The candlelight flickered uncertainly, casting dancing shadows across
This woman and the little boy were none other than Pacheco's wife and their son. The couple found it peculiar that Lorist had asked them to bring their child here after dinner. Not only was Berunek present, but across from them stood Morosing, Willigson, and Edvork.
The great hall's doors opened, and four middle-aged maidservants entered, each leading a boy or girl who had not yet come of age. Pacheco and his wife grew even more curious, for they recognized all of them. These four boys and girls, just like Morosing, Willigson, and Edvork, were all illegitimate children of the previous Baron
After a while, the doors opened again. This time, Steward Spell and Reidi entered. Reidi carried a five- or six-year-old boy in his arms, and behind them followed the young lady Baisha.
"Good. Everyone is here." Lorist spoke, then waved Reidi over. "Bring the child here..."
The little boy wasn't afraid of strangers. Instead, he asked in a milky little voice, "Who... who are you?"
Lorist smiled and kissed the boy twice on the cheek. "I'm your uncle. Remember that, all right? Now tell me — what's your name, and how old are you?"
The little boy thought for a moment. "I... I'm He... Helileisi. I'm five and a half this year."
"What a good boy." Lorist stroked Helileisi's cheek, then looked up toward Pacheco and his wife, who was stifling sobs behind a handkerchief. "Pacheco, Madam. Please come here."
Lorist set Helileisi on the ground, stood, and bowed halfway to Pacheco's wife. "I'm sorry, Madam. You've been made to suffer. Today, I'm returning your child to you."
Pacheco's wife thrust the toddler in her arms into Pacheco's embrace, then clutched Helileisi tightly. "My child... my child..."
Pacheco held his own son at a complete loss, not quite understanding what was happening.
"Knight Pacheco, I ask you to become Helileisi's adoptive father. Will you?" Lorist addressed Pacheco with great solemnity.
"My Lord, this is... this is..." Pacheco stammered, unsure of how to respond. He knew that his wife had originally been the young master's maidservant and had given birth to Helileisi for him. Later, when the young lady Baisha wanted to raise Helileisi as her own son, she had separated mother and child as soon as the boy was weaned, then handed the maidservant over to Pacheco as his wife. That was why Pacheco always felt ill at ease around Baisha.
When she had first come to live with Pacheco, his wife had missed Helileisi terribly and often cried through the night. It was only after she became pregnant again and gave birth to another child that her condition improved somewhat. Regardless, Helileisi was her firstborn, and no mother could ever forget her first child.
"Knight Pacheco, you are an upright man who keeps his word. Helileisi is the only bloodline my elder brother left behind. I want him to grow up like any normal child — with a father's love, a mother's love, and siblings by his side. I hope he will become your adopted son and, under your guidance, grow to possess the same noble qualities of integrity and honor. When he turns twelve, I will bring him back and train him as a knight, just as his father was." Lorist said.
Pacheco handed the toddler back to his wife, then saluted Lorist with equal solemnity in the manner of a knight. "My Lord, I would be honored to become Helileisi's adoptive father. My wife is his mother. The young master showed me great kindness, and I will treat this child as my own. I will not let you down."
"Thank you, my knight." Lorist bowed halfway to Pacheco once more.
Pacheco and his wife withdrew to the side with both children, and Lorist returned to his seat. "Morosing. Willigson. Edvork..."
The three stepped forward and bowed to Lorist in salute.
"To be honest, I don't care about the circumstances of your birth. I only know that Norton blood flows in your veins as well — you are my brothers. But due to tradition and custom, I cannot pass on the family's Crimson Blood
"Morosing, your Combat Force is earth-attribute, correct? This one is for you."
"Willigson, you have metal-attribute Combat Force. This is yours."
"Edvork, you have exceptional talent. In just one year, you've advanced from newly awakened Combat Force all the way to Bronze Second Star. I hope you'll continue striving onward. You have fire-attribute Combat Force, and this one is yours. Beyond that, you will also receive Family Knight training and an education in aristocratic etiquette."
"This is what I, as your brother, should do for you. I hope you will continue to work hard, advance to the Silver rank, become Family Knights, and bear the Norton surname before your names. When you have rendered sufficient merit to the family, I will grant you titles of territorial nobility, establishing you as a branch family of House Norton. I look forward to that day," Lorist said.
The three saluted Lorist once more. "Thank you, My Lord."
Lorist waved to the four middle-aged maidservants with the children, and they stepped forward.
"You too have given me four more brothers and sisters. Now that each of you has started your own families, I've looked into matters and found that you've all taken excellent care of my four siblings. I will leave them in your care so they can enjoy the happiness of a normal family life. However, when they turn twelve, they must undergo Norton Family knight training and aristocratic etiquette education. If they work hard, the same prospects that await their three older brothers await them as well. As for you, starting this year, each of you will receive an annual pension to improve your family's living conditions, so that your half-siblings may live even happier lives."
