The Norton Family hadn't achieved its current status for free — it had been earned through enormous contributions to the Andinak Kingdom, and the Second Prince knew this well enough. Yet on one hand, the Second Prince greatly feared the strength of the Norton Family's forces, while on the other, burned with envy at the prosperous development within the Norton Family's territories. He believed that if Lorist were truly willing to help him, he could realize his ambition of reunifying the former Krisen Empire's territories in the shortest possible time.
What annoyed Lorist most was exactly this point, and he made it crystal clear this time: the Second Prince had walked the wrong path himself, and had no one else to blame. If the Second Prince hadn't invested so heavily in military expansion and rearmament, the Andinak Kingdom would have developed faster than the remote Northland in its former state — whether in terms of the quality of its subjects or its production environment, it was incomparably superior to the Northland. But the Second Prince had missed this golden opportunity, thinking only of building up military forces to reunify the former Empire, and when he met setbacks, everything collapsed.
Don't think you can ruin the Andinak Kingdom and then set your sights on the Norton Family's territories — this was exactly why Lorist was being so blunt. The Second Prince had already retaken the throne, and the Andinak Kingdom's territory was back under his control. Now it was a question of whether he would seize this second chance. Would he follow the Norton Family's example and bury himself in developing his territory's production, waiting until he had the capital in ten years to plan for reunifying the former Empire? Or would he, like last time, exhaust his resources in military expansion, driving everyone to the brink of exhaustion…
The Second Prince understood perfectly well what Lorist's words meant. He had already failed once, and it had taken promising so many unfair conditions and signing a humiliating oath to get the Northland's four great families to serve him. His return to the throne had relied on the Norton Family's forces. Although to outsiders, the current Andinak Kingdom seemed to be at the height of its power — having destroyed the Madras Duchy and connected the Northland with the Imperial Capital, its territory nearly two or three times larger — in the Second Prince's heart, there was not a shred of pride or glory. The reason was simple: the victory over the Madras Duchy had not been won under his command. He felt no sense of accomplishment, and even harbored a bit of anger at being overlooked, along with feelings of inferiority.
The Second Prince also knew that empty words would never fool Lorist. The man was no fool, and he was quite satisfied with the current situation — belonging to the Kingdom yet maintaining a degree of independence. The Second Prince's past actions had left Lorist wary and distant toward him as a superior lord. This very situation left the Second Prince unable to force Lorist into submission. Whether in personal martial strength or family power, the Norton Family held an overwhelming advantage over him. The only thing the Second Prince could do was court their favor and maintain close relations to prevent the relationship from growing cold or turning hostile.
After much deliberation, the Second Prince chose a middle path — neither neglecting production nor military buildup. As a second-best option, he humbly requested some support from the Norton Family, lowering his posture considerably. Lorist heaved a sigh of relief and began bargaining with the Second Prince. He knew that the Second Prince's great purge of the Imperial Capital's nobility had amassed him an enormous fortune. Rather than letting the Second Prince pour those funds into the bottomless pit of military spending, it was better to make him part with some of it to boost the Family's finances.
After a night of heated arguments that lasted until dawn, the Second Prince and Lorist finally reached a series of military equipment and trade agreements. Just as Lorist had predicted, the Second Prince's main focus was still on military equipment, with very few agreements related to restoring production and development. Even the workshops he planned to establish in the Imperial Capital were mostly related to military production. But Lorist didn't intend to push the matter — after all, he hadn't expected to extract so much money from the Second Prince's hands.
The Second Prince was also delighted. He hadn't realized that most of his military supplies could be obtained from the Norton Family at extremely low prices, with some equipment even more cost-effective than setting up his own workshops to produce. In the Second Prince's plans, the fortune in his hands — worth tens of millions in Forde gold — was his guarantee for controlling the Kingdom and the army. He had originally intended to invest the bulk of it into military preparations, but he hadn't expected to spend only three or four million to acquire from Lorist equipment and supplies he had originally estimated would cost around six million — plus the thunderbolt catapults he had always dreamed of. This excited him so much that when Lorist was about to leave, the Second Prince clung tightly to his hand and wouldn't let go. The people watching nearby broke out in goosebumps…
Lorist bid farewell to the reluctant Second Prince at noon on December nineteenth and set off on his journey home. After leaving the Hilltop Camp, he ordered Tagel to release a messenger hawk, sending word to Parker and Great Swordmaster Hughes, who had made camp with a large guard on the other side of the Egret Lake Marshes, to break camp and return to Vandenace City to await his arrival.
On December twenty-second, Lorist and his party arrived at Vandenace City. After a day of rest, they set out again and reached the pontoon bridge at the lower reaches of the
[Someone] grabbed Lorist's sleeve and refused to let go: "Your Grace, I really cannot imagine what kind of scene it would be if, at the Family's first New Year celebration banquet, you — the Grand Duke of the Northland — failed to appear before the Family knights and the vassal lords. That would surely be the most embarrassing moment in the Norton Family's three-hundred-year history…"
Lorist was caught between laughter and tears. "All right, all right, stop complaining. Haven't I come back? …Let's agree never to do this again, all right? After all, missing the New Year celebration banquet is merely embarrassing. If I hadn't gone this time, not only Reidi but even His Majesty would have been in danger."
