Darkstone Code

Chapter 687 - 0684 Father and Son

"Father!"

The third son standing at the door had a look of humility and meekness. The closer he got to that position, the more he understood he couldn’t rush things.

In some ways, he indeed had certain advantages over his two brothers. He knew how to turn other people’s experiences into his own, where his brothers fell short.

Looking at this arrogant son, Provincial Governor Drag suddenly felt a bit gleeful. He wanted to laugh, for the boy had no idea what he’d be facing next, and it certainly wasn’t a bright future.

During this time, Provincial Governor Drag had fully realized the greed and viciousness of the Federation people. Although he was now a Federation person himself, it didn’t stop him from such a vicious evaluation of the group.

Bit by bit, these people interfered, controlled, and manipulated the country into the shape the Federation wanted—too frightening, too shameless, and too dangerous.

Being a puppet under their control was less desirable than giving everything up!

"Pour me a cup of water..." He pointed at the kettle on the coffee table. The third son quickly walked into the study, grabbed a cup, and poured a cup under the Governor’s watchful eyes, handing it over.

After taking a sip, he felt slightly more comfortable and studied his son, who kept his head lowered, for about a minute.

This level of scrutiny wouldn’t trigger a stress response in Lynch, but for this self-assured young man dreaming of a beautiful future, it was quite powerful.

Initially, he felt uneasy, then he mustered the courage to meet the Provincial Governor’s gaze, but quickly retreated, lowering his head and breaking into a sweat.

"Did I... do something wrong?" The pressure kept mounting, and to prevent embarrassment, he had to ask to relieve it.

Not everyone could withstand such pressure. Under it, people first started to doubt themselves, questioning if they did something wrong, leading to shaken confidence, and then physiological symptoms affected by emotions.

Cramping, thirst, sweating, the urge to defecate... all normal phenomena.

He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of his father.

"You?" The Provincial Governor snapped back to reality. "No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I was just imagining what you’d look like in my clothes."

Like sitting at home when a golden brick crashes through the wall, even if it cracked the head, the heart still blooms with joy.

Drag’s third son immediately "reverently" knelt on the ground, "Father..."

Very clever, but lacking wisdom, that was the Governor’s assessment of him.

"Get up, I’m not testing you. Recently, I’ve felt my health deteriorating more and more..." he said, picking up some stomach medicine and shaking it, then placing it on the table. "The doctors from the Federation told me I need to go there to recuperate for a while."

"Just now, my stomach started hurting again, which made me decide to give way."

He said with a sigh, patting the armrest of the chair, feeling each bump and dent. It was a cane chair, a specialty of Nagariel, loved by both the commoners and rulers.

Looking at his son standing again, obviously terrified but unable to conceal the excitement radiating from all over him, the Governor scoffed, "Do you think this is a good thing?"

He nodded to himself, "If there were no Federation people, this would indeed be a good thing. You’re still young, with at least thirty or forty years, maybe longer, to wield power."

"But with the Federation people, this isn’t a good thing."

The third son suddenly asked, "Did the Federation people force you to leave?"

"Force me?" The Provincial Governor laughed, "No, this was my own choice. The ways the Federation changes Nagariel will become more apparent; keeping you here might not be fair to you."

"They will interfere with our political system and aim at our military. Maybe soon, even us Provincial Governors and future legislators will be manipulated by them..."

"No, we are already being manipulated. We’re just puppets, and I’m tired of being this puppet."

Looking at his son, he revealed his inner thoughts for the first time, "Would you hate me for pushing burdens meant for me onto you, making you face it alone?"

The third son pressed his lips tightly. Hate?

Only hate because this day didn’t come sooner; being a puppet didn’t matter to him. He believed he could change the situation.

No, even if he couldn’t change it, he could make things somewhat better.

Sometimes he thought his father’s decisions were not only foolish but full of mistakes. The Federation people were strong, but not absolutely invincible, and they also had weaknesses, namely population.

