Mist Empire’s Rise: Fake Noble to Fog Queen

    "Stinky drunkard, my name is Roman, and you're the lucky one," the little boy retorted.

    He added after a pause: "I met the lady first. Without me, you would never have met her."

    Troy glanced at him, snorted coldly, but didn't argue back.

    He was a swordsman after all, why bother arguing with a little brat?

    A kid who hasn't even grown his first whisker.

    In the moonlight, a large figure and a small one, separated by a distance of four people, slowly walked towards the south.

 

    Siria Magic Academy boasted its own horse ranch, nestled at the foot of the mountain on the academy's easternmost edge. A clear stream flowed outside the ranch, conveniently providing water for the horses.

    At 10 a.m., the sun at 40 degrees north latitude crested the tall Hilian Mountains, casting slanted rays onto the dew-covered grass of the racetrack, scattering what appeared to be a ground full of sparkling diamonds.

    The training ground on the west side served as the students' classroom. Years of trampling had compacted the earth into a solid surface.

    The training ground was divided into numerous tracks using wooden stakes and iron nets, forming a large onion-like circle.

    As the iron gates of the training ground swung open, stallions galloped into the field under their handlers' control, their hooves kicking up a cloud of choking dust.

    Luo Wei, like the noble students, had changed into light riding attire and waited in front of the stands at the training ground.

    Her chestnut horse had been sent to the school stables the day before, for which she had paid ten silver coins as a feeding fee.

    Once everyone's horses had arrived, the riding instructor, Cork Tolan, finally appeared with his imposing black steed.

    "Is everyone here? If so, go find your horses," Instructor Tolan waved his hand, directing everyone to fetch their own mounts.

    Students who had never ridden before looked nervous, hesitant to approach the horses.

    Fortunately, these horses were all docile, and there were no incidents of horses kicking anyone.

    Luo Wei found her horse by recognizing its attire—yes, her horse was wearing clothes.

    Nobles liked to customize all sorts of equipment for their beloved steeds, dressing them up in fancy attire.

    For instance, Vina's horse not only wore an engraved brass face mask but also a leather horse blanket embroidered with her family crest.

    Some of the noble boys in the class were even more extravagant, equipping their horses with full sets of armor, including face guards, neck guards, leg guards, belly guards, and rump guards. They even adorned their horses' mouths with ornate golden bridles.

    They themselves were also dressed formally, in full chainmail and joint protectors, wearing helmets of various shapes, looking like small, spirited generals.

    But Luo Wei couldn't help but laugh when she saw their helmets, as they always reminded her of the strange protrusions atop Ultraman's head.

    Compared to the high spirits of the noble students, the commoner students seemed a bit awkward.

    The horses provided by the academy were only equipped with simple saddles and reins, looking particularly plain next to the group of bejeweled, high-headed steeds.

    Luo Wei, originally a commoner herself, was incredibly grateful that she had been persuaded by the merchant the day before to buy the most expensive horse blanket in the store. Today, she wouldn't look so out of place among the noble students.

    Before attending the riding class, she thought the difference between nobles and commoners was just that the former had sturdier horses and the latter had weaker ones. Who knew the biggest difference would be in the horses' attire?

    This world was truly cruel. Commoners couldn't even afford a complete set of clothes, but the nobles' horses wore gold and silver, with a set of horse armor worth dozens of acres of land.

    As the sunlight gradually intensified, the students, with Instructor Tolan's help, successfully mounted their saddles and began to walk their horses around the track.

    The content of the first lesson was simple: learn to mount and dismount, and control the horse's forward direction.

    Luo Wei had ridden horses in her previous life and was skilled at these movements, but this body was riding for the first time. After sitting on the horse's back for a while, the inside of her thighs began to chafe painfully.

    She controlled the reins, slowing down her chestnut horse, and ambled alone on the outer lane of the track to avoid rubbing her thighs raw.

    "Clop, clop, clop..."

    The sound of horseshoes striking the ground grew closer, and a silver figure came charging towards her.

