Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

Seeing Kira hold up a bag of coins, Bran used his sword to pick it up, opened it, and glanced at the amount...

"Hmm~ At a reasonable price, I seem to have no reason not to accept this convenience, but..."

Bran draped his arm over the horse's neck and looked with interest at the petite figure behind Kira.

"I've never heard of Miss Kira having a younger sister. Why don't you introduce her to me? She must be a beautiful little girl with some unconventional traits, right?"

“You’ve misunderstood. She was originally a servant of ‘Silver Star Nocturne’ and only followed me because she had nowhere else to go.”

The girl under the cloak trembled, her face obscured, and huddled tightly behind Kira.

"Ah~ so she's a slave. What a coincidence. Several groups have just escaped from my territory, and Miss Kira happens to be with one of them. You say she's a slave of 'Silver Star Nocturne,' but I wonder if there's any documentation to prove it?"

There were no documents... of course. Kira gripped the girl's hand tightly, while several people in the crowd secretly pulled out daggers or grabbed sticks from the carriage...

Is this the end? I really don't understand! That bag of gold coins could buy a whole bunch of slaves! Generally speaking, even nobles, for the sake of money and reputation, should have let them go!

"Of course, no problem."

At least she had tried. One second Kira was biting her lip, the next she put on a bright smile and turned to the slave girl who was hugging her tightly.

“Evelyn, go to the carriage and fetch your slave papers. Show them to Lord Bran.”

But secretly, she took a dagger from her bosom and whispered it in Evelyn's ear as she turned around.

"Run, don't look back."

A magnificent dagger sliced ​​through her palm, blood staining the patterns on its surface, turning into a pool of venom along with a low chant. Kira unfurled her body like a dancer, the dagger tracing an arc, the venom shooting towards Bran on horseback.

A hissing sound rang out, and to Kira's surprise, Bran was prepared. He blocked the venom with the thick hilt of his sword and instantly swung his sword, knocking the dagger out of his hand.

"Dark magic, huh? No wonder it's from the lowly and filthy dark elf bloodline. Even with such a thin bloodline, it still has the talent to learn magic."

Bran smiled contemptuously, looking at Kira lying on the ground, disoriented and with several lances pointed at her, and spat out a word of disdain.

"Aren't you underestimating me, who's about to become a Grand Knight? I can tell the gender of a mosquito's buzz, let alone your whisper. Don't confuse me with those dissolute nobles that your mother and I associate with."

"You lowly heretic, a wretched woman who doesn't even know who her own father is, yet you dare to attack a nobleman."

With a clang, the longsword forged from fine steel broke in two and fell to the ground, the corroded broken parts still sizzling. Bran glanced at the broken sword in his hand, then, with a sense of apprehension, tossed it to the ground and lashed it out with his riding whip.

"what!!!"

The whip struck Kira's back, causing her to scream. A group of people angrily rushed out from the crowd, brandishing daggers, clubs, and pitchforks, and charged at the cavalry. Even Evelyn, whom Kira had told to escape, followed behind with a short stick in her hand and tears in her eyes.

"What are you doing! Run away!!!"

"As expected, they're here. A bunch of lowly slaves and heretical women, they really are a perfect match~"

Bran squinted on his warhorse, watching with amusement as the group charged toward their cold lances, like a vulture high in the sky.

Amidst the shouts and cries, Bran's keen hearing suddenly detected a lazy yawn, a hoarse voice devoid of any grace, coming from a cart in the caravan.

"Ha—ah~~~~Heretical? Are there heretics?"

Boom! A massive impact erupted on the cart, sending wood chips and straw flying. A figure leaped high into the air, becoming a black dot in the blinding sunlight, before crashing heavily into the crowd.

The warhorses neighed incessantly, and the cavalrymen desperately pulled on their mounts, sending the rebellious slaves flying.

As the dust settled, a figure dressed in a black and white nun's habit appeared in Bran's eyes. She walked over to Kira and squatted down, roughly pulling up her long, gray hair.

Chapter 11 The Dumb and Delinquent Luminova

The nun's sudden appearance, like a ferocious beast, sent chills down everyone's spines, especially Kira, who lay on the ground, trembling as she looked at the nun who was a few years younger than her, around seventeen or eighteen years old.

