Would he have to wait two years before inheriting the position of city lord? In two years, anything could happen. And how could Kin endure living under Lady Weide's thumb for that long?
"I believe I am capable," Kin said firmly.
Lady Weide's expression turned stern. "Kin, calm yourself. You're still just a boy. The lord of Chier Commandery City governs millions of imperial subjects — that burden is not one you can bear yet."
At that moment, Jenny, standing beside Kin, spoke up. "Madam, the empire's laws say nothing about having to reach adulthood before inheriting the position of city lord."
Lady Weide turned her gaze to Jenny.
Jenny met Lady Weide's stare without flinching, and the two women of vastly different ages locked eyes.
"Quite right," Lady Weide said with a smile. "The empire's laws indeed contain no explicit provision requiring one to be an adult before inheriting the lordship. However…"
Her voice took on a note of sorrow. "Some time ago, after your father passed away, the clan learned of the news. Originally, your eldest brother was to inherit the position of city lord, but my poor child…"
"When the clan learned that Kin was only fourteen, they issued their order. Chier Commandery City is one of the most important commanderies in our Northwest Province, and it borders the provincial capital of Basil — the management of Chier is no small matter. The clan decreed that Kin must reach adulthood before assuming the lordship."
"The clan?"
Kin and Jenny both froze.
Hearing that this was a command from the clan patriarch, the brother and sister were thrown into confusion. As members of the Jax family, both Jenny and Kin understood what the clan's authority meant.
"Madam, did the clan truly issue such an order?" Jenny pressed, staring at Lady Weide.
Lady Weide frowned and looked at Jenny. "Jenny, do you think I would dare forge a command from the clan? Mm… until Kin inherits the lordship, all matters of the commandery will be managed by me for the time being."
"I am the future city lord. I have the right to decide who serves as regent," Kin shouted indignantly.
Lady Weide's gaze turned icy as she looked at Kin.
And then Lin Lei, who had been silent at the side throughout, finally spoke. "Lady Weide, your so-called clan surely did not issue an order appointing you as regent, did they?"
Lady Weide faltered.
Bold as she was, she wouldn't dare fabricate a clan command outright.
Both Jenny and Kin belonged to the Jax family — and the Jax family was one of the most powerful clans in the entire O'Brien Empire.
The Northwest Province, one of the seven great provinces of the O'Brien Empire, was controlled entirely by the Jax family.
Jenny and Kin's father, Weide Jax, was merely a member of the family's collateral branch. If not for the Jax family's influence, that spineless man Weide could never have served as lord of a commandery city.
Now Weide was dead.
In the Jax family's eyes, Chier Commandery City naturally still had to be managed by someone of Jax blood.
Lady Weide had married Weide, but she did not carry the Jax bloodline. It was highly unlikely that the clan would hand the regency over to her.
"Hmph, if it weren't for those old fossils in the clan…" Lady Weide seethed inwardly.
No matter how formidable Lady Weide might be, she could not contend with the Jax clan. One word from them, and this noble madam could very well find herself begging in the streets the next day.
"I haven't reached adulthood, but my sister has. I will send word to the provincial capital of Basil. I'm confident that the clan elders will appoint my sister as regent — not you!" Kin declared, chin held high.
The animosity between Jenny and Kin on one side and Lady Weide on the other was impossible to conceal.
In just a few exchanges, it had fully erupted at the banquet. After all, Jenny and Kin's biological mother had been effectively driven to her death by Lady Weide. And the siblings had been stalked by assassins ever since.
"Very well, very well. If you have the ability, petition the clan yourself. I would love to see whether they would entrust the regency to an eighteen-year-old girl," Lady Weide said, lifting her chin in haughty triumph.
Kin's face was set with stubborn resolve.
At fourteen, a boy was at his most rebellious. The more arrogant Lady Weide acted, the more determined Kin was to defy her. He also believed the clan would surely side with him — after all, he was a son of the Jax family.
After the banquet.
Lin Lei, Jenny, Kin, and Lambert gathered together. Through questioning, Lin Lei came to fully understand just how powerful the Jax family truly was.
Their father, Weide Jax, had been nothing more than a collateral member.
The direct lineage of the clan wielded terrifying authority. The entire Northwest Province was under the Jax family's control, and it was hereditary. The Jax family had held dominion over the Northwest Province for over a thousand years.
*The royal house of the O'Brien Empire is remarkably confident,* Lin Lei reflected. *To entrust an entire province to a single family for over a millennium.*
A single province's territory was larger than the entirety of the Fenlei Kingdom.
Allowing one family to manage a province over the long term could easily lead to the accumulation of staggering power. It was, in fact, one of the factors that bred rebellion and secession.
But the royal house of the O'Brien Empire was supremely confident.
Because they possessed the Martial God — and with the Martial God came a vast number of powerful disciples from the Martial God's Gate. Moreover, the two most important provinces of the O'Brien Empire — the Central Province and the O'Brien Province — were held directly by the imperial family.
*With the Martial God in existence, no family would dare rebel. Never mind the Martial God himself — even the disciples the Martial God's Gate had produced over thousands of years constituted a terrifying force in their own right.*
Lin Lei understood.
Before a supreme powerhouse, so-called armies were a joke. Armies only held sway over ordinary mortals. It was the Saint Realm experts who truly determined a nation's fate.
*The Jax family, which has ruled the Northwest Province for over a thousand years — their true strength must be staggering,* Lin Lei thought.
"Hmph, that vicious woman. I refuse to believe the clan would support her," Kin fumed.
Lambert chuckled. "Young master, don't you worry. If the clan had thrown their support behind her, she would have carried herself very differently today."
Indeed, that was so.