When the great teleportation disaster struck, the entire territory of Fittoa was affected, and the Boreas family was no exception.
Teleportation magic doesn't differentiate between commoners and nobles.
At the time of the disaster, Philip and Hilda of the Boreas family were enjoying their afternoon tea.
Philip had been contemplating his ambitions, unsure whether he should marry his daughter Eris to Wood or to Rudy. Since Hilda was Eris' mother, naturally Philip sought her opinion on the matter.
Hilda had harbored resentment toward Philip for losing the competition to become the head of the family, which had led to their child being taken by the main house. However, when it came to Eris' marriage, Hilda was quite satisfied with Philip's approach.
Although Paul and Zenith came from noble backgrounds, they had long since abandoned their noble status, which meant that both Wood and Rudy were now considered commoners.
On the other hand, Eris, as the beloved granddaughter of Lord Sauros and the daughter of the city lord Philip, was unmistakably a young noblewoman.
Normally, Eris would be expected to marry someone of equal noble status, and Wood and Rudy wouldn't even be considered as possible suitors.
But this time, Philip had unexpectedly stood his ground, insisting that he would personally decide his daughter's marriage and had chosen both Wood and Rudy as candidates.
As for asking his wife Hilda for her opinion, Philip thought it was somewhat unnecessary.
Philip favored both Wood and Rudy because of their intelligence and exceptional talents, far beyond that of their peers.
However, compared to Rudy, Hilda clearly preferred Wood. This was evident in the way she cared for the flower called "Light of Dawn", tending to it with such devotion.
For Hilda, a polite and considerate child like Wood was everything she could have wanted in a son. It was her one regret that Wood wasn't her own.
But if Eris were to marry Wood, wouldn't that regret be completely erased?
Just as the two were discussing Eris' future, the teleportation disaster struck.
At the time, Hilda had been carefully pruning the Light of Dawn, and Philip had just barely managed to grab hold of his stunned wife.
After being unconscious for a while, they awoke to find themselves far from the Boreas estate, in the middle of a barren wilderness.
While Philip held the title of city lord, his combat abilities were mediocre at best. He had no magical skills, and even his swordsmanship was only slightly better than the average person.
As for Hilda, she had been a delicate noble lady even before marrying into the Boreas family, and had continued to live the pampered life of a noblewoman.
With no maids or guards to protect them, and stranded in an unfamiliar wilderness, the situation was dire for the once privileged Philip and Hilda.
Wearing expensive-looking clothes and possessing little combat ability, it didn't take long for the wandering bandits in the area to set their sights on them.
When they encountered the bandits, Philip initially tried to use his title as the Lord of Roa to threaten them.
Unfortunately, Philip didn't realize that the teleportation magic had transported them to the lawless areas of the Holy Kingdom of Millis.
These outlaws didn't care about Fittoa, nor would they be swayed by the title of a city lord. Even the prince of the Asura Kingdom would mean nothing to them here.
As the bandits prepared to kill Philip and Hilda and loot their valuables, something surprising happened.
Normally timid, Hilda stepped forward and negotiated with them, saying, "If you kill us here, you'll only get a few trinkets. But if you take us to the nearest town, I can assure you that you'll receive a handsome ransom for us."
"She's right. I am the heir to the Fittoa territory in the Asura Kingdom. If I send word to my family, they'll surely pay handsomely to get us back," Philip added, catching onto the plan.
Philip, being the city lord of Roa, was highly skilled in negotiation, and with his wife's prompt, he quickly tried to bargain with the bandits.
"Hah, this is the war-torn zone of the Holy Kingdom of Millis. What good is being the lord of some distant Asura territory? You could claim to be a prince for all we care," one of the bandits sneered.
The outlaws were tempted by Philip's offer but hesitant. After all, this was the southern part of the Central Continent, far from the Asura Kingdom. Plus, they had no reason to believe that Philip was actually a noble.
Philip found himself at a loss. Both he and Hilda had been wearing simple clothes when the disaster hit, leaving them without any documents or items that could prove their noble status.
"If only we had something to prove we were nobles, perhaps these bandits would be more cautious," Philip thought in frustration. In most kingdoms, killing nobles was a grave offense that was strictly punished.
Seeing the bandits closing in and ready to kill them, Hilda suddenly remembered the Light of Dawn in her hands. "While we don't have anything to prove we're nobles, this flower should at least show that we aren't short on wealth," she said hastily.
The flower in her hand glowed with a soft light, immediately catching the attention of the bandits.
Among the outlaws, there were a few with enough knowledge to recognize the rare flower.
"Boss, that's the Light of Dawn. I once saw it in a noble's garden when I worked as a guard. This flower only grows deep in the forests where magical beasts roam, making it extremely difficult to harvest. It sells for an exorbitant price. Most nobles can't even afford to keep it."
"That little flower's worth that much?" the leader said in disbelief, eyeing the glowing plant.
In the end, Philip and Hilda's lives were spared.
The bandits realized that if they were rich enough to keep something like the Light of Dawn, even if they weren't nobles, they were clearly wealthy.
Killing them outright would be a waste—there was far more profit in holding them for ransom.
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 400+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a