LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 1227: The Golds’ Departure
How could he, a Lord, risk his entire territory for a guilty conscience?
He will never forget the goodness the Golds had done for them, and he would forever bear the guilt of this betrayal. However, being cut off by the City could literally kill thousands of his people.
Hubble was pretty attractive, and it did have its own industries. It was not impossible to be warred frequently as soon as they lost their backer.
Most Level 2 or all Level 3 Towns had their own industries. It was simply too difficult to gain the required prestige without it.
Hubble Town was a level 2 town with its processing of the Beurch Stone, which was the special stone used in beast whistles as well as the Architect's Pen, which was a tool that could increase the Architects' accuracy. It was a must-have for all Architects, and those who aimed to awaken the occupation also bought it.
It was something that had just been discovered thanks to the Golds, and it was why the Town flourished and even leveled up to a Level 2 Town after decades of stagnancy.
Now… they were betraying their saviors. Who could feel comfortable?
If their own children—who were too young to remember the details of that time—felt guilty, then it was literally eating the couple inside.
However, they were right. Being hungry was one thing, but being consumed from the inside was even worse. "You two are still so young… so idealistic," he said. "I hope someday you understand what we have decided upon."
"We do understand—we simply do not agree to it," Veronica said, and her brother nodded with a somber expression on his face. "I am willing to disguise myself, really, I'm really good."
After all this time, her makeup skills had really improved. Alterrans had praised her as super talented in the area! Ah, she missed it there already.
Everyone thought for a while as they stared at her. In the end, they knew there was no choice.
"Very well," Philon said. "But you will go on our terms."
…
About an hour later, the Beast Cars were ready. They got two, while the other one was for the Golds.
They prepared well, including adding a lot of medicines, food, and extra clothing in her space and in the carriages. Veronica wore a hood and although her parents told her she didn't need to destroy her beautiful hair, she still dyed it anyway.
It was an Alterran product. It was supposed to not be harmful to the hair (as long as it wasn't abused), anyway!
Her father, her mother, and her brother saw her off, all of whom had very, very, complicated expressions on their faces. No, if Veronica was to describe their expressions, they looked constipated.
It was her mother who couldn't bear to just see her off and ran to her for a long embrace. "Write back as soon as you can," she said. "And please—please— be safe."
Veronica's heart felt warm. She was really lucky, she knew this. "Of course," she said. "I'll write it so cryptically they'd have no idea I'm talking about something serious."
Then came her brother, who patted her head. "Someday, I'll go see that place you love so much.
She grinned. "You'd love it too—that, I am certain about," she said, very confidently, before embracing him.
She also went to her dad, whose ice face cracked, and he patted her back as she said her final goodbyes before turning away.
"Wait," her father said, looking behind him. "Take these three."
They turned to the three uniformed guards behind him. They were standing still and had obviously been instructed beforehand.
Veronica blinked. "But, dad—"
"It's alright," he said. "I have a few more here. These three are more useful with you. It will, at least, allow me to be able to sleep without dreaming of your death."
"..."
Wow. Such a… dad.
Anyway, she turned to look at her three new guards. There were two people at level 35 and the leader—a man named Ignus—was a level 40 one. They were some of the strongest guards around her dad.
Level 40 in Towns were already powerhouses. Their pay was extremely expensive.
At the same time, they weren't too surprised these people were sent because she was heading to a City, and the monsters there were much stronger than here.
In retrospect, her escaping alone and heading to Bleulle on her own was really idiotic. She was not meant to be a fighter or a spy at all. She'd have died within an hour.
She ran to give her father another hug. "Thank you, dad!"
She asked the guards to remove any emblems or any signs of Hubble Town on them before heading their way.
Katha sighed and looked at her husband. "Will it really be alright?"
Philon shook his head, just hoping for the best. "It's good to let her try. If it is too late, then at least she would see it for herself."
…
Bleulle City
Deep at night, it was finally time for the Golds to leave.
Bleumrick's rationale for kicking them out deep into the night was apparently to lessen their embarrassment. This was because people—supposedly—wouldn't be active at this time and the relative darkness would hide their shame.
However, the crowd gathering to watch their departure indicated that it wasn't true.
The Golds didn't care for these people, however, but they did remember the faces of those they helped but were laughing at their predicament. They also saw those who seemed to be genuinely heartbroken.
There were also many people who cried when the Golds demanded an oath not to harm their servants, which the Lord did honor.
Anyway, the Golds surrendered the money on their wallets and the items in their spaces, as per their oaths. They even had to give up the space stones—or at least the 'declared' ones.
In the oath, they said that they would give up all assets they had in 'Bleulle City'. The assets were not small anyway—just a bit smaller than the Lords' personal assets, considering how many useless things he buys every few weeks.
The Lord's eyes were sparkling from his win, though he fortunately had the tact not to smile too widely. Internally though, he was ecstatic and extremely prideful.
After all, he practically doubled his wealth with this takeover!
Perhaps, with this, he was now closer to becoming a True City Lord—a proper King.