Mist Empire’s Rise: Fake Noble to Fog Queen

If his memory served him right today, weren't both the Love Goddess and the God of Life female deities?

The Love Goddess... fell in love with the God of Life who was also a goddess?

Troy asked with difficulty, "Are we really... going to spread this message?"

"What?" Luo Wei's face darkened, "Are you refusing to follow my orders now?"

"No, I just..." Troy's lips quivered a few times before he finally lowered his head, "I-I'll do it."

He was just afraid that such actions would invite divine punishment, and he lacked the power to protect her.

"Troy, I know what you're worried about," Luo Wei stood up, "but I'm not as weak as you think."

"Having followed me for so long, you must have guessed some things," she walked to Troy's side and gripped the hilt of his sword, "No matter how much you've figured out, I'll only ask you one question - do you believe in the gods, or do you believe in me?"

Troy stood frozen, not daring to move an inch.

"Believe in the gods? The gods won't give you their favor."

"Believe in me, and while I can't give you everything you want, I can at least give you the freedom of an unbound soul."

She drew the sword in one swift motion, its silver light flashing across those pitch-black eyes.

"Troy, kneel."

Her cool voice rang out, carrying an irresistible magical power. Troy obediently dropped to one knee, looking up at the authority of his superior.

Luo Wei raised the sword, placing its blade against the right side of his neck: "The gods, or me?"

A trace of sorrow showed in Troy's eyes as he lowered his head: "But I... I've already broken one oath."

He was a disgraced knight, a knight who betrayed his master, long since lost the right to be called a knight.

How could someone like him be worthy of making a second vow?

"The Troy I know was born when we first met," Luo Wei stared at him intently, "With me, you can be reborn."

She pressed down on the sword hilt: "I'm only giving you one chance - the gods, or me?"

Finally, Troy raised his head humbly, his voice hoarse: "I... believe in you."

"Where is your oath?" Luo Wei demanded coldly.

Troy's breathing quickened as he suppressed the tremor in his voice: "I swear upon my life to dedicate all my faith and loyalty to you. Where your sword points shall be my direction of battle, what falls under your gaze shall be what I protect. Serving you is my duty, and sacrificing for you is my highest honor!"

"I willingly dedicate this life to you, to fight for you until death!"

The Blade of Mercy touched his shoulder, and his body trembled slightly.

Luo Wei spoke solemnly: "I accept your oath and grant you your deserved glory. Troy, by my authority as Princess of the Fog Empire, I hereby appoint you as the Knight Captain of my Royal Guard."

"When we complete our mission in the Western Continent, I will take you back to my kingdom for your formal investiture and ennoblement ceremony."

"Take up your sword, Troy."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Luo Wei removed the sword from his broad shoulder and placed it in his respectfully outstretched hands.

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Troy gazed at the sword in his hands, seeming to fight back tears.

"No way, Troy," Luo Wei bent down to look into his eyes, "Are you crying from emotion?"

Troy quickly turned his head away and sheathed the sword as he stood: "No, I need to go complete the mission."

"Oh," Luo Wei straightened up as well, "Then go ahead, but be careful. If anyone starts following you, hide in the Plague Forest for a while - you have experience surviving there."

"Understood." Troy nodded, sliding the sword back into its scabbard before turning to leave.

Watching his hastily retreating figure, Luo Wei clicked her tongue.

Just an "understood" - not even a "Your Highness" anymore, right when she was getting into it!

After Troy left, Luo Wei changed into lighter clothes and went downstairs, calling Chris who was studying embroidery to notify Yves to prepare the carriage.

"Bella."

"Yes, mistress, at your command!"

Hearing her voice, Bella quickly ran over from the adjacent room - the servants' hearth room where they liked to warm themselves when idle.

Luo Wei caught the scent of milk on Bella and glanced next door: "Were you feeding Luo Lin?"

"Just finished," Bella tugged at her outer dress, wrinkled from holding the baby, "Luo Lin fell asleep right after drinking the milk, Sharon is watching her."

Luo Wei looked away: "Then come with me to the outskirts of town, let's look at that plot of land."

"Yes, mistress." Bella immediately agreed.

...

The weather was nice today, with sunshine still present in the afternoon.

When Luo Wei stepped down from the carriage, she didn't even feel very cold with the sun warming her body.

Bella led the way while she followed, holding up her skirts.

"This whole area is what we've leased, including over there, and that river too."

"Careful mistress, the slope is quite steep here."

"That forest across the way is also in the contract. The city steward said we could cut down the trees to farm the land."

Bella kept explaining as they walked, while Luo Wei compared the rough map with the directions she pointed out.

Over a hundred acres of land, crossed by three small rivers, with five hills. The widest east-west span was about 300 meters, stretching 700 meters north to south, shaped like a flattened gourd.

Standing on the hilltop looking down, Luo Wei knew mulberry trees were drought-resistant but couldn't handle waterlogging. They preferred warm, moist environments, so the sunny south-facing slope would definitely be used for planting mulberry trees.

Silkworms feared stuffiness and heat, so the silkworm house needed to be built in a well-ventilated location on the shaded side, preferably on a slope to avoid excessive moisture.

As for raising chickens, the chicken coop couldn't be too close to the silkworm house, or the silkworms would become chicken feed - they needed to be separated.

This long, narrow plot of wasteland had noticeably more fertile soil in the south, while the northern soil was poor and sandy.

The eastern land was too wet, and the west was all shrubs, weeds and large exposed rocks.

After mapping out a rough layout in her mind, Luo Wei pointed to the 70-80 acres of land to the south: "Till up all the sloped land there for planting mulberry trees."

"Yes, mistress." Bella took out a wooden slip and charcoal pencil, quickly taking notes.

Luo Wei waited for her to finish before continuing: "Dig out some fish ponds in the valley below, and reserve a spot on the low slope for building a duck house later."

Western people didn't like freshwater fish, so the fish probably wouldn't sell. Better to use them as duck feed.

The ducks could help weed the mulberry garden, their down could be processed into quilts, and the meat could be made into delicious roast duck.

"On the western side, fence off those plots by the mountain for chicken coops, and build two stone houses by the river for earthworm farming."

"On this hill where I'm standing, build ten large tile-roofed houses on the shaded slope, at two-thirds of the way up."

"I see there's a wetland to the east - let's dig it all into ponds."

If not for fish, they could raise shrimp and crabs.

"Build a vineyard in the north, and here, this flat area on the map, build a villa with a cellar for future wine storage."

Bella's charcoal pencil was practically throwing sparks as she wrote. She recorded everything as Luo Wei spoke, thankfully quick enough to keep up, though her strange symbols on the wooden slip were intelligible only to herself.

After surveying the soil and terrain, Luo Wei chose a gentle downward slope to head back. Halfway down, she suddenly remembered something and said to Bella: "We still need an overseer here."

"An overseer?" Bella asked puzzled, "Someone to supervise the hired workers?"

"More or less," Luo Wei turned her head, "You're the steward of Star Luo Residence, we can't have you running back and forth between the city and here every day."

"Let's find an overseer to help keep watch first, then slowly look for a qualified estate steward later."

Bella nodded in strong agreement: "Then mistress, what kind of overseer should we look for?"

"Best to recruit someone with no attachments who can dedicate themselves fully to developing the estate," Luo Wei said seriously, "Let's look in the nearby villages, see if there are any strong widowers. We can post a notice with the requirements and let them apply themselves."

"After we get applicants, give me a list of names for screening."

In case she missed her loyal follower Nick, she could filter him back in during the screening.

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