Departing from Demacia Capital, the journey to Silvermere was generally northward.
And because Demacia's terrain is high in the north (Dragonspine Mountains) and south (Silverglade Mountains) and low in the middle (Demacian Great Plains), Lux and her group, after a short downhill stretch, finally began to ascend slowly along a gently rising road.
Lux had lived in Silvermere when she was a child—or, more precisely, she was born in Silvermere.
However, almost as soon as she began to remember things, Lux followed her parents to Demacia Capital.
So, she didn't actually know much about her birthplace.
Coupled with this being her first time leaving Demacia Capital alone, Lux was full of curiosity about everything she saw and heard along the way.
For Klein, the biggest impact of this curiosity was that Lux's frequency of zoning out during lessons significantly increased.
Especially after Kulen returned to his carriage, Lux's heart was like a field growing weeds; she simply wasn't focused on her studies.
It was agreed that Klein would help with accounting knowledge points and then make time for remedial lessons, but because of Lux's half-heartedness, Klein's progress in tutoring was pitifully slow.
However, Lux's anticipated anger and criticism did not come. Seeing that she wasn't interested, Klein simply became a tour guide, and magic teaching changed its style, becoming a popular science lecture.
Natural history knowledge is also knowledge, Klein generously stated that Lux could ask anything.
And Lux was not polite, straightforwardly extending her hand and pointing to the sky.
"Klein, Klein, what are those in the sky?"
"That group that just flew by are snow geese that usually inhabit the northern regions; they should be flying south for the winter now." Klein quickly made a judgment, "They like to live in high-altitude areas, so they stay in the Dragonspine Mountains in the summer and return to the Silverglade Mountains to build nests and lay eggs before winter."
"Sorrow Pass is in the Silverglade Mountains, right?" Lux thought for a moment, "Father is there!"
"That's right, the snow geese you see now might appear above your father's head in five or six days."
"Five or six days is enough? They fly so fast!"
"Although snow geese don't have fast sprint flight speeds, they can fly very high and have excellent endurance. Without this ability, how could they safely live in areas where Dragonhawks are active!"
"I see... Hey, did you see that, the one that just darted by!"
"That's a wading deer; I saw its antlers."
"You can identify it just by seeing its antlers?"
"Yes, because wading deer antlers are extremely rare with six forks, and they also grow a layer of white down when winter arrives."
"You know all that?"
"Of course."
"Then tell me, what are those shrubs by the roadside?"
"A type of wild rose, the carriage is too fast to see clearly, but they have a very obvious characteristic: when each bush of wild roses blooms, the height of the flowers is consistent, and the fruits they bear are also at a uniform height. When viewed from the carriage, in summer it's a colorful line made of flowers, and in winter it's a black line made of fruits."
"Don't people eat the fruits?"
"They're poisonous, inedible—not only can people not eat them, even dogs don't."
...
...
From flocks of birds flying overhead to wild beasts darting through the roadside bushes, there seemed to be nothing Klein didn't know.
Even with Lux's astonishing curiosity as a young girl, a hundred thousand whys couldn't cause Klein any trouble.
When the team completed their first day's journey and stopped to rest in Edesa, Lux had unknowingly learned about many animals and plants—even if she couldn't remember all of them, such endless knowledge dispelled the boredom of the journey and put her in a very good mood.
More importantly, although Augatha considered Lux a "delicate young lady," Lux's body was actually quite robust, so the bumps from long-distance travel were extremely limited for her.
Seeing Lux full of energy and vitality upon arriving at the inn, the guards responsible for protecting her all breathed a sigh of relief in unison—their young lady was not only easy to talk to but also in very good physical condition.
As long as she maintained this state, everyone would have a much easier time on this trip.
Even without having truly experienced it, many legends about 'princess syndrome' circulated in the circle of noble guards. Thank goodness, the Crownguard family's little princess didn't have this problem.
Of the entire team, only Kulen maintained an extremely serious demeanor throughout.
...
Kulen's seriousness wasn't due to an unlively nature, but because the burden on his shoulders for this trip was too heavy.
On the surface, this trip to Silvermere was training for Lux to begin engaging with family affairs, but in reality, Lux was merely a facade—or rather, a name.
Kulen was the one truly responsible for auditing the accounts!
And the accounts of Silvermere were simply a mess!
Three years ago, a rare cold snap led to widespread snowfall and frost in the northern regions, and the natural disaster caused severe production reductions in large areas, including Silvermere.
However, three years later, Silvermere reported frost every year, with production reductions every year, and requested tax exemptions.
This was a bit outrageous, wasn't it?
Even Erwindale, further north, only experienced frost for two years. How was it that Silvermere had it for three consecutive years, every year?
