Man En was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events.
Still, he placed his hand over his chest and prepared to bow respectfully to Lifu.
“Nice to meet you. Please take care of me, Your Highness the Princess.”
He couldn’t help but size her up. He noticed that the way she looked at his father was full of admiration and pride.
‘Old man went out and came back with a fangirl, huh.’
Man En only dared to think this in his head. In reality, he was already sweating buckets.
Although judging by her demeanor, this was mostly her own request, and the King was just doing her a favor.
But the far-reaching impact of this matter could not be summed up in a single sentence.
In short, from now on, no matter how low-key the Matthews family tried to be, they would inevitably become the center of political discourse. With so many identities piling up, their prominence was simply too overwhelming.
It could be expected that more important figures would come to socialize in the future, but by the same token, potential political enemies would also increase. They might even be forced to pick a side at some point.
Not only that, even the slightest mistake would probably be magnified infinitely. Truly walking on thin ice in every sense of the word.
Man En then looked at his father and noticed that he too was avoiding Lifu’s passionate gaze. He now understood clearly.
It was probably not far off from what he had guessed.
“From now on, we’ll be family, so there’s no need to be so formal.”
Lifu quickly reached out to stop Man En.
“Just call me by my name from now on.”
“Then… Princess Lifu?”
The three of them looked at each other, feeling awkward for no reason.
It only eased up when Lifu covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.
“Well, Princess Lifu must be weary from travel. My father and I still have some things to discuss, so I won’t disturb you for now…”
After saying that, Man En pulled Count Matthews off the carriage.
Only after confirming that Lifu couldn’t hear them did Man En stop.
Count Matthews spoke first.
“Hm? What’s so urgent that you had to drag me out? But seeing that you came to support, the territory should be safe now, right?”
“Father, don’t avoid the important issues!”
“What exactly is going on with Princess Lifu? Don’t you think there’s already enough chaos in the territory?”
Upon hearing this, Matthews also got angry.
“Brat, do you think I could refuse?”
“That guy You Like En not only shoved the Campbell territory onto me but even granted a marriage! It’s obvious he wants to use me as a scapegoat.”
“…”
“Forget it, what’s done is done. Let’s just move past this.”
“Princess Lifu doesn’t know about the mercenary attack on the territory yet, does she?”
Hearing this, Matthews looked puzzled. He couldn’t understand why Man En was asking.
“I haven’t told her about that yet.”
“Phew… That’s good.”
Man En let out a long sigh of relief.
“In any case, let’s tell the outside that it was an attack by the Heretic God Sect.”
“Because of Sophien?”
“Yes. Not to mention our current relationship with the King, just based on the fact that she’s my friend, I won’t throw her to the wolves.”
This was truly Man En’s heartfelt words.
Combined with the mercenary attack on the territory, the Heretic God Sect’s goal was basically clear.
If what happened here and Sophien’s dual identity were exposed, it would be a major blow to the royal family’s face.
Because outsiders would only see the result, not the cause.
“Heir to the Throne Sophien colludes with the Heretic God Sect to invade a noble’s territory.”
Man En didn’t even dare to think about the consequences if such a rumor spread.
Probably, being stripped of her status as heir would be the least of it.
This was likely the Heretic God Sect’s goal, so to prevent them from succeeding, they had to suppress this matter as much as possible.
Matthews looked at Man En with a gratified expression and gently patted his shoulder.
“Well said. I’m glad you’re no longer that willful child you used to be.”
“Don’t worry, I think the same. And the mercenaries who invaded the territory must all be dealt with.”
Although Man En felt it was cruel, he couldn’t think of a better solution at the moment.
To prevent information leaks or members of the Heretic God Sect from sneaking in… It was truly a helpless move.
They had to be extremely cautious.
After roughly understanding the situation, Matthews returned to the carriage, while Man En went back to the territory alone.
He had no choice but to coordinate their story in advance, at least to prevent Lifu from catching on.
Fortunately, facing this attack, Mei and Ge Rui En had reacted quickly. There were some injured, but not many dead.
However, the territory was once again in a mess, and it would be somewhat rude to welcome the princess in such a state.
Just as he was worrying about this, he entered the territory and found it had taken on a different appearance.
