Start from Fulilian

After counting the supplies, everyone set out on the road to Suiye City. The loyal messenger of the fifth-class noble was telling Ivan some basic information about Suiye City with a smirk on his face. Both his tone and attitude were humble.

The permanent population of Suiye City is about 10,000, which is considered a medium-to-large city in the kingdom. Including the surrounding towns and villages, there are about 20,000 people in the Ivan territory.

If most of the defeated troops had fled back, there would probably be about 500 guards in the city, and they would be lucky if there were only knights armed to the teeth left.

"How much do you know about the previous lord's family?"

"Viscount Hicks' wife is the daughter of Count Flor, the lord of the neighboring city of Flower City. The two are in a political marriage and have an eight-year-old son. However, rumors spread that the Viscountess and the Viscount don't have a good relationship, and there are even serious doubts about whether the son is the Viscount's biological son."

"Then do you know which forces in Suiye City can be used by me?"

"My lord, I am only a messenger. I am not aware of the open and covert struggles between the forces..."

"Well, I understand, please step back."

Ivan waved his hand to let the messenger, who looked like he wanted to lick his shoes, leave, and turned his gaze to Fulilian beside him.

"Flillian, did he lie just now?"

"The lie detector magic didn't react."

The so-called lie detector magic is a magic that detects and analyzes the subtle physiological reactions of humans when they lie, with an accuracy rate of up to 99%.

Of course, this is only for humans. Lie detector magic is completely useless against demons. No matter whether they are telling the truth or a lie, there will be no physiological changes in the demons. It is estimated that only the ultimate lie detector magic at the level of world laws can detect demons.

"By the way, Flillian, what were you doing in your life before?" Ivan started the topic, just to kill time during the boring journey.

"Read books and learn magic."

There was no expression on the girl's round and delicate face, and her eyes revealed a calm look.

"That's how I've been living until that day. For an elf with almost unlimited time, they need something worth focusing their energy on before waking up, otherwise they'll fall into endless emptiness... That's what a friend of mine once said, but unfortunately, she's dead now."

Fulilian (Thousand Years of Past): Chapter 30: Taking Office in Goose City

When Ivan arrived in Suiye City, the members of the Suiye City Council, who had received the king's order in advance, had already prepared a grand welcome ceremony outside the city gate.

Not only were there honor guards and bands, but many people were also watching the fun. Considering the scale of the event, it was definitely a very respectful occasion. It was so appropriate that Ivan even had the urge to step forward and give a speech.

For example: I came to Suiye City to do only three things: fairness, fairness, and damn fairness.

But this was just a thought. If Ivan really said it out loud, he himself wouldn't believe it.

Whether it is this era in the other world, the modern era of the blue planet, or the cyberpunk era of the future, fairness has never been equally given to everyone. Some people will be fairer than ordinary people.

For example, Ivan now, after entering the aristocratic class, has become a more fair type of person. Compared with ordinary civilians, the gap between them is even greater than that between humans and dogs.

After verifying Ivan's identity, the parliamentarians became even more enthusiastic, as if Ivan was their long-lost father.

"Viscount Ivan, you've come this far and you've worked really hard. Please move into the castle. We've replaced it with new furniture and servants to ensure you have a comfortable day!"

There are six members of parliament, namely, merchant representatives, freeman representatives, church representatives, chief political officer, chief tax officer and chief judge.

The most enthusiastic among them was the chief tax officer. If the others were still at the stage of a long-lost father, his attitude towards Ivan was that of a long-lost grandfather.

He and the herald formed a flattering duo, and along the way they kept bragging about how promising Ivan was at a young age, how handsome and charming he was, and how his future was limitless.

Ivan ignored all these words and rode a snow-white horse through the streets of the city. People kept coming from all directions to look at him, the new lord.

The attitude of the common people was not welcoming. They were more afraid of the unknown towards Ivan, the strange new noble. After all, this was a worse world. As the lower class people, they would never know whether the people who ruled them were ridiculous or more ridiculous, cruel or more cruel?

So along the way, Ivan tried his best to express his kindness and responded to them with an innocent and bright smile.

This trick seemed to be particularly effective on young women. Many of them who had originally only observed through the window were now willing to expose their entire faces. Some even went straight to the street and observed him boldly and directly.

The role of excellent appearance is fully demonstrated at this time. If Ivan was a fat, greasy and withered middle-aged man, no matter how brightly he smiled, it would not have any effect.

Therefore, the saying that one’s values ​​are influenced by one’s five senses does not make sense.

"We're here, Viscount Ivan. This is the castle you'll live in from now on."

