"You're here,
"Good afternoon, Your Majesty." Lorist performed a formal greeting, stealing a glance as he did so. His eyesight was sharp, and he could clearly make out the personal and family dossiers in the Second Prince's hands. He immediately understood—these had to be the territory nobles who had followed the four central Grand Dukes. The Second Prince was deciding their fates.
The Second Prince didn't seem to notice Lorist's greeting, his eyes locked on the documents. Lorist didn't mind either. He straightened up on his own and began curiously examining the palace where the Second Prince was staying in Hans City.
This was one of the ten famous palaces from the former Krisen Empire era—the Morpheus Palace. Cupids were a type of sprite in the folk mythology of the Galentea Continent, no larger than a thumb. These tiny sprites called Cupids would bring good luck and happiness to the humans they favored. Legend held that among the Cupids, there was a variety of black-haired sprites who liked to wear garments made of black petals. They were known as Morpheuses, and they favored nothing more than brave warriors skilled in battle. If a warrior was fortunate enough to win the favor of a Morpheus, they would be granted courage and endurance, becoming unstoppable on the battlefield.
An ancestor of the Handela family had been precisely such an unstoppable warrior, having survived countless battles without suffering a single wound. People all said he was a warrior blessed by the Morpheuses, and this ancestor of the Handela family had lived up to their speculation and reverence. In his old age, he used the wealth accumulated from a lifetime of war spoils to commission the building of this Morpheus Palace.
This famous palace had a legend: the master craftsmen who constructed it had carved one thousand Morpheus figures of different forms into the palace's decorations, hidden among all manner of patterns and designs. If someone could identify all one thousand distinct Morpheuses, they would receive the same blessing from the Morpheuses as the ancestor of the Handela family.
Morpheus Palace had always been the residence of the Handela Grand Duke's family, though it now served as the Second Prince's lodgings. Lorist craned his neck to examine the decorative borders around the palace ceiling, attempting to count how many Morpheus figures he could spot...
"What are you doing?" At some point, the Second Prince had come to stand beside Lorist, also craning his neck to look at the ceiling, seemingly curious about what Lorist was looking at.
"Morpheus..." Wasted effort. He had already counted to fifty-three, but the interruption from the Second Prince had thrown Lorist off track. He couldn't remember if he had already counted those two Morpheuses locked together in battle, one wielding a short sword and the other a shield. Forget it. He'd stop counting. He estimated that the Morpheus sculptures in the decorations of this one antechamber alone probably numbered over sixty. Counting this sort of thing was both mentally taxing and hard on the eyes...
The Second Prince chuckled. "You actually believe that legend?"
Lorist shook his head. "No, Your Highness. I was just curious and counting for fun. In fact, I believe this legend is actually a trap."
"A trap?" The Second Prince hadn't expected that answer. "Why do you say that?"
"Your Highness, I think if someone had the energy and willpower to search for all one thousand Morpheuses, they would be better off putting that effort into their own cultivation. Given enough time, once their battle power advances, they will naturally become an invincible warrior."
The Second Prince nodded. "What you say makes a lot of sense. Actually, the Handela family's records note something similar. About seventy years ago, a member of the family swore to find all one thousand Morpheus figures to receive the Morpheus blessing. Unfortunately, after more than thirty years of searching every corner of the palace, he could only find nine hundred and ninety-seven. The remaining three eluded him no matter what. In the end, he went mad, searching the palace over and over, muttering 'Where are they? Where are them?' until he fell into the water one night and drowned..."
Lorist sighed. "That is a tragic story."
"Yes, so since then, the Handela family has forbidden anyone from searching for the so-called one thousand Morpheuses." The Second Prince glanced up again at the Morpheus sculpture among the ceiling decorations. "Just as you said, if he had devoted those thirty-plus years to cultivating his battle power, even with mediocre talent, he could have at least advanced to the Gold Rank. That would have been a much better outcome for both him and the family."
Lorist smiled faintly and said nothing more. The Second Prince's behavior was somewhat strange today, as if he had completely forgotten the grudge from over a month ago, when Lorist had refused his order to lead troops against the Handela Grand Duchy's defenses. He treated Lorist with the same warmth as always, having seemingly obliterated the memory of when he had wanted to tear Lorist apart and swallow him whole.
"Alright, enough chatter. You're here for your reward, right? I've already written it out for you. I'm truly reluctant to see you leave and return to your family's domain." The Second Prince turned and walked back to the desk, picking up a piece of parchment to hand to Lorist.
