Everyone was stunned, followed by wild joy…
"My lord… my lord, how did you come here…"
Lorist smiled. "I've come to take you all home…"
Such a simple sentence, yet it brought half the people in the great tent to tears, their eyes red and brimming, unable to hold back their sobs.
People like Dorles, one of the veteran students from
Lorist first embraced Dorles, and said to him as well as to everyone in the great tent: "Nothing can block our path home. It hasn't been easy for everyone to make it this far. Now that we're past the Madras Duchy, Northland is just ahead. Forget the Iron Guard Corps—even if they were made of iron, we'd smash them to pieces."
Lorist embraced them one by one. When he reached Bodfeng, this man who had been the first to swear loyalty to Lorist, his eyes turned red. "My lord, it was our incompetence…"
Lorist cut him off. "No. You've all done exceptionally well."
Finally came Shrade. Lorist looked at him with a rush of emotions—the once prominent belly was gone, the rosy round face had become gaunt, the cheeks had sunken in, and the chubby appearance was nowhere to be seen. Several new wrinkles lined his forehead, and a few strands of white hair could be faintly seen at his temples. One could only imagine the immense pressure he had been carrying all this time. It had truly been hard on him.
Lorist opened his arms and embraced Shrade tightly. "Brother Shrade, you've worked so hard…"
Shrade wept uncontrollably…
After they all took their seats again, Lorist announced a decision—he would hold a grand banquet the following evening and promote the caravan's meritorious personnel to Family Knights.
Lorist said with a smile: "Originally, I planned to award meritorious personnel after the caravan reached Northland. But the caravan has grown so large now that it would truly be inappropriate to delay rewarding those who have contributed. This time, we'll promote a first batch, and another when the caravan returns to our family's territory. As for the list of meritorious personnel, everyone can submit recommendations for Knight Shrade to compile. However, we should communicate with them beforehand—if anyone has a better opportunity elsewhere, we won't force them to stay."
"Starting tomorrow, the caravan will undergo reorganization, and we'll be very busy. But the effort we put in will guarantee our caravan's safe journey to Northland. Everyone, pull yourselves together. Though we face many difficulties, none of them can stop us from returning to Northland—returning to our home. I have the confidence to lead everyone back, but I'm only one person, not a Titan giant, nor a fire-breathing dragon. To bring a caravan of this scale home, I need everyone's united effort. I'm counting on you all."
Lorist stood up and gave a deep bow to everyone in the great tent…
…
Night deepened. After a day of noise and bustle, the great camp gradually settled into silence. Under the silver moon's gentle, pearly glow, countless people drifted into sweet dreams.
Now only Lorist, Shrade, and Bodfeng remained in the great tent. Reidi brewed them a pot of Maccus, then withdrew to stand guard outside.
"…Your biggest mistake was your greed, which led to the
This was Lorist criticizing Shrade.
"Our caravan was like a giant python—huge yet agile. The occasional rabbit or goat wouldn't affect its mobility. But you drove it to swallow wild oxen, and not just one or two at a time, until it could no longer move freely. Under those circumstances, our caravan became the perfect prey in everyone's eyes.
"Character determines destiny, Brother Shrade. You have great talent—this was evident back at the Slov estate, where Count Miranda praised you endlessly. But your stingy, miserly nature became your greatest flaw when it came to the bigger picture. You wanted to clutch every benefit in your hands and couldn't bear to let go. And that became the perfect avenue for the Second Prince to exploit you.
"You made another mistake. By raiding the landed nobles of the Andinak Kingdom, you gave the Second Prince the greatest benefit while taking the blame yourself. When I heard that the demonic Shrade from the rumors was actually you, you can't imagine my shock. Even if those landed nobles had ambushed our caravan, you shouldn't have acted out of impulse. Think about it—if instead of hanging the captured nobles, you had packaged them up and sent them to the imperial capital for the Second Prince to deal with, then it would have been his headache. He wouldn't have had the chance to scheme against our caravan."
Lorist raised his silver cup and took a sip of the now slightly cool Maccus.
"…You see further than all of us. You're looking more and more like a true lord."
Lorist laughed. "It can't be helped—people always change. It wasn't until I became a lord that I felt the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. It's really all forged by necessity. Brother Shrade, don't be too hard on yourself. As the caravan's steward, you were outstanding. But as the caravan's guide, you fell short, because you're prone to losing your way. But that can't be helped—just like Bodfeng, he's an excellent general but not a qualified commander-in-chief. The two of you supporting each other to bring the caravan all this way and expand it to this scale already shows you gave your utmost effort and poured your hearts into it."
