Changing Allegiance

Lux finally realized the problem.

She had never considered that Codora might first come to confirm her itinerary, then forge a frost-damaged scene afterward.

Or rather, deep down, she had never imagined anyone could be so deranged as to fabricate a fake frost disaster to conceal the truth!

Lux had seen people lie before.

But after lying, making the lie real in order to cover it up... Wait, why did that suddenly feel strangely familiar?

Shaking her head, Lux pushed the thought aside and focused on the forged frost.

To create artificial frost damage, magic was practically the only option!

And if she followed that line of thought, the implications became terrifying.

"Surely not?" Lux forced herself to calm down. "Things might not go that far. Didn't he deliberately come over just now to teach me the wrong way to judge frost damage, all so I wouldn't be able to tell what was going on? Would he really need to create an actual man-made frost?"

"Perhaps not," Karya replied calmly. "But if he truly made preparations, are you going to acknowledge that Silvermine City really suffered a disaster just because you're clinging to wishful thinking?"

"Of course I can't just stand by!"

"Then are you going to tell all the nobles that there was no frost here a few days ago, even though you can't produce a shred of evidence?"

"..."

Lux fell silent.

Unlike when he had guided her through matters of social etiquette, this time Karya, who deliberately wanted to train Lux, chose to ask questions rather than provide answers.

He did not even offer guidance. Wherever Lux instinctively tried to avoid the issue, he pressed relentlessly, seizing upon the problems she did not want to face with a sharpness that left her no room to muddle through.

Faced with Karya's sudden change in approach, Lux was somewhat at a loss.

Fortunately, she was no longer the ignorant child she had once been.

Following the direction of Karya's questions, Lux began searching step by step for a solution.

"If he truly intends to fake frost damage, then he will definitely use magic." Lux first reached an important conclusion. "And using magic will leave traces!"

"Not a bad line of thought," Karya agreed. "Especially with these untrained mages."

"And the Magic Seekers can detect traces of magic!" Lux clenched her fist. "Under normal circumstances, the Magic Seekers would not concern themselves with a patch of farmland. But if I make the request personally, I should be able to bring in a Magic Seeker squad!"

"For the sake of your uncle-by-marriage," Karya agreed again. "Very good. You made use of your status."

"But even if we prove that someone used magic in the fields, that still won't prove the frost was fabricated." Lux continued, "However, we can use that as a pretext to investigate more fields. They can't possibly fake frost damage everywhere!"

"The plan is becoming more thorough."

"But there's a problem. I'm still not very familiar with Silvermine City's situation. If they want to deny it and stall for time, things will still become troublesome." As she spoke, Lux could not help frowning. "And promoting commoners to become retainers will likely provoke everyone's opposition."

"That is a very valid concern." Karya's tone finally grew approving. "However, you're in luck. Do you remember our second guest? He's here."

As he spoke, Lux's door was knocked on once again.

Carrying a stack of the evidence Lux wanted most, Dili had come to her door of his own accord.

Unlike Codora's pretentious posturing, Dili was very direct.

After meeting Lux, he bluntly stated the purpose of his visit—I'm here to join you!

To earn Lux's trust, this Mr. Dili had been exceptionally sincere from the moment he entered.

He answered every one of Lux's questions without the slightest concealment. He even revealed that he had married into his wife's family, and voluntarily admitted, "If I hadn't married my wife, I would never have been able to come here at all."

At the same time, however, he repeatedly stressed that he and his wife truly loved each other, and that regarding the false disaster report, he was completely different from those vermin. He absolutely did not approve of this method of concealing tax revenues.

"That is slander against the Crown Guard family—causing terrible harm to the entire family for such petty profit!"

However, according to Dili, his status had been rather unusual until now, so he had little say within the family.

All he could do was gather information about the matter, keep the agricultural tax accounts in his own territory in order, and seal away all the wealth collected.

In other words, before coming to Lux, he had taken every possible measure to stop this except actually stopping it, and in the end, could only protect himself.

"Since collecting that tax, I've never touched it!" Dili thumped his chest and swore earnestly. "I tried to contact the previous envoy who came here, but he had already been bought off by Codora at the time. There was truly nothing I could do!"

