475 Change of Status
After a few minutes, Cora Brock was officially appointed leader of the battalion previously led by Christopher Hogan.
The other three squads that had come to Millfall with Arthur and the other two Commandants were still in town but would leave to return to their posts the following day.
Cora, Eric, and Nova's old classmate at Dryhaven Military Academy, would lead only the local soldiers.
After receiving her new position and being recognized by the king, whom Lina represented, Cora knelt before the bench where the First Princess sat.
While everyone waited for Lina's next speech, a masked man from the Mazzanti family looked at the woman. This person had a small green pentagram in front of his right eye.
'Is that the magnificent First Princess?' Someone on the other side of town thought as he looked through one of the soldier's eyes.
Vicente wasn't in that courthouse, but that didn't mean he wasn't following the event!
Sitting in his office, he watched, listened to, and felt everything that happened in this important place of the city, using his three abilities together for the first time.
As he tested this power for the first time, he couldn't help but feel excited, for this was truly an incredible power.
Even though he was a few kilometers away from the court, he could not only use his soldier to act, speak, and do whatever he wanted, but he could also see, hear, and feel everything around this man.
He looked at Princess Lina's beautiful face and thought about her looks, but he was much happier about his individual powers.
'Shelby was right. She really is beautiful. Rory will be upset to hear that he missed the opportunity to see such beauty.' He laughed as a green pentagram appeared in front of his right eye, and the other two circled his body.
As powerful as he was, Vicente was a young man, and when he wasn't full of problems, he talked about women with his good friend.
'Too bad for you, Rory...' Vicente laughed as he watched the event continue in the building.
After Lina's words to Cora, she announced who would be the new Baron of the province, replacing the nobleman who was leaving his title of Baron to become a Viscount.
Felix Burt, the patriarch of the Burt family, which was the family of Shelby's good friend, Mira Burt, would be the next local Baron, having successfully persuaded the king to grant him the title.
He and his family there at the Martial Court celebrated when Lina called his name, and Shelby watched with satisfaction as Felix was introduced and then officially made the new Baron.
Now, she would have a much better time locally, with a good friend of hers becoming more influential because of the rise of patriarch Burt, but her ally Vicente would also benefit, which could help her doubly.
But as soon as Lina consecrated Felix, everyone in the courtroom fell silent, feeling the nervousness of waiting to find out who the new local Viscount would be.
The fact that a local had become a Baron meant that someone from Millfall would become a Viscount instead of someone from out of town.
That raised the expectations of the locals, especially one old man who felt he would easily win this 'contest.'
'The only one who could give me any trouble and competition was the old Baron Staples. But with the fall of his family, I'm going to win this competition!' Thought a balding old man with a smile, preparing to stand up as soon as Lina called his name.
Then Lina opened her mouth.
"Levi Staples, stand up. His Royal Majesty has appointed you Viscount Staples, substitute and new owner of the lands of the old Symons family." She said as she read the royal decree, not noticing the many nobles there looking at the young man on the lap of an orange-haired woman.
Shelby was one of the few to smile at Lina's words, while the Barons of Millfall and some of the witnesses there couldn't help but look at Shelby and Levi in shock.
'How?' The man who had almost stood up with the name Levi Staples asked himself as his face paled and he glared at the two of them.
Meanwhile, the Duke of the Province looked at Shelby with narrowed eyes. 'It seems that this woman has some good cards up her sleeve. For her to get this position after all that's happened, she must have had some help.'
'Is this an intervention by the main branch of the Staples family?' A Marquis thought as Lina looked at Levi, surprised that the new Viscount was a child.
She knew nothing about the local situation and was only there to complete her father's decisions. She didn't know that the king had chosen a child to receive the title of Viscount.
"Your Highness, the Staples family has recently lost many members. Young Levi is the only heir left." One of her companions whispered in her ear.
"Why did my father choose a weakened family for promotion?" She didn't understand the king's choice.
"I don't know. Perhaps His Majesty knows something we don't. For him to have chosen this young man means that the person responsible for Levi must have a lot of potential or influence. She must be the real reason for this appointment."
"I see..." Lina looked at Shelby and then proceeded with the ceremony, appointing Shelby as Levi's legal representative, with this woman taking the oaths in her brother's name and receiving his noble title.
Levi was too young to be responsible for anything, so his representative was the only one who could go through this process.
Shelby did what she had to do and soon had the title of Viscount in her hands, with all the rights that had previously belonged to the Symons family.
As she listened to Lina's words, she couldn't help but smile and remember Marcus.
'I would love to see the look on your face right now, Marcus... Did you expect this, Marcus? You thought you would dominate me and replace your father. But now it's all mine, and you're dead!' She felt satisfied with herself, realizing her goals from years of hard work.
She had finally reached the pinnacle of her life, reaching a position that only 26 other people in the province had reached, with enormous rights and powers in her hands, at only 21 years of age and at level 5 of the 2nd stage.
With this title in hand, she had a lot of work ahead of her to reward her allies and enjoy what she had accomplished.
In this way, the next three months would pass quickly, not only for Shelby but also for her allies, who would reap great rewards from this final period of peace in Millfall!
