The sky stretched endlessly without a single cloud, the blazing sun hanging high above.
A clear morning light poured down over the royal capital, like a layer of golden waves spreading across it.
Between the uneven heights of the buildings, the sunlight moved gently like rippling water.
Pedestrians came and went without stop. The shouting of vendors in the morning market, hurried footsteps, and the rattling sound of carriage wheels rolling over the stone-paved roads formed a symphony of the city.
It had been almost a week since the battle in the Padalenbu sea area.
Although that terrifying disaster had shaken the world, the royal capital seemed completely unaffected. The whole city still kept its usual prosperity.
Even though during that time, the weather in the capital had been stormy every single day.
People's daily routines and the business of all kinds of shops were not affected at all by that strange weather.
At the same time, inside Viktor's mansion.
Liya stood in the study. Through the carved window frame, she looked at the front gate of the estate.
Another luxurious carriage stopped in front of the mansion. Clearly, someone had come to visit.
But soon, after a brief exchange, the visitor was politely persuaded to leave by the servants.
Liya gently held her forehead and sighed tiredly. "Again."
"This is already the fourth noble today," she thought to herself.
Recently, the mansion had constant visitors.
And none of those who came were ordinary people.
Either they were high ranking nobles, or ministers qualified to attend court meetings.
In short, all of them were prominent figures in society.
There were even nobles who traveled thousands of miles from other cities of the empire just to see Viktor in person.
Some even went straight to the Clavenna territory, to Braeston.
But all of them hit a wall. They could not even catch a glimpse of Viktor.
After learning that Viktor had been away from home for a long time, those ministers and nobles gradually reduced the number of their visits.
Even so, a large number of guests still came every day.
Every day, Liya had to deal with these troublesome visits, exchanging polite words and entertaining these nobles.
During this time, there were even people from neighboring countries who came to the mansion and asked Liya,
When would Councilor Clavenna visit their country?
That question left Liya completely confused.
Since when did her useless brother become this impressive?
People were now begging him to visit other countries. What kind of international influence was that?
Liya did not really understand.
The previous battle in the Padalenbu sea area had been heavily publicized by the Mage Council everywhere.
Viktor's strength was fully displayed before the entire world.
Before this, those who did not know much about Viktor only heard rumors and thought he was all show.
But now, if someone mentioned the strongest mage at present, no one dared to compete with Viktor for that title.
Countless fourth tier spells were cast without repetition, as easily as eating and drinking.
Even under such extreme conditions, Viktor could still free himself to fight.
Besides him, no other human mage could even stand steady in that kind of environment.
And the final spell Viktor used completely refreshed everyone's understanding of magic.
That terrifying power, like the end of the world, seemed capable of blowing up the entire world.
Even now, above the Padalenbu sea area, that extremely dark abyssal crater was still there.
Looking down from the sky, the entire ocean seemed to be missing a huge piece.
Fortunately, even so, it did not affect the normal flow of seawater.
No one knew how Viktor managed to keep the sea from filling it back up.
The Mage Council kept sending people to repair it, setting up magical barriers to block the ocean from flowing in, in case someone accidentally fell into the abyss while watching.
They also constantly sent people to pour magic power into the abyss, trying to completely seal it.
That sea area had already become a major tourist attraction.
Viktor's spectacular battle scenes had deeply entered people's hearts.
The Mage Council also gained great attention because of Viktor.
After all, before this, very few people believed that a mage's battle could be so elegant and so shocking.
Liya turned around and walked back into the study. She sat gracefully in her chair, looked up at the ceiling, and sighed.
Recently, she had basically given up caring. Whoever came, the answer was just two words.
Not seeing them.
They were all here for Viktor. Since Viktor was not home, as long as she explained briefly, these nobles would leave on their own.
However, Liya was also curious about where Viktor had gone.
Henny, who had left with Viktor at that time, had already returned early, and even came back together with Cocote.
But when she returned, that lazy former elf councilor looked absent minded for some reason.
No one knew what had happened during that time.
While Liya was lying back in her chair, letting her mind go blank, someone knocked lightly on the door.
"Miss Liya, someone has come to visit."
As soon as she heard that someone had come again, she sounded a little impatient, her voice rising several degrees.
"Didn't I already say it? We're not seeing anyone!"
The servant outside continued respectfully.
"Miss Liya, the one who came is the Duke."
Liya blinked.
'The Duke?'
———
Levi stood in front of the display stand in the meeting hall, holding a delicate vase and examining it carefully.
Looking at the vase, a faint smile appeared on his face. He seemed to like it very much.
"They're just some cheap little things."
"If the Duke likes them, we can send you a few when you leave."
