Chapter 587: Appropriate Greeting

As responsible as ever, Farah mused to herself as she nodded and led the way back towards the Manor.

As for Braden, although he was usually quite boisterous and outgoing, he understood from the way his grandparents were treating this slightly burly middle-aged woman named Farah that she was someone of very high status, far beyond anyone he had ever personally interacted with before.

His instincts as a soldier-in-training were also screaming at him that she was strong, ridiculously so.

That was why, for the moment, he decided the best thing for him to do was keep quiet and just follow along.

He may have been a bit of a meathead, but he wasn’t stupid, nor did Braden believe that his status as eldest son and prospective heir of Baron Milo Firth gave him any privilege here.

Sons of Barons weren’t so common that you could randomly pick one out from the crowds wandering the streets of Misty City, but they certainly weren’t anything special either.

That was fine with Braden, however, as he had always been of the mindset that it was personal strength that determined whether you were respected or not, not who your parents or grandparents were.

If anything, he really hated those arrogant noble sons and daughters who looked down on him and dismissed him as worthless just because of his lineage even though they were personally weaker than he was.

Hopefully my little cousin isn’t like those spoiled princesses from those big noble houses, Braden thought to himself as he followed behind his grandparents and the woman named Farah, his eyes wandering around slightly as he took in the sights of Misty City.

Over the past 9 months or so, he had seen a great many places throughout the Rockwell Kingdom, which had been both exciting and eye opening.

Up until a year ago, the biggest city he had ever been to was Farden, the capital of the Campbell Earldom his Firth Family belonged to.

Farden had always seemed enormous and prosperous to Braden, with around 100,000 people living there and numerous big trade convoys passing through every day, but now having seen the splendors of Rockwell and Misty City...

Braden had expected the capital to be the most glorious city in the kingdom, but Misty City really didn’t fall far behind it whether it was in terms of size or vibrancy.

On the issue of visual appeal, Braden actually felt that Misty City was better than Rockwell City. It certainly smelled nicer, at least.

Why that was, the young man didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to complain about it. Coming from a small rural town surrounded by nature, Braden felt much more comfortable in open spaces where the air was fresh, rather than in the cramped streets and alleyways that seemed to be the norm in most big cities.

Misty City having wider streets and better overall cleanliness was in no way a demerit in his mind.

As the young lad was lost in such mundane thoughts, the small group of 4 reached the main gates of the Balfour Manor where the guards on duty promptly saluted and shouted, "Welcome back, Instructor Farah."

"En," Farah grunted in her usual gruff tone before motioning to Edward, Amalia, and Braden behind her, "These 3 are with me."

The guards, 5 of whom were Core Formation Realm Practitioners while one was a Sea Establishment Captain, all looked over at the old couple and young man briefly before nodding.

Since they were guests of a high-ranking Spirit Initiate with close ties to the Marquess, they saw no reason to ask any further questions.

That said, they also weren’t going to go out of their way to greet this trio with any kind of grand ceremony or respect, which neither they, nor Edward, Amalia, or Braden found unusual.

Farah, on the other hand, thought otherwise, so she decided to add, "They are Young Lady Eris’ paternal grandparents, Edward and Amalia Newton, and her paternal cousin, Braden Firth."

The guards’ reaction was immediate upon hearing this.

All of them straightened up, slammed their spears onto the ground, then pounded their right fists across their chests in full formal salute, "Greetings, Sir and Lady Newton! Greetings, Young Master Firth!"

Obviously, the old couple and young man were taken aback.

Even when he was still a Baron, Edward had never received such an enthusiastic greeting from the members of his own house, let alone the guards of a much higher noble.

Amalia and Braden’s thoughts on the matter were similar, thinking that even their own family’s subordinates had never been so respectful to them, not that they really expected that being from mere Baron-rank households.

Seeing the confused, even somewhat overwhelmed looks on the trio’s face, the Guard Captain, a middle-aged man in the Fifth Step Sea Establishment Realm, seemed to understand and smiled warmly, "Young Lady Eris is incredibly well liked amongst everyone in the Manor. Since you are members of her family, we must naturally show you an appropriate level of regard."

.....

It took both Edward, his wife, and their oldest grandson a minute to recover after what was essentially an honour-guard-style greeting they had received at the entrance of the complex, but once they had, they began to take in the view of the home of the most powerful woman in the Rockwell Kingdom.

Needless to say, it was impressive.

Although Martin was technically the capital of the Balfour March, as well its centre of politics, it was an open secret that Celestina Balfour considered Misty City to be her real home.

This wasn’t just about Celestina preferring to stay in the city she had personally seen built up over the past 200 years, it was also about deterrence towards the Darr Kingdom.

In Gateway City, on the other side of the Misty Bridge, there was always at least 1 Adept-Realm master on duty, while having 2 to 4 such Cultivators present was not unusual.

Spirit Adepts could not win wars on their own, but they could certainly affect the outcome of battles, even large-scale ones between armies, so Celestina’s presence in Misty City really was a necessity most of the time.

The fact that this necessity coincided with her residency preferences was just a bonus.

As they were walking along the manicured pathways and gardens, weaving between the numerous storehouses, training halls, and residences, Edward couldn’t help noticing something a bit odd and commented, "There seems to be a lot of construction work going on."

It wasn’t unusual for a noble’s home to require regular maintenance work, and perhaps even some light renovations now and again, but it seemed like every fourth or fifth building he spotted inside the Balfour Family’s Manor was undergoing serious reconstruction.

"Hm? Oh, that," Farah naturally heard this comment but had to take a moment to process it.

Construction work had been a near constant feature of the manor ever since she arrived in Misty City, so at some point she had just gotten used to it. It was only after an outsider pointed it out that Farah really took a hard look and realized just how much had changed inside the Balfour grounds.

Shaking her head wryly, Farah simply said, "You can thank Lucas for that. He’s always coming up with... interesting new ideas about how to make life more comfortable, but that often requires knocking down old buildings and putting up new ones. Or at least doing serious renovations."

"Lucas, as in, Anna and Drake’s boy?" Amalia asked somewhat incredulously, "But, isn’t he only 10-years old?"

"11, actually," Farah shrugged.