The four middle-aged maidservants bowed to Lorist. "Thank you, My Lord."
"You may go now," Lorist said.
After his half-siblings had all departed, Lorist spoke again. "Baisha..."
The young lady Baisha approached meekly. Tonight, Lorist had seemed utterly foreign to her — much like his father, the former Baron Norton, when handling affairs: dignified, confident, and imposing.
"Baisha, since you've chosen to lead the Women's Garrison, you will serve the family. I expect you to fulfill your duties, abide by the regulations the family has established, and become an outstanding female knight. But remember — without my permission, you are not to act on your own initiative or alter the Women's Garrison's organization and regulations without authorization. Do you understand?" Lorist fixed his gaze on Baisha.
The young lady Baisha nodded, looking aggrieved.
"Today, with Brother Beck, Knight Pacheco, and Steward Spell here as witnesses, I hereby confer upon you the position and authority of commander of the Women's Garrison. Likewise, you must keep the promises you've made, or don't blame me for being unkind. Furthermore, if you receive an invitation, you may visit Knight Pacheco's home as a guest to see Helileisi. However, I forbid you from going there uninvited to harass or disturb their family's peace. Remember my warning. You may leave."
...
"Ilinna, thank you for giving me such a precious baby. He's adorable..." Lorist carried the infant around the room, rocking gently. The little one, having just had his fill of milk, squinted contentedly and began drifting off to sleep once more.
Ilinna reclined against the pillows, watching Lorist dandle the baby back and forth with the contented smile of a new mother...
Reidi appeared softly at the doorway and called gently, "My Lord..."
"What is it?"
"The leader of the Five Swords Mercenary Corps has come to claim his reward. He heard you're here and requests an audience..."
Lorist nodded and gently placed the baby in Ilinna's arms. "Shh, careful. He just fell asleep..."
Ilinna gave him a look that was equal parts exasperation and amusement. "I know. Go on."
The Five Swords Mercenary Corps had arrived at Pendor Castle in November of the previous year, just as the first great snow of winter descended, bringing with them their families and fellow villagers — a total of one thousand one hundred and seventy-four souls.
The corps leader, Durbuff, bowed respectfully to Lorist, who invited him to sit and offered him tea.
This time, Durbuff and several of his mercenaries had brought back over fifty Mountain Barbarian heads to present to Steward Spell in exchange for the bounty, and they requested some weapons and equipment as support.
Durbuff reported to Lorist on the changes in the situation over the past few months. Starting in March, the Five Swords Mercenary Corps had been garrisoned at the military fortress at the junction of two mountain ranges — the border between the Norton Family's territory and the Dragon Peak Mountains. They had already clashed with Mountain Barbarian raiding parties several times. At first it had been groups of three or five riders, but now they numbered in the dozens and even the hundreds, with the scale growing ever larger. Durbuff suspected that before long, they would face a large-scale siege by Mountain Barbarian cavalry.
Lorist readily agreed to provide the Five Swords Mercenary Corps with a batch of weapons and equipment, and promised to equip all one hundred-plus members with iron armor to improve their protection.
Durbuff was overjoyed. After expressing his gratitude repeatedly, he took his leave.
Lorist had enjoyed barely more than a month of family bliss at Maplewood Manor before an urgent letter from Fatty Shrade summoned him back to Pendor Castle.
...
This was the first official use of Pendor Castle's main keep since its completion. The spacious castle hall was packed with every Family Knight and civil official under Lorist's command. Even Pacheco, Berunek, Steward Spell, and the young lady Baisha, who were at Maplewood Manor, had hurried over to attend the meeting.
For the first time, the young lady Baisha truly witnessed the extent of Lorist's power. This left her feeling genuinely apprehensive in his presence for the very first time. As for the family's sole female knight, curious eyes appraised her from all directions, and more than a few bold Family Knights hoping to win her favor came up to introduce themselves, sending poor Baisha scurrying behind Berunek in embarrassment.
Lorist and Fatty Shrade entered the great hall, with Reidi and Pat following behind them, carrying a wooden frame and a very large, very long scroll of beast hide parchment.
The hall gradually fell silent. Everyone knew this meeting concerned the future of the Norton Family and the fate of over five hundred thousand subjects.
Pat and Reidi set up the frame and unfurled the beast hide parchment, hanging it in place. It was a massive map of the family's territory.
...the matter of settling the subjects. Lorist picked up a long wooden pointer and began indicating locations on the map.
