The scene was so quiet that a needle drop could be heard. Darm finally realized something was wrong, but still mustered his courage to continue speaking: “My sister is well-educated and reasonable. Our Ambrose Family is famous far and wide, enjoying a prestigious reputation as an old noble family. Lord Governor, how can having only one wife demonstrate your noble status?”
“Take him away.”
As soon as Lind’s voice fell, two knights stepped forward, restrained Darm, and dragged him away.
“Lord Governor! Wait, Lord Governor! I still have important information! If you marry my sister, the entire Copper Mountain Territory will belong to you!”
The entire hall was now dangerously quiet, with only Colin stepping forward to clap and say, “Wonderful!”
Even Colin was somewhat impressed by this person’s courage to defame his own sister in front of his brother-in-law.
“Colin.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Lind tossed Lisa’s portrait to Colin and said, “Return this to the owner, and turn this person over to you for questioning.”
Colin showed an expression of delight, as if he had found a purpose to live, and after taking the portrait, he happily ran out.
At this moment, Lena had just completed the final test of the Magic Powered Train and was preparing to head to the governor’s mansion to personally report on today’s progress to Lind. However, along the way, she spotted her familiar noblewomen chatting while window-shopping.
It was likely that because Lind and Lena would occasionally stroll through Graywhite Territory during their free time, the nobles in Graywhite Territory began to imitate them. As more and more merchants gathered in Graywhite Territory and shops multiplied, those noblewomen seemed to awaken some kind of bloodline instinct, turning shopping into a trend.
Although Lind provided some compensation to the nobles who were more friendly and willing to yield, most of the nobles who were left still carried only noble titles and had to go out to work. Those nobles no longer had the energy to accompany their wives in shopping, making it a new form of socializing for some of the noblewomen to go out together.
Lena had a decent relationship with these ladies, and at least on the surface, no one dared to speak ill of her, as those who surrendered early understood what she meant to the entire Graywhite Territory.
Often, many noblewomen came to consult Lena on mechanical physics issues, which had become a significant means of socializing with her. Noblewomen had to learn, and specialized tutoring classes even emerged in Graywhite Territory, where some women from commoner backgrounds with excellent physics grades in compulsory schools would even be sought after by nobles for marriage.
Wanting to greet these noblewomen, Lena’s keen hearing as a professional knight picked up their whispered discussions.
“Have you heard? There’s a rumor saying that Lady Lena is unworthy of Lord Governor. They even claim she is uncultured and unfit to be a noblewoman.”
“Some also say Lady Lena is a jealous woman, as there isn’t another woman beside Lord Governor except for her.”
“Honestly, this is nonsense. Isn’t that elf prince always hanging around the governor’s mansion? It’s just that Lord Governor has no interest.”
“Another rumor is that Lady Lena holds significant military power and plans to rebel. How is that possible?”
Then, one noblewoman took out a magazine-like pamphlet and was about to criticize it when she noticed Lena in the distance, lost in thought, staring at her.
“Lady Lena!”
The noblewomen exclaimed, while Lena quickly walked over to them and asked, “What else? What else did they say?”
The noblewoman instinctively hid the pamphlet behind her back, only to have Lena swiftly snatch it away.
It turned out that it contained a large section written in bold letters attacking Lena.
Aside from calling her the disgrace of nobility, having never changed, and entirely ignorant of etiquette, it also provided extensive arguments claiming Lena was no longer worthy of Lind and demanded he find a new governor’s wife.
It even involved personal attacks and conspiracies, stating that Lena would surely rebel in the future.
Seeing that Lena’s eyes were already red, the noblewomen instinctively took a step back in fear, but some closer to Lena intended to comfort her.
However, Lena directly took the pamphlet and quickly fled.
In the governor’s mansion, after finishing his affairs, Lind noticed that Colin had not yet finished questioning that representative from the Copper Mountain Territory, so he prepared to head back to his room for some rest. Upon stepping into the room, he saw Lena engrossed in a book.
Lind walked over curiously and leaned in to ask, “What are you reading? Why didn’t you send someone to announce your return?”
Startled, Lena quickly closed the book and said, “Nothing, nothing, brother, you’re back?”
“Aren’t I always handling affairs at the mansion?”
Lind was puzzled. How could a sixth-level knight be startled by him? Even if she had no defensive instincts towards him, it shouldn’t have been to this extent. Moreover, she usually only called him “brother” subconsciously when she was nervous or angry.
Seeing Lena’s flustered and slightly reddened eyes, Lind quickly pressed down on the book she was trying to hide.
“The Complete Manual of Noble Etiquette? What are you reading this for?”
“This, the work is done, so I just wanted to find something to read randomly.”
Lind was speechless. Ever since she started listening to reports from the territory and couldn’t fall asleep during them, Lena had essentially relied on that book to put her to sleep. Looking at the time outside, it was still early, Lind curiously picked up the book, only to find that underneath the manual was another thin, magazine-like pamphlet.
Lena, completely flustered, didn’t even react before the pamphlet was already in Lind’s hands.
“Really, how boring, that someone would write this kind of thing.” Lena laughed awkwardly while touching her cheek with her finger, not knowing if it was out of nerves or to alleviate her embarrassment.
Having been abandoned once and then losing her beloved grandfather to an uncle, Lena actually felt very insecure. So every night when she went to sleep, she liked to lean on Lind, and these song articles shattered what little security she had left.
Even though she knew she wouldn’t rebel and Lind wouldn’t believe these rumors, Lena still wanted to make some changes, feeling completely devoid of security.
The content of the magazine made Lind’s veins bulge with anger. Conspiracy theories aside, the personal attacks and constant references to etiquette were very much in line with the style of old nobility.
But Lind felt unusually calm. He casually flipped through and found the source of the pamphlet—it was produced by a territory that had just surrendered and was still a significant noble domain. Since they capitulated quickly, Lind didn’t pay much attention to it.
These rumor pamphlets were certainly related to the Copper Mountain Territory. Thinking of that brat who came to promote his sister, Lind immediately grasped a lead.
“However, brother, do you think I should learn some noble etiquette too? Otherwise, I’ll drag you down.”
Lena asked earnestly, which caused Lind, who had calmed down, to explode completely.
In front of Lena, he tore the pamphlet to shreds and scolded, “What the hell with noble etiquette? You are the etiquette!”
Lind, whose handling of matters was very dull, still didn’t realize what Lena’s status in Graythorn Territory was. He continued to comfort her, “I still like the present Lena, so you don’t need to worry about what others say. Just leave the rest to me, okay?”
