biography of lvan

The forest path after the rain was muddy. Water droplets were still dripping one by one from the trees above. The branches and leaves of the plants stretching out on both sides of the road were also covered with rainwater. When they gently brushed by, water marks would immediately appear on one's body.

Although the horse was running smoothly, the muddy water on the ground still splashed up. So, after not running too far, Ivan's body was stained with some rainwater and mud again.

Ivan slowed down and let the horse stroll leisurely under the glow of the slightly red sunset in the evening.

When they came to the place where the fallen trees had blocked the road just now, there were several workers pushing a long cart for transporting timber and clearing the road.

There were still marks left by carriages on the muddy road. Ivan wondered if other guests invited by Baron Lipper had just passed by here.

After greeting the workers politely and thanking them for making it possible for him to pass, Ivan urged the fine horse forward.

The baron's villa was deep in the woods. On such a muddy road, an ordinary carriage would take at least half an hour. However, Ivan's horse was really excellent. In less than ten minutes, the red roof of the villa came into view.

Walking out of the woods, it suddenly became bright. A neat open space had been cleared in the forest environment.

This open space was about twenty mu or so. A clear brook divided the open space into two parts.

On this side of the brook, some farmland was planted. It was late autumn, and the melons, fruits, and vegetables in the fields were growing quite abundantly, presenting a scene of bumper harvest.

On the other side of the brook was a stretch of green and flat grassland. Different from the velvet lawn in Mr. Juan's manor, the grassland here was more natural and harmonious, not looking like it had been deliberately leveled and decorated. There were several trees planted on the grassland, including willows, locust trees, and two ginkgo trees.

As the autumn wind blew, several golden ginkgo leaves fluttered down from the ginkgo trees and dropped into the water and onto the grassland, dotting them here and there.

In the distance, a two-story villa was bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun. It was not clear whether the bright red roof was its original color or just an illusion caused by the sunlight.

The walls were built with ordinary blue bricks, and only the edges were outlined with white cement.

The iron fences, wooden-framed windows were no different from those of ordinary families, except that each window frame was inlaid with pieces of glass, which proved that the owner here was a person of status and position.

A row of low houses was built in a circle in the distance. The roofs made of wooden boards were covered with clay tiles. The simple door panels and wooden window frames showed that it should be the place where the servants lived.

The stable must have been built behind these low houses. There might also be cattle and sheep sheds and pigsties, Ivan guessed.

This villa was no different from the manors everywhere in the southern part of France. Looking at such an ordinary household, it was hard to imagine that a baron lived inside.

It seemed that without their dazzling noble identities, they were still just ordinary people.

Ivan let out a long sigh and urged the horse to move forward.

The road from outside the woods to the front of the villa was paved with long blue stone slabs, while the small paths beside it were paved with gravel. A delicate and unique small bridge spanned the brook, and the vines stretching out from under the bridge showed that the bridge had some history.

The owner of the villa had obviously seen him already. Two servants walked out of the house, and the baron's daughter was following behind them.

Different from the day of the ball, the young lady was dressed quite plainly today. She was wearing a white low-necked, short-sleeved dress, without any jewelry, and only tied a blue silk scarf around her waist, which was tied into a bow on the right side of her waist.

"You've finally come. There was a sudden heavy rain just now, and I heard that the road was even blocked by trees split by lightning. We were originally worried that you couldn't make it. Why did you come on horseback? Why didn't you take a carriage? It's more than a hundred miles from Avila to here. It's too dangerous to come on horseback. What if you fell?" The baron's daughter said while signaling the servants to lead the horse to the stable and settle it down.

Ivan got off the horse, handed the reins to the two servants, and then took out something from the pocket on the left side of the saddle and handed it to the baron's daughter.

"Sorry for being late, Miss Lipper. Please accept this as my sincere apology," Ivan said.

"Please don't call me Miss Lipper. Just call me Fanny. Otherwise, I'll call you Mr. Juan as revenge," the baron's daughter said with a smile as she opened the gift.

Wrapped in golden wrapping paper was a bottle of red wine. It wasn't the kind usually stored in crude clay pots but was contained in a precious glass bottle. Under the sunlight, the glass bottle showed a gorgeous rose-like red color.

