Her younger sister, the second Miss Dina, had spent this period traveling with Lorist and had seen the world. She enjoyed the excellent treatment and had grown very close to him, often flirting playfully. She even seemed to envy her aunt's role and had no objections to becoming Lorist's concubine herself, which infuriated her older sister. It seemed only a matter of time before she fell into Lorist's hands as well.
Lorist settled the entire Dina family in
Her brother, the Dina family's young eleven-year-old heir, had a different cultivation plan. Because Baron Dina had died early, the boy lost his father at the age of two. His mother passed away soon after from grief. Growing up without parents had left the boy's constitution rather poor. Lorist decided to first tend to his health. In another year, once Lady Tessie's Nicco Academy opened, he would send the boy there to study for three or four years. After his body had developed, they would awaken his combat force and begin training him as both a knight and a lord.
Back in Northland, Lorist felt his days were much easier. Though the changing situation in the Andinack Kingdom felt strange to him, being excluded from the kingdom's noble circles actually put him at ease. Finally, he could decide the fate of the
Lorist had no intention of raising an army to march out just yet. After all, the family's armed forces had only recently been expanded and needed time to become combat-ready. Furthermore, many Family Knights had taken leave to advance to the Golden Rank. The tens of thousands of refugees gathered from the Andinack Kingdom also needed time to be settled. Therefore, Lorist decided to remain in the family's territory for the next two years. On one hand, he could observe the changing situation outside; on the other, with the flames of war temporarily quelled, he could have the family's intelligence organization, Wolibeir, intensify its infiltration of the central four duchies. For the Norton Family, that region was a blind spot.
The tens of thousands of refugees from the Andinack Kingdom transported from Shilowas Island had already set off for the western part of Northland. Lorist established a new settlement and development point at the Blademountain Range pass leading to western Northland, naming it Taichuan Plains. Like Xing'an Plains and Red River Plains, Taichuan Plains would also feature eight knight manors.
At the end of November, Count Kelmis, Baron Phelim, and
Count Kelmis eyed the three great beauties of the Dina family now appearing at Lorist's side, practically drooling. He felt his own maids surpassed Lorist's only in quantity, not quality. However, he demanded that Lorist fulfill his past promise to take him to
Schwad came to Lorist with a long face. The reason was that his little fiancée, Baron Phelim's beloved daughter Katrina, had turned seventeen this year and failed her first attempt at awakening her combat force during the summer. Ever since arriving at Rock Fortress with her father, she had been in a terrible mood, sulking constantly. Schwad had taken quite a few verbal lashes because of it, so he went to Lorist for help.
Lorist burst out laughing and invited Baron Phelim to bring his daughter to his study. After taking Katrina's pulse, he told them that her failure to awaken her combat force was due to a lingering chill she had caught in childhood that had never been fully purged. A wisp of cold qi still lingered in her blood, which was why her awakening had failed. With proper conditioning, she would be fine. If Baron Phelim didn't mind, Katrina could stay at Rock Fortress, and Lorist was confident she could awaken her combat force within half a year. Baron Phelim was overjoyed and entrusted his beloved daughter to Lorist's care. Lorist prepared a dietary regimen and medicinal tonics for Katrina, then promptly dumped the hot potato onto Schwad and let the young couple sort things out between themselves.
Even in winter, the nobles' days were rich and varied — nothing like the common folk who merely hid indoors, eating and sleeping. Thanks to the hides and furs of various magical beasts, the Norton Family's cold-weather gear was extremely comprehensive. Lorist even took the three allied families on a trip across the wastelands using horse-drawn sleds and skis, returning with a large haul of magical beasts. It was then that Lorist began to reminisce about the old days of the magical beast tides, when mountains of meat practically delivered themselves to his doorstep, rather than having to trudge through the snowy wasteland searching for prey...
By the time they returned from the wastelands to the family's territory, it was already February of the new year. The rainy season was fast approaching, and after it came the winter wheat harvest. The three allied families each returned to their own territories. After the harvest, they would come back to Rock Fortress and then head to North Sea City, from where they would set sail for Morant City of the Commercial League to broaden their horizons.
In March, Lorist received two pieces of happy news. Elina at Maple Manor had given birth to another son, and Lady Tresti of the Nico Academy, at the border between the Blademountain Range and North Wilds Town, had delivered another baby girl named Nico Freesia. Lorist was so furious at her he could have died.
At Maple Manor, Lorist met with Elina and greeted his newborn junior apprentice brother.
On May twenty-fourth, the three allied families and the three ladies of the Dina family all arrived at North Sea City. Only then did Lorist set out from Maple Manor, rushing to North Sea City to join them. They boarded a brand-new merchant ship, the North Sea, and set off for Morant City.
The North Sea was a brand-new, large ocean-going merchant vessel. Unlike the traditional Galentean merchant ships, it was a dual-purpose passenger and cargo vessel that prioritized passenger comfort and sailing speed over maximum cargo capacity. Having incorporated design advantages from the Storm — that thunder-and-fire warship — the North Sea was faster than traditional large merchant ships, and its cabin arrangements were far more luxurious. Lorist planned to build several more ships of this type for future scheduled passenger and cargo service between Shilowas Island and North Sea City.
Once aboard the North Sea, Lorist found himself beset by the three Dina sisters. The youngest aunt also wanted to bear Lorist a child, securing her future in old age. The eldest Miss Dina, meanwhile, was indignant. Lorist clearly had only one concubine, yet she had already borne him two sons and had them recorded in the Norton Family genealogy. It went without saying that a mother's status rose with her sons — even if Lorist took a proper wife someday, this concubine would still enjoy an elevated position thanks to her two boys. Although Ariodoli's current ambition was to become the Dina Family's first female knight, that didn't stop her from taking her frustrations out on Lorist.