Except for Frelian, who followed Ivan into the main body of the castle, the rest of the people were placed on the outer wall of the castle, where the guards and servants lived. Of course, even on the outer wall, the living conditions were exceptionally good, so the adventurers and villagers had no complaints.

"This castle has a long history..."

"Mr. Monley," Ivan interrupted his long and tedious boasting about the castle. "I'd like to ask how the previous lord's property was distributed."

"Well..." Tax Collector Monli hesitated, but he didn't dare to disobey Ivan's order. He replied, "All the shop deeds and antiques and paintings that were easy to transport have been taken away by Madam Tulip. The rest that was difficult to take away, as well as the various taxes collected this year, are still in the castle."

"When did she leave? Which direction?"

"Two hours ago, in the direction of Flower City."

It would take three days for a carriage to travel from Suiye City to Huahua City at full speed, so it is still in time to intercept it now.

Ivan immediately ordered the Chief Political Officer, "Mr. Ed, please take the guards and intercept her immediately."

Ed frowned. "Lord Ivan, may I ask what crime you are using to intercept Madam Tulip?"

"Of course, she is suspected of colluding with the demons. We need to investigate for the time being. And once Madam Tulip is cleared of all charges, we will naturally let her go."

Suspected.

This word is very strange. It can mean guilt or innocence. When used in the sentence "suspected of colluding with the demons", it is even more strange.

"Ivan." Fulilian suddenly tugged at his sleeve. "I sense the presence of the demons, but it's very weak, like a candle about to go out."

Really?!

Ivan's magical perception is not good, especially when the opponent is very weak or restraining his breath, it is difficult to detect it at all. Fortunately, Fulilian is by his side to help him make up for this shortcoming.

With a few skeptical congressmen, Fulilian and Ivan went straight up the stairs, then turned left and left again, and came to a room that looked like a study.

"There seems to be a pattern to the arrangement of these bookshelves, or perhaps a code that can unlock a secret door. As long as we move them in the correct order, we can..."

"It should be right here."

Fulilian took out her staff and pointed it at a bookshelf against the wall. She first used magic to take out all the books in it, and then blew it open with a burst of magic.

"Sure enough... there's a dark room inside."

Everyone entered the dark room through the opening, and the scene they saw shocked everyone - a little girl with two horns on her head, obviously from the demon clan, was naked and bound by chains.

"Her handcuffs... are inlaid with anti-magic stones?" Realizing that her own magic power would become difficult to control and she would be unable to use magic when approaching the demon, Fulilian immediately thought of the anti-magic stones mentioned in the book.

The Forbidden Magic Stone is extremely rare and extremely hard, making it impossible for people to process it. Therefore, it is extremely scarce and worth a fortune.

This is also the reason why it is expensive.

When the demon girl saw so many strangers coming, she began to beg, "Please don't kill me, let me go..."

Although their voices lacked inflection, the councillors still showed sympathy on their faces. However, before they could even say a word of comfort, a flash of sword light cut through the air, causing the demon's head to fall to the ground.

With an expressionless face, Fulilian put the holy sword in her hand back into the scabbard on Ivan's waist. When magic could not be used, although the damage caused by simply releasing magic power could kill the opponent, Fulilian did not like to do thankless things.

The decapitation with a sword was so clean and neat that it frightened the parliamentarians and made them unconsciously stay away from Fulilian.

"Mr. Mengli, you just saw that there are demons being kept in the castle by the previous lord. The evidence is solid. Aren't you going to set off yet?"

This time, Meng Li was convinced and said, "Yes, Viscount Ivan."

Fulilian (Thousand Years of Past): Chapter 31: Madam, You Don't Want to...

Mrs. Tulip just celebrated her 30th birthday last week. She held an extremely luxurious party, enjoyed many envious glances in the circle of noble ladies, and also hooked up with a handsome lover.

As a result, within just a few days, she heard the news of her husband's death. In fact, his death didn't matter much, because her son could inherit his title and territory anyway, and her luxurious life would not change much.

But the bad thing is that a brave man suddenly appeared out of nowhere, became the new viscount, and asked the king for Suiye City as his territory. What's more outrageous is that the brainless king actually agreed and asked the mother and son to live in the capital first.

day!

She came to seize her husband's property right after he died. Is this something a human being could do?!

Mrs. Tulip naturally felt resentful and immediately contacted her father, the Earl, hoping that he would stand up for her. However, the reply she had been waiting for contained only one sentence - to personally give all her property to the brave man, express her desire to make friends, and then go home directly.

The moment she saw these words, Mrs. Tulip's well-maintained and beautiful face twisted. She didn't understand politics or military affairs, she just felt that she was abandoned by her father, and in a fit of rage she smashed several plates.

Giving it all to a stranger? Why?

