Decisive Action

The morning after the banquet, Lux left the inn with her full retinue.

According to plan, she was going to investigate the frost disaster—the "well-meaning" Mr. Codora had already informed everyone.

Although several guards had been locked up in the city defense forces' prison for fighting the previous night and still had not been released, the Crownguard princess's entourage remained quite imposing.

The nobles who usually slept until late morning also rose early for once, setting out with Lux and heading straight for the "disaster site" selected in advance.

The large procession soon arrived at its destination.

Coincidentally, this was where Lux had once stayed while disguised as a hunter's daughter. The village chief had even taken a few copper coins from her as an introduction fee.

The village chief clearly did not recognize Lux—or rather, he did not dare look directly at her. Faced with such a large group of nobles, he could only tremble as he recounted the village's "unfortunate experiences" over the past few years.

According to him, this village had suffered unimaginably. The fact that anyone had survived the past three years was entirely thanks to the lord's "kind heart" and "generous assistance."

By the end, the old man grew more and more sorrowful, until he could not help bursting into loud sobs.

To be fair, if Lux had not visited this place before, she might truly have believed him.

Meanwhile, quite a few noblewomen and young ladies took out their handkerchiefs and dabbed at the corners of their eyes. Every one of them seemed to possess the heart of a bodhisattva and could not bear to see others suffer.

By comparison, their acting was much worse than the old man's. They had to force their tears out. Of everyone present, only Codora's acting could be considered passable. He strode forward, helped the old man up, and softly consoled him before walking over to Lux without caring that his clothes were covered in mud.

"Miss Luxanna, come and take a look!" he cried in anguish. "All this wheat has been ruined by the frost!"

Clearly, Codora was still deliberately influencing Lux with "impolite" behavior, hoping she would continue according to his rhythm.

Although he looked extremely anxious on the surface, he was secretly delighted:

Go on!

Go into the fields and dig up the wheat seedlings!

Noble Luxanna, I wonder how much patience and aristocratic dignity you will have left after seeing those filthy roots?

I wonder whether the farmers will still want to secretly report you after seeing how completely ignorant you are about crops?

A twelve-year-old girl wants to play at checking the accounts?

Finish acting out this farce, then go back to Demacia City and drink your milk!

Under Codora's gaze, which was filled with "expectation," Lux strode forward.

She was more than happy to complete the final act of her performance. Once this is over, I'll show you something real!

Lifting the hem of her dress, Lux strode into the fields. Then, with practiced ease, she bent down and reached out to touch the wheat leaves.

"The veins on the leaves are almost impossible to see."

"Even the veins on the undersides can't be pinched between my fingers."

"There are quite a few ice crystals in the crushed leaves."

"It looks like the frost here really is severe!"

Seeing that Lux seemed to acknowledge the frost, the nobles who had been so nervous finally relaxed. Codora had never been willing to tell them exactly how they were supposed to deceive Lux, so even though he had always seemed resourceful, they could not help feeling uneasy.

Codora merely gave an almost imperceptible frown before seizing the opportunity to call out loudly:

"That's right, Miss Luxanna. We must begin disaster relief immediately!"

Codora was somewhat surprised that Lux could identify frost.

But it did not matter. He had made two preparations. These wheat fields really had been frozen!

He had personally supervised the freezing in the middle of the night yesterday!

Even if Lux later claimed that he had misled her with the wrong method, he would still have an excuse. Whether he claimed to have remembered incorrectly or simply refused to admit it, Lux could do nothing to him.

Nobles were experts at muddying the waters. They were all related somehow, and unless they had committed a grave mistake of principle, it was merely a moment of panic and a slip of the tongue. What could she do about it?

However, to everyone's surprise, Lux did not continue along with Codora's words this time.

"Wait a moment." Lux lowered the hem of her dress and rose to her feet, placing a hand on the hilt of her sword. "But frost this severe doesn't seem to match the climate here."

"The climate in Silvermine City has been highly unstable these past few years." Codora seemed to have prepared his explanation long ago. "The cold currents from the north are unpredictable. Often, the climate doesn't match how it feels to people..."

"Of course, there is another possibility." This time, Lux interrupted Codora. "That is... a cunning mage has been causing trouble here!"

Lux made no attempt to conceal her words. The moment she spoke, almost everyone present heard her clearly.

