Ethan's guest was Marvin.

Ethan wasn't particularly surprised that Marvin would take the initiative to visit him.

He even prepared a fine wine for Marvin.

When Marvin stepped into the reception room, Ethan was reading the latest issue of the Wenster Morning Post.

The newspaper was still covering the aftermath of the public trial, especially discussions about governmental power and criticism of its abuse.

In fact, Ethan had paid money to make the newspaper steer public opinion back towards the land reclamation issue.

However, public opinion is like that; once the heat passes, it's hard to stir up a wave again.

Especially when the public trial is still in the spotlight, it's even harder to turn the tide.

This made Ethan more convinced that investing in Herlosh was the right decision; it's better to handle matters with a media outlet entirely under his control.

Yet, for now, even if there's no issue with land reclamation, it seems to no longer matter, as long as he thoroughly gathers all the evidence of Oswaldo's embezzlement, misuse of public funds, and money laundering, Oswaldo will definitely have no way to stay in Wenster.

"You've arrived, Marvin, have a seat. I prepared a bottle of '93 wine for you. Would you like to taste it?"

Ethan set down the newspaper, glanced at Marvin, and then at the glass of wine with its cherry-red hue.

Marvin was also looking at the glass of wine.

He didn't speak; he picked up the glass, gently swirled it, and took a deep sniff.

"It's truly fine wine... How much more of this do you have?"

"Why, you still want to arrest me?"

Marvin nodded and then said, "I will never give up arresting you as long as I live, nor will I forget that you killed Albertine."

"Oh?"

"But before that, I know I must climb higher. I need more power, a higher position, or I'll never be able to catch you in my lifetime."

"Yes, if you were the Minister of the Kingdom's Public Security right now, you could arrest me however you wanted."

Marvin nodded again and then drank the entire glass of wine in one go.

His expression wasn't pained; he seemed to enjoy it, as if what he drank wasn't the devil's poison, but the wine of immortality.

"It's truly fine wine."

He seemed unsatisfied, picking up the nearby bottle to pour himself another glass.

"Go ahead, tell me what you want me to do, instruct me, Mr. Ethan. From now on, I'm your loyal dog."

"Don't say that, Marvin; we're partners, it's a win-win situation. You do well, and so do I."

Marvin finished the entire bottle, feeling a bit tipsy as he left Ethan's reception room.

When he reached the door, he ran into Joseph, who had come to listen to jokes.

Joseph was clearly puzzled by Marvin's presence here, especially when he smelled the strong scent of alcohol on Marvin.

"So, Major Marvin, does your Prohibition Bureau have the privilege of drinking, drinking on the job?"

Marvin didn't answer immediately, staring at him for a while before chuckling and saying, "Colonel Joseph, I suddenly remembered a joke. Would you like to hear it?"

"What joke?"

"There's a man, in front of a crowd, who wants to judge another man, accusing him of money laundering. In the end, the man presented a pile of evidence, thinking he was about to win, but in the final step, it was discovered that all his evidence was fake. Hahahahaha, isn't it funny?"

Marvin was laughing, but his expression turned cold.

Joseph wasn't laughing; his face turned solemn as he said, "Major Marvin, you seem to have forgotten your position."

"The one who's unclear about his position is you, Joseph. Didn't you see that I was here first? Don't make it awkward for yourself."

With that, Marvin walked away.

He stepped outside, feeling a tremendous sense of relief, unprecedented relief, and laughed out loud right in the garden.

He nearly laughed until tears came out.

When Joseph walked into Ethan's reception room, Ethan asked him, "What happened? Did you tell Marvin a joke beforehand? Why was he laughing like that? You must tell it to me again; what kind of joke could be so funny?"

"Funny?"

Joseph sat across from Ethan.

"Isn't it funny?" Ethan stared into his eyes.

Silence.

After a long while, Joseph finally managed to pull out a slight smile.

"It seems a bit funny."

"Only a bit?"

Ethan slowly leaned back on the sofa, revealing the family crest on his left ring finger, the emblem on which was becoming more pronounced.

It was a flower bud ready to bloom.

Joseph didn't bring his cane today; both of his hands were placed on his thighs as if he were quite restrained.

"Maybe more than a bit."

"So why don't you keep laughing?"

On hearing this, Joseph could only stretch his smile wider and even let out a laugh.

"Hahaha."

He laughed for a full five minutes.

His face had turned stiff from laughing.

He finally stopped.

"Is that enough, Ethan?"

"What if I say it's not?" Ethan still wore a cold expression and then suddenly laughed.

"I'm joking, Joseph. Didn't you realize? That's also a joke. I thought you had a great sense of humor, with how much you like telling jokes."

"Yes, I always thought my sense of humor was decent, though it seems not as good as yours."

"Back to the point." Suddenly leaning forward, Ethan quickly said, "You've lost to me, Joseph. Isn't it true that the loser should be humiliated? However, as you've said before, I can be quite soft-hearted, so I don't want you too embarrassed. I'm willing to give you a chance."

"What chance?"

"I've heard, haven't I, that your dismissal order is already on its way? I've also heard your family is ready to abandon you. Tsk, tsk, tsk, what a pity it is for such a promising young man like you to waste the rest of your life in the ruinous heart of the Royal Capital, isn't it?"

Ethan leaned in closer.

"It's like this, if I were to say, hypothetically, just hypothetically, that at such a critical moment, if you assist the Wenster Judicial Hall, assist our Chief Judge Ned in cracking a bigger, more sensational case, catching an even more remarkable person, wouldn't you be able to atone for your crimes? At least, you wouldn't have to slink back to the Royal Capital so disgracefully."

"Is there such a chance?"

"Of course there is. I just told you, it's not a joke, Joseph. You really should redevelop your sense of humor. How can't you tell what's a joke and what's not?"

Ethan roughly grabbed his face, forcing out an awkward smile.

"However, laughing more is good, because... laughter brings hope for the future."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.