Aftermath

The storm in Silvermine City brewed quickly and subsided just as fast.

Lux handled things cleanly and efficiently, leaving almost no loose ends that required lengthy negotiations.

What slightly disappointed Lux was that, even with all the evidence, only Codora ultimately received direct punishment – hanging was his final dignity.

As for the others…

Although Lux still wanted to pursue their accomplice responsibilities, Tiana wouldn't allow it.

"Dealing with one Codora is enough," Lux's aunt stated. "As for the others… they never drew weapons against you, after all. And Silvermine City needs someone to manage it."

The various collateral branches of the Crown Guard family expressed their profuse gratitude, choosing to pay to avoid further trouble. For them, retaining their noble status meant everything was still manageable.

If they lost their noble status, rising again would truly be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

And so, the storm settled.

Kuren was a shrewd individual, so the accounting issues in Silvermine City didn't require much of Lux's intervention during the audit.

(Here, thanks are once again extended to Mr. Dili for providing evidence and assistance. Ms. Tiana reiterates her high hopes for him.)

Under these circumstances, Lux simply focused her attention on selecting the Disaster Relief Knights.

Promoting commoners directly to knighthood was uncommon in Demacia. For commoners, even becoming a knight squire required them to provide their own armor and mounts, and obtain permission from their lord. Moving from knight squire to knight, moreover, demanded risking one's life.

Now, Lux was directly granting the Disaster Relief Knights knightly status, an action that would undoubtedly cause discontent among the nobility.

But in Silvermine City, no matter how displeased the nobility was, they could only suppress it for now.

Anyone who dared to speak carelessly would be deemed to have an insufficient attitude of remorse. Moreover, it was rumored that Lux was already planning to promote Dili beyond his rank. The young lady wasn't biased against her kin or the nobility; it was simply that this group of people was not up to par!

In short, using the excuse of the false disaster report, Lux personally conducted a three-day interview and successfully selected four Disaster Relief Knights.

Throughout the entire interview process, her extensive knowledge of agriculture impressed nearly all the farmers who dared to participate.

Despite this young lady's highborn status, she was quite adept at farming!

These farmers, who were utterly convinced of Lux's abilities, clearly didn't know that Lux herself was completely inept at farming.

During the entire interview, Lux played the role of a "soulless simultaneous interpretation machine." The content of the interviews was entirely based on Karya's rich farming experience.

It was no exaggeration to say that more than a third of the specific layouts of the oases, large and small, in Shurima were planned by Karya himself. From windbreak and sand fixation to water-saving irrigation, when it came to farming, no one was more skilled than him.

It was precisely because of Karya's strong support that Lux was able to cultivate an extremely approachable public image for herself.

However, unlike her previous interactions with the nobility, this time Lux showed no impatience. She even continued to ask Karya about topics that interested her after the interviews. Clearly, for Lux, even working in the fields was more liberating than rigidly adhering to noble etiquette.

At least when farming, there were no special requirements for the placement of tools, and one didn't need to remember how many folds to roll up their trouser legs when entering a paddy field.

Adapting to local conditions and seeking truth from facts – how wonderful!

The accounting and subsequent trials would still take a long time.

After promoting the four knights, the Magic Seekers finally set off. They would escort Eno back to the Demacian Imperial Capital to imprison her in the Nullstone Prison.

Before they departed, Lux met the frail young girl again.

Originally, the Magic Seekers did not want Lux to have any contact with this "dangerous mage." Even though Eno had been cooperative from beginning to end, clearly explaining everything, and hadn't done anything to Lux when she received Codora's orders earlier.

But… a mage was still a mage.

However, due to Lux's insistence, she managed to see Eno in the temporarily reinforced prison in Silvermine City before her departure.

"Miss Luxanna," Eno looked quite surprised upon seeing Lux. "Why are you here? I…"

"Just to see you," Lux waved the Magic Seeker guards out and leaned against the prison bars. "After all… I've heard your father talk about you a lot, saying you're sensible and work very efficiently."

"I… I've disappointed everyone's expectations," Eno's previously bright eyes dimmed upon hearing this. "Miss Luxanna, I really didn't mean to help… uh, help Codora deceive you. He threatened me with my brother."

"Alright, alright, I never said it was your fault," Lux reached her arm through the prison bars and took Eno's cold hand. "You don't have to worry about them anymore."

"…"

Eno fell silent, then quietly extended both her hands, wrapping them tightly around Lux's hand holding hers.

"You'll have to make do here for a couple of days," Lux sighed with a hint of helplessness. "Once we get back to the Imperial Capital, the Nullstone Prison there – well, at least the food is much better, and the space is more generous."

Lux wanted to say something to comfort Eno.

Unfortunately, from her perspective, no matter what she said, Eno would only feel that she was being incredibly hypocritical.

They were both Magic Corruptors.

But Lux didn't need to be coerced, and she had Karya's teachings.

And Eno, despite her considerable talent, became a tool to be exploited as soon as her magic corruption was discovered.

Perhaps, in the eyes of the gratified Tiana, Lux's greatest growth on this trip was in her insight into matters and her overall strategic planning.

But for Lux herself, what mattered more was seeing another world.

A world entirely different from the one she had inhabited for the past twelve years.

However, just as Lux was racking her brain to organize her words and trying to say something, Eno inside the prison smiled.

It wasn't a fake smile like Dili's, but a genuine joy and longing from the heart.

"If Miss Luxanna says the food at Nullstone Prison is good, then it must be good!"

Hearing this, Lux felt a tightness in her chest.

At this moment, she desperately wanted to raise her arms and let endless radiance bloom within this small prison cell.

But reason told her that doing so would be meaningless, only causing the young girl before her, who had barely managed to ignite a spark of hope, to fall into pain and despair once more!

So, she used the motion of nodding to slightly lower her head, biting her lips, and suppressing any sound.

Meanwhile, Eno, who seemed somewhat agitated, appeared to have completely opened up due to this ordinary nod. Like her father, she began to talk to Lux about the future incessantly.

"Brother said that there are many openings for knight squires recently. If he trains hard, there's a good chance he'll become one of them..."

"This year's harvest was decent too. Actually, when I froze the wheat seedlings, I didn't freeze that large an area..."

"Father's back is much better, and it seems the price of firewood has gone up in the city again. He's made quite a bit of money chopping wood..."

"Thanks to Miss Luxanna, we'll have Disaster Relief Knights from now on, so we won't have to worry about not being able to pay taxes during natural disasters..."

"..."

"..."

It seemed that within this small prison, Eno had regained her girlish nature, chattering non-stop with Lux.

And Lux, after managing to compose herself, smiled and played the role of a perfect listener.

Finally, when the Magic Seekers guard came to hurry her along, Lux left the prison. As Eno reluctantly let go, Lux pressed her face against the prison bars and said in a low voice, audible only to the two of them.

"Just call me Lux. And, see you again in the Demacian Imperial Capital!"