Imperial Throne

Chapter 95: Beneficiary?

Because of Dean’s intervention and presence, this sudden war was effectively no longer likely to break out.

So, the next day, Yam set out on the road back to White Mountain Territory with the others.

Roda found several damaged carts in Mountain Ridge Village. After dismantling parts from these carts and doing some patchwork repairs, he managed to assemble a barely usable cart.

However, horses to pull it were out of the question, so they could only move the corpses onto the cart and push it manually.

After a night’s rest, Yam’s mental state improved slightly.

But the issue of excessive blood loss in his body wasn’t something that could be recovered in a short time, Dean had naturally noticed this too, but he assumed it was due to the injuries Yam had sustained.

After all, Yam was only a Second-Tier Bloodline User, and surviving a battlefield dominated by Third-Tier Bloodline Users was already quite an incredible feat.

The journey back, which should have taken about a day, ended up requiring two days due to pushing the cart and everyone’s varying degrees of injuries and fatigue.

The road home had been relatively calm until around noon on the second day, when Yam began to feel uneasy.

According to the expected travel distance, the reinforcements Giggs had led from Red River Territory should have arrived at White Mountain City at least three days prior.

Even if they had rested an extra day there, they should still be meeting Yam’s group around this time based on both timing and distance.

Yet, on the road back, there was no sign of Giggs or the reinforcements from Red River Territory, which made Yam realize that something might have gone wrong.

His unease stemmed from the fear of not knowing exactly what had happened.

After a brief hesitation, Yam explained his concerns to Roda, then set out alone to return to White Mountain City ahead of the group.

Without needing to accommodate the slower pace of the soldiers, Yam’s speed increased significantly.

He returned to White Mountain City by mid-day.

Compared to when he and Akar had just returned to White Mountain City earlier, the city now had more signs of life after the arrival of the first reinforcements.

The city gates were no longer closed. Though people were still fleeing daily, the overall atmosphere of the city seemed to be gradually recovering.

Yam’s return quickly drew the attention of villagers from Fisher Village, and soon, a familiar villager approached him.

The man was now a guard at the Lord’s Manor, and Yam had seen him briefly during his last return.

But seeing the solemn expression on the man’s face, Yam realized that his previous fears had become reality.

“What happened?” Yam asked anxiously. “And how is my father? Has the lord’s body been returned?”

“Lord Ion has already received treatment from the physician. The rotting part of his left shoulder has been removed, and his fever subsided today. The physician said his condition is now stable.”

“The lord… his body was returned this morning.”

“Miss Lily fainted. According to the physician, the baby might be in some danger…”

Upon hearing this, Yam immediately panicked. He quickly mounted a horse brought over to him and rushed toward the City Lord’s Manor.

Soon after returning to the manor, many villagers from Fisher Village came out to greet him.

Many of them had received training from Yam and were well aware of the young instructor’s true abilities. They sincerely admired his family, regarding it as natural that all of them were Bloodline Users.

After all, how else could they be so powerful? In fact, they found it even more admirable that Yam’s family, despite being Bloodline Users, treated them kindly and without arrogance, unlike most other Bloodline Users. This made them respect the family even more.

As Yam listened to their chatter, he didn’t find it noisy but instead felt a sense of reassurance.

From their words, Yam roughly pieced together the reason why Lily had fainted.

“Brother.”

At the door of Lily’s room, Yam saw Akar standing guard.

Yam said nothing. He simply patted Akar’s shoulder and said, “I understand,” then opened the door.

He saw that Lily had already woken up. Nearby, a physician and several maids were helping examine and attend to her.

As they noticed Yam entering, they all stood up and greeted him.

“Is Lily alright?” Yam asked.

“She’s fine. She fainted due to extreme exhaustion and grief,” the female physician answered.

“But I’ve already examined her. Miss Lily is currently not in any serious danger, and the baby has been preserved. However… she must not overexert herself anymore.”

“I understand.” Yam nodded gently.

The others in the room soon left. Akar was the last to close the door behind him.

The room fell silent.

Yam didn’t say anything. He simply walked over to Lily’s side, sat down at the edge of the bed, and gently held her hand.

"This is the second time." Lily suddenly gripped Yam’s hand tightly and said with a fierce gaze, "This is the second time! If Akar hadn't been beside me back then, I might have… I might have..."

At that point, Lily could no longer hold back and broke into tears.

She threw herself into Yam’s arms, clinging to him tightly.

Because she was sobbing loudly, Yam could clearly feel Lily's entire body trembling.

