Ireya had been away for over four months on this trip.
Upon her return, she found changes in her territory were quite significant, although Fosto and others had been regularly reporting their work progress to her, what one hears can be quite different from what one sees with one’s own eyes.
But the Lady had no ti now to wander leisurely through the town.
She had Ruby and Fosto go together to allocate accommodations for those weary travelers who had followed her.
There were three types of dwellings: the Double Rest Sect’s low-rent houses, long houses, and tents. The final decision on which to reside in was purely by drawing lots, which was the fairest thod. If a family did not want to be separated, they would nominate one person to draw the lot.
Additionally, it was best to avoid n and won living in the sa building to prevent any unnecessary trouble later on.
As for the specific division of dwellings, Ireya did not inquire further.
First, she returned to the castle, where she received another welco from the steward Yago and others.
Besides the traditional Rabbit Flag, Yago had people make a Dragon Slayer Hero Flag and a Champion Flag to hang in the skies above Teacup Castle.
Truthfully, no one had expected the Lady’s trip to the Royal Capital to result in her becoming the champion of the martial competition.
Especially for those wet nurses and stewards in the castle who had watched Miss Rabbit grow up, no one knew better than them how much the young girl weighed.
Before becoming a Lord, Ireya had never trained in martial arts, and after she did, Miss Rabbit did try to buckle down and strenuously train, but she gave up completely in less than half a day.
Especially with the Ancient Spirit, the Lady often spent whole days cloistered in the study, forgetting all about sword practice.
Yet even so, she had beco the foremost expert in the Red Lion Empire, even across the whole Bratis Continent.
While everyone admired the greatness of Saturday and Prophet rlin’s ability to turn the rotten into the miraculous, they couldn’t help but sweat over the Empire’s current talent reserves.
Ireya sorted through the political affairs that had accumulated during her absence, but by the ti she laid down her pen, it was already evening, and the Lady stretched lazily behind the desk.
Just when she was about to return to her room to rest, she heard outside that Fosto had returned and wanted to see her.
The Lady found it strange, wondering why Fosto would co to find her so late. They had t earlier in the day; if there were urgent matters, why hadn’t Fosto ntioned them then?
Thinking this, the girl still let Fosto in.
Once inside, Fosto casually closed the door, stepped forward, and even glanced out the window before he spoke.
"Lord Ireya, I have a letter here that I received four days ago, written by Lord Pepp to you."
"Why didn’t you tell about this when we contacted each other using the radio three days ago?" Miss Rabbit wondered curiously, "And who is Pepp?"
At first, the Lady only felt the na sounded vaguely familiar but couldn’t recall where she had heard it until Fosto reminded her.
"Lord Pepp is the Family Head of the Welch Family."
"Welch..." the girl mused, finally getting a vague impression, "Oh, the short, plump one."
Pepp had given Ireya a very heroic-looking Dragon Slayer Hero Statue for her nineteenth birthday. However, the statue had a hidden compartnt inside, concealing a lethal poison arrow.
The Dragon Slayer Hero Statue was secretly forged by the blacksmiths of the Blood Moon Association, but its sole purpose was to divert the Lady’s attention, covering for another, more sinister hidden weapon.
However, Pepp was likely unaware of this, for the cost of assassinating a Noble was too high, and as the Family Head of the Welch Family, Pepp had no personal grudges with Miss Rabbit.
There was no reason for him to make such a crazy move, but then Pepp took the initiative to confess another matter to the Lady.
And that matter concerned the missing girl’s stepmother and younger brother.
Seeing how cautious Fosto was, Ireya knew that the letter was most probably related to Vanessa Blanco again.
So the Lady stretched out her hand and took the letter from the old advisor to read it herself.
Afterward, her expression beca more complex, "Vanessa still hasn’t given up, she contacted Pepp again for money, saying she will soon launch a strike to make Blanco the master of this land.
"I have already revitalized the family, spreading the na of Arias throughout the entire Empire, and even developed Green Field to unprecedented prosperity, yet she still wants to drive away?
"You don’t need to worry about the family internally, after all, everyone has witnessed the contributions you’ve made for the family in this past year, and now we all share the faith of the Double Rest Sect.
"Not to ntion Blanco and Vanessa, even if Lord Ruse were to return, he couldn’t take away your position as Family Head."
"This is what I find most incomprehensible." The Lady frowned, "To this day, that woman still refuses to accept her defeat. Can she not see that she doesn’t stand a chance any longer?"
Fosto thought for a mont and said, "Vanessa... might just be using this as an excuse to borrow more money from Lord Pepp. The key is the intention Lord Pepp revealed in the letter.
"It seems he wants to play a trick, using this money to lure out Vanessa and Blanco, and then eliminate this hidden threat for you once and for all."
Miss Rabbit fell silent upon hearing this.
A mont later, she shook her head and said, "Write to Pepp, tell him not to ddle... I don’t want Vanessa and Blanco’s lives, after all, they are my family."
Seeing the old advisor seed to want to say sothing more, Ireya said, "I know you think I’m too rciful, indecisive, but I still want to stick with my choice.
"I’ve had conflicts with Vanessa, very fierce ones, and I’ve hated her at tis, but during the Honey Bear incident, she really didn’t have the rcenaries kill ; it was later that Jude, acting on soone else’s behest, deliberately stirred up trouble between her and , exacerbating the situation.
"So..." The Lady sighed, "I naively think they are still my family, and as you said, my position is now very secure, they can’t possibly take it back, and I’ve lost the only reason I had for killing them."
Upon hearing this, Fosto’s wrinkled face also showed a smile, "I wasn’t trying to persuade you to kill Lady Vanessa and Master Blanco."
"Hm?"
"You possess the most important qualities to beco a great, not just a good, Lady, which is why so many people follow you."
"Uh, they mainly follow rlin." The girl shrugged offhandedly.
"But Prophet rlin is also by your side, and he chose you for a reason. Perhaps you haven’t realized it yourself yet, but you also possess a certain special charm.
"As you know, I’ve served several Lords of the Arias Family, but only by your side have I felt most at ease, not because there’s less to do, but because of a ntal relaxation."
"Really?" The Lady scratched her head, feeling a bit shy about the praise.
Reviews
All reviews (0)