"We're here. This is Master's house," Redi said to Padt who was sitting in the front passenger seat.
He then got off the carriage and opened the door. Loriste carried Alisa down the carriage, followed by Ward, Ayer, and Thurkamp.
Fatty Shi, Terman, Yuri, and Steve arrived in another carriage. The group got off the carriage and entered the courtyard. Padt did not follow them into the house. Instead, he helped Redi unload the carriage and wiped the horses with a dry cloth.
"Why aren't you going in?" Redi asked curiously.
Padt thought for a moment, "My grandfather asked me to find Young Master. He told me to stay by his side and protect him no matter if Young Master returns to inherit the land or not. He is the only legitimate heir of the Norton Family, and nothing must happen to Young Master. "
Redi laughed, "Brother Padt, it's not that I'm looking down on you, but you're not protecting Master. He's the one protecting you. With your Iron-rank strength, it's already good enough that you don't become a burden to Master when he's in danger. "
Padt rolled his eyes at Redi, "There's a saying in the North. Even the most vigilant magical beast will fall asleep, and even the most majestic horse will stumble. I already know that Young Master is the Iron-rank Locke, and he's an invincible Silver-rank. But no matter how strong Young Master is, he's just one person. I just need to stay by his side and be his shield. I'm an Iron-rank now, and as long as I train hard, I'll be able to help Young Master a lot when I reach Silver-rank. "
"Well said, Padt." Loriste suddenly appeared beside them, "Old Steward Clancy really wants you to stay by my side?"
Padt nodded calmly, "If you want to go back to inherit the land, then I'll be your personal guard. If you don't want to go back, then I'll stay by your side to protect you."
Padt laughed at himself, "But it seems like you've changed more than I imagined. Not only your skills, but even your personality has changed. You don't need my protection now. Originally, my grandfather and the others thought that you must have been unhappy after losing contact with the family for so long, but it seems like they were wrong. "
Loriste nodded with deep emotion. "It's been ten years. In the blink of an eye, it's been so long since I left home, and it's been seven years since I lost contact with my family. What can't I change for the sake of living? I've also suffered a lot to be where I am today. Come on, Padt, let's go inside and talk about our hometown. "
Sadkamp gave a detailed explanation of the current situation of the Norton Family. The series of unfortunate events had caused the Norton Family to lose more than half of their military power. Laurist's father was a 1-star Gold-ranked Swordsman. Although he was injured from hunting a magical beast when he was young, causing his cultivation to stagnate, he was still a Gold-ranked warrior. His death caused the family to lose its pillar of support. Furthermore, the death of Laurist's elder brother caused the family to lose all hope. The eldest young master was a Gold-ranked Knight, but he was struck by a poisoned arrow in the back while charging into battle. Not long after he was rescued, he died from the poison. As for the third young master, he fell seriously ill when he was young and was unable to awaken impetus. That was why he encountered a magical beast and fell off his horse, sustaining severe injuries and passing away.
Laurist felt very uncomfortable. He knew that the third young master of the Norton Family had fallen ill because the original owner of this body, Locke, pushed him down a well out of jealousy. Locke was at least half the responsibility for the third young master's death. Now that he had inherited this body, he had to bear the responsibility as well.
Sadkamp said that when the third young master encountered the magical beast, the family's only 3-star Silver-ranked Knight was by his side. Although he killed the magical beast, he was also severely injured and was still recuperating. Now, the family only had a 1-star Silver-ranked female Knight, Andrea Bertha. She was the daughter of the old Knight Andrea, who had passed away. She grew up with the eldest young master, and the master had arranged a marriage for them. However, the eldest young master had died on the battlefield before they could get married. He didn't know if the young master remembered the red-haired girl who always followed the eldest young master.
Laurist nodded. In Locke's memory, the red-haired girl who always hung out with his elder brother was as tough as a boy. She beat him up for pulling her braid, which left a painful memory for him.
Sadkamp said that other than Bertha, who was a Silver-ranked female Knight, there were only a few Iron-ranked Swordsmen in the garrison and a few Iron-ranked Elders in the castle. Bertha was in charge of the affairs of the territory now. The old butler, Kleis, had retired to the background due to his old age. Hence, the family hoped that the second young master could return to take over the territory as soon as possible.