He reached out and gently patted her back, then sighed softly. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly, Lily grabbed Yam’s shoulders, pulled him back sharply, and glared with hatred. "Why are you the one apologizing! The one who should apologize isn't you! It's Count Shuvaric! This is already the second assassination! My father, my father..."

Suddenly recalling that Baron Ster was also dead, and even beheaded, Lily’s vision went dark once again.

Yam, flustered, held Lily tightly and hurried to help regulate her breathing.

"One day, we will have our revenge." Yam took a deep breath and softly comforted Lily.

"But not yet. We’re still too weak... and White Mountain Territory has suffered such heavy losses. It’ll take five, maybe even ten years of recovery before we can return to our former state, let alone become stronger. We need time."

"I know." Lily took a deep breath and nodded slightly. "But right now, there’s a huge financial shortfall in the territory. We..."

"Haven’t many people fled?" Yam paused briefly, then spoke with a fierce expression. "We’ll seize all the assets they failed to take with them and use them for territorial reconstruction. These people, who didn’t stand with White Mountain Territory in its darkest hour, don’t deserve to be called our people. Naturally, what they left behind no longer belongs to them."

Hearing Yam’s words, Lily’s expression finally changed completely. "No, I’ll let them leave. But each household that wants to leave can only take one-third of their assets. The rest must stay behind."

"What if they refuse to leave after hearing this?"

"Then they won’t have a choice." Lily’s gaze turned ruthless. "Either take one-third and get out, or leave behind half as compensation, for shaking the will and morale of White Mountain Territory’s people. …To think of fleeing just as the war ends, I have every reason to suspect they’re spies planted by the County of Fertile Plains. Don’t you agree?"

Yam, observing the drastic change in Lily’s demeanor, fell into silence.

Knock knock—

A muffled knock came at the door.

Yam recognized it as Akar’s signal for something urgent.

"What’s wrong?" Yam stood up and opened the door.

"The reinforcements from Gem Territory have arrived, but Baron Hess didn’t come with them."

"Baron Hess didn’t come?" Yam was taken aback. "Then who’s leading the troops?"

"The Chief Knight of the Billy Family."

The Billy Family from Gem Territory had a total of five Household Knights.

One had been killed by his father Ion six years ago. Another died at the hands of Akar and Ion. Although a new one was recruited during the war in Red River Territory, another was lost during that same war.

So currently, the Billy Family had only three Household Knights left, which meant that had Baron Hess brought his knights during the campaign against Red Soil Territory, it wouldn’t have ended with just Andre's death.

"I remember he’s only a Second-Tier Bloodline User, right? He came alone?"

"Originally, Baron Hess brought him and another Bloodline Knight back, but supposedly something happened in Gem Territory, so he and the other Bloodline Knight rushed back, leaving only the Chief Knight to deliver the supplies."

"Something happened in Gem Territory?" Yam frowned. "What could happen there? Isn’t that territory behind us..."

Mid-sentence, Yam suddenly realized something, his expression full of surprise. "Anna?"

"Probably." Akar nodded solemnly. "There can’t be anything else major happening in Gem Territory. Besides Shuke’s death, I can’t think of any reason urgent enough for Baron Hess to return immediately. …Considering the Billy Family’s current situation, Anna is third in line for inheritance. Her two elder brothers are dead, so Baron Hess will likely summon Anna soon."

Hearing this, Yam froze.

"What’s wrong?" Akar asked upon seeing Yam’s expression.

"You said… the one who killed Giggs this time, could it have been not Count Shuvaric, but Marquis Visen? Or perhaps… Monica Kasein?"

Akar too was momentarily stunned.

All heirs to Gem Territory were now dead, leaving Anna, who had no hope of inheriting before, as the final beneficiary.

And White Mountain Territory's situation was now strikingly similar to Gem Territory.

With Baron Ster dead, the title should have gone to Giggs Bole.

But Giggs Bole was assassinated with poison, and he left no heir. Sherry was just a commoner.

Thus, the title naturally fell to Lily Bole. And after that, her and Yam’s child would become the first in line for inheritance, placing Yam even behind his own child in succession.

They hadn’t thought deeply about it before.

But now that they did, Yam and Akar were both stunned to realize, their family had become the biggest beneficiaries of White Mountain Territory.

"But… why?" Akar couldn’t understand.

"Maybe…" A conjecture was already forming in Yam’s mind. "The Kasein Family mistook us for the Bourbon Lineage."