Beneath the black and white headscarf was a head of long, snow-white hair. Her pale skin presented a sickly beauty, her emerald eyes were like tender buds in early spring, her youthful face was full of weariness, and she smirked irritably, revealing a set of sharp, white teeth like those of a wild beast.

Even with her fierce expression, resembling that of a female bandit, the beauty of the white-haired, emerald-eyed nun could not be concealed.

However, her unrestrained squatting posture, coupled with her snow-white bare feet in wooden slippers under her nun's long dress, and her huge breasts that seemed to burst out of her clothes and were incongruous with her youthful appearance, were all quite different from the image of a virtuous and gentle nun.

She looked more like a female thug... The delinquent nun roughly manipulated Kira's face, forcefully pried open her mouth to examine her teeth, rolled up her eyelids to check her eyeballs, and moved her around like she was inspecting livestock. Finally, after seeing the cross Kira was wearing on her chest, she suddenly released her.

"I'm so sorry! I made a mistake! Your bloodline falls below the Church's third-degree heretic classification standard. I'm so sorry for hurting you. May the Goddess bless you with a wonderful day!"

The unruly nun suddenly put her hands together in a gesture of asking for forgiveness, while simultaneously adopting an extremely harmless expression. She then made the sign of the cross on her chest, and even her voice became clear and sweet.

after that……

"Huh?! Who's been spouting 'heretic, heretic' all this time?! It's making me dream about fighting that pile of garbage! They're clearly only one-sixty-fourth heretic blood! And they're still a loyal and devout follower of the goddess! I can't ignore this kind of disruptive talk from the congregation!!!"

The unruly nun stood up, reverting to her previous demonic nature. Pure holy energy erupted violently from her body, causing her long white hair and pure black skirt to flutter wildly.

A thousand years ago, in order to unite more forces to defeat heretics, the Church established a rule that people of mixed human and heretical blood could obtain equal status as long as they submitted to the Church's faith.

However, after humans dominated the central continent, the status of mixed-race groups declined several times over the millennia. Only those with very thin heretical bloodlines survived, and even then, they could only be considered second- or third-class citizens.

But now it seems that this unruly nun in front of me is not someone who discriminates against others because of their bloodline.

Could there be hope? Kira felt a glimmer of hope.

Such a powerful aura of holy magic! Unlike the usual healing image of nuns in the Holy See, the unruly nun in front of me is more like a Holy See paladin who fights with holy magic. This aura even surpasses that of Bran.

Despite this, Bran was not intimidated; instead, he showed an expectant expression.

Finally found it...

"I'm so sorry, Sister, I was a bit harsh with my words."

"But this Miss Kira, a half-dark elf, not only sheltered a runaway slave but also attacked a nobleman first. By the grace of Goddess, this is a capital offense under both imperial law and papal precepts, isn't it?"

"Huh? Huh?! Is that so..."

The unruly nun, as fierce as a shark, blinked, seemingly unsure how to respond to Bran's words. Her gaze darted blankly between her eyes, revealing a troubled expression.

"Yes, yes, Sister Luminova..."

The woman, whose cloak had almost been lifted by Bran's longsword, timidly lifted it, revealing a pair of heavy, large glasses on her pretty, quiet face. Her orange hair was cut to an inconspicuous chin length, and she nervously leaned against the unruly nun known as "Luminova".

"But...but what this gentleman did before was a bit...excessive...Eek!!!"

The bespectacled nun's voice grew softer and softer. After meeting Bran's gaze, the overly timid nun let out a hamster-like squeak and hid behind Luminova.

"Is that so, Lindsay?" Luminova glanced at Sister Lindsay hiding behind her, then seemed to realize something. "Ah! Yes! That's really too much! She's waking everyone up!"

As she spoke, Luminova crossed her arms, frowned, and nodded.

"Can't we just discuss and resolve things properly, no matter what? Kindness and compassion! That's what the goddess teaches! Yes, yes! That's right!"

“Sister, but according to Imperial law…”

"Hmm...that's true, legally speaking..."

Luminova was easily swayed by Bran's words, closing her eyes and deep in thought, though no one could understand what she was thinking...

