On the VIP stands at the highest point of the Chinston City colosseum, Viscount Blake Bourne found it impossible to accept that victory and defeat had been decided in just a few short seconds. He could hardly even comprehend how Xiaya had brought the duel to a close with a flurry of punches and kicks far swifter and fiercer than any blade.
The blue veins on his forehead throbbed violently. Clenching his walking stick planted against the ground, he seemed to be exercising every ounce of restraint to suppress the urge to order his men to slaughter Xiaya and those two bastards from the Protos Royal Magic Academy.
After glaring venomously at Xiaya, he shifted his gaze toward Lanqi and Side in the distance on the spectator stands.
"Professor Meiqi... you won't object if I get rid of those two students, will you...?"
Viscount Blake Bourne spoke without even parting his teeth, yet a terrifying tremor resonated in his voice.
It was all the fault of those two troublemaking meddlers...!
"Not at all,"
Meiqi nodded.
"You will become the governor regardless, and I will handle things on the Imperial Capital's side for you."
Meiqi knew very well that this was the moment to indulge Viscount Blake Bourne's mood.
Viscount Blake Bourne nodded, rose to his feet, and walked over to the stands where the assembled nobility and dignitaries of Snowfield Province were gathered. He invited them along, and together they made their way over toward the section occupied by Viscount Laiwen Chinston.
The glittering silver architecture of the colosseum was reflected in the wrought-iron railings of the VIP stands. A formidable contingent of nobles was slowly gathering and walking forward from their seats. Their luxurious attire, trailing scents of iris, gleamed under the winter sun of the snowlands, lending an even heavier, more solemn atmosphere to the freshly concluded duel.
As they approached, the commoners seated nearby who had not yet departed sensed the shift and retreated one after another. The bustling section of the stands where Viscount Laiwen Chinston sat gradually emptied out.
Some commoners dared not look directly, fixing their gaze instead on the empty arena below to pretend they were still watching the conclusion of the event; others gripped their children's hands tightly, warning them not to make a sound. The surrounding stands were instantly blanketed by this sudden silence and suffocating tension.
"Laiwen, congratulations on securing such an excellent son-in-law. Still... didn't he go a bit too far?"
Leaning on his cane, Viscount Blake Bourne halted in the walkway not far from Viscount Laiwen Chinston's seat.
"I will compensate for the medical expenses."
Viscount Laiwen Chinston's gaze was focused solely on the edge of the arena in the distance, where Xiaya was being tended to by medical personnel he had prepared long in advance. His eyes were filled with warmth and gentleness.
"Medical expenses?! Can you even afford them?!"
Seeing Laiwen's nonchalant attitude, Viscount Blake Bourne's hatred could no longer be contained.
"Make your stance clear regarding the governorship of Snowfield Province! If you still intend to brush it off today, don't blame me when we become mortal enemies in the future!"
A twisted, derisive sneer curved at the corners of Viscount Blake Bourne's mouth. His clear voice pierced the eardrums of everyone present like a frigid dagger.
Many of the Chinston City residents who had not yet retreated showed expressions of sheer terror.
The lords standing behind Viscount Blake Bourne either stared directly at Viscount Laiwen Chinston or averted their gazes with faint apologies, but they remained firmly on the side of Viscount Blake Bourne and Professor Meiqi.
Even the common folk understood Viscount Bourne's meaning.
He had begun to openly coerce Viscount Chinston.
The other lords had already agreed to Viscount Blake Bourne assuming the position of governor.
If Viscount Laiwen Chinston still refused to consent, Chinston City—having become a mortal enemy of Viscount Blake Bourne—would be ostracized by the rest of Snowfield Province and left to face the siege of the Spectre Party alone.
It was not even beyond possibility that Viscount Blake would secretly lend a hand to the Spectre Party from behind the scenes.
In all likelihood, what awaited Chinston City next would be the fall of the city and the slaughter of its people!
Viscount Blake Bourne's sinister gaze swept across Lanqi and Side before shifting back to Professor Meiqi beside him. The sneer on his lips seemed to tell them that regardless of the outcome, neither of them would be leaving Snowfield Province alive.
In an instant, the temperature above the entire colosseum plummeted. The past chatter and clamor vanished like smoke. Tension and dread filled the faces of the Chinston City residents, and an indescribable oppression permeated the air. The sound of every person's heartbeat seemed to struggle against the surrounding stillness; time felt stretched thin, the seconds ticking by agonizingly slow.
