On the day of the executions,
This was the largest-scale execution in the history of the
Unsurprisingly, the trial and executions sent shockwaves through the Northland, the surrounding provinces, and even across the entire Andinack Kingdom. To outsiders, the Norton Family's response to this bloodless internal rebellion seemed excessively harsh. After all, since Steward Hanske had launched his coup, there had been no bloodshed within the Norton Family. Hanske himself had refrained from slaughtering those family officials who refused to cooperate, opting instead for imprisonment and dismissal.
Compared to the measures Lorist took after his return, Hanske's treatment had been downright lenient. The treatment of Lesket in particular struck many as excessive. Though he was illegitimate by birth, he was still Lorist's son. And the crimes published against him were no different from those committed by any spoiled noble youth — oppressing fief residents, toying with maids, killing a few servants and commoners, extorting merchants. These were hardly grave matters. Even among strictly raised noble families, when such incidents occurred, they would typically send a steward or someone of similar rank to offer apologies and compensation. Was it really necessary for Lorist to personally order his own son hanged?
Furthermore, even if it had all been a misunderstanding, the
Only the senior officials of the Norton Family who knew the full story understood why Lorist had become so enraged. The family rebellion that Steward Hanske had instigated had come perilously close to destroying the cannon battalion — the product of Lorist's years of painstaking effort. Only those few senior members who had truly witnessed the power of the bronze cannons in firing would agree with Lorist's assessment: the cannons were the single most important military asset that would ensure the Norton Family's continued prosperity for centuries to come.
Steward Hanske had brought his fate upon himself. On the night before his execution, Steward Kordan had brought some wine and food to meet with him one last time. Hanske tore into the food and wine while cursing Lorist for refusing to heed good counsel and insisting on leading the Norton Family to its doom. He wailed and railed, expressing profound anguish for the future of the Norton Family, putting on a display of noble, tragic defiance — as though he still considered himself a loyal minister of the Norton Family.
Kordan watched Hanske's performance with the expression of someone observing a madman, remaining silent throughout. Only when the food and wine were finished and the time came to part did he heave a long sigh: "Hanske, power has blinded your eyes. Your abilities are nowhere near sufficient to match your ambitions. I understand what you were thinking — you wanted to become the next Steward Kreis, wielding the Family's power. But today's Norton Family is not that same Norton Family that huddled in a remote corner of the Northland. The Norton Family now rules over the entire Northland and three surrounding provinces, its influence at its zenith."
"It is because of the current head of the Norton Family, His Highness the Grand Duke, that the family has reached this point and developed to such heights. Only by serving loyally under his guidance can we better serve the family. To speak honestly, you never had the talent to manage the Norton Family in its current form. Aspiring to restore the authority that Steward Kreis once held was nothing more than a pipe dream. At this point, why bother putting on this act of being a loyal minister of the family..."
After Steward Kordan finished speaking, he shook his head, turned, and strode off without looking back, while Steward Hanske collapsed to the ground as though his pillar had been yanked away. In truth, Steward Kordan was right — before Lorist's return, the Norton Family's power had essentially been held in the hands of Steward Kreis. Lorist's father, Baron Norton, never concerned himself with the family's trivial matters; whether it was the flow of finances or personnel appointments within the family, all of it fell under Steward Kreis's purview. The Baron's interests lay in cultivation, hunting, and fighting the mountain barbarians...
For Hanske to aspire to become the Kreis of Lorist's era was nothing short of a delusional fantasy. Among the nobles of other territories, many lords — just like Lorist's father — handed over all matters, big and small, to their family stewards to handle. As a result, the common folk feared and revered the steward even more than the lofty lord above them. But under Lorist, such a thing was simply impossible.
In terms of both talent and vision, Steward Hanske could not compare to Shi Fatty, who enjoyed Lorist's deep trust. Out of respect for the late old Steward Kreis, Lorist had not neglected the three stewards from the original family territories — he had entrusted them with significant responsibilities. Stewards Sper and Kordan had earned Lorist's trust through their loyalty and diligence. Hanske, on the other hand, was unremarkable in talent; rather than working harder, he had taken to scheming and forming cliques to sideline newcomers, causing his standing in Lorist's eyes to plummet.
For the sake of the old guard, Lorist had not treated Steward Hanske unfairly. He, along with Stewards Sper and Kordan, had been among the first members of the family to be ennobled as landed lords. Unfortunately, Hanske failed to appreciate this. Instead, he grew ever more brazen within the family, overstepping his authority by meddling in domains that were not his to control — and eventually even presuming to dictate terms to Lorist himself.
Some things could be tolerated, but there were lines that Lorist could not allow Hanske to cross. The final outcome was that Hanske was kicked out of the family's senior management and ordered to return to his fief for self-reflection. But the stubborn Hanske refused to acknowledge any fault on his part. Instead, he went back to Maplewood Manor, consumed by a single-minded ambition: to push Leskett — the man he believed to be the true bloodline heir of the Norton Family, born at Maplewood Manor — onto the throne of family successor.
This was precisely why Steward Kordan judged Hanske to lack both talent and vision, as well as the ability to command the big picture. Hanske had launched a civil war within the family, done everything within his power, and even obtained a commission from the Second Prince. He had devised numerous contingencies for what would happen after Lorist returned to the Northland, believing the worst-case scenario would be a partition of the Northland — with father and son each ruling their own portion of the old and new family territories.
