Chapter 154 Titian's Enthusiasm

When the sky had completely darkened, Alham and his entourage arrived before the mansion of the Huali family. The two swordsmen by Alham's side, Nightmare and Mirage—a pair of half-brothers—handed Alham's name card to the gatehouse, specifically requesting an audience with Tizian.

The name of the Golden Sail family from the Vias Commercial Federation still carried considerable weight in the Empire. After all, if the Golden Sail family lacked anything, it certainly was not endless wealth. Therefore, after only a brief wait, two footmen in uniform hurried out and led them to Tizian's small villa.

Seeing Tizian's three-story villa, which was entirely entwined with creeping ivy, Alham furrowed his brow. He glanced at the sisters, Ya and Ling, who were seated opposite him, and sighed in a lowered voice, "You may have to suffer a slight grievance."

The expressions of Ya and Ling remained as aloof as ever. They calmly replied, "It is of no consequence. For the glory of the gods to illuminate the earth, what does a minor grievance matter? As for these sinners, a day will surely come when they receive the harshest punishment for their transgressions."

Alham slowly nodded, a flash of cold and merciless white light passing through his eyes, and stepped leisurely out of the carriage.

Tizian, dressed in a set of casual loungewear, was already standing at the small entrance gate, opening his arms to Alham with a beaming smile. "Aha, Mr. Alham, welcome, welcome! I truly never expected you to pay a visit today; this is quite a delightful surprise indeed! You really should have given me word a little earlier so I could have prepared a proper dinner!"

Wearing a smile, Alham exchanged an embrace with Tizian. Give Tizian advance notice? Good grief, Alham had never planned on visiting Tizian today. Had those tax officials not suddenly arrived and made Alham realize that things were beginning to slip out of control, how could he possibly have run off to this wretched place?

Originally, upon coming to Brelai, he was indeed supposed to engage in friendly exchanges and visits with these young scions of the imperial capital, thereby forging deep friendships and ultimately influencing their attitude toward the Church. But the most damnable thing was that he never dreamed the operational funds managed by Ya and Ling would be thoroughly cleaned out and stolen in Dunkirk, plunging them into immediate financial distress upon reaching Brelai.

That was why they had kept to themselves, living in seclusion and never venturing out to see anyone. Yet who could have predicted that the beauty of Ya and Ling would attract so many buzzing flies? Troubles of all kinds had come knocking at their door one after another, and Tizian was by far the greatest trouble of all.

Of course, according to Alham's calculations, Tizian could be the greatest trouble, but he could also be the greatest asset—it all depended on how he played his hand. Provided that Ya and Ling suffered no mistreatment, if Tizian's influence could be properly utilized, it would undoubtedly be immensely beneficial to the Church's development in Brelai.

If Tizian could somehow become a devout believer of a certain deity, then things would be nothing short of perfection.

At this thought, Alham's smile grew even more brilliant. He turned back to look at Ya and Ling, saying in a deep voice, "Ya and Ling, my sisters, I suppose no lengthy introductions are necessary. This is Torlin, our family mage; Nightmare and Mirage, my bodyguards and brothers who grew up with me from childhood."

Tizian's dismissive gaze swept over Torlin, Nightmare, and Mirage. In Tizian's eyes, family mages and bodyguards were nothing more than low-tier minor characters. His attention was entirely focused on Ya and Ling. With flames dancing in his eyes, he smiled cheerfully and bowed deeply to the two women in greeting, "Respected ladies, your arrival is like the descent of the gods into the mortal world, and my humble dwelling is illuminated by your presence."

After finishing the bow, Tizian instinctively reached out to take Ya and Ling's small hands to perform the hand-kissing rite. However, both Ya and Ling took a step back simultaneously, giving Tizian no chance whatsoever to approach them. Tizian sighed helplessly, shook his head, and turned to instruct the footmen standing behind him, "We haven't prepared anything fine at home. Go to the Rooster's Old Tavern, tell the manager it's at my request, and bring me four barrels of fresh oysters and other shellfish, thirty-two different kinds of fowl, and prepare twelve fresh hot dishes for me as well."

Raising his chin slightly in thought for a moment, Tizian gave a light wave of his hand and said, "The wine I have here is rather mediocre. Go to my father's private cellar and get me two casks of fifty-year-old brandy liqueur. Remember, it must be the batch personally supervised by the previous head of the Brandy family."

The two footmen bowed slightly and walked out with neat, synchronized steps. Tizian firmly grasped Alham's hand and said with a smile, "Since you've come, you must stay for dinner. Ah, I've also invited a few good friends for tonight; they are the most famous poets and composers in the imperial capital, and I believe we shall have a wonderful evening."

At these final words, Tizian's burning gaze swept over Ya and Ling's slender figures. The brows of the two women furrowed slightly, though they remained entirely silent—if moths wished to cast themselves into the flame, they were simply seeking their own destruction; what did that have to do with the flame itself?

Both women sneered inwardly at the same time—despicable sinners, lowly ants, no matter what petty schemes or plots were deployed, what use were they in the face of absolute power?

Tizian caught the trace of mocking coldness on the faces of the two women, but since the two women always wore expressions carved of ice, that ambiguous hint of a sneer appeared utterly breathtaking in Tizian's eyes! Tizian felt a burning sensation in his lower abdomen. He forcefully reined in his physical impulses with aristocratic restraint, repeatedly telling himself that these two women would sooner or later be his prey, and he could not afford to be impatient now.

Smilingly leading Alham and his party into the villa, Tizian did not dare let them into his own messy, garbage-heap-like reception room. Instead, he brought them to an exceptionally neat and clean study.

An exceptionally clean, exceptionally tidy study—a study spacious enough to hold a small dance party for dozens of people. Countless masterpieces by great authors were placed on the wide bookshelves, though it was abundantly clear that no one had ever actually opened or read these books. Ever since Tizian had moved into this villa, this was his first time ever entering the study, so one could easily imagine that this study was naturally the cleanest place in Tizian's villa, with everything preserved in its pristine, original state from the time the building was constructed.

Inviting everyone to be seated on the sofas in the corner of the study, Tizian looked at Alham with a self-satisfied smile and said, "Well then, I'll speak plainly. Mr. Alham has paid this visit—might there be some matter you need assistance with?"

Alham looked at Tizian's detestable, smiling face and nodded slowly, "Indeed, we have run into a slight trouble."

Tizian waved his hands triumphantly, "Aha, a slight trouble? There is no trouble at all! In the imperial capital, you will never encounter any trouble!"

Taking a deep breath, Tizian smiled, "As long as we are friends, you shall never have any trouble!"

As he uttered these words, Tizian's fervent gaze landed once again upon Ya and Ling.