Novel Full Chapter 504 - 311: Aftermath and Schemes
Chapter 504: Chapter 311: Aftermath and Schemes
On the first morning after the death of the Duke of Frost Halberd.
Emily solemnly handed a document sealed with red wax, inscribed with “For Louis Calvin” to him.
“This is written by Father himself, to be given to you after his death.”
Louis slowly drew out the thick letter paper.
More than ten pages, neatly organized like military documents, yet all handwritten by the Duke:
The opening was about the responses to the disasters of the four seasons in the Northern Territory.
The second page detailed the deployment procedures of the Frost Spear Three Armies and brief evaluations of the leaders’ personalities.
The third page was a meticulous strategy on maintaining stability rather than balance among the nobility.
The fourth page directly marked the weaknesses and flaws of several Northern Lords’ families.
…
Altogether, over a dozen pages contained his experiences in politics and military governance, even including tables for the distribution of military horse feed and drafts of a territorial military food inspection system.
On the last page, there was no longer any formatted language.
Just a few lines of scrawled handwriting, evidently written slowly:
“These are merely my personal experiences, possibly outdated or obsolete, so follow your own ideas… And please take good care of Emily and Isaac for me.”
Louis remained silent for a long time, turning the entire letter page by page, and read it over again.
The methods of governance seemed too old, conservative, bloated, with a heavy imprint of the old Empire nobility.
There was even a page discussing “how to distribute stew during festivals to soothe the people’s hearts,” which made Louis smile wryly.
But in the military matters, he acknowledged that he had never thought so meticulously, and realized this might be the essence of the Duke’s entire life.
Battlefield deployment, supply rhythm, layers of command authority, crisis response triggers…
Louis extracted quite a few key insights from it.
He solemnly folded the letter, pressed it flat, and placed it in his personal letterbox.
……
The news of Duke Edmund’s death spread, not shaking the earth like thunder, but quietly like a silent first snow slipping into every Northern Territory.
The old Duke, who had guarded the border for over thirty years, ultimately couldn’t withstand this winter.
The news was first discreetly released by the interior of Frost Halberd City, with no public mourning in the square, no memorial music.
Yet even with such low-key measures, it was like a blunt, old sword piercing into the hearts of every Northern Lord and Knight.
They remained silent, not out of fear, but out of respect.
“He endured for too long.”
“No one knows the ice and snow of the North like he does.”
“The Wall of Frost Halberd was built by him, block by block.”
But in the Northern markets, in the farmhouses, at the entrances to mines, the obituary was nothing more than a piece of waste paper flipping in the wind.
Those commoners in their worn robes mostly glanced at it indifferently before turning back to their shouting, wood chopping, or cart driving.
“The Duke has passed away.”
“Really?”
In their eyes, the “Empire’s Shield” was too far away, existing only in the words of those high and mighty.
It was merely another Lord who had died, and another name would sit in that chair, continuing to issue tax orders.
……
Meanwhile, in the sun-warmed Southern Empire far from the North, several black-sealed letters from the Northern Lands quietly arrived.
The Gale Bird traveled thousands of miles, personally delivering them to a few long-silent “branches of the Edmund Clan.”
Count Edmund of Radiant Rock City, Viscount Edmund of the Northwest Wilderness, a distant relative serving as an intelligence associate officer in the Southern Border Legion, along with a few eager young men yet to inherit noble titles.
They opened the letters to find only a few lines of coldly succinct words: “I hereby transfer the title to my youngest son, Isaac.
From this day, the Northern Territory Military and Political Affairs will be managed by the Red Tide Lord, Louis Calvin.”
There were no pleasantries, no room for negotiation, and no “what if” scenarios.
In that moment, many restless thoughts felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over them.
Of course, they had entertained the idea.
Who wouldn’t want to become the “new Duke Edmund”?
Especially now with the Northern Knights still intact, the vast lands unclaimed, and true power in abeyance.
But precisely because they understood, they dared not act rashly.
These branches knew very well: they lacked the forces in the Northern Territory, and there were no granaries or gold coins to maintain Frost Halberd’s operations.
If they forcibly took over, they would only sink bit by bit into the deep sea like a stone cast into Ice Lake.
So they held back, watched, waited, but with no lack of cynicism in their hearts:
“A little brat dares to take on the Northern Territory?”
“Does he think just winning a few battles means he can control the Empire’s border? Ridiculous.”
“Isn’t he the husband of Emily, that child? No wonder…”
Outwardly, they respected the Duke’s wishes, but inwardly they were like a group of patient vultures.
Waiting for the storm to come, for the avalanche to bury, for Louis to make mistakes, lose control, and collapse.
Waiting for the day Frost Halberd becomes ruins, so they might fly down to tear apart the remnants and snatch a warm bite of the bone and blood.
……
Furthermore, during Duke Edmund’s dying moments, he wrote an order into his will.
The title was to pass to Isaac, to be taken with his mother Alina to Red Tide to be raised, with Louis acting as guardian, until he returns to Frost Halberd City upon reaching adulthood.
The arrangements on paper seemed unremarkable, with no grandiose ceremony of title conferment, nor any family council election process.
But precisely because of this, the whole arrangement was terrifyingly stable.
Thus, not yet two years old, Isaac bore the title of “Duke of the North” before even learning to ride a horse.
And the name of the proxy fell upon that young Lord of Red Tide.
The agent and guardian is not an inheritance, but all truly wise persons understood, the true power had already fallen into Louis’ hands, not the young boy still learning his letters.