"Come to think of it, this is also my fault. If I had set a deadline for you to reach Northland from the start, none of this would have happened. You acted with good intentions and a desire to serve the family, which is why you tried so hard to gather supplies and rally refugees. Now we just need to bring the caravan and the refugees home. Give us a few years, and we can turn the family's territory into a paradise in these chaotic times—a blessed land in this world."
"So what should we do next?" Shrade was energetic and invigorated. Lorist's arrival had lifted more than half the burden from his shoulders. Half a year of painstakingly leading the caravan had left him mentally and physically exhausted. Another six months, and he would have doubted whether he could even make it back to the family's territory alive.
"No rush," Lorist said. "We've already heard Reidi give us a rough overview of the caravan's situation. Fortunately, with all of you here, the caravan hasn't collapsed under the difficulties it faced. My plan to promote the meritorious personnel to Family Knights is meant to first stabilize the caravan's morale. Get the list sorted tonight, then go ask about their wishes in the morning. After that, I need to learn more about the caravan's detailed situation as well as the strength of the Madras Duchy. 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles'—these words were spoken by a philosopher thousands of years ago, and I find them very insightful."
…
When the Second Prince heard that the new head of the
Lorist placed his right hand over his heart, clasped his left hand behind his back, and bowed his head in a half-bow, performing the solemn audience protocol—the formal etiquette by which a lesser lord greeted a greater lord on the Galentea Continent.
The Second Prince was delighted. He returned the courtesy, then embraced Lorist to show his warmth.
Next came Krisha. She still remembered what Lorist looked like, though she wasn't quite used to the fact that the sniffling, crying little runt of the past had grown into a tall, well-built young man—and had become the new head of the Norton family.
She first inquired about the family's situation, then, remembering the sorrowful past, embraced Lorist and cried for a while. Finally, when Lorist teased her about when she would marry the Second Prince and have a baby soon, she flew into a rage from embarrassment, reverted to her old habits, and reached out to grab Lorist's ear, making him cry for mercy repeatedly.
After some playfuling, they finally got down to the formal meeting.
The Second Prince was very direct. He pointed out the caravan's predicament right to Lorist's face, stating that the caravan's current food supplies could last at most four months, and the Andinak Kingdom had no surplus to support the caravan or take care of the refugees. Once the food ran out, the refugees and caravan personnel would collapse, and such a massive number of people would plunge the newly stabilized Andinak Kingdom back into chaos and war. The Second Prince demanded that the Norton family caravan's master, Count Norton, find a way out for the caravan as soon as possible, rather than simply watching a tragedy unfold—because that would benefit no one.
Lorist smiled politely and pointed out that he had only inherited the rank of Baron and was unworthy of the title of Count. He then gestured for Reidi to return the patent document with which the Second Prince had promoted Norton from Baron to Count back to the Second Prince.
Everyone in the great tent was stunned. No one had expected Lorist to refuse the Second Prince's patent of nobility. Was this a prelude to a falling-out, or was the Norton family refusing to serve the Second Prince?
The Second Prince snapped back to his senses and hurriedly asked whether he had been discourteous or had done something wrong, or whether the Norton family was preparing to sever ties with the Andinak royal house, which was why the promotion was being refused.
Lorist said gravely: "The pride of the Norton family lies in that oath—no member shall kneel before anyone other than the Krisen imperial family or the family's elders. The Andinak royal house is the legitimate successor to the Krisen imperial family; this is universally acknowledged. The Norton family will naturally not violate its oath, and we will remain loyal to the Andinak royal house. However, the Norton family cannot accept the Second Prince's patent, because it would transform the Norton family from landed nobility into titular nobility. For us, this is not a promotion—it is an insult. Therefore, we refuse."
Shrade was the first to understand. He gave himself a hard slap—he had made a terrible mistake again, actually accepting the Second Prince's patent of noble promotion. If Lorist hadn't caught it, and they had accepted the Count title, the Norton family would truly have been transformed from landed nobility into titular nobility.
Al and
Generally speaking, for a landed noble's rank to be promoted, there must be a grant of additional territory or a redistribution of territory. A grant of additional territory means adding new lands to existing ones, while a redistribution means being given a new, larger territory while the original territory is reclaimed by the superior lord.
Now the Second Prince was promoting the Norton family's rank from Baron to Count—but it was merely an empty Count's title with no territory attached. If Lorist had accepted this Count's title, it would legally have meant that the Norton family's existing territory would be reclaimed by the Second Prince, leaving the family with nothing but an empty Count's title and no land at all.