Liya had not yet appeared, but her voice sounded from the stairs first.
Hearing her voice, Levi steadily placed the vase back on the table, let go, and nodded at Liya with a smile.
The two sat facing each other on the sofa. A servant placed freshly brewed tea on the table.
Duke Levi politely nodded to the servant.
Then Liya picked up her teacup and looked at him carefully.
The Duke in front of her seemed to have changed a little.
There was some exhaustion on his face. Deep fatigue was buried in his eyes, as if he had not rested well.
Seeing this, Liya had some guesses and could not help asking, "Duke, is something wrong?"
Duke Levi also picked up his teacup, smiled, and said, "Actually, I also came to see Viktor."
Liya blinked in confusion.
'What does the Duke want with Viktor?'
Surely it was not something as simple as those ministers and nobles wanting to meet him.
Then suddenly, she remembered.
The impact of that battle had not disappeared. All kinds of scenes had even been recorded by magic stones and were widely spread across the empire.
The most widely circulated scene was when Viktor released his final spell, and in his arms, he was holding someone.
At the time, Liya felt the person looked familiar, but because the environment was too harsh, she could not see clearly.
So she never figured out who it was.
Now, seeing Duke Levi visiting, she suddenly realized.
'The person Viktor was holding back then...'
'Wasn't that the Duke's daughter!'
Liya's body stiffened and trembled slightly.
That was broadcast to the whole world…
Liya could not accept it. So she cautiously asked the Duke, "Duke, are you here because of… your daughter?"
Her heart was extremely uneasy, like a huge stone hanging above her head by a rope, swinging back and forth.
She did not know when it would fall and smash down heavily.
Her heart beat rapidly, and even the hand holding the teacup trembled.
The Duke looked at Liya and blinked. The fatigue in his eyes had not faded, but now there was a bit of curiosity.
"Miss Liya, how did you know?"
Hearing this, Liya's heart sank halfway.
She placed one hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and her chest rose and fell.
After finally preparing herself mentally, she asked, "Duke, please just say it."
"What did my brother do to your daughter this time that cannot be accepted?"
Levi blinked and said, "Well, Viktor did take my daughter and disappear for a week."
As soon as those words came out, it was like a bomb exploded beside Liya's ears. Her mind felt as if it had been set on fire, buzzing loudly.
'What!?'
'No wonder Viktor has not returned!'
'A man and a young girl missing for a week? Who knew what they did during that time?'
'Viktor, how could you do something like this!'
'If you had needs, there are so many maids at home!'
The more Liya thought about it, the angrier she became. She wanted to find Viktor immediately.
Stand in front of him and slap him hard twice.
The Duke seemed to notice Liya's anger and smiled.
"Perhaps my wording caused some misunderstanding, Miss Liya."
"In fact, I came to formally establish a friendly relationship with the Clavenna family."
Liya was stunned and could only stand there blankly.
"Huh?"
"Starting today, the Du Croy family hopes to establish commercial cooperation with the Clavenna family."
Hearing this news, Liya could not believe it.
As the two continued talking, the more she listened, the more unbelievable it sounded.
First, Duke Levi was willing to help expand the Clavenna family's potion business to other cities free of charge.
Second, the Duke's shops within the royal capital could be handed over to the Clavenna family to operate, with profits split fifty fifty.
In short, the more Liya listened, the more confused she became. In the end, her brain almost shut down.
Only one thought remained in her mind.
Wasn't the Duke… Just giving them money?
How rich exactly was the Du Croy family?
It was a question that nobles had always been curious about.
On the most prosperous commercial street in the capital, almost eight out of ten shops belonged to the Duke's family.
That alone was enough for the Du Croy family to earn huge profits.
Not to mention their other businesses, such as antiques and magic stone mining.
All of it proved that the Du Croy family's wealth was unfathomable.
And unlike the Lesser family.
Although everyone knew the Lesser family was very rich, they were more like a large integrated entity, an economic empire.
If any part of that empire went wrong, the gears of the Lesser family's operation would freeze.
But the Du Croy family was different.
Duke Levi did not have many relatives, nor did he outsource his shops.
All the Du Croy family's assets were controlled by Duke Levi alone.
This unexpected surprise left Liya at a loss.
But she clearly understood that there was no such thing as a free lunch.
So she began to think.
Why was the Duke giving her family so many benefits?
During those missing seven days, what exactly did Viktor and Erica… do?
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. The more she thought, the more afraid she felt.
As if she had guessed the real answer.
Finally, her stunned brain failed to control her mouth, and she blurted out, "We don't need any of this, I'll just say one thing!"
"She must take the Clavenna surname!"
Duke, "?"