A lot had changed. The Legendary Lord had gotten back everything that originally belonged to him, this included the one-third of the continent that the royal family had been in charge of.
âNathaniel, do you need the land?â
When Kyrie asked this, he replied.
[I already said no, didnât I?]
They both looked at each other and smiled furtively.
âRight, thatâs true.â
[Iâm thankful youâre aware of that.]
âI have to thank you for forgiving me that much. Because my life is in your hands.â
Kyrie said bitterly. Nathaniel, who had been staring at her while she spoke, covered his mouth with his gloved hand and chuckled.
[Well said.]
âYou still have no idea how cold I can be.â
[I donât intend to find out.]
Nathanielâs manner of speaking definitely seemed softer than before. Of course, this was only whenever he was with Kyrie. Because of this, peopleâs interest in âKyrie Buchananâ had risen once again, and whether he was aware of that or not, he muttered nonchalantly.
[I donât really appreciate that, though.]
Will more problems arise in the future?
Nathaniel chuckled.
[Of course]
With the return of the Legendary Lord, Sel Arellano was restless.
* * *
Kyrieâs daily life suddenly became busy. The invitation letters to balls, which had declined considerably after the breakup with Eden, had now grown enough to fill two silver trays.
People lost interest in Eden and Rubiniaâs engagement. It was treated like an old greeting card which had been roughly stuffed into a book.
The royal family also began to focus on Kyrie Buchanan, and everyone in the social circle wanted to get close to her.
To be more precise, they wanted to get close to the Legendary Lord behind Kyrie and the Patriotic Lord beside him.
After their appearance together at the celebration, which was already impressive in many ways, the Legendary Lord Nathaniel and the Patriotic Lord Lore Leschaux finally made a public appearance.
It was in a conference hall filled with the Emperor, senior ministers, the giants in the political and business world, and future politicians.
The two didnât even seem to mind the stares. The Legendary Lord smiled languidly, his cane resting on his lap. The Patriotic Lord sat with straight, proper posture, looking blankly ahead.
The striking beauty and overwhelming aura of the two men filled the conference hall with the sounds of people swallowing saliva.
The two then made a declaration in a leisurely and poised manner, as if they had already come to a mutual agreement beforehand.
[ hereby appoint Kyrie Buchanan as my official beneficiary.]
ăFive years from now, I will pass all the authority of my estate down to Kirie Buchanan.ă
Kyrie forgot how to breathe. Confusion swept over the entire conference hall.
âWhat did the Legendary Lord just say. . .â
âDid I hear that correctly?â
âKyrie Buchanan had ties with the Patriotic Lord too?â
Even the emperor gripped the arm-rest of her chair tightly with wide eyes. But the two men, who had suddenly uttered some shocking words, only looked at each other, as if to say ânot badâ.
The Speaker, who was in charge of the meeting, was barely able to raise a trembling hand.
âI⊠Sir. That meansâŠâ
The Speaker asked the two heroes, who looked at him disinterestedly, unable to control his frantically beating heart.
âThe Patriotic Lord will entrust all the estates of the Lore family to Miss Kyrie BuchananâŠâŠ?â
ăThatâs right.ă
The answer was concise. The Speaker looked as if he wanted to faint, but it would take some time before he actually did.
âWell, officially, the real estate of Lore has an average income of over 70 billion per year.. Are you certain that you want to give⊠all of this, to Miss Kyrie Buchanan?â
ăThatâs right.ă
[What about my estate that Orwenbridge held? ]
âOh, well âŠâ
When Nathaniel interrupted him, the Speaker opened his mouth and glanced toward the Emperor.
ââŠâŠYour estate generates an average of 50 billion per year.â
[Thatâs not much.]
Absolutely not. Everyone murmured in their minds.
In the south-east of the continent, in the convenient climatic areas, was the territory of Orwenbridge; in the north-west, in the desolate areas, which was close to the northern continent where trade tariffs were being imposed, was the territory of the Patriotic Lord; in the south-west, in the dry areas, was the territory of the Legendary Lord, which the royal family had recently been exerting a lot of effort to develop. Nathaniel, who was unaware of this, muttered sullenly.
[Letâs just get on with it. If itâs around 120 billion dollars a year then you wonât go hungry.]
His strange sense of money made everyone feel faint. Kyrie felt like her soul was going to fly away.
âYou never told me youâd do something like this!â
If they were in private, she wouldâve immediately asked him if he had gone insane, but at that moment, they were in the presence of the emperor.
Kyrie was unable to intervene, Cesar had to pinch his knees to help stifle his smile, the Legendary  Lord and Patriotic Lordâs ill-conceived plan continued to pan out, like a bird spreading its wings preparing for flight.
ăIf thatâs not enough, we can just get more land.ă
[How?]
ăWhat we do best.ă
Nathaniel smiled faintly.
[A war of conquest. Not bad. Whatâs the plan?]
âNo, both of you are being too extremeâŠâ
In the end, Kyrie blurted out a few words. Hearing the voice of the young lady from the Countâs family, whom no one really cared for, caused everyone to turn their heads immediately toward Kyrie.
ăIt is a bit excessiveă
[Well, letâs put that on hold for now.]
The quick acceptance from these two people who were incapable of listening to others, once again drained everyoneâs spirits.
Why on earth were they accommodating her so much?
The emperorâs face darkened when she heard sheâd have to hand over his well-maintained estates to another person. The Speaker noticed the emperorâs deteriorating mood and began to speak rapidly. It was clear that he wanted this meeting to end as fast as possible.
âThen shall we proceed with what youâve stated? The decisions made in this meeting cannot be changedâŠâ
[What do you mean by cannot be changed?]
Nathaniel smiled with a strange look on his face when he heard the Speakerâs words.
[That was a pretty funny joke.]
There was no one who would say, âOf course itâs not!â
Finally the Emperor, who couldnât bear to watch this silently anymore, opened her mouth with a sour expression.
âThe two of you seem to care about young Miss Buchanan very much.â
Right, that was what everyone was curious about as well.
Strangely enough, there was no reply. Nathaniel just smiled elegantly and nonchalantly, tapping the end of the cane on his lap, and Leschaux stared silently ahead.
People later realised that their silence meant, âitâd be better if we talked about something else.â This was only after the temperature in the conference hall had suddenly dropped.
The Emperor, with a sullen look on her face, hastened to rectify the situation.
âIâm just concerned that Miss Buchanan has not been properly educated to be a successor and, above all, as a weak young lady, it is doubtful whether she will be able to control the military in those various regions.â
Nathanielâs smile, which had always been close to a meaningless imitation, became a little colder.
[Why would she need the military?]
âTo defend the estatesâŠâ
[From what?]
âOf course, from enemiesâŠâ
[Ah. So Kyrie Buchanan has enemies.]
It was a whisper as cold as an icicle. Nathaniel stroked his cane in a deliberate motion.
[If someone could tell me who they are, Iâd be very pleased.]
Everyoneâs eyes were focused on the black cane. They had heard that it was the real heroâs cane that cured the illness of hero Glaudios Vermont.
His gentle words coupled with eerie hand gestures had silenced the audience. The reaction of the Patriotic Lord, who was nodding approvingly beside him fueled it further.
There was only one person who could overcome this situation easily that no other person could. And of course, it was none other than Kyrie Buchanan.
âWhat if I tell you?â
Kyrie asked with a slightly complicated look on her face. Nathaniel turned his gaze to her. For a moment his pupils stood out in his eyes like a solar eclipse.