This was the tax exemption certificate. Both the decorative border and the king's seal on it indicated that the Second Prince had no intention of shortchanging Lorist — he had prepared it well in advance. However, when Lorist's eyes swept over the date on the document, he couldn't help but pause. "Your Majesty, did you perhaps write the term incorrectly?"
What had been agreed upon was a three-year tax exemption period, yet on the certificate, three years had been changed to five. Strange — had the sun risen from the west today? Since when had the Second Prince become so generous? Lorist would much rather believe the Second Prince had been so busy he'd made a clerical error.
"No, this is what you deserve. Lorist, honestly, this campaign against the four central duchies wouldn't have succeeded without your help. That's why we won so quickly with so few casualties. No one contributed greater military merit than you. Yes, we had our disagreements recently, but that was simply because we had different views on the war situation. The facts proved you were right. As king, I must be fair in my rewards and punishments — I cannot turn a blind eye to your merits just because you defied me. I believe the reward you requested is insufficient to repay your contributions in this war, which is why I decided to change your family's tax exemption from three years to five."
Lorist bowed. "I am grateful for your generosity, Your Majesty."
"There's no need for pleasantries. I'm merely doing my best to be a just king who rewards and punishes fairly..."
"But Your Majesty, your handling of Duke Shahin hardly seems fair, does it?" Lorist promptly pushed his luck.
"Uh..." The Second Prince was caught off guard by Lorist's question. Though somewhat embarrassed, he maintained his composure and shook his head with a smile. "Duke Shahin has been complaining to you, hasn't he? Of course he has — you four Northern families are bound together like branches of the same tree, so it's only natural he'd air his grievances to you. But Lorist, think about it — I gave him two options, and he rejected both. Can you blame me? I followed through on everything I promised. Limad Province and Meishan Province are both mineral-rich provinces with far greater revenue potential than his current county seat. With a decade or two of patient development, they'd yield substantial financial returns. But he turned them all down, so there was nothing more I could do..."
"Your Majesty, you're well aware of the current state of Limad and Meishan provinces. Duke Shahin naturally wouldn't want such provinces as his family's domain. He was never skilled at managing or developing territory — how could he endure waiting ten or twenty years before seeing any returns?"
"Haha, but can you blame me for that?" The Second Prince burst out laughing. "Who practically reduced Meishan and Limad provinces to wasteland? Was that my doing? Think about it yourself — Duke Shahin wanted Crebia Province, but how much merit did he earn in this war? He's already been elevated to the rank of duchy in the kingdom — isn't that enough? Even if I gave him Crebia Province, could he accept it with a clear conscience?"
Lorist shrugged, signaling his inability to intervene. The Second Prince had a point. Duke Shahin's performance in this war had been nothing remarkable — he'd truly played the role of a background extra. Though he'd followed closely in Lorist's footsteps, he hadn't distinguished himself with any outstanding battlefield achievements. With this justification, there was nothing more Lorist could say in protest.
"Alright, Your Majesty, you're right — Duke Shahin really shouldn't be harboring such delusions. I'll take my leave now." Lorist felt that with the matter settled, it was time for him to go.
"Wait, Lorist, there's still something I need to discuss with you." The Second Prince hurriedly called out to stop him.
"Hmm?" Lorist thought to himself, here comes the real agenda. No one offers favors without ulterior motives — kindness out of nowhere is either treachery or a scam. The Second Prince couldn't have been so generous as to extend his tax exemption by two years without strings attached. He'd been lying in wait for this all along — who knew what he was scheming...
"What is it, Your Majesty? What further instructions do you have?" Lorist asked.
"Oh, Lorist, here's the thing — I've heard that for the past month or so, you've been hunting magical beasts on the magic plains across the river?"
"That's right, Your Majesty. Since you were away on your inspection tour, I didn't want to sit around Hans City doing nothing, so I took the family forces to the magic plains for routine training, so as not to disturb the city's residents. I also took the opportunity to hunt some magical beasts to supplement the troops' meat rations," Lorist replied.
"Hehe, Lorist, I'm not criticizing you. I just wanted to ask — do you still have the pelts from those magical beasts?" the Second Prince inquired.
"Of course I do." Lorist answered with some puzzlement. "Your Majesty, you want the magical beast pelts? As it happens, I managed to get hold of several particularly rare ones this time. I'll have them sent to you right away."
"I can pay for them."
"No need — it's just a dozen or so pelts. Consider them a gift to Your Majesty," Lorist said generously.
"No, Lorist, I want all the pelts from the magical beasts you hunted in the Magic Plains. I can pay you for them," the Second Prince said.
