Chapter 558: The Withdrawal and the Lease

For His Highness the Second Prince, this was the most glorious moment of his life — when Grand Duke Comberlayt, the Supreme Administrator of the Commercial Alliance, affixed his signature to the armistice and the memorandum of understanding, then bowed three times in apology. For over a century, his ancestors had been powerless against the Commercial Alliance, suffering devastating defeats at the hands of its armed forces time and again. Yet today, he, a descendant of the Krisen imperial house, had finally forced the Commercial Alliance to bow its head in submission and offer him a humble apology.

In that moment, the Second Prince forgot that it was the Norton Family's armed forces — not the allied nobility of the Andinak Kingdom under his command — that had truly beaten the Commercial Alliance into the ground. Perhaps in the Second Prince's mind, since Lorist was his vassal, the Norton Family's forces were also part of the Andinak Kingdom's military. He had, after all, dispatched the White Lion Corps to fight alongside the Norton Family's troops. The victory rightfully belonged half to him, so appearing here as the conqueror was entirely justified.

At the celebration banquet hosted by the Freedom Alliance's ruling council to mark the arrival of peace, the Second Prince was in excellent spirits. Unsurprisingly, he had drunk a fair bit more than he should have. However, he did not make a fool of himself or cause any scenes. He still appeared reasonably sober as he picked up a cup of fine wine and made his way over to Lorist's side.

"Lorist, I truly have to thank you this time. Without you and the Norton Family's forces, this war against the Commercial Alliance's army could never have ended so quickly. I, the King of the Andinak Kingdom, would never have become the victor..." To his credit, the Second Prince still possessed enough clarity of mind to realize he had reaped an enormous advantage.

Though Lorist had appeared at the banquet, his status as a Sword Saint meant that no random nobody would dare crowd around him. The only people who could approach him for conversation were Ledos, the Second Prince, and a handful of leaders from the central and southern kingdoms. The rest of the guests simply raised their glasses to him from a distance, which afforded him a fair bit of peace and quiet. Right now, as the Second Prince approached, everyone within a five- or six-meter radius instinctively cleared away, lest they be mistaken for eavesdroppers.

Lorist raised his cup. "Your Highness, it's nothing. The Norton Family is one of the noble houses of the Andinak Kingdom. Our victory is naturally Your Highness's victory. There's no distinction."

"Ah..." The Second Prince sighed. "I want to apologize to you. In truth, I never imagined that foolish son of mine could be so greedy that he would target your family, going so far as to break our grain trade agreement. It caused trouble for both of us. After I returned to the capital, I had all those little sycophants around him executed. I hope this unpleasant business hasn't damaged the relationship between us, and I hope you can forgive that arrogant boy of mine..."

Lorist took a delicate sip of his wine, then replied with a smile, "Your Highness, I never gave Knight Vickersax's actions a second thought. I forgive his recklessness and impulsiveness. After all, he caused no actual harm to my family. But as Your Highness's loyal subject, I must remind you — the knightly education Vickersax received from a young age does not seem well-suited to making him a wise ruler and king. Unless Your Highness subjects him to strict royal tutoring from now on, cultivates his broader vision, and reshapes his character, I would once again urge Your Highness to reconsider whether to change the Krisen royal heir. You now have a legitimate son, and as a Sword Saint, Your Highness has at least fifty or sixty more years to train a worthy successor to the throne rather than locking in the succession right now."

Well, though Lorist's words were diplomatic, their meaning was unmistakable — a clear declaration of his opposition to Knight Vickersax as the royal heir. I don't like the look of him. If you insist on pushing him onto the throne, then whatever happens down the road, don't come crying to me. In truth, you have plenty of time, and a newborn legitimate son at that. Why rush to decide the succession? Why not personally raise a proper prince yourself...

The Second Prince understood Lorist's meaning. He smiled bitterly and explained, "Vickersax is still young and has always been a filial son. His heart isn't bad — he was merely misled by others. Of course, he didn't receive a proper noble education when he was young. Because of the war, life was very hard for him and his foster father. I was away on campaign at the time and couldn't provide them with much help. His foster father, Knight Torm, was old and frail, frequently bedridden. So Vickersax had to make his way in the streets and slums, picking up a few bad habits along the way. But I believe he simply lacks vision and breadth of perspective. Give him more experience on the world stage, and he'll grow into it."

