying to make any more small talk, he directly asked, "Brother Vesper, we were hunting a Silver Moon Wolf. It escaped after we severely injured it. We followed its blood trail, which has vanished after this puddle. Clearly, someone has taken it away. Since you were nearby, did you happen to see anyone around here?"
Though he didn't make it obvious, as he spoke, Vesper felt him scan him with his gaze.
Immediately, he became more cautious because this man was really dangerous. Despite knowing he was just an ordinary person, he was still checking if he had a storage bag that only mages could use.
'This world really doesn't treat weak people kindly.' Vesper sighed in his heart, feeling the urgency to become stronger quickly. 'Thankfully I have got the system; otherwise my life would have become way worse than it was on Earth.'
"No, young lord. You are the first people I have seen after entering the forest yesterday." Vesper shook his head.
"I see..." Vincent nodded and closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them and asked him with a genial smile, "Are you returning to the town now? If you are, we can give you a lift."
Vesper was about to decline the offer because he didn't want to be near someone like him any longer than necessary, but after hesitating for a bit, he nodded, "Thank you for the help."