"A mage?"

"How is that possible?"

"Surely not..."

"..."

"..."

Clearly, Lux's words had been beyond everyone's expectations.

Aside from Codora, whose expression had turned rather unpleasant, everyone else—including the nobles—began whispering among themselves.

The villagers, meanwhile, stared at one another in utter unease.

They had only heard that the lord wanted them to put on a show, and that if they performed well, their field taxes would be halved next year. Who could have expected that, in the middle of the performance, it would suddenly involve a mage?

We're only extras playing bystanders!

We can't take on a mage's role!

In Demacia, claiming that a mage was causing trouble changed the entire nature of the matter!

"This must be a misunderstanding." Codora naturally could not agree with Lux. "How could a mage create a frost disaster over such a vast area—"

"That cannot be said for certain." Lux interrupted him again. "But it doesn't matter. To rule out that possibility, I've already invited the Magic Seekers here. They are professionals and can determine whether anyone has used magic here."

The next moment, under Codora's despairing gaze, several gray-robed figures emerged from the crowd.

They paid no attention to the eyes upon them and strode forward brazenly.

With their appearance, everyone in the crowd, noble or commoner, fell silent. Across the entire field, only the howling wind and the clinking of the Nullstone manacles hanging from the Magic Seekers' waists could be heard.

These men, known as the "gray-robed hyenas," stood independent of every system in Demacia, forming a faction of their own.

They had nothing to do with war or domestic affairs.

But anything involving mages or magic fell under their jurisdiction!

In Demacia, the nation that banned magic, the name of the Magic Seekers was enough to silence crying children at night!

The leading Magic Seeker held a torch. After hearing Lux's order, he saluted with a hand over his chest before lighting it.

At Lux's request, he brought the torch close to the ground. This was a tool unique to the Magic Seekers. The color of its flames could reveal traces of magic.

As the torch lowered and touched the soil, its orange-red flames suddenly surged before instantly turning icy blue.

The ghostly blue flames represented traces of magic left behind in this place!

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

The village chief was even stunned into falling to the ground. He struggled several times but could not get back up.

Even the nobles grew restless. Some guessed the reason, while others did not—but whether they had guessed or not, they all realized that things had gone terribly wrong.

Then, contrary to everyone's expectations, the first person to speak was Codora.

"Cunning mage!" He acted as though he had just realized he had been deceived and flew into a rage. "Guards! Surround this place! And you—"

As he spoke, Codora grabbed a girl from among the nobles' attendants.

She was about the same age as Lux but extremely frail. Dressed as a maid, she was small and inconspicuous.

"You said your family had suffered the most, so I kindly took you and your brother in. I never expected you to deceive me!" Codora's brows rose as he shouted furiously. "A mage's trick... Are you a mage?!"

With that, he looked toward the Magic Seekers.

"Come and take a look! See whether she's a mage!"

The Magic Seeker instinctively turned around with the torch raised.

The moment the torch neared the girl, its flames, which had turned orange-red after moving away from the ground, once again became a pure blue.

"Sure enough, she's a cunning mage!" Codora immediately drew his longsword. "You treacherous scum—"

As though blinded by rage, he did not even wait for the Magic Seekers to bring out the Nullstone manacles before swinging his sword straight at the girl.

Faced with the blade, the girl seemed to resign herself to her fate. She clamped her mouth shut and closed her eyes in utter despair.

Then, just as she was about to be drenched in blood, a streak of sword light shot toward her like lightning!

"Ah—"

The next moment, Lux had already appeared beside the girl, while Codora, who had charged forward with such force, stumbled and crashed to the ground.

Only after his face struck the cold mud did the pain finally reach him, as though belatedly.

That was when Codora finally realized that his longsword, along with his right hand, had fallen into the mud three paces away.

Blood gushed out, splashing across Lux's dress in a broad red stain and soaking her golden hair.

The white moonlight of Demacia's Imperial Capital had finally been dyed into a red rose!

The nobles' formation fell into complete disarray. The shocking scene was so intense that several noblewomen and young ladies fainted on the spot.

Lux paid it no mind. She merely wiped the blood from her blade on the long hem of her dress, then stood with her sword sheathed. Under everyone's horrified gazes, she patted the pale-gold-haired girl's head and asked softly:

"Silly child, why didn't you dodge just now?"