Chapter 198 Landlord Shi

Leonardo left the three-star building with a faint smile on his face, Blaire following behind him with an unnatural expression that slowly went from rigid to helpless, then cold.

She had no choice in the matter but to agree otherwise she could be accused of blatantly disregarding the authority of the Magistrate Manor. If she denied signing the contract just a moment after advertising her consent to work for Leonardo, that man from the Oliver Estate doesn't need to do anything, the knight would be the first to apprehend her.

While on his way out, Leonardo paused for a bit and gave Blaire a look, and said, "You're too smart for your own good. Hm, if I were to open a brothel with you as the courtesan, I wonder how much would the Young Master of the Oliver Estate pay to monopolize you?"

Blaire's body shook, her cold expression breaking into a flattering, pitiful smile as she hurriedly caught up to Leonardo and bowed. "I'm sorry for using you out of the blue like that, I was really on edge and couldn't afford to be caught by them…"

"Do I seem so bored as to meddle with your business? I've been trying to keep it under the radar, but now you're forcing my hand, sigh… Since that already happened, I might as well start making some substantial connections." Leonardo's meaning was clear, these rich second generations love to flaunt their power and wealth.

Whatever they couldn't get their hands on, they would desire it even more.

Since he would most likely be targeted by the Oliver Estate people, he would need to enter the political arena to have a chance of retaliation.

It would have been fine if he didn't enter the political arena as that would be giving enough face to Raymond's master, especially after ruining that man's plans for a hostile takeover.

Someone who could plot a hostile takeover in a place like the Vast Sky Avenue definitely wasn't a simple character, and Leonardo could only guess at the extent of his or their connections behind the scenes.

'Seems like I'll have to delay my visit to the vampire clan for a while…' Leonardo kneaded his forehead.

The people from the 7th District wouldn't take the initiative to cause trouble if Leonardo didn't make a move to jeopardize their common interests. However, the Oliver Estate is different, as Leonardo had indeed taken the initiative to slap them in the face.

Blaire's face went pale.

As for Leonardo, he was already deep in thought while heading toward the four-star building.

He definitely wouldn't believe that the issue lay in the Young Master's desire for Blaire, even though that might be one of the reasons.

She must have something on her body or in her head, something that wouldn't allow the Oliver Estate to rest easy unless she was in their custody.

But what can a non-cultivator woman have on her and is it something worth starting a conflict between two estates of the city?

As a Landlord, Leonardo now must deal with agriculture and economics of his land, tax fees, job petitions, security, health, education, and many other things that revolve around the general welfare of his tenants.

That means he would need to establish connections with the various manors and estates around the 7th district, and perhaps extend further to the neighboring districts.

If a local Overlord from the 7th district and Oliver Estate from an external district began to put some pressure on Leonardo's business and various endeavors, life would be too difficult for the people he planned to leave behind.

With these thoughts weighing on his heart, Leonardo entered the four-star building and calmly waited in line for an audience in one of the closed office rooms on the spacious ground floor.

Very quickly it was Leonardo's turn, with Blaire silently standing behind him, the expression in her eyes somewhat at a loss.

"How can I help you?" Another beautiful woman, though this one seemed much more cheerful and welcoming, less absentminded.

pαпdα-ňᴏνê|·сóМ Leonardo handed over his documents and responded, "I am here to finish up the promotion procedures and conclude my appointment as a Landlord to an Estate."

The woman looked through the papers very quickly and nodded, smiling faintly, "So it is Lord Shi, just one moment… Hm, what official department do you wish to start in if I may ask?"

Leonardo responded without hesitation, "I would like a position in the Magic Theory Department, I will handle the expenditures for research and materials on the account of maintaining first-hand legal rights to all research results and responses."

The woman blinked, "Are you sure? If it's about cultivation, I would recommend branching out by doing office work related to something more practical to the Luan Dynasty as a whole, your progression in the later years might be a bit smoother."

Leonardo chuckled, thinking that this woman was naive.

Every lifeline with potential gains was already monopolized by those officials, and if he wanted to contest with them over it, things might take years or decades to establish a firm foundation.

Moreover, he only needed Merlin and Elizabeth to come up with the simplified magic theorem and he would do the calculations with his innate martial intent, speeding up the research for a more practical achievement.

They should get satisfactory results within a short amount of time and create new inscriptions that would incorporate spells of a higher level and magnitude.

Since he couldn't fight other people for their lifelines, he would simply create his own, and perhaps this might one day become the most renowned magic theory branch across the dynasty.

"Yes, I am sure," Leonardo responded a moment later.

"Alright… Hm, I have to remind you that your status as a Landlord doesn't mean you have full ownership of the land or the people in it, your position is more like a middleman between the people and the Magistrate Manor. However, any new innovations that you come up with during your research will be rightfully yours, I only hope you understand that these innovations shouldn't make their way into the hands of the wrong people…"

"If I were to sell then to party B and then they sold it to party C, I am in no shape, or form responsible for that," Leonardo quickly interjected.

The woman smiled, "Of course, we are not that unreasonable," Leonardo wasn't sure if she would have said this if he didn't take the initiative to remind her, but he didn't mind at all.

In no time at all, the paperwork was over and the female employee handed over Leonardo's SCC that now had the number '4' imprinted within the star symbol.

Like this, his status in the city had risen to an Estate Landlord, but he wasn't feeling joy from this.

Leonardo flicked his fingers and brought out a sealed envelope from his storage ring, staring intently at the invitation as he muttered under his breath, "I guess paying them a visit wouldn't hurt…"

He then turned his head and gave Blaire a look, "Let's go, I have a banquet to attend."

Just as they were about to leave, the knight to the side said, "You can't attend public events while dressed in the staff uniform of the Magistrate Manor, please leave the uniform behind."

Blaire froze for a moment, as her change of clothes was left behind in the staff rooms, but she knew that Leonardo wouldn't wait for her as she went back to change.

Furthermore, she was just a regular non-cultivator, she couldn't afford a storage ring, nor did she have any connections with anyone wealthy enough to give her one.

Her face flushed red as she clutched at her uniform, not wanting to go through this kind of humiliation in this place.

Leonardo sighed, feeling that these problems from the Oliver Estate had to practice these lowly tricks.

Are they trying to make use of the rules to separate him from Blaire? He waved his long coat to cover her body while a slightly more violent wave of worldly energy distorted the air around Blaire, preventing anyone from having any clear vision unless they actively probed with their spiritual sense.

"Make it quick," Leonardo's voice echoed by Blaire's ears inside the distortion.

The knight furrowed his brows, but ultimately he said nothing.

Although he could offer some help and be biased, that was all within the boundaries of the rules.

If he went overboard, it would definitely backfire and may result in very serious repercussions.

The Magistrate Manor's Disciplinary Committee is very strict with rewards and punishments, and they wouldn't give face to a meager Oliver Estate, much less an ordinary knight.

He could only say that he tried, but this Lord Shi wasn't a simple character either.

"I'm done," Blaire's voice sounded, and Leonardo retrieved the screen made from worldly energy.

The scene went awfully silent as everyone's eyes landed on Blaire's body.

The humiliation almost had her breaking into tears as she clutched the long cloak even tighter around her figure, but that only caused the eyes of some people to heat up even more.

Bang!

Blood splattered as those with heated gazes had their eyes burst out in a splash of blood, but the blood that splattered gathered by Leonardo's fingertips as he growled. "Are you tired of living? You dare disrespect this Lord?!"