But imagination is sweet and reality is cruel. When Lorist returned to the Northland, the main force behind the family's civil war — the First Imperial Guard Division — meekly surrendered their weapons. Every official and conspirator who had answered Hanske's call to promote young Leskett as the family successor was rounded up without a fight. Not only were they all declared traitors to the family, but even the young Leskett in whom they had placed such high hopes was stripped of the Norton surname and sent to the gallows.
Only then did all of Steward Hanske's schemes turn to ash. What he failed to understand was the depth of Lorist's control over the entire family territory — that Lorist had allowed this civil war to unfold precisely because he wanted to use it as an opportunity to lance the family's festering boils. The real reason for Hanske's failure was that he did not grasp one fundamental truth: it was not that Lorist had achieved what he had because of the Norton Family — it was the Norton Family that had risen to its current heights because of Lorist.
Three days after the executions, Baron Christon was summoned to the city lord's study, where he appeared before Lorist.
Lorist had returned to normal, though a faint trace of gloom lingered between his brows. In his hand, he held a dossier of personal records pertaining to Baron Christon.
"Please have a seat, Baron Christon. As the family's Director of Criminal Affairs, your work these past few years has been outstanding. You established patrol squads in every town across the family's territories and spearheaded the compilation of the Norton Family Territorial Criminal Code, which now serves as the basis for all criminal rulings. It is for this that the family granted you the title of territorial baron." Lorist's words were filled with affirmation and admiration.
Baron Christon stood up as though overwhelmed by the honor and bowed deeply. "Your Grace, these were merely the duties it was my obligation to fulfill. I hardly deserve such praise from Your Grace."
Lorist nodded. "To keep it brief — I've called you here because I want you to take on a new role. I plan to split the Wolibeer Intelligence Bureau into two branches: one for external intelligence, and one for internal security affairs within the family, abbreviated as the Internal Affairs Department. Its responsibilities will include guarding against external surveillance of the family's territories, monitoring sedition within the family, and safeguarding the stability and security of our domains. Schwarz recommended you, Baron Christon, as the head of this Internal Affairs Department. What are your thoughts?"
A look of pleasant surprise spread across Baron Christon's face. As a meticulous family official, he understood full well the relationship between Schwarz and Lorist — no wonder the family had sent a messenger to recall him overnight from Draymuke Province, where he had been investigating a criminal case.
"Your Grace, I am willing to serve the family with unwavering loyalty, even unto death." Baron Christon straightened up, his expression grave and resolute.
"Excellent, Baron Christon. I'm glad you have the courage to shoulder such a heavy responsibility for the family," Lorist said with clear satisfaction. "I'm giving you three days. Go see Tager and familiarize yourself with the current state of internal security and surveillance operations in our territories. At the same time, write a report outlining your vision for this Internal Affairs Department. You'll also need to prepare a budget of projected expenditures. I want to see these documents in three days' time."
"Understood, Your Grace. I will not disappoint you."
Genorio was instructed to escort Baron Christon to Tager. The second person Lorist would see next was Belenek.
The white-haired Belenek entered the study and immediately dropped to one knee before Lorist. "Your Grace, it was my negligence and carelessness that brought irreparable losses upon the family. Please punish me."
Lorist was startled by his abrupt gesture and hurriedly helped him to his feet. He reassured Belenek that the civil war within the family, instigated by Steward Hanske, was not his fault — he had simply been too trusting of Hanske, which was how he had been deceived, placed under house arrest, and ultimately allowed the First Guard Corps to fall into the hands of Hanske and his conspirators.
Speaking of Belenek, one of the family's first generation of Gold Knights, he was most famous for an incident before Lorist's return to the Northland family territories. As a Silver Three-Star Knight of the family, he fought desperately against a demon bear to save Lorist's younger brother, only for the boy to fall from his horse and perish. Though Belenek slew the demon bear, he was gravely wounded. Afterward, he was poisoned and schemed against by the four major commoner families of Northwild Town, who harbored ulterior motives, leaving him bedridden for a full two to three years.
Lorist appointed him as commander of the First Guard Corps, entrusting him with the crucial task of defending the family's territory.
Simply because they both hailed from Maplewood Manor, Belenek could not refuse Steward Hanske's invitation and attended the banquet, only to fall into a trap. After rejecting Steward Hanske's proposal to install Young Master Laisk as the family heir, Belenek discovered that he had been secretly given a poison that dissolved his combat force, robbing him of all his cultivation. The presence of two Sword Saints at Steward Hanske's side made him understand that he had become a helpless fish on the chopping block.
Fortunately, Steward Hanske still hoped to eventually convince Belenek to serve Young Master Laisk alongside him, so he placed Belenek under house arrest at Maplewood Manor until Lorist rescued him. Having been poisoned twice now, Belenek was consumed by shame and indignation. So as soon as his body recovered, he rushed to Fury Bear City to beg Lorist's forgiveness, insisting on taking full responsibility and accepting punishment.
Lorist tried to persuade him for a long while, but Belenek stubbornly refused to be let off. He believed that as a
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