Lorist shook his head. "Your Highness, I see it differently. You call him filial; I say he's putting on an act. If you calm down and think clearly, you'll see the suspicious details in the Queen Cici affair. If he were truly filial — knowing full well that Cici was your queen — how could he possibly have the audacity to conduct an affair with her? Even if Queen Cici made the first move, anyone with a proper sense of propriety would have refused, for in name they were mother and son. Only someone with outrageous audacity and no sense of right and wrong would happily go along with it, like a beast.

There's a saying in the North: 'It takes two hands to clap.' Your Highness is a wise ruler — it was only the rage and shame of the moment that clouded your judgment. I heard that after Knight Vickersax was placed under house arrest, he pinned all the blame on Queen Cici for seducing him, conveniently forgetting that she was already eight months pregnant and near her time. That shows a complete lack of the honor, sense of responsibility, and courage to admit and correct one's mistakes that a true knight should possess.

Did you notice that Vickersax never once admitted a shred of fault? Consider — if Knight Vickersax truly became king, what do you think would have happened over the Qilin Port trade market affair this time? I guarantee he would have mobilized every armed force in the kingdom to attack Qilin Port and declared my Norton Family traitors to the crown. Then you can imagine what the outcome would have been..."

"That wouldn't have been that serious, would it..." The Second Prince wiped the sweat from his forehead. In truth, he knew perfectly well that Lorist was not speaking hypothetically but describing exactly what would have happened. If Regiment Commander Lippired had not refused Vickersax's order to deploy the Royal Guard Knights to attack Qilin Port, it might well have turned into a full-blown crisis. The moment the Norton Family was driven into rebellion, the kingdom would have been finished.

"You know it in your heart..." Lorist gave no quarter, speaking in an even tone. After the royal escort Vickersax had dispatched was marched back to the capital and forced to run through the streets in disgrace, Vickersax had stormed over to the Royal Guard Knights' garrison. His intentions were perfectly obvious. But Regiment Commander Lippired gave him no respect either, flatly refusing to obey his orders, and Vickersax had slunk back to the palace in defeat. None of this could be hidden from anyone paying attention.

"I understand," the Second Prince said with a bitter smile. "I'll think about it more when I get back. Perhaps granting him a fief would be a good idea. But Lorist, I want you to promise me — in the future, you will take Helaiest on as your disciple."

Helaiest was the newborn love child of the Second Prince and his new queen. Since Lorist opposed the Second Prince's plan to name the illegitimate son Vickersax as royal heir, the Second Prince's hope that Lorist would become the little prince Helaiest's teacher signaled his decision to invest his ambitions in this newborn prince — and to bind Lorist to the child in the process.

Lorist smiled and raised his golden cup. "Your Highness, if young Prince Helaiest can awaken his combat force before the age of sixteen, I am willing to take him as my disciple and teach him with care, so as not to disappoint Your Highness."

The Second Prince was overjoyed. "Good. It's settled then."

The two men raised their cups and drained them in one gulp.

The Second Prince casually picked up a bottle of fine wine from the table and personally refilled Lorist's golden cup. "Lorist, one more thing. The Commercial Alliance has submitted and bowed its head. The kingdom has finally resolved the issue of territorial boundaries. The empire's map is unified once more. After I return, I will begin preparations for my coronation ceremony. The date will be set for August 10th of next year — the founding day of the Krisen Empire. On that day, I will announce the restoration of the Krisen Empire's name and the rebuilding of the imperial lineage. What do you think?"

Lorist set down his golden cup and lowered his head respectfully. "Your Highness, this is a joyous occasion for the royal house and for the kingdom alike. The empire has endured long years of warfare and fragmentation. Now, under Your Highness's hand, it has been reunited. This is Your Highness's achievement — one that will be recorded in the annals of history. I believe all the nobles of the kingdom will join the Norton Family in eagerly anticipating that day's arrival."

These words were exquisitely tactful, and the Second Prince laughed heartily. "Brother Lorist, your achievements will also resound for a thousand years alongside the empire's revival. I will never forget the contributions the Norton Family made in the unification of the empire. The Norton Family is a model of loyalty among all the noble houses of the empire. You will become the subjects of legend for generations to come..."

