It took Lucas just over half-an-hour to make it from the farm fields to the centre of Redwood Town.
At first, the young boy thought it would be best if he stopped in at home to let his parents know what was happening, but then he recalled that both of them were also out helping with the fall harvest.
In fact, even his Uncle Charles was probably out in the fields somewhere, leaving just his Aunt Sasha in the Manor to coordinate things.
Well, Aunty Sasha would be the one handling things like diplomacy with foreign guests anyways, Lucas soon shrugged and kept on jogging.
Arriving at the Manor, Lucas was greeted by a stream of people moving in and out of the gates, many of them drawing carts or carrying sacks. This wasn't surprising as of the 5 granaries in town, the largest one was located on the Manor's grounds.
Seeing how there was no way to squeeze past the lines of people even though he wanted to report the situation to Sasha as soon as possible, Lucas slowed down, lined up, and tried to catch his breath.
Although he had broken through to the Second Step Body Tempering Realm and had been exercising almost every day for the past year and a half, running for 30 minutes straight was basically Lucas' limit, so he was actually a bit appreciative of the chance to rest.
A few minutes later, when Lucas made it through the gates, he quickly spotted his aunt directing the loading of freshly milled flour into the Manor's warehouses.
Running up to her, Lucas decided to dispense with his usual politeness and directly called out, "Aunty Sasha! There's a large, armed convoy headed for town!"
The instant the young boy's voice rang out, everyone within earshot froze in place, looks of worry soon appearing on their faces.
Noticing this reaction, Lucas hurriedly followed up, "They don't look like bandits! It's more like a group of soldiers escorting someone important!"
The clarification that the town wasn't about to be attacked allowed most people to relax somewhat, but many still retained tense expressions as dealing with greedy merchants or arrogant nobles was sometimes even worse than trying to handle bandits.
At least with criminals you could threaten, intimidate, and even fight if things got out of hand, but with people of status, sometimes all you could do was kneel and submit to their whims, no matter how outrageous they might seem.
Sasha, as a member of a high noble family, knew this all too well, so she immediately began issuing orders, "Helen, take over for me here. Carl, find Anna and alert the Town Guard. Allow all of them to carry their weapons but make sure they know not to draw them unless attacked first, am I clear?"
Helen nodded promptly in response, while Carl, the Vice Captain of the Town Guard, also signaled his understanding before he ran off to make preparations.
As soon as Sasha was done organizing the town's response, she turned to Lucas and hesitated for a moment before signaling for him to follow her.
Of everyone in Redwood Town, the one with the most flexible mind in Sasha's opinion was definitely her little nephew. Lucas might not be able to physically handle the fallout from this unexpected situation, but when it came to analysing things and providing creative solutions, even the Town Lady didn't think she could do a better job.
Hopefully it's just some minor noble out traveling for fun, Sasha wishfully thought to herself, though she very much doubted that was the case.
Redwood Town was literally on the south-western edge of the Rockwell Kingdom, so unless they had some specific purpose, no one, especially someone who required a large escort, would show up here.
On their way to the Town Square, Sasha asked Lucas for any details he might have noticed, which the boy readily provided, "There were at least 25 carriages and wagons, and 100 or so guards in the Vein Opening Realm. I also sensed a dozen or so more powerful auras, probably from Core Formation Practitioners…"
Lucas went on the describe everything he had managed to glean from his brief observation of the approaching convoy, his words causing Sasha's brow to furrow more and more.
Obviously, this was no ordinary caravan, and it certainly didn't appear to belong to a merchant of some sort. That basically meant this was a noble's convoy, the most troublesome of all to deal with.
"Did you notice any standard or crest being flown by this group?" Sasha asked, hoping to identify just which noble house she was dealing with before actually having to confront them.
Scrunching up his forehead, Lucas tried his best to remember if he had seen anything like a flag-bearer or coat-of-arms among the approaching caravan. It was difficult for him because of the dust and distance, but eventually, the boy muttered, "I think I saw a blue and white flag with… a sword on it?"
As soon as Lucas said this, Sasha, who had been walking at a quick pace, halted in place, a look of stunned disbelief covering her face as she sharply questioned, "What did you say?"
Lucas was taken aback by this dramatic reaction from his aunt, but he still quickly repeated himself, "I said I saw a blue and white flag with a sword on it."
"Was there anything else on that flag?" Sasha grabbed Lucas by the shoulders, drew him over, and all but interrogated him, a fierce light flashing in the depth of her eyes.
Realizing now that this was something very important, Lucas closed his eyes and did his best to recall what it was he had seen, but try as he might, the image remained vague, so the best he could do was mutter, "I'm not sure, but maybe there was… a triangle of some kind?"
"It was a mountain," Sasha said with both certainty and resignation, gritting her teeth as her brow visibly twitched.
