"Starting today, every guild and business under the Norwington Family will undergo an investigation into corruption. If bad debts, falsified accounts, or embezzlement of family funds are discovered, confiscate all their assets within the Norwington Family's territory and expel them from our lands. Any official who has embezzled more than fifty thousand gold coins is to be handed over to the military. I'll personally send them to Tol Dagor." Aldrius handed a list to Terry, the old butler, and continued, "This is the information Shadow Blade has gathered over the past three years. Investigate the people on this list. The Shadow Blade Organization will help you from the shadows."
Terry took the list from Lord Aldrius, slowly rolled it up, and tucked it into the inner pocket against his chest.
"My lord, isn't casting the net this year a little premature? And the crackdown is so broad that it leaves no room to maneuver. The family's guilds could collapse completely during this investigation. I think we could take a slightly more moderate approach." The old butler had served Aldrius for thirty years. When Aldrius was young, Terry had followed the previous lord's instructions and helped him manage the family's affairs.
In his youth, Terry had been the deputy commander of the Second Fleet and had enjoyed great prestige among the older generation. The young Lord Aldrius had even regarded him as an uncle. They had worked together for decades and rarely disagreed.
In the past, Lord Aldrius would have patiently listened to Terry's advice, but this time his stance was firm. "We'll have to take this step sooner or later. To rebuild the fleet, you and I must give everything we have left during this crisis for the family."
At Lord Aldrius's words, old Terry seemed reinvigorated. "Another generation of the Norwington Family," he said excitedly. "I wonder whether Young Master Rowan can shoulder the family's burden."
"What would you like for dinner? I'll go to the kitchen and make it myself." Lady Elena held Rowan in her arms, stroked his head, and kissed his forehead.
No matter how she looked at him, she thought Rowan had lost weight, even though he had actually gained a full five pounds.
"I'm having dinner at Jaina's tonight. I won't be eating at home." Rowan felt that this was a little inappropriate. What kind of son went to his future father-in-law's house for dinner as soon as he got home?
Elena immediately looked displeased and gave Rowan a smack on the head. "All that love I gave you was wasted. You haven't even won their daughter over yet, and you've already forgotten your own family."
"Hehe, I'm just trying to speed things along. Oh, Mother, where's Father?"
Before he had even finished speaking, Lord Aldrius stretched and walked into the sitting room. "What do you want me for, you little brat?" he said irritably. "Hurry up and pay me back."
Rowan's mouth twisted, and he frowned. "Father! Dad! My own flesh and blood! I have to pay to use things that belong to my own family?"
"Of course you do. You think you can just take them for free? The family's guilds are all independent organizations. If you don't pay, outsiders will see it as an abuse of power. Those below follow the example set above. As the heads of the Norwington Family, we can't knowingly break the law." For once, Aldrius was serious in front of Rowan.
Father could actually say something this proper? That didn't fit his usual hands-off attitude at all.
"Fine, fine, fine. I'll pay you." The mines in Morris Town now earned twelve thousand gold coins a month through the coal trade, so Rowan could certainly afford a thousand gold coins.
Aldrius nodded in satisfaction. "My good son has finally grown up. You've finally stopped trying to get things from the family for free. Once you make some money, remember to repay the twenty thousand gold coins I lent you."
"You really are my own dear father!" Rowan rolled his eyes and spoke helplessly.
Elena smacked Rowan on the head again and feigned anger. "Silly child, what are you saying?"
Aldrius sat down, removed his gold-rimmed monocle, and crossed his legs. Patting the chair beside him, he said, "Come here, my good son. Didn't you have something to discuss with me?"
To Rowan, violating the Coastal Defense Regulations and antagonizing the Third Fleet was a game for the "grown-ups." Although he was already prepared to argue his case against the Third Fleet, whether his arguments would hold up still depended on the deliberations within the Five Great Houses Council.
Ultimately, the laws of Kul Tiras were still a contest of interests and politics. After all, those laws were tools of the Family Council.
The sooner he told his father and Admiral Daelin about these matters, the better it would be for Rowan.
Rowan strongly suspected that his father knew what had happened in Morris Town. Otherwise, how could he explain the shadow dust left on his body?
What Rowan did not know, however, was that his violation of the Coastal Defense Regulations had already been reported to the Family Council. The pirate incident was no longer a secret kept among the families.
"Something like that actually happened? My good son, you weren't hurt, were you?" Aldrius immediately put on a concerned expression and spoke anxiously.
His exaggerated acting was utterly unconvincing.
Rowan shrugged and said coldly, "Father, your acting is terrible. I'm grateful that you sent a High-Rank Stealth User to protect me. But pretending you know nothing about any of this breaks your son's heart."
Rowan deliberately brought up the High-Rank Stealth User to prove that he was not as simple as his father imagined.
Aldrius paused, then looked at his son with relief. The plan in his heart grew a little firmer.
After the Second Fleet had been wiped out and his son had become a fool, Lord Aldrius had once considered spending a few more years in trade before taking his son and wife back to Norwington Estate and withdrawing from politics for good.
Aldrius had loved riding in his youth. He had always planned to hold an equestrian festival at the manor and then enjoy his retirement in peace.
In everyday life, Lord Aldrius was a witty, humorous nobleman with a taste for leisurely pursuits. In truth, however, his life had been full of twists and turns.
Aldrius's father, the previous Lord Norwington, had died in the second campaign to eliminate the pirates of Freehold. At only seventeen, Aldrius had inherited the lordship with Terry's help.
No one paid any attention to a brat not even eighteen years old attending the Five Great Houses Council. Yet the young Aldrius had stubbornly held the Norwington Family together and had even built the Second Fleet into a naval force capable of rivaling the First Fleet.
Lord Aldrius's glory had not lasted long, however. During the Second War, he had led his fleet into a grueling battle that neither the Third nor the Fourth Fleet had dared to fight, and the Second Fleet had been wiped out. Still, Lord Aldrius had no regrets. He knew that if Lordaeron fell, Kul Tiras would sooner or later fall into the Horde's hands.
After the war ended, Aldrius had devoted himself to raising his son and managing the family's businesses. Once the Norwington Family's businesses had grown, his son had become a fool.
That string of blows had left Aldrius utterly despondent for a long time. Yet he had endured. Through all those years, only Lady Elena and Terry had known the anguish in his heart.
Behind his pleasant, carefree exterior, Lord Aldrius was, in truth, a tragic hero.
If Rowan had known about his father's past, he would certainly have had something to say about it.
If Father's life were written into a novel and posted on Qidian, it would definitely be a classic wish-fulfillment story. Now that was a real protagonist.
Fate had played several cruel jokes on Lord Aldrius. He had thought it had abandoned him, but everything had changed once his dear son recovered from his illness.
The dear son before him was fully capable of shouldering the family's future. He would be the one to lead Kul Tiras into the years ahead.
What Rowan did not know was that his father, Lord Aldrius, was not the only one who had placed his bets on him. Admiral Daelin had put his chips on the table as well.
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