At the very center of the colosseum, the lord of Chinston City, clad in his deep blue embroidered robe, appeared utterly isolated and vulnerable.
The people waited in tense anticipation, praying he could offer a response that would put everyone's minds at ease. Yet the oppressive tension in the air mounted steadily, threatening to trigger a total explosion at any moment once the fuse was lit.
However.
Lanqi, seated beside him, merely rested a hand gently on Viscount Laiwen Chinston's shoulder.
Meeting Viscount Laiwen Chinston's eyes, he seemed to convey that everything could simply be left to him.
"Everyone, allow me to say a few brief words."
Lanqi raised a hand. Though his motion was leisurely, his deep, composed voice carried the reassuring calm of an anchor in a storm, prompting several other nobles to cast bewildered glances his way.
From his pocket, he drew out several sketched manuscripts.
"These are portraits of each department head. If you truly are a high-ranking official, Professor Meiqi, you should at least recognize some of them, shouldn't you?"
The nobles had not originally intended to pay much attention.
Yet with just a single glance, they were drawn in and stunned by the drawings in his hand.
These portraits possessed delicate brushwork and profound emotion, as if every image held a story waiting to be uncovered, yet they also seemed like nothing more than a few casual sketches dashed off on a whim by the young man before them. At this moment, they could not help but wonder and imagine: if these rough sketches were turned into finished paintings, what legendary masterpieces would they be!
Even Viscount Blake Bourne, amidst his surprise, could not prevent a flicker of greed and deeper malice from flashing through his eyes.
Silence enveloped the stands.
The other nobles had all heard that this young man who had forged Xiaya into what he was now was a student of the Protos Royal Magic Academy.
The intent behind his questioning of Professor Meiqi was abundantly clear: he was publicly challenging the authenticity of Professor Meiqi's identity, while simultaneously undermining Viscount Blake Bourne.
By all rights, they ought to have spoken up to defend Professor Meiqi at this moment.
However...
Driven by their own self-interest,
the other nobles also wished to seize this opportunity and let Lanqi test him on their behalf.
Thus, by tacit agreement, they chose to watch attentively without uttering a word for the time being.
"Of course I know their names,"
Meiqi's voice remained dignified, showing not the slightest tremor in the face of Lanqi's skepticism.
"My question was not about their names. Rather, within that academy, faculty authority is categorized into internal tiers, ranging from the highest, Tier 0, to the lowest, Tier 9. Please tell me which clearance tier corresponds to each of them."
Lanqi asked again with a composed smile.
Instantly, Meiqi's expression stiffened, and his heart pounded wildly.
He realized this was a psychological duel.
He truly had no idea whether the Protos Royal Magic Academy currently possessed this brand-new ranking rule.
If he flatly denied it, and the other party immediately produced proof confirming that such a tier system did indeed exist within the academy, he would be exposed on the spot!
Yet if he went along with the claim, the other party could easily turn around and assert that no such rule had ever existed at the school.
Damn little brute!
"My sincere apologies, but internal faculty information cannot be disclosed to the public. Do not dream of prying information out of me to threaten other faculty members."
Suppressing the fury in his heart, Meiqi answered with a faint smile.
Had it not been for his quick wits in concocting an excuse, he might very well have been cornered by that abrupt twist in questioning.
Murderous intent had already surged within him. Once he bluffed his way past this moment, he would ensure Viscount Blake Bourne slaughtered these two meddlers as quickly as possible to eliminate any future trouble!
"Oh? But our academy's faculty clearance tiers are posted publicly, you know? Fully transparent and open to everyone."
Lanqi smiled with amusement, retrieving a copy of the *Protos Royal Magic Academy Admissions Brochure* from his pocket. What was more, it was the Solar Calendar year 1798 edition—the one newly issued this very year.
He was toying with Meiqi from start to finish, causing Side, seated behind him, to stifle a chuckle behind her hand.
"That is a forgery!!"
Meiqi immediately insisted with absolute conviction, pointing at the book in Lanqi's hand.
His response had to be lightning-fast right now; any hesitation would make him appear guilty.
"You haven't even looked at it. How can you claim it's a forgery?"
Lanqi asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.
At this point, the corners of the other nobles' eyes twitched faintly.
