I am the heroine's godfather!

The people around finally reacted, screaming and some rushed to check on Milia's condition, only to breathe a sigh of relief after finding that she was not seriously injured.

In other words, Charlotte possesses light-attribute magic. If she had fire-attribute magic, a single fireball would have cooked the princess. Light-attribute attacks at the Bronze rank aren't particularly powerful, and since Charlotte was worried about causing trouble for Loran, she had no intention of hurting anyone. Therefore, Milia was only pushed down and didn't suffer any real injury.

Even so, it was still a great disrespect to the royal family.

"crash"

Footsteps sounded, and a group of knights rushed into the banquet hall, quickly surrounding Charlotte.

The boy named Kaylan had just fainted from fright, but now that he was protected, he felt emboldened and shouted, "She's the assassin who tried to kill Her Highness the Princess! Arrest her!"

The knights were silent for a moment, then one of them, who looked like the captain, spoke up: "Surrender, child."

The captain continued, "Don't even think about resisting; it will only hurt you."

"Now, stand still obediently, and His Majesty will surely deliver a fair judgment."

Charlotte's face was pale; she realized she had seemingly made a terrible mistake.

Loran, where are you?

Subconsciously, Charlotte wanted to rely on the person she trusted most.

And just as she had trusted, that somewhat lazy voice rang out: "Stop."

The knights could no longer advance an inch.

A gust of wind swept through the banquet hall, blinding everyone. By the time they regained their senses, the king's unnamed guest had already appeared before them.

He paid no attention to the knights around him, but simply took Charlotte's hand.

"Are you hurt?"

"......No."

"That's good... Why are you crying?"

"I'm sorry, Loran."

Protected by the person she trusted most, Miss Charlotte finally revealed her vulnerable side: "I got the dress you gave me dirty."

"...Hehe, it's okay, I'll just buy you another one."

Lorraine patted Charlotte's head and then stood up.

At this moment, the crowd became somewhat noisy, and then the king and the knight commander appeared before Loran.

"...Your Excellency, what are you doing?"

The king asked in a low voice, and Loran looked at him: "I think Your Majesty still needs to properly discipline your family members and the nobles under your command."

"...Yes, I understand."

The king bowed his head and said, "I am truly sorry for the trouble I have caused Your Excellency."

Loran felt somewhat bored. He had thought that this king could still bring him some amusement, but he didn't expect him to be so pragmatic.

Indeed, it's a small country whose strongest member is only at the fourth rank. For such a small country, caution is the best way to survive.

Loran waved his hand: "Alright, that's enough."

"Yes."

Naturally, no one was interested in participating in the subsequent banquet, and Charlotte and Lorraine left early.

On the way, Miss Charlotte seemed to be in a somewhat low mood, while Lorraine was considering something else.

The matter of moving.

In fact, he had received a reply to his letter to his older sister a few days earlier. In the letter, his usually gentle older sister showed a rare sternness, severely criticizing Lorraine for not telling her that he had adopted Charlotte several months ago, and demanding that Lorraine bring Charlotte back to their territory for her to see.

Although he had some headaches about his relationship with his older sister, Loran had to admit that as a nobleman of the empire, his own territory was much better than this small country.

So Lorraine started thinking about moving with Charlotte. The only problem was whether Charlotte would agree.

Charlotte?

"Ok?"

"Would you like to stay in a large manor?"

"......ah?"

Under Charlotte's "What nonsense are you talking about?" look, Lorraine scratched his head and told her everything he had been thinking about.

Charlotte was silent for a moment, then looked at Loran: "Loran, do you want to go back?"

"Well, it's alright... After all, it's my own home."

"Wherever Loran goes, I will go."

"Ah this..."

Looking at the well-behaved and sensible Charlotte, Loran couldn't help but sigh. How could that big, burly guy Rand have given birth to such a well-behaved and adorable daughter?

Having decided to move, Lorraine began packing, and Charlotte told her best friend Laura about it. Laura cried and made a scene, very reluctant to leave, which left Lantra and Caitlin somewhat at a loss. Charlotte, caught up in the sadness, also became quite heartbroken.

In the end, Loran couldn't stand it anymore and said that Charlotte would probably go to St. Casta Magic Academy next year, so why don't you go too?

Laura blankly replied that she didn't know magic either. Loran told her that anyone with the qualifications could apply to St. Casta Magic Academy and had a chance of being admitted. Laura had some talent, so being admitted wouldn't be difficult.

As for why Loran was so certain, it was because he saw Laura's figure in the original work about this world that the system gave him.

Laura is a cool and aloof magical genius who embarks on a path of magical cultivation after her grandfather is killed by a follower of an evil god, hoping to seek revenge.

Well, how should I put it...

A cold and aloof magical genius, her?

Lorraine said that this terrible script was indeed useless.

Although she didn't understand why Loran was looking at her with such a strange gaze, Laura felt that Loran was thinking something bad, so she charged at Loran in the stomach.

"Ouch!! What are you doing?!"

"Hmph! You're definitely talking badly about me behind my back!"

"No way! You're just looking for an excuse to hit me! Charlotte, look at her!"

At this moment, Charlotte, who had been silent all along, finally came to her senses. Ignoring Laura and Loran's playful fight, she looked at Loran and asked, "Studying at St. Casta Magic Academy? How come I didn't know about that?"