Heh, great, just like the intelligence said, he's an idiot, and the smart nun is a coward... Bran's lips curled into a smile, while Kira's heart sank to the bottom...

“But it seems difficult to judge right and wrong based solely on our words, nor can we determine whether these slaves escaped from my territory. So how about this…” Bran also showed a troubled expression, seemingly offering Luminova a solution with great understanding.

"Sister, take these people with you and come with me to Sochi. Let's hear what the local sheriff and priest have to say, shall we?"

"Oh! That's a great idea!" Although Luminova couldn't quite put her finger on why it was great, it sounded reasonable, and the man seemed very sincere, so it must be a good idea, right?

"No!!! If we go back to Sochi, neither Sister Kira nor any of us will survive! That's that wicked thing's territory!!!"

A sharp cry rang out as the little girl named Evelyn spread her arms to shield Kira, while the other slaves surrounded her. Although their strength was like insects before a whole group of cavalry and Luminova, their resolute gazes prevailed over their fearful bodies.

“That won’t do. How can a child use foul language?” Luminova frowned, squatted down in front of Evelyn, gently wiped away her tears, and then said with certainty, “You must trust the law and the priests of the Vatican. They will definitely give a fair result.”

Upon hearing this, Kira and those around her turned ashen-faced, while the timid Sister Lindsay showed a look of pity and tugged at Luminova's sleeve.

"Sister Luminova, we can't go to Sochi. We need to get to Linhu Town as soon as possible..."

"It won't take more than a few days. I'll arrange the best carriage to take the two nuns to Linhu Town. Besides, the cathedral in Sochi is an ancient and majestic church, containing many relics and buildings from the War of Heretics. Sister Luminova, aren't you interested?"

Luminova's eyes lit up, and she seemed to forget her original purpose and stance, standing up with great interest.

"In that case..." Mei didn't think about it...

"Why don't you listen to what we have to say?"

A cold, deep female voice rang out, startling everyone. Even Bran, focused on Luminova, overlooked the approaching sound of hooves.

Two figures, one in red and one in black, parted the crowd with the crisp sound of horses' hooves. The black-haired youth's lance bore the crest of the Tartu family. The red-haired female knight leading the group carried a command flag bearing the imperial crest bestowed by the thirteenth princess.

Chapter 12 Intervention

The visitors were naturally Ryusha and Hetia. Along the way, Hetia told Ryusha a lot about Sochi City, and the two also learned about the details of this cross-border conflict through the border villages.

Some time ago, a slave revolt broke out on a large farm outside Sochi, led by the Earl's son, Bran Duke.

A large number of serfs, servants, and other people belonging to the nobles killed the guards and fled to Linhu Town.

On the one hand, they could not bear the long-term abuse, and on the other hand, after Liuxia took control of Linhu Town, she had Kania draft a proclamation to open up the reclamation rights of Linhu Town and the surrounding villages and mountains to attract people and provide them with food subsidies in the first year.

Of course, this was made possible by Kania's witch powers to control the minds of the wealthy in Linhu Town, the Hetia family's secret stash of money, and the combined iron fists of Ryukyu and Hetia.

As a result, groups of free people on the verge of bankruptcy flocked to the areas under the jurisdiction of Linhu Town, hoping to settle down before the spring planting season. Of course, they were also accompanied by various merchants and craftsmen.

Among them were slaves who had infiltrated from elsewhere. Not only Bran's manor, but many other people's slaves also had the idea and joined the escape.

The territory controlled by Sochi City is roughly the size of a prefecture-level city that Liuxia is familiar with. Hetia's territory, centered around Linhu Town, is about the size of two counties, but mostly consists of hills interspersed with rivers of varying sizes. Although there are many small, fertile plains, due to its remote location and underdeveloped state, apart from a few scattered villages, there is only one town serving as its administrative center.

It is said that going back another hundred years, this complex mountainous region was home to many monsters and beasts, and even hidden heretical hybrid races...

In short, the complex mountainous environment, the lenient development approval process, the considerable territory, and most importantly, the fact that a noble lord took the initiative to show friendliness to the common people, made these escaped slaves feel as if they had seen a new world of freedom.

