Chapter 84: Lord Governor of Phoya

“Yes, sir! Immediately, sir!” Kino scrambled backward on his hands and knees, grabbing his two thugs by their vests and practically throwing them out the front door before slamming it shut behind them.

Tibbar burst into a fit of wild, booming laughter, slapping his thigh so hard he nearly knocked over a stack of copper keys.

“Did you see his face?” Tibbar wheezed, wiping a tear of pure joy from his eye. “He looked like a cat had just stepped on his tail! Oh, Silvester, that silver badge is better than a mountain of gold!”

“It is a useful tool,” I smiled, stepping over to the front door and locking it tight. “Now, put that candlestick away. We have work to do. The noble banquet is in two days, and we need to look the part.”

The next forty-eight hours passed in a whirl of rapid preparation and intense customer activity.

With the Crest of Felis displayed proudly in our display window, high-class merchants, rich guild masters, and lower beastman nobles flooded into The Earthen Vault.

They didn’t just buy small lockboxes; they placed massive custom orders for reinforced mansion doors, hidden wall safes, and velvet-lined jewelry vaults.

Tibbar handled every transaction like a grand master of trade. He sold our products at three times the standard market price, easily collecting over eighty gold coins in profit in just two days.

By the evening of the sixth day, the shop was closed, and a tall, luxurious white-and-gold carriage pulled up directly in front of our entrance.

The carriage was pulled by two magnificent double-horned stags with shiny black coats. Sitting on the driver’s bench was a stern, muscular panther beastman dressed in a crisp black suit, holding leather reins trimmed with gold thread.

The panther driver hopped down, opened our shop door, and bowed politely. “Master Silvester? Lady Colleen has sent me to escort you and your assistant to the Grand Trade Palace in the Upper City.”

“We are ready,” I said, stepping out onto the street.

I was wearing a dark, custom-tailored suit made of fine Novarian wool, with dark brass buttons and my silver noble crest pinned proudly over my heart. Beneath my left sleeve, the star-iron Dragon Bracelet sat cold and secure against my skin.

Behind me stepped Tibbar.

The old rabbit man looked completely transformed. He wore a deep navy-blue velvet coat over a crisp white silk shirt, complete with a dark gold silk bowtie tied neatly around his neck.

His long grey ears were brushed until they shone, and he carried a silver-tipped mahogany walking cane that he had bought specifically for the occasion.

“How do I look, Silvester?” Tibbar asked, wiggling his tail and fluffing his chest. “Do I look like an aristocratic rabbit of high standing?”

“You look like a rabbit who is going to eat all the free appetizers at the banquet,” I chuckled, stepping into the velvet-lined carriage.

“Hey! I am a refined gentleman now!” Tibbar protested, climbing into the carriage beside me and sitting down on the soft red cushions. “I only eat carrots cooked in high-grade butter!”

The panther driver closed the heavy wooden door, climbed back onto the bench, and snapped the leather reins.

The carriage rolled smoothly over the cobblestones, heading away from the smoky industrial districts and moving steadily toward the towering white stone walls that separated the Lower City from the Upper City.

As we reached the High Gate, two massive iron grates lifted slowly with the hiss of heavy steam winches.

Dozens of imperial knights in shining plate armor lined the entrance, but as soon as they saw the crest of the House of Felis on our carriage door, they snapped to crisp attention and waved us through without delay.

The moment we passed through the High Gate, the atmosphere changed completely.

The smell of coal dust, wet iron, and sulfur vanished instantly, replaced by the crisp, sweet scent of blooming night-jasmine and lavender water. The streets were wide avenues paved with smooth white marble blocks that reflected the moonlight like calm water.

Instead of copper steam pipes, glowing glass lanterns filled with floating blue mana crystals illuminated the grand stone mansions on either side of the road.

Wealthy beastman aristocrats like sleek snow leopards, proud lions, and noble foxes dressed in glittering silk gowns and gold-trimmed uniforms were strolled along the elevated walkways, accompanied by private guard retinues.

I pulled down my magnifying loupe over my eye under the shadow of my hat, casually scanning the architecture as the carriage rolled past.

The Upper City wasn’t just built for luxury; it was built like a military fortress. Every white mansion had micro-thin mana barrier threads woven into its granite foundations. The central plaza had four hidden ballista towers disguised as clock towers.

