"Your Highness, Steward Hansk did not return to his barony in the Drekmech Province." Schwarz came to report.
"Oh? Then where did he go?" Lorist's expression shifted slightly.
"He went to Maple Forest Manor. Lady Irelina sent people and a carriage to pick him up. Apparently she wishes to hire Steward Hansk as a tutor for the young master Ziboshik." Schwarz replied.
Ziboshik was the second son born to Lorist and his concubine Irelina. Because the first son, Leskert, had been sent to the Malek family to be raised, this second son remained at Maple Forest Manor, living beside his mother Irelina. With Lorist constantly away on campaign, he had paid the least attention to this second son. He had heard that the boy took after his mother in appearance, resembling a little ball of flesh, and was approaching eight years of age. Lorist had been planning to find a tutor for him, only for Irelina to act first and recruit the dismissed Steward Hansk before he could.
Lorist fell silent. After a long pause, he shook his head. "Let it be. When the heavens want to rain and a mother wants to remarry, these things cannot be stopped. Let them do as they please."
"But Your Highness, last time why did you pardon Steward Hansk's rudeness and merely have us drive him away? Now he has disobeyed your order yet again — instead of returning to his barony to reflect, he accepted Lady Irelina's offer. Doesn't this show he holds Your Highness in utter contempt? I believe Your Highness should strip him of his title and lands as punishment for his disrespect." Schwarz spoke with barely contained indignation.
Lorist let out an amused snort. "Some matters are not as simple as they appear on the surface. In truth, Steward Hansk deliberately tried to provoke my anger last time. Even stripping him of his title and lands would not have bothered him in the slightest. What he needs is a reputation — the reputation of a loyal, frank man who speaks his mind and does not flatter his superiors. Compared to that, what are a mere barony and a baron's title worth? If, in the future, Leskert were to inherit my position, he would naturally regard Hansk as the family's most faithful retainer. And when that day comes, a single barony and baron's title would be far too meager a reward..."
"Heh heh..."
Lorist snorted a few times through his nose and looked up to ask Schwarz, "Did Tiger send any word about when he'll be back?"
Schwarz replied, "Your Highness, we've received a message via messenger hawk. Lord Tiger has already boarded a ship for Shillowas Island and should return to the Northland in about fifteen days. Oh, there's also a file here regarding Young Master Leskert's performance at Niko Academy. It's from last month — since it wasn't marked with a priority level for urgent handling, the intake staff at Wellibel treated it as a routine observation record and filed it away. I only noticed it when I went to inspect..."
Lorist took the document while shaking his head at Fatty Shi with a bitter smile. "See that? The moment Tiger leaves, everything at Wellibel falls into chaos. The people taking over can never tell what's important from what isn't..."
Fatty Shi laughed. "Your Highness, you're blaming Tiger's deputy unfairly. The main reason this happened is that Chief Spell had been pushing hard to compile the family's annual financial report lately, so he was pressing quite aggressively for the investigative materials that Wellibel needed to provide. The person in charge had no choice but to shift the focus of intelligence-gathering toward economic matters."
Lorist nodded and lowered his head to read the document. Almost immediately, a look of fury appeared on his face.
With a bang, Lorist slammed the table and shot to his feet. "Unconscionable! Schwarz, go summon Ready. And have Genoliero bring my riding crop."
"What's wrong, Your Highness?" Fatty Shi watched Schwarz rush off on his orders and asked curiously, seeing that Lorist had flown into a sudden rage.
"A family misfortune — see for yourself." Lorist sighed deeply and handed the document to Fatty Shi, then slumped back into his seat in a dispirited manner, picking up the fruit wine from the table and gulping down more than half the bottle. "I truly am a failed father..."
Leskert had entered Niko Academy in the second half of last year, primarily to study foundational knowledge and the traditional etiquette of the nobility, so as to acquire a certain level of literary cultivation. For the Norton Family of old, the training of the younger generation had been handled by specialized instructors at the family's secluded estate, Maplewood Manor. All that was needed was a basic grasp of literacy and some understanding of traditional noble etiquette — what truly mattered was the cultivation of personal combat strength and combat force. After all, in those days, martial prowess had been the most important guarantee of the family's legacy.
