The count's fingers tapped unconsciously against the tabletop. "So, your suggestion is?"
"Cut off the supply of Magic Stone Fragments." Edmond spoke bluntly, though his voice trembled slightly from his inner struggle.
"Father, Ron has been in the Black Mist Forest for nearly a year. If he had any potential, he should have shown it by now. Continuing to drain the family's resources will only..."
"He's your own younger brother!" The count suddenly raised his voice. "Have you forgotten how you protected him back then?"
A complex emotion flashed through Edmond's eyes.
It was true. When Ron was young, Edmond, as his eldest brother, had been almost endlessly tolerant of their youngest sibling.
Even when Ron caused a scandal at a noble's ball after getting drunk, Edmond had stepped in to clean up the mess, carried his brother home, and shielded him from their father's fury.
"Father, of course I remember all that." Edmond's voice was low.
"But this isn't the time to make decisions based on personal feelings. The livelihood of more than a hundred members of the entire family hangs by a thread. We've already paid enough for Ron. Those Magic Stone Fragments..."
Edmond shook his head with a bitter smile. "You know very well that in our Kingdom, a complete Magic Stone can buy a large castle. Even fragments are extraordinarily valuable. They can only condense at the intersections of specific ley lines, and our mortal Kingdom has practically no ley lines at all."
He opened the ledger in his hands. "Last month, we spent family assets worth several thousand gold coins just to obtain ten Magic Stone Fragments. And even then, I heard that only six or seven reached Ron each time."
The count abruptly raised his head. "What do you mean?"
"That sly bastard Hawkins."