"Why didn't you simply send a messenger to the capital?" Lux asked in confusion. "That shouldn't have been too difficult."

"Because... because my family really isn't very well-off." At this topic, Dili lowered his head in shame. "I began as a ranger's knight squire. Back then, so that I could earn enough merit to be qualified to marry her, my wife even spent nearly all of her personal savings to buy me dependable armor, weapons, and a warhorse. Ever since then, our household has never been very well-off."

"..."

"All right, to be honest, Miss Luxanna, my earlier description wasn't entirely accurate." Dili hesitated for a moment before finally speaking as though he had gathered his courage. "Actually, I didn't completely leave that money untouched. I invested some of it in a financial product. But I swear that as soon as I received the returns, I immediately restored the principal—I saved all the records. You may send professionals to inspect the accounts."

"This isn't a major issue. I never intended to pursue old debts anyway." Seeing how candid he was, Lux waved a hand generously. "You've been a tremendous help this time. I was just wondering what sort of scheme Codora had prepared and wanted to find some land deeds for reference!"

"Codora is a very cunning man. Miss Luxanna, you must be extremely careful." After pondering for a moment, Dili took the initiative to warn her. "He always likes to make layered arrangements in many places. Here in Silvermine City, in certain rather shady acquisitions, he plays the role of the hunter..."

"I could tell." Lux showed undisguised disgust. "He's observing me, then trying to control me using what he learns from those observations—he was even planning my itinerary, hoping to bring everything under his control!"

"Then you must be especially careful!" Dili could not help raising his voice. "When he begins a plan that appears harmless, it means he has already made many plans—if possible, I suggest you not follow his pace..."

"Why not?" Lux shook her head. "The more he plans, the more he has to mobilize, and the more he will ultimately expose, won't he?"

"..."

Dili froze.

His surprise was half feigned, half genuine—on the one hand, he needed to avoid looking too cunning; on the other, Lux's boldness had truly caught him off guard.

After all... even in Demacia, the saying that a powerful dragon could not crush the local snake held true. And judging by Lux's manner, she clearly intended to see this matter through to the very end.

The calculating Dili naturally could not understand that Lux was doing this out of justice.

In his view, justice was nothing more than an empty slogan. Only naive children who had never seen the world would take it seriously. Someone as capable as Lux could not possibly be that innocent.

After thinking it over, he could only conclude that Lux was displaying her influence and control.

Hiss—what a terrifying little girl!

"Miss Luxanna." Though inwardly alarmed, Dili continued with his warning. "Codora's methods have never been particularly clean. If possible, I suggest that you... take greater care for your safety."

"..."

This time, Lux said nothing. She merely raised her head slightly, arched a brow, and let the corners of her lips curl upward.

As though she had long been prepared—or as though this was exactly what she had been waiting for.

That half-smile sent cold sweat streaming down Dili's back.

An evening breeze blew past. Dili felt a faint dampness on his back, while his collar seemed far too tight—Lux was clearly just a little girl, yet he did not dare meet her eyes at all!

At that moment, he could not help but subconsciously review his own conduct during this visit.

Mm, everything I said seemed to be true, right?

As long as I remain loyal, there won't be a problem!

Yes, then there won't be a problem!

After confirming once more that he had made no mistakes, Dili finally relaxed slightly.

He abandoned his plan to become Lux's adviser and no longer intended to linger.

After leaving behind the account books he had brought and the marked map, he departed the inn where Lux was staying without hesitation and swiftly vanished into the night.

Only after he had gone far from the inn did Dili begin gulping down breaths like a drowning man.

Thank heavens.

Though things had not gone entirely according to plan, this investment had ultimately succeeded.

The process had been somewhat difficult, but after seeing Lux in person and speaking with her, he was filled with confidence in this investment!

Dili believed that this investment would surely earn him a ticket into the Demacian Imperial Capital!

Riding his white horse through the cold evening wind, Dili was excited and nervous, unable to stop thinking about his earlier plans along the way.

Thank heavens Gao Kan had not truly made his move.

Otherwise, with that man's scheming... Dili would probably have ended up worse off than Codora!