Chapter 722: Bringing The Community Together

Maria went to the side of the bridge, found a slope leading down to the canal, looked down for a moment and then, to everyone’s absolute horror—

—she actually made her way down toward the sewage below!

This made everyone panic far more than they had for Cassius.

"My lady, don’t! Please!" Several people cried out.

"You can’t go down there! You can’t get dirty!"

"A person like yourself shouldn’t do such tasks!"

"Please, Lady Maria!"

They genuinely started freaking out.

This was a woman that the entire continent looked up to and admired. Even the most brutal enemies and violent criminals wouldn’t dare harm her, given all the charitable deeds she had performed and the reverence people held for her.

To see her descending into sewage right now was absolutely horrifying to witness. It felt wrong on a fundamental level.

But Maria did not seem to care at all.

She just carefully made her way down the slope until she finally reached the bottom, stepping into the water with her feet.

This made several people actually look away, unable to bear the sight like watching a beautiful flower being trampled and thrown into a pile of filth.

Cassius himself was utterly shocked. He stared at her in complete surprise, mouth falling open.

But before he could even say anything—

Maria gave him a teasing smile.

"Don’t even try it, Cassius." She said playfully. "Don’t even tell me that I have to go back up, or how this is a dirty place, or any of that nonsense."

This made Cassius close his mouth, the words dying on his lips.

Maria went on with a mischievous expression.

"If a high noble like you, someone who has enough money to make even the Empress jealous is able to do something like this, then why can’t a humble woman like me do the same? My entire existence is devoted to serving and helping others, after all."

She tilted her head.

"Besides, I’ve been on battlefields. And trust me, those places are far more brutal. The smells are worse. The sights are worse." She shrugged. "This is nothing compared to that."

Cassius wanted to argue. Wanted to tell her to go back, to keep her from dirtying herself.

But the look in her eyes stopped him.

There was something new there. Something he had never seen before. Something that made his heart race and his cheeks flush.

He sighed and instead reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a pair of gloves.

"At least wear these."

Maria smiled and took them, pulling them on with obvious satisfaction. Then she waded into the water and began to search.

The crowd watched in stunned silence.

Two of the most prestigious people in the estate—the master of the Holyfield estate and the Saintess of Compassion were standing in sewage, searching for a lost ring.

But the shock didn’t last long.

It was replaced by determination.

If they could do it, why couldn’t everyone else?

"I’ll help too!" Someone shouted, climbing down the slope.

"Me too! Count me in!"

"Move over, I’m coming down!"

Within minutes, dozens of people had joined them in the canal. Men and women alike, young and old—they waded through the filthy water, their hands sweeping along the bottom, searching for the precious ring.

Even Miss Lydia wiped her tears and climbed down to join her husband.

He stared at her, bewildered.

"Lydia, darling." He said, looking around at the crowd of people splashing through the sewage. "What’s happening? What’s going on?"

Lydia smiled.

"What do you expect, dear?" She looked at Cassius with fondness. "When the Young Master and the Saintess of Compassion themselves climb down into the filth, why would we hesitate?"

She shook her head.

"It’s because of him, you know. As long as he does something, everyone follows. He’s changing things—not just the town, but us. The people."

She looked at Cassius with pure love in her eyes.

"He’s truly a blessing. Without him...who knows where we’d be?"

Her husband stared at her for a moment, then smiled.

"True." He agreed. "We were blessed in our past life to have such a master."

Then he looked over at Maria, who was right by Cassius’s side, both of them searching together.

He couldn’t help but chuckle.

"If our Young Master can gain Lady Maria’s affection..." He said thoughtfully. "...then I would say he’s the only gentleman in the entire world who truly deserves her."

He paused, then had a contemplative look on his face.

"Maybe there’s something I can do to help them along." He mused aloud.

This immediately made his wife smack him lightly on the back.