In the second year, Augatha, who had always been in charge of family affairs, had already sent an envoy to Silvermere to inquire about the situation and ask the clansmen left there to supervise the territory's affairs, but the response received was, "Indeed, we suffered severe frost and require exemption."
With everyone saying the same thing, Augatha should have acknowledged this and expressed her generosity as a noble by granting tax exemptions.
However, precisely three years ago, the Noxus invaded Ionia.
At that time, because the situation was unclear, all of Demacia was preparing for War. Although other places reported to the King requesting tax exemptions, Peter Lightshield stated that one year of frost was not a big problem, and they could endure it.
War might break out, and it's a time when money is needed, so let's just forgo it.
Consequently, other lords were exempted from paying taxes to the national treasury that year, but the Crownguard family in Silvermere was not.
Originally, Peter Lightshield was wholeheartedly for the country, and one year's land tax was not a major issue.
But the bad thing was that for the subsequent two years, Silvermere continued to claim frost and inability to collect taxes.
A one-year land tax deficit, Augatha would grit her teeth and consider it support for the country, but three years without collecting land tax, even with Silvermere's considerable industrial and commercial taxes, the Crownguard family's mistress found it a bit unbearable.
Under these circumstances, she simply sent Lux to audit the accounts and provide disaster relief.
Fortunately, the Noxus are now fighting fiercely in Ionia, and Demacia won't be fighting either. Once Lux returns from disaster relief, Silvermere's land tax should be suspended for three years, making up for the excess amount previously paid, right?
The above was Augatha's superficial logic, loudly presented to the Demacia Noble Council to silence them.
As for the actual situation in Silvermere...
Perhaps only when Kulen arrived in Silvermere could he truly investigate it thoroughly.
Moreover, according to Augatha's conjecture, the frost was very likely fake.
Don't let the fact that Peter Lightshield is the patriarch of the Crownguard family and Silvermere is the Crownguard family's fiefdom mislead you.
In reality, the Crownguard family's focus is now on The Capital, and their control over Silvermere is quite limited.
Although Peter Lightshield's main branch of the family is deeply trusted by the King and holds high positions, their lineage is not prosperous, and their main connections are in the military, lacking sufficient administrative personnel.
Therefore, the actual management of Silvermere is largely handled by collateral branches of the Crownguard family—compared to the main branch, there are many collateral members remaining in Silvermere, but in terms of quality, calling them mere figureheads would be a compliment!
Augatha knew perfectly well what kind of scum they were!
Those scoundrels could brazenly use the excuse of frost disasters to simply embezzle the territory's land taxes and bribe the envoys sent to investigate.
They would certainly do such things, like a son selling his grandfather's fields without a pang of conscience, or their own people harming their own people.
After all, when Peter Lightshield returned to The Capital, he had a very unpleasant falling out with them because he was unwilling to recommend this group of good-for-nothings.
That time, Peter Lightshield had offended quite a few "good relatives."
By the way, even in Demacia, nobles like Peter Lightshield who were willing to cause hardship for their own family for the sake of the country were truly rare!
Why are Lightshield, Crownguard, and Buvelle the closest?
Isn't it because these two noble families are the most reliable!
The remaining nobles...
Most of them were just parasites.
Originally, Augatha, who was well aware of the situation in Silvermere, could have acted sooner.
But on one hand, Silvermere indeed suffered a disaster three years ago, and on the other hand, the family's reduction in members led to a power vacuum and instability. Peter Lightshield had also been constantly busy, and she had been unable to free up her hands.
In addition, Augatha still had to consider the dignity of a noble to some extent, so she gave the collateral family members a chance.
She thought these scoundrels had had enough, having reaped profits for three years and being full, but unexpectedly, when the autumn harvest statistics were received this year, Silvermere still reported "territory frost, requesting exemption"!
Good heavens, three whole years!
These "good relatives" in Silvermere still dared to report frost, not even bothering to invent a new excuse!
These audacious fellows have truly gotten carried away!
This time, Augatha didn't intend to uphold family dignity with them anymore.
Frost, is it?
Tax exemption, is it?
Good, then I'll provide disaster relief and audit the accounts!
You have no dignity.
I'll give you dignity!
Steward Kulen was the one responsible for bringing them dignity—with such a task, he couldn't help but be serious.
In addition, Kulen was also responsible for assessing and testing Lux.
When leaving Demacia Capital, Augatha gave Kulen great discretionary power; he could choose to tell Lux everything, or keep her completely in the dark throughout the process.
As long as Lux's safety was ensured, there would be no problem.
If Kulen believed Lux was not suited to handle such matters, Augatha would personally guide her for a period!
Under these circumstances, even if Kulen was an old hand and experienced, he had to remain serious and on high alert at all times.