On the other side…
Carris Manor, Reed Family.
“When did all this begin!?”
Count Edmund had to admit,
he had reached an astonishing conclusion.
These past few days had been the most unsettled period he’d experienced since maneuvering his way into the title of Count in the Kingdom of Avalon.
Even on the day of the demon race’s turmoil, when the Caris Family suffered their catastrophic calamity, he hadn’t felt this uneasy.
He flipped through the reports handed up by his informants, and all that remained in his heart was bewilderment—
Stabilizing grain prices, protecting the turbulent market…
Distributing subsidies, comforting the widows of fallen soldiers…
Adjusting labor structures, expanding the Lord’s Castle…?
The Caris Family had not, as Edmund had anticipated, collapsed irreversibly from the bottom up following Duke Roy’s death and the massive loss of soldiers.
It was truly bizarre!
Not even the panic that should have followed a military defeat had spread.
The newspapers and reporters Edmund had bribed in advance were like duds, utterly silent.
Instead, the soldiers’ heroic deeds were being widely publicized, the Orc Tribe’s actions were subjected to harsh judgment, and a wave of patriotic sentiment was circulating among the populace.
What left an extremely deep impression on Edmund was,
at the memorial ceremony the day before yesterday, a soldier blinded by the war had actually spoken up in defense of the Caris Family!?
He told stories from the frontline—
To boost morale, Duke Roy personally led the charge in every battle… even addressing many officers and soldiers as equals.
During a period of severe supply shortages, priests used sugar pills as painkillers, causing great suffering for the troops.
Upon learning of this, Duke Roy was beside himself with anxiety, even sending his own daughter Luwei to the frontline to handle the matter.
And these stories were written into newspaper headlines and sung about in street-side taverns.
People mourned, commemorated—
In the end, the tragic news of Duke Roy’s death, paradoxically, brought unprecedented cohesion to Kares Territory.
Although the Caris Family tried their utmost to conceal it, their decline was already common knowledge, causing many minor nobles to waver.
But during the recent lord’s council meeting, the Caris Family seized this opportunity to take a firm stance, decisively expelling the wavering nobles in one move, unifying the voices within the family.
All of the above was the source of Edmund’s unease.
And through his investigation,
all these masterful decisions by the Caris Family originated from one person—
…Luwei?
“Luwei… wasn’t she the spoiled vase?”
Edmund stared incredulously at the firsthand information on his desk…
This was the intelligence network he had painstakingly built over many years of operation within Kares Territory.
But regarding this sudden variable, “Luwei,” all his spies and informants had failed to issue any warning.
“No, impossible…”
Edmund tugged at his already graying beard, the cold sweat on his back having soaked through his undershirt.
Don’t misunderstand, his nervousness wasn’t because of Luwei,
a mere Luwei…
Edmund had watched her grow up, witnessing firsthand how she was pampered into uselessness.
What Edmund truly feared was—
“There must be someone else guiding Luwei from behind,” Edmund muttered.
“As I thought… is it that Third Princess?”
The Reed Family was a piece set in place by the Kingdom of Loka twenty years ago, intended to dismantle the Kingdom of Avalon from within.
As the head of the Reed Family, Edmund had been painstakingly managing this nail driven deep into the heart of the Caris Family.
Even his most treasured son, Milan Reed, firmly believed his family was the Caris’s most loyal vassal.
“That’s right, it’s that Third Princess. She’s the one stirring the pot… it’s a mess, everything’s in chaos now!”
Edmund muttered.
In the Kingdom of Loka’s scheme, the Reed Family’s task was to gradually swallow up the Caris Family.
And Edmund’s original plan was—to have his precious son Milan marry the duke’s daughter, Luwei.
Duke Roy only had Luwei, this one daughter.
Therefore, as long as they secured this foolish, clumsy daughter of his…
Even if Roy sensed something, he could only watch helplessly as the Reed Family slowly nibbled away at his family’s assets.
Everything was proceeding smoothly.
Until, the appearance of that Third Princess!
It was half a year ago!
At Luwei’s coming-of-age ceremony!!
Just thinking about it made Edmund’s heart race uncontrollably.
Luwei inexplicably got into a dispute with the Third Princess,
and afterward, malicious rumors about Luwei spread uncontrollably throughout the entire Kingdom of Avalon.
