"In fact, we just told Ser Lucion about the Blackfyre Treasure," Ser Grantham added.
"Sorry, Ser, I'm truly sorry." The adopted son, Dorian, suddenly looked very embarrassed.
"You have just lost the person closest to you. I feel for you very truly and deeply. All the gaffes and doubts you have shown for this will be forgiven by me."
"Thank you for your understanding, Ser."
"However, if you truly want to avenge your adoptive father, you need to sit down now and cooperate with me to uncover the truth of the matter."
"The truth? You mentioned before that this room belongs to a knight of the Grafson family! He is the murderer, isn't he?" Dorian asked.
"The Grafson family of Seagull Town in the Vale. Can you think of any connection between your adoptive father and them?"
"Uh," Dorian thought for a while and then denied, "No."
"Then this clue can't bring us to any conclusion for the time being. The murderer may have been a sworn knight who was once loyal to the Grafson family, but later broke his oath and became a hired knight, yet kept the equipment."
"It may also be that a hired knight happened to buy or capture such a set of heraldic equipment. Armor is different from heraldic swords. Generally, few knights use heraldic swords from other families, but armor with heraldry—they wouldn't refuse it, because armor is too expensive. That doesn't mean anything."
"I was rash. Just ask; I will tell you everything."
Ian nodded with satisfaction and then began to ask: "Why did Black Falcon come to this inn yesterday?"
"He didn't say. My adoptive father has always been strong. Whenever he gives orders, we rarely ask why."
"So you don't know who he came here to see?"
"No idea."
"He lived alone in a room last night. Is this his habit?"
"No, although my adoptive father is very strong in decision-making, he has no airs in life. He usually eats and lives with everyone, so I was confused when he asked for a single room yesterday." The adopted son Dorian was lost in memories.
"You didn't ask him?"
"I wouldn't dare, Ser."
"Did he not go to the large room where you slept to wake anyone up before he went to see the murderer last night at midnight?"
"No. Pierre's sleep is very light." Dorian, the adopted son, pointed to a young man behind him who was about fifteen years old and about the same age as him. "If his adoptive father had come, he would definitely wake up."
"In other words, even though Black Falcon brought so many of you to the inn, he still chose to go alone to meet the murderer? But he clearly didn't trust him. He put on his armor before setting off." Ian asked.
"That's his favorite and best set of armor," Dorian nodded to agree with Ian's point of view.
"So their meeting is a secret, or they are going to discuss a secret—a secret that he doesn't even want anyone in the mercenary group to know, but he might tell you since you are his adopted son, right?"
"He treats me as his own, but he didn't tell me any secrets!"
"Remember it carefully."
Dorian took a big gulp of Summer Red into his stomach, and then recalled. After a while, his expression became obviously anxious, and this anxiety lasted for a long time. He suddenly made fists with both hands and slammed into the table. He stood up and shook his head wildly.
"I don't know, I can't remember, I can't remember anything. Maybe my adoptive father really said something, but I didn't take it to heart," Dorian said and actually started crying. "I deserve to die, I can't remember! Ah!" In the end, Dorian roared loudly, as if he wanted to release the frustration in his heart.
"Crying can effectively relieve bad emotions, but blindly blaming yourself will not help. Your adoptive father has now died at the hands of the enemy. You are no longer a young eagle sheltered under the wings. You must become a new Black Falcon yourself." Ian suppressed the irritability in his heart and said patiently, I am really an excellent spiritual mentor.
"The new Black Falcon? But my adoptive father's mercenary group has been taken away. Although I have many friends in the mercenary group, most of them do it for the sake of my adoptive father. If you really want to talk about it, now my power in the regiment is ranked third at most, and I can't compete with 'Lame' and Ser Harrison."
"But you can avenge your adoptive father. This is the first step." What, another knight? Help, I can't tell whose name is whose.
"But I can't even remember what secrets my adoptive father told me!"
"So I will help you. You just need to tell me everything you know, and I will figure out the rest."
"I know? Are you talking about the Blackfyre Treasure? Is your goal really still the Blackfyre Treasure?!"
Why is this guy so smart? It's not easy to fool! "Would you believe me if I said no?"
Dorian shook his head.
"Then when I covet the Blackfyre Treasure, will you still ask me to help avenge your adoptive father?"
Dorian was stunned for a moment, then nodded unnaturally.
"So why are you entangled in such an irrelevant issue? Black Falcon's murder this time is most likely related to the secret of the Blackfyre Treasure. And since Black Falcon is already dead, I am sorry and resigned. After he has already... even though you are dead, you didn't fight for the capital of the treasure, so what's the harm in letting me fight for it? You don't want the people who killed your adoptive father to succeed, do you?"
"You are really frank. Sorry, Ser, I am too narrow-minded. As long as you can help me get revenge, I am willing to tell you all the secrets I know. I don't know where I want to start? What do you already know?"
"Basically nothing." Ian shrugged. "So you need to tell me everything you know." Anyway, I am very free now.
"I don't know what information is important. Otherwise, I'll tell you from the beginning, and you'll ask questions when you encounter the parts you think are important?"
"Can."
"Where is the best place to start? The first people to fight against the ghost bandits in White Walled City were actually us." The adopted son Dorian thought for a while and then began to speak.
Ian looked at Grantham suspiciously. He remembered that Grantham had clearly said that the first person to discover this bandit group was Ser Wilder Gray, the leader of the local landed knights, but Grantham just shook his head at him. He said that he didn't know what Dorian was talking about.
"It's just that we didn't know that such a bandit group existed at that time." The adopted son did not notice Ian's movements and just continued, "That was four months ago, when a traveling caravan came to Ser Harrison's house. The castle, oh, that is the main headquarters of our mercenary group, located fifteen leagues (seventy-two kilometers) northeast of the White Walled City ruins, close to the Kingsroad."
Well, then this Harrison will be called 'Ser Landlord', Ian thought to himself.