The fellow holding the admissions brochure had made each movement look completely natural, yet who knew how many misleading feints and rhetorical traps were woven into his words? One could never tell which statement was a snare, nor what fresh trap would be sprung once an answer was given.
"I have been away from the academy for some time, and this is a newly published brochure. Your extremely unfriendly attitude naturally caused me to misunderstand. As you know, you students are always scheming to walk all over your instructors."
Meiqi had no choice but to raise a fist to his mouth as if clearing his throat to ease the awkwardness, desperately trying to talk his way out of the hole he had dug.
"..."
Even so, the other dignitaries began exchanging glances, their doubts regarding Meiqi's authenticity already taking root.
There had been nothing wrong with Meiqi's logic, but in his successive reactions, there were far too many unconvincing flaws.
Or rather, if a person's status and identity were genuine, no matter what manner of probing they underwent, they should never display such flaws!
Yet Lanqi's probing made Meiqi look increasingly suspect to any observer.
If Professor Meiqi truly was an impostor and they had caused such a fiasco right in front of two veteran students from the Protos Royal Magic Academy, it would become the laughingstock of the Imperial Capital in days to come.
Yet the problem remained that Professor Meiqi's deeds happened to align perfectly with a certain figure who had risen to prominence in the Imperial Capital recently... a fact that had been verified by the Imperial Capital's investigation team.
"Excuse me, might we take a look at that admissions brochure?"
Finally, a middle-aged noble in formal attire took a step forward and asked Lanqi.
By now, anyone could see that this young man was extraordinary. Such absolute composure and bearing caused the truth to tilt heavily in their hearts—what this young man said was the reality.
"You people?!"
Viscount Blake Bourne lifted his walking stick slightly, growing somewhat flustered.
Every page of the admissions brochure bore the magical seal of the Protos Royal Magic Academy, making its authenticity very easy to verify.
They had brochures from previous years for comparison, and a magical seal was impossible to forge unless someone had managed to steal the ancient magic apparatus within the academy used to imprint it.
And so,
under the scrutiny of the assembled nobles,
from start to finish, not a trace of Meiqi's information could be found in the brochure.
"It must be further in! The department heads' information is located toward the back!"
Viscount Bourne's heart raced as he pointed his cane at the nobles leafing through the brochure.
Yet the name Meiqi remained nowhere to be seen.
Meiqi's eyes darted left and right, his anxiety visibly mounting.
"Regardless of this, Laiwen, remember what happened today! Sooner or later, I will settle every last score with you!"
Viscount Blake Bourne turned to shout at Viscount Laiwen Chinston, making a clear show of intending to depart.
In any case, even if something truly was amiss with Professor Meiqi and his plan to take office as governor fell through today, he still had plenty of opportunities to contact the Spectre Party and enact vengeance on these wretched fools!
Yet in the very next instant,
Viscount Bourne, just about to leave, was blocked by knights of the Chinston City Knighthood. Viscount Blake Bourne's bodyguards immediately drew into a tense standoff against the knights.
"Laiwen?! What is the meaning of this? Is there no law anymore?! Do you intend to harm me right in front of the other lords?!"
Having reached the limit of his patience, Viscount Blake Bourne spun back to interrogate Viscount Laiwen Chinston, glaring at the other lords at the same time.
Yet to his shock, he discovered that the other nobles, having flipped to a certain page in the admissions brochure, were frozen in complete and utter stupor.
A long silence passed, and not a single soul spoke up on his behalf.
The noble holding the book, seemingly out of old acquaintance, stiffly raised his arms to display the page before Viscount Blake Bourne.
"Come, Viscount Bourne, tell me: whose signature is written on the final page of this book?"
Lanqi leaned back against his chair, a faint, ambiguous smile on his face as he looked up and asked.
At that moment,
Viscount Bourne's throat trembled. Incapable of producing any sound, his eyes bulged wide as if he had seen a ghost.
Only the noble beside him read the name aloud for him.
An overwhelming quiet fell, yet it sounded deafeningly loud.
The short name echoed like demonic whispers around Viscount Bourne's ears, refusing to dissipate.
Soon, under Viscount Laiwen Chinston's command, guards arrested Viscount Blake Bourne, Professor Meiqi, and all of their bodyguards.
Every proceeding became exceptionally swift.
