What
Compared to those verbose civil officials who cited facts, gave examples, and tried earnestly to argue that the marriage was unsuitable, the family knights' letters were comparatively blunt. Their reasoning was straightforward: the Fisablen Family was a defeated foe, and a woman from their household had no right to become the wife of the Norton Family's head.
Fatty had guessed correctly — the vast majority of the Norton Family opposed Lorist's decision. Among the civil officials, the chief objector was Hanske, the governor of Shilovas Island, and most mid-level managers echoed his views. The Fisablen Family was the enemy of the Norton Family — how could Lorist marry a woman from an enemy family, even if two years ago they had unanimously supported a Norton-Fisablen marriage alliance?
The most vehement opponent was Baron Spell, the family's chief financial officer. His objection differed from the others: he had no issue with Lorist marrying Princess Sylvia. What he opposed was Lorist's plan for an extravagant, grand wedding. The cost of such an affair was, in his view, an unnecessary waste. He wrote that if Lorist were marrying a princess from another nation, a lavish wedding would be unavoidable, as it would bolster the Norton Family's prestige and reputation. But if he was going to marry Princess Sylvia, then given her background, a quiet, low-key small ceremony would suffice, and there was no need to squander the family's gold coins.
Lorist was amused in spite of himself by Chief Spell's letter. Then he received a letter sent by hawk from Bodfeng. The reasons for opposition were much the same as what Fatty had laid out: first, the concern that morale among the troops would destabilize and plummet; second, along the same lines as the other family knights, that Princess Sylvia was a Fisablen and unworthy of becoming the Duchess.
What comforted Lorist was that of the family's sixteen Gold Knights, only six publicly wrote to express their opposition. Josc and
Dolles was a different case, but given his close friendship with Yuri, the deputy commander of the Hunter Cavalry Corps, it was expected that he would echo Yuri's letter of opposition — nothing surprising there. Additionally, there was Berunek, deputy commander of the Imperial Guard Corps stationed in Dreimeck Province, a family knight who originated from Maplewood Manor. He was likely caught in a difficult position and wrote the letter out of social obligation. The last was Bodfeng, who had just sent his letter, with the two reasons already stated.
Of the remaining ten Gold Knights, all except Sembawood remained silent. Fatty, knowing full well the depth of Lorist's resolve, had tried to persuade him once and then wisely stayed out of it.
Jeddes, the Imperial Guard Corps commander and
Only Sembawood, commander of the Naval Corps and Gold Knight, wrote Lorist a congratulatory letter, expressing great happiness that Lorist and Princess Sylvia would be united in matrimony, that the lovers would finally become husband and wife, and so on. It was the first letter of congratulations from within the Norton Family. Upon reading it, Lorist just smiled and called the fellow a smooth operator. Though both were part of the Norton Family's armed forces, Sembawood's Naval Corps operated as its own entity, so he had no need to worry about what the other family knights might think.
The Norton Family also had two Great Swordmasters. The first was Injerek, who held Bedrock Castle. Though this old man had already become a first-rate Great Swordmaster, he was terrified of Lorist the way a mouse fears a cat, and dared not criticize him in the slightest. The other was the first-rate Great Swordmaster Hus, stationed on Shilovas Island, who was currently holed up in Sea-Gazing Manor attempting to break through to the second-rate Great Swordmaster realm. He had neither the time nor the inclination to persuade Lorist to change his mind. When Governor Hanske visited in person to ask Great Swordmaster Hus to co-sign his letter, he was turned away at the door.
Lorist's fury was beyond anything they had anticipated. He slammed his fist on the table and erupted: "Who gave you the right to meddle in my private affairs? A retainer's duty is to follow orders — when did I ever ask for your opinions on my marriage? You've forgotten your place, overstepping your duties as subordinates, and as soon as I give you an inch, you take a mile!" At the peak of his rage, Lorist seized a ceramic vase beside him and smashed it to the ground, then stormed out.
None of the assembled civil officials and family knights had ever expected such a violent reaction from Lorist. The sound of the vase shattering and the sight of his furious retreating figure left them deeply unsettled. The timid ones broke into a cold sweat, and some began to question whether their objections to Lorist's marriage to Princess Sylvia had been appropriate after all.
