After a day and a night of continuous travel, the carriage finally neared Mia's family's territory the next morning.
It was no wonder that the carriage was the most expensive rental service in the entire carriage industry. Other than changing horses three times, the carriage did not stop to rest at all. The two coachmen who took turns driving the carriage were experienced veterans. Even at night, the carriage moved steadily, allowing Mia to sleep soundly.
However, the luxurious carriage had an unreasonable but very humane design. The two rows of seats in the carriage formed a large bed, allowing Mia to hug the hammerhead shark plushie and sleep comfortably on it. However, Baiyi did not have a place to sit so he had no choice but to lie down beside Mia. Due to the slight jolt of the carriage from time to time, Mia, who had already fallen asleep, automatically moved into his embrace.
That night, he had a better rest than Mia. Taking advantage of the fact that Mia was still asleep, he generously tipped the two coachmen 10 gold coins.
Mia's father was born into a peasant family. Because he had stood on the right side during the war, he earned some military merits by leading the village warriors. That was how he was conferred the title of a nobleman and was given a nice piece of land called Wyllspring. Wyllspring was a small territory with a small population. It was about the size of a small town, but it was rich in resources and the people were simple and honest. Even if they could not be compared to the nobles, they still lived a good life.
When the carriage entered the boundary of Wyllspring, Mia suddenly woke up as if she had smelled the scent of home. She sat up and rubbed her eyes like a kitten washing its face. When she looked at the scenery outside the carriage window, a joyful expression appeared on her face. She quickly opened the window and poked her head out to greet the farmers who were rushing to work in the fields.
When the farmers saw that the pearl of Wyllspring had returned home, they smiled happily and waved at Mia. Some young children even brought their dogs and ran to tell the Thane the good news.
By the time the carriage reached the mansion of the Lord of Wyllspring, which was a three-storey brick building, a middle-aged man and a young-looking woman were already waiting at the door to welcome them. Mia tidied herself up and hopped off the carriage eagerly. She threw herself into the arms of the woman and rubbed her face against the woman's chest. "Mom, I'm home," Mia said in a sweet voice.
The woman, who exuded motherly aura, flashed a loving smile and kissed Mia's face twice. She stroked her head and said softly, "My Mia, you're finally home."
At that moment, the middle-aged man also extended his arms to Mia. She obediently jumped into his arms and cried happily, "Daddy!"
At that moment, Baiyi, who had just paid the coachman and arranged a time for the return trip, turned around and saw the man kissing Mia's face. He froze on the spot. He clenched his fists so hard that it felt as if his knuckles were going to shatter. The horses behind him, who were originally docile, raised their hooves and neighed loudly. Ignoring the coachman's commands, they ran away in panic.
It was the commotion that attracted the attention of Mia's family of three to Baiyi. Mia gently kissed the middle-aged man on the cheek and struggled out of his arms.
Crack … Crack … A soft sound could be heard in Baiyi's palm. It was the sound of his knuckles cracking.
"Calm down, Sir Hope!" The Soul Armature Practitioner quickly advised. "That's Mia's father! If you kill him, Mia will hate you for the rest of her life! "
"No, no," Baiyi said quickly. "I'm such a kind person. Why would I kill someone? No, no, no! "
At that moment, Mia introduced Baiyi to her parents. "Daddy, Mommy, this is Mr. Hope. He's my Soul Armature. Other than the two of you, he's the nicest person I've ever met!"
'Other than the two of you? They don't even give you enough pocket money, do they? ' Baiyi's heart was filled with indignation, but he still greeted them politely, "Nice to meet you both. My name is Hope. As you can see, I'm Mia's Soul Armature. I'm the closest person to her." As he said that, he stared at Mia's father as if he was looking at an old enemy.
The first part of his speech sounded normal, but the second part was not. His eagerness to announce his relationship with Mia seemed like a sign of guilt in the eyes of the others.
Mia's father, Lord Nolan of Wyllspringshire, was supposed to respond to Baiyi as the head of the family. However, for some reason, he did not say a word. Instead, he stared at Baiyi. What was supposed to be a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere suddenly became tense.