What a sinister move. Besides Shrade, who was growing increasingly hostile toward the Second Prince, Al and Terman's gazes also turned unfriendly. Everyone in the great tent who had figured it out felt their expressions change.
The Second Prince was also dumbfounded. This was indeed an oversight, not an intentional trap. If the Norton family's territory hadn't been in the desolate and remote Northland—an area so vast it could easily be divided into two Count's domains—things might have been different. When he decided to promote the Norton family, his reasoning was twofold: first, he didn't want to carve out a piece of his newly consolidated kingdom for additional grants, which would have placed a colossal power right at his doorstep; and second, he felt the Norton family's territory was already large enough and didn't need more. Besides, raising the Norton family's rank would help them stir up trouble in Northland, allowing them to match wits against the Grand Duke of Northland who answered to the Second Prince.
He simply hadn't expected that his hasty decision on the noble promotion would contain such a gaping loophole. For landed nobility, this kind of promotion was indeed an insult—some hot-headed lords might even have become mortal enemies with their superior lord over it. Lorist's response could already be considered remarkably courteous and restrained.
The Second Prince stood up and bowed to Lorist in apology. "This was my oversight. I am truly sorry. To make amends, I am willing to grant the entire Northland to the Norton family as compensation…"
Lorist sat there rudely, ignoring the Second Prince, merely turning the silver cup in his hands over and over.
Krisha, standing behind the Second Prince, couldn't hold back any longer. She rose to her feet as well. "Locke, you're being too rude! His Highness has admitted his mistake and apologized to you, even offering the entire Northland as compensation to the family. What more do you want?"
Lorist laughed. "A girl grows up and her heart wanders! Cousin Krisha, why don't you ask the Second Prince—is Northland under the Andinak Kingdom's jurisdiction?"
The great tent fell instantly silent. Even Krisha was rendered speechless, and all eyes turned to the Second Prince, waiting for his explanation.
The Second Prince wished he could slap himself as hard as Shrade had. He had made another mistake. He was always dreaming of reunifying the former empire and restoring the Krisen imperial family's glory, and he had unconsciously seen himself as the heir apparent of a restored empire—offering Northland to the Norton family as compensation in the blink of an eye. But he had forgotten that Northland currently belonged to the Iblia Kingdom, not the Andinak Kingdom that he ruled.
Sweat beaded on his forehead. Using another kingdom's territory as compensation for a noble in his own kingdom—if word got out, it would make the Andinak Kingdom a laughingstock. Worse, the Second Prince's promise would become a textbook example of empty words, and more importantly, it would alienate the Norton family—the very ally he needed most.
In a flash of inspiration, the Second Prince suddenly came up with a brilliant idea. He smiled faintly and addressed everyone in the great tent: "Indeed, I intend to grant the entire Northland to the Norton family as compensation…"
The crowd erupted in murmurs. Krisha cried out in alarm: "Your Highness, you…"
The Second Prince waved his hand. "I haven't finished. This is compensation, not a territorial grant. I have decided to use my own Prince's estate as the territorial grant for the Norton family's promotion. As for Northland, although it is not currently under my jurisdiction, I promise this: once I destroy the Madras Duchy, if the Norton family has already taken control of the entire Northland, I will bestow upon them the title of Grand Duke, and the whole of Northland will become the Norton family's hereditary domain."
Lorist smiled to himself. The Second Prince certainly had quick wits—his words had managed to salvage what he had said wrong. If the Andinak Kingdom destroyed the Madras Duchy, it would share a border with Northland. At that point, if the Norton family controlled all of Northland, it would naturally fall under the Andinak Kingdom's jurisdiction. The compensation and the Grand Duke title that the Second Prince had promised would then become reality, rather than a joke.
However, Lorist was curious about where the Second Prince's Prince's estate was located. It was a territory even larger than a Count's domain—how could the Second Prince bear to give it up as a territorial grant?
Shrade angrily handed over a map, cursing under his breath as he pointed to a spot on it. "This Prince is too cunning, my lord. Be careful."
Lorist looked down and saw that it was an isolated island far out at sea. It was indeed larger than a Count's domain in area, but more than half of it consisted of mountains and sandy beaches, with very little arable land. No wonder Shrade was so angry.
Lorist laughed again. "Very well. Since the Second Prince puts it that way, the Norton family will accept the Andinak royal family's patent and take up the rank of Count."
The Second Prince wiped the sweat from his brow and sat back down. Harmony was restored throughout the great tent…
…