The Second Prince remained in Morant City for another three days. Only after loading the two million gold Forde coins that the Commercial Alliance had surrendered onto wagons did he depart with his thousand-strong escort for the capital. When Fatty Shi returned from seeing him off, he grumbled endlessly, saying the Second Prince had been thoroughly excessive. The Norton Family's forces had fought the Commercial Alliance for three years, burning through countless gold coins. The Second Prince had become a victor thanks to the Norton Family's efforts, extorted five million gold Forde from the Commercial Alliance, and hadn't thought to give the Norton Family's forces a single coin — he had taken it all. And before leaving, he had even helped himself to ten of the Norton Family's four-wheeled transport wagons to haul away two million gold coins. He had never seen such a stingy and petty king...

Lorist laughed and said, "Forget it. There's no point haggling over a bit of pocket change. Our family made a fortune this time. Forget the Schwed sea fortress on the Romani Cape, which brings in over a million gold Forde in tolls and tariffs each year — just the market here in Morant City, worth nearly ten million gold Forde annually, has made our family a fortune. Beyond that, even though the Norton Family hasn't gained any visible profits on the surface, we've earned widespread acclaim across the central and south of the continent. That's something no amount of money can buy.

The king may be petty, but that's only because the kingdom's finances are in truly dire straits. With this compensation from the Commercial Alliance, he can ease his cash-flow difficulties. Besides, next year he's holding the coronation ceremony and restoring the Krisen Empire's name. This money is very useful to him, and there's no need for us to stick our noses in. On top of that, last year our family seized his share of the grain sales and earned an extra million or so. And then there's Qilin Port — last year we pulled in an additional five hundred thousand gold Forde from that."

"Didn't Qilin Port also hand over five hundred thousand gold Forde to His Majesty the King last year?" Fatty Shi grumbled unconvinced. "By the way, Your Highness, have you really decided to withdraw all of the family's forces back to the Northland before the end of this year? What if some upheaval occurs here after we pull out and we're too far away to react? In my view, we'd best keep one corps stationed here — one, to protect our commercial interests, and two, to keep the disgruntled Commercial Alliance in check. I keep feeling that the Alliance's willingness to surrender so readily this time might be hiding some scheme..."

...of the Commercial Alliance. But now that the Alliance has bowed its head and signed armistice and reconciliation agreements with every surrounding nation, virtually everyone believes peace has arrived. If our family's forces remain stationed here, it would become extremely sensitive. Some might think we're posturing and showing off our military might. With the wrong person stirring the pot, it could spark violent incidents directed against us, and we'd end up tarnishing our family's reputation for nothing.

Besides, we're not withdrawing immediately — the deadline is the end of the year, still a good half year away. The Flying Tiger Corps and the Hunting Cavalry Corps will leave first. They've been away from the Northland for over three years now, and their soldiers are eager to go home. The Imperial Guard Corps still needs three or four more months — they can't pull out until they've finished training two corps of the Peterson Kingdom's armed forces. And the Fortress Corps will stay until year's end, not until the entire defensive line in Kuwadro Province has been handed over to the Peterson Kingdom's armed corps to hold.

As for the Commercial Alliance, I guarantee they can't make trouble anymore. The moment they announced they were sending envoys to sue for peace, they had already given up on the war. Even if Peterson and the four neighboring nations simultaneously announce the implementation of a salt monopoly, the Alliance will have to swallow its broken teeth in silence. Peterson has already joined the twenty-one-nation agreement of the central south, becoming the twenty-second member. If the Alliance wants to reopen hostilities, it will be facing an army of twenty-two nations. The current Commercial Alliance cannot afford to make so many enemies.

For our family's forces, withdrawing our four land-based field corps has perfectly demonstrated our sincerity in maintaining peace. But we have no intention of pulling out our naval forces. The Freedom Alliance won't be investing in a naval fleet for several years to come, and keeping the waters beyond Hidden Gold Bay secure will still depend on our family's Northern Sea Fleet. So next, go discuss things with Ledos. We'll lease the land near the mouth of the bay at Hidden Gold Bay to build a naval base for our fleet. I'm certain Ledos won't refuse this perfectly reasonable request of ours."

"Understood. I'll go negotiate the land lease with Ledos," said Fatty Shi.

...