The lord's castle in Xike City had long since collapsed. Like the city itself, it had become a ruin—the last reminder left on this land by the war more than two years ago, and a symbol of the hatred between Transia and the Plantagenet Kingdom.
As long as the ruins of Xike City remained, no Transian would ever consider making peace with the Plantagenet Kingdom.
If anyone dared shout in the street that the Plantagenet people were our friends, they probably wouldn't live to see the end of the day in this rugged land.
Hatred could be a form of "political correctness."
Back when Murphy became governor, Mirian and Professor Malcolm had warned him to be careful in his dealings with the Plantagenet people. Though they had hoped to keep him from letting that hatred cloud his judgment, Murphy had always had his own ideas about such things.
There was no way to dispel the hatred in a short time. The only way would be to damage his own authority as lord by forcing the people to obey—but why would Murphy do that? Had the Plantagenet people ever treated him well?
He didn't have enough time to change people's minds, so he might as well let things run their course. East Prussia and the Kato region were still in Plantagenet hands, after all. Transia would have to fight the Plantagenet Kingdom sooner or later to reclaim what it had lost.
From that perspective, during his time as governor, Murphy would probably have to fight the people of Nordtov again to take back Kafhoka and part of Ice Bay.
Of course, that was for the future. They would have to wait until the Black Calamity was over before making any plans.
When little Sharon had visited Xike City last time, she