But the nobles and landowners of the Sochi region suffered, inciting Count Duke to protest against neighboring territories or forcibly prevent their people from leaving. But the nearly sixty-year-old Count Duke simply said, 'Let them be…'

So they turned to Bran, the second son who had suffered the greatest losses, and under his leadership, they formed one slave-hunting team after another, crossing the border to brutally inspect every passing traveler, with many of these activities involving privateering...

Of course, as for Bran Duke...

Liu Xia stared intently at the man. If it weren't for her expression of dislike, he would have been considered tall and handsome. His mother, the Countess, was the sister of the princess who gave birth to the third prince...

Considering this relationship, Ryuka didn't believe his motives were so simple, or that it was all just a coincidence...

Bran seemed to notice the young squire's gaze, but he didn't care. He raised an eyebrow at Hetia and gave a flamboyant noble salute on horseback.

“Miss Tartu, it’s been almost two years since we last met in the capital. I never thought we would become neighbors. However, your sweeping policies have caused a lot of trouble for the people of Sochi.”

He did not address Hetia as Viscount Tartu, clearly indicating that he did not intend to recognize her title until the empire officially appointed her.

“Bran Duke.” Hethia didn’t return the greeting, only responding to Bran’s sarcastic and mocking tone. “Two years have passed, and you still haven’t been promoted to Grand Knight?”

Bran's eyes darkened. Although he was older, his talent was only average. Hetia, on the other hand, was a recognized genius knight, even a bloodline knight, and notoriously hot-tempered.

Fortunately, his purpose in coming here was not to fight.

“Miss Hetia, don’t escalate the conflict, get to the point.”

Seeing Hetia's head spinning with anger, as if she was about to draw her sword for a duel, Ryuka couldn't help but speak up to remind her.

“Understood… Lord Bran Duke, your act of leading armed personnel to blatantly cross the border violates Imperial law. You are now required to leave the Tartu family's territory with your men, along with the other groups that have followed you. You must also compensate for the damage and casualties caused on my territory…”

Bran glanced at Ryusha with a strange look. This handsome young man with a cold expression was actually able to persuade the famous Hetia to listen to him... But he immediately started arguing with Hetia.

They simply accused Linhu Town's development policies of affecting their rights, claimed their border crossing was a necessary measure to protect their property, and used excuses like slave escape...

Ryūka had no interest in listening to their argument in such an official imperial tone; his attention was focused on the chaotic scene around him…

A beautiful white-haired nun... she must be a nun, though her style and demeanor don't quite match. She's staring wide-eyed at the bickering nobles, while the bespectacled nun next to her whispers something in her ear, seemingly explaining the scene to her.

The scene around their feet was somewhat chaotic. A beautiful older woman with wheat-colored skin was curled up on the ground, bleeding from the whip wounds on her back. A little girl was wiping the wounds for her with tears in her eyes. Around them, a group of haggard-looking people, both men and women, were guarding them.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Xia gently urged her horse forward and walked towards them, taking a portable first-aid kit from the horse's luggage bag.

"Use this. It has bandages, hemostatic herbs, and high-proof liquor to disinfect."

His kind act only aroused suspicion; it seemed that this group of people distrusted him greatly, given his noble entourage attire. However, at Kira's nod, Evelyn timidly accepted the medical kit and whispered a thank you.

"Ah... I don't think I need to..." Mei Lin was thinking for a moment...

The one who spoke suddenly was Sister Lindsay. She seemed to have just remembered something and walked towards Kira, but she was afraid of the slaves surrounding her and was too nervous to get any closer.

"Why are you all so nervous? Lindsay just wants to treat her."

Luminova brazenly dispersed the crowd, and no one dared to resist, while Lindsay finally used the Holy See's holy magic next to Kira.

Some ancient and intricate chants arose, exceeding the scope of the common language of the continent that Liuxia had taught herself. Milky white holy light gathered in Lindsay's hands, and with her gentle caress, the wound on Qila's back quickly healed and became as smooth as before.

"Thank you, Sister... and this young gentleman." Kira quickly expressed her gratitude, while also bowing to Ryusha.

She realized that their only hope of survival lay with the red-haired noblewoman knight, and that knight seemed to listen to the young man before her...

"Ryusha." The boy gave his name and took off his cloak, handing it to Evelyn and gesturing for her to put it on Kira, whose clothes were torn.