"This is the wasteland between the planned mountain city and Northfield Town. The family's next task is to develop this wasteland and turn it into the Norton Family's granary. As you can see, we've divided this wasteland into seven sections, each marked with a different color. We've partitioned the wasteland into seven districts, and we will build a town in each. Every town will oversee over a dozen villages. Assuming one town holds one thousand to fifteen hundred households, and one village holds three to five hundred households, these seven districts can accommodate at least three hundred to five hundred thousand people. The cultivable land area is ten to twenty million mu..."
"This map is the product of a month's effort by the Scout Light Cavalry Battalion and the Survey Team, purchased with the sacrifice of dozens of family soldiers. At present, large groups of magical beasts still roam this wasteland. These are beast herds that crossed the Dragon Peak Mountains from the wildlands during winter to enter the family's territory. Many did not return to the wildlands after winter ended, remaining on this wasteland instead. To develop this wasteland, our first task is to deal with these beast herds.
"Our plan is to develop this wasteland over three years. In these troubled times, we will build a happy and prosperous homeland for our loved ones. This year, we will drive the magical beasts from the wasteland, resettle our subjects in the seven districts' settlement villages and towns, cultivate the land and sow winter wheat, build protective walls and shelter, repair the roads, and arrange winter provisions. Everything must be ready before November, when winter arrives.
"Next year, we will expand and improve the roads, build large-scale irrigation facilities, cultivate more farmland, and distribute plots to individual households. Each household will receive fifty mu of farmland or more, along with the necessary farming tools and a horse. The year after that, our lord will fulfill his promise — building new stone houses for every household, so that all the subjects who followed us to the family's territory will have new homes.
"This three-year plan for developing the wasteland will require an investment of one million gold Forde from the family. After distributing the land, our lord has also announced a three-year preferential tax policy: in the first year, only ten percent of the harvest will be collected; in the second year, twenty percent; in the third year, thirty percent. Thereafter, the standard rate of forty percent will apply, with no further increases. As relatives of family soldiers, there will be an additional ten percent reduction. I believe that after three years, this wasteland will become a paradise on earth."
Fatty Shrade turned to Lorist. "My Lord, you should give this wasteland a name."
"Very well." Lorist stood. "Abundance in sight, joy and prosperity. Let's call it the Plain of Abundance and Joy."
"Everyone has heard Knight Shrade's plan for developing the wasteland. Today is the fourth of July — only four months remain until November. Time is short. I expect everyone to unite in purpose and work together, each contributing their part to the family." Lorist gave everyone a knight's salute.
Everyone in the hall rose to their feet. "My Lord, we swear to serve unto death..."
"Knight Josc..."
"My Lord, at your command." Josc stepped forward.
"Where are my Tiger Knights?"
"My Lord, your Tiger Knights stand ready at all times!" Rod Wells exclaimed excitedly, standing beside Josc.
"And my Knight Corps?"
"My eyes — where is Knight
"My Lord, wherever you point is where we shall advance!" Yuri stepped forward as well.
"Excellent. Scout Light Cavalry, Ironclad Lancers, Knight Corps, Scout Cavalry — I order you to sweep the magical beasts from the wasteland. Before September, I want every last large beast herd eradicated."
"At once, my Lord."
"Knight Vashima..."
"Present, my Lord." Knight Vashima stepped to the front.
"Your Iron Cavalry squadron will be folded into the Ironclad Lancers. You will serve as Knight Ross's deputy and join the expedition."
"Yes, my Lord."
Lorist addressed the entire hall. "Knight Bodenfeng's Heavy Armor Division will be responsible for guarding the safety of the resettlement camps. Ovikis's Guard Squadron will maintain their regular defensive duties at Pendor Castle. Pacheco's Guard Squadron will be responsible for defending Maplewood Manor, with attention to providing support to the military fortress garrisoned by the Five Swords Mercenary Corps. Fareya's three garrison battalions will accompany and escort the subjects to the settlement locations, leaving behind a squad per village and a company per town as construction support. Al, you'll take the Personal Guard Battalion to oversee the prisoners building the roads. Everyone else will follow the arrangements of Development Steward Knight Shrade without exception."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Knight Malek, please step forward," Lorist said.
"My Lord..." Knight Malek approached Lorist.
"Knight Malek, I order you, in my capacity as lord, to begin your leave immediately and not return until you've advanced to the Golden rank," Lorist said with a smile.
"But my Lord, the family is at a critical juncture — I must contribute..."
"No, no, no. You've already delayed your caravan heading north for far too long. I've already commanded Knight Berunek to serve as Knight Fareya's deputy and take over your garrison battalion. Take your leave in peace, and serve the family again once you've reached the Golden rank. This is my request, and it is also my command as your lord. It is not to be disobeyed."
"Very well. Thank you, My Lord." A rare flicker of gratitude crossed Malek's eternally stoic face as he gave Lorist a knight's salute.
...(To be continued.)