Everyone in the Wilmot Family, even the dishwashing maids whose status was scarcely higher than the pets kept by the young masters and ladies, had seen the enormous oil painting hanging high on the drawing room wall more than once.
"Dripping Heart," "Silver Lake Shield," "Fearless Grove."
Several centuries ago, this Legendary general, who ranked among the greatest even in the history of the Servia Kingdom, had wielded an inherited iron shield said to have been forged from the essence at the heart of the legendary Dream Silver Lake. Leading his Silver Knights, he smashed one powerful ancient force after another into pulp, forcefully claiming vast tracts of the northeastern hills for the kingdom and holding back countless invasions by northern barbarians.
By the kingdom's present map, the lands won by this Legendary general centered on Salt Rock Port, encompassed the entire northeastern border, and covered nearly half of Anluan Province.
To this day, deep within The Mountains in northern Anluan Province, the oldest barbarian tribes still passed down, like a nightmare, tales of that vicious human wielding a silver-white heavy shield—stories claiming he could eat nine barbarian children in a single meal.
It was precisely because of this great ancestor, who had rendered such illustrious service to the kingdom, that although the Wilmot Family had not produced anyone with even one percent of their forebear's brilliance since its second generation, and although its vast eastern territories had all been reclaimed, leaving only a noble estate in the heart of the Imperial Capital and some insignificant assets, it still retained the title of "hereditary count" in name.
The Wilmot Family's heirs of recent generations had not failed to make efforts in this regard.
After all, no matter how far the family's power had declined, this luxurious estate inherited from their