That's her money! It's all hers—

So this time, Mrs. Tulip did not listen to her father. She not only took away the food and statues that could not be taken away, but also packed up and took away everything else that could be taken away, including land deeds, gold, silver, jewelry, and artworks.

It filled several carriages.

As for safety on the road, she brought with her twenty fully armed knights when she got married. They were all trustworthy, especially the most powerful Knight Commander, who, as the biological father of the child, would never do anything to harm her and her child.

"Huh? Why did the carriage stop so suddenly? Could it be that there are robbers blocking the road?"

What robber would dare to block the way of a group of fully armed knights in broad daylight?

She stuck her head out the window.

The knight commander, who was highly expected, had a several-meter-long light blade held against his neck, and only half of the spear in his hand was left.

Looking in the direction of the light blade, the one who controls the life and death of the Knight Commander is a petite and weak-looking elf magician.

No! She's not weak. Just looking at her eyes, you can tell she's terrifyingly strong—

As long as his hand shook slightly, the Knight Commander would be beheaded. As for the other knights, although they were in a slightly better condition than the Knight Commander, they were also completely controlled by the city defense forces.

Mrs. Tulip had calculated everything, but she had not anticipated how ruthless the new city lord would be. She was intercepted by the enemy's team before she had even gone one-tenth of the way.

"Madam Tulip, your husband, Viscount Hicks, has adopted a demon in the castle, and is suspected of collaborating with the enemy and betraying his country. So please come back with me and be investigated."

Mrs. Tulip watched as the leading young man rode his horse slowly to her carriage. He was tall and handsome, with a face that looked slightly thin but had distinct lines because of it. He had clear eyes, slightly upturned corners of his mouth, and a smile that made people feel approachable but not frivolous.

"Brave Ivan?"

"It's down."

"Let my people go. I am willing to return to Suiye City."

If she had known in advance what the hero looked like, perhaps Mrs. Tulip would have stayed in Suiye City to deal with him. If they could eventually have sex, she would have accepted even half of his assets, which would have been equivalent to finding a new backer.

Unfortunately... the conflict has now begun to intensify.

Ivan outside the carriage didn't know what she was thinking, otherwise he would definitely complain about the Jurchen shrimp head Puxin. How could she think that he only wanted half of his assets?

This is all his money!

Ivan looked at the things loaded in these carriages and was almost blinded by the gold coins. These were more than enough as start-up capital.

On the way back to Suiye City, Madam Tulip opened the curtains. Compared to when they first met, she was obviously wearing lighter makeup. She smiled and said to Ivan outside, "Your horseback ride has been bumpy. Why don't you come in and have a chat? It will save you the fatigue of the journey."

"Thank you for your kindness, Madam. However, the demons have been increasingly rampant recently, appearing repeatedly in my territory and even killing the previous lord. I must constantly monitor outside to protect your safety."

Tsk, the art of language.

Since Ivan said this, Mrs. Tulip didn't insist any more. She thanked him and closed the curtains again.

After returning to the Viscount's Castle in Suiye City, Ivan directed the slaves to unload the goods. These money and treasures that originally belonged to this place returned here in less than a day.

Mrs. Tulip's eyelids twitched, but she managed to control her emotions and walked slowly up to Ivan.

"Master Brave, didn't you ask me to cooperate with the investigation? Why did you take these insignificant belongings? Could it be that these things are also related to the demons?"

"Madam, you don't know."

Ivan said seriously, "The demons are incredibly cunning. Anything related to them should be subject to strict scrutiny. Otherwise, there's a high possibility that weapons of mass destruction might be hidden within them, exploding one day and causing a tragedy."

"But did my husband really raise demons in the castle? Could there be some misunderstanding?"

Mrs. Tulip still thinks that Ivan is using the demons as an excuse. If there were weapons of mass destruction, she would have given them to her old lover, the Knight Commander, long ago.

"If my husband were to raise demons in the castle, I would definitely be the first to stop him."

After hearing her say this, Ivan looked at Fulilian beside him.

Florian shook her head.

It seems that he was not lying. Mrs. Tulip in front of him was really unaware that her husband was keeping demons in captivity.

"Then good lady, please follow me and I will show you the evidence."

Ivan brought Mrs. Tulip to the study, and the big hole in the wall immediately caught her attention.

Her eyes passed through the cave entrance and inside was a secret room she had never known about. Although the magic stone was taken away by Ivan, the chain tied to the wall was still clearly visible there.

"Sir Brave, may I ask where that demon is now?"

"Of course we killed her. After all, demons are inherently evil and full of lies. To prevent her from ruining the reputations of other innocent people, we had to kill her the moment we discovered her. All six members of the council can testify to this."

Ivan looked at Mrs. Tulip with a gentle smile on his face.