Chapter 17 The Wind-Up Tin Frog

The young girl stared at the little twisting circle on the screen, first in stunned silence, then her eyes began to redden.

Her hands, cradling the necklace, also trembled incessantly.

She told herself that it was precisely in times like these that she must stay calm, she had become the Family Head of the Arias family, taking over from her father as the master of this land, and all the people living here would depend on her for protection.

She could no longer hide under her parents' wings and cry at the first sign of trouble like she used to.

However, the next moment her nose still involuntarily soured, and tears shamefully fell.

They pitter-pattered onto the screen of the Electronic Pet Egg.

Ireya, like a child who had done something wrong, hastily moved the necklace away and carefully wiped the tears off with her sleeve.

Finally, she pressed it tightly against her chest.

When she opened her eyes again, the confusion in her pupils had dissipated, replaced by a shade of resolute determination.

"The ancestors of the Arias family have made their judgement, Green Field is mine, and nobody can snatch it from my hands!"

Miss Rabbit's voice was solemn and commanding, each word resounding firmly.

Often times, matters were just that simple.

The young girl had lost her mother when she was very young, and then consecutively lost her brother and father; she had once thought that relatives in the family would be her strongest support, but unexpectedly, one day they too would abandon her.

In these moments, it was not surprising for her to doubt herself, waver, and finally succumb to despair.

Until Li Yu unleashed his trump card.

He "awoke" the Ancient Spirit sleeping within the necklace.

Instantly, a shot of adrenaline was injected into Ireya's fragile heart!

This excited the young girl more than hearing from Marquis Kuren that she had become the Green Field Master because it meant that her right to the inheritance had been affirmed by the ancestors of the Arias family.

In comparison, the opposition from her stepmother and other family members became insignificant; this heavyweight support directly swept away the gloom in her heart, giving her endless strength.

Miss Rabbit appeared as if she was a wind-up iron frog, fully wound again, and hopped into action.

Jude, who had been watching the whole process, clicked his tongue in amazement, and he also silently noted down the sequence of steps to awaken the Ancient Spirit, just in case it was needed.

Unfortunately, he had no idea where to find the crucial, flat, round Divine Stone.

Jude guessed that it might be the key to the entire ritual, invaluable.

However, his opportunity quickly arrived, as Li Yu casually tossed the old Divine Stone he had taken from the necklace, throwing it into a nearby bush.

Jude excused himself to relieve himself, moved over to that area, then crouched down and began searching with Black Beauty.

The sky was already pitch black, lit only by sparse stars above. Jude, unable to light a fire, fumbled around blindly with his dog.

Although he eventually succeeded, upon returning, he noticed that Miss Rabbit's gaze towards them had changed.

Fortunately, the young girl was very understanding and did not mention this embarrassing incident again.

Everyone has their quirks, especially someone like Jude, who always wanders alone in the wilderness and rarely sees other people. It was quite reasonable for him to develop some special habits that ordinary people could not understand due to his mental state.

The kind-hearted Miss Rabbit had already mentally prepared excuses for Jude.

Soon, she shifted her focus back to the current situation, pondered for a moment, and said to her guards and advisor, "I need to find a way to enter the castle quickly and meet with Alfred and his people."

"Aren't you worried about being trapped inside?" asked Half-Face.

The girl shook her head, "The castle has enough food stored to last the people inside for over half a year. Vanessa wouldn't dare to besiege us for that long. In fact, the longer the delay, the more disadvantageous the situation becomes for her. After all, I was elected by a public vote as the rightful master of Green Field.

"On the contrary, she currently lacks a justified cause and can only mobilize those soldiers by using her status as the former lord's wife, trying to exploit the time lag before the news of my election as Family Head spreads fully.

"But ultimately, the truth cannot be hidden forever. There were so many people present on the day of the election; Marquis Kuren, Romero, and Lord Leo can all testify for me. The truth will come out sooner or later."

"However, the people in the castle are not aware of this. As long as my stepmother isn't foolish, she will definitely fabricate stories, painting the letter I sent back asking Alfred to take Teacup Castle as a desperate act after an unwilling defeat. So, the most important thing right now is to stabilize the morale of those in the castle."

With the necklace in hand, Ireya's mind was clearer than ever.

If this were a game, there would probably be a "Blessed by Ancestors, IQ +100%" buff above her head.

But soon, Jude threw cold water on her ideas, "But how will you get back? Your stepmother has set heavy guards at the main gate. Hmm, but since you are from the Arias family, you might know some secret passages and back doors, right?"

"I do know them, but it's of no use. My stepmother knows about them too, and she'll definitely keep an extra watch on those places." The girl furrowed her brows as well.

Then she heard Li Yu, who had been silent until then, say, "You guys have been discussing this for quite a while, and I still haven't seen what the castle looks like. Let's take a look first before making any decisions."

Jude looked towards his employer, and seeing her nod, he readily agreed, "Then I'll lead the way."

The three of them crouched low and tiptoed quietly through the edge of the forest. As the scenery suddenly opened up, Li Yu finally saw the Teacup Castle that Miss Rabbit had been longing for all along.

To his surprise, the castle of the Arias family was quite beautiful.

The main body of the stone castle was shaped like an upside-down teacup, perched on a small hill with a good vantage point, while the steep slope required any attacker to expend significant effort to reach there, restricting their attack paths and making the fortress much easier to defend but harder to conquer.

Surrounding the stone castle was a huge white stone wall, which appeared to be about five meters high and looked extremely sturdy. Every certain distance, a flanking tower was also constructed.

The flanking towers protruded outward, allowing the archers stationed there to launch attacks from the sides, while coordinating with the friendly forces on the castle wall and nearby towers to form a three-sided encirclement.

Such a fortress could undoubtedly provide a great sense of security to its inhabitants during the era of cold weapons.

Li Yu had seen many medieval castles in pictures and movies before, but he was still taken aback by the beauty of Teacup Castle at first sight.

Especially when this ancient castle was bathed in starlight, accompanied by a breeze, Li Yu felt as though he was in a fairytale realm.