The witnesses and physical evidence of Viscount Blake Bourne colluding with the Spectre Party to murder Xiaya Candice, an Imperial Earl, had already been handed over to Viscount Laiwen Chinston by Lanqi. Following proper protocol, he could be held in the Chinston City prison until transportation lines were restored.
If Viscount Blake Bourne remained obstinate, they would meet next before the Supreme Court of the Imperial Capital, Herrom.
The surrounding nobles, looking upon this abrupt exposure and sudden reversal of fortunes, dared not utter a single word for the longest time, feeling as though they had narrowly avoided walking into a catastrophic blunder.
Most importantly, if the man before their eyes had not arrived in person, they would have found themselves completely unable to extricate their own involvement once the scandal inevitably broke out in the future!
"Our apologies, Mr. Luoqi McCarthy. It was entirely our negligence. Please forgive us!"
"It's quite all right. I don't blame you. You were victims as well. I shall keep this matter confidential on your behalf, so as not to damage your reputations in the Imperial Capital."
Lanqi shook his head and raised a hand again, signaling that there was no need for them to be so restrained.
"..."
This plunged the other nobles into silence once more.
This Luoqi McCarthy appeared to be an exceedingly warm and approachable person, yet his words carried the distinct chill of an unspoken threat.
If he merely chatted casually back at the academy and let this story circulate among the professors and noble students, it wouldn't take a single day before every noble from Snowfield Province was nailed to a pillar of shame and publicly humiliated...
"My journey to the north was solely to carry out a series of special rectification plans addressing the chaos in Snowfield Province. Are you willing to support it?"
Lanqi asked concisely.
"Of course, Mr. McCarthy."
Under these circumstances, not a single noble hesitated before responding to Lanqi.
"Very well. When you meet me in the Imperial Capital one month from now, how do you intend to address me?"
Lanqi rose to his feet, clasping his hands behind his back as he looked toward the south, as if gazing across the distance toward the Imperial Capital, Herrom.
"Lord Governor Luoqi McCarthy."
Led by Viscount Laiwen Chinston, who stood up from the side and bowed respectfully to Lanqi,
the remaining nobles promptly followed suit one after another.
As for the governorship of Snowfield Province, all that remained now was a formal inauguration ceremony and an official dispatch sent to the Imperial Capital.
For a man of such immense capability as the headmaster of the Protos Royal Magic Academy to be willing to serve as their governor—declining to pursue their liabilities and instead helping them resolve this colossal mess—this was already the best possible outcome for them, regardless of how he might allocate and coordinate resources among the city-states hereafter.
None of them dared utter a word of dissent, nor even voice submission.
They only knew one thing: his noble sense of responsibility and sincere dedication were without a shred of falsehood, and he happened to possess the extraordinary ability to match.
The man standing before them might very well make the Protos Empire great once again.
...
On the arena seats not far away.
"Well then, I suppose I can add a little bit to his favorability rating."
Side stretched lazily, as though having just woken up, the bones along her spine cracking softly. She felt that with this Holy Son around, there was truly nothing left for her to worry about.
Hearing those words, Boss Cat looked at Lanqi being escorted into the distance by the gathered nobles, then glanced back at Side, hesitating awkwardly, not daring to say a word.
"What is it you want to say?"
Side asked with a smile.
Boss Cat wavered for a moment before finally looking up at Side.
"You aren't... genuinely falling for him, are you...?"
Boss Cat muttered under its breath. It was terrified that Lanqi had truly caught the fancy of the Bishop of Domination; if that happened, fleeing back to the Southern Continent wouldn't save him.
"I'm raising him like a son. Could I possibly fall in love with a boy so much younger than myself? Just what kind of person do you take me for?"
Only in that single instant did Side's gaze turn faintly cold, sending a shudder straight through Boss Cat. Its pitch-black fur bristled, recalling the bone-chilling horror it had felt the very first time it laid eyes on this bishop.
Boss Cat understood.
Though she enjoyed the game, she drew a crystal-clear line between games and reality—or rather, her heart had always been incomparably frigid, never wavering in the slightest.
"Phew..."
Curled into a trembling ball, Boss Cat couldn't stop its heart from pounding wildly, but it secretly breathed a sigh of relief nonetheless.
As long as Sigrid didn't develop feelings for Lanqi, this journey to the Northern Continent wouldn't end in an absolute catastrophe.
Chapter 320