"What happened?"

Viktor was curious.

Lia had been looking forward to this banquet.

If it were just some minor issue, she wouldn't have said this.

Lia bit her lip, saying with some displeasure:

"There's been a problem with the business in our territory. See for yourself."

As she spoke, she handed Viktor this month's financial report from the territory.

Viktor took the document as Lia continued:

"I was planning to find you in the study to sign this, but you weren't there."

"I had to ask around to find out you'd come to the training ground to practice swordsmanship."

Although Lia had always handled the territory's management, Viktor, as the head of the family, still needed to sign off on things nominally.

Viktor glanced over the document, about to sign it, when he noticed something odd in the grain revenue section.

That part of the revenue was pitifully low.

It might as well have blatantly written "embezzlement" on the report.

He noticed the name on the right — Chur.

"Now you see why I need to go back?"

Lia's worried expression hadn't eased at all.

Viktor thought about that name and asked:

"Who is this person? The name doesn't sound like he's from the Empire."

"Indeed, he's a grain merchant from the neighboring kingdom. The previous grain merchant went home to raise his children a few years ago, and he introduced this one."

"There weren't any problems in the past few months. I don't know why things went wrong this month."

Viktor had a vague recollection.

Chur, this name, Viktor had some impression of.

But Viktor wasn't sure if it was the same person, as name repetition was quite common.

Although there wouldn't be NPCs with the same name in the game, he couldn't view the current situation from a game perspective.

After all, Henie hadn't appeared in the main storyline either.

He couldn't be certain that this 'Chur' was the same as the one from the game.

In his memory, Chur was a soldier belonging to the Mercenary Guild of the Kant Kingdom, a warrior class, considered a minor lord-level boss.

As for why Viktor knew about him...

Players would occasionally encounter him while doing some side quests.

At first, he would pretend to be a down-on-his-luck soldier, hoping players would help him recover his weapon and armor.

Chur appeared to be a naive, righteous soldier.

But when players helped him recover his armor and silver sword, and went to the designated small island, they would discover his true nature.

He would kill the player there, taking their heart to help himself practice black magic.

Viktor tapped on the account book, his finger emphasizing the man's name.

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"Can we find this person directly?"

"I've already instructed our subordinates in the territory to capture him. Hopefully, he hasn't fled yet."

Hearing Lia's words, Viktor nodded.

As a minor lord-level boss, many players had gotten stuck on him.

Viktor, as a power-leveling service provider, had taken many jobs related to him.

This boss, he didn't know how many times he had farmed him, but the most memorable thing was an equipment that would definitely drop after his death — 'Evil Knight'.

This weapon was a pitch-black shield, its patterns distorted by magic. Although it looked quite ominous, it was famously useful in player circles.

That was the 'Parry'.

This move could deflect an enemy's attack, allowing you to stab them in the kidney while they were regaining balance.

Not only did it cause high damage, but it also greatly reduced the enemy's toughness, putting them in a staggered state.

Many people fought this boss just for this equipment.

Because the effect was so powerful, especially in PvP ladder ranking mode, when both players equipped this round shield, it could lead to a strange scene.

That is, both sides would stand still with shields raised, just waiting to parry.

So the officials nerfed this equipment, eventually causing it to fall from grace.

However, if it really was that guy, why would he come to the Empire at this time and infiltrate their territory as a grain merchant?

And he even blatantly embezzled large amounts on the bills, practically writing it on the financial report, deliberately telling others to catch him.

"Obvious intent."

Viktor shook his head, unable to understand Chur's motives.

But since he couldn't figure it out, it would be best to capture and interrogate him thoroughly.

Coincidentally, Viktor was interested in the equipment on him, so he signed the book and returned it to Lia, casually saying:

"Get dressed in your gown, the carriage has been ready for a while. Let's go to the palace first."

Lia took the account book, hearing Viktor's words with some confusion.

"Did you not hear what I just said? I need to hurry back to the territory."

Viktor patted her shoulder and said:

"After we return from the palace, I'll go with you."

Lia: "Huh?"

Watching Viktor leave first, she looked at his back, muttering to herself:

"What's he up to now?"

She didn't think Viktor was concerned about her safety; Lia didn't feel she would encounter any danger.

She wasn't a fool. What Viktor had noticed, she naturally saw as well.

"Someone is targeting the Kravina family."

Lia shrugged, remembering the incident when the prop shop was vandalized last time.

Leon had already returned to the territory to start preparations.

But now it seemed she needed to notify Leon that plans had changed.

Soon, Lia changed into her gown and got into the carriage with Viktor to head to the palace.

Because Viktor and Lia were to have an audience with the emperor in advance, someone had already been arranged at the palace gate.