"What? How did our bloody King get dragged into this again?" Fatty Shrade was startled.
Since the Second Prince's bloody purge of most of the Imperial Capital's territorial nobles, he had earned the epithet of "the Bloody King" among knights and nobles.
Lorist gave a brief account of how he had rescued Reidi and the Second Prince.
"What a shame! Why couldn't you have arrived half a day later? If His Majesty had bravely died in battle or been captured, and Reidi had escaped in the chaos, that would have been the best outcome." Fatty Shrade looked genuinely disappointed.
"Nonsense!" Lorist scolded. "He is the King, the only surviving bloodline of the former Krisen Empire. Who would kill him? Who dares kill him? The title of 'king-killer' is not one everyone wants to bear. Great Swordmaster Xianti and those two Duchies' Great Swordmasters only intended to capture His Majesty and take him to the Four Central Duchies. If that had happened, it would have been nothing but trouble for our Family. As the Grand Duke of the Northland with the highest title in the Andinak Kingdom, I would have had to step in to resolve it. Whether raising the ransom to buy his release or dispatching Family forces to rescue him, it would have disrupted our Family's plans and their execution. I'm grateful that I arrived just in time to solve the problem."
"I was just saying…" Fatty Shrade muttered unconvinced. "Your Grace, tomorrow is the last day. After tomorrow comes the New Year celebration. All the territorial lords, senior Family knights, and commander knights have arrived. Duke
"No need. I've seen the designs before, and as long as there are no violations, it's fine. I trust you to handle everything. Is there anything else? I'd like to go rest. Also, please inform Duke Kemmes, Count Filim, and Count Shahin that I'll be inviting them to lunch tomorrow." Lorist turned to head back to the rear keep.
"Your Grace, I know you're tired from the journey, but there's something here that requires your immediate decision." Fatty Shrade flipped through the files in his hands as he spoke.
"What is it?" Lorist stopped and turned around.
"It's Viscount Edis from Winston Province, along with Viscount Sindler, Baron Klaus, and Baron Wade. They've come." Fatty Shrade's expression was somewhat peculiar. "They've come to pledge allegiance to our Family, and they've brought their nephews as hostages. Here are their letters of allegiance."
"What did you say?" Lorist didn't take the stack of parchment papers Fatty Shrade was offering, looking at him in surprise. "Viscount Edis, Viscount Sindler, Baron Klaus, and Baron Wade — aren't they traditional territorial nobles of the Iblia Kingdom? Last time I went to Wendbury City, I even stayed a night in his territory's small town. What on earth drove Viscount Edis to come here with his three allies?"
"Your Grace, they really did say they've come to pledge allegiance to our Norton Family. These are their letters of allegiance. I told them you really weren't here and suggested they come back next spring, but they refused, insisting they had to see you personally. They've been waiting in the fortress for thirteen or fourteen days now." Fatty Shrade finally handed the stack of allegiance letters to Lorist.
Lorist lowered his head and quickly read through the four letters. Behind him, the attentive Schward hurriedly brought a candlestick from the corner to provide light.
After reading the four letters, which were largely similar in content, Lorist raised his head. "All right, Shrade, make the arrangements. Have them come to my study in an hour. I'll take a bath and have something to eat first, then meet them in the study to find out what's made them so desperate to pledge allegiance to our Family. That'll be all."
He turned and patted Schward on the shoulder. "And you — didn't you hear Lord Shrade say Count Filim has arrived and is staying at the old place? Your beautiful fiancée has certainly come along. I don't need your service here. Go freshen up and tidy yourself, and go see your wife-to-be. Oh, and take it easy tonight — you're both still young…"
"Your Grace!" Schward glared at Lorist in annoyance, but in the end the desire to see his fiancée won out, and he ran off with a red face.
Fatty Shrade laughed and called after him, "Don't forget to bring Reidi over…"
Lorist's study, given the many secrets it contained, was generally off-limits to servants for cleaning. All cleaning duties were handled by a few trusted confidants — Reidi, Schward, El, Parker, or
The study had been cold and empty without its master for over a month.
Seeing Reidi brewing Makkos tea, Lorist fell into deep thought. Schward already had a fiancée, El had married too, but Reidi was still alone. Maybe he should ask if there was anyone he had his eye on — it was about time to find him a wife too…
While lost in these wandering thoughts, the study door was knocked. Reidi went to open it, and Fatty Shrade entered with four nobles: Viscount Edis, Viscount Sindler, Baron Klaus, and Baron Wade. Their faces still wore expressions of incredulous joy, like people on a sinking ship who had suddenly spotted a rescue vessel arriving.
Lorist stood and solemnly expressed his apologies to the four territorial lords. "I am truly sorry to have kept the four of you waiting so long. It was remiss of me. A matter involving my apprentice arose abroad, and I had no choice but to rush out to bring him back. I only returned today. I was told that you four have been waiting here for over ten days and have written letters of allegiance to our Norton Family. I am very curious — what exactly happened to drive you here?"
