Returning to Maple Hill County

The villagers of Yatai Village clearly knew nothing about nobles. They did not understand that nobles could resort to any means necessary to achieve their goals.

To Count Santos, a tiny village was nothing compared to preserving his territory's reputation.

What happened here could not possibly be concealed. Count Santos would inevitably learn of it in the end.

Even if they had killed those soldiers just now, their disappearance would still draw others to investigate.

With the mental fortitude of Yatai Village's ordinary villagers, a few questions would be enough to uncover the whole story. There would not even be any need for torture.

When that time came, no matter what those villagers said, they would not escape death.

From the moment those soldiers entered the village, the villagers' fates had already been sealed.

Vivian understood all of this in an instant, which was why she suggested that the villagers leave with her.

Generally speaking, commoners were not permitted to leave the boundaries of their territory at will. Most were bound to the land.

Even when traveling between different cities within the same territory, commoners needed to report their movements and apply for permission. Only after receiving approval could they go to another city.

Other than nobles, only Adventurers Association adventurers had the privilege of moving freely throughout the entire kingdom.

As Count Hardy's daughter, Vivian could easily arrange a place for a few commoners with the authority she possessed.

Yet from beginning to end, the villagers of Yatai Village had never considered leaving. Even though they had nearly been slaughtered today, many still held onto the hope that nothing would happen.

After Duke and Vivian spent a long time persuading them, only Uncle Doyle's family of five was willing to follow them.

Even that was only because Uncle Doyle's son had persuaded him. Doyle himself had been unwilling to leave the village.

In truth, Duke and Vivian could understand. They had only just arrived, yet they were suddenly asking these people to follow them to an unfamiliar territory. It was indeed asking too much.

Most people spent their entire lives within the area surrounding their village. Maple Hill County was an extremely distant place to them, filled with the unknown.

In the end, Vivian had no choice but to leave with Uncle Doyle's family.

Doyle's family had a donkey, and his wife, granddaughter, and daughter-in-law rode in the donkey cart.

There was not much in the cart. They did not have many possessions, so they finished packing quickly.

"Big Sister Vivian, you should come sit up here too," Doyle's youngest granddaughter, Yara, invited.

"I won't. My armor is too heavy," Vivian said with a smile, refusing.

With the weight she carried, the donkey probably would not get very far if she climbed aboard.

Doyle's son was named Fuke. He walked behind the donkey cart, repeatedly looking back at the village with a worried expression.

Fuke was in his twenties. A few years ago, he had traveled far and wide with a merchant caravan, so he had seen more of the world.

He knew that what Vivian had said would most likely come true, which was why he had tried so hard to persuade his father to leave.

Fuke had no doubts about Vivian's identity either. He had recognized that her armor was actually forged from Starlight Iron.

He knew that Starlight Iron was an extremely rare ore, worth even more than gold for the same weight.

In other words, Vivian was practically wearing several hundred pounds of gold. Once Fuke realized this, he became utterly convinced that she was the count's daughter.

Looking at the distant village, Fuke said, "Who knows how those soldiers will twist the truth after they return? Everyone in the village..."

Duke understood what he meant. Once those soldiers returned, they would certainly embellish and distort the facts, doing their utmost to shift the blame.

He sighed. "We have already done what we could. Now we can only hope that Count Santos still has a shred of humanity."

After half a month of travel, Duke's group finally arrived at Loba Town, a border town within Maple Hill County.

Loba Town was different from other towns. The military force in ordinary towns consisted of militia, but this place was guarded by Count Hardy's personal troops.

Because it lay on the border, its defenses were stronger. Three Squadrons were stationed here, with a total of more than forty soldiers.

Together with the more than eighty local militiamen, it was quite a formidable force.

For the soldiers stationed here, their primary purpose was to send information back in the event of war.

"Stop!" An arrow landed before the group, and a ten-man unit of personal guards appeared ahead. Their captain was a middle-aged man with a full beard.

Uncle Doyle's family was extremely nervous. Fuke held his daughter tightly, doing his best to shield her with his body so that he could block any incoming arrows with himself.

"Did you come from Silver County? Present your merchant permit or other travel authorization. Otherwise, I will detain you for illegal migration," the Squadron Leader said, his hand already resting on the hilt of his sword.

Vivian stepped out from behind them. Before she could speak, the Squadron Leader's expression changed drastically, and he dropped to one knee.

"Lady Vivian!"

This Squadron Leader had met Vivian before and had a deep impression of her armor.

The soldiers beside him, on the other hand, had never seen Vivian and were somewhat bewildered.

Vivian merely glanced at them and said coldly, "Provide us with two carriages."

After saying that, she gestured for Uncle Doyle's family to follow her and headed into Loba Town.

Only when Uncle Doyle's family saw the soldiers obediently kneeling on the ground, their heads lowered the entire time as they did not dare look at Vivian, did they truly understand her status as a noble.

After spending this time together, they had only regarded Vivian as a kind-hearted female knight. They had never associated her with the lofty nobility.

Once Vivian appeared in Loba Town, the entire town erupted. Local commoners, merchants, militiamen, and others all came out, wanting to see what Count Hardy's rumored daughter looked like.

Unfortunately, Vivian's armor covered her from head to toe, and all they could see was a suit of armor.

At Vivian's instruction, a merchant voluntarily bought Uncle Doyle's donkey cart for the high price of twenty Gold Coins.

They would be traveling by carriage from then on, and bringing the donkey along would be too troublesome.

Holding the bag of Gold Coins and staring at the gleaming gold within, Uncle Doyle still felt as though he were dreaming.

Since when had a donkey become so valuable? It had actually sold for a full twenty Gold Coins, enough for their family to live on for many years.

Normally, it would have been difficult to find two carriages in a place like Loba Town.

But since Vivian had spoken, there was no difficulty at all.

The two carriages soon arrived before Vivian. She and Duke took one, while Uncle Doyle's family took the other.