A secret envoy led the two to a side room in the palace, where they saw Emperor Oberli.

The old man had been sitting there for a long time, seemingly waiting for Viktor for ages, even starting to doze off.

Viktor noticed a girl beside the emperor, looking even younger than Erica, only about fifteen or sixteen years old.

"Your Majesty, the Kravina siblings have arrived."

Oberli opened his eyes, seeing Viktor, his cloudy gaze clearing considerably.

He extended his hand, gesturing for Viktor and Lia to come before him.

"Your Majesty."

Viktor and Lia bowed together, a necessary etiquette when facing the emperor.

The old emperor waved his hand; at his age, he had long since stopped caring about these cumbersome formalities.

He pulled the girl behind him forward. The little girl was very pretty, with a beautiful face on her young features.

"This is my youngest daughter, Aurelian Sol."

The emperor had very few children, only three, two of whom were princes, and the last one was Aurelian before them.

Viktor and Lia placed their hands on their chests and bowed:

"Greetings, Your Highness."

The princess looked timid, shyly hiding behind her father again.

The emperor looked at her and smiled: "This child has lived in the palace since she was little and rarely meets people."

"As a result, despite her innate talent, she's never gone to school due to her shyness."

"We've invited some mages to teach her magic before, but the results weren't good. After just a few days, those teachers would always say they had nothing more to teach."

Lia gave the little princess another look, having some thoughts.

Was it really high talent, or were the mages unable to continue teaching?

The emperor's children naturally had "high" talent; even if they couldn't really teach anything, Oberli would only think it was the teacher's problem.

"I asked Rivi to be Aurelian's teacher, but Rivi always said he wasn't cut out for teaching, so he declined."

At this point, Oberli shook his head and laughed.

He naturally wouldn't believe Rivi's excuses.

But at this moment, Viktor also caught the emperor's implied meaning.

Even Lia looked up at Viktor in surprise.

'The emperor is really going all out to win Viktor over.'

The talk about not finding a teacher was probably just a compliment; the clever Lia immediately understood the old emperor's intention.

Sure enough, the emperor's next words were:

"Viktor, may I ask you to be this child's private tutor?"

Hearing this, Lia hurriedly made faces at Viktor, wishing she could tear off Viktor's mouth and put it on herself to agree.

Although she didn't know what the emperor saw in Viktor, if they could establish a connection with the royal family, their Kravina family would rise straight to the top.

Other nobles' resentment? Let them resent all they want!

However, Viktor's unexpected response made Lia's teeth itch with frustration.

"Your Majesty, forgive my boldness, but I need to consider this."

Emperor Oberli fell silent, not understanding Viktor's reason for refusal.

The royal family taking the initiative to curry favor with a noble was an opportunity normal people wouldn't dare to even dream of.

Even if Viktor was a fourth-tier mage.

Of course, Viktor had never thought of it that way.

If anyone thought that reaching the fourth tier meant he could be powerful enough to look down on the empire, they would be greatly mistaken.

Attaching oneself to the empire naturally had countless benefits, even for Viktor.

But the problem was...

Viktor's gaze swept over the little princess.

Aurelian Sol.

No, she should be called Sol IX.

The Eternal Witch.

That would be her future title.

If fourth-tier mages could be called disaster mages, then her power would be absolutely above disaster.

No one knew why she was so powerful, but two years after the emperor's death, the 17-year-old Aurelian swept away all obstacles and became the new emperor of the empire.

She was the first empress of the Carenthia Empire with foreign blood to ascend to the throne.

Aurelian's mother was the daughter of a grand duke from the Kant Kingdom, and she was the product of a political marriage.

But right now, Viktor didn't want to think about so many political issues.

Now, the 15-year-old Aurelian looked like a harmless little girl.

She seemed a bit hurt by Viktor's refusal, with some crystalline tears welling up in her eyes.

However, who could know that this was all her disguise?

The more Viktor delved into the plot, the more wary he became of this future empress.

Her possessiveness was extremely strong; once she considered something hers, she would destroy it rather than give it up.

Because of this, he greatly admired how the future Viktor could actually keep this monster in check, and even nearly overthrow the empire's regime.

But talk is cheap, and not agreeing wasn't Viktor's style either.

The pride of being a power-leveling service provider, as well as his deep understanding of this game, made him absolutely unwilling to fear anyone in this world.

Moreover, he still had two years.

So, he said to the emperor:

"Two and a half years."

Emperor Oberli didn't quite understand, furrowing his brow.

"I will serve as Her Highness's private magic tutor, but only for two and a half years."

"After two and a half years, I will voluntarily resign from this position."