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“I had no intention of offending or insulting anyone here. But since an attempt was made on my life yesterday, I think it’s quite reasonable that I bring this up – since I obviously have good reason to fear.”

“I'm terribly sorry that this happened to you, but it's hard to imagine. Could it have been some drunkard attacking you with the intention of robbery? It might just be a coincidence,” said Alaric in bewilderment.

“This man was following me and attacked me with a knife, but…” Megan hesitated for a moment, reluctant to mention the raven, knowing it would sound ridiculous, “but I swiftly dodged him. He slipped on some rocks near the riverbank and fell. That saved me, and I managed to escape.”

Everyone in the assembly hall exchanged puzzled looks. Who could it be? Why and for what reason? No one had answers to these questions, and it seemed unlikely that the girl had made up this story.

The awkward silence was broken by Gregor, “Miss McKenzie, I’ve prepared all the accounting reports for you; they’re in this folder. You can review them whenever you deem necessary. I am ready to answer any questions you may have.”

“Thank you, Gregor. I’ll start on them today,” she replied.

“Since Megan does not yet have any ideas regarding the future of Castle Mal and the distillery, we should schedule another meeting in the near future. What do you say, Megan? How much time do you need? A week, two?” asked Alaric.

“I think we should discuss everything in about ten days. I need to study the documents carefully and make an informed decision,” she answered.

“Despite the unfortunate situation we find ourselves in today, on behalf of our family, I still invite you to join us for dinner this Friday at Castle Raven. I believe we all need to get to know each other better. We are still one family, after all. Maybe you will stop fearing and suspecting us,” said Alaric more warmly, but still a bit stiffly.

“We’ll be glad to have you as our guest,” added Duncan, now composed, with a restrained, polite smile.