Chapter 877

"Changed his surname? What's going on? "Roland frowned.

"He probably feels that he can't do anything alone, so it's more convenient to merge with another family." William seemed a little surprised that he cared so much about an inconspicuous little noble. "If he wants to maintain a decent life, he needs to spend a lot of money. If he doesn't manage it well, the territory will be a burden."

"Is it possible that he was forced to do it? For example, to seize territory or something. "

"That's … unlikely," Roland muttered. "I've seen them several times at some previous banquets, but I didn't talk to them in detail. That Galen, who changed his surname, got along well with Somi's family. It doesn't look like he was forced to do it. If you want to know more, I can ask Viscount Dott Somi to come here right now — "

"There's no need," Roland interrupted Nightingale's words through her whisper. "I'm just asking casually, it's nothing important. But it seems that the member of Galen's family didn't come this time. "If her brother Hyde had come, Nightingale would have recognized him.

"The banquet was invited according to the usual rules. It's my fault," the old Castellan said apologetically with his hand on his chest.

The meaning of his words was obvious. Although Hyde had changed his surname and became a branch of the Somi family, he was still not invited to the banquet. Silver City's developed mining industry had driven commerce, which made it similar to the City of Glow. Wealth and power were more important than titles and titles. However, it also showed that the Galen family had almost been forgotten.

After Nightingale left, Hyde had inherited his father's title of viscount.

It was really sad for him to be in such a situation.

When Roland returned to the camp and drew the tent curtain, Nightingale took the initiative to explain. "Your Majesty, I'm not concerned about Hyde. Since I left Silver City, I've had nothing to do with the Galen family. Please believe me — I was just, just a little surprised."

Seeing Nightingale's expression of "it's not what you think", Roland couldn't help but want to tease her, but thinking of Nightingale's temperament, if she took his words seriously and insisted on making a stand, it would be his turn to have a headache. Therefore, he coughed twice and nodded lightly. "I know. You've never lied to me about this."

"You didn't believe me... No, you didn't completely believe me!" Nightingale immediately pointed out.

"Oh, no, I thought I was joking, but her ability detected it." Roland had to take a deep breath and get rid of the distracting thoughts in his mind. Then he looked into her eyes and said seriously, "I believe you."

This time, it was Nightingale's turn to feel uncomfortable. She blushed and unconsciously looked away. "I'm really just surprised. It has nothing to do with the person who betrayed me."

Although Roland wanted to say that it was normal for him to care about it, it was better for him to play along with her. "What are you surprised about?"

"The Somis used to have a good relationship with my father..." Nightingale said in a low voice. "After my father passed away, they came to visit me in old Gilen's mansion. But when he found out I was a witch, old Gilen forbade me from seeing them again. I didn't expect that Viscount Somi would accept Hyde into his family. This... really surprised me. "

Roland, who had lived in this world for many years, immediately understood what Nightingale meant. If the two families really had a good relationship, Viscount Somi should have helped her brother to rebuild the family business after old Gilen's death. This was not uncommon in noble stories. The fallen heir would make a comeback with the help of others and repay them with several times the wealth. Some even let their descendants marry each other. These were all stories that everyone loved to talk about.

But it was not the same for the only heir to change his surname.

This meant that the Gilen family would be completely severed and the title of viscount would no longer be passed on.

Now that Roland had decided to take back all the enfeoffment power, it did not matter whether Hyde was a noble or not. However, from the perspective of a traditional noble, this was even more serious than a plot to steal money. It did not seem like something that a family with a good relationship would do.

"If you think it's strange, you can check it out." Roland sat back at the desk and spread out a stack of parchments. This was his job every time he went to a place: to check the local population and financial situation. "I have Sylvie and the God's Punishment Witches to protect me, so I'll be absolutely safe in the camp. You don't have to stay with me all the time."

Nightingale hesitated. "But this is the Gilen family's business, and it has nothing to do with me..."

"Of course you can't say that your father's territory has nothing to do with you." Roland thought to himself, "And your childhood mansion is also on that land. It's rare for me to come here, and I don't have to worry about being chased by the church. I'll just take it as a revisit."

Perhaps it was the words "childhood mansion" that moved Nightingale. After a long silence, she made up her mind. "Then you have to promise me that if you want to leave the camp, you must call me back first. Besides, I'll just take a look. I won't do anything else. "

"I know." Roland smiled and shook his head. Now he felt as if he was forcing her to go. However, it was better to face the past than to keep it in her heart. Only after experiencing it could she really let it go.

Nightingale was still too young and too...

*****

The next day, at dawn, Nightingale left the camp and walked along the road to the east of Silver City.

In her memory, her home was very big. In addition to a big two-story house, there was also a wide farmland that was large enough to cover her footprints. Beside the farmland was a stream that flowed out of the mountain forest. In summer, she could catch a lot of crabs. Further east, she would come across a steep ravine. Her family often said that there might be a hidden gem vein under the ravine. When she got married, they would give her the biggest gem in the ravine as a dowry.

But after leaving Silver City with the Witch Cooperation Association, Nightingale gradually understood that her family's territory could be counted as one of the lowest among the nobles. If it was in other places, it was estimated that it wouldn't be much different from a knight's territory. The water source was a stream, so the farmland area was inevitably limited. As for the gem vein in the ravine, it was probably only her family's wishful thinking. Even if it really existed, they wouldn't have enough gold royals to develop it.

However, when she set foot on this land again several years later, the impression in her memory still did not fade in the slightest. Even though it looked a lot smaller, and the ridge full of weeds was no longer endless, but the memories of her childhood added an indescribable sense of freshness to it.

She couldn't help but understand what Wendy meant when she said, "Getting rid of the nightmare of the past doesn't mean that we have to cut off the past."

When approaching the location of the mansion, Nightingale couldn't help but be startled.

She had thought that this unattended mansion would become dilapidated, but she didn't expect that it not only looked new, but also expanded several times on the original basis. Passing through the courtyard wall, she saw that there were many people gathered inside. They were dressed in simple clothes, and some of them even looked no different from beggars. Several servants shuttled through the crowd, giving them bowls of hot porridge, and from time to time the crowd burst into a burst of gratitude.

"Is this relief food distribution?"

She followed the crowd's gaze to the end of the courtyard, and saw a man standing at the door of the house, smiling in response to the crowd's gratitude. Whether it was the way he dressed or the way he behaved, he was very much like a noble.

That man was her former brother.