"Thank you, Ivan. Now we have drinks for the banquet too. We originally prepared wine as well, but it's far inferior to this bottle," the baron's daughter said straightforwardly, not hiding her feelings at all, as if she had already regarded Ivan as one of her own.

"Ah, dear Ivan, you've finally arrived. This sudden rainstorm made me think that your journey would be delayed. I was just about to postpone the dinner time, but then it would be too rude to the other guests," As soon as he entered the door, Ivan heard the owner of the room greeting him Passionately.

"Is this the little diplomat you've always praised? Could you introduce him to us?" A middle-aged man said.

"Why is he just a kid? He seems to be two or three years younger than your daughter," A fat man in the corner of the living room shouted. However, an obviously angry look from the baroness made the fat man shut his mouth.

"This one must be a descendant of the Robeck family from Otto. I just saw his mount. That's really a fine horse. I've seen fewer than ten purebred horses with such pure bloodlines. Old Lord Medin, our respected late lord, had four purebred Portia horses.

But because the earl died from falling off his horse, his stubborn sister was determined to have those purebred horses put to death.

"Oh, there's nothing more regrettable than this. If possible, I would even be willing to kneel down and beg that strict old lady for the lives of these purebred horses. Since the four purebred horses of old Lord Medin were slaughtered, I originally thought that there were no purebred horses left in the southern part of France. Today's discovery is really a pleasant surprise." A middle-aged man with a tall and thin figure, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and with thick tawny hair slightly tinged with brown was sitting by the window, talking endlessly about the topic of horses.

"Purebred horses? Oh, a purebred horse. Wait a moment. I must have a look," the fat man said eagerly just now.

"Alright, alright. Let's talk about horses later. Everyone can take their seats. Fanny, you come and arrange the seats. After we're seated, I can introduce each other to you all," said the owner of the villa.

The beautiful baron's daughter reluctantly left Ivan's side. She went into the kitchen and instructed the servants to set the dining table. When everything was properly arranged, the young lady hurriedly ran upstairs. Obviously, more guests were not in this small living room.

Only then did Ivan have the opportunity to take a good look around.

This villa was no different from most ordinary manors. There were several sofas placed around the living room, and the sofas were covered with thick cashmere. This kind of comfortable enjoyment didn't cost too much money. Piton was rich in sheep, and cashmere was very cheap.

In the middle of the living room was a long dining table. Obviously, this kind of dining table could be folded up when not in use. If the space occupied by the dining table was vacated, the living room would still be quite spacious.

More than ten candlesticks were hung on the north and south walls of the living room, and the candlesticks had already been filled with candles. Since there was still some afterglow of the sun, the owner of the villa just instructed the servants to light the candles on the north wall.

There was a fireplace installed against the east wall. Piles of split firewood were stacked beside the fireplace, and the fire in the fireplace was burning brightly, making the inside of the house warm.

The villa in the forest after the rain was originally shrouded in moisture. Fortunately, the roaring fire had driven away all the moisture.

A bronze chandelier was hanging from the ceiling of the living room. It had obviously just been polished.

Although the candles inserted in the chandelier hadn't been lit yet, the servants had already gone to get the long poles for lighting the candles.

There was a small door in the corner against the east wall, and behind it should be the kitchen.

A mahogany staircase led directly to the second floor. The staircase looked a bit low. There must be rooms upstairs.

Just as Ivan was looking around, suddenly, there was a noisy sound of footsteps on the floor upstairs. Just like in ordinary manors, the sound insulation here wasn't very good. Unlike Mr. Juan's manor, where the floors were separated by stone slabs and steel bars and then covered with thick wooden floors, so the noise upstairs couldn't be heard at all in the hall on the ground floor.

The guests came down from upstairs one by one, men, women, old and young.

Now the living room seemed a bit crowded.

The beautiful baron's daughter quickly assigned seats to these guests. The older ones sat down first, and those with higher status couldn't be made to stand for too long either.

As for her little girlfriends, they sat on the sofas beside them. It wasn't their turn yet. There were also two younger children standing at the stairway, looking down curiously.

After a busy while, most people sat down at the dining table. The baron and his wife were seated in the host seats. Their daughter's seat was on the right side, and the empty seat on the further right was reserved for Ivan, of course. The fat man was seated on the left side of the baron and his wife. It seemed that he was a close relative of the family. Beside the fat man were his wife and two daughters.

