From the far end of the street, several luxurious carriages slowly drove toward the center.
The sound of wheels intertwined in the air into a complicated melody, and as the distance shortened, the speed gradually slowed.
The noble convoy neatly stopped in front of a huge iron gate, lining up in a row.
Behind the massive iron gate was a vast manor. A fountain built from stacked stone bricks stood at the center of the courtyard, and from the lion-shaped spout above it, crystal-clear droplets of water constantly sprayed out.
Paths paved with red bricks extended from both sides of the fountain, winding toward every corner of the estate.
Both sides of the road were filled with lush green vegetation, and clusters of flourishing flowers dotted the greenery, creating a dazzling spread of colors.
A gigantic marble castle stood quietly at the end of the courtyard, its enormous walls blocking nearly half of the sky.
Several sturdy stone pillars supported a circular dome, making it appear even more majestic.
The servants had already been waiting at the gate. When they saw the noble carriages arrive, they immediately stepped forward and opened the doors for each carriage.
The nobles stepped out of their carriages one after another and stood on the clean cobblestone road after stepping down the stairs.
But after taking just a few steps, their footing became slightly unsteady, and undisguised fear appeared on their faces.
It was as if they had just walked back from the edge of life and death.
After a moment, the demi-humans with animal ears also climbed out of the carriages of those nobles.
They were fully armed, their expressions solemn.
And the source of the nobles' fear was precisely these well-equipped demi-humans.
In the human world, demi-humans were seen as beasts.
And this time, they had shared the same carriage with these beasts.
This made their hearts race, as if their lives were in danger at any moment.
These nobles were not seeing demi-humans for the first time, but the group in front of them was very different from those they had seen before.
The aura emanating from them made the nobles feel awe.
These small yet agile figures were each wearing armor that carried a killing intent, and the light in their eyes resembled experienced hunters rather than simple beasts.
The diplomatic ministers also stepped down from the carriages with the convoy, walking steadily across the cobblestone road.
Breathing the air of this foreign land, they smiled at the trembling nobles and said, "Relax, everyone."
"You see, you're just not used to it yet. Haven't seen this before, right?"
"These are the demi-human guard squad of Count Viktor Clavenna."
The diplomatic ministers began telling the nobles of the Cant Kingdom about the glorious achievements these demi-humans had once accomplished.
These demi-humans had once followed the princess of the Calenica Empire to the Adventurers' Capital at the southern frontier for training, where they had slain countless monsters and earned great battle merits.
Watching the empire's diplomats speak so confidently about these demi-humans, the kingdom's nobles could not help but admire them.
Facing such dangerous demi-humans, they were still able to remain so calm.
Could it be… that the Empire had already mastered a technique for training demi-humans?
The number of demi-humans in the Cant Kingdom was not small.
After all, unlike the Calenica Empire, the Cant Kingdom did not use policies to deliberately control the number of demi-humans.
Within the kingdom, diversity of species was practically the norm.
In the kingdom, demi-human slaves could be seen almost everywhere.
Even in some forests, the presence of demi-humans could appear.
The Cant Kingdom had never forbidden demi-humans from entering the country, nor had it ever created any legal regulations targeting them.
Even in the streets and alleys here, demi-human traders could often be seen openly selling demi-human slaves.
However, demi-humans were essentially no different from animals. With little intelligence or independent thought, they were simply the easiest tools to enslave.
The people of the Cant Kingdom, especially the nobles, looked down on demi-humans almost from the depths of their bones.
Because to them, demi-humans were simply beasts that had never been domesticated.
But looking down on them was one thing. No one wanted to run into a wild dog on the road and end up being bitten by it.
After all, there had been incidents where lords who abused demi-human slaves were brutally attacked and killed by them.
Although demi-humans were always seen as inferior to humans, their strength and ferocity could not be underestimated.
Because of this, when they saw the incredibly obedient and well-trained demi-human guards from Viktor's household, they could not help feeling a sense of envy.
And when they learned that these demi-humans would not bite people casually, their fear toward them immediately weakened somewhat.
After all, these nobles subconsciously believed that these demi-human guards were merely demi-human slaves of the Clavenna family.
Their master, naturally, was Viktor.
Some of the bolder nobles even approached the demi-human guards, examining the bone armor on their bodies with curious eyes, circling around them and clicking their tongues in amazement.
"The Clavenna family really has deep foundations."
"Indeed, even the equipment of these demi-humans is crafted so well."
