Chapter 50: Teaching
“Grandfather.”
Monica increasingly disliked entering the Marquis’s Estate’s study.
She still remembered that, in the beginning, this study felt full of sunlight because of its excellent lighting, and every time she entered, she would instinctively feel uplifted.
But now, the floor-to-ceiling windows had been covered with two layers of thick curtains. The study usually relied solely on candlelight for illumination, which made the entire room feel especially gloomy.
To Monica, it even felt worse than the study in the Eaglehead Territory’s manor.
At least, that place didn’t have this chilling and frightening atmosphere.
“Speak.” Marquis Visen glanced at Monica, then spoke slowly, clearly with the tone of an examination.
“There were eight enemies in total, seven on the surface, but in truth, one was hidden in the dark.”
“After abducting Joshua and Anna, they split into two routes to escape. But this was merely a feigned retreat. In fact, their goal was to eliminate our family’s knights through superior numbers. The first ambush circle was located in the northern part of the city, at the warehouse district. We lost three Household Knights there…”
Monica had spent the entire evening dealing with the incident where Joshua and Anna had been ambushed and kidnapped earlier that afternoon. She hadn’t even had time for dinner, or rather, almost no one in the Marquis’s Estate had eaten yet, as everyone was preoccupied.
After integrating both sides’ intelligence from the rescue operation, Monica had obtained a rough understanding of the incident.
The dock warehouse area in the northern part of the city was the enemy’s first ambush site.
There, they planned to kill everyone who came to rescue Anna, then immediately escape using a small cargo boat they had long prepared at the dock.
Utilizing the canal of the Red River, they intended to swiftly reach the second ambush site, by the riverbank on the outskirts of the city, near the Red River canal.
Joshua had been rescued at this second site.
“The three enemies at the first ambush site had the bloodlines of Fog Worm, Shadow Leopard, and Violent Bear.”
Almost the moment Monica mentioned the bloodline abilities of the three, Marquis Visen had already understood the enemy’s strategy.
Using the concealment abilities of the Fog Worm to cover for others’ withdrawal and approach, then employing the silent effect of the Shadow Leopard to close in rapidly at the second ambush site, aiming to kill or seriously wound someone.
After that, the situation would naturally become quite disadvantageous for them.
After all, the Violent Bear, which had evolved from the Berserk Bear, was best at direct confrontation, and at full outburst, it could even possess strength comparable to a Third-Tier Bloodline User, though not for long.
“The two Third-Tier Bloodline Users among the enemies should be the Crowned Rooster and the Ironblood Gorilla, right?”
“Yes.” Monica paused for a moment, then nodded. “The rest are Second-Tier Bloodline Users…”
“No need to say more, I can probably guess.” Marquis Visen raised his hand, and an icy smile crept onto his face. “They probably didn’t expect Atork to intervene, and coupled with Soderbell’s Blazing Flame Bow ruining their plans at the dock, they were utterly wiped out.”
Monica didn’t add anything more.
She wasn’t the least bit surprised that her grandfather knew so much, because from the moment she could remember, her grandfather had always been someone with full awareness and overwhelming control over his surroundings.
If not for that, the Kasein Family wouldn’t have successfully risen to a marquisate under his leadership, nor truly gained control over the Red Eagle Territory.
But Monica also knew that her grandfather was truly aging.
His vitality had already entered its countdown phase.
At most, he had no more than thirty years left.
That was assuming he made no further moves and didn’t suffer any severe injuries in the coming years.
But was that even possible?
Leaving everything else aside, Count Shuvaric would never sit by and watch their family fully dominate the Red Eagle Territory, nor allow them to turn all the territory’s resources into the foundation of their own family, converting it into power.
They were like wolves eyeing their prey, once given the chance, they would definitely lunge to tear off a piece.
After all, from Count Shuvaric’s perspective, as long as he could slow the Kasein Family’s growth, he would have won.
And if he could exhaust her grandfather to death sooner, it wouldn’t just be a victory, it would be a glorious triumph.
“Do you understand who the enemy is?”
Just as Monica was lost in thought, Marquis Visen spoke again.
“There must be Count Shuvaric’s hand behind it.” Monica quickly collected herself. She knew her grandfather was educating and cultivating her, so she did her best to perform, constantly recalling how Burton handled such matters.
“Because the Ironblood Gorilla is a unique bloodline resource of the Fertile Territory, and since our relationship with Count Shuvaric isn’t amicable, it can be concluded that Count Shuvaric had a hand in this incident.”
