19: Lust at first sight? Impossible!

"Ah... *yawn*."

Working in his room, Lister looked exhausted. Rubbing his temples, he said, "It seems I need to find a few magistrates quickly, or I'll really be worked to death by these affairs."

He said that, but he knew very well that qualified magistrates were not easy to find.

He had tried to scout among the subjects in Ironthorn Town before, but unfortunately, among the more than two thousand five hundred subjects, there simply wasn't such talent.

For a moment, he even regretted letting those two corrupt fellows go. Although they were greedy, they truly had the ability.

According to Kingdom law, the power to appoint a magistrate within a territory is the exclusive right of the Lord; the Kingdom's administration has no right to interfere.

However, when a Lord cannot find a suitable magistrate, they can recommend someone. Such recommended talents generally come from academies founded by the Church or the Royal Family.

Compared to those from merchant guild schools, private establishments, or home tutoring, students from these two types of institutions undergo systematic training, making them more comprehensive and outstanding in professional knowledge and ability.

Consequently, they are scrambled for by various powerful classes of the Kingdom upon graduation, and some even receive invitations before they graduate.

Lister had considered these talents, but then he thought about how he was currently just a small Baron of a barren territory; what capital did he have to compete with those high-ranking nobles and Lords?

Even if someone were willing to recommend him, he feared they would refuse without hesitation once they heard his name.

Of course, there was another reason: the matter of his demotion from Viscount to Baron made him somewhat wary of Kingdom officials now.

Or rather, he was wary of the potential mastermind behind the scenes. After all, throughout these many days of divination, no information regarding this aspect had ever been mentioned.

Therefore, he gave up on that small possibility of a recommendation and decided to search slowly on his own.

Too lazy to think about these headache-inducing troubles, he shifted his thoughts and summoned the ancient book.

The divinations from the past two days hadn't yielded a single piece of useful information, which almost drove him crazy. Therefore, today had to satisfy him, otherwise he... forget it, there's no point in talking big; he really couldn't do anything to the ancient book.

The next second, three divination messages slowly emerged on the blank pages.

[Divination 1: Recently, due to Viscountess Renata's defense of her son-in-law Wade, an incredibly furious Viscount Humphrey, in order to maintain his dignity as a man, wanted to initiate a knight's duel with Wade. However, he was stopped by Knight Captain Parker. This bit of gossip was accidentally leaked by Parker's brother-in-law, Barton, after drinking. For a time, the 'rumors' circulating in the streets became a genuine laughingstock.]

[Divination 2: Brutus Donald, a talented magistrate who graduated from the Church Academy, was framed for theft after offending a noble official and exiled to the Western Frontier Territory. He later became a refugee because his territory was raided by foreign races. Tomorrow at noon, he will drift into your territory along with a small group of refugees.]

[Divination 3: Three days from now, Daisna Fland, the most beloved only daughter of Earl Elsid Fland, the 'Dawns Sword' of Tulip Territory, will be returning from visiting her maternal grandfather, Viscount Blake Arthur. While passing through the Mist Forest, she will be attacked by a powerful magical beast. Her guardian knights will all be killed in battle, leaving only the injured her and her maid to flee to the edge of your territory, where they will fall unconscious and be discovered and devoured by hungry beasts late at night.]

This was the first time Lister had seen divination information with so much content, and the first entry brought quite a bit of amusement to him, tired as he was from handling official business.

He hadn't expected the 'rumors' he deliberately spread last time to have such a significant effect.

Looking at this situation, Viscount Humphrey and his son-in-law Wade were almost at a point of no return, even nearly resorting to a knight's duel.

One must know that the knight's duel has been one of the most important ceremonies and laws since the founding of the Pedan Kingdom.

It has many uses, some quite bizarre. For example, when a husband and wife are in a lawsuit that cannot be clearly judged, they can use a knight's duel; whichever side wins, wins the case.

There are many other such instances. From this, it can be seen that although it is called a knight's duel, the two parties involved are not necessarily actual knights.

But no matter how bizarre it is, once initiated, a winner must be determined, or in more serious cases, it must end in death.

"Ah, what a pity," Lister sighed. "If it hadn't been stopped by that Knight Captain, the outcome of the knight's duel would have been very interesting."

"Although as a fellow man I sympathize with Viscount Humphrey, the messier the Emerald Territory is right now, the more beneficial it is for me."

Shaking his head, he looked at the second divination message, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

It was truly a case of the pillow arriving just as he was about to doze off. A talented magistrate graduated from the Church Academy was absolutely rare and hard to come by.

Although this talent, Brutus Donald, had incurred the hostility of a noble official, he was determined to take him in.

Firstly, because of Brutus Donald's knowledge and ability, and secondly, because even if there were risks, his barren little territory was unlikely to be noticed by that noble official.

Furthermore, Brutus Donald was arriving as a refugee; who would still know his information? They might even think he died at the hands of the foreign races.

Under these circumstances, that small bit of potential risk was crushed by his rationality, not to mention that his territory was currently in great need of population.

By taking in these refugees, he could obtain more labor; it was killing two birds with one stone.

As for the third divination message... Lister felt very surprised. That was the most beloved daughter of the 'Dawns Sword', yet she was going to die at the edge of his territory.

'Dawns Sword' was a title extremely prominent throughout the entire Kingdom. Its owner, Elsid Fland, although only an Earl, was a genuine Golden Knight.

In his battles against the Orc Race in the north, he had slain countless Orc Race. Not to mention those with Bronze and Silver Knight strength, he had even slain three with Golden Knight strength.

It could be said that his title was earned through blood and real combat; such a powerhouse naturally had quite a temper.

If he found out his beloved daughter died in Lister's territory, and was even eaten by wild beasts... Thinking of this, Lister couldn't help but shudder. "No, this kind of thing absolutely cannot happen in my territory. Even if she dies, she has to die far away."

"My beautiful noble life has only just begun; it cannot be cut short and cast into hell by something like this."

As for any thoughts of a hero saving a beauty, he had none at all. After all, he didn't know if that magical beast was a random encounter or if it did this because of a grudge against Earl Elsid Fland.

If it were the latter and he stepped in to save her, wouldn't he also be targeted if the magical beast discovered his identity?

You say ask Earl Elsid Fland for help?

True, the man might be grateful to Lister for saving his daughter, but can he help for a lifetime? If that magical beast isn't killed in one go, his territory will be shrouded in darkness forever.

So, according to Lister's plan, he would stake out the spot in advance. When Daisna Fland and her maid were unconscious, he would pack them in sacks and dump them in another territory.

Whatever the outcome, good or bad, would have nothing to do with him then.

With the ability of divination, he didn't need this kind of benefit that hid a potential massive threat and extreme uncertainty. Steady development was enough.

What if Daisna Fland is a great beauty?

Pah! How could he be the kind of man who is blinded by beauty?