At that moment, the luxurious carriage at the very front of the convoy also gradually came to a stop.
Count Laurien stepped down from the carriage first. Standing to one side of the carriage, he slightly bowed toward the carriage compartment, showing respect.
Immediately afterward, a figure wearing a pitch-black windbreaker stepped down from the carriage.
Viktor stood on the other side, placing one hand over his chest and bowing slightly, while extending his other hand toward the carriage.
From behind the curtain of the carriage, a fair and jade-like hand reached out.
Aurelian's hand rested steadily in Viktor's broad palm as she stepped down from the carriage.
Count Laurien bowed elegantly to her and said respectfully, "Your Highness the Princess, please trouble yourself to stay one night at my manor."
"I have already prepared a room for you."
"And also…"
Count Laurien nodded toward several maids behind him. The maids stepped forward and bowed to Aurelian.
"Servants have also been prepared for you."
With a gentle smile, Aurelian nodded to Count Laurien.
"Thank you for your kindness, Count, but servants will not be necessary."
As soon as she finished speaking, the demi-human guards who had long been standing in formation stepped forward together.
They marched with heavy and synchronized steps, the bone armor on their bodies clashing against each other with dull sounds.
The entire squad exuded a fierce and imposing aura.
In front of everyone, they walked up to Aurelian, placed their arms across their chests, and bowed deeply to her.
"Your Highness the Princess."
Under the bewildered gazes of the crowd, a white-haired cat-eared girl wearing a maid outfit stepped out from the demi-human formation.
She walked with light and delicate steps, her slender waist swaying slightly as she approached Aurelian in a graceful and lively manner.
Her white ears twitched nervously, but her elegant etiquette was no less refined than that of maids who had been trained for much longer.
Count Laurien's expression became somewhat stiff, and his body involuntarily leaned back slightly.
The look on his face clearly carried a trace of disbelief.
A demi-human… actually wearing a maid outfit!? And performing etiquette almost indistinguishable from that of humans?
With the intelligence level of demi-humans, how could that be possible?
Had the Empire's training techniques become so advanced that demi-humans could even work as maids?
Aurelian paid no attention to Laurien's surprise and confusion. She simply said with a faint smile, "This is the maid I brought with me this time. Her name is Vanilla, and she is responsible for taking care of my daily life."
She seemed to deliberately pronounce every word very clearly.
"I am only used to being taken care of by her."
These words left Count Laurien even more confused.
The princess of the Calenica Empire was actually letting a demi-human take care of her daily life?
No matter how he looked at it, the situation felt absurd.
But he still understood from the princess's words that she was not accustomed to other servants, so he lowered his head and respectfully said, "I understand, Your Highness."
Since the princess already had someone to take care of her, he naturally would not make things difficult for her.
After all, this princess from the Calenica Empire was not merely the princess of a neighboring country.
She was also his superior, and a legend within the entire Cant Kingdom.
The granddaughter of the only person in the kingdom who could be called a Grand Duke.
So he turned his head again and looked at Viktor with respect as he said, "Councilor Clavenna, I have also prepared your room."
This man was even more important.
Although Viktor was visiting the kingdom under the identity of an imperial count and the princess's teacher, his identity as a councilor, along with his own power, absolutely could not be ignored.
Aside from the Empire itself, almost every other nation had established a certain rule.
Once "Viktor Clavenna" appeared within their borders, they must treat him with the highest courtesy while keeping constant watch over him.
No one wanted this man known as the "Arbiter Who Strips All Phenomena" to casually throw a war spell somewhere in their country.
Very few nations could handle that.
As for where to sleep, Viktor naturally was not picky.
He had just nodded when suddenly a figure as cold as frost walked past him.
Gwen carried an expressionless chill as she looked at Count Laurien and asked in a voice lacking any warmth, "Is there hot water prepared in our room?"
As soon as the words fell, Aurelian's expression beside them stiffened slightly.
Laurien looked at Gwen, and his brain began working rapidly.
Actually, at first, he had planned to show proper respect to Count Gwen, who had also come from the Empire.
So he had already prepared a separate room for this count knight.
But he suddenly realized something.
'This Count Gwen and this Councilor Clavenna…'
'...are engaged to be married!'
Count Laurien looked at Gwen, then at Viktor.
Then he decisively said, "Of course there is, Count Gwen."
"I have placed everything you and the councilor might need in the room prepared for you."
At this point, he added casually, almost like a half-joke, "But now that I think about it, I may need to prepare a larger bathtub for the two of you."