Chapter 30: Ster’s Decision
Although Baron Ster had always presented himself as benevolent, in truth, no one who ruled over a territory as a Bloodline Noble was ever truly kind-hearted.
After returning to White Forest Castle, he only rested for two short days before beginning to deal with the backlog of territorial affairs.
At the forefront of these issues were the wealthy merchants of White Mountain City.
This time, Baron Ster showed no trace of amiability. As long as he discovered even the slightest irregularity, he would immediately order the entire family of the implicated merchants to be dealt with, his methods were undoubtedly far bloodier than those of Lily and Giggs.
However, Baron Ster was also very clear about where to draw the line.
He only purged the renowned wealthy merchants of White Mountain City and paid no attention to the mid- and lower-tier merchants.
As a result, there was no widespread panic or tension in the city. On the contrary, it gave rise to a new wave of ambitious merchants.
After all, although those wealthy merchants had disappeared, the markets they once controlled didn’t vanish with them.
It was simply a matter of a new group stepping in to claim them.
Naturally, these up-and-coming merchants were eager for Baron Ster to eliminate more of their competitors to reduce the competition in the markets they were about to vie for.
Eventually, Baron Ster didn’t even need to give orders for investigations, evidence and reports of all sorts fell into White Forest Castle like snowflakes every day.
All he needed to do was decide which merchants to eliminate.
“Did you understand?” Baron Ster looked at his son and daughter.
Due to the unexpected war, Ster no longer had to play the charade of a father-son conflict with his son. He simply allowed his son, alongside his now-recovered daughter, to begin handling territorial administration. It was a genuine effort to cultivate them as heirs.
But Baron Ster was deeply disappointed to find that his son was far inferior to his younger daughter in both political acumen and Bloodline talent.
What gave Giggs the biggest headache each day now was precisely these kinds of questions from his father.
More often than not, he had no idea how to answer.
So he could only look helplessly to his sister for help.
Lily sighed and pointed to one of the reports. She then said, “All the merchant guilds in Gem Territory are invested in by Baron Gem. So it doesn’t matter who profits or loses, he never loses. But our White Mountain Territory never intervenes or interferes with the actions of these guilds or merchants, so market prices are completely dictated by them.”
Giggs still wore a confused expression, with an utterly vacant and naïve look in his eyes.
“What your sister means is, just pick out the ones who control the pricing power of the goods and execute them from top to bottom in sequence,” Baron Ster said with a disappointed snort.
“These three families previously controlled the pricing of barley and flour. Once these three people are eliminated, the prices of barley and flour in the territory will plummet, and the price of bread will follow suit. The daily expenses of the people will decrease, and they’ll have a broader range of choices.”
“So the people will feel happier, and public order will improve.” A look of sudden realization spread across Giggs’s face.
“Not just that,” Lily continued. “As their expenses drop, their savings will grow. And as long as we increase the output and promotion of grain, our territory’s population will also increase. The effects may not be visible in the short term, but if you look at it over a span of ten or twenty years, our population will grow several times over. By then, whether it’s conscription or taxation, we’ll benefit immensely.”
“I won’t live to see that day,” Ster sighed.
He looked at his daughter Lily and shook his head slightly. “If only you were a boy.”
Hearing this, Lily lowered her head slightly but did not respond.
At that moment, Ken Andar knocked and entered.
Baron Ster did not avoid the presence of his two children, after all, they were now his only surviving offspring.
His second and third sons had died in the chaos of that night. The turmoil that had plunged all the merchants of White Mountain Territory into a months-long crisis was recorded with only a single sentence in the Bole family history:
The eighth patriarch of the Bole family, Ster Bole’s second son John and third son Joel, perished in the bloody night at White Forest Castle. Fourth daughter Lily was critically wounded.
“Do we have a reply?”
“Yes.” Ken nodded. “Marquis Visen has accepted… our submission. He has officially declared that he will uphold the noble oath of the Tyrella Kingdom and provide protection to the Bole family, while also asserting a claim over White Mountain Territory. On my return, he had already dispatched envoys to Gem Territory, Bayor Territory, Forest Territory, and Red Soil Territory to demand they cease hostilities against us.”
“I see.” Ster nodded.
Although he had known that Marquis Visen and Count Shuvaric were not on good terms and that the marquis would likely seize any chance to embarrass Count Shuvaric, he had not dared to be confident until everything was settled.
It wasn’t until hearing this outcome with his own ears that the anxiety weighing on him for the past two or three months finally eased.
“Clear them all out. No need to pick.”
Giggs still looked clueless, but Lily had already lowered her head.
It had taken two generations of effort for the Bole family to earn recognition from the Bourbon family and acquire White Mountain Territory.
Then, through another two generations of hard work, they had truly established a foothold in the territory. Following the fall of the Bourbon family, and over the course of a hundred years, three more generations had schemed and labored.