Just as panic was setting in, Fatty — ever the good cop — took the stage. He reassured his colleagues while also reminding everyone that the Norton Family's current glory had only come about after His Highness the Grand Duke took charge. His Highness was usually amiable toward his subordinates and valued their suggestions, promoting those who could genuinely solve problems. But that was all business. As the Grand Duke of Northland and head of the most powerful Norton Family, if even his choice of wife was subject to his subordinates' criticism, then anyone would lose their temper.
However, everyone could rest assured that His Highness always judged matters, not people. This time, they had angered him because they had interfered in his personal affairs. In the future, so long as they performed well in their official duties, His Highness would continue to praise them without reservation. What needed to be made clear was that the marriage between His Highness and Princess Sylvia was a foregone conclusion — no amount of opposition could change His Highness's resolve. So they should stop wasting their energy on this matter and focus on doing their actual jobs — that was the real contribution to the family. Of course, if anyone was so disgruntled by His Highness's stubbornness that they wished to leave the family, they would be free to go.
No one would leave. The Norton Family's current situation was far too favorable — anyone who left would be a fool. Whether civil official or family knight, every one of them owed their current position to Lorist's patronage. Many had only written opposing letters because their colleagues had, and they feared appearing contrary if they didn't. They had been going along with the crowd. Lorist's outburst had already sent them into a cold sweat, filled with regret. Now that Fatty had offered them a way to save face, there was no reason not to take it.
"Think about it — our Grand Duke led us to Northland and transformed a barren territory into the paradise it is today. When has any of his decisions ever been wrong? His orders, whether we understand them or not, must be carried out — and if we don't understand them, we must strive to understand and then carry them out. One must stand high to see far. His Highness, positioned at the summit, naturally sees further than we ever could. His decisions are not ours to question — only time will prove their wisdom."
After delivering this heartfelt speech, Fatty declared the meeting adjourned and then scurried off to report his success in pacifying the crowd to Lorist.
Lorist was writing letters. In his letter to Governor Hanske, there was explanation but also a subtle rebuke, reminding him that he had overstepped his duties as a retainer and should not have meddled in Lorist's personal affairs. At the same time, Lorist expressed his appreciation for Hanske's loyalty and ability — Shilovas Island had developed rapidly under his management, becoming a thriving center of commerce and fishing, making great contributions to the family, and so on.
His letter to Chief Spell was simple. Lorist gave him two choices: first, shut his mouth, obey orders, and continue as the Norton Family's chief financial officer. Second, keep pointing fingers and playing the miser — if he loved gold so much, he could go dig for it at the Gold Ridge mines.
Reportedly, Chief Spell was so furious upon receiving this letter that he couldn't eat. It took Master Sid's counsel to help him see reason. Master Sid put it plainly: Chief Spell was an old hand from Maplewood Manor — so how much wealth had the manor possessed when Lorist inherited the family's territories and title? And how much wealth did the Norton Family's territories hold now? A simple comparison would reveal the truth. All of this wealth had essentially been earned by Lorist himself. One must earn before one can spend, and Chief Spell's job was simply to record the process, amounts, and purposes of the expenditures so that Lorist would be informed. He had absolutely no right to dictate to Lorist how to spend his money.
Chief Spell had initially felt aggrieved, believing himself to be loyal and dedicated, having always been honest and upright as the family's chief financial officer, with nothing but the family's interests at heart. He never expected to be rebuked without cause in Lorist's letter. Only after hearing Master Sid's words did the truth dawn on him, and he kept his mouth shut.
Lorist's third letter was addressed to Tiger Ross. It contained no explanations and no rebukes — only a reiteration of his joke about how the soldiers had "seized" Princess Sylvia from the Fisablen Family to be his wife. He also mentioned his plan to have commemorative medallions cast in gold for every soldier who had participated in the Iblia Kingdom campaign — the "Seized the Wife" medallions, so to speak — and he asked Tiger Ross for his thoughts and suggestions.
