Chapter 105: Illyrio's Manse (Part 2)
"I am saddened by the misfortune that befell your families," Illyrio said, withdrawing his scrutinizing gaze. "Please allow me, on behalf of His Grace Viserys, to welcome you. Please, enjoy yourselves..." Then Illyrio suddenly paused. "Come to think of it, why didn't you come directly to me? Why did you attend this feast?"
Daeron, who had already given up on confronting the Unsullied guards about their treatment, could no longer contain his anger when Illyrio brought up the subject. He recounted to Illyrio his experience of being humiliated by the guards at the gate.
"Ah, I did give that order," Illyrio said, seeming to recall something, his expression rather helpless. "I don't know why, but recently several wandering sellswords have appeared, impersonating Westerosi nobles. They tested my patience sorely, so I gave that order. I must apologize for my men's lack of discretion."
What if I told Illyrio directly about the slaver's ship at the docks? Ian suddenly realized that if he simply explained they had accepted a task to obtain an invitation to the feast, the matter would naturally fall to Illyrio to resolve.
However, this would put Tarobyne in a difficult position with Illyrio. After Illyrio investigated the whole affair, would the merchant captain lose credibility with the magister?
"Gentlemen, if you don't mind, you may each choose a horse from my stables as compensation. What say you?" Just as Ian was wrestling with his decision, Illyrio offered a solution.
His humble smile couldn't hide his underlying arrogance. Clearly, Illyrio already knew about Daeron's failed campaign in the Riverlands and the loss of their ship. He didn't take Daeron and Ian seriously at this moment. His so-called apology was merely an attempt to send these two landless knights away with a horse apiece.
Seeing this, Ian completely abandoned the idea of telling Illyrio about the slaver's ship. Illyrio already had a low enough opinion of them; if Ian couldn't even handle a dock boss on his own, he might leave an even worse impression.
Once he was deemed useless, having Illyrio recommend him to Viserys would be nothing but a fool's dream.
"Well, since you two are here only because you had nowhere else to turn," Illyrio beckoned to some servants, "you may leave whenever you wish. For now, you can stay here; my servants will see to your accommodations.
Please, feel free to explore the manse and even the cellars—make yourselves at home. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask my serving girls; they will never refuse you." Illyrio inclined his head slightly. "However, you must excuse me now; I will speak with you at length later."
Without waiting for their response, Illyrio returned to the gathered merchants; after all, this was their day to conduct business.
Ian, naturally, didn't linger. Instead, he and Daeron followed the servants Illyrio had assigned to show them to their rooms in the manse.
In the center of Ian's chamber stood a bed with a feather-topped canopy, the mattress thick and yielding. Ian sank into it the moment he sat down, childishly rolling around a few times as memories of his past life's comfortable bed surfaced. Then, with a sheepish grin, he stood and walked to the window.
Golden sunlight streamed through the shutters, illuminating the rich carpet that covered the floor. Outside the window, a ring of cherry trees surrounded a marble pool, at the center of which stood a painted stone statue of a crouching panther.
This made Ian think of the players who had fallen to the bottom three on the leaderboard. Several days had passed since the first month's ranking; the assassins sent to kill them should have succeeded by now, shouldn't they?
Closing his eyes, Ian accessed the system interface and checked the messages he hadn't reviewed the previous night.
[Day 39 Settlement Report. Current Remaining Players: 36]
The number was even more alarming than Ian had anticipated. It seemed that besides the bottom three players on the leaderboard, many others caught in the "meat grinder" events had also perished.
[Bounty Quest 2 'Treasure Hunt' in Oldtown has been completed]
Just last night, the "meat grinder" in Oldtown had ended, but the treasure chests in Volantis and Yi Ti still hadn't been found. This was likely because there were too few players in those regions, and players at this stage simply couldn't accumulate enough points to purchase clues.
Judging from the difficulty of this quest, the probability of finding a treasure chest without clues was virtually zero.
After confirming there were no other messages, Ian logged out of the system and began rehearsing the lines he had prepared for his eventual meeting with Illyrio.
Suddenly, he heard a girl's voice behind him.
"Ser Ian," the girl's Common Tongue was slightly halting, "Magister Illyrio has sent me to serve you."
Ian turned around. She was a beautiful blonde girl with blue eyes, slender but well-proportioned.
"My lord," she continued, "Magister Illyrio invites you to supper, but it will be some hours yet before the meal."
"You're a... slave?" Ian thought inexplicably of Tarobyne's description of the Yunkish bed slaves.
"I was purchased to please the king," the girl said, not answering Ian directly. Instead, she reached out to unfasten Ian's belt. "Please, allow me to serve you."
Ian caught her small hand and shook his head; this wasn't the right situation.
Unexpectedly, the blonde girl clearly misunderstood his meaning. She quickly said, "If you would prefer a boy, ser, we can arrange one for you immediately."
Ian: ???
Ian was stunned for a moment, then realized she thought he preferred men.
He chuckled and shook his head again.
This completely baffled the girl. In her experience, it was absolutely unusual for a young man under twenty to refuse such services.
Seeing the girl's shocked expression, Ian suddenly understood.
This is Illyrio's first test! If a man could resist the temptation of beautiful women, how could Illyrio expect to control him so easily?
"I prefer to take the lead," Ian quickly changed his approach, placing his hand on the girl's waist. "You were purchased to please the king. What does the king think of you?"
"That depends on your pleasure, my lord. Here, you are my king."
Then Ian was pushed back by a pair of slender hands, his whole body sinking into the soft feather mattress.
Author's Note: Every choice the protagonist makes is the most practical solution I can devise given his current circumstances and information. Many solutions seem straightforward at first glance, but without proper context and positioning, the risks and rewards are often misaligned in practice.
(End of Chapter)
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