With Lorist's return, and because of the need to resolve the issue of his deceased eldest brother's posthumous child, Lorist had changed the family's traditional approach to raising the younger generation. He stipulated that they enter Niko Academy at the age of twelve to study foundational cultural knowledge and traditional noble etiquette. At fifteen, they would then enter
...character.
After Leskert entered Niko Academy, he was freed from Lady Malac's discipline, like a bird released into the open. Once he grew familiar with life at Niko Academy, his violent nature became increasingly difficult to conceal. In less than three months after the semester began, he had gotten into several fights and had quietly become the most feared student in his class. The young female instructor assigned to teach them was completely unable to keep him in check. After a handful of punishments, she was instead met with his finger pointed at her nose as he hurled insults, declaring that his father was the head of the Norton Family, the Grand Duke of the Northland, and that once he grew up he would make sure this pitiful female instructor met her end.
The incident caused a massive uproar. The female instructor wept as she brought her complaints to the academy's headmistress, Miss Tesserty. Miss Tesserty called Leskert in for several talks, but he was one person to her face and another behind her back — always polite and seemingly receptive to criticism in her presence, only to revert to his old ways the moment he turned around. By now, the female instructor no longer dared to discipline him, and he had become a little tyrant in the class whom no one dared cross.
What Leskert never could have imagined was that even without Lady Malac's strict oversight, his father Lorist had still been having people monitor his growth. Woliber's intelligence operatives, acting as detached observers, recorded his behavior in full detail and submitted the reports directly to Lorist, growing ever more dissatisfied with his eldest son.
Miss Tesserty had rejected Lorist's proposal of marriage due to her oath, giving up the position of matriarch of the Norton Family and Duchess. The two daughters she had borne Lorist did not carry the Norton surname either — instead they took the surname of her adoptive mother, Niko. This infuriated Lorist, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Their eldest daughter, Niko Olga, was now eleven years old, and the younger daughter, Niko Freysia, was seven. Both girls were exquisitely lovely and adorable. Under Miss Tesserty's devoted guidance, they had become two charming little ladies — little princesses. Though Lorist had little time to visit Niko Academy to keep them company, he regularly sent gifts and occasionally brought them to stay with him for a time, doting on them immensely. It was only after Lorist married Princess Silvia that Miss Tesserty began refusing to let him take the children away.
The record file submitted by Schwade documented an incident that had occurred at Niko Academy over twenty days prior. Olga had been playing in the academy's rear garden with her younger sister Freysia when they ran into Leskert, who had been skipping class. Leskert had no idea that these two ethereal girls were his half-sisters. For reasons unknown, malicious intent took hold of him, and he began harassing and groping the two girls. The Woliber intelligence operative observing from the shadows could no longer stomach Leskert's coercion and humiliation of the two sisters and was about to intervene when a savior appeared.
The person who arrived was none other than Heriles, the posthumous child of Lorist's eldest brother. Heriles was already fifteen this year and, according to plan, would enter Dawn Academy the following year. For Niko Academy, he had been an excellent student in both academics and character, having just recently graduated. He happened to be passing through the rear garden, saw what was happening, and immediately stopped Leskert's disrespectful behavior, scolding him thoroughly and rescuing the two little girls.
No one had expected that Leskert, seething with resentment, would return to his dormitory to retrieve a short sword and hide it on his person. During the lunch rush at the dining hall, he suddenly charged at Heriles, drew the short sword, and began hacking and stabbing wildly. Caught completely off guard, Heriles was gravely injured in an instant. Leskert was subdued by several instructors. When Miss Tesserty arrived upon hearing the news, her face had gone white with fury. She ordered Leskert locked away. Even then, Leskert remained defiant, cursing loudly and swearing that once he became head of the Norton Family, he would settle the score with everyone who had ever crossed him — they could just wait and see...
It was a scandal. Fortunately, Heriles had been saved. Miss Tesserty, fearing that news of the incident would spread and damage the Norton Family's reputation, issued a strict gag order.