Padt, who used to be Baron Norton's guard, told him about the ambush that Laurist's father had encountered. When the baron heard that the mountain barbarians had come down the mountain to rob again, he gathered the cavalry in the castle. There were eighteen cavalrymen, the main mobile force that the family had. Including the baron and Padt, there were twenty cavalrymen in total. Since there were more than fifty mountain barbarians coming down the mountain, the baron sent someone to recruit the garrison to go with them, ready to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
Because the baron and Padt were riding horses, they left first. When they arrived at the destination, they found that the bandits were not on guard. They calculated that it was almost time, so they prepared to attack first. When the garrison arrived and saw the situation, they would naturally attack too. They would definitely be able to wipe out the mountain barbarians with a pincer attack.
Padt said that he had advised the baron to wait for the garrison to arrive before attacking, but the baron didn't listen and insisted on attacking. At first, it was relatively smooth, and the mountain barbarians were caught off guard. However, when they saw that the baron and the others were outnumbered, they boosted their morale and fought for a while. If the garrison appeared at this time, the mountain barbarians would definitely be beaten to a pulp. However, the garrison still didn't show up no matter how long he waited. Seeing that his subordinates were getting more and more injured, the baron became anxious. Disregarding his illness, he personally charged into the fray. At this time, the mountain barbarians cheered. It turned out that the mountain barbarians had more than fifty reinforcements. This time, the baron and the others couldn't hold on any longer. Padt saw that the situation wasn't good, and hurriedly protected the baron, who had taken a few hits, and retreated from the battlefield.
When Padt returned, he found out that the garrison had not left the town at all. Padt was furious, and he charged into the garrison's camp alone, wounding the captain of the garrison, Matt. This time, the garrison could not take it anymore. More than a hundred of them surrounded the castle, demanding for Padt to come out. Miss Bertha and the old butler, Clancy, used their many years of prestige to settle the matter with great difficulty. So when Thurcamp was ordered to come to Morent City to find Lollister, the old butler sent his grandson Padt over as well. One reason was to escort Thurcamp, and the other was to prevent him from staying in the territory and causing trouble for the garrison.
After listening to Thurcamp and Padt's explanation, everyone realized that the Norton Family was in a very difficult situation. The first problem was the wave of magical beasts in winter. Every winter, the magical beasts in the wasteland would form groups to search for food in the territory. If they were herbivorous magical beasts like the Magic Cows and Magic Goats, the worst that could happen was that the fields and gardens would be destroyed. If the winter wolves formed a group, even castles, manors, and towns would be attacked.
The second problem was the mountain barbarians. The Norton Family's territory was located in the Far North Wastelands. To the north was the endless Black Swamp, to the west was the Blade Peak Mountains, and further west was the sea. The northerners had to cross the Blade Peak Mountains to the seaside, and then go down the cliffs to bring back seawater to boil the salt. It was very tiring and troublesome. Because of this, the price of salt had always been very high in the north. To the south was the Black Forest and the hilly wasteland. This was also the family's only path to the outside world, and it was connected to the territories of other nobles. To the east was the Demon Dragon Mountain Range. It was filled with countless high hills and dense forests. The mountain barbarians were active in these mountains that stretched for hundreds of miles.
It was said that the mountain barbarians were the descendants of humans who escaped into the mountains during the Dark Age in search of a place to survive. They lived in the mountains for hundreds of years, lost contact with the outside world, and degenerated into a savage tribe that worshipped primitive totems. They ate raw meat and drank blood, and the strong preyed on the weak. Although they had some contact with the outside world, they were still known for their rude and unreasonable, violent, and arrogant characters.
When the first ancestor of the Norton Family became the lord of this wasteland, the mountain barbarians had been entangled with the Norton Family. From time to time, they would go down the mountains to plunder and take everything. They were even more cunning and cruel than magical beasts, and harder to deal with. The Norton Family had once expanded and set up more than ten farming villages in the wasteland, but they were all attacked by the mountain barbarians. They suffered heavy casualties and property losses, and in the end, they had no choice but to abandon these villages. For example, this time, Laurist's father, the baron, had to go to war despite his illness because the mountain barbarians had attacked the only farm in the family's territory, stealing a large number of cattle and sheep.
The third problem for the Norton Family was the territory's garrison. Currently, the family's territory had a population of more than five thousand people. More than three thousand of them lived in a town called Northern Field Town, which was the only town in the family's territory. Most of the people living there were family members of the garrison and the survivors of the soldiers who had served the Norton Family. They occupied two-thirds of the arable land in the territory, and only handed over one-tenth of the harvest every year.
