The eyes of the Grove Carer suddenly went hostile. The air became muddy and the roots running around the room spurred into life.

Joul seemed unfazed by all of this. He pretended to be in his world drinking tea.

Siderius stayed composed. He also grabbed the tea cup and drank nonchalantly, ignoring the eyes of the Carer.

Joul was pleasantly surprised by Siderius' reaction. The Carer might not be a powerful Lesser Witch but her pressure wasn't easy to resist.

Magic crawled into the dark mind space of Siderius. But his silver soul was impenetrable. Mana touched upon his soul and immediately withered away.

All the mana withdrew immediately. In the physical world, the Carer saw Siderius turned into a big black panther and lunged at her.

The Grove Carer let out a low shriek before the illusion went away. Beads of sweat ran down her cheek.

"Monstrosity..." The Grove Carer smiled. Her face was a mix of surprise and caution.

"This is a very rare and very unpredictable path you're taking, Lord Satterblade."

The Grove Carer changed the way she addressed Siderius.

He didn't say anything and kept silent. His hands swirled the tea cup.

Joul blinked his eyes in confusion. "What is monstrosity, Grove Carer?"

"Monstrosity is a witch's virtue. Those who followed the monstrosity path seek to become an utter monster... Physically and mentally."

Joul took a huge gasp. He couldn't believe that his well-mannered witch that seemed to be very caring about his town had such a devastating virtue.

"Monstrosity is very advantageous. It is one of the most powerful witch virtues. Maybe even more dangerous than the Rage of Fire. But there is one issue with those that followed Monstrosity."

"What is that, Carer?"

"Monstrosity witches like to eat their own kind."

Joul looked at Siderius one more time.

"You are correct, Grove Carer. But I can guarantee you, I am no cannibal.

"That we will have to see. From what I gathered, your Mana Core must be at least the level of a Lesser Witch. That would guarantee you a spot of a Count. We don't have any available counties at the moment..."

"Don't you need to worry, Grove Carer. I have no interest in becoming a count. If it's possible, I'd like to become a Baron."

"A baron? Where is your hometown, Lord Satterblade?"

"Mucktown."

"That place... There aren't any big towns that can become barony. And Mucktown is too small for a Lesser Witch like you, Lord Satterblade."

"I don't need a new barony, Grove Carer. If it's alright with you, I would like to choose Mucktown as my new barony. Of course, I would like to make changes to its name and territory as well."

"I see. If that's the case, we can definitely arrange that. But I have to warn you that the Royal Court won't be issuing funds to assist you in rebuilding the town."

"Completely understandable, Grove Carer. I will manage."

"Great! I will order the Tender to prepare the paperwork immediately. Your signet will be ready within a month."

Medallions were the identification of the nobles in this kingdom. Non-witch nobles had a bronze medallion similar to what Joul had. High Nobles had a silver signet ring. It carried both their name and symbol.

Grove Carer showed Siderius her hand with a signet on it. Officially, she was not a count nor a baron, but she still held the power and influence of one.

"You shall have a silver signet similar to me."

"I understand." Siderius nodded. "Should I come and collect it when the time comes or..."

"We will have a knight deliver it to Mucktown, Lord Satterblade. Oh... By the way, what new name would you like to give your territory?"

Siderius rubbed his chin and smiled.

Gigi and Nadia stood silently in front of the gate of Mucktown. Their eyes stared at the far away road.

"Do you think Lord Satterblade will come back in time?" Nadia said.

"He will." Gigi said. "He said so."

"You seem to trust Lord Snow a lot." Nadia said.

Gigi nodded. "He is... different from Germort. Very different. Lord Snow is very kind."

Nadia couldn't refute that. Although she had a feeling that that man was much more complex than any of them could comprehend.

Siderius appeared on the road, riding his trustworthy steed Red. Gigi's and Nadia's eyes lit up as they saw him returned in one piece.

"How was the trip, my lord?"

Siderius threw a scroll to Nadia. She opened it up and saw that it was a letter of verification with the seal of the Royal Court.

"My lord, you..."

"I have officially become a Baron, Nadia. And this town and all the lands from here to Santa Roberto belong to me now."

Becoming a Baron had benefits and responsibility. Siderius would now need to heed military summons from the monarch and pay a much higher tax than what Mucktown was paying.

Forty gold coins a year. Or ten gold coins per quarter. A much higher amount than the previous sixty silver coins in tax.

The amount was high but Siderius didn't have any worry about it. He had set up everything and Santa Roberto should be giving profits any time soon.

Now with Mucktown and the Rocky Pit, this amount of profit would only increase more.

Nadia kept on reading the letter and saw an unfamiliar name.

"Rivertown. Where is this town, my lord?"

"Mucktown is no more. From now on, this place is called Rivertown, one of the towns in my barony. Snowfell."

A few days later. Jude sat in his estate with a drink in his hand. His expression was cold and dark. Something was bothering him.

He took a deep breath and walked to one of the bedrooms. Caterina laid on the bed peacefully. However, her incomplete Mana Core was screaming inside her body.

Caterina started to forget more and more. She was slowly reverting back to her previous state.

Jude had let go of his restraints and once again walked on the path of Gluttony. But even with all of his magic, he couldn't do anything.

Magic was to break, not to heal.

"Everia... Siderius did say that their Spirit Swordsmen might be able to heal her. I have no other choice."

Everia hated witches. But Jude didn't care. He would go to hell and back to save her. He couldn't let her down. Again.

"My lord! There is a letter for you."

"I'm coming."

Jude kissed Caterina on the forehead and left. A messenger gave him a letter. It was a new letter with a very unfamiliar symbol. A snowflake.

"Who sent this?" Jude broke the seal open and looked inside.

"Baron of Snowfell... I see. You have got recognition from the Royal Court, Siderius."

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