"Achoo—! Which bastard is badmouthing me behind my back again?!"
On a soft silk armchair, enjoying the gentle grooming from a pretty maid, Lord Nisi suddenly sneezed.
He muttered a few words, skillfully caressing the maid’s plump chest, and cursed angrily,
"It must be that lackey Sebastian again, speaking ill of me in front of Lord Charlotte, that elf-faced demon-hearted fellow, always up to no good!"
After saying this, Nisi’s eyeballs swiveled:
"Speaking of which... it’s been over ten days since the news of Lord Charlotte’s return journey. Counting the days, she should be back soon."
"No, I need to prepare early, go out of the city in advance to welcome her, and leave a good impression!"
Thinking this, Nisi felt it was high time the past two months of idleness ended, especially since he couldn’t be outdone by the sycophantic nobles of the domain.
"Jennifer, quickly prepare the carriage for Master Cat. I want to head out and welcome Lord Charlotte in advance!"
Nisi said to the maid who was cleaning in the room.
The maid paused slightly and was about to reply when suddenly a young mage in a long robe rushed in, followed by two Personal Guard Knights:
"Lord Nisi! Lord Nisi! News from outside the city, the Count’s convoy has already entered the North Port Viscount Domain!"
Hearing the young mage’s words, Nisi suddenly shivered and leaped up,
"What? What? So soon? She has entered the North Port Viscount Domain already?"
"According to the knights leading the way, it is because the Countess is eager to return, declining invitations from the nobles along the way, without any stops."
The young mage from the Count Mansion said.
"Hmm, I understand, arrange it quickly, prepare the carriage immediately to go and welcome her outside the city. We are all trusted aides of the Count Mansion; we can’t be outdone by those Northern Land nobles. We must meet Lord Charlotte before anyone else!"
Nisi rapidly ordered.
Hearing his words, the mage’s expression turned somewhat strange:
"Ahem, Lord Nisi, it seems that the nobles from the city... already left to wait outside the city a day ago..."
"Damn it, what a bunch of shameless lackeys, quick! Immediately! Hurry! Prepare the carriage!"
He glared with his cat eyes and cursed angrily.
Outside North Port City.
The convoy, carrying the Castel coat of arms, moved majestically in the distance under the escort of Armored Knights.
On both sides of the road stood eager nobles.
Looking around, including families and servants, there were probably no fewer than a thousand people, almost all the well-known nobles of the entire Northern Land.
Including the two old viscounts under the Northern Land Count, Viscount Roman Fuer and Viscount Lien Castel, both were present, leading their clan relatives standing in the forefront of the formation.
Nisi stood at the very front with the trusted aides from the Count Mansion.
This fellow, uncharacteristically not lying down on a chaise longue, stood proudly on the back of a tall horse, with a fully armed Personal Guard Knight seated behind him.
Seeing the approaching convoy and the rising dust in the distance, Nisi felt somewhat nervous for a moment.
He cleared his throat and quickly turned his head to look at the knight behind:
"Hey, does Master Cat look spirited enough?"
The Personal Guard Knight nodded:
"You look quite spirited."
Nisi breathed a sigh of relief.
However, looking at his round body, the Personal Guard Knight hesitated for a moment and added cautiously,
"Just... have you gained weight recently?"
"Gained weight? This is called being corpulent! Don’t you understand corpulent?"
He puffed out his cheeks and glared.
But after speaking, he stretched out his chubby paw and touched his round belly, his gaze drifting slightly:
"It seems... I have grown a bit sturdier than before."
"No good, it seems Master Cat also needs to slim down, or even scratching myself will be tough."
Personal Guard Knight: ...
"That’s enough, I understand, Lord Charlotte’s convoy has arrived, let’s move forward to welcome it."
Watching the convoy draw nearer, Nisi rubbed his paws and said.
This was the second time Charlotte returned to the domain.
Crossing the last hill leading to the North Port Viscount Domain, Charlotte saw the welcoming crowd outside the city, far surpassing what she had seen during her first arrival.
What’s more, during the half-day journey into the Northern Land, the vassal domains along the way brought their families to welcome her and invited her to stay in their castles or estates.
Of course, she declined all.
The convoy slowly came to a stop, and the nobles warmly greeted her.
Charlotte signaled to her Dragon Maid Odosia to pull back the curtain of the carriage. Seeing Charlotte in the carriage, the nobles immediately showed delighted smiles. Led by the two viscounts, they respectfully said:
"Countess, welcome back to your domain, congratulations on officially becoming a direct Lord of the Kingdom!"
Looking at the nobles bowing uniformly to her, Charlotte was also quite moved.
Thinking back to over a year ago when she first arrived in the domain, barely any nobles paid attention to her, and the vassals were almost entirely noncompliant.
But now, following the suppression of the Legris Family rebellion and the victory in the Bold-Castel conflict, Charlotte had proven herself and had subdued the nobility through various means. The circumstances of the Castel family were drastically different.