“But you don’t have any evidence, do you?” said Marquis Visen.
“But we don’t need evidence either,” Monica replied sternly, emulating Burton’s overbearing manner. “If they try to trip us up, then we can do the same to them.”
“Sigh.” Marquis Visen shook his head, his gaze showing a trace of disappointment. “Monica, you’re not Burton. Do you understand what I mean?”
Monica’s expression suddenly darkened, and a hint of helplessness flickered in her eyes.
“Burton was overbearing because, had he not died prematurely, he might have even advanced to a Seventh-Tier Bloodline. He knew well that a temporary setback was nothing; what he sought was the gain and loss of the future.” Marquis Visen looked at Monica, his voice becoming calm for the first time, even carrying a hint of encouragement.
“Do you know why I chose you as the next successor?”
Monica slightly shook her head.
“Because your future will likely only reach the Fifth Tier. The hope of advancing to the Sixth Tier is slim. And our family, if it wants to govern the entire Red Eagle Territory, cannot do so without a Sixth-Tier Bloodline User.” Marquis Visen sighed.
“Your father’s aptitude is even worse; it’s impossible for him to reach the Sixth Tier. Your third uncle may be slightly more gifted than you, but his chances are also slim. That is why you will be a proxy lord. Do you understand what I mean?”
Monica couldn’t help but lower her head.
Of course she understood what her grandfather meant.
These words were not merely a hint but a direct statement, so how could she possibly not understand?
She had been chosen as the successor because she would become the one to maintain the foundation of the Kasein Family.
So even though she knew that Count Shuvaric was behind this attack, she couldn’t recklessly take revenge.
If her grandfather were to die, the Kasein Family would not be able to withstand the retaliation from the Antares Family.
They might not even survive long enough for the descendants of her third and fourth uncles to inherit the family.
Therefore, without direct evidence, she couldn’t afford to break ties with Count Shuvaric.
Likewise, she finally understood why her grandfather had remained indifferent even after the Baron of White Mountain Territory handed over that secret letter from Count Shuvaric.
All of this stemmed from the fact that the Kasein Family’s new generation had no one to carry the mantle after losing Burton.
“Do you know what to do next?”
“There must be collaborators of Count Shuvaric within Red River City. We should try to capture them as thoroughly as possible.” Monica thought for a moment, then responded quickly.
“Also, the enemies must have had support from some merchant guilds. We can also target these guilds.”
“Capturing the collaborators is necessary. That much is fine.” Marquis Visen said slowly. “But targeting the guilds, what benefit does that bring us?”
Monica was stunned by Marquis Visen’s question.
“You should know that during your birthday banquet, the merchants of the Red River Territory and even various trade guilds within the Red Eagle Territory had already reached new agreements with us. So if you target them now, you won’t be able to squeeze any value from them, instead, you’ll provoke their resentment and wariness.” Marquis Visen said gravely.
“Remember this: merchants may not be able to overthrow our rule, but at critical moments, they can drag us down.”
“Just like this attack.”
“There’s no need for an investigation, I already know that the Bruno Merchant Guild is involved.”
“The warehouses in the dock area, the ships, the canal water route, even the selection of ambush points, only the Bruno Merchant Guild could provide those. But in the future, we’ll receive twenty percent of their net profit annually. So what good would it do us to fall out with them completely now?”
Marquis Visen shook his head. “You must remember... the Kasein Family cannot afford to lose. But every defeat and every loss must be offset by greater gains in our subsequent actions. Right now, we can’t deal with Count Shuvaric or the Bruno Merchant Guild. So how do we reclaim our prestige and compensate for our losses?”
Monica opened her mouth but didn’t know how to answer.
Marquis Visen waited quietly for a moment. Still receiving no reply, he knew Monica couldn’t answer this question.
In his eyes, there was a deeply hidden disappointment.
Because he knew that if Burton were here, he wouldn’t even need to provide such a clear hint.
So, Marquis Visen had to give the answer himself.
“The Red Soil Territory.”
Monica lacked keen strategic insight, but she was not unintelligent. So she immediately responded, “The one who orchestrated the attack on Joshua and Anna was the Viscount of Red Soil Territory! He was taking revenge for the death of his Household Knight at the hands of the Baron of White Mountain Territory. But we chose to accept that baron, so he became resentful. Not only did he not send any envoys to my birthday banquet, but he also tried to incite conflict between the other lords and the Kasein Family.”