‘Impressive,’ I thought. ‘A high-level defense grid. But the main mana distribution node near the central plaza has a slight delay in its pulse frequency. If someone cut the secondary conduit, the entire barrier grid would collapse in four seconds.’

“Look at that building!” Tibbar whispered in awe, pressing his snout against the carriage glass as we approached the top of the hill. “It looks like it was carved out of a single giant diamond!”

Standing at the highest point of the upper plateau was the Grand Trade Palace.

It was an enormous structure of white marble and clear arching glass domes, illuminated by hundreds of floating magic lanterns. Massive waterfalls flowed down the sides of the palace entrance, splashing into clear marble basins filled with glowing water lilies.

Our carriage came to a smooth stop at the bottom of a wide red carpet that stretched up fifty marble steps toward the main entrance. Dozens of grand carriages were lined up ahead of us, dropping off the most powerful figures in the province.

The panther driver opened our door and bowed. “We have arrived, Master Silvester.”

I stepped out onto the red carpet, adjusting my coat. Tibbar stepped out beside me, holding his mahogany cane tightly, his long ears twitching nervously as he looked up at the towering marble palace.

“Remember, Tibbar,” I said softly as we began walking up the grand marble stairs. “Act like you belong here.”

“I am trying, Silvester,” Tibbar whispered back, his knees shaking slightly beneath his fine velvet trousers. “But there are three tiger nobles over there who are looking at me like I am a walking side dish.”

“Ignore them,” I said. “They don’t have a silver crest.”

We reached the top of the stairs, stepping through the massive gold-leaf double doors into the main ballroom.

The sight inside was breathtaking.

The ceiling was a grand glass dome showing the starry night sky above. Suspended beneath the dome was a giant crystal chandelier floating in mid-air without any ropes, powered by a massive glowing mana core at its center.

Hundreds of beastman nobles, wealthy trade lords, and foreign delegates walked across the polished marble floor, holding silver glasses of sparkling wine while a live orchestra played soft classical music on a raised balcony.

As soon as Silvester and Tibbar walked into the ballroom, several nearby conversations died down.

Countless eyes turned toward us. Lion lords raised their golden monocles in surprise, snow leopard ladies whispered behind silk fans, and high-level merchants stared in confusion at the sight of a ten-year-old human boy and an old rabbit man walking side by side into the highest noble gathering in Phoya.

“Is that a human kid?” a tall tiger noble in a red military uniform muttered, his yellow eyes narrowing. “Who let a commoner child into the Grand Assembly?”

“Look at his coat,” a fox noblewoman whispered, her sharp eyes spotting the silver badge. “That is the Crest of Felis! The Marquis’s personal seal!”

Before the murmuring crowd could say anything further, a high-pitched, bossy voice echoed from the grand staircase at the far end of the ballroom.

“You are five minutes late, Master Silvester!”

Lady Colleen van Felis descended the marble stairs with dramatic elegance.

She wore a breathtaking ballroom gown of deep sapphire silk, decorated with silver lace and tiny sparkling diamonds along the neckline. Her white fur was immaculate, her pink cat ears standing proud, and her fluffy tail swaying side to side with absolute authority.

Beside her walked a tall, imposing cat beastman in his late forty, wearing a heavy dark blue coat adorned with dozens of gold military medals. He had sharp green eyes, long grey-trimmed whiskers, and a powerful aura that commanded instant silence throughout the room.

It was Marquis Aaron van Felis, the Lord Governor of Phoya.

Colleen marched straight past three bowing trade lords, stopping directly in front of me with a smug, triumphant smile on her face.

“I see you didn’t run away, human boy,” Colleen said, crossing her arms.

“I never miss a business appointment, Lady Colleen,” I replied, offering a polite bow. “You look very formal tonight.”

“Of course I do!” Colleen smirked, turning toward the older cat beastman beside her. “Father! This is Master Silvester, the locksmith I told you about. The one who opened the Felis Box!”

Marquis Aaron stepped forward, his sharp green eyes scanning me from head to toe. The pressure radiating from his body was intense. The aura of a man who ruled an entire trade province with an iron fist.

He looked at my young frame, then looked down at the silver crest pinned to my coat.

Enjoying the journey? Don’t let the adventure stop here!