"What nonsense!" She scolded playfully. "What could a simple brute like you possibly do to help them with romance? You can barely remember our own anniversary!"

She shook her head with fond exasperation.

"Just do your own work and search for the ring. Our Young Master is more than capable of handling his own courtship."

This made the husband laugh heartily.

The wife smiled as well, and both of them returned to searching for the ring with renewed energy.

Soon, everyone was thoroughly searching the canal. They didn’t leave any single spot unexplored, working together methodically.

Of course, people who were passing by on the street noticed this unusual commotion.

They were genuinely shocked by the sight—all these people wading through wastewater, including what appeared to be very well-dressed individuals.

At first, they thought they must be dreaming or hallucinating.

But when they heard about what had happened—about how the lord and the Lady of Compassion were personally helping a common couple find their lost ring—

They didn’t hesitate.

They also started climbing down to join the search, wanting to be part of this remarkable moment.

This caused a huge commotion, with people even starting to jostle for position to help.

But soon the canal was so overcrowded with people that newcomers couldn’t fit. So they stayed above on the bridge and surrounding streets, supporting the searchers from there—cheering them on, clapping, offering encouragement.

Somehow, what had started as a small personal tragedy had become a community event that lifted everyone’s spirits.

This went on and on, with dozens of people carefully sifting through the water—

Until finally, Maria, who was feeling along the bottom with her gloved hands, suddenly felt something hard and metallic.

She couldn’t believe it for a moment.

Her heart raced as she carefully grasped the object and pulled it up.

When she saw what it was, the most beautiful smile spread across her face.

She raised her hand high into the air, holding up a beautiful silver ring with a small crystal mounted on top.

"I found it, everyone!" She called out joyfully. "I finally found it! I found the ring!"

The moment she said that, the crowd fell completely silent.

Everyone froze, staring at the glinting ring in her raised hand.

Then—

Absolute chaos erupted.

"Lady Maria found it!"

"She found it!"

"Oh my God, she actually did it!"

"She has the Goddess by her side at all times!"

"Even in this, she was blessed to be the one to find it!"

"It’s a miracle!"

People were shouting, clapping, embracing each other in celebration.

What was supposed to be a disgusting, unpleasant situation had somehow filled everyone’s spirits completely.

They felt as if they had won some great prize, as if they had all achieved something wonderful together.

Maria herself carefully made her way over to the couple and handed the ring back to them.

Miss Lydia and her husband couldn’t stop crying tears of joy and gratitude. They kept thanking Maria profusely, bowing over and over.

"Thank you, thank you, my lady!"

"We can never repay this kindness! You’ve given us back our most precious memory!"

But Maria just smiled warmly through it all, waving away their excessive thanks.

Cassius, who had been watching this entire beautiful scene with his hands on his hips and a smile on his face, couldn’t help but shake his head with fondness.

Then he looked up at the crowd—both those in the water and those watching from above and called out loudly:

"Everyone! Thank you so much for what you’ve done today!"

The crowd quieted down to listen to their young master.

"Your help has truly not gone unappreciated." Cassius continued warmly. "You’ve all shown the best of what this community can be."

Everyone had looks of pride on their faces, honored to receive praise from their lord.

But then Cassius grinned and quickly added,

"Of course, I’m not just going to simply offer my thanks with words alone. That wouldn’t be nearly enough for what you’ve all done!"

He raised his voice so everyone could hear clearly.

"I’m opening up the bar and kitchen at the Black Bull Tavern tonight! No matter how many drinks you want or how many plates of meat you decide to order, you can go ahead and enjoy yourselves!"

"This is all on me today! Everything is free!"

Once again, everyone went silent for a single heartbeat—

Then the cheering became absolutely deafening.

"LET’S GO!"

"LET’S FREAKING GO!"

"THANK YOU, MY LORD!"

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

"FREE FOOD! FREE DRINKS!"

"I KNEW THIS WOULD BE WORTH IT!"

