2026-08-24 10:22:54
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
009 The Warrior Ghost
Kingsley set out for the north border soon after the funeral, with Gina at his side.Word had gone around in Thornmere about the baron's travel plans.Five young men stood waiting at the crossroads with staffs and wood axes. Not one had an awakened talent, but they were broad in the shoulder."We'll walk with you, my lord," the boldest one said. "The roads aren't safe."Kingsley could read the real reason on their faces. He had turned a white field green and summoned water from a dead well in front of the whole village. After a long drought, the villagers finally had hope.A lord who could work miracles might stand between them and the capital's collector, and so the men wanted him alive.Kingsley allowed them to escort him.Gina kept her chin high, but her voice stayed low. "The men keep staring at me, my lord. Do they suspect my identity?""Let them stare. You're wearing my family's colors proudly. Nobody is looking at Ginny Finch. All they see is Gina Carmine. Never forget that."S
008 Red and White
Ginny woke in a feather bed, warm and comfortable. After a year in a dark cell on cold stone, it felt like a dream.The blanket was clean. Her hair had been washed, and the dirt was gone from her arms. She wore a grey dress that smelled of soap.I died in that cell, she thought. This must be the afterlife.She sat up, and her voice cracked from a year of disuse. "Grandma?"The door opened, and a tall, handsome young man walked in.Ginny's fingers rose on their own. The metal in the room groaned. The lamp bracket bent away from the wall, and the nails in the floorboards lifted.Kingsley stopped and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Steady now. It's me. The Baron of Thornmere. Do you remember last night?"She uncurled her fingers, and the memories returned.Two slavers from Appleby had come to take her. Kingsley had freed her, and their daggers had pressed into his throat. He had spoken her grandmother's last words anyway.The man before her was a noble, and he had nearly died for a
007 The Damned Girl
"The girl is not going anywhere," Kingsley said.The lean Appleby man nudged his partner. "Show his lordship the papers, Garth."Garth was the big one, red-bearded and wide as a door. He pulled a folded paper from his coat and held it high."The sale is legal, my lord. Your own headman signed it.""He signed it as a thief," Kingsley said. "People aren't sold like objects on my land."He pulled the barony's purse from his belt and shook it once. "I'm canceling the sale. But I will be fair with you. Appleby will get every coin back."The two men put their heads together and whispered, then turned back grinning."Hold on now," Garth said slowly. "Now I remember. You're the beggar lord with F-grade talent. The capital laughed you out of its own gates."He dug a gold coin from his pocket and flipped it at the baron with a chuckle. "I see your game. You want a higher price for the girl. Baron Grubb is generous towards the needy."The coin struck Kingsley's chest and clattered on the stone.
006 Cost of a Life
Kingsley was still standing over Mara's body when the shouting started in the square.The entire village crowded around the well. Someone hauled the bucket up, and it was full of grey mud. Women were crying, and children clung to their skirts and wailed."There's no water left!" a man shouted."Mara is dead, and the well went with her. This village is cursed.""The headman knew! He loaded his cart in the dark and ran off before any of us woke up.""The river's two miles out!" a woman screamed."We're all going to die of thirst!" a man shouted.Kingsley walked into the square. One by one, the voices stopped. The people nearest the well backed away with their eyes down.They looked like men and women expecting to be punished for the state of the well. A woman sank to her knees with a cry, and panic started to boil up again."Quiet!" Kingsley shouted.The whole square fell still.He leaned over the well's edge and looked down. Forty feet below, the stone walls had caved in and packed the
005 The Well-Keeper
Mara lay in front of her own door with her cheek in the mud. Kingsley knelt, got his arms under her, and lifted the frail body. She weighed almost nothing.Doors opened all along the lane. The villagers stepped out and stood in a loose ring, whispering among themselves. They had never seen a capital lord carry a dying peasant woman.He laid her on the bed inside her house and put his coat over her legs."My lord." Her voice had gone thin overnight. "A baron carrying old women through the mud. What would the other nobles say?""They have nothing worse to say about me," Kingsley replied. "What happened to you?"Mara smiled with grey lips. "The rot in my belly finally put me down. I held on this long because I didn't want to die while this land was still lordless.""I still need you," he said. "You're the only one in this village who can guide me.""No, my lord. Forget about me. A baron of Thornmere never ruled alone. There were old families sworn to him."Her breath rattled as she spoke
004 Daily Duties
Kingsley woke on a cot in his father's cold manor, dirt still under his fingernails. Glowing words already waited in front of his eyes.[Kingsley Carmine] [S-Grade Settler] [Talent: Landcraft][Territory: Thornmere] [Village: Tier 1]So it wasn't a dream, he thought. I really died, crossed over, and inherited a barony of salt and mist.He threw off the blanket and walked to the window. Below, thin smoke rose from four chimneys. A second box opened.[Domain Status] [Population: 300, Grain Reserves: 26 Days, Water Supply: Low and impure]Three hundred people, most of them sick and half-starved. Less than a month of food left. The water supply was low, and the well already tasted bitter.He turned from the window. More lines opened in front of him.[Logistics & Supply] [Economy] [Defense] [Technology] [Citizen Rating]The numbers behind them were worse. Five gold in the treasury. No wall, no guard, no watch. And his own people trusted him one percent.The territory information disappeare
You may also like
Makiya
Blentkills51.9K viewsAlex Brim, Hero for Hire
krushandkill28.2K viewsI AM BEYOND HUMAN
South Ashan22.5K viewsIsekai Grimoire System
Meong15.9K viewsThe Last Heir of the Forbidden Family
Ocha Ruby72 viewsHero From The Toilet
LittleFish243 viewsSHADOW KING'S RETURN
Adibi269 viewsThe Phantom Groom System
Achille202 views