Chapter 109 - 36: Navia’s New Lord

Chapter 109: Chapter 36: Navia’s New Lord

Chris believed he was the one who understood Lilia best.

She had personally told him that she hated being treated as a toy.

That was why he had dragged the filthy intentions of those guys out into the open.

Did they really think they could deceive Lilia with sweet talk and coax her into leaving with them? In their dreams!

A ruthless glint flashed through Chris’s eyes.

If only he were strong enough... he would absolutely eliminate all of them to prevent any future troubles!

Lilia sat across from him, resting her chin on her hand as she watched him.

Chris snapped back to reality. Noticing the girl’s focused gaze, he immediately reined in his dark thoughts, and his expression returned to its usual well-behaved innocence. "Anyway, you must never let them deceive you! Isn’t it nice to just stay in the Royal Court?"

The slight droop at the outer corners of the boy’s eyes made him look rather pitiful. "As long as you stay here, you will always be safe.

"No one will use you.

"And no one will break your heart."

Lilia did not answer his plea directly. "Are both you and Leo staying in Hillflan?"

Hearing someone else’s name from her lips clearly displeased the boy.

He said faintly, "Can we not bring him up?"

Lilia simply looked at him in silence.

Chris easily conceded defeat. "...Yes. If nothing unexpected happens, neither of us should be leaving.

"Originally, Veronica was going to stay in the Royal Capital forever too, but she suddenly got some new idea in her head and asked Father for a territory."

"What about you two?" Lilia asked. "If you went to ask the King for a territory, would he give it to you?"

Chris frowned, unsure why Lilia was suddenly asking about this.

But he still answered truthfully, "The Light Kingdom is huge. There is as much territory as one could want. As long as we provide a suitable reason, Father probably wouldn’t refuse."

"Understood. Thank you."

Lilia smiled and nodded.

For the first time, she felt that having such an irresponsible, ready-made father seemed pretty good.

After having Rebecca see Chris out, Lilia waited in the reception room for a while longer. Once she was certain no one else would come to visit, she stood up and left her bedchamber.

She had a very important matter... to discuss with her dear father.

Time flew by.

Guided by a knight, Victor passed through the checkpoint and walked into the town.

Nearly a month had passed since he and Lilia last saw each other.

That day, he had said some awful things to her, and just as he had wished, she never appeared before him again.

To say he felt no bitterness or pain in his heart was, of course, impossible.

But Victor knew this was the best arrangement.

If there was anything he regretted... it was that he shouldn’t have pushed her away in such a resolute manner. She must have been terribly heartbroken, and she would probably never forgive him, Victor thought to himself as he looked at the town before him.

Situated on the border and adjacent to a barren mountain, this small town—located in the center of Navia County and sharing the name Navia—was far from prosperous.

Even though he was currently walking on the town’s main road, the street beneath his feet was barely wide enough for two carriages to travel side by side.

On the streets, most of the townsfolk were dressed in coarse linen clothes.

They hurried along, all of them bustling about just to make a living.

The only thing that somewhat surprised Victor was that this town wasn’t as primitive and barbaric as other remote border towns. The local ruler seemed to pay close attention to urban development. Despite the poverty, the roads were flat and clean, and the pedestrians on the street were mostly dressed neatly, maintaining a basic level of decency.

The knight leading the way had naturally heard of Victor Rockwell’s great name. From the moment Victor introduced himself, the knight had been behaving with utmost respect.

This was a legendary Great Mage!

In a place like theirs, the arrival of any Mage would have the lord worshipping them, let alone a High-level Mage.

A figure of this level was someone he might only meet once in his entire lifetime, so naturally, he had to perform well.

"Mr. Rockwell."

Noticing where his gaze fell, the knight took the initiative to ask, "Is there something you’re interested in?"

Victor snapped back to attention, his voice as polite and aloof as always. "I heard that the border has always been restless, and the situation in Navia County is particularly severe.

"But here... it is more peaceful and much cleaner than I imagined."

Hearing this, the knight laughed heartily. "A few years ago, there were indeed constant wars around here. But recently, the Lien Kingdom has been in domestic turmoil, and they haven’t had the time to come and harass us for quite a while.

"As for it being clean..."

The knight looked a bit embarrassed as he spoke. "Actually, it hasn’t always been like this."

Victor looked at him, his expression displaying just the right amount of curiosity.

The knight explained, "I heard a new lord came from Hillflan. Mr. Belmont said we absolutely must leave a good impression on the VIP from the Royal Capital, so he’s put a lot of effort into this over the past half-month."

Victor nodded slightly.

He was just asking casually; he didn’t have much curiosity about this supposed new lord from Hillflan.

The knight, however, used this topic to open the floodgates. "...Because of this, Mr. Belmont issued several orders in a row. Everyone obeyed on the surface, but they’ve secretly been quite dissatisfied for a while.

"Who doesn’t know that those big shots in Hillflan were born with silver spoons in their mouths? They’ve probably never even seen what the border looks like. For someone like that to choose to come here, it’s probably out of some misplaced sense of empathy, thinking that as soon as they step in, they can lead Navia to prosperity.

"They appear noble and grand, but in reality, they couldn’t be more fragile. Plus, most of them only know theoretical knowledge. The decrees they issue will probably be both absurd and laughable.

"Even though Mr. Belmont is a representative of the nobles and would never stand with low-class people like us, at least he’s a normal person with normal reasoning abilities... Who knows what that new lord will be like?

"Fortunately, that kind of person probably won’t be able to endure the impoverished life here. Once they taste a bit of hardship, they’ll likely slink away with their tail between their legs."

The knight spoke with great assurance, his disgust and mockery completely unmasked.

Victor didn’t think a "low-class person" would naturally harbor so much resentment toward a new lord they had never even met. These words had likely been subtly instilled in them by that Mr. Belmont. The goal was to make the residents of Navia despise the new lord, preventing the newcomer from actually threatening his rule.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with him.

He came here solely for his research.

Victor’s destination was the lord’s castle. As a Great Mage, the first thing he needed to do upon entering Navia was, naturally, to visit the highest ruler here.

However, before they reached their destination, a sudden clamor erupted from behind them.

Victor turned his head to look. The knight’s voice then sounded by his ear. "Already?"

His tone was full of curiosity, tinged with the eager anticipation of watching a good show. "Mr. Rockwell, what a coincidence.

"It seems today is the day the new lord takes office!"