After I became a real young master, I became famous for my bad behavior

Sheen paused:

“Eric Impes?

"I want to be seen as a 'smart guy' by Impes. What do you think I should do?"

Become a savvy person?

Eric put his hands together--

"He actually guessed Impes's principles of friendship. He really deserves to be the orthodox bloodline of Haines."

Eric's favorability towards Sheen obviously increased, but he asked back:

"How are you going to prove that you can be Impes' friend (become a shrewd person)?"

I've finally waited for this sentence.

Xien stroked his golden hair and smiled confidently:

"I love playing the game of reading people's minds, Eric,"

Sean stood up gently with the help of the table and quietly walked around Eric, or rather, paced back and forth behind Eric.

Eric broke out in a cold sweat but managed to keep a straight face.

Sheen thought Eric would be very interested in this topic:

"You are Jason's illegitimate son. How could you survive James' sword?"

Sheen paused for a moment, then continued to describe in detail:

"You know, the Duke of Impers wants to adopt a child. He has thousands of candidates to choose from, and he doesn't necessarily have to choose you. And you don't have a clear family record in the social circle..."

Sheen dropped a hint—no one knew about Eric's actions.

This gave Eric a brief sigh of relief.

Sheen began his own slow and measured analysis:

"I am the Duke's legitimate son, and Xi Lun often bullies me. As soon as I entered Pereo College, Li Luxiu has been trying to trip me up..."

(Lilouch is a member of the royal family who picked on Sheen, implying that Sheen was not protected by Haynes)

"But everyone knows that you are a bastard, yet he never finds fault with you...

"And you were clearly an adopted son of Imperius from a lowly illegitimate child, but the Duke still gave you the opportunity to enroll in Pereo. No one ridiculed you because of your background, as if you were the Duke of Imperius's biological son."

Eric listened to what Sheen said next:

"I thought about it carefully. Unless the Duke 'personally' ordered that——"

Sheen stated in a relaxed tone,

"Eric is the Duke's adopted son. We must 'absolutely' not provoke him. Otherwise, we would be an enemy of Impers. Otherwise, this matter doesn't make sense at all."

Sheehan deliberately emphasized the words "personally" and "absolutely" when stating his point.

Eric was silent for a moment and then nodded slightly:

"Yes, this is indeed an order from my father."

Xien's mind froze for a moment.

Did Eric call the Duke of Impasse "father" so naturally?

At least Xi Lun never called Atole "father" in front of him...

"Now is not the time to stop!"

Sheen immediately continued to ask questions:

"That is to say, Duke Impes not only gave this instruction to the 'natives', but also to the surviving nobles, right?"

"..."

Eric was silent.

Sheen crossed his arms over his chest and said bluntly:

"Your choice is very similar to my sister's. Of course, someone who is personally protected by the Duke will never become the head of the family."

"But I agree with your approach: as long as the Duke has spoken, you don't have to waste too much energy responding to unnecessary words."

Sheen was of course referring to the remarks mocking Eric as a bastard.

Eric listened to Sheen's speech in silence.

Sheen actually guessed them all.

"call..."

Xien took a breath and expressed his thoughts.

"Eric...

"You really don't want to be the head of the family and don't want to compete with the real heir, right?"

Eric was startled, his eyes widened a little -

"How did Haines, who had just come to the northern part of the empire, guess all this? You know...

Even Everett couldn't find out what happened between Eric and the Duke."

"You are an interesting person. You have a lot of insight."

Eric closed his eyes and nodded slightly.

"I really want to know what you will make Haines look like after you become the head of Haines..."

Sheen sneered:

"Don't change the subject, Eric..."

Sheen turned his head slightly so Eric could see his face.

There was a murderous look in his brown eyes:

"I think I won the game of reading people's minds this time, right?"

......

"But I never told anyone that I was under the Duke's protection." (Eric)

"I know." (Sheen)

"You seem very confident." (Eric)

Xien smiled and answered confidently:

“Anyone who is recognized by the Duke is never a fool.

"Eight years ago, when the Duke was massacring the Imperius clans, you made a deal with the Duke of Imperius when the sword was on your neck."

Sheen walked back to his seat, drank some tea, and began a new analysis.

He told the details of the deal between Eric and the Duke of Imperius:

"Even if the Duke takes pity on you and lets you live, you will still be laughed at by everyone after you survive - so becoming Impes's adopted son is the best way out."

“In exchange for the protection of the Duke of Imperth, you not only gave up your right to inherit the title, but also stated that you would assist the Duke’s biological children and contribute to the prosperity of Imperth.

"The Duke of Impes has always been concerned with interests and rationality. He will definitely accept this deal and agree to the 'reward' you proposed..."

"It means becoming Impes's adopted son and being protected by the Impes family."

Eric clapped his hands perfunctorily:

"Your analysis is indeed correct..."

Eric tilted his head slightly and said calmly:

"But transactions are divided into short-term transactions and long-term transactions. Only long-term transactions can make the relationship stable."

Long term trading...

A little sweat broke out on Sheen's forehead.

It seems the test is not over yet.

Xien turned the topic back and said with a smile:

"Of course."

“You are an absolutely cruel person - knowing full well that Jason’s wife was a relative of the Emperor, you still killed her with poison.

"Such an action may seem reckless, but it proves that your weapon is poison...

"And it just so happens that the Impes family lacks talent in medicine...

"Did you know that Haines's signature is 'magic' and 'strategy'?"

Sheen suddenly asked Eric.

"This is a message shared by the two major families." Eric nodded.

Sheen continued:

"In the Haines family, the Haines in charge of 'magic' is called 'Main Haines', and the Haines in charge of 'strategy' is called 'Shadow Haines',"

The reasoning behind Impes is very similar.

"And you should be 'Black Impess', right?"

"Ah."

Eric nodded.

Similar to the nature of the Haines, the Impes family is divided into two categories: the "Black Haines" responsible for "force" and the "White Haines" responsible for "wealth".

In "The Game of Mediation", it is mentioned that Scott is a strong fighter and has the same superb swordsmanship as James. He is also the person who was accepted as an apprentice by Romos in the book.

He is a rare magic swordsman in the empire...