"Azure Rose Town? Where is that?"
At the Heartfilia Railway Group headquarters, Jude was completely baffled by Marco's request, as he had never heard of this place name.
"Near the royal capital, a newly built small town. It's my fief now, and I think it should be connected to the railway."
Marco walked over to the map and pointed at a spot.
Jude's office had a large map of the Fiore Kingdom, densely covered with railway lines—both completed and under construction—all clearly marked.
For Jude, this map represented his "railway empire," covering the entire Fiore Kingdom.
"Fief?! What do you mean? Marco-kun, have you received a noble title?"
Marco's words left Jude momentarily stunned, clearly taken by surprise.
Obtaining a noble title in the Fiore Kingdom at this stage was no easy feat, especially one that came with a fiefdom.
After all, the entire Fiore Kingdom had been continuously strengthening centralization, reclaiming noble territories to be state-owned and transformed into directly administered territories managed by municipal officials.
Previously, when they encountered conflicts with old, stubborn aristocrats while constructing railways in the south, they had helped the royal family resolve numerous troubles, allowing the monarchy to extend its influence into the traditionally noble-dominated southern regions.
Many nobles had their titles revoked or their territories reduced as a result.
Against this backdrop, the fact that Marco could still obtain a titled fiefdom was truly unexpected and made Jude deeply envious.
Jude's own estate spanned several mountain peaks and even included towns and villages, but he had not been granted a noble title.
These lands were merely purchased from the municipal government, not bestowed as a fiefdom.
No matter how extensive, they remained under municipal jurisdiction—a completely different concept from a hereditary fief.
"What title did you receive?" Jude asked curiously.
Judging by the area Marco had outlined, the fiefdom wasn't large—likely a barony.
Given Marco's reputation and status, being granted a barony seemed somewhat underwhelming.
Jude mentally criticized King Toma: if he wasn't going to grant a title, he shouldn't have bothered.
But since he did, he ought to have been more generous.
Having also entrusted his only daughter and heir to Marco, Jude now felt a certain empathy with King Toma.
Yet, this made him think the king was stingy—if it were him, he would never grant just a barony.
At the very least, it should be an earldom, with a fiefdom larger than the current one.
"Duke. The Grand Duke of Roses. The Azure Rose Town near the capital is just an additional piece of land. The true fiefdom is Magnolia," Marco explained with a smile, only to see Jude's face freeze in shock.
"Magnolia?!"
After a moment of rigidity, Jude exclaimed in disbelief.
Now Jude just wanted to slap himself.
He had just been criticizing King Toma for being stingy, granting Marco such a small fiefdom, only to learn the astonishing truth—Toma had actually given Magnolia directly to Marco!
That was the City of Magic, Magnolia!
In recent years, Magnolia's prominence had been unparalleled—it could easily be called the most vibrant city in the entire Fiore Kingdom, developing at an incredibly rapid pace.
And it had just been handed over, just like that.
"What a grand gesture!" Jude couldn't help but marvel.
For Hisui's throne and future, King Toma had truly made a monumental investment.
Having built his business from the ground up over many years, Jude was no fool.
He immediately understood King Toma's intentions: granting Magnolia as a fiefdom was a powerful endorsement of Marco's succession as guild master, while Azure Rose Town served to strengthen ties, giving Marco a stake near the capital.
"No problem, I'll arrange it right away—extend the railway to Azure Rose Town!"
Without hesitation, Jude agreed immediately.
Although, given Azure Rose Town's current state and its proximity to the capital, there was no practical need for a dedicated station.
But the circumstances were special—it had to be done, and done urgently.
At the very least, they needed to connect Azure Rose Town to Crocus first, allowing travel via transfers and facilitating resource transportation.
"Thank you." Marco smiled and thanked Jude, who naturally waved his hands repeatedly.
He was extremely curious about why Marco had suddenly been granted a noble title.
"Wait for the news; it will be made public soon."
Marco didn't explain, smiling mysteriously as he deliberately kept Jude in suspense.
Marco could tell that Jude seemed very tempted—the old fellow probably wanted to get a title for himself as well.
Jude was currently planning to expand his railway business into neighboring countries of Fiore, but it was proving extremely difficult
. He faced resistance from local merchants and Magic Guilds, and progress was slow, especially since those regions already had their own railway companies.
After setbacks in his overseas expansion, Jude had no choice but to refocus on domestic railway construction.
However, once the planning and construction of the railways were completed, he found himself with little left to handle.
Lately, he had so much free time that he visited Lucy more often.
So, when he heard that Marco had received a noble title, Jude's interest was immediately piqued—he genuinely wanted one for himself.
"..."
Watching Marco walk away nonchalantly without giving him any answers, Jude could only sigh in frustration.
He had no choice but to send someone to gather information.
His intuition told him that the matter was far from simple and likely very challenging; otherwise, Marco wouldn't have been so deliberately evasive.
....
The news that Marco had been granted the title of "Grand Duke of Roses" and received the fiefs of Magnolia and Azure Rose Town was soon made public, along with the reason for his ennoblement.
"He saved Crocus?"
Many people were left scratching their heads at this explanation.
What had happened to the capital Crocus?
Had it really reached a point where it needed saving?
Was Fiore on the verge of collapse, with enemies secretly advancing all the way to the capital?
The explanation seemed abrupt and confusing, but the subsequent official announcement about the "natural disaster Anima" quickly sparked widespread discussion.
This was the first time Anima had been openly reported in the press, with detailed coverage from the authorities.
This incident made both Marco and Mystogan realize that there was no need to keep it hidden any longer.
If Anima were to appear a few more times in major cities, it would be impossible to conceal.
In that case, it was better to just release the information outright.
"Anima is a magical vortex. If you don't escape its range, you'll be sucked in and die. So, if you ever see Anima, run away immediately. Do not linger within its coverage area."
In front of municipal bulletin boards across Fiore, specialized instructors were explaining the announcement, focusing on the dangers of "Anima" and what to do if encountered: don't hesitate, just run, and run as far as possible.
As for how "Anima" was formed, the announcement offered no explanation.
There was no need to elaborate further, as ordinary people couldn't help anyway, and too much detail would only cause panic.
The reason it hadn't been disclosed earlier was to resolve the issue quietly.
But now, with secrecy no longer feasible, the first layer of information was made public.
Solving the problem would still rely on powerful Mages.
"Honestly, it should have been announced sooner."
Back at the Fairy Tail guild, Marco remarked with hindsight.
If it had been disclosed earlier, perhaps some victims could have been spared.
"No, actually when ordinary people encounter that thing, it's basically impossible to escape. Whether it's made public or not doesn't make much difference." Makarov shook his head.
He didn't think he had made a mistake before - when it came to matters involving other worlds, keeping it quiet was the right approach.
That was the real danger, capable of creating too many variables.
"How did your seminar go?" Marco looked at Makarov and asked.
The old man had returned to Fairy Tail even later than he did.
During these days when Marco went to the royal capital, Makarov had gathered the powerful Mages he was familiar with and held a small-scale seminar to study the manuscripts left behind by Mystogan.
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