I, the heir of the great Eastern nation

"No investigation, no right to speak?"

Christine paused, seemingly pondering the meaning of the sentence.

He frowned, but still stood up and followed Liu Zhao out the door.

Fortunately, when they came from the capital, they brought a carriage given by the Lance family, which prevented Liu Zhao, the new lord, from having to walk to the countryside.

"Your Highness, where are we going?"

"The York knight driving the carriage asked."

Liu Zhao recalled for a moment, then spoke.

"Let's go to Baishui Village. The village chief's complaint was the most vulgar one. Let's go see what's going on."

"Okay, hold on tight."

The carriage started moving.

The roads in Blackrock Territory are not easy to travel; they are full of potholes.

Even though the York Knight was actually a very good driver, Christine, who had been pampered since childhood, was still very uncomfortable from the continuous bumps and jolts, and her face turned a little pale.

Seeing this, Liu Zhao also spoke up.

"Last time we came, the academy's carriages had magic to enhance their stability, so they didn't shake as much. You look a bit pale. If you really can't stand it, why don't you go back first? Shall I go with the other two?"

Upon hearing this, Christine gave a soft snort and gritted her teeth.

"Enough nonsense. It's just a little bump. I, the young lady of the Lance family, dare to withstand even the attacks of a Silver Mage. Do you think I can't even endure this trivial hardship?"

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhao smiled slightly and chose not to speak further.

However, just as the carriage was halfway there, a villager with a face full of fear suddenly ran towards them.

"Sir! Something terrible has happened! Bandits...bandits have broken into the village and are killing people!"

The villager fell in front of the carriage, his body covered in blood.

"They looted the village, they stole all the grain, sob sob... That was the harvested grain from the autumn harvest, our life-saving food!"

The villagers' desperate cries made Liu Zhao's heart tighten.

He quickly jumped out of the car and helped the other person up.

"Tell me, where is your village?"

The villagers pointed in the direction of Baishui Village.

Liu Zhao took a deep breath and shouted.

"Simon, you keep driving for Christine from behind. York, I'll use amplification magic to speed you up. We're there right now!"

"Yes, Your Highness."

As soon as he finished speaking, the crimson "Swiftness" rune lit up, and Liu Zhao had already cast a speed-up spell on himself and the Knight of York.

Without saying a word, the two ran straight in the direction the villagers had pointed.

Throughout the journey, Liu Zhao kept praying that he would make it in time.

However, he was only a mage after all, and the York Knight's class was not high. Even with magical acceleration, it still took them nearly twenty minutes to reach their destination.

When he finally arrived at the entrance of Baishui Village, panting heavily from his frantic run, the robbers had already vanished.

All that remained was a scene of utter devastation.

Corpses lay by the roadside, houses burned down, people sat on the ground in a daze, and children wept while holding their parents' bodies.

On the ground, there were still scattered grains of local rye. Some people were crying as they carefully picked up the grains while lying on the ground.

Suddenly, when they saw Liu Zhao and the Knight of York arrive, they noticed the brightly colored clothes that only nobles could afford on Liu Zhao.

The villagers' numb expressions suddenly turned fearful, and they instinctively knelt down, pressing their heads firmly to the ground, afraid to look up.

Several young children tried to look up, but were immediately pressed down on their heads by the adults next to them and made to kneel down and bow to Liu Zhao.

hiss~

This scene made Liu Zhao, who was facing the suffering of ordinary people in this world for the first time since his transmigration, feel dizzy and almost lose his balance.

He took a deep breath, and just as he was about to speak, he heard the sound of a carriage speeding behind him.

Liu Zhao turned his head and saw one of the sheriffs, Graeme Will, who had visited his manor before, jumping off the carriage with a look of urgency on his face.

Behind him followed more than twenty noble private soldiers armed with weapons.

The sheriff seemed oblivious to Liu Zhao standing not far away. He walked straight up to the group of kneeling villagers, gritted his teeth, and began to hurl insults at them.

"Useless trash! You damned scum!"

"Bandits came to steal our grain, and you just let them take it? Are you disabled people without hands or feet? Why don't you know how to fight back!"

His tone was full of anger.

"Damn it! This is all my food, all my food!"

He gritted his teeth, patted his chest, and looked heartbroken, his voice becoming shrill.

"I don't care, the rent owed to me has to be paid!"

"Men, find them! These lowly people must still be hiding grain. Find them all!"

The nobles' private soldiers, armed with weapons, filed in, expressionless as they trampled over the villagers' corpses and rushed into the already ravaged village.

At this moment, Grae Weil, who had caught his breath, noticed Liu Zhao standing silently to the side.

"Your Highness, what are you doing here?"

He smiled and gave Liu Zhao a standard aristocratic bow.

It was as if the person who had just been hysterically shouting wasn't him at all.

Then, in a very gentlemanly tone, he continued.

"I apologize, Your Highness, but I have some personal matters to attend to. I will come to greet you again later."

After saying that, he turned around and walked into the village.

As soon as he made that move, the surrounding villagers cried out and rushed over.

"Sir Will, we're out of food! We're really out of food!"

"Sir, please spare me! All the grain has been looted, how can I possibly pay the rent?"

"..."

The villagers kowtowed until their heads bled, but they didn't dare stop for a moment, weeping and begging for mercy from the nobleman.

The Blackstone Territory sheriff scoffed at this.

"A bunch of lowly people, daring to feign madness and play the victim in front of me! Do you think I don't know? You certainly wouldn't leave all your food out in the open!"

"There must be a cellar under the house, and hidden compartments inside. Is it perhaps hidden in an underground storehouse?"

"Having served as the sheriff in Blackstone Territory for so long, do you think I don't know your little tricks? Hurry up and confess honestly and hand over the grain."

Gella Will gave a cold laugh.

"Listen carefully, I don't want more from you, I only want what's rightfully mine!"

"If you dare to deliberately hide it from me, I'll beat you to death!"

Grawell kicked the villager in front of him away with force.

At this point, the private soldiers who had stormed into the village ransacked the place and found a considerable amount of hidden grain.

"My lord, we've found it!"

"As expected, there was a cellar! Your wisdom is remarkable!"

"These lowly people are utterly despicable! How dare they try to deceive you, sir!"

"..."

Seeing that his men hadn't found much grain, Grall snorted coldly.

He only smiled when he saw a woman holding a little girl ahead.

"No grain? That's fine, then use her to pay off the debt!"

He pointed to the little girl who was only eleven or twelve years old.

Two private soldiers immediately rushed forward, ignoring the girl's cries, and snatched her from the woman's hands.

Gella Will took a closer look and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

"Hmph, don't blame me. Blame those robbers. I just took what was rightfully mine."

The woman took a step forward, crying, but was kicked back by Gella Will.

"What? You don't agree? You know you owe me the most rent. If you don't want to sell your daughter, then pay up right now!"

The woman shook her head repeatedly, then spoke with trembling hands.

"No, no, sir, what I mean is... could we exchange it for more grain?"

Upon hearing this, Grawell was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter.

"A lowly person, just as expected of a lowly person."

He grabbed the little girl's hand and prepared to leave.

A voice suddenly rang out.

"Sheriff Will, you're just going to leave like that?"

Liu Zhao stood in front of her and asked a question without expression.

Grawell was taken aback.

"My lord, what do you mean?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhao suppressed his anger and gave him a slight smile.

"Since we've run into each other so coincidentally, I'll come over to your place for a meal since I'm on the way. I hope you don't mind."