As for the second Miss Dina, she simply wanted to preserve everything she currently enjoyed. She had no grand ambitions — she merely wanted a better life, and becoming Lorist's woman was the best guarantee of that. So she shyly made her way into Lorist's bed. Though it was her first time, with her aunt's assistance nearby, the experience wasn't overly painful, and she got her wish of becoming Lorist's woman.
The eldest Miss Dina was utterly helpless against her younger sister's actions. She could only engage Lorist in a fierce three-hundred-round battle in bed, and even when she was completely spent, she still didn't forget to viciously warn Lorist that he absolutely must not let her sister down, that he must treat her sister well, and so on. Lorist looked at her with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. "You should worry about yourself first — I'm not done yet," he said.
The eldest Miss Dina kept up her brave face. "Bring it on — who's afraid?" she declared. Then, left to resist the great demon lord Lorist all on her own, she was worn out to the point of becoming a limp puddle, lying in bed recovering for two whole days…
When passing through Sidegrod Province of the Principality of Madras, Count
From afar, Count Kemmes rattled off the details of White Gold Beach like an encyclopedia. It was the largest and widest beach of the former empire, with sand that was clean, fine, and as white as jade. Whenever sunlight fell upon it, a faint golden shimmer flickered across the surface — hence the name White Gold Beach. The seawater was crystal clear and azure blue, and the shallows were home to colorful tropical fish and coral reefs of considerable scenic beauty. For centuries, it had been one of the Krisen Empire's most famous summer resort destinations.
Unfortunately, the Grand Duke of Madras had betrayed the empire and claimed this scenic wonder for himself. For nearly a decade, aside from the occasional gathering of nobles invited by the Grand Duke, White Gold Beach had been closed to the public. Count Kemmes lamented that the Grand Duke of Madras had absolutely no sense of commerce. If White Gold Beach were in the hands of the Kemmes family, its development potential would rival that of a massive gold mine…
Twelve days later, the North Sea arrived at Shilowas Island. Lorist led the three allied families on an inspection of the Rock Legion stationed on the island and held a grand welcoming banquet. Having been born a merchant, Count Kemmes keenly perceived the immense strategic value of Shilowas Island. He sighed to Lorist, "With the Northland and Shilowas Island, the Norton Family's future growth and rise are just around the corner. It's a pity the Kemmes family's territory lies in the eastern part of the Northland and we cannot get a share of the maritime trade. Once peace arrives, fast, convenient, high-volume sea trade will be the most profitable business there is."
Lorist then took Count Kemmes on a tour of Kilin Port, describing his plans to develop it into a trade hub, with trade routes extending deep into the former Kingdom of Redilis and the Kingdom of Andinak.
Baron Fenston, the city lord of Kilin Port, found himself in an awkward position. A noble of what had once been a kingdom, he had suddenly been abandoned by that kingdom. Upon receiving word that Lorist and his party were arriving, he had no idea how to properly receive them — driving them away was obviously out of the question. In the end, he gritted his teeth and treated Lorist as a visiting allied noble, extending warm invitations and hosting a grand welcome banquet. During the feast, he heaped praise on Lorist's vision of developing Kilin Port into a trade center and pledged his full support.
However, Kilin Port was not currently under Baron Fenston's authority. The former Second Royal Guard Corps still maintained a full regiment stationed there. Its commander was a noble of the kingdom and a
Layer….
Lorist was quite interested in Kilin Port, but he had no interest whatsoever in Queen Carrie. Though the queen was undeniably beautiful, the very thought of her openly flaunting her promiscuity made Lorist sick. Perhaps this was simply the norm among nobles — they had grown accustomed to the queen being available to any man, and might even consider it a great honor to have her marry into their house. But Lorist would rather die than take such a wife. He had no desire to wear the horns of a cuckold, and this was the lingering influence of his previous life's values.
Lady Dina and her aunt had also attended the Paradise parties a few times and had been with several men, but they were refreshingly honest about it. Moreover, after meeting Lorist, they had stopped attending the Paradise parties altogether and had returned home to wait for him for two whole years. In that regard, Lorist felt they were far cleaner than Queen Carrie. Besides, they could only ever become his concubines, not his true wife.
Hadn't Baron Fenston, the city lord of Kilin Port, mentioned a rumor from the imperial capital at the welcoming banquet he hosted last time? It was said that Her Majesty the queen conducted the kingdom's affairs from her bedchamber with her ministers, and whichever man could excite her the most got his way. That was why the most valuable commodity in the capital these days was the tonic that helped men perform... Lorist felt that Queen Carrie's conduct rivaled that of the current Empress of Iberia — two of a kind, both absolute harlots.
Lorist shook his head. He couldn't even be bothered to write a rejection letter and simply ordered the envoy to be escorted back to the return ferry. Then, along with his three allied partners and the three Dina ladies, he boarded the North Sea and set off at full speed for Morant City.
Lorist felt perfectly safe traveling to the Commercial League now. There was no need to worry about any enmity between the Andinak Kingdom and the league. First, the Andinak Kingdom was now under the queen's rule, and a peace treaty had already been signed with the league. Second, he was no longer a noble of the Andinak Kingdom — he had gone fully independent, with no conflicts to speak of against the league. Third, the Chikde Trading Company had also reached a peace agreement with his family and was currently busy consolidating their trade territories, so there was no need to stir up trouble again. That was why Lorist had decided to take his three country-bumpkin allies on a trip to broaden their horizons.
On the eleventh day of July, 1775 by the Galentean Common Calendar, Lorist once again arrived at Morant City. Ten years had passed since he had received the family's urgent summons, left Morant City, and returned to the Northland.
... (To be continued.)