By the time the title passed to Baron Ster, the eighth patriarch of the Bole family, they could finally say that they truly controlled White Mountain Territory.
Under such circumstances, if Ster had truly wished to eliminate all threats in White Mountain City, he could have done so in a single night.
The only reason it had dragged on for two to three months was that he had been teaching Giggs how to govern the territory, appease the populace, and gain renown. He had also been waiting for Marquis Visen’s response.
Had the marquis refused the Bole family’s allegiance, Lily believed her father would have abandoned White Mountain Territory without hesitation.
But now that the marquis had accepted their allegiance, there was no reason to delay further. It was time to end the unrest in White Mountain City.
Still, seeing that her older brother had yet to realize this, Lily felt a wave of concern.
“You both leave first. Lily, stay.”
Soon, the grand strategy room within White Forest Castle, something the Bole family had long taken pride in, was left with only Ster and Lily.
“Your brother is not as capable as you,” Ster said bluntly.
“I know.” Lily didn’t offer any humility and replied directly, “He’s inferior in politics, bloodline aptitude, and even strategic foresight. If I hadn’t awoken and agreed to Lord Ion’s request to let Yam act together with us, you would’ve died.”
Ster sighed.
He knew as well that given the situation at Red Lion Peak, if only Akar had acted alone, his survival would have been doubtful.
“But, Father, you don’t need to worry.” Lily shook her head slightly. “Although my brother isn’t very bright, he is still the rightful heir to White Mountain Territory. …I’ve read our family’s historical records. In fact, we’ve had three patriarchs who only served as acting lords. I have no intention of contesting my brother’s inheritance.”
According to the inheritance system of Bloodline Nobles in the Tyrella Kingdom, to inherit the title of Baron or above, one must be a Third-Tier Bloodline User; for a Count or higher, a Sixth-Tier Bloodline User. If the bloodline tier doesn’t match the title, an acting lord can be appointed for one generation.
In other words, even if Giggs failed to advance to a Third-Tier Bloodline User, he could still inherit the title of Baron and become lord of White Mountain Territory.
But if his descendants still failed to reach the third tier, then the barony would end with him.
“What do you think of Yam?” Ster fell into thought for a moment, then finally spoke in a low voice.
Lily didn’t answer immediately. She looked at her father, paused briefly, then slowly replied, “If my marriage partner were to be Yam, I would not oppose it.”
Ster nodded and said, “It’s good that you wouldn’t object.”
He paused for a moment, perhaps feeling his words were too cold, before adding, “You should already know about Yam’s family. All three of them are Second-Tier Bloodline Users, and it seems they haven’t yet reached their potential limit. Their father may lack potential, but those two brothers even have a chance at reaching the fourth tier.”
“So…” Lily frowned slightly. “You suspect that those two brothers aren’t Lord Ion’s biological sons?”
Ster couldn’t quite understand how his daughter’s train of thought arrived at such a conclusion.
Still, he responded, “Akar currently seems to respect Yam greatly.”
Lily instantly understood what her father meant. “You’re worried about Akar.”
“Yes,” Baron Ster did not deny her guess. “I don’t see any fear of authority in his eyes. Honestly, when you said, ‘If I hadn’t agreed to Lord Ion’s request to act together with Yam, you might’ve died,’ I fully agree. …But what I agree with isn’t that I wouldn’t have been rescued. It’s that Akar might have killed both me and Ken.”
Lily’s gaze sharpened slightly.
She hadn’t interacted much with Akar. After her father returned, he had rewarded Fisher Village to Akar as a fief, so their paths didn’t cross often.
Naturally, they weren’t well acquainted. On the other hand, because Yam trained daily in the courtyard garden, their frequent encounters allowed for some familiarity.
That was why, when she suspected her father was arranging a marriage between her and Yam to secure the family’s alliance with his, she hadn’t resisted.
Now, upon hearing her father’s concern, Lily began to seriously recall the details of her few interactions with Akar.
“He carries a heavy killing intent!”
“Now, the surrounding territories believe our family is hiding a secret trump card in Yam’s family. Some even call him the [Blazing Flame Bow], praising his archery as incredible,” Ster said in a low, weary tone.
“But what they don’t realize is that Akar is the true beast among them. If we didn’t have Ion to restrain him, bringing their family into ours would be no different from inviting a wolf into the house.”
Lily fell silent upon hearing that.
“With our family’s current situation, no one would be willing to marry us. So your brother’s wife will have to be a wealthy merchant’s daughter from White Mountain City,” Ster shook his head.
“But if you marry Yam, not only will we tie his family’s interests completely to ours, but even if your brother only serves as an acting lord in the future, at the very least, the blood flowing through the lord of White Mountain Territory will still belong to our Bole family.”