Chapter 21 The Former Him

Leo, who was kicked out of the tent, was seething with anger. In his impression, Ulyan was a charismatic leader, the savior of the villagers, a strong man, and a tyrant. But he had never seen him act so obsequiously. The psychological contrast was too great.

Although these ingrained impressions were the remnants of the simple-minded original owner Leo's memory, in the eyes of the current Leo, Ulyan was actually an ambitious, flexible and adaptable old hand. It wasn't strange for him to do such a thing.

In fact, as an adult office worker, Leo fully understood what Ulyan had done.

Seeking investment wasn't something to be ashamed of. Just butter them up.

If you made the nobles happy and they sent over several ships of supplies, you would also benefit.

It's just that he still felt a bit uncomfortable.

"I'm surely the most wretched transmigrator. Others are noble young masters or knight lords. But after transmigrating, I'm still a wage earner, and what's more, I don't even get paid."

"No matter how bad the transmigration is, one usually gets a system, an attribute template, or an old grandpa. What do I have? A one-track mind? A bloodline that makes me dim-witted?"

Sitting on a log by the wooden pier, watching the villagers happily carrying food and farming tools, Leo was lost in thought alone.

As a transmigrator, who didn't want to turn the tide and rescue the people from dire straits?

However, the reality was cruel. Even after transmigrating, life still had to be taken steadily, step by step.

Although the river channel from the River Bend Pioneer Fief territory to Isonpol had a gentle current, it was littered with reefs and dotted with shoals, and there were also many tributaries. It was a natural river channel that had not been artificially modified and was not suitable for ships to pass through.

Only a small, shallow-draft fishing boat, paired with an old fisherman who had spent most of his life on this river channel, could sail unhindered on it.

So in the early stage of the development of the River Bend, river transport was doomed to never become the main artery of the River Bend Fief.

In contrast, it was easier to open up a land route through the thirty-mile riverside forest. As long as the stretch of road from the River Bend to the Western Watchtower was cleared, the River Bend Fief could trade with Isonpol relying on the smooth World Tree Avenue or exchange needed goods with several neighboring knight fiefs.

But before that, the exploration team had to survive first. Knight Romon was their lifesaver.

Olivia, who couldn't stand the awkward atmosphere in the tent, found an excuse and fled from the tent. Her eyes searched and when she saw Leo's figure, she walked towards the river.

Sitting down beside Leo, Olivia glanced at Leo's gradually chiseled side face. She always felt that the other person had become strange.

This strangeness made her a little flustered.

In the past, he was reckless, hot-blooded, and simple-minded. All his thoughts were written on his face. They used to roughhouse and play around, yet were extremely close.

After her mother passed away and her father was still serving in the military, she remembered vividly how those two years had passed.

The menfolk in the village wouldn't dare to covet her beauty just because she had a military father far away. There were more than one or two instances of them climbing over the wall at night.

But the men who sneaked into Olivia's house by climbing over the wall always found Leo's fist right in front of them.

Now, he was gradually hiding his thoughts. His green eyes had become deep and serene, making it impossible to fathom his thoughts.

During this time, Olivia often secretly noticed that when he was alone, he would stare blankly and fall into deep thought. This would have been impossible in the past, and no one would believe it even if you told them.

When he had nothing to do before, he would only roll around on the ground, crawl in the shadows, and launch surprise attacks on the village kids, or poke an anthill for an entire afternoon.

"What? Not going to serve your knight lord?" Leo glared at Olivia as she approached, and the "old him" immediately returned.

Olivia stared at him and suddenly grinned, "You're jealous!"

"Jealous my butt!" Leo immediately retorted, "I heard that the kiss on the hand is a ritual for married women, or it can also be given to one's fiancée. Oh, you've caught someone's fancy. Maybe Uncle Ulyan will sell you to him!"

"Humph, no way. I just made a fool of myself." Olivia was unaffected by Leo's words. No matter how different she was, she was still just a country girl who had never seen the world. How could she understand the complicated etiquette of the nobles?

This strange hand - kissing ritual was something she chatted about and fantasized over with her village female companions while doing the laundry. In a moment of nervousness, she just stuck out her hand.

Olivia feigned annoyance and said, "I got the etiquette wrong when I first met the knight lord. It's so rude. How should I make up for it? The handsome and elegant knight lord. It doesn't seem too bad to marry him..."

Leo immediately felt he was getting the short end of the stick and made a grab for her hand, "No way. I want to kiss it too!"

"Scram!" Olivia propped her hand on the rock behind her and laughed as she lifted her foot to kick Leo to fend off his attack.

After laughing and frolicking for a while, Olivia tidied up her clothes and appearance. She composed herself and sized Leo up once more. After making sure it was still the "old him", with a touch of shyness, she mustered up the courage and stretched out the back of her hand.

Looking at the delicate hand in front of him, Leo's eyes narrowed into a dangerous arc. Before Olivia could react, he lashed out at the back of her hand with a smack, then laughed maniacally and fled.

Olivia's fingers went numb from the slap. She angrily lifted the hem of her dress and chased after him, shouting in the imperial refined language, "Bastard! Where do you think you're going!"

Inside the tent, Uncle Ulyan and Knight Romon were still having a heart-to-heart conversation.

As the most capable warrior of Rigolav, the current head of the Petukhov family, Sergeant Ulyan had a much closer relationship with Romon, his once most capable warrior, and his father than others guessed.

It was just unimaginable for a commoner to lead a thousand people south for a thousand miles to open up the wilderness. Rigolav, the head of the family, didn't dare to place a bet lightly for a while.

If he really had to place a bet, it would be better if the exploration failed quickly. At least he could cut his losses in time.

What he feared most was that it would turn out to be a bottomless pit that would drag the Petukhov family into the abyss.

"Captain, do you know how our Petukhov family got our third knight fiefdom? It's the one south of the Western Watchtower."

After chatting about their respective current situations, Romon hesitated several times and finally couldn't contain himself. He gathered his thoughts and asked.

"Yeah, I've heard you talk about it. Your third uncle was personally praised by Grand Duke Mitchell Odalov during his service in the Windrider Knights. After retiring, he was rewarded by Count Frolov and was granted this knight fiefdom."

"Yes, but do you remember the origin of this knight's fief?"

"Um... Not really sure about that. I remember visiting it once seven or eight years ago. It was a fairly large village. I think the lord back then was called Mitch? Misitch?"

"It's Knight Misvich," Romon corrected. "The Misvich family is an old - established knight family in Isonpol. It's a pity that it has declined in the past two generations. His father, old Knight Misvich, because he chose to support his second son, Shikevi, in the count's succession twenty years ago, had his fief taken away."

"After having his fief taken away, old Misvich chose to open up a new fief. It took two generations, father and son, twenty years to successfully open up a village with a hundred households. But as soon as old Misvich died, this fief was granted to my third uncle."

Ulyan asked in disbelief, "Wasn't there anyone who objected?"

"Who would want to get involved? The Misvichs have almost exhausted their family fortune for the newly opened - up land in the past twenty years. Most importantly, young Misvich hadn't awakened and advanced even by the age of thirty. No one would support a down - on - its - luck knight family without an advanced member."

"One of the main reasons why father has always opposed you becoming an opening - up knight is this. Without any support, even if you succeed in opening up a fief, it may not necessarily be yours."

Romon had already made his point very clear. He was just about to say directly: You're just a commoner, without family support, haven't awakened yet, lacking in military power and financial resources, and you only have one daughter. There are no outstanding descendants worthy of investment from other families.

The reality is just this cruel. Without strength and a backer, even if you succeed in starting up a fief, you won't be able to keep it.