"Huh? Didn't I tell you?"

Loran scratched his head: "Never mind, now you know."

"......well."

Miss Charlotte sighed deeply at this unreliable adult, while Laura seized every opportunity to badmouth Loran: "Charlotte, look at this! This guy can forget something so important, which shows he doesn't care about you at all!"

"What nonsense are you spouting!"

Loran naturally refused to admit to Laura's slander: "That's defamation!"

"Hehe, who would believe you!"

In short, the farewell did not end sadly—although on the day Loran and the others left, Miss Laura still cried as she saw them off.

In March of the 717th year of the Seven Gods Calendar, Loran and Charlotte left the Kingdom of Antaya and headed to Diana, the Water City, the largest commercial city in the southern part of the Isnar Empire and the second largest city in the empire.

On this very day, the second princess of the Kingdom of Antaya and her retainers were assassinated on their estate. His Majesty the King was furious and ordered a search for the murderers, but to no avail. Half a month later, the entire family of the kingdom's third-largest noble family was slaughtered. The entire Kingdom of Antaya was shaken, and even the Church was alerted and came to investigate.

Ultimately, the church determined that this was a case committed by believers of the evil god "The Bloodthirsty One".

Seven days later, the king decided to execute a group of death row inmates to boost morale.

The night before his execution, Sicana met with Lorraine.

He threw his enemy's head in front of the condemned prisoner.

Sicana remained silent for a long time, his pale lips trembling, before finally uttering two words:

"Thanks......"

Chapter 16 The Wandering Elf Singer

The carriage left the Kingdom of Antaya and traveled north along the country road for a day and a night, where snow-capped mountains came into view.

This is the Hiscana Mountains, known as the winding silver dragon, a beautiful snow-capped mountain that captivates countless visitors. Lush forests line the base, while the summit is covered in pristine white snow. On clear days, the sunlight bathes the entire mountain in a golden glow.

And so Lorraine and Charlotte arrived here.

Although the Kingdom of Antaya was two months' journey from their destination, it wasn't actually that far for Loran; he could make a round trip in a day if he wanted to. However, taking Charlotte with him meant they couldn't use this method of travel.

Since that was the case, the two decided to treat the journey as a trip. Therefore, instead of renting a luxurious private carriage, they opted for a public carriage. Consequently, they encountered some interesting passengers on the journey.

For example, this elven bard who covers half his face.

Charlotte was seeing elves for the first time, so she was naturally curious. Loran, on the other hand, remembered having an elven teammate when he was an adventurer, but he had rarely heard from her since.

I wonder if this elf knows?

The elf's name was Amitu, and he was plucking the strings of his lyre, singing a song he had composed.

"Traveler, where are you going?"

"At the foot of the mountains of Hiscana, there is a village."

“The daily sunset awakens the past here.”

"Ah, traveler, where are you going?"

"The village at the foot of the mountains of Hiscana."

"Where the Bauhinia flowers bloom."

"Traveler, if you reach that place, please tell the girl there."

"The poet's heart is still wandering."

Elves have long lifespans, so they often excel in one or more fields. This bard named Amito was among the top ten poets Loran had ever met.

only......

Loran looked at him, lost in thought.

Charlotte, however, didn't think so much as Lorraine; for her, as long as the song sounded good, that was enough.

The girl tapped out a rhythm, and the sound of her song carried far, far away on the wind.

Lorraine smiled.

Forget it, everyone has their own secrets, why dig so deep?

Since we've only met by chance, it's better to leave each other with some positive memories.

Two days later, the carriage arrived at a village at the foot of the Hiscana Mountains. Loran and his companions would transfer to another carriage there and continue eastward. However, since they weren't in a hurry, they planned to stay for a few days.

Since they're not in a rush, it's always good to slow down and see more of the world.

There's a saying that goes, "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."

It seemed their timing was perfect; Loran and Charlotte happened to arrive just in time for the village festival, which was quite lively. The bard began to strum his harp again. Although singing such a sad song at a bustling festival was somewhat inappropriate, no one seemed to mind.

"Hey buddy, where are you from?"

The villagers gathered around and raised their glasses. Lorraine smiled and returned the toast. Charlotte didn't discipline Lorraine today, after all, it was a rare festival.

“I come from the Kingdom of Antaya.”

Loran clinked glasses with his beer, downed it in one gulp, and then asked, "What is this festival celebrating?"

"Hey, this is to celebrate the great Mountain God!"

"Mountain God?"

Looking at the man with a reverent expression, Loran was somewhat puzzled. Besides the Seven Gods, how could there be someone else called a god?

"Yes, yes, Mountain God!"

The man filled his beer glass, took a big gulp, and seemed to enjoy telling stories: "Mountain God, this is a legend that has existed for a hundred years! It is said that as long as you hold a lively ceremony for the Mountain God on this day, the Mountain God will bless the village with good weather and abundant harvests!"

"...That's it."

Loran nodded, but the bard on the other side suddenly interjected, "When was the last time the mountain god appeared?"

"Um...who knows! Anyway, the mountain god doesn't appear every year."

Loran and Amituo exchanged a glance, chuckled softly, and said nothing more.