"Your Highness, Manager Hansk didn't return to the Baron's territory in the Delemark province," Schwald reported.
Instead of letting Schwald become the deputy commander of the guard camp, Laurist sent him to the Volibell Intelligence and Investigation Bureau as the deputy manager. Ever since Tagger left for the Trade Federation, the efficiency of Walebell's Intelligence Investigation Bureau had plummeted. Tagger's appointed deputy lacked the strategic vision of the overall situation, which made Laurist very dissatisfied. He had sent Schwald in hopes of making up for the lack of investigation details and focus.
"Oh, then where did he go?" Laurist's expression changed.
"He went to Maple Manor. Lady Elina sent people and a carriage to pick him up. It's said that she wants to hire Manager Hansk to be the first teacher of Young Master Zboshek, "Schwald replied.
Zboshik was the second son of Laurist and his concubine, Elina. Because Laurist had sent his first son, Lescott, to the Malek Family, Zboshik stayed in Maple Forest Manor and lived with his mother, Elina. Laurist spent most of his time away from home, so he paid the least attention to his second son. He heard that his second son looked like his mother, and his body was like a little meatball. Laurist was about to find a teacher for him, but Elina beat him to it and recruited Hansk, the retired Head Supervisor, before he could.
Laurist was silent for a long time before shaking his head. "Forget it. The sky is going to rain and the mother is going to get married. These things can't be stopped. Let them be."
"But Your Highness, why did you forgive Manager Hansk's rudeness last time and only let us chase him away? Now, he disobeyed your order again by accepting Ms. Elina's invitation instead of returning to the Baron Territory to reflect on his mistakes. Isn't he disrespecting Your Highness? I think Your Highness should strip him of his title and territory as punishment for his disrespect. "Schwald expressed his dissatisfaction angrily.
Laurist couldn't help but laugh. "Some things aren't as simple as they seem. In fact, Manager Hansk was purposely trying to anger me last time. He didn't care even if I stripped him of his title and territory. What he needed was a reputation, a reputation of being outspoken and loyal. Compared to this, what was the pity of a mere baron's territory and title? If Lescot inherits my position in the future, he will naturally treat him as the most loyal servant of the family. By then, he will be more than just a baron's territory and title … "
"Hehe …" Fatty Shi shook his head and said with a smile, "Your Highness, you always like to think of people so badly. In fact, Manager Hansk is indeed a loyal servant of the Norton family. It's just that his loyalty is not in the right place. "
Loriste snorted a few times and raised his head to ask Schwald, "Did Tagger say when he will be back?"
Schwald replied, "Your Highness, I have received a message from a messenger eagle. Lord Tagger has already set off on a ship back to Cirvas Island. He will return to the north in about fifteen days. By the way, here is a document about Young Master Lescot's performance in the Nicol Academy. This happened last month. Because it was not marked as an emergency, Walebell's personnel treated him as an ordinary concern and put him in the file. When I went to check, I found out … "
Loriste shook his head and smiled bitterly at Fatty Shi as he took the document. "See? Once Tagger left Walebell, everything became a mess. The person in charge can't tell what's important and what's not …"
Fatty Shi laughed. "Your Highness, you have wronged Tagger's assistant. The reason for this situation is that Spear Spear wanted to compile the family's financial report for this year. That's why she urged Walebell to provide the investigation materials. It can't be helped that the person in charge changed the focus of intelligence to the economic side. "
Loriste nodded and lowered his head to look at the document. Soon, anger appeared on his face.
* Bang! * Loriste slammed the table and stood up. "Outrageous! Howard, go and get Reidi. Also, ask Genolio to bring my whip here. "
"What's wrong, Your Highness?" Fatty Shi saw Loriste's sudden anger and Schwald's hasty departure, and he couldn't help but be curious.
"The family's misfortune. Look at it yourself." Buckingham sighed and handed the document to Fatty Shi. He sat down in a bleak mood, picked up the fruit wine on the table, and gulped down half of the bottle. "I'm such a failure as a father …" he murmured.