The older one was the same age as the baron's daughter, and the younger one looked about the same age as Ivan. On Ivan's right side was the middle-aged man who had seen Ivan riding a horse just now. Obviously, he was a loner. Beside him was another family that Ivan hadn't seen upstairs.

Beside the fat man sat another family. This gentleman was quite good at raising children. He brought five children, four daughters and one son. The youngest boy looked only five or six years old and was arranged to sit beside his mother.

Next to this big family sat a young couple. The couple looked less than thirty years old, but they had a six- or seven-year-old daughter with them. Sitting at the farthest end of the dining table were an old couple. Their age should be about the same as Mr. Juan's, but they were obviously much better maintained than Mr. Juan.

Beside the old couple probably sat their son and daughter-in-law.

This couple was about the same age as the baron and his wife and had a similar social status. The wife clearly had a deep friendship with the baroness, but the husband seemed to have a feud with the baron. The two of them hadn't exchanged a word and even deliberately avoided each other's gazes.

Beside this couple sat their daughter. Although she wasn't as outstanding as the baron's daughter, she was also quite remarkable and was about the same age.

After everyone was seated, the servants served the appetizers.

There was a pot of clam chowder, and sliced cheese was placed on a plate beside the chowder. People could add as much as they liked.

There was a plate of vegetable platter, which contained freshly picked lettuce, cabbage, romaine lettuce and cucumbers. They were all sliced and stacked there, accompanied by shredded carrots and then drizzled with some creamy fresh sauce. It was a very common appetizer.

"Most of the guests today know each other. There's only one person that you may not have met," Baron Lipper took the opportunity to introduce and pointed at Ivan. "This is Mr. Ivan Juan. His grandfather is the famous Lord Kewell Egrete Juan, an outstanding statesman and diplomat of the kingdom. He's an extremely great man. The reason why the Bires Agreement could be reached back then and the kingdom has enjoyed peace and tranquility for so many years is inseparable from the great achievements of Lord Kewell Egrete Juan."

During this period of time, Baron Lipper had obviously spent some effort to investigate what kind of person Lord Kewell Egrete Juan was, and the result of the investigation quite satisfied him.

The baron pointed to the fat man beside him and said, "Ivan, this is my brother-in-law, Lord Bufon."

"You can call me Baer if you like," the fat man was obviously an unassuming person. "I've also met your uncle. Your family is a famous wealthy merchant, and I work in the tax office in Luxembourg. We've had some dealings before. However, I never knew that he had a nephew like you. If I had known earlier, I would have..."

The fat man obviously realized that it was not good to talk nonsense in front of his sister and brother-in-law, so he quickly shut his mouth.

"I'm Joseph Brown, a hereditary baron, working in the Finance Department of Luxembourg. I've also met your uncle, Mr. Juan," the man sitting beside Ivan introduced himself. "Although I once heard others say that your family was quite prestigious in Otto, I never expected that it was a branch of the Robeck family. The Robeck family has produced famous statesmen and diplomats generation after generation. It seems that you've inherited all these talents."

"Of course, of course. It's a well-known fact that the Robeck family is good at cultivating pure breeds," the man at the other end of the dining table who obviously didn't get along well with the baron said coldly.

This barbed comment immediately made the atmosphere at the dining table turn cold.

"Just a joke, just a joke," Baron Lipper quickly smoothed things over. "This is Viscount Terbor. The viscount's family is quite prestigious in Luxembourg. The viscount himself was the private secretary of the late Lord Medin. His wife was my wife's childhood companion.

"Viscountess Terbor came with her parents, Baron and Baroness Samson. I should address them as uncle and aunt. When my father was alive, the two of them were very close friends with my father and my father-in-law. They were also very kind to Fanny, and Fanny treated them as her grandparents."

The relationship between the old couple and Baron Lipper was clearly worlds apart from that of their son-in-law. The two old people listened while looking at Ivan with smiles on their faces.

"This is Lord Rupert. He was my colleague for many years. When we were in the capital, France, only the two of us in the whole department were from the south," the baron said, pointing to the couple that Ivan hadn't met before.

