Everyone Wants Me Dead: The Villain Lord's Survival Diary-Chapter 24 – Expedition to Blackriver Territory

By the time Sylvie received Baron Talamb's reply, it was already late at night.
In the letter, Talamb readily agreed to Sylvie's request and expressed his urgent need for assistance—the orcs were not far from Blackriver Keep.
The old fox's quick agreement made Sylvie feel incredulous.
When something unusual happens, there's always a catch. There must be some trick involved.
However, Sylvie still decided to deploy troops the next morning. No matter what scheme that old fox Talamb was plotting, if he dared to provoke Sylvie, he would just annex Blackriver Territory altogether.
No need to worry about tomorrow's matters.
Sylvie still had a System Quest to complete.
"System, do you have any requirements for the quest item? Like color or style?"
System: "???"
The system fell into tactical silence, unwilling to answer the question.
Actually, according to Sylvie's original plan, he could just go to Loli and ask for a pair.
But thinking was one thing; when it came to actually doing it, Sylvie found it a bit difficult to proceed...
Wouldn't he be seen as a pervert?
As the dignified Lord of Eaglehold, he acted with integrity. How could he...
Despite his inner turmoil, his body still found itself at Loli's door.
"How strange! When did I learn to teleport?" Sylvie looked at Loli's door, feeling a bit bewildered.
"Well, since I'm here, I might as well go with the flow! This must be fate!"
"Besides, how can a lord's actions be called stealing?"
After a bit of self-hypnosis, Sylvie suddenly felt justified.
Then, he tiptoed into Loli's room.
According to his precise calculations, Loli should be in the washroom at this time.
This was the perfect opportunity to obtain the quest item.
Loli's room was fragrant, a warm scent of roses mixed with a hint of milk.
Sylvie was particularly familiar with this scent; the rose fragrance came from the petals in the bathwater, and the sweet milky scent was Loli's own.
Without any hesitation, Sylvie solemnly pushed the door open.
His eyes swept to the windowsill, where a row of quest items was neatly stacked.
They came in various colors and styles!
These were all specially made by the Winterfell Keep's tailor, unavailable outside, and then chosen by the castle's maids. Now, those on the windowsill were adorned with exquisite lace.
"So, Loli likes these..."
"As expected of a cute girl!"
Sylvie picked up a quest item, feeling conflicted.
After a moment of selection, he was moved and picked up a slightly wrinkled quest item.
It was still warm!
As if driven by some unseen force, Sylvie brought it closer for a careful look, and Loli's fair, perfectly proportioned legs involuntarily appeared in his mind.
This is it!
As the Lord of Eaglehold, he was a frugal man. Taking a new one would be wasteful, right?
He could come back for another when this one was worn out.
Now, he could finally complete the System's quest.
......
[Knock, knock, knock!]
"Master, it's me."
Loli's soft, warm voice came from outside the door.
"Ahem—come in."
At the desk, Sylvie quickly stuffed the quest item into his pocket, pretending as if nothing had happened.
Loli gently pushed the door open, then turned to pick up a basin of hot water from the floor and walked in.
She was there to serve Sylvie by washing his feet.
The little maid first tested the water temperature with her hand, then carefully placed Sylvie's feet in the water. Even so, she looked up with a gentle face and asked softly:
"Master, is the water temperature okay?"
"Just right," Sylvie looked at Loli with gentle eyes and smiled slightly.
His feet felt a bit ticklish, clearly feeling the soft, warm hands gently rubbing his soles, consciously pressing on certain acupoints.
The little maid had obviously just learned how to massage and was still a bit clumsy.
But as a noble on horseback, Sylvie was far less particular than those ordinary nobles.
What he enjoyed was the little maid's attentiveness and gentleness.
As for how well she massaged, it didn't really matter.
Sensing Sylvie's smile, Loli looked up, wiped a thin layer of sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, and asked Sylvie with a bit of embarrassment:
"Master, am I not doing well? Are you laughing at Loli?"
Looking at her cute and innocent face, Sylvie couldn't help but pat her fluffy ears and laughed:
"Not at all, you're doing great. I'm smiling because I'm happy to have such a considerate and gentle little maid. I've found a treasure."
Having almost finished washing, Loli gently lifted Sylvie's feet, cradling them in her arms, and dried them with a special towel.
Hearing Sylvie's words, she glanced shyly at him, then squinted her eyes and smiled.
"As long as Master is happy."
After washing his feet, Loli, as usual, slipped into the bed to warm it for Sylvie.
But Sylvie still slept at one end, and she at the other.
The hazy moonlight spilled onto the terrace, casting a cool glow in the dark room.
In the moonlight, Sylvie inadvertently caught a glimpse of Loli's small, fair feet.
Suddenly, he began to understand those with particular preferences in his past life.
"I'm not a pervert! I'm not a pervert!"
"How can a lord's actions be called perverted?"
Sylvie instantly felt at ease.
"M-Master, what's wrong... why are you looking at Loli's feet?"
In the faint moonlight, Loli blinked her misty eyes, her face blushing with a hint of red.
She thought of what Aunt Chris had taught in the maid class today about what maids should do, and she shyly murmured:
"M-Master, shall we proceed to the next step of warming the bed... Loli wants to be a qualified personal maid..."
"Loli, you're already a qualified personal maid."
"But..."
"Go to sleep, there's a lot to do tomorrow."
"Master, Master?"
"Snore... z zzzz..."
"Mas-ter..."
"Snore...zzzzzzzzzzzzz..."
"Ugh...(.•́︿•̀.)"
......
Early in the morning, before dawn, Sylvie was already clad in armor at the gates of Winterfell Keep.
In front of him stood fifty knights, over two hundred guards, and ten tall Bloodhoof Clan warriors, all neatly lined up.
As an Earl, Sylvie could actually command a force of about a thousand.
This number referred to fully equipped regular soldiers and armored knights, excluding the militia.
However, Eaglehold was too poor, barely collecting any taxes in a year, and maintaining these less than five hundred soldiers already required Sylvie to pay out of his own pocket.
Moreover, Sylvie had abolished the tithe, which meant that until a stable source of income was found, the territory's revenue would plummet.
But Sylvie didn't mind. If there was no money, he would raid—raid players, raid other lords, raid orcs. Would Sylvie starve to death?
Besides, quality trumped quantity. His men were well-trained elites, capable of taking on three times their number, not counting the ten Bloodhoof Clan warriors.
Looking at the spirited, battle-ready troops before him, Sylvie nodded in satisfaction and mounted his horse.
No need for any motivational speeches; the fact that the Lord of Eaglehold was personally leading them was the greatest encouragement.
With the first rays of dawn, Sylvie drew the greatsword from his back, raising its blade high, and issued a powerful command:
"All troops, advance!"
......
On the clock tower of Winterfell Keep.
Watching the departing troops, the little maid rubbed her red eyes.
She lowered her head, clasped her hands together, and prayed devoutly.
Only after the army had long disappeared did she quietly leave alone.