Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys

Very soon, Olena led Rein to the top floor of the administrative building, into Admiral Edward's office.

"Viscount Rein, we meet again!" The Duke of Minter greeted Rein with a smile as he entered.

"Good morning, Duke and Admiral Edward." Rein slightly bowed and smiled.

After some pleasantries, the Duke of Minter went straight to the point:

"Viscount Rein, to commend your outstanding contribution in dealing with the Black Flame Cult attack, I, on behalf of the Minter Provincial Administration, have decided to award you the Minter Province Distinguished Contribution Medal."

"Furthermore, considering your recent arrival in Minter, you may need a residence befitting your status. There is a former Count Mansion located in the Noble District that I believe will suit you well." At this point, the Duke paused.

He then opened a meticulously crafted dark brown wooden box on the coffee table, retrieving a golden medal styled like an orchid.

"Thank you for the Duke's generosity." Rein immediately expressed gratitude and leaned slightly forward, allowing the Duke of Minter to hang the medal on his chest.

He naturally understood that the symbolic significance of the medal was greater than its practical value.

The real benefit of this reward was the residence.

"Secondly, Admiral Edward and I have agreed that your achievements already qualify you to be recommended for the title of Earl. Therefore, we will soon jointly write a letter of recommendation to the higher-ups, suggesting you for Earl."

"However, with the Emperor gravely injured, any noble rank promotion above Earl requires the Emperor's consent, so this matter may be delayed for quite some time."

"Thank you for the appreciation from both of you." Rein stood up and expressed his gratitude once more.

The first reward is quite beneficial for Rein in practical terms.

It's known that the situation in the entire Minter Province is rather turbulent, and many noble families from various County Towns have relocated to the relatively safe provincial capital.

This has resulted in the housing prices in Minter rising continuously.

Not to mention the Noble District, even in the upper city district, a decent residence is hard to come by.

Now the Duke of Minter has directly allocated a Count Mansion to him, relieving his urgent need, and the location is in the Noble District, which in terms of environment and security, is arguably the best area in Minter.

One of the reasons Rein has been staying at the Sword Bearers Branch lately is the Diamond Star Sword Holder Captain suite allocated by the branch, which includes a training room.

The residence he currently has near the branch, let alone a training room, only has five bedrooms in total, and his family is almost unable to live comfortably.

As for the second reward mentioned by the Duke of Minter, the matter of the Earl application, Rein is not in a hurry.

Because, with the current situation, even if he were granted the title of Earl and had his own hereditary territory, the defensive pressure would be equally immense.

This can be seen from Cleya's Habs family.

Now, with the Empire's turmoil and continuous attack incidents, the nobles with hereditary territories are forced to disperse their combat forces due to their vast lands, making it difficult to defend against various assaults.

After staying a while longer, the Duke of Minter left.

Being responsible for all administrative affairs in Minter, he was quite busy.

Rein observed that within a short span of about fifteen minutes, his trusted aide came over to report thrice, each from different County Towns with urgent communiques.

At this time, only Admiral Edward and Rein were left in the office.

Then, Admiral Edward, showing a bit of regret, said: "Rein, regarding the request sent to headquarters for an Imperial Guardian to help remove your mark, we have received a reply."

"The recent battle in the Imperial City caused many of the Imperial Guardians to be injured, and others are tasked with urgent missions, thus not being in the Imperial City."

"Hence, your request might be postponed for a while."

As he spoke, Admiral Edward took out a gray wooden box from the drawer and continued:

"Of course, you need not worry too much. Here is some advanced purification potion sent from headquarters. Although it cannot completely remove the mark, it can at least suppress its effects on you for three months."

"Thank you, Admiral Edward." Rein slightly bowed and accepted the wooden box.

He had somewhat expected this outcome after attending an emergency meeting a few days ago.

Given the current situation in the Empire, it's likely that every Imperial Guardian is in a rather busy state.

When it comes to priorities, removing his mark naturally would be placed further down the list.

Of course, Rein's biggest assurance in facing this situation calmly lies in the fact that he has already completely suppressed the Evil Flame Mark.

In fact, from combating the Evil Flame Mark, he gained a blessing in disguise by rapidly enhancing his willpower attribute.

Rein has a premonition.

Perhaps when his willpower attribute reaches ten points, he will be able to completely obliterate the Evil Flame Mark.

Of course, he alone knows of this situation, and he does not intend to report it to Admiral Edward before him.

After all, it is a rather difficult situation to explain.

If others learn that someone harbors many secrets, the likelihood of them desiring to probe into those secrets naturally increases.

Rein does not intend to test human nature.

And Admiral Edward, after speaking, was subtly observing Rein's expressions; seeing Rein's calm demeanor, he couldn't help but appreciate him even more.