"Why wasn't this reported to me?" Lorist was furious.
Fatty Shi pondered for a moment before answering: "Perhaps Miss Tesserty was also considering how to punish Leskert for his wrongdoing. Because of his status, she couldn't make a hasty decision, which is why the report was delayed. Moreover, everyone involved in this incident are your children and relatives. She was also worried that if she handled it poorly, people might suspect her of having ulterior motives or hidden agendas. In her position, it's very difficult for her..."
"It's her academy — what is she hesitating for? If she doesn't even have that kind of resolve, why bother being head of the academy?" Lorist stood up. "I believe that under Madam Malek's discipline, Leskert should have been well-behaved. So what I want to know is, why did he come to Niko Academy and immediately start acting like the young master of the Norton Family? Who told him about all this? Hmph, always going on about what will happen in the future, without even stopping to consider whether anyone will ever actually let him sit in that seat."
Lorist paced around his study several times. "I think perhaps it's time to strip Leskert of his position as first in the line of succession..."
Fatty Shi was startled and leaped up from the sofa. "Your Grace, absolutely not..."
Lorist was taken aback and asked in puzzlement: "Why?"
"Your Grace, you have to think about Andbel," Fatty Shi said.
Andbel was the legitimate son born to Lorist by Princess Sillivia this past January.
"What does this have to do with Andbel?" Lorist was confused.
"...and it could even shake people's resolve, even damaging the family's reputation. If outsiders were to get involved in this matter, it would only bring us more trouble. So, Your Grace, you can punish Leskert for his misdeeds this time, but you must not strip him of his position as first in the line of succession. We have plenty of time now — some things cannot be rushed. We can take it slowly..."
Lorist understood and nodded. "You're right. I was too hasty. These matters can wait until the children have all grown up before any decisions are made..."
A knock sounded outside the study, and the door was pushed open.
"Your Grace, what are your orders?" Redi asked.
Lorist took the ornate horsewhip wound with gold thread that Genorio had brought, bent it a few times in his hand, and cracked it twice through the air. Then he handed it to Redi. "Take this and go to Nicole Academy. Hang Leskert up for me and give him thirty lashes in front of the entire student body. I want every strike to draw blood. No matter who tries to stop you, don't let up. Tell them this is my personal order. If anyone keeps pestering, you have my authority to execute them on the spot!"
"Yes, Your Grace." Redi took the whip and turned to leave.
Just as he was about to exit the study, Lorist called out to him once more. "Wait, Redi. After the lashes are done, send him to Maplewood Manor. Tell Ilina that Leskert will no longer be attending Nicole Academy. Understood?"
"Understood, Your Grace," Redi replied.
Once Schweid and Genorio had also left the study and only two people remained, Fatty Shi shook his head with a bitter smile. "Your Grace, this is tantamount to stripping Leskert of his succession rights by other means. What can he possibly learn at Maplewood Manor? No social connections, no worldly experience — under Ilina's doting, you can well imagine what kind of person he'll grow up to be..."
"It's what they brought on themselves." Lorist's eyes grew dark as a bottomless abyss. "I just suddenly recalled a report I once read. After I sent Leskert to the Malek household and left him in the care of Malek's wife, people frequently visited her over the past four years. I had assumed those were simply social calls between friends of Malek and his wife and paid them no mind.
Now I understand. Malek is called 'Iron Face' for a reason — how many friends could he possibly have? Every single one of those visitors had ulterior motives. They were influencing Leskert's upbringing at every turn. No wonder, despite Malek's wife's strict discipline, Leskert's nature remained unchanged. He even learned to put on one face in front of people and another behind their backs..."
Fatty Shi frowned. "Your Grace, don't you think that conclusion of yours is a bit hasty? I've also visited Baron Malek's household before."
"Hehe..." Lorist chuckled. "You only went once or twice a year, yet some people managed to visit three times in a single week. I used to think Lady Malek was simply popular among those ladies and their daughters. Now that I think about it, that clearly wasn't the case. I believe having Schweid go to Wolibear to dig through the old records will settle the matter quickly."
...