Considering the special status of her visit, Charlotte did not announce her arrival in advance as she might have when visiting other nobles. Instead, as night fell, she directly boarded the family carriage with Sebastian and headed straight for the local branch of the Mercenary Association.
As for why she did not choose the daytime...
According to Sebastian, Viscount Laval liked to sleep during the day and would only appear at the guild in the evening.
This was Charlotte’s first visit to the Mercenary Association’s residence.
Bold also had a Mercenary Association, though it was not very large, and its station was quite simple; however, in the Castel Domain, once a paradise for adventurers, the Mercenary Association branch was obviously more luxurious, resembling a small Count Mansion.
Still, perhaps because centuries had passed, and despite the Dark Forest not shrinking significantly, the mercenary organizations of the Castel Domain had gradually declined.
Now, although the branch of the Mercenary Association appeared impressive, the flow of mercenaries coming and going was sparse, and could even be described as deserted.
The Castel family’s emblem still carried considerable authoritative power.
The moment Charlotte’s carriage stopped, the mercenary stationed at the door of the branch of the Mercenary Association immediately dashed inside.
And not long afterwards, Charlotte saw a group of uniformly dressed staff pouring out.
Leading them was an elderly mage, emanating a faint pressure that Charlotte could sense.
That was actually a Middle-ranked Silver Moon Mage!
However, upon seeing the carriage, the Silver Moon Mage approached with a smile, his expression even showing a hint of flattery.
He came up to the carriage and bowed respectfully to Charlotte, saying with a smile,
"Chairman Layton of the Northern Land branch of the Mercenary Association, at your service, Count! May I inquire as to what instructions the Count has for our association?"
Charlotte was somewhat surprised,
Chairman Layton laughed,
"Of course, the Castel family is a major patron of our association. The day after you departed from Bold, your portrait had already been distributed throughout the entire association."
She then remembered that, aside from her family’s own knights, the mercenaries most frequently hired to escort her family’s caravans were indeed from the Mercenary Association.
Seeing the warm reception from the Mercenary Association, Charlotte did not beat around the bush and got straight to the point,
"Mr. Layton, I have come to seek an audience with Lord Laval."
However, after hearing Charlotte’s words, the faces of the mercenaries of the Mercenary Association suddenly looked at each other, their expressions enigmatic.
Even Mage Layton, head of the association’s local branch, looked momentarily stiff.
Charlotte quickly sensed something was amiss.
"Mr. Layton, could it be that Lord Laval is not present?"
"Lord Count, this matter is a long story. The wind is strong outside; please, come into the guild first and we can talk at length."
Charlotte was puzzled.
Still, she nodded her head and entered the branch, surrounded by the mercenaries.
Not long after Charlotte’s carriage entered the Mercenary Association, two figures, one big and one small, also appeared in front of the Mercenary Association.
"Whew... Finally here, that journey nearly killed me."
Agnes, the young Bloodline girl, wiped the nonexistent sweat from her forehead and exclaimed.
"Miss, if you’re too tired, we could call for a carriage,"
The middle-aged knight by Agnes’s side suggested respectfully.
"A carriage? No! That’s too expensive! At least three silver Tanas per trip! We don’t have much money; we need to save where we can!"
The girl shook her head.
"Alright, let’s go in! Let’s get this done quickly! And then prepare for the banquet in two days. Then we’ll steal... ah, no, retrieve the Book of Undead and give that young Count a scare!"
Saying so, she led the way towards the guild hall, her face alight with excitement.