Report on Political Achievements

Tulip Castle.

This was a magnificent structure built halfway up a towering peak. Through the unremitting efforts of several generations, the summit had long since been leveled, and the scale of Tulip Castle had reached at least five miles in length and width.

It not only possessed complete defensive facilities but also boasted numerous beautiful gardens.

At this moment, inside the council hall of Tulip Castle, the Count sat upright on a high platform, an iron throne perfectly accentuating his aura as a superior.

"Aldin, which other second son's civil official has yet to arrive?"

Below the Count stood seven respectful men; these were the civil officials of the second sons participating in the political performance competition.

Yet, Count August clearly remembered that he had enfeoffed eight second sons of his vassals just last month.

"Reporting to you, My Lord! It is the second son of the Berick Family, named Nalant Berwick!" Aldin was already inwardly overjoyed. He had specifically assigned Anthony to deal with Nalant, and this tardiness was surely Anthony's doing.

"Wow! My Lady, that second son is far too bold! The Count is waiting here, and his civil official is actually late!" Meanwhile, at a corner blocked by a pillar to the side of the Count's iron throne, two women were eavesdropping.

One of them was the Flower of Tulip, Lady Stella.

Today, Lady Stella wore a white silk dress, her golden hair draped over her shoulders, and her azure eyes were as calm as water. Her current demeanor was quite languid and alluring—a state those young men outside could never have imagined.

If not for her father's insistence, Stella would not have wanted to attend such a boring hearing.

However, her personal maid, Lina, was very interested in the matter and began chattering away immediately after hearing the news.

"The second son of Berick? Then let us begin!" Count August nodded upon hearing the answer, saying nothing more.

Andrew Berick was the most valiant warrior among his vassals, and for his sake, August prepared to make inquiries later.

"Yes, My Lord!" Aldin revealed a smile without leaving a trace, then addressed the seven civil officials below: "You may begin reporting the progress of the second sons from the past month!"

"My Lord, I am the civil official for Sir Billy Ryan. Last month, the Greenwood Territory collected twenty thousand catties of wheat in taxes from the serfs. After receiving the taxes, the Sir used this grain as payment to hire commoners and serfs within the territory to vigorously reclaim wasteland. After more than ten days of work, the arable land in Greenwood Territory has increased by over a thousand acres..."

"My Lord, I am the civil official for Sir Deane Kirby. Last month, the Highridge Territory collected nineteen thousand catties of wheat in taxes. The Sir used this grain to purchase cattle and sheep. Now, the territory has ten dairy cows and thirty sheep..."

As each civil official reported the actions of the second sons for the month, the Count sitting above nodded repeatedly.

Although these were all second sons of vassals, they had all begun to work hard to develop their territories to varying degrees.

For instance, the most impressive was the Greenwood Territory, which had reported first. Being willing to use tax revenue as payment for the residents instead of using power to oppress the serfs showed that this second son understood how to empathize with his people and knew the fundamentals of territorial development.

"My Lady, who do you think is developing the best among those second sons?" Lina, having listened intently to the civil officials' reports, immediately spoke to her mistress. "My Lady, I think the second son of Greenwood is the most capable. In just over a month, he has reclaimed over a thousand acres of land! By autumn, his territory will surely have a bumper harvest!"

"Lina, you seem very concerned about the situation of these second sons?" Compared to the excitement of her personal maid, Stella was uninterested; she hadn't even listened carefully to the reports.

To be honest, not to mention the second sons of vassals, Stella didn't even think much of some of the eldest sons and heirs.

This wasn't because she was haughty, but because she had seen those eldest sons at banquets in previous years. Most of them were high-minded but low-achieving, prone to empty talk. Many were over twenty years old, yet their Battle Qi was merely that of a Bronze Knight.

This only proved one thing: these vassal heirs spent most of their time on eating, drinking, and pleasure-seeking rather than diligent cultivation.

Although Stella was a woman, she had reached the level of a Silver Initial-Rank Knight through arduous training.

"Ooh, no, My Lady! Lina is just... just..." The personal maid, Lina, turned bright red under Stella's questioning.

The reason she was so excited was that she knew the Count was actually choosing a husband for her mistress... As a personal maid, she would be with her mistress for a lifetime, so it actually had a great deal to do with her...

"Do you have anything else you wish to report?" Once all the civil officials had finished their reports and submitted their written records, the Count asked in a deep voice.

The second sons had only just arrived in their territories a month ago, so there certainly wasn't much to report.

"My Lord, Sir Deane has asked me to present some small gifts to Lady Stella!"

Hearing the question, the civil officials knew the meeting was drawing to a close and immediately brought out the gifts prepared by the second sons.

For the second sons, winning the political performance competition was not the only path to victory.

The other true golden road was to win the favor of the Flower of Tulip. As long as they could make Lady Stella fall in love with them, why worry about a mere barony?

At that point, even a viscountcy would likely be within easy reach.

Thus, on this first reporting day, they had already prepared gifts to curry favor with Lady Stella.

"Hmm, good! Tell the second sons that I will pass these on to Stella!" The Count nodded with great satisfaction; these second sons were not stupid and understood his true intentions.

After speaking, he arranged for a manservant to collect the gifts, and the Count prepared to dismiss the meeting.

"My Lord! A man claiming to be the castle steward of Storm Territory is requesting an audience."

However, just at that moment, a guard ran in from outside and reported loudly.

"The Lord of Storm Territory? Didn't Baron Doke die?" The Count was bewildered. The last time he had enfeoffed a lord for Storm Territory was last year. Since four successive lords had died there, the Count had completely given up on that Land of Misfortune.

"My Lord, the castle steward says his lord's name is Nalant Berwick!" The guard, not knowing the situation, could only answer truthfully.

"Nalant Berwick? He was assigned to Storm Territory?" The Count could hardly believe his ears.

The civil officials below were also dumbfounded.

To prevent unfairness in the competition, the assignment of the second sons' territories was only revealed after they had departed. Except for Aldin, who handled the process, no one else could have known.

"Aldin, what is the meaning of this?" Upon hearing the Berick Family mentioned yet again, the Count immediately furrowed his brows and looked toward Aldin.

"My Lord Count, I recall now—that Nalant fellow seems to have indeed been assigned to the Storm Territory. It happened because one of my servants recorded the address incorrectly! But by the time I found out, Nalant had already departed!"

"For this, I have already punished the servant who made the mistake; I sentenced him to the gallows!"

Aldin hurriedly put on a look of trepidation as he offered his explanation.

"After such a mistake occurred, why did you not report it to me?" The Count glared at his own younger brother.

"My Lord Count, I had originally intended to report it to you, but it was right during the time of collecting the first-half-year taxes, and I simply forgot in the busyness! Aldin knows he was wrong; I beg the Count to punish me!" Aldin knelt on the ground.

"Hmph!" The Count let out a cold snort, his brows still knit together.

However, Aldin was a dignified Viscount after all, and his own flesh and blood; he could not possibly do anything to him in front of so many people. In the end, August suppressed the rage in his heart and commanded the guards, "Bring that castle steward in!"