Mr. Liander, who was held in high hopes by the new Saintess, was currently in a rather precarious situation himself.
The recovery of Madam Liander, also known as Ms. Santi, was not within his expectations, just as he had never expected his son to recover.
Although he had never considered his illegitimate son as a candidate for his heir, he was already a high-level mage. He could have remarried a noble lady after Ms. Santi's death and produced a satisfactory heir.
However, he had not anticipated that everything would slip out of his control after his daughter, the Saintess of Light, was banished.
Now, with his wife and son having left, he initially didn't think much of it, even feeling it was better for them to be gone.
But after they truly left, he realized he wasn't as at ease as he had imagined.
Although Ms. Santi had never been very fond of participating in external activities, she was the daughter of a Duke with royal blood.
Her father and brother were both great nobles who held vast territories. Since her departure, they had begun to make things difficult for him in various ways.
Of course, this difficulty was not openly expressed. Mr. Liander simply felt that everything was going wrong for him.
When the news from the chaotic lands arrived, he directly smashed his favorite cup.
Now he had received a letter from his illegitimate daughter. He had originally been quite fond of this daughter.
But now he found that this daughter was utterly incomparable to Angelina. The same Saintess, Angelina, never needed his help.
Not only that, but she also brought him considerable honor, allowing a mere Marquis like himself to have some influence in the face of the formidable Holy See.
This was also why he had managed to place his other daughter in the position of Saintess. Yet, he had not expected that even after giving her the position of Saintess, she would still be inferior to the daughter he had barely managed.
Now, she had written to him asking for his help in gaining power. Did she not consider how an outsider like him could possibly interfere in the affairs of the Holy See?
It seemed the only way was to use money to bribe them. But now, with Ms. Santi having taken a substantial amount of wealth, he did not have much money at his disposal.
Now, he began to miss the daughter who not only didn't require his intervention but also brought him honor.
The first mixed-blood dragon to awaken its bloodline had succeeded. He was the one who had entered his old age, and it was Lin Yan who had dedicated the most effort to him because his body was already in decay.
Lin Yan not only used spirit spring water and light elements to condition his body and refine his bloodline but also exerted a considerable amount of spiritual power.
After his body was refined, his appearance transformed from a frail elder into a robust middle-aged man.
Though he had endured considerable hardship and suffering during this transformation, it was all worth it.
Because of his success, the remaining mixed-blood dragons were filled with confidence. After all, the one with the least hope among them had succeeded, which meant their chances of success were even greater.
The dragon form he transformed into was somewhat small, and the color of its scales was not entirely pure, but he was still a dragon, a dragon with a long lifespan.
Lin Yan examined his dragon form. While it might not match the lifespan of his parents, it was certainly long enough.
His parents were overjoyed that their child had awakened his bloodline in the face of near despair.
They did not know how to thank Lin Yan. Dragons valued treasures above all else. They first presented him with a considerable amount of treasure, followed by many magic materials that Lin Yan would find useful.
However, these were not enough to express their gratitude, so they turned their attention to the surrounding territories.
Lin Yan's current territory was still somewhat small. They couldn't fly freely here, and with Morris also destined to live here in the future, he would undoubtedly need a larger hunting ground. Therefore, they decided to present Lin Yan with a larger territory.
The adult dragons exchanged glances, understanding each other's intentions. Without alerting Lin Yan, they flew out to find Will.
They had been living there for quite some time and were quite familiar with the situation at Lin Yan's place. Sir Will managed Lin Yan's army, and contacting him would surely provide them with information about their next course of action.
When Lin Yan emerged from her busy schedule, she discovered that her territory had expanded to border the Elf Forest, more than doubling in size.
"This seems a bit too fast," Lin Yan said with some surprise.
"They merely wish to thank you. After all, what you have done is very important to them." Morris knew what his kin had done but did not stop them.
After these areas were occupied, he asked Ms. Santi to help assign people to manage them, without disturbing the busy Lin Yan.
Ms. Santi and the others also understood that what Lin Yan was currently doing was very important, so they did not disturb her.
This resulted in Lin Yan discovering her fiefdom had more than doubled in size upon her emergence.
"What about the surrounding lords? They weren't killed directly, were they?"
"Lilian had people investigate their affairs. Those with good character were invited to the manor as guests, awaiting your disposition. As for those with bad character and who had committed many wrongdoings, they were simply executed."
The dragons themselves handled the executions, so Lin Yan's people were not involved. After all, Lin Yan's current influence was still relatively weak. Although she was on good terms with the dragon and elf races, her own power was still too limited.
If her own people had been involved, the Empire would certainly not have let the matter rest so easily.
"Understood. I shall go and meet those lords then." She never imagined that they had attended the same ball not long ago, and now they were her prisoners.
"I'll accompany you. It's still quite cold over there as it's not within the magic array," Morris extended his hand, gesturing for Lin Yan to place hers in it.
"Yes." Lin Yan, a ninth-level mage impervious to cold and heat, did not refuse his words but instead enjoyed his thoughtfulness.
Lin Yan's manor did not originally have such a dungeon. However, later, some individuals from the nearby town made mistakes or became involved in disputes, leading to the construction of this dungeon.
The dungeon was not incorporated into the magic array. It was built quite large, with many individual cells. Some cells had very poor conditions, while others were quite comfortable.
These lords were residing in the relatively better-conditioned cells. Will had initially intended to house them in the guest rooms, but the dragons disagreed, as they themselves were staying in the guest rooms.
The guest rooms were almost insufficient, let alone having space for these individuals. And these lords, knowing the dragons were staying in the guest rooms, dared not venture there and were willing to stay in the dungeon.
So, they could only prepare more daily necessities for them, striving to make the conditions here slightly better.