The morning after the banquet, Lux left the inn with her full retinue.
According to the plan, she was to investigate the frost disaster—the "enthusiastic" Kodora had already informed everyone.
Although several guards were imprisoned by the City Defense Army due to the brawl last night and had not yet been released, the Crownguard princess's entourage was still quite impressive.
And the nobles, who usually woke up late, got up early for once and set off with Lux, heading straight for the pre-selected "disaster area."
The large group soon arrived at their destination.
Coincidentally, this was exactly where Lux had stayed when she disguised herself as a Hunters' daughter—the village chief had even charged her a few copper coins as an introduction fee back then.
The village chief obviously did not recognize Lux—or rather, he dared not look directly at Lux; facing such a large group of nobles, he could only tremblingly recount the "unfortunate experiences" of this village in recent years.
According to him, this village was utterly miserable, and its survival over the past three years was entirely due to the lord's "kindness" and "generous assistance."
In the end, the old man became increasingly sad as he spoke, even breaking into loud sobs.
In fairness, if Lux hadn't been here before, she probably would have believed him.
Among the nobles, many ladies and young women took out their handkerchiefs to wipe away tears from the corners of their eyes, each appearing to have a compassionate heart, unable to bear seeing others suffer.
Comparatively, their acting was much worse than the old man's; their tears could only be forced out, and among the crowd, only Kodora's acting was passable. He Strutted forward, helped the old man up, gently comforted him, and then, regardless of getting mud on himself, Strutted over to Lux's side.
"Miss Luxanna, please take a look!" he said with anguish, "So much wheat, all frozen solid!"
Clearly, Kodora was still consciously influencing Lux with his "impolite" behavior, hoping she would continue at his pace.
Although outwardly very anxious, his heart was blooming with joy:
Go on!
Go to the fields, dig up the wheat seedlings!
Noble Luxanna, how much patience and noble dignity will you retain after seeing the dirty roots of the wheat seedlings?
I wonder if those farmers, seeing you so ignorant of agriculture, will still think of secretly reporting you?
A twelve-year-old girl trying to audit accounts?
Just finish this act obediently and go back to The Capital to drink milk!
Under Kodora's "expectant" gaze, Lux Strutted forward.
She was very happy to complete her final performance—once this act is over, I'll play something real with you!
Lifting the hem of her dress, Lux Strutted into the field, then skillfully bent down and reached out to touch the wheat leaves.
"The leaf veins are almost gone."
"The veins on the back of the leaves cannot be pinched with fingers."
"There are many ice shards in the crushed leaves."
"It seems the frost here is really severe!"
Seeing that Lux seemed to acknowledge the frost, the nobles who had been very nervous earlier all relaxed—Kodora had been unwilling to tell them exactly how to deceive Lux, so even though Kodora always had a plan, it still made them uneasy.
Kodora, after a barely perceptible frown, then seized the opportunity to loudly exclaim:
"Yes, Miss Luxanna, we must provide disaster relief immediately!"
Lux's ability to identify frost was somewhat unexpected for Kodora.
But it didn't matter, he had made two layers of preparation—the wheat fields here were genuinely frozen!
Just last night, he personally supervised the freezing!
Even if Lux were to say afterward that he misled her with incorrect methods, he would still have an excuse—whether he misremembered or simply denied it, Lux would have no way to deal with him.
Nobles are incredibly skilled at muddying the waters; they are all related by blood or marriage, so unless there is a major, principled mistake, it's just a moment of haste, a slip of the tongue—what can you do to me?
However, to everyone's surprise, Lux did not follow Kodora's lead this time.
"Wait a moment." Lux put down her skirt, stood up, and pressed her hand on the hilt of her sword, "But such severe frost doesn't seem to match the climate here."
"The climate in Silvermere has been unstable these past few years." Kodora seemed to have a ready explanation, "The cold currents from the north are unpredictable, and often the climate doesn't match how people feel…"
"Of course, there's another possibility." This time it was Lux's turn to interrupt Kodora, "That is… a cunning mage is causing destruction here!"
Lux made no attempt to hide her meaning; as soon as she spoke, almost everyone present heard her words.
"A mage?"
"How is that possible?"
