Chapter 632: Surprise
Chapter 632: Surprise
"Lord..." James had just walked out of his chambers when Vintage immediately greeted him. Though the old man’s age seemed to have reversed aged since back then, the regret was palpable in his eyes, making him look almost unchanged.
"Don’t blame yourself, Vintage. You tried your best." James patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"I never knew my actions would lead you straight into the cunning Milti family’s death trap..."
James shook his head.
"You are just a man working tirelessly to restore your family’s former glory. Don’t blame yourself."
"But I can never forgive myself, and I am sure even my late father won’t forgive me for what my actions led to... if only I hadn’t—"
James stopped Vintage.
"You both are acting as if I am already dead. Don’t you see? I am well and strong. It’s just some expeditions to capture lands for them. I can easily do that. Not to mention, with my newly tamed beast, there’s no way anything can kill me."
Even though James said that, everybody knew the Milti family’s cunning. The same way Vintage’s father had been killed, James would likely resign himself to the same fate, and another Baron from the Milti family would be placed here as the new City Lord.
James immediately distracted them from the topic.
"Where are the guests?" he asked.
"They are currently resting in the guest house near the west city gate. Should I call them now?"
But hearing that, James became a bit confused.
"Waiting? Didn’t they barge into the castle as usual?"
Even Sera looked puzzled. By now, every time the Milti family representatives came, they would directly barge into the castle and demand an audience with James as if they owned the place, but this was new.
Vintage also nodded.
"This time they didn’t even come flying on their flashy Skyrend Eagles. I am not sure what they are up to."
Hearing that, Sera became even more distressed. James noticed that.
"Stress is really not good for you or our baby. You should go and rest."
Sera shook her head in panic.
"No, what if they take offense at your wife being absent and impose even harsher conditions?"
Sera had been under constant pressure since the middle of January when the official ruling came. She had been in a near-panic state whenever any Milti family representative arrived. Ever since then, the conditions on the compensations had kept increasing, and they had even begun throwing open threats.
And now this new tactic... something was definitely fishy.
"I will call them," Vintage said before departing.
"Haha, it would be very funny if they are not from the Milti family at all and are genuine visitors," James joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Back at the guest house, a carriage had already arrived for Leo and Lily. They climbed aboard and began making their way toward the castle.
Along the way, Leo spotted many familiar shops whose positions had changed, though their appearances remained the same.
He even spotted the Beast & Blade Emporium where he had sold the Orc’s corpse.
Hmm, what was his name... Gerald? Wasn’t he the manager of the shop? Leo recalled.
Should I ask whether he is interested in opening a shop in my territory? Leo wondered.
Even though he didn’t know whether the shop would function since most of the related work was handled by the Aurelius Hall itself, it would still earn him Prosperity Points.
Well, I will think about it later.
He looked toward Lily, and even she seemed busy taking in the changes throughout the city, growing more astonished by the second.
Since the distance from the wall to the castle in the middle was around 2 Kilometres, it took them around 10 minutes to reach the castle gates through the bustling market crowd. The population had indeed seen a boost, as if refugees from a destroyed city had settled here.
The castle wasn’t too big or too small, just the right size for the scale of the new Kendru City.
When they entered through the castle gates, just beyond a small garden stood the main structure where people were already waiting for them.
Lily’s eyes widened slightly when she spotted Sera and James through the carriage window.
Both looked like a perfect couple, with James wearing a fine white shirt beneath an overcoat while Sera was dressed in a beautiful violet gown. Both looked younger and healthier than the last time she had seen them.
Beside them stood Vintage in his usual butler suit, unchanged.
But she also noticed the tension on their faces.
"They look really stressed..."
"Yeah..." Leo responded, noticing the same.
Sylrael watched everything with calm grace. But she did seem a little interested in seeing Leo and Lily’s place of origin.
The carriage came to a stop right in front of the waiting group.
The man sitting beside the carriage driver promptly jumped down and was about to open the door when someone had already opened it from inside.
The man grimaced, thinking he had made a blunder.
James, who had just stepped forward to greet the guests, stopped in his tracks. Sera, who was behind him, also came to an abrupt halt, her eyes widening as they saw the person opening the carriage door.
"Sister Sera! Brother James!" Lily excitedly hopped down from the carriage and hurried toward them.
Behind her, Leo also stepped down.
"Brother James, Big Sister. Long time no see," he said with a smile as he stepped forward to shake James’s hand while Lily pulled Sera into a hug.
"It’s so good to see you both alright."
Both James and Sera were utterly baffled.
"W-what?" James’s rough and intimidating face looked utterly confused as he stood there shaking Leo’s hand. Leo was now more than half a head taller than him.
The same was true for Sera.
"L-Lily?!" she called out.
"Yes! It’s me!" Lily responded enthusiastically as she broke the hug. But at that moment, Lily noticed something else as she looked toward Sera’s belly.
"You’re expecting a baby?!"
Even Leo broke eye contact with James and looked toward Sera and Lily as if he had heard correctly.
"Whoa, Brother James, Big Sister! Congratulations!" Leo congratulated them, and Lily did the same.
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" James raised both hands.
"Is it really Leo and Lily?!"
Beside them, the maidservants and manservants were even more confused about who exactly they were welcoming.
Even Vintage narrowed his eyes as if searching through his memories. Then he noticed Lily’s bright pink hair and immediately recognized her as the prodigy Kendru City had birthed months ago.
Behind them all, Sylrael’s mouth hung slightly open as she realised that her sister had another big sister. And there were people other than Professors, Kaelion, or those of similar standing whom her Lord, with his severe trust issues, seemed genuinely comfortable around.
No, that wasn’t quite right.
Leo seemed even more comfortable around these people than he ever was with Kaelion.