    Luo Wei turned her head, her pupils constricting, and immediately grabbed the reins.

    "Whoa—"

    Horse hooves flew up and landed beside her.

    Golden hair fluttered in the wind as Axina sat high on her horse's back, looking down at her with an arrogant expression.

    Luo Wei knew Axina wouldn't actually collide with her when she saw her tighten the reins, so her expression remained relatively calm.

    "Axina, you're going the wrong way."

    She gripped the reins and urged her horse a few steps forward before turning back to remind her.

    A flash of disappointment crossed Axina's eyes; she hadn't managed to scare Luo Wei.

    She had thought that Luo Wei would at least fall off her horse in fright.

    But she quickly put on a fake smile: "Sorry, I accidentally pulled the reins the wrong way."

    "I hope you're truly sorry," Luo Wei glanced at her, squeezed her horse's belly with her legs, and widened the distance between them.

    Axina's eyes turned cold as she squeezed her horse's belly to catch up: "Luo Wei, why don't we chat for a bit?"

    Luo Wei kept her eyes forward: "What do you want to talk about?"

    Axina rode alongside her: "Have you ever seen a Holy Knight?"

    Luo Wei: "Holy Knights don't travel around countries."

    "But sometimes, they do leave the church to complete certain tasks in various places," Axina stared at her profile, "For example, they might receive a commission from a noble to purify a demon soul that has possessed a human body."

    Boom—

    Luo Wei heard a thunderous sound in her heart, her blood suddenly rushing faster, causing her muscles to tense up.

    Did Axina know?

    How could she know that Luo Wei wasn't the original owner of this body?

    Her heart was racing, but under extreme shock, Luo Wei actually became calmer.

    Axina might not really know; she was probably just using this as an excuse to trick Vina into luring a Holy Knight here to expose her true identity.

    Guessing Axina's intentions, Luo Wei's heart settled back down.

    "Purifying demons? Interesting, but unfortunately, I've never seen it," she replied in a cool tone.

    "No worries, you'll see it soon," Axina's eyes flickered, "Vina suspects there's a demon hiding in the academy. She wrote a letter to the church two days ago, and I believe it should have been delivered by now."

    Luo Wei nodded: "Thank you for letting me know. I'm looking forward to it."

    "Well then, I'll be on my way," Axina's smile deepened as she cracked her whip and galloped away.

    Her reaction made it seem as if she had really just come to chat for a bit.

    But Vina had already told her about this, so why did Axina need to come and warn her a second time?

    Luo Wei found it strange. Could it be that Vina had distanced herself from Axina, so Axina had to come herself to emphasize it again?

    Previously, she hadn't taken Vina's threat seriously, but now that Axina had mentioned the letter again, she started to worry.

    If the Holy Knights were just coming to investigate her identity, she could still muddle through. But if they could actually examine a person's soul, she would likely be unable to explain herself and end up with her soul scattered.

    After class, Luo Wei walked to the cafeteria, her mind heavy with worry.

    "Luo Wei!"

    Winnie and Balke waved at her from a table; they had arrived earlier and had already started eating.

    Although the last gathering hadn't been particularly pleasant, influenced by Luo Wei, they had greatly improved their terrible dining habits. They felt the changes were for the better and wanted to learn more from her.

    Luo Wei bought a vegetable salad and sat down next to them with her bowl.

    "Luo Wei, is that all you're eating?" Winnie asked, her eyes wide.

    "I'm not feeling very hungry today, so I wanted something light," Luo Wei said as she took out her personal cutlery set and retrieved a clean silver fork.

    Winnie and Balke looked curiously at the fork in her hand, exclaiming in unison: "We'd love to know just how much cutlery you actually have!"

    Luo Wei smiled, opening her cutlery set and placing it in front of them.

    "Not much, I'm not that particular when I'm out. Would you like to take a look?"

    Winnie and Balke nodded eagerly, carefully picking up her cutlery set.

    "A small knife, a long spoon, a round tube, and two silver sticks. What are these for?" They looked puzzled.

    TBC