Lescot had entered the Nicol Academy in the second half of last year. His main goal was to learn basic knowledge and traditional noble etiquette. In the past, the Norton family's younger generation was trained in the Maple Manor, which was located in a remote corner of the family's territory. They only needed to have a basic knowledge of literature and traditional noble etiquette. What they really focused on was the cultivation of individual strength and impetus. After all, at that time, strength was the most important guarantee for the family's inheritance.
After Loriste's return, he changed the traditional way of training the younger generation in order to solve the problem of the posthumous child left behind by his elder brother. It was decided that they would enter the Nicol Academy at the age of 12 to learn basic knowledge and traditional noble etiquette. They would only enter the Dawn Academy at the age of 15 to awaken their impetus and undergo knight training, abandoning the family's tradition of having a personal tutor. This was also to allow the younger generation of the family to broaden their horizons.
This was because the Nicol Academy used a boarding system to let the students develop an independent personality and the ability to take care of themselves. At the same time, it was also to let them get used to living in a group and cultivate their sense of teamwork and honor. They would understand the importance of unity.
After Lescot entered the Nicol Academy, he broke away from Madam Malek's tutelage and was like a bird that had obtained its freedom. After familiarizing himself with the living environment of the Nicol Academy, Lescot's violent nature could no longer be hidden. In less than three months of school, he had already gotten into a few fights. Gradually, he became the most feared student in his class. The young female tutor in charge of teaching could not suppress him at all. After a few punishments, he would point at her nose and scold her. Lescot said that his father was the head of the Norton family, the Grand Duke of the Northern Lands. When he grew up, he would definitely kill the poor female tutor.
This matter became a big deal. The female tutor sobbed and complained to the head of the academy, Miss Trace. Miss Trace went to talk to Lescot a few times, but Lescot was always very polite to Miss Trace and humbly accepted her criticism. Now, the female tutor no longer dared to interfere with his affairs. In the class, he had become a little bully that no one dared to provoke.
However, Lescot never expected that even without Madam Malek's strict tutelage, his father, Laurist, would still send people to monitor his growth. Wallibell's intelligence agents acted as a bystander and recorded every detail of Lescot's performance and presented it to Laurist. This caused Laurist to become more and more dissatisfied with his eldest son.
Because of her vow, Miss Trace rejected Laurist's proposal of marriage and gave up on becoming the matriarch and duchess of the Norton family. Her two daughters with Laurist also didn't bear the Norton surname. Instead, they took the surname of their adoptive mother, Nicole. This made Laurist very angry, but he couldn't do anything about it.
Now, their eldest daughter, Nicole Aligas, was already eleven years old, and their youngest daughter, Nicole Freysia, was seven. The two girls were very beautiful and very cute. Under Miss Trace's careful tutelage, they became two adorable little ladies and princesses. Although Laurist didn't have time to accompany them often at Nicole Academy, he would often send them gifts. Sometimes, he would even bring them to live with him for a period of time. It was only after Laurist married Princess Sylvia that Miss Trace refused to let Laurist bring the children over.
The document that Schwald submitted reported an incident that happened more than twenty days ago at Nicole Academy. While Aligas was playing with her younger sister, Freysia, in the academy's back garden, they bumped into Lescot, who was skipping class. Lescot didn't know that these two elf-like girls were his half-sisters. For some reason, he harbored evil intentions and started to molest the two girls. Just as Wallibell's intelligence agent, who was watching from the side, couldn't stand Lescot's bullying and insulting of the two girls and was about to intervene, a savior appeared.
The person who came was Laurist's eldest brother's posthumous son, Herriles. Herriles was fifteen years old this year, and according to the plan, he would enter Dawn Academy next year. To Nicole Academy, Herriles was a good student who had just graduated. He happened to pass by the back garden and stopped Lescot's rudeness. He even reprimanded him and saved the two girls.
No one expected that Lescot, who left with a grudge, would go back to his dormitory and hide a dagger on his body. During lunch in the canteen, he suddenly rushed to Herriles' side, pulled out the dagger, and stabbed at Herriles. Caught off guard, Herriles was seriously injured, and Lescot was subdued by a few instructors. Miss Trace, who had rushed over after hearing the news, was so angry that her face turned pale. She ordered Lescot to be locked up. Lescot swore that when he became the head of the Norton family, he would not let go of anyone who had offended him. He told everyone to wait and see …
This was a scandal. Fortunately, Herriles was saved. Miss Trace was worried that this incident would affect the Norton family's reputation, so she ordered everyone to keep it a secret.