He remembered not long after, his precious son Milan actually came crying to him, saying he didn’t want to marry that ugly, wicked Luwei…
Edmund, somewhat panicked himself, immediately activated his intelligence network.
Then, he received an unbelievable piece of intelligence—
The spread of Luwei’s rumors throughout the kingdom was on the orders of Third Princess Fina.
At the time, Edmund vaguely sensed something was amiss.
If the Third Princess hadn’t disrupted Luwei’s coming-of-age ceremony, then Milan would have proposed to Luwei at the ceremony.
Without any surprises, the two families would have united through marriage, and Edmund could have achieved his goal…
The Third Princess attending Luwei’s ceremony, then the dispute, and finally spreading Luwei’s rumors—seemingly had nothing to do with Edmund’s plan.
But thinking about it now, how could such a coincidence exist in the world?
This was clearly the Third Princess’s deliberate targeting!!
This was the Third Princess’s first disruption.
After the marriage plan failed—
Edmund immediately activated the contingency plan.
The pieces embedded within the Caris Family began to move.
With Duke Roy recently leading troops into battle, there was much the Reed Family could do.
Under their machinations, in just half a year, the Caris Family began its decline.
As long as they dragged down the Caris Family, the Reed Family could still rise and swallow it up!
But what did the Third Princess do?
Over these past six months, countless secret agents set out from the Royal Palace, ceaselessly surrounding Carris Manor!
They brought back real-time intelligence on the Caris Family!!
Edmund was immediately on alert, hiding his own maneuvers extremely deeply.
Fearful that these agents from the palace would uncover the traces he left behind.
This was the Third Princess’s second disruption!
Though he didn’t know why, these dozens of Royal Secret Agents didn’t constantly monitor the Reed Family’s actions.
Instead, they focused their efforts on observing Luwei’s every move…?
This abnormal behavior actually made Edmund break out in a cold sweat.
Mobilizing so many secret agents to surveil a guileless Luwei—what was the point?
This was clearly a warning to the Reed Family—the Imperial Family had already discovered your little games!
And then came this final disruption…
The tragic news came from the frontline: Duke Roy had fallen in battle.
Count Edmund immediately played the good guy, helping the Caris Family handle the aftermath.
But in his heart, he was overjoyed!
With the loss of their backbone, Duke Roy, the title would inevitably pass to Luwei, that foolish, clumsy vase of a young lady!
At that time, no matter how powerful the Third Princess’s reach was—
The disintegration of the Caris Family had almost become inevitable.
The Reed Family’s swallowing up of the Caris Family was only a matter of time!
But now, Edmund found his final scheme had also been utterly wrecked.
“Is this… the most outstanding heir of Avalon… Third Princess Fina?”
A deep sense of fear rose within him, and he nearly pulled out a few strands of his beard.
Without a doubt, Fina was the one standing behind Luwei.
She had, in just a few days, guided Luwei to accomplish all this—
Effortlessly stabilizing the Caris Family’s situation, and even taking the opportunity to purge many wavering influences!
“This won’t do. Now I can only use the original plan…”
Edmund shouted to the subordinate beside him, “Go, call Milan here!”
“Father? You wanted to see me??”
Before even seeing the person, Edmund first smelled a strong aroma of fried chicken.
Turning his head… what met his eyes was a man a full head taller than himself.
“Sweetheart, you should eat less of this greasy stuff…”
Count Edmund’s voice suddenly became quite strange,
a tone gentle to the point of being fawning, mixed with nauseatingly sweet words.
And the man before him—his mouth slick with grease, put down the fried chicken, and didn’t forget to suck each of his fingers clean with his mouth.
“Got it, Father~~”
He casually wiped the remaining grease from his hands on his ample belly, swaying his massive frame as he responded almost like a child throwing a tantrum.
“Ah, so good!”
Edmund’s expression was one of immense satisfaction…
If he could, he really didn’t want to sacrifice his precious son.
Look, so tall, so plump, so adorable!
What a bargain for that stupid girl Luwei…
Sigh, with such a notorious reputation and such a terrible personality, Milan won’t be wronged, will he?
Edmund shook his head, looked at his precious son, adopting a grave and earnest manner.
“Milan, my boy, Father wants to discuss something with you. In our family, only you can do this!”
“…Huh? Father… I don’t want to…”
“Good boy~~ It’s just for the sake of a title. After Father secures the Caris Family…”
“We’ll kick her to the curb… and you can marry three wives and four concubines, okay?”