Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

After reviewing the reports on his desk, Aaron considered his work for the day temporarily finished. He planned to browse the emails that had arrived that morning before heading home.

Normally, his private emails would be delivered directly to his home, but he hadn't been home for several days, so to avoid missing any information, he asked Joan to deliver all the emails in his mailbox today.

Besides bringing them letters, Joan of Arc also brought them a change of clothes and a late-night snack, which she had made herself in the kitchen: bouillabaisse and macaroni.

Joan of Arc not only brought Aaron's share, but also prepared some for the others in the office.

Before he knew it, even Aaron had gotten used to it. Joan of Arc would occasionally come to Aaron's workplace, so he knew how many people would be there in the evening. All the knights welcomed Joan of Arc's arrival, and they were even more enthusiastic about the food she brought.

They left none of the fish soup and pasta for Aaron; they ate as much as Joan of Arc had brought. After they finished eating, they praised Joan of Arc's cooking skills, saying that her skills were comparable to those of the best chef, Lucerne.

Joan watched as Aaron finished his midnight snack before returning home. Then, new work arrived, and Aaron continued working until late at night before remembering that he hadn't read the email Joan had brought.

Emails were always the lowest priority, and Aaron only glanced at them to see if there were any errors or omissions and to check if he had missed any invitations. However, while browsing his emails, he discovered several more letters with gold covers.

It was sent by Carol.

As July arrived, the Holy College began its summer vacation, and Aaron gradually stopped receiving invitations to Carol's parties. Now, thinking back, it wasn't that Carol had stopped sending them, but rather that she had left Asgard for Lister to escape the summer heat, which was why she hadn't sent any more invitations.

Despite the distance, Carol still maintained a frequency of sending him a letter every two weeks. Aaron glanced at the date on the letter; it had been sent a week earlier.

Carol didn't say anything particularly special in her letter, mainly talking about her various experiences in Lister and her longing for Esgard.

However, Carol wrote more this time because she was about to return. At this moment, Aaron remembered that the summer vacation at the Tower Holy Academy was almost over.

When they meet, Carol will probably tell you about her experiences in Lister during the summer vacation. Aaron knows that Lister is located in the middle of Lucerne. Although Dylan's family does not have a high rank, they have Lister as a summer resort. Carol should be treated like a little princess there.

"Wait... Lister is in the middle of Lucerne?"

As Aaron was about to put the envelope down, he suddenly paused, his gaze involuntarily turning back to the letter.

He recalled the various intelligence reports about Lister. The place was indeed in the central part of Lucerne, known as an oasis in the desert. It occupied a river and had a landscape that was hard to find elsewhere. Lister's natural scenery was unique in the whole of Lucerne, and it was famous for its hot springs and casinos, which is why it became a summer resort.

To be honest, it's quite impressive that the Dylan father and son have managed to run such a geographically challenging place so well, even though it largely relies on the casino business. However, that's not what Aaron cares about.

Every summer, some wealthy and leisurely people flock to Lister to escape the heat, and as a well-known casino, Lister also sees a large influx of funds...

No, no, no, Aaron doesn't care about the funds flowing into Lister at all. Even if there's a lot of gold and silver in there, it has nothing to do with Aaron. They won't even glance at it.

Yes, the so-called gold and silver jewelry are not important at all; what is most important to Lister is the people who gather there.

To prove his conjecture, Aaron suddenly said to the outside, "Bring me the map of Lucerne."

Although it was late at night, the people in the office were still awake. Soon, a long table was cleared out, and a strategic map of Lusset was moved onto the table.

This map is not the kind that people can easily buy in books. It is a military map drawn by the Lusset government. The map depicts the valleys, streams, and roads of Lusset in great detail with extremely high accuracy. Anyone who leaks the map will be treated as if they have leaked state secrets.

"Where is Baron Dylan Laflesh's territory?" Aaron asked his assistant to show him the location.

“Here.” The assistant quickly pointed to a spot on the map with a ruler and placed a chess piece on it.

Aaron looked toward a corner of the desert and asked, "Where is the High Cliff Valley? Mark it."

The assistant then placed another chess piece above the high cliff valley.

Upon seeing the location of the high cliff valley, Aaron's heart skipped a beat, then he frowned slightly.