The 10-year-old boy had seen many expressions on his Aunt Sasha's face before, joy, happiness, frustration, sadness, anger, and so on and so forth, but the look he saw today was definitely a new one, as was the disgust and even hatred behind it.
It took a few seconds for Sasha to regain her composure and apologize for squeezing Lucas' shoulders so tightly, to the point where the young boy had even felt a bit of pain.
"It's alright, Aunty Sasha," Lucas brushed the matter off, not being bothered about it in the slightest. He had endured much worse this morning when his Big Sister Eris had accidentally struck him with her wooden training sword.
Still, unable to contain his curiosity, Lucas couldn't help but ask, "Aunty Sasha, who is it that's coming?"
Frowning deeply, Sasha nearly lost control of her emotions again before quickly schooling her face and saying, "I don't know exactly who it is, but if they're flying that flag, then they must belong to the Roth Family."
"Roth Family?" Lucas tilted his head and parroted.
So far, in his 10 years of life, Lucas had not once left the Newton Barony. He had never even been to the nearby Harold City; so, naturally, he had very little knowledge about the noble families of the Rockwell Kingdom.
Seeing the look of confusion on Lucas' face, Sasha pursed her lips and muttered, "The Roths are the only Duke-rank family in the Rockwell Kingdom. They are the second most powerful nobles next to the Royals, and have a… strained relationship with my Balfour Family."
Lucas might have been ignorant of the Rockwell Kingdom's politics, but he wasn't stupid or naïve. He could easily tell that when his Aunt Sasha said that relations between the Roth and Balfour Families were 'strained', what she really meant was that they were very much at odds with one another.
If the forces in the Rockwell Kingdom were ranked, the Royal Family would be first, the Roths second, and the Balfours third, so it only made sense that there was some tension between them. Even if these three weren't openly hostile to one another, constant competition between them would likely result in disagreements and disputes.
As for how bad the relationships were, Lucas had no clue, but clearly the one between the Roths and Balfours was poor enough to cause even his Aunt Sasha, who seemed determined to avoid getting involved with her family whenever possible, to regard this Duke Family with anger.
Taking a deep breath, Sasha seemed to adjust her mindset before staring into Lucas' eyes, "Go shut down your workshop and the bathhouse, and tell all your workers to avoid meeting the Roths. Once that's done, go find Senior Farah and stay with her. She'll know what to do next."
At first, Lucas wanted to ask why such caution was necessary, but seeing the sharp look on Sasha's face, he knew she wasn't asking and wouldn't accept any other answer but 'yes'.
Suppressing his curiosity, Lucas nodded and dashed towards the south-east part of town, where his businesses were both set up.
…..
Watching Lucas run off, Sasha felt slightly ashamed in her heart, only now realizing just how much she had come to see her little nephew as a partner to work with, rather than as a child she was supposed to protect.
Wrinkling her brow, Sasha seriously wondered whether she would have sent Lucas away or simply brought him with her as an advisor if it had been anyone other than the Roths that appeared today.
In the Rockwell Kingdom, kids as young as 10 helping out in the farm fields and in their parents' shops wasn't unusual, but engaging them in running businesses and handling crisis management on a town-wide scale was definitely not the norm.
Yet, that was exactly what she and everyone else around her had been making Lucas do.
Now, to be fair, Lucas had pushed to be involved in such things, and he could also not be considered an ordinary 10-year-old, but that was still no excuse for them becoming reliant upon him; or at least, that was how Sasha felt in this moment.
"Haaa… I'll have to talk with Charles, Anna, and Drake about this after this is all over," Sasha muttered to herself before slapping her cheeks and focusing on her current problem.
While it was true that the Balfours and Roths didn't get along, Sasha's distaste for this Duke Family was more a personal matter rather than a political one.
Many years ago, she had been snidely demeaned and insulted by some of the Roths at one of the few big banquets she had been attended in her youth. It was a petty argument among children, so the adults didn't get involved, but the malice and disdain the young Sasha had felt was one of her worst childhood memories.
That, coupled with the stories about the friction between the two noble families she was told by her parents and elders, had naturally shaped Sasha's negative perception of the Roths.
Still, she was an adult now and the wife of a Baron, so Sasha knew how she should act and behave, especially when she was in a disadvantaged position.
Going over things in her mind, Sasha quickly concluded that as long as she didn't bring up the subject herself, the chances of her being exposed as a Balfour were slim. Few people knew about her background, and fewer still would recognize her, especially after she hadn't been home in over 20 years.
Fiery red hair like hers wasn't common in the Rockwell Kingdom, but it also wasn't a trait unique to the Balfours. What's more, Sasha had inherited her mother's green eyes, rather than the typical amber colour of her paternal lineage.
As long as no one recognized her, given how proud and aloof the Roths normally acted, they shouldn't make any real trouble for a small place like Redwood Town. At worst, the townsfolk would have to suffer a little injustice and financial loss to settle things.
At least, that's what Sasha hoped.