People were crying tears of joy, jumping around in celebration.

Not only had they gotten to participate in something meaningful and received praise from their lord—they were also going to get a feast tonight!

They couldn’t be happier.

But then Cassius coughed loudly, which made everyone immediately turn back to him and quiet down to listen.

He also added with a stern but playful expression,

"But of course, I want every single one of you to go back home and thoroughly rinse yourselves off. Take proper baths with hot water and soap."

He looked around at everyone’s filthy state.

"I don’t want any of you to get ill because of this. Your health is important. So only after you’re completely clean will I allow you to enter the tavern."

He smiled mischievously.

"In fact, just to make sure, I’ll instruct the boss at the tavern to personally smell each and every one of you at the door. If he finds out that you haven’t properly cleaned yourself, you won’t be allowed to enter, no matter how much you beg!"

This made everyone laugh and groan good-naturedly.

Then Cassius waved his hand cheerfully.

"So go ahead! Go on now! Quickly go home, take those baths, and then come enjoy yourselves! You’ve all earned it!"

This immediately sent everyone into excited motion.

They quickly climbed out of the canal, finding that their clothes were completely drenched and smelly—but they were still incredibly happy nonetheless.

They hurried back to their homes, already telling everyone they passed about the exciting events of the day.

Meanwhile, Cassius helped Maria up all the way until they reached the pathway once again.

But when he noticed Maria’s gaze upon him, he couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed.

He didn’t know why, but Maria’s gaze was completely different from before.

Instead of the usual mix of shyness and gentle warmth, there was now a certain passion to it—an intent he had never seen before.

The only thing he could think of right now was how Isabelle would look at him—no matter what he said or did, she would always have that same look of devotion in her eyes, like she would even be willing to walk into fire for his sake.

Maria was looking at him with that same look in her eyes right now. But that did not make any sense in his mind, and he was confused.

He decided to push away those awkward thoughts by making a joke.

"The plan was to go back to the mansion right now, but with how dirty we are and how smelly we look..."

He said, glancing down at both of their clothes, which were stained and carried a strong, unpleasant odor

"...I think we should go to a tavern right now and get a room and wash ourselves off before we go anywhere else."

He of course joked and did not believe that Maria would agree. He expected her to start pouting and become flustered, perhaps scolding him lightly for the suggestion.

But to his utter shock and dismay, Maria had a bright look in her eyes as she smiled and immediately agreed.

"Of course, Cassius! I was already thinking of doing exactly that."

Cassius blinked, completely caught off guard.

"What? Wait, hold on—"

But Maria wasn’t listening. She grabbed his hand decisively and started pulling him down the road.

"Come along. I saw a hotel just up ahead that looked quite nice. We’ll go there."

Cassius himself didn’t know what to say. He had said it to tease her, but now she was actually coming along, like she really wanted to go there instead.

He was utterly confused, but he still allowed himself to be dragged away into a tavern nearby.

The tavern was a modest but clean establishment called The Golden Barrel, known for its private bathing rooms and decent food.

The owner nearly dropped the mug he was cleaning when he saw the Young Master and the Saintess of Compassion walk in—both of them covered in filth from the canal, yet somehow still radiating an aura that made the entire room fall silent for a moment.

Cassius cleared his throat, trying to regain some composure.

"We need a private room with a bath. Two baths, if possible. And...perhaps some clean clothes if you have any spares."

The owner recovered quickly, bowing deeply. "Of course, my lord! Right away! The best room is available. Please follow me."

As they were led upstairs, Maria kept her hand firmly in Cassius’s, her steps light and determined. Cassius kept stealing glances at her, still trying to understand the shift in her behavior.

Her cheeks were flushed, and every time their eyes met, she would look away quickly, but not before he caught that new, intense spark in her gaze.

Cassius didn’t know why but he felt as if the reason she was bringing him to a room wasn’t as pure as he thought.