“Do you know how to handle it now?”
“I understand.” Monica nodded.
“Go then. And arrange for Joshua to return to the Eaglehead Territory. The Red River Territory is no longer safe.”
“What about Anna?” Monica hesitated, then asked.
“Let her return with Joshua,” Marquis Visen said slowly. “But you must also hurry with the matter concerning Andre and Shuke.”
“I understand, Grandfather.”
...
After this night’s conversation, Monica entered a much busier phase of investigation the very next day.
And upon hearing what had happened to Joshua and Anna, the lords who had been hunting at the suburban hunting grounds also returned immediately.
They expressed their indignation at the attackers and ordered their knights to join the investigation and manhunt, appearing to follow Monica’s orders without question.
With the addition of these knights, Monica’s investigation and capture efforts naturally progressed much faster.
However, as more and more evidence was uncovered, the expressions of the lords varied.
The angriest were Baron Ster of White Mountain Territory and Baron Hess of Gem Territory.
The reason was simple.
They were the biggest victims.
Viscount Agley of Bayor Territory also expressed his anger and condemnation, but in private, he remained very calm in front of his two sons.
“No wonder he’s the Ape King, he found an excuse to strike at the Red Soil Territory so quickly.” Viscount Agley shook his head and laughed.
“Count Shuvaric probably never dreamed that his probe against Marquis Visen would instead provide Visen the opportunity to strengthen his control over the territory.”
“This attack wasn’t orchestrated by the Viscount of Red Soil Territory?”
Hearing this, Viscount Agley momentarily froze.
He looked at his eldest son with a face full of doubt, as if wondering, is this fool really my son?
“If you used your brain even a little, you’d know that the Viscount of Red Soil Territory couldn’t have done such a foolish thing.”
Viscount Agley said in exasperation, “The force behind this attack isn’t the Tinsk Family at all. It was a probe by Count Shuvaric and the Bruno Merchant Guild against the Kasein Family... Maybe some other opportunists tried to get involved, but those small fry are completely irrelevant.”
“But Count Shuvaric and the Bruno Merchant Guild probably didn’t expect Marquis Visen’s counterattack to be so fierce, did they?”
This time it was Visen’s second son, Wilk Senels, who spoke.
“Fierce and fast, didn’t even give the enemy time to react, just directly defined the incident.” Viscount Agley nodded.
“I’ve said it before, once Marquis Visen finished dealing with his affairs, he would inevitably make a move against the Viscount of Red Soil Territory. I just didn’t expect it to be so soon. And Count Shuvaric probably didn’t expect that his probe would actually accelerate Marquis Visen’s grip on the Red Eagle Territory.”
“But I reckon it’s the Bruno Merchant Guild that really has a headache now.”
“Indeed.” Viscount Agley nodded. “Once the Red Soil Territory falls under Marquis Visen’s control, the Bruno Merchant Guild won’t even be able to smuggle anymore... Ha, that agent overstepped. He won’t survive the year. Neither the Golden Lion Family nor the Golden Flower Family will let him go.”
“As a merchant guild agent, to rashly interfere in a conflict between two high lords, especially when the Golden Lion Family is behind the Bruno Merchant Guild, this could easily escalate into a war between the Griffin Family and the Golden Lion Family. He couldn’t possibly be unaware of that.” Wilk said gravely.
“But he still got involved. So now that he’s failed, he must naturally pay with his life.”
“Pack up. Prepare to return to the territory.” Viscount Agley sighed. “Now that this has happened, we’ve fulfilled our role as ‘witnesses.’ Marquis Visen is preparing to let us leave the territory.”
“If there’s an operation against the Red Soil Territory next…”
“The Marquis is now our liege. When the liege gives orders, we vassals naturally must comply.” Viscount Agley settled the matter with one sentence.
“I understand, Father.”
“Right.” Viscount Agley nodded again, then suddenly spoke. “How much do you know about the Soderbell brothers? Have they learned the Flame Stream Strike?”
“Not yet.” Wilk shook his head. “Yam Soderbell hasn’t started due to his injuries. And I took an excuse to inspect the three corpses killed by Akar Soderbell, the damage was extremely severe. If he didn’t tamper with the scene, then the battle must have been very intense.”
“Let’s leave it at that for now regarding those two brothers.” Viscount Agley shook his head.
“Atork seems to have a decent relationship with them. Let him maintain that. No need to distance himself deliberately. Just act naturally.”
“Yes.”