Lorist knew Tiger Ross well. The man was a war maniac — as long as there was a fight to be had, he didn't care whether it was about seizing a wife or conquering territory. His letter opposing the marriage had simply been because he looked down on the defeated Fisablen Family, not because he had any real objection to the union between Lorist and Princess Sylvia. Sure enough, Tiger Ross was delighted upon receiving the letter. In his eyes, the idea of "seizing a wife" was by far the most appealing thing he'd ever heard, and he quickly replied that the entire Flying Tiger Corps was eagerly anticipating those commemorative "Seized the Wife" medallions, completely forgetting about the fact that he'd written to oppose the marriage.
The last letter was to Bodfeng. Lorist spent two full pages excoriating the man — asking whether he'd gone out of his mind or if water had gotten into his brain — then ordered it sent by hawk immediately.
The letter to Chief Spell made it clear that while Lorist still trusted him, his patience with the family's chief financial officer was wearing thin. The letter to Tiger Ross showed that Lorist not only greatly admired this fierce general of the family but also understood his personality and character perfectly — the letter had been precisely tailored to its recipient. As for Bodfeng, there was nothing more to say — he was the Gold Knight Lorist trusted most in the family, which was why Lorist had felt comfortable enough to dress him down without any pretense.
"Your Highness, don't forget Josc and Yuri," Fatty reminded him.
Lorist had already decided not to write any more letters. He nodded: "I understand. But I plan to visit the Hunter Cavalry Corps' garrison in person to explain things to them. They suffered devastating losses at the hands of the Fisablen Family's forces, which is why their hostility runs so deep. I'll tell them that even if I marry Sylvia, the Fisablen Family will remain our enemy — nothing will change that. I believe they'll understand. As for Dolles and Berunek, they were acting under pressure, so there's no need to write to them. I'd only make them uncomfortable."
Having settled the opposition within the family, Lorist finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had barely enjoyed a few peaceful days with Princess Sylvia before Farea and Berunek arrived at Bedrock Castle to report for duty. These two barons had been summoned to oversee the reorganization and expansion of the Imperial Guard Corps. After completing the handover with Fatty, the former commander and deputy commander of the Imperial Guard Corps were called in by Lorist for a meeting.
"This time, the Imperial Guard Corps will be reorganized into four corps. I intend for the First and Third Imperial Guard Corps to handle the defense of all of Northland, while the Second and Fourth Imperial Guard Corps will be stationed in Dreimeck Province and Winston Province respectively. You will each command one Imperial Guard Corps. Which would you prefer?" Lorist asked.
"Your Highness, I'll take the Fourth Imperial Guard Corps. The Fourth is stationed in Winston Province, and in the coming period, Pedro City and the southern provinces are still likely to come under attack. I'm already familiar with Winston Province's situation, so let me go and hold it down," Farea was the first to speak up.
Berunek spread his hands and complained: "Farea, that's not fair — you've snatched up the territory where the fighting will be. Your Highness, which Imperial Guard Corps will be responsible for Gold Ridge Fortress?"
"The First Imperial Guard Corps," Lorist replied. "The First is responsible for defending the original family territories to the north, including Bedrock Castle. Once Gold Ridge Fortress is completed, it will fall under the First's jurisdiction."
"Fine, then I'll join the First Imperial Guard Corps. If the mountain barbarians come raiding, I'll finally get some action," Berunek said.
"Do either of you have recommendations for commanders of the Second and Third Imperial Guard Corps?" Lorist asked.
"Your Highness, Sir Jeddes of Shilovas Island would be an excellent candidate for a corps commander," Farea suggested.
"Your Highness, Owekis has been with you for so long and he's still just a battalion commander. It's time you promoted him," Berunek also put forward his preferred candidate.
"Then who will hold Shilovas Island? We need a family Gold Knight stationed there," Lorist asked again.
Farea thought for a moment and said: "Your Highness, let Pacheko go station himself on Shilovas Island for a few years. He's mentioned before that his family and children love the scenery there. He also said his aptitude is limited and he'll likely never advance beyond the second star of the Gold rank. Having him charge into battle with the Flying Tiger Corps is somewhat risky..."
That was true enough. Lorist recalled the Flying Tiger Corps' two charges into battle — Tiger Ross had emerged without a scratch, while Pacheko, who had led charges just the same, had sustained minor injuries each time. Compared to Ross, Pacheko's skill was significantly lacking.
"Very well. Pacheko will hold Shilovas Island," Lorist decreed with finality.
(To be continued.)