Upon hearing this, the girl nodded vigorously at him, a look of "my cousin gets me best" appreciation shining in her beautiful, pale-blue eyes.

Then, her expression became somewhat sheepish.

"That is to say, a bit... more advanced than the normal sisterly love of sharing a bed."

"Oh."

At first, Byron didn’t quite catch on. His mind froze for a second before the realization hit him, and his body shuddered instantly.

"What??!"

His voice suddenly rose by an octave as he enunciated each word, "Jacqueline! What do you mean by ’a bit more advanced’? It took Violet and me over half a year to reach this point. But you? Seven days! You’ve only known each other for seven days, and you’ve already devoured her?!"

"Thank goodness I didn’t send you to face the eighty-one trials. If that portly monk fell into your hands, he wouldn’t even have time to cry for help! He’d be too busy helping you nurse your children!"

Although Jacqueline didn’t quite understand the latter half of his rant, she grasped that he was accusing her of moving too fast.

She sheepishly scratched her flawless, delicate cheek, batting her large, innocent, doe-like eyes as she said modestly, "Actually, I’m not as good as you say. Cousin, you’re still faster."

Byron retorted, "...I wasn’t complimenting you!"

This troublemaker had previously been two-timing, and when things inevitably went south, she’d offended two Cardinal Archbishop families, forcing her to flee from the mainland to Banta’an for refuge. She dared not go anywhere near a church and could only hide out at the Torrent Fortress.

This time, she’d slept with the precious daughter of the Vice Chairman of the Lighthouse Union, although this "sleep" was certainly very different from his and Violet’s "sleep." She had the desire but lacked the ’tools of the trade,’ so to speak. At most, there would be cuddling, kissing, and some heavy petting, but nothing that would result in pregnancy.

However, one could easily imagine how a family that valued decorum so highly—their daughter wasn’t even allowed to wear pretty dresses—would perceive the one who had led their daughter astray. He figured the elders would find this harder to accept than some blond punk on a flashy motorcycle showing up at their door, calling them ’old fogeys’ to their faces.

From now on, she wouldn’t just have to avoid places with churches, but also places with lighthouses.

Even Byron, with his vivid imagination, had never expected this troublemaker to move so quickly. He shook his head at her.

"You’re beyond saving. Just prepare for the worst. But if you run now, you might still make it."

Jacqueline immediately gave him a thumbs-up. "Cousin, you’ve got it! That’s exactly what I mean. So, let’s make a cheerful getaway together! A staff member just told me that her father, the Fifth Order Legendary Vice Chairman, is on his way to inspect the first lighthouse on the Southern Continent. Before I’m drawn and quartered, I’ll tell him that my death is of no consequence, but he absolutely must not spare my nine clans... you know the drill."

Byron felt a chill creep up his neck, and he tugged at his collar. "When does her dad arrive?"

The troublemaker, who casually threw around threats involving nine familial exterminations, nonchalantly held up five slender fingers and flipped her hand three times in front of him.

"Five in the afternoon? Oh, then there’s still time."

But Jacqueline shook her head. "No, we have fifteen minutes."

BANG!

An Air Blast Ring detonated beneath Byron’s feet. His cloak billowed wildly as he grabbed Violet with one hand and yanked the troublemaker up by the collar of her clothes with the other, shooting into the sky.

In mid-air, he issued a rapid series of commands: "All crew, assemble immediately! First Mate, prepare supplies and munitions! We have an urgent mission and are departing for the West Coast right away!"

Soon after the ensuing commotion, The Golden Deer transformed into a streak of gold and vanished over the sea.

VMMMM...

Just as he was about to activate the Vortex Transmission, the echo conch suddenly vibrated, and the voice of Hawkeye James, captain of The Cold Crow, came through: "Governor, The Cold Crow was following your orders to explore the ruins of Luanyun City when we accidentally triggered a Blue Hole and arrived at the West Coast. Here, we’ve encountered a retreating army from the Kingdom that’s being pursued. I’ve had dealings with them before..."

Before he could finish, a defiant voice interjected, "No, no, no, Hawkeye, you’re mistaken! We’re not a defeated army; our victory just wasn’t as obvious, that’s all!"

Hearing this, Byron’s eyebrows shot up. He already had a good idea who The Cold Crow had encountered.

He immediately activated Servant’s Sympathy, shifting his perspective to their location.