"Why didn't you report this?" Laurist was very angry.
Fatty Shi pondered and replied, "Maybe Miss Trace was also thinking about how to punish Lescot. Because of his identity, she could not make a decision immediately, so she did not report it. Also, this incident involved your children and relatives. She was also worried that if she did not handle it well, people might suspect that she had bad intentions or something. In her position, it would be difficult for her to … "
"That is her academy. What does she have to worry about? If she did not even have this little responsibility, how could she be the head of the academy?" Laurist stood up. "I believe that under Madam Malek's guidance, Lescot should be well-behaved. Then I really want to know, why did he call himself the young master of the Norton family after coming to Nicole Academy? Who told him about this? Haha, he always talks about the future, and doesn't even think about whether he will be able to sit in this position. "
Laurist paced around the study a few times. "I think maybe it's time to strip Lescot of his right to be the first heir …"
Fatty Shi was shocked and jumped up from the sofa. "Your Highness, please don't …"
Laurist was stunned and asked curiously, "Why?"
"Your Highness, you have to think about Andrew," Fatty Shi said.
Andrew was the son that Princess Silvia had given birth to for Laurist in January this year.
"What does this have to do with Andrew?" Laurist did not understand.
"Your Highness, you have now stripped Lescot of his right to be the first heir. In the eyes of those with ulterior motives, you are preparing for Andrew to take over. Before Lescot's scandal and bad behavior are known, those who do not know the truth will easily suspect that you are favoring your son and going back on your word. This will not only cause unrest in the family, but it will also affect the family's reputation. If outsiders interfere in this matter, it will only cause more trouble for us. So, Your Highness, you can punish Lescot this time, but you cannot strip him of his right to be the first heir. We have time now, and some things cannot be rushed. We can take it slowly … "
Laurist understood and nodded. "You are right. I am too impatient. These things can be decided after the children grow up …"
There was a knock on the door outside the study. Then, the door was pushed open, and Redi walked in with Shiward and Genolio.
"Your Highness, what can I do for you?" Redi asked.
Laurist took the luxurious horse whip that Genolio had brought. He bent it a few times in his hand and cracked it twice in the air. He then passed it to Redi. "Take this to Nicol Academy and hang Lescott up. Whip him thirty times in front of all the students in the academy. I want blood to come out of the whip." No matter who tries to stop him, whip him. Tell them that this is my order. If anyone dares to cause trouble, you can kill them on the spot! "
"Yes, Your Highness." Redi took the horsewhip and turned to walk out.
Seeing that Redi was about to leave the study, Laurist stopped him again. "Wait, Redi. After whipping him, send him to Maple Villa. Tell Elina that Lescot doesn't need to go to Nico Academy anymore. Understand? "
"Yes, Your Highness," Redi answered.
When Schneider and Genolio also left the study room and there were only two of them left, Fatty Shi shook his head and said with a bitter smile, "Your Highness, this is tantamount to depriving Lescott of his right of inheritance. What can he learn in Maple Forest Manor? He has no social skills, no knowledge, and it is easy to imagine what he will become under Elina's love … "
"They are asking for it." Laurist's eyes were as deep as a bottomless abyss. "I suddenly recalled a report I read before. After I placed Lescott in the care of Malek's family and handed him over to his wife, people often visited Madam Malek in the past four years. I originally thought that it was a social interaction between Malek and his wife's friends, and I didn't care about it.
Now I understand that Malek was called the Iron Mask, and he didn't have many friends. Those who visited him were all people with ulterior motives, and they were constantly affecting Lescot's growth. No wonder Lescot couldn't change his nature under Malek's strict discipline. He even learned to say one thing in front of others and another behind their backs … "
Fatty Shi frowned. "Your Highness, don't you think that it is too arbitrary? I have also visited Baron Malek's house before. "
"Hehe …" Laurist laughed. "You only visit once or twice a year, but some people visit three times in seven days. I used to think that Malek's wife was very popular with the ladies, but now I think that is not the case. I believe that Shiward will find out soon after he goes to Volibel to investigate the old records. "
…
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