After Lady Weide died, Chier County City grew much quieter.
The city lord's castle, however, never truly quieted down.
Nobles came to visit every day.
Some brought gold coins, some brought Magic Crystal Cores, and others brought young members of their families, saying they had come to pay their respects to Young Master Keane.
In truth, everyone was waiting for orders from the Jax Clan.
Everyone knew that although Lady Weide was dead, Keane was only fourteen. Without the clan's approval, he could not truly secure his position as city lord.
At first, Keane was quite happy.
He put on the city lord's formal robes and sat in the chair at the head of the hall, receiving one noble after another.
But after only three days, he began to frown.
"Meeting these nobles every day really is exhausting."
Jenny sat beside him, looking down as she leafed through the account books.
Keane was, after all, only a fourteen-year-old boy. Having him receive guests according to noble etiquette and handle government affairs every day was indeed difficult.
Keane scratched his head and turned to Lambert.
"Grandpa Lambert, you handle it."
Lambert gave a wry smile.
"Young master, you must learn to handle things yourself sooner or later."
"My sister can handle them."
Keane said it as though it were only natural.
Jenny raised her head and glanced at her younger brother.
She did not scold him, merely closed the account book.
"Finish today's work first."
Linley stood outside the hall, watching the brother and sister interact.
Doehring was beside him.
"That boy isn't ready to be a city lord yet."
"He's still young," Linley said.
"But he is the city lord."
"That's why he needs Jenny and Lambert."
Doehring nodded.
"You certainly were quick to arrange everything for them."
Linley rubbed his nose and did not answer.
He had already promised to escort the siblings back to Chier County City. Although they had now entered the city, the real trouble had only just begun.
Over the following days, Linley did not leave the castle again.
Occasionally, he accompanied Keane to meet a few important officials, but he spent most of his time cultivating in the courtyard. Jenny saw him every day, but did not dare disturb him lightly.
Linley was very quiet when he cultivated.
He often sat for hours at a time, his hand resting on Edgeless's hilt and his gaze fixed on a slab of bluestone in the courtyard.
On the few occasions Jenny passed through the courtyard, her footsteps unconsciously grew lighter.
She did not know what to say to Linley.
She had already thanked him many times.
Saying it again would only seem repetitive.
A month later, a messenger from Basil arrived at the city lord's castle.
The Jax Clan's orders had finally arrived.
In the hall, the messenger unfurled a scroll.
"By order of the Jax Clan, Keane, son of Earl Weide, shall inherit the position of city lord of Chier County City, effective immediately. As Keane is young, his elder sister Jenny shall assist him in handling the county city's affairs."
His voice carried throughout the hall.
Keane straightened his chest.
"Did you hear that? I'm the city lord now!"
Several nobles immediately stepped forward to offer their congratulations.
"Congratulations, my lord."
"Congratulations, Young Master Keane."
"Lady Jenny, we look forward to your support."
Their forms of address changed in an instant.
A moment ago, they had still been young master and young lady; in the blink of an eye, they became lord and regent.
Standing to one side, Lambert let out a long sigh of relief.
Jenny accepted the scroll bearing the orders, her hands tightening slightly.
She had waited many years for this day.
Now that it had finally arrived, she did not feel as excited as she had imagined.
She merely looked instinctively outside the hall.
Linley was standing there.
Their eyes met, and a faint smile appeared on Jenny's face.
Linley nodded.
That reassured her more than any congratulations could.
That afternoon, Keane formally took his seat as city lord.
He received officials from all sides in the city lord's hall, while Jenny sat to one side, handling one government matter after another for him.
Only after working until dusk did Keane slump over the desk.
"Sister, I finally understand why Father didn't want to deal with these things."
Jenny rubbed her brow.
"It wasn't that Father didn't want to deal with them. You simply aren't used to it yet."
"Then when will I get used to it?"
"Take your time."
Lambert came in through the door, carrying several account books.
"My lady, there aren't many gold coins in the city treasury."
"What about the wealth Lady Weide left behind?"
"Her Magic Crystal Cards were all registered in her name. After her death, the gold coins on them could no longer be withdrawn."
Jenny froze for a moment.
"All that wealth, and none of it can be used?"
"At least, we have no way to use it."
Keane's previously excited expression fell as well.
Before he had even secured his position as city lord, he discovered that the city lord's estate could barely pay the troops.
The door was pushed open.
Linley walked in.
"What's wrong?"
Keane immediately looked up.
"Big Brother Lei, the city lord's estate has run out of money."
Linley looked at Jenny.
"Lady Weide's wealth can't be withdrawn?"