"All the magical beast pelts?" Lorist was dumbfounded. Can you even afford them? Excluding the rather precious pelts he had sent back to the family territory at the end of last year, the rest — combined with the pelts from the magical beasts newly hunted last month when he had led the family forces into the Magic Plains — were worth nearly one million gold Fordes in total. Lorist quickly recovered his composure. The Second Prince really wasn't short on money these days. Besides the tribute of one point five million gold Fordes each paid by the three Grand Dukes in the central region, he had also seized nearly one million gold Fordes from former Grand Duke Fakel's main camp that hadn't been taken away...
Not to mention the atonement contributions that the lords of territories loyal to the four Grand Dukes had voluntarily submitted to the Second Prince. The Second Prince was loaded now! Lorist looked at the Second Prince with burning eyes, as if the man standing before him were a statue made of solid gold.
But what did the Second Prince want so many magical beast pelts for? This was the only thread of clarity piercing through Lorist's mind. Could it be that he also wanted to assemble and train a unit or legion capable of operating outdoors during winter? Lorist instantly grasped the Second Prince's intention in wanting to buy his magical beast pelts. Whatever — business first. Might as well fleece him while he was willing. If he missed this opportunity, he'd regret it forever. Did they really think winter training was that simple? Did they really believe that just outfitting every soldier with cold-weather gear would let them move freely through howling blizzards? Heh — they were thinking far too naively...
The Second Prince nodded with dignified restraint.
"Very well. The magical beast pelts currently stored in the main camp are estimated to be worth around one point four to one point five million gold Fordes. I'll give Your Majesty a discount — how about one point two million? In addition, I have the pelts of several dozen rare magical beasts, which I'll throw in for Your Majesty as well."
Well, would you look at that — just moments ago he had offered to gift the Second Prince only a dozen or so rare magical beast pelts, and now he was giving them all away. As long as the Second Prince was willing to pay for all the magical beast pelts, that was all that mattered.
"Wait — how much did you say? One point four to one point five million gold Fordes' worth? Do you really have that many magical beast pelts?" The Second Prince felt a bit faint. He had never expected Lorist to possess so many magical beast pelts. How many magical beasts had this guy actually killed in the Magic Plains?
The Second Prince was preparing to form a small legion, which he planned to name the Blizzard Assault Legion. He wanted to train them to use skis so they could launch surprise attacks during winter snowstorms. Back when he had crossed the Cloudsever Mountains and the Great Snow Mountain, he had learned a bitter lesson — of the thirty thousand-plus who had set out, only about eight thousand remained to follow him on the snowy night raid on Fedeliga's capital city. So he believed that assault forces prized quality over quantity; around ten thousand men would suffice. He had no intention of having every legion soldier undergo winter training the way the
The Second Prince had learned about Lorist leading the Flying Tiger Legion to the Magic Plains to hunt magical beasts at the end of last year, but at the time, it had served the dual purpose of confusing the enemy and providing meat for the troops, so he hadn't paid it much mind. In the Second Prince's view, expending family forces on hunting magical beasts was foolish behavior. He had no idea that the Norton Family forces had originally been born as magical beast hunters. When Lorist had rushed back to the family territory at the end of last year, he had transported most of the more precious magical beast pelts away, leaving behind mainly the pelts of Magic Plains wasteland wolves, horned antelope, and similar creatures — pelts the Second Prince had seen for himself.
In his heart, the Second Prince had estimated that buying up all of Lorist's magical beast pelts at most would cost three to four hundred thousand gold Fordes — enough to make cold-weather gear for that Blizzard Assault Legion, with plenty left over. That was why he had offered to take the lot in one go. He never expected to be so thoroughly startled by Lorist's response.
"Of course, Your Highness. I was also hunting magical beasts in the Magic Plains last month — these are freshly killed. Rest assured, the pelts I've brought are all in roughly intact condition. I wouldn't dare pass off tattered, ruined hides as quality stock; I can vouch for that on the Norton Family's name. Though I must say, I didn't realize Your Highness had taken up business dealings. You must be planning to buy from me at a low price and then resell at a high price once you get back to the imperial capital, right? A round trip and Your Highness stands to make a fortune..." Lorist carried on with his sales pitch without pause.
"This... this..." The Second Prince was suffering in silence. He had genuinely forgotten, but the conversation had already gone too far for him to backpedal now.
"Your Highness... you wouldn't be toying with me, would you?" Lorist's expression darkened.
"No, no. As a king, naturally I keep my word. I'll send men over to your camp shortly to inspect the goods." The Second Prince agreed with a bitter grimace.
"Very well, Your Highness. I'll take my leave then and await your men at the camp." Lorist turned and strode off without a backward glance.
...