Because the territory was vast and sparsely populated, the ancestors of the Norton Family had tried to recruit refugees, buy slaves, and release them into the territory in order to develop it. The people who were willing to join the garrison were treated very well. Although the pay was not high, the Norton Family was exempted from labor, poll tax, and other miscellaneous taxes. They were even given land to their families, as long as they handed over one-tenth of the harvest every year.
Even as a lord, the Norton Family still had to fulfill their obligations to the Crimson Empire. In addition to sending troops to war when the empire needed them, they also had to pay tithe, which meant that one-tenth of the harvest from the land in the territory had to be handed over to the empire. At that time, the other nobles in the Empire's territories basically set the tax on the harvests of their fields at 50%. In addition to the poll tax, transaction tax, city tax, fish tax, timber tax, salt tax, and other taxes, it was already a benevolent lord who could let his subjects barely survive.
The Norton Family's generous treatment of the garrison meant that other than the tithe, they did not receive any benefits from the families of the garrison. In the beginning, it did not attract the people to join. After all, becoming a garrison meant that there was a risk, and the Magical Beast Wave every winter was a huge test. However, as the territory stabilized and the safety zone expanded, some people realized that there were many benefits to becoming a garrison member. As a result, becoming a garrison member became a hot trend in the territory. The Norton Family was originally very happy, but as time passed, they realized that things were not right, and they began to lose control.
Generally speaking, the people of Galinthea were used to letting their children live independently after they grew up. On the other hand, the families of these garrisons would rather die than split up. Seven or eight brothers and sisters would still live together after they got married, just to enjoy the treatment of the family members of the garrisons. Some of the garrisons would even ask their families to distribute land to their brothers and sisters.
The Norton Family regretted their decision. However, the head of the family considered that the garrison members had made a great contribution to the territory, so he only limited the amount of land given to the family members of the garrison members. In the north, where there was only one harvest per year, it was barely enough to feed a family of three. The Norton Family thought that this would stop the momentum, but they did not expect that the garrison members really valued the treatment of their family members being exempted from labor and taxes. They used their status as the family members of the garrison members to fish, cook, and smuggle salt without having to hand over any of their income. Their lives were even better than the Norton Family's.
After more than a hundred years, the garrison members had been replaced by their sons, and the position of the garrison members had become a hereditary profession. There were now more than a hundred mediocre commoner families in Northern Field Town. The smaller families had ten to twenty people, while the bigger families had thirty to forty people. They had become a local power in the family's territory.
The Norton Family had thought of dealing with the garrison members, but they had to give up because they were too deeply involved with the family. The maids in the manor of the Elephant Family were basically the daughters of these commoner families. Many of the soldiers that the family recruited were also the family members of these garrison members. If there was any movement, the garrison members would quickly receive news. If the Norton Family wanted to use force, the result would be that both sides would be heavily injured, and the Norton Family would become the laughing stock of the nobles.
It was because of these concerns that the matter of dealing with the garrison members had been delayed. If the head of the Norton Family was forceful, as long as he did not cross the bottom line of the garrison members, which was to say, he did not revoke the treatment of the garrison members and their families. When Laurist's father and eldest brother were around, the garrison members were very obedient. Even when the eldest young master ordered them to follow him into battle, the garrison members obeyed him obediently. However, after the eldest young master died in battle and the old master became seriously ill, the garrison members began to feign obedience after the third young master took over. For example, when the third young master encountered a magical beast while patrolling the territory, the garrison members following him immediately ran away, and the third young master fell off his horse and died because no one was there to look after him.
This was especially true last year, when the garrison members disobeyed orders, which led to the complete annihilation of the family's cavalry. The baron was heavily injured, and they even sent people to besiege the family's castle, demanding that the head of the family, Padt, who had injured their captain, be handed over. From a certain point of view, this was considered a rebellion. The Norton Family, on the other hand, had no choice but to compromise. Dealing with the garrison members had become the most pressing problem for the next head of the Norton Family.
The fourth problem was a territorial dispute. The southern border of the Norton Family's territory was Viscount Kempis' territory. Logically speaking, the northern lands were mostly wilderness, so it did not matter if there was more or less. However, the area of dispute, the Morgen Hills, was where the Norton Family's copper mine was located. This was the only source of income that the Norton Family could sustain, so how could they be willing to give it up? Because of this, the two sides had clashed several times, and Viscount Kempis had suffered greatly.
