CHAPTER 524: COERCION

TL: Rui88

In the dim room, a small cluster of candlelight emitted a faint glow, preventing it from falling into complete darkness.

By this faint light, one could glimpse that the walls of the room were covered with portraits.

A hand, like a withered branch, held a pair of scissors and reached out to the candle, snipping the wick with a snap.

The candle brightened, illuminating the face of the hand’s owner. He was an old man whose face was covered in wrinkles. His eyelids were slack and drooped, almost completely covering his eyes, as if he were constantly keeping them closed.

“Sigh!”

The old man let out a helpless sigh.

“Child, do you see all these portraits in the room?”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

A very young voice responded to the old man. The owner of the voice stood in the shadows by the wall. He was tall with an upright posture, as if he had undergone long training, standing as motionless as a pine tree.

“The ancestors of our family, for generations, are watching you.”

“I can feel their gazes.”

The old man nodded in satisfaction.

He approached a wall covered with portraits. Perhaps noticing dust on one of them, he took out a handkerchief and carefully, gently wiped it.

The old man spoke softly as he wiped:

“Since records began, our family has lived and thrived in this village.”

“We are rooted in this land; we are the fruit that this land has borne. We… are the children of this land.”

“I have always firmly believed that nature has its own order, the world has its own laws, and human ethics are a part of this natural order and law.”

“Therefore, our society is divided between the noble and the lowly, as naturally as the heavens will always cover the earth.”

“And our family…”

His gaze swept across the portraits.

“is undoubtedly among the ranks of the noble in this land.”

“For hundreds of years, we have guarded this land, we have developed this land, we have managed this land…”

“The prosperity of the village is inseparable from our family’s diligent efforts. Under our management, the people here are simple and honest, living and working in peace and contentment…”

The old man’s words made the young man by the wall tremble slightly, revealing his inner excitement.

“Grandfather, I have always been proud of my family.”

The old man nodded, “The family is also proud to have an outstanding child like you.”

But he immediately changed his tone, which even carried a hint of ferocity: “Now, however, someone wants to destroy the existing, perfect order, attempting to drag this quiet and peaceful village into a chaotic, disorderly future.”

“Oh!” the old man sighed sorrowfully, “This is a disaster, a collapse of civilisation. This is… this is a violation of the way of nature.”

The young man’s body began to shake violently, but this time it was not from excitement, but from fear. He had already realised what his grandfather was about to say.

“Count Grayman, our lord…”

The old man’s voice was tinged with a sob.

“is undoubtedly a member of the nobility in our world, yet… yet he wants to destroy this order.”

“How unwise… how unwise…”

The old man repeated himself several times.

“Can he not see that it is the current order that supports the Grayman family’s throne? Can he not see that his attempt to destroy the order will inevitably result in a backlash from that very order?”

“My child, did you know? Over a hundred years ago, when the ancestors of the Grayman family came to the Northwest Bay, they were nominally enfeoffed as the lords of Alda, but in reality, they were criminals exiled here by the kingdom. They were alone, without kin, and ostracised by the neighbouring lordly families. It was we… we, the families that grew from this land, who helped the Grayman family establish a firm foothold in the Northwest Bay. It was the local families in every village who together forged the Grayman family’s lordly throne.”

The old man shook his head incessantly, his face filled with a sorrowful expression.

“The Grayman family also followed the traditional method of governing the domain, entrusting the villages and towns to us, these ancient, native families. This was but a small reward for the loyalty we offered. We were also an extension of the lord’s power. We have always diligently collected taxes for the lord and also adjudicated various disputes in the countryside for him. It is we who have ensured the normal operation of all affairs in the domain.”

“And now… and now… cough, cough, cough!”

Overcome with emotion, the old man began to cough violently.

The young man hurriedly came over to pat his back.

“Sigh, I’m getting old. I never thought that in my twilight years, I would see such an unconventional lord emerge from the Grayman family. He actually disregards the centuries of loyalty we families have offered, wanting to take away our glory, our status, our wealth, and our prestige in the village.”

Hearing the old man’s words, the young man remained silent. He lowered his eyelids, seemingly engaged in a complex internal struggle.

“This… this… Although by rights I should not speak ill of my lord, what is Count Grayman’s behaviour if not ingratitude? He has forgotten how his family secured their position as lords. He has forgotten how his family’s wealth was amassed. He has forgotten who has upheld his family’s honour.”

As the old man became more agitated, his whole body trembled.

He turned around, looking at his grandson with a hopeful expression.

“My child, your father should have spoken with you.”

The young man’s body began to tremble again.

“No, I cannot do that. I… I swore an oath to the lord, to be loyal to him for my entire life.”

His voice trembled just like his body, a mixture of fear and struggle.

“Don’t force me, don’t force me.”

Seeing his grandson in this state, the old man took his cane and slammed it hard on the floor, creating a loud noise in the small room.

“Loyalty has its prerequisites. What is the meaning of one-sided loyalty? Now that Count Grayman has betrayed us first, to continue being loyal to him is to debase and humiliate ourselves! A person who debases and humiliates himself, even the merciful Heavenly Father will not forgive him.”

The young man’s eyes widened in terror, filled with helplessness.

“You are forcing me, you are forcing me!”

“This is not forcing you! Remember, you are fighting for the honour of the family. We were born into this family, we grew up in this family. The family nurtured us and made us who we are, so we must fight to protect it.”

He came to the young man’s side and gently stroked his back, gradually calming him down.

“I know this is a difficult choice, but among the families allied with us, only your position can bear this heavy responsibility.”