The four territorial lords stood before Lorist and respectfully performed the formal greeting. Lorist accepted the gesture graciously. The four nobles let out a long sigh of relief. Viscount Edis, as the leader, stepped forward and said to Lorist with a bitter smile, "Your Grace, our four families have truly been driven into a corner. We have no other path to survival except to pledge ourselves to you…"
As Viscount Edis told his story, Lorist and Fatty Shrade finally understood. These four territorial lords had all been driven to this by Grand Duke Fisablen. Just as they said, they had truly been backed into a corner — either accept Grand Duke Fisablen's terms and watch their families march toward destruction, or throw themselves on the mercy of the Norton Family, which at least offered a chance of survival.
After the knight tournament held the previous May, the twenty thousand Border Patrol Riders that Grand Duke Fisablen had brought to Wendbury's royal capital had not withdrawn when the Grand Duke departed. Instead, they had remained stationed there. Subsequently, Grand Duke Fisablen formed an alliance with the Four Central Duchies and destroyed the Merain Duchy, eliminating the threat at the Iblia Kingdom's rear. Grand Duke Fisablen then returned to the royal capital once more.
This time, the Grand Duke was not so easy to fool or dismiss as before. He brought over twenty thousand additional troops, bringing the number of Border Patrol Riders garrisoned at the royal capital to a full legion's strength. With this legion at his command, Grand Duke Fisablen bared his fangs at the capital's nobles, striking ruthlessly. Every day, nobles were either arrested and thrown in prison or executed for treason. More shrewd than the Second Prince, Grand Duke Fisablen spent the better part of a year methodically dealing with these nobles. While both conducted purges — the Second Prince struck with brutal force, earning himself a terrible reputation — Grand Duke Fisablen employed the strategy of boiling a frog in slowly warming water. The process was less visible, but the number of nobles who perished at his hands was no fewer than those killed by the Second Prince…
Lorist already knew all this in detail through the Volibear Intelligence Bureau's agents planted in the royal capital. Regardless, when he eventually seized the royal capital, he would have to deal with those nobles himself. Since Grand Duke Fisablen was willing to do the dirty work, Lorist was more than happy to let him — at least he wouldn't have to dirty his own hands. He could even throw some mud on Grand Duke Fisablen after taking the capital, publicizing his mass slaughter of nobles and finding surviving family members to spread the word far and wide, ensuring the Grand Duke's infamous reputation reached every corner. So Lorist had ordered his agents to keep their heads down, secretly recording and collecting evidence, and not interfere with Grand Duke Fisablen's operations…
But after purging the capital's nobles, Grand Duke Fisablen turned his gaze toward the traditional territorial lords of Winston Province. He decided to make these lords swear loyalty to him and transfer them to the Southern Province. This provoked an uproar among the territorial lords, who raised their banners in rebellion. Grand Duke Fisablen had been waiting for precisely this moment. He immediately declared the lords traitors, and within two months destroyed some twenty territorial families — the men were hanged, and the women were given to the barbarian cavalry serving in the Border Patrol Riders…
Although Viscount Edis and the other three had not rebelled, the transfer orders they received required them to bring their families and no more than one thousand subjects and garrison soldiers to the Southern Province before May of the following year to take up their new territories. Their current lands would be managed by Grand Duke Fisablen's envoys. Everyone knew what the Southern Province looked like now — ravaged by war, teeming with bandits and mountain outlaws, the entire province reduced to ruins. Under such circumstances, a group of a thousand or so heading to the Southern Province would be like a piece of meat thrown into a pack of wolves. Whether they would even reach their new territories alive was anyone's guess.
"Your Grace, this is why we have come to pledge ourselves to you. We know that Grand Duke Fisablen's purging of Winston Province's nobles is also preparation for the final confrontation with the Northland's four great families. What I've been able to learn is that Grand Duke Fisablen plans to relocate the able-bodied subjects from the various territories in Winston Province to the Eastern Wasteland Province, to their own Family lands. The elderly, women, and children will be concentrated in the royal capital. Using my Walker Town as a boundary, everything in front will be subjected to a scorched-earth policy, and Walker Town itself will be transformed into a military fortress — serving as a shield for the royal capital and as the first line of defense against the Northland's four great families."
Lorist nodded. "I am pleased to accept the allegiance of all four of you. The Norton Family will regard you as our vassal families and transfer your family territories to Dramk Province without any reduction in your holdings. As for the nephews you've brought, I will assign them to serve in my personal guard. Gentlemen, are you willing to accept this arrangement?"
The four nobles were overjoyed and immediately dropped to their knees, swearing by the names of their ancestors that they would serve the Norton Family with absolute loyalty. They were tearfully grateful for a long time before respectfully taking their leave.
Fatty Shrade watched Lorist sideways, and once the study was empty, asked, "Lork, tell me — what scheme are you cooking up?"
…(To be continued.)