"I'm still working in the Finance Department and have also met your uncle, Mr. Odrie," the introduced lord leaned forward to greet Ivan.

"I'm Sinclair, a good friend of Lipper's. Fanny calls me uncle. Like Lipper, I don't have to worry about any official duties. This is my wife and our four children," the middle-aged man on the opposite side introduced himself.

Ivan looked at his relatively new yet slightly small formal suit and the simple attire of his wife and children. He could easily imagine that their family's life was probably even more difficult than that of Baron Lipper.

"Sinclair is a lord now, but he'll be an earl in the future. His uncle, Earl Kenneth, is quite famous in Luxembourg. The only heir of the late Lord Medin's family hasn't appeared yet, and Earl Kenneth is temporarily fulfilling the lord's obligations. Sinclair is Earl Kenneth's only heir," the baron introduced.

"Forget it. My uncle is still in good health. Besides, our family hasn't gotten along well with him since my father's time," the middle-aged man shook his head and said.

"But you're his only heir after all. The title of earl will be passed on to you and your son sooner or later," the fat man interjected.

"Finally, these two are Baron O'Neill and his wife. Baron O'Neill is my godson. His father was another good friend of mine," the baron introduced.

"My father has been bedridden for nearly ten years. I inherited the title and my father's public office early. I'm currently the deputy director of the Military Preparedness Department," Baron O'Neill introduced himself. It was evident that he was the most powerful among all the guests and dressed the most luxuriously. The only pity was that his wife was rather plain-looking, yet there was a hint of arrogance about her. Ivan guessed that perhaps the reason this baron had reached his current position was because of his wife.

"Mr. Juan, just now it was said that you have a purebred horse from the Robeck family. Is that right?" Baron O'Neill asked.

"Yes, it's a four-year-old horse. When our family came to France from Otto, we brought out four purebred horses, and the horse I rode here today is the descendant of them," Ivan replied.

"I know that for any family, these purebred horses will never be sold. But could you ask your grandfather to lend it to me for a few months? Soon I'll go to France with my father. We have a beautiful carriage, but there isn't any horse in the south that's worthy of it," Baroness O'Neill said.

Before the banquet had even officially started, making such a difficult request clearly showed that Baroness O'Neill didn't think Ivan would dare to refuse. Lord Kewell Egrete Juan was, at best, a commoner noble, and a commoner noble who had become wealthy through business.

Her own uncle held great power in the southern part of France. Except for the Medin family, who wouldn't show some deference to her family? Saying "borrow" was just putting it nicely. Whether to return it after borrowing or not could be dealt with later.

Even her husband thought that what Baroness O'Neill said was inappropriate for this occasion. He smiled and really wanted to step in and smooth things over, but his wife gave him a cold stare, forcing him to hold his tongue.

Everyone at the dining table remained silent. Ivan thought to himself, had Mr. Juan asked him to ride a horse here because he had already foreseen this kind of situation? Was this yet another difficult problem, a test for himself?

Ivan could never guess about this.

Just at this moment, Viscount Terbor, who didn't get along very well with Baron Lipper, said, "Since you know that every family treasures purebred horses extremely and would never be willing to sell them, then you should also know that these purebred horses won't be lent out either. Why force others to do something difficult?"

Hearing someone interfering, Baroness O'Neill was clearly unhappy. She said coldly, "Mr. Terbor, if these purebred horses were yours, of course you wouldn't lend them out, but Lord Kewell Egrete Juan might not. I think he would surely be generous enough to give it as a gift."

"No, I don't think that's possible," Ivan refused straightforwardly. Anyway, if something went wrong and he offended some important figure, it definitely wouldn't do any harm to him personally. Agreeing to lend the horse out would make it impossible for him to explain to Mr. Juan. At present, Ivan's only concern was Mr. Juan. Besides that, he didn't care even if it was His Majesty the King.

Ivan's answer obviously made Baroness O'Neill extremely angry. She had never expected this young man to be so bold.

Apparently, most of the people present thought that Ivan's answer was too direct and too impulsive.

Even if he wanted to refuse, he should have used a more tactful way. It was really hard to imagine how such an impulsive young man could be regarded by the baron as a young diplomat with great diplomatic talent.

However, Ivan's calm and carefree appearance gave everyone at the dining table a sense of being unfathomable.