In fact, Viscount Kempis had always been unreasonable. The Norton Family's territory was personally designated by the founding emperor of the Crimson Empire, and on the map, the Morgen Hills were clearly within the Norton Family's territory. On the other hand, Viscount Kempis' territory was conferred five years ago by the second prince, who belonged to the nobility of the North. It was unknown whether it was careless or intentional, but the Morgen Hills were in the viscount's territory. Logically speaking, the second prince should have sent someone to draw a line between the two sides, and as a latecomer, Viscount Kempis had to give way. But for some reason, the second prince only told the two sides to negotiate and solve the problem by themselves, and he no longer cared about the matter. As a result, both sides started to fight, and the Norton Family won.
Now that the Norton Family was in decline, Viscount Kempis started to stir up trouble again, especially after his cousin became the mistress of the Duke of the North, Duke Lujins. Somehow, she managed to get close to the Duke, and without any fear, she dug a mine on the other side of the Morgen Hills, and began to mine the Norton Family's copper resources. The Norton Family could only swallow their anger and not care about it.
If Viscount Kempis knew the true situation of the Norton Family, he would immediately annex the Norton Family's copper mine. And without the copper mine, the Norton Family's finances would quickly go bankrupt. This was the fifth problem for the Norton Family, and it could also be said to be a financial crisis.
Ten years ago, although the Norton Family had a garrison in their territory, they were not nobles that relied on extortion to survive. The family relied on their own strength to hunt magical beasts for their fur, and on top of that, they relied on the family's caravan to trade the local products of the North with Morent City. Every year, they earned a considerable amount of income. At that time, the Norton Family's cavalry had more than 200 men, and they were well-equipped. The Norton Family's cavalry was famous in the North.
But good times did not last long. Seven years ago, the caravan led by the third uncle of Lollister was robbed by bandits, and the whole family died in battle, causing the family to lose their main source of income. Then, the eldest young master led the family cavalry to fight for the second prince, and when the eldest young master died in battle, there were only a few dozen cavalry left, and more than half of them were crippled. In order to compensate the family's pension, more than half of the family's accumulated wealth was spent.
Adding fuel to the fire, the second prince ordered that the Norton Family would be transferred from the Chrison Royal Family to Duke Lujins. If the family cavalry and the eldest young master were still alive, the baron would definitely refuse to accept this order, even if he had to go to war with all the nobles in the North. After all, the Norton Family was loyal to the Chrison Royal Family, not a prince.
When the eldest young master was still alive, the second prince had tried to win him over in every possible way. But when the eldest young master died in battle, the second prince turned his back on him. Not only did he not give the Norton Family any compensation, he even treated the Norton Family like an object and gave it to Duke Lujins. This was both ironic and sad for the Norton Family. But at that time, all the nobles in the North belonged to the second prince, and the Norton Family could not resist.
Duke Lujins was not a member of the Chrison Royal Family. Not only did he have to collect tithes from his subordinates, but he also had to pay war taxes, blood taxes, and land maintenance fees. All of these added up to about half of a noble's income. Other nobles were fine, but the Norton Family was in a difficult situation. They could not collect extra taxes from the garrison and their families. Instead, they had to pay fees equivalent to three-tenths of their income. If it were not for the copper mine, the Norton Family would have been in the red a long time ago.
Even though the war had ended, Duke Lujins did not reduce the taxes. Instead, he increased the taxes. This meant that this tax was to prepare for the restoration of the Chrison Empire. No one knew how long the tax would last, but it might take decades or even centuries. Now that the Norton Family's main transportation route was in Duke Lujins's territory, the Norton Family could only swallow their pride and accept the tax.
When Sadkamp and Padt finished explaining the situation of the Norton Family, everyone fell silent. Even Terman, who advocated for Laurist to go back and inherit the territory, did not say anything. This was obviously a pit of fire. Whoever jumped into it would die.
Fatty Shi asked Padt and Sadkamp, "Did your family ask when Locke would be able to inherit the territory?"
Padt replied, "Master passed away in March this year. It took us more than three months to get to Moronte from the North. Because the road was not peaceful, we encountered robberies, slave traders, territorial conflicts, and so on. We had to take a long detour. It took him another month to find the young master in Morrent City. Before I left, my grandfather told me that if Young Master wants to go back and inherit the territory, he must arrive before March next year. If we don't return by then, the family will have to choose one of the children of Master and his maidservant as the heir. "
Fatty Shi nodded, "That's good too. It's not too urgent. You can follow Locke for now and see which choice is best for him. At the same time, let Locke think about what direction he should take in the future. That's it for now. "
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