High Cliff Valley is not far from Lister, but there is still some distance between them. Although it is somewhat suspicious, the distance is not enough for them to make contact.

"No...it can't be that simple..."

Aaron muttered to himself, then asked, "If we want to get back to Esgard from Lister, what's the best route?"

“There is a railway in Lister, so you can just take a train back to Asgard.”

"What if Lister's train breaks down? What route will they have to take?"

The assistant stared at the map, thinking carefully. Finally, he took out a pen and drew a black line on the map:

"If Lister's railway is not operational, their best route is still by train. However, if Lister's railway is not operational, then a corresponding section of the railway will also be unavailable. Let's just assume that's the case..."

"Then they'll need to go in the opposite direction... to the nearest railway hub, Levanna, to catch a train... Levanna and Lister have different railway routes, so the railway malfunction in Lister won't affect Levanna..."

Although the two places seem close, the area between them is filled with mountains and rivers, making the journey from Lister to Levante quite challenging, which makes the route seem somewhat unusual... Unless you're familiar with the local terrain, most people wouldn't guess it just by looking at a map..."

"They need to take a long detour, bypassing mountains and rivers, and traveling a dry road... eventually reaching the Levant to catch a train..."

The assistant began drawing lines, but suddenly stopped, realizing that the route he had drawn was only 20 miles from the high cliff valley where he had just placed the chess pieces.

And 20 miles is just within the coverage area of ​​elite troops.

*

Meanwhile, Lister.

"What did you say? The railway isn't finished yet?" Carol frowned.

"Yes, normally a broken rail can be repaired in just a few days, but there are bandits harassing the area, so the track workers dare not go there, and progress is very slow," the butler said with difficulty.

“Although the railway is broken, supplies can still be delivered to Lister normally. There’s no need to worry about anything else. Why doesn’t Carol stay in Lister a little longer and leave after the railway is repaired?” the attendant suggested.

“But summer vacation is almost over, are you asking me to miss the ceremony at the Holy Church?” Carol said. “How long will it take to repair the rails? I can send people to protect the track workers.”

“Yes, at worst we can send our own men to wipe out the bandits. What’s there to be afraid of with a bunch of mountain bandits?” a nobleman chimed in.

Carol did not come to Lister alone to escape the summer heat; she was accompanied by a large group of nobles, including many elites and extraordinary individuals. Dealing with just a few bandits would not be a problem.

Among the nobles, there were also those who wanted to show off in front of Carol. A blond nobleman drew his sword and said, "If the city hall really can't handle it, and it's just a few bandits, leave it to us. I believe that as long as we stand there, those bandits won't dare to come near."

"Please don't do this, my lord..."

The steward was ashamed. Perhaps these knights were indeed skilled, but those bandits were not to be trifled with. In Lucerne, ordinary bandits would be quickly eliminated, leaving only those whom even they could not easily eliminate, and these nobles could not deal with them so easily.

"Perhaps there's another way. We could go to Levanta and take the train back to Esgard, but that would be a longer route," someone suggested.

"Do we need to take a detour to catch the train?" Hearing this suggestion, Carol frowned even more. She clearly preferred the long journey to waiting.

It would require a large number of people to take a detour to the train station, which sounds very troublesome, and the road is full of dust.

Moreover, once you leave Lister, there are mountains and rivers, and you might have to travel along mountain roads. It's not as comfortable as taking the train, so Carol certainly didn't want to take the long way around by land.

“We should still send people to guard the railway and let the track workers repair it. I don’t believe those bandits are really that powerful,” said the blond nobleman who chimed in.

Carol frowned and began to consider his proposal.

She herself was an extraordinary being, and there were many extraordinary beings among the nobles with her. Together with the knights responsible for protecting the nobles, they were all armed and coordinated, and they were essentially an army of a hundred men. Bandits were just a piece of cake for them.

"What are you all arguing about?"

At this moment, an elegant figure walked out from the side. As soon as he came out, he attracted everyone's attention because he was holding two snow-white spirit beasts that were as beautiful as unicorns.

Even Carol was drawn to the appearance of the two unicorns that Dylan was leading. Dylan led the unicorns directly to Carol and handed her the leashes.

“Miss Carol, this is the unicorn I raised for you, and it’s also a farewell gift for you. Even in the whole of Lucerne, you won’t find a third purebred unicorn like this.”