"No way…"
"…"
"…"
Clearly, Lux's words surprised everyone.
Except for Kodora, whose expression was a bit off, everyone else—even the nobles—was whispering softly.
The villagers, one by one, exchanged uneasy glances, their hearts filled with apprehension.
They had only heard that the lord wanted to put on a play, and if they performed well, their land tax would be halved next year. Who would have thought that as the play went on, it suddenly involved mages!
We are just extras playing the role of spectators!
We can't handle mage-related jobs!
In Demacia, if you say there's a mage causing trouble, the entire nature of the situation changes completely!
"This must be a misunderstanding." Kodora naturally could not agree with Lux, "How could a mage create such a widespread frost disaster—"
"You never know." Lux interrupted again, "But it doesn't matter, to rule out any issues, I have already invited Demon Searchers here. They are professionals and can determine if anyone has used magic here."
The next moment, under Kodora's despairing gaze, several figures in blue robes appeared among the crowd.
They completely disregarded the stares of others and Strutted forward casually.
And with their appearance, the crowd, both nobles and commoners, all fell silent—in the entire field, only the howling wind remained, and the clinking of the Petricite shackles on the Demon Searchers' waists.
These individuals, known as "Blue-robed Hyenas," operated outside of all Demacia's systems, forming their own faction.
They were not involved in any War or internal politics.
But anything involving mages or magic fell under their jurisdiction!
In Demacia, the land of anti-magic, the name of the Demon Searcher could stop a child's night cries!
The leading Demon Searcher held a torch. Upon hearing Lux's command, he saluted by placing his hand over his chest, then lit the torch.
As per Lux's request, he brought the torch close to the ground—this was a special tool of the Demon Searchers, which could determine if there were traces of magic by the color of the flame.
As the torch lowered and touched the soil, the originally orange-red flame suddenly flared up, then instantly turned ice-blue.
And this eerie blue flame indicated the presence of magical traces here!
The crowd erupted in an uproar.
The village chief stumbled to the ground in a daze, trying to struggle up several times but failing.
Even the nobles were somewhat agitated; some guessed the reason, others didn't—but whether they guessed or not, they all realized that something serious was amiss.
Then, to everyone's surprise, the first person to speak was Kodora.
"Cunning mage!" At this moment, he seemed to feel betrayed, erupting in fury, "Guards! Surround this place! And you—"
As he spoke, Kodora grabbed a girl from among the nobles' attendants.
She was similar in age to Lux but very thin and frail, dressed as a maid, appearing small and inconspicuous.
"You said your family suffered the most, and I kindly took you and your brother in, but I never expected you to deceive me!" Kodora's brows furrowed, raging, "A mage's trick… Are you a mage?!"
At this, he looked at the Demon Searchers.
"Come quickly, see if she is a mage!"
The Demon Searchers instinctively turned around, holding their torches.
Then, as the torch approached her, the flame, which had just turned orange-red from being away from the ground, once again became a pure blue.
"Indeed, a cunning mage!" Kodora immediately drew his longsword, "Cunning villain—"
As if overcome with rage, he didn't even wait for the Demon Searchers to produce their Petricite shackles. He swung his sword, aiming directly for the girl.
And facing this sword, the girl seemed to accept her fate, tightly closing her mouth and shutting her eyes in utter despair.
Then, just as she was about to be splattered with blood, a sword light flashed like lightning!
"Ah—"
The next moment, Lux's figure appeared beside her, while the previously imposing Kodora stumbled and fell to the ground.
It wasn't until his face hit the cold mud that the pain seemed to catch up to him.
And then, Kodora finally realized that his sword, along with his right hand, had fallen into the mud three paces away.
Blood gushed out, staining large swathes of red on Lux's dress and wetting her golden hair.
The white moonlight of Demacia Capital was finally dyed into a red rose!
The noble procession fell into disarray; such a shocking scene even caused several noblewomen and young ladies to faint on the spot.
But Lux paid no attention to this. She merely wiped the blood from the blade on the hem of her long dress, then sheathed her sword and stood upright. Under everyone's horrified gazes, she stroked the head of the little girl with light golden hair in front of her and asked in a low voice:
"Silly child, just now—why didn't you dodge?"