In just about a day, the debris had been cleared, and the bloodstains were practically invisible.
Although there were still few pedestrians on the streets, it was obvious that the area had been deliberately tidied up, looking much more orderly than before.
Ge Rui En, who was nearby, saw Man En return and immediately bowed.
“Welcome back, Holy Son.”
“So, was it you who directed the cleanup in the territory?”
She nodded.
“Yes. I didn’t want you to come back to a dilapidated scene, so I organized the staff to clean up without authorization. But time was limited, so it’s not finished yet…”
“However, I didn’t disturb the city guards. Miss Mei offered to help, but I refused…”
Her expression was very fearful, and she kept her head down, not meeting Man En’s eyes.
She was afraid—afraid of seeing those cold eyes again. She didn’t even know why herself.
She had already convinced herself to accept the facts, so why was she still so sad? She couldn’t understand.
“Lift your head up.”
A gentle voice lingered in her ears.
“You did very well. There’s no need to be like this.”
“Actually, I should be the one apologizing… I shouldn’t have been so cold to you, even though I’ve lost my memories of you.”
“So, when you have time in the future, tell me about what happened before.”
Ge Rui En looked up at Man En, her eyes brimming with tears.
“…Okay.”
Man En looked at her tired face and felt a stir in his heart for some reason.
“Go get some rest first. Once Princess Lifu arrives, things will get busy.”
After Ge Rui En left, Man En immediately informed Mei and the others that the matter of the mercenaries could not be spoken about outside, and had them spread the word.
After that, he secretly dealt with the captured mercenaries. He finally finished everything before Matthews returned.
It was a stuffy afternoon.
Lifu lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the scenery outside. The town was being rebuilt in an orderly fashion; everything seemed normal.
Matthews also looked over and gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Even without speaking, seeing his satisfied expression, one could roughly guess what he meant.
Man En thought of that dark-skinned girl, and a strange warmth welled up in his heart.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Once things settle down, I really need to properly thank Ge Rui En.”
Just then, the luxurious carriage stopped in front of Man En, and Count Matthews’ somewhat urging voice came from inside.
“Get on, Man En. Let’s go home.”
“Yes, Father.”
…
By the time the group returned to their residence, the sun had already set in the west.
It was obvious that his father had tried his best to delay, but no matter how reluctant he was, he had to go home eventually.
Even Lifu noticed, but she didn’t call it out.
A city under reconstruction had nothing interesting to see anyway.
On top of that, more than half of the household servants were injured, making the place look rather shabby.
But considering Lifu’s noble status, they had to put effort into receiving her properly.
It was indeed a bit tricky.
However, unlike Matthews who looked embarrassed, Man En was completely calm and composed.
The reason was simple: with Ge Rui En around, he wasn’t worried.
After entering the house, several maids lined up to welcome them and bowed respectfully.
“Welcome, Princess Lifu. Please follow us; warm water has been prepared.”
Not only Matthews but even Man En was stunned.
Lifu turned back to look at the two of them, but her gaze was somewhat meaningful.
Without saying anything, she followed the two maids away.
“Hey, Man En, did you prepare this in advance too?”
Count Matthews felt like he was dreaming.
“Uh… Hm? Something like that, hehe.”
‘That Ge Rui En is way too reliable!’
Although he felt a little guilty, Man En shamelessly took the credit.
In the end, everything went smoothly without any incidents.
The embarrassment on his father’s face disappeared, and everything proceeded as planned, giving the royal family due respect.
At the final welcome banquet, the four of them chatted and laughed.
Man En invited Mei to join as well.
Unfortunately, Lai La’s mental state was still a bit unstable—she was probably scared.
It would be best to let her rest for now.
However, Lifu’s cheerful and outgoing nature surprised Man En a little.
Looking at it from another angle, maybe this was a good thing.
After all, his father still hadn’t recovered from the grief of losing his wife. Perhaps the princess could really help him get through it.
Everything was going normally, but just as they were about to end the banquet, a scout rushed in with a worried report.
“Young Master Man En! A woman named Sophien is outside asking to see you.”
?
‘Sophien?’
‘Why would she suddenly come here?’
‘Who told her?’