The two women watched from the side, confused. They had only just met, so how did things end up like this? In the end, it was Mia's mother, Lady Nolan, who took the initiative to smooth things over. She said to Baiyi, "Welcome, Mr. Hope."
Baiyi nodded his head slightly. He was glad that Mia was more like his mother. Both of them were very gentle people. As for the hostile man next to her, he was already seriously considering whether he should create an accident or not.
In the end, his teacher could not stand it anymore and reprimanded him. "You're too possessive! Can't you even tolerate Mia's father?"
Baiyi did not say a word. Instead, he quietly walked to Mia's side. Out of habit, the little girl held his hand and proudly said to her parents, "Look, Daddy, Mommy! I've become so much stronger after one year at the Academy! I can protect myself better now! Now, I can protect everyone better too!"
"Yes, yes!" Mia's mother exclaimed, "Our little Mia has become an outstanding woman! She can even summon a powerful Soul Armature!" As she said that, she grabbed her husband's arm and secretly pinched him, signaling him to stop pulling a long face.
For some reason, the scene of a happy family reunion had turned into a scene where a son-in-law had come to visit. More importantly, the father-in-law seemed to be very dissatisfied with his son-in-law. However, Mia's father was still the leader of the group. Even a small noble had to behave like a noble. So, he forced a smile at Baiyi and said, "Mr. Hope, you do look like a very reliable strong man."
'Tsk? Provocation? ' Baiyi sneered inwardly. He gently released a strand of his aura, and it shot towards the man like an arrow.
Although Mia's father had led the village into battle before, and he was a seasoned veteran, when faced with Baiyi's aura that was as powerful as a dragon's aura, his face paled instantly, and his legs almost gave way. If Baiyi had not stopped his attack after just one casual test, he would have been so scared that he would have fallen to the ground.
What right does a mere farmer have to compete with the Fifth Walker for his daughter?
"Mr. Hope … You really are amazing …" Mia's father wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and gulped. "But I won't hand Mia over to you so easily!" he said with great difficulty.
Both Mia and Mia's mother were stunned. They did not expect the Thane Walker to say something so ridiculous.
Fortunately, the other farmers who had come to watch the scene had gathered around them. Their praise for Mia eased the tension, and the four of them decided to go into the house to talk.
After settling Mia and Hope in the living room, Mia's mother did not immediately sit down. Instead, she grabbed the Thane Walker's arm and dragged him to the room where his arm was.
While they were walking, Mia's mother pinched Mia's father and whispered into his ear, "What did you just say? What did you just say? What do you mean, hand Mia over to him? "
"Can't you tell?" Mia's father said in a low voice. "That Hope guy is here to steal my daughter!"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Mia's mother looked at him as if he was a lunatic.
"It's not nonsense. It's intuition!" Mia's father said confidently. "It was this instinct that saved me from the battlefield all those years ago! But this Hope guy … Who the hell was he? He has such a powerful aura! Even the elite fighters in the army did not make me so afraid! Could he be more powerful than them? "
At this time, Baiyi was looking around at Mia's house. To be honest, this place could be considered as poor. It was not much better than the average farmer's house, let alone Tisdale's house.
No matter what, he was a Thane and a noble. Why did he live in such poverty? Baiyi was puzzled. Judging from the scenery along the way, although the territory was small, it was still full of vitality. Corn and wheat were planted neatly in the fields and the farmers were working hard. Although the houses on both sides of the road were simple and crude, they were enough to shelter people from the wind and rain and provide them with warmth. There were no thatched huts or any other kind of houses in the area.
It was not hard to tell that the people here lived a good life. So why was the Thane's house so poor?
Mia seemed to have heard the question in Baiyi's mind. She chuckled and said in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, Mr. Hope. My house has always been like this since I was young. My father did not want to raise the taxes, so even though we are also nobles, we are still poor … We can't compare to Sister Undine's family …"
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