When something new appears, everyone always waits for the first person to “eat the crab.”
Just as the servants were discussing who would take the first step, the iron door of the steam car—or rather, the Steambus—slowly opened.
“What are you all doing? Why aren’t you getting on the bus?”
A petite girl in work overalls stood commandingly at the bus door, surveying the crowd with a look of condescension.
Lian couldn’t be more familiar with her appearance—
“Sephy… what are you doing?”
“Mind your manners, Maid. You should address me as Sage Saifei’s Avatar No. 4225.”
“So it’s Sage’s Avatar.”
“But didn’t that girl just call out Sage’s name directly? I remember she’s new… really doesn’t know her manners.”
No. 4225… Could it be that Sephy’s avatars are actually as common as weeds by the roadside?
The nonchalant attitude of the crowd made Lian’s face flush with heat.
To escape their prickly stares, she quickly lowered her head and dashed into the vehicle alone.
“You heard her! With Sage’s avatar here, safety is guaranteed! Don’t just stand around, hurry up and get on the bus!”
Seeing someone take the lead, the grouped Butler keenly rallied the rest of the chattering crowd.
Under the guidance of Sephy’s avatar, everyone soon boarded the bus.
Once everyone was accounted for, the avatar walked to the front driver’s seat and started the vehicle.
The Steambus left the Xīlong Pavilion’s porch with its familiar “ta-ta-ta” roar.
It drove along smoothly and swiftly; even the grand Honglian Palace, with its palace-like scale, was quickly left behind.
“Bifeiyin’s felt a lot safer… Is it because of the difference in vehicle size?”
Through the window, Lian watched the palace walls recede.
After spending some time in the Honglian Palace, she was no longer a stranger to it.
But outside these palace walls, in Seles City… the overwhelming shock she’d felt on her first day back once again flooded her heart.
Hurried pedestrians and horse-drawn carts loaded with goods moved constantly through the morning mist, while the tall buildings of brick, stone, and steel along the streets stretched as far as the eye could see.
Looking down what seemed like an endlessly extending main road, one could spot, on the distant outskirts, rows of factory chimneys billowing smoke.
Was this really the border village that Lian remembered, once sustained mainly by agriculture?
This was no longer just a rural town—it was a gigantic metropolis, galloping through the throes of industrial transformation.
Could such a drastic change really have taken only sixteen years?
Lian hadn’t wanted to believe it at first. That was why she’d run to the tavern, trying to drown reality in drink.
If I hadn’t met Sephy’s avatar that day… I probably would have kept drinking to numb myself, wandering lost like a lonely soul through this iron forest for a long, long time, wouldn’t I?
Gazing at the unfamiliar scenery outside the window, Lian couldn’t help but think so.
…
……
………
Meliya’s Farm was not far outside the city, on the upper reaches of the Songlin River— a great river running from southeast to northwest across the northern plains of Yilansiya, though it never passed through Seles.
As the Steambus turned down a country lane, the noisy rumble of the boiler gradually faded away.
“We’ve arrived.”
With this announcement from Sephy’s avatar, Lian and the others got off the bus and, led by the Butler, entered the Farm.
Being led by an outsider into her own home made her feel both amused and helpless.
During her time at the Honglian Palace, the Farm’s wheat fields had nearly been completely harvested.
Only a few rows remained along the edges, swaying golden in the wind.
Bundles of wheat were neatly scattered across the fields, while Farm workers carried them to several Warehouses on the northern hillside—buildings Lian hadn’t seen before.
“I didn’t expect that, even after becoming a Duchess, she’d still have people managing this place… It seems so much bigger than before.”
“Well, of course. That’s because the person she sent to manage the Farm is me.”
“Thank you so much… Huh?!”
A sudden, familiar interjection startled Lian.
She looked closely and saw that the driver avatar of Sephy had somehow come to stand beside her, gazing with her at the changing times.
“…Aren’t you an avatar?”
“As the original, I can transfer between my avatars at will, of course.”
As the floral patterns in the driver-Sephy’s eyes began to spin, the once mechanical and emotionless gaze softened, tinged with the laziness unique to the original.
“After Meliya moved away, your family’s Farm was mostly taken care of by my avatars. If you don’t believe me, look at those workers.”
Following her gesture, Lian saw that the workers carrying wheat were indeed all avatars of Sephy.
“I really don’t know how to thank you…”
“Don’t thank me. I didn’t come here to fish for praise. I have something to tell you—the Martial Tournament of the Crown Festival. You’re definitely going to participate.”
“What? But I never signed up… And what’s a Maid doing in a Martial Tournament anyway?”
“Well, Vera has already put your name on the entry form and handed it to Meliya.”
So Sephy told Lian everything about her conversation with Vera that night. When she finished listening, Lian’s face collapsed:
“Didn’t I already lose once? Why does she still cling to me like before?”
“You’ve only got yourself to blame. Who told you to dodge her sword aura? If you’d just let her hit you, none of this would’ve happened.”
“…Are you kidding me?”
“It’s because you didn’t tell me about something so important that this mess happened—in short, from now on, the two of us need to have our stories straight. As for Vera… I can’t stop her when she’s like that. You’ll have to look out for yourself.”
“At least think of a way to get my name off the entry form—”
“Ah, work, work. No. 4225 entering preset program.”
“Hey? Sephy! Wait, don’t go!”
Lian desperately shook the driver-Sephy’s body, but her eyes no longer looked at Lian.
Ignoring Lian’s grip, she simply walked off in the direction of the parked steam car.
“Newbie… what are you doing to Sage’s avatar?”
The Butler, who had been leading the way, approached with a dark face and patted her on the shoulder, causing the whole group to turn back and stare at her.
Ah… now everyone really thinks I’m a weirdo.
Lian, in tears, let go of Sephy’s avatar’s hand.
…
……
………
The festival venue was set in the middle of the Farm’s wide clearing—the very place where Lian and Meliya’s wedding had been held.
People bustled back and forth as preparations for the Crown Festival proceeded in an orderly fashion.
As punishment for her disrespect toward Sage’s avatar, Lian was sent to the place in the entire venue least suited to a Maid—the Martial Tournament grounds.
“Maid Miss, you… really are strong, huh?”
“Haha… thanks for the compliment.”
Among all the tall, brawny guards moving weapons and building materials for the stands, only Lian, the Maid, stood out.
Even when carrying a whole heavy crate of weapons, she remained calm and at ease, astonishing the group of burly men with her effortless strength.
Coward.