Bear School Astartes

By the time Lann emerged from the house Shuofu rented, the sky was still dark.

His questions were already prepared in his mind with Mentos, ready to extract the main information cleanly and efficiently.

Before leaving, Lann cast another [Yakxi Rune] on Shuofu, making him believe it was just a vague nightmare.

By tomorrow, he would hardly remember, and then live as usual, preparing for the tournament.

The situation now was that the enemy was in the dark while they were in the light; Lann didn't want this guy walking around with a face that screamed, 'I leaked secrets, am I going to die soon?'

As if he was afraid others wouldn't know someone had come to him.

Under the cover of night, Lann didn't return to the Red Castle immediately but headed towards Steel Street instead.

He intended to learn about Tob Moote's knowledge of Valerian steel along the way.

In this era, a blacksmith's home was essentially their storefront.

When Lann arrived at the blacksmith shop he had just visited during the day, he easily found the Master Blacksmith.

Then he put a [Yakxi Rune] on him.

His will was even weaker than Shuofu's, not even needing emotional guidance, and in the fog of sleep, he began to boast about his skills on his own.

Lann and Mentos recorded both text and voice to ensure the complete documentation of the spell and technique for casting Valerian steel.

"Sir, these techniques cannot create Valerian steel, only recast it with existing steel."

"I know, but if we base it on this knowledge, I believe with Rita's level of magic, it shouldn't be difficult to complete the full forging spell."

"Sir, I suppose you'll also need to find Lady Margarita a blacksmith with some skill."

"Belengar, isn't that guy always saying he wants to open a blacksmith shop? Having lived for hundreds of years, his craftsmanship should be decent."

Seeing that Lann had actually figured everything out, Mentos said no more.

Tob Moote's technique, which he habitually spoke of in exaggerated and obscure terms, like most skills, boiled down to a few key points once the threshold was crossed.

From him, Lann obtained a tongue-twisting spell, two temperature points, and a duration, effectively acquiring the recasting technique for Valerian steel.

By the time Lann returned to the gates of the Red Castle, it was the darkest part of pre-dawn.

The small gate embedded in the Red Castle's main gate, which he had closed but not locked when leaving, blended in so well that no one would notice unless they tugged on it intentionally.

Now it was convenient for his return.

The guards at the Red Castle were still doing their duties perfunctorily, making Lann's night return as easy as going home.

When he returned to the Prime Minister's Tower and took off the black leather clothes that offered no sense of security, Edd appeared at the door with a candle.

"Seems you didn't sleep at all last night? You'd better stay alert during the day to avoid being found out."

Lann welcomed Edd inside, and the two sat in the chairs in the room.

"This concerns the truth about my foster father's death; I simply couldn't sleep."

As he spoke, Edd's throat choked slightly, and his eyes were red.

It seemed his relationship with the former Prime Minister was indeed very good.

"I'll be direct." Lann leaned back in his chair, speaking softly.

"Shuofu also believes it was the Lannisters who acted. He claims the former Prime Minister died of a 'cursed spell' and that the Lannister family had repeatedly tried to stop him from investigating something before. A healthy old man without any illness suddenly dying of acute gastroenteritis overnight makes Shuofu quite terrified. Is your information the same? Are you sure it was gastroenteritis?"

Edd nodded heavily, "Robert had the maesters check many times back then and confirmed it was gastroenteritis."

Lann nodded, his expression unchanged.

"But I still think it's caused by a rare and expensive drug. A 'cursed spell'... If it really existed here, why use it on an old man?"

"There's more..."

At this point, Lann looked at Edd with a somewhat strange expression.

This look even left this Hand of the King a little at a loss.

"According to Shuofu, the reason he wasn't taken by her—a.k.a., your sister-in-law, Lady Laisa, was because he vaguely knew something about her extramarital affair."

Edd's expression transformed from grief to astonishment upon receiving the news.

The process of that change... Let's say, not very morally speaking, made Lann want to laugh.

It was hard to imagine that someone as stern and solemn as Edd Stark would reveal such an expression.

"This... who is Laisa involved with?"

"Petyr Baelish, 'Littlefinger', the Minister of Finance. I don't know this man; it's all from Shuofu. Judging by his position title, you should have met him at the Imperial Council."

Lann shrugged, not thinking this was a big deal.

After all, the excessive lifestyle of the aristocracy was a known phenomenon, and Lann thought it was merely another laughing matter.

But as Edd's expression slowly turned serious, with a hint of absurdity mixed in.

The Demon Hunter's intuition told Lann—he seemed to have inadvertently uncovered a big scoop.

Reflecting on the people Edd encountered during his investigation, the answer was obvious.

"I say, this wouldn't happen to be the..." At this, even Lann's expression turned a bit surprised.

"The 'man obsessed with your wife', right?"

After a long silence, Edd coldly nodded.

"Wow, this really is..." Mr. Lan, the innocent countryside youth, clapped his hands lightly in amazement, speechless.

"So, after all this investigation, the ones supporting your back are all untrustworthy people?!"

The warning from his foster father's widow was a significant factor in Edd becoming the prime minister, only to find that this widow was having an affair.

The Minister of Finance, whom his wife called 'trustworthy', was the man having an affair with the widow.

Sir Prime Minister suddenly felt as though he had been played for a fool the entire time since arriving at King's Landing!

Even in his current state of outrage, Edd thought these two might have even more suspicion of murder than the Lannisters!

But after he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

He knew that the main enemy was still the Lannister family, the Queen's family.

After all, the former prime minister uncovered something horrifying before being silenced. Purely extramarital affairs didn't warrant such extreme action.

"Baelish invited me to join him this morning for a walk in the royal courtyard, saying he has information for me."

Edd told Lann about today's agenda.

It was clear he had now begun to rely on Lann's judgment.

"Go see what he wants to reveal to you. Also, I didn't leave any traces in my actions today, so I hope you can act convincingly as well."

"Acting?" The serious and stubborn Northman pursed his lips, "I'll... I'll try."