In Lord Augustus's office, three people sat around the heavy wooden table.
One was Lord Augustus himself, looking stern and serious as always. The second was Renard, who seemed perfectly relaxed despite the tension in the room. The third person was the old man, who still hadn't found the time to cut his long, wild beard.
"You look like a drunken bum, old man," Renard said with a grin. "Please get a haircut. I'll pay for it."
Hobbren stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I'm keeping the beard because my daughter likes it. She used to pull on it all the time when she was little. What if she doesn't remember me anymore without it?"
"I'm more worried about whether she'll be able to recognize you with all that hair covering your face," Renard shot back.
While the two of them were bickering like old friends, Lord Augustus was staring at the leather pouch placed on his table with wide, shocked eyes.
"You!" he called out loudly, making both of them stop their argument.