Yes, the population of Nagariel that the Federation eyed was, in turn, a huge threat. With so many people here, unless the Federation openly invaded, they couldn’t fully rule.

Of course, these were his internal thoughts, told to no one. He was just waiting, waiting for the day he could do something.

Faced with the Provincial Governor’s question, he pondered for a moment, shaking his head, "Someone has to bear some responsibilities; I believe I can do it well."

The Provincial Governor breathed a sigh of relief, "If you really can’t bear the pressure, you can talk to Lynch, trade the governor’s title for freedom, and come to the Federation. While we’d lose power, we could live well."

After all, they were father and son. Though this wasn’t his favorite child, he was still his child. Approaching the end, he opened his heart.

He felt that maybe taking his child away would be the best measure, but the spark found in the third son’s eyes made him dismiss this idea—a guy blinded by false power.

The meeting outcome that happened in the Federation quickly affected the entirety of Nagariel; after all, the military was sensitive.

Previously, local governments and the royal family could say they fought fiercely for the actual control of the military; everyone knew its importance, and now the Federation wanted to take everything without a word, which would certainly upset some.

But what if upset?

Aside from finding themselves uncomfortable, what else would that accomplish?

No, no effect would come. The Federation would erase those unwilling to cooperate, and faced with such a powerful and mighty country, the Provincial Governors of Nagariel bowed their heads.

Things went better than expected; in a meeting several days later, everyone nearly agreed unanimously to the Federation’s proposal to send troops to help stabilize the situation in Nagariel.

What’s even more infuriating is that the proposal wasn’t made by the Federation themselves, but by their New King, the stand-in.

Things had reached this step; opposition and the like were meaningless, and with unanimous approval, Nagariel’s future had been decided.

The rest remained to see how the Federation planned to eventually incorporate this country into their territory.

During this period, apart from this issue, a trivial scandal in the Fox Film Corporation’s board emerged.

The former president, old Mr. Fox, was sued by York State’s Tax Bureau for tax evasion. In court, old Fox admitted all charges and didn’t appeal.

In view of his good attitude towards confessing and willingness to compensate actively, the Judge provided him with some leniency during sentencing, giving him five years of imprisonment.

To an old man, this seemed not a good piece of news.

"Thank you for coming; I thought we would meet elsewhere," said old Fox in the courtroom’s lounge after the Judge’s gavel fell, seeing Lynch.

Lynch personally attended this trial and sentencing; old Fox thought he’d avoid it and maybe visit him later in prison, yet Lynch came personally.

This was a statement; he knew this now, and his emotions were a bit complicated.

Excited, feeling it was expected, and also somewhat relieved.

Actually, this lawsuit wasn’t entirely a bad thing for him since it erupted while his relationship with Lynch was still good, completely resolving some past troubles.

What’s more crucial is there wasn’t any involvement for young Fox.

At that time, young Fox didn’t join the family business as the heir but was hired as an employee, which kept young Fox’s funds entirely separate from old Fox’s finances.

He always believed it would be a huge problem. Previously, he didn’t think so, since he was still a potential criminal, and a criminal not involved in deeds was not living up to the name.

But since meeting Lynch and seeing the interesting life quickly, he lived in constant fear.

Fearful someone might investigate him, his affairs, causing him to lose much.

Fortunately, everything remained controlled. From the point the State Tax Bureau started cold-treating him, he knew Lynch was exerting influence outside.

Now, he could smoothly plead guilty and gain reduced sentencing consideration thanks to Lynch’s efforts.

Lynch shrugged, "That’s what I should do; you kept your oath, so I should uphold mine."

Old Fox didn’t implicate anyone, admitting to tax evasion alone, feigning ignorance to everything else. This stubborn attitude during the most likely point of "explosion" protected Lynch.

This was crucial.

"I did it for myself, and for my foolish son," old Fox accepted the reality, even with a bit of smile.

He’s imprisoned, young Fox thoroughly cleansed, with Lynch’s help stabilizing the board, securing the foundation of the "Fox Clan"!