After saying that, Dylan looked very smug.

Just as she had expected, even the well-traveled Carol was captivated by this fantastical creature, reaching out to gently stroke its fur and taking the leash from Dylan.

Chapter 27: Requesting monthly votes, adding to favorites, and investment.

I checked the data in the backend today, and the book's follow-up reading rate is quite high, indicating that many readers are following and reading it, but other data is not very high.

The backend shows my popularity score is 45, the lowest ranking index is 63, and the radar chart shows my follower count and readership are far ahead of the competition...

Everyone seemed to be quiet, preferring to read in silence, just like the author.

So I'm asking for monthly tickets and comments here. These two metrics are very important on Qidian right now. For monthly tickets, just vote when you remember. For comments, just leave a message. The next few chapters are finished, and I'll keep updating daily~

Heart

Chapter 28 Go there in person

"These unicorns are gentle, have a long lifespan, and reproduce in very small numbers. Once they recognize a master, they will remain loyal for life."

“Once they recognize you as their master, they will remain loyal to you until death. Unicorns are a symbol of love.” Dylan’s voice rang in Carol’s ears like a seductive devil.

Carol placed her hand in front of the unicorn's nose. At first, the unicorn was a little wary of Carol, but as Dylan said, the unicorn was gentle and seemed to prefer pretty girls.

Their wariness quickly disappeared, and they slowly came closer, letting Carol pet them.

Carol looked at the two docile unicorns with satisfaction and said with a smile, "Alright, you're more imposing, so I'll call you Manuri from now on. And you, you look like a princess, so I'll call you Thales."

Carol was completely immersed in the dream of her first encounter with unicorns, while the nobleman next to her was shocked and puzzled. These two unicorns were obviously not real "unicorns", but two gentle spirit beasts. But what puzzled them was how Dylan had obtained them.

There have long been rumors that Baron Dylan not only made a fortune from owning Lister, a summer resort, but also had such connections that he could even acquire unicorns like these.

"Unicorns are the national treasure of Castleland. In Castleland, unicorns are the guardians of travelers because their true abilities can only be revealed on the road. They are not only incredibly enduring, but they can even walk on steep cliffs. They are creatures that can traverse mountains and rivers. They can travel for a whole day with just a little food and water. Miss Carol, would you like to see their true abilities?"

"Really skilled?" Carol said excitedly.

“Now there is a good opportunity, Miss Carol.” Dylan bowed. “The railway in Lister is broken and the trains cannot run, but that’s alright. We can go to Levante to take the train. The journey from Lister to Levante is neither too short nor too long. There are canyons and streams along the way, which will be perfect for Miss Carol to witness the abilities of unicorns.”

"Once we arrive in Levantine, we'll put Manuri and Thales on the train and transport both unicorns back to Miss's residence. When Miss Carol appears at the Holy Academy in the Tower riding her unicorn at the opening ceremony, even I'll be thrilled for her."

Dylan coaxed her gently, his voice like a devil's whisper in Carol's ear.

Dylan was indeed a master of persuasion. Even the nobles couldn't help but admire him after hearing his words, as he turned a bad thing into a good thing in just a few words.

Carol might have initially had a bad impression of Lister because of the train, but now she's completely captivated by the unicorns. Sure enough, after hearing Dylan's words, Carol's eyes lit up. Looking at the two unicorns that seemed to belong to her now, and then at the nobles beside her, Carol finally made her decision:

“Okay, if that’s the case, then it’s decided. We’ll go to Levanna, and I’ll ride them myself.”

“No problem, Miss Carol, I have everything prepared.” Dylan bowed again, a slight smile playing on his lips.

*

Obsidian Knights Headquarters.

The silence lasted for a long time.

“I’ll go check on the status of the Lister Railway right away,” one of the assistants said, turning around.

“By the time we get news from over there, it will be too late. We must make a decision now,” Aaron said.

"Lord Aaron, who is it that wants to return to Esgard from Lister?" the assistant asked.

"Carol Leclerc, daughter of the Duke of Augustine."

"The Duke's daughter...?" The assistants all gasped in shock.

“Besides her, there’s a whole bunch of nobles from Esgard,” Aaron said softly.

"How much do you think the Duke's daughter's life is worth? If she were attacked, how much would that affect Lucretia?"