"Yes." Jenny nodded. "Many of the Magic Crystal Cards were bound to her fingerprints."
Linley took out his interspatial ring.
"Then use these."
He waved his hand.
Four wooden chests appeared in the middle of the room.
The chests opened, revealing all kinds of precious items. There were high-grade Magic Crystal Cores, exquisite works of art, and some rare materials they could not identify.
Immediately afterward, eight Magic Crystal Cards landed on top of the chests.
Jenny and Keane both froze.
"These are..."
"Holmer left them behind," Linley said. "Eight unregistered Magic Crystal Cards, each holding a million gold coins. The things in the chests are worth quite a bit too."
Keane walked over to a chest and picked up a fist-sized Magic Crystal Core.
"That much?"
"Altogether, nearly ten million gold coins."
Linley looked at Jenny and Keane.
"Take them and use them."
Jenny hurriedly shook her head.
"How could we possibly do that?"
"You need them right now."
"But these things belong to you."
"Holmer came to kill you," Linley said. "These things should have been yours to deal with in the first place."
Looking at those eight Magic Crystal Cards, Jenny remembered how she had offered just one gold coin as a deposit when she first asked Linley to escort them.
One gold coin.
Now, Linley had placed nearly ten million gold coins before her.
"Big Brother Lei..."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Don't look at me like that," Linley said. "I have no use for them anyway."
"But you've already helped us so much."
"It was no trouble."
With that, Linley turned to leave.
Jenny instinctively followed him a couple of steps.
"Big Brother Lei."
Linley turned back.
Jenny stopped where she was, pinching the hem of her skirt.
There had been so much she wanted to say.
She wanted to say she would put these gold coins to good use, that she would manage Chier County City well for Keane, and that she did not know how to repay Linley.
In the end, all she said was:
"Thank you."
Linley nodded.
"Manage the county city well."
He walked out of the room.
Jenny stood where she was, watching his retreating figure disappear beyond the doorway.
Holding the Magic Crystal Core, Keane suddenly said, "Sister, do you really like Big Brother Lei?"
Jenny blushed.
"Don't talk nonsense."
"Then why do you keep looking at him?"
"I'm just grateful to him."
"Does being grateful mean you have to look at him for that long?"
Jenny did not answer.
Lambert gave a light cough beside them.
"Young master, my lady, let's take stock of these valuables first."
Keane immediately perked up.
"Right, I need to pay the troops and repair the city walls."
Jenny lowered her head and opened the account book.
Yet even after a long time, she had not truly taken anything in.
The next day, Linley came to the castle hall.
"I'm planning to cultivate outside the city."
Keane was reading an army roster and immediately looked up at his words.
"Big Brother Lei, are you leaving?"
"I'm not leaving Chier County City," Linley said. "There's a valley outside the city that's fairly quiet. I plan to cultivate there for a while."
Jenny put down her pen.
"How long will you be gone?"
"I'm not sure yet."
"Then... will you come back?"
Linley glanced at her.
"Yes."
Jenny nodded gently.
"That's good, then."
She lowered her head and continued sorting through the account books.
Linley did not notice that she was gripping her pen much harder than before.
Linley built a wooden cabin in a valley outside the city.
The valley was very quiet.
Ahead lay a stretch of grass, with a pool of clear lake water at its far end. Wooded mountains surrounded it, and apart from the wind rustling the grass and the sound of flowing water, there were few other sounds.
Bebe and Haeru hunted in the mountains.
Doehring sat beside the lake, examining the stone Linley had taken out of his interspatial ring.
"What are you going to start with?"
"Comprehending the earth first," Linley said.
He thrust the heavy sword Edgeless into the ground beside him and sat cross-legged on the lakeshore.
The lake water flowed slowly.
The wind blew across the grass.
The earth silently bore it all.
Linley closed his eyes and spread his spiritual energy out around him.
In Chier County City, Jenny was standing high up in the castle.
She could see toward the distant valley, but she could not see Linley.
She stood there for a long time.
Until Lambert came up onto the tower.
"Miss, it's getting dark."
"Mm."
Jenny withdrew her gaze.
"What does Lord Linley like to eat?"
Lambert was slightly taken aback.
"I'm not sure either."
"He cultivated in the mountains for a year, and all his meals were very simple," Jenny said softly. "There probably isn't anyone to cook in the valley, either."
Lambert looked at her, seeming to understand something.
"Have the kitchen prepare some food tomorrow."
"Mm."
Jenny nodded.
She did not look toward the valley again.
But after returning to her room, she personally selected the dishes to be sent over the next day.