Imperial Throne

Chapter 177 : The Third Generation of the Soderbell Family

Chapter 177: The Third Generation of the Soderbell Family

After Angelina arrived at the White Mountain Territory, the entire Red Eagle Territory became quiet—no wars, no internal strife, and even commerce began to flourish. It seemed that after years of conflict, all the domains within the Red Eagle Territory were in dire need of reconstruction, causing the prices of construction materials to rise significantly.

Especially stone materials.

Interestingly, the largest source of stone in the Red Eagle Territory happened to be in the White Mountain Territory.

Many mistakenly believed this was yet another stance taken by the Kasein Family.

But Ion knew it was not.

Because although the Kasein Family had ordered a large amount of stone from the White Mountain Territory, it was not used to build Red River Territory or Eaglehead Territory. Instead, a war fortress was constructed in Bayor Territory, and Yam was tasked with expanding Westerburg and constructing an outpost fortress.

Bayor Territory faced the territory of the Southwestern Duke, the Leghton Family.

This family was known as the Shield of the Tyrella Kingdom, a staunch supporter of the founding royal family, the Sunflower Family.

They were not skilled in offensive warfare, but excelled in defensive battles, long reputed for their “fearlessness of death.” Thus, when the Aust Empire launched a massive invasion through the Western Region, their ability to move north to provide reinforcements or cut off the Aust Empire's rear became extremely difficult.

Monica took over the Red Eagle Territory and, being aligned with the Griffin Family’s Karla branch, held a different stance from the Nibel Family, who consistently supported the Golden Flower Family. Therefore, she had to prepare in advance by building a solid line of defense in Bayor Territory—Yam, Ion, Akar, Anna, and Cindy only realized during their later review that the Kasein Family’s sudden decisive move against the Senels Family was not solely due to fears of betrayal.

More so, they were concerned that the Bayor Family might allow small Aust Empire forces to infiltrate.

Such an occurrence was not impossible.

After all, when war breaks out between two kingdoms, infiltration and raids are inevitable. Even if the Southwestern region of the kingdom was under the Leghton Family, they could not completely prevent small enemy units from invading. Once such forces roamed southward, the possibility of them entering the Red Eagle Territory was quite high, as the Leghton Family’s territory stretched from south to north in a narrow vertical shape, not from west to east.

This meant that if the Aust Empire moved south, passing through just two territories would bring them into Bayor Territory.

As for the request to expand Westerburg in the White Mountain Territory, it was aimed at guarding against Count Shuvaric.

According to what Yam had heard, Marquis Visen did not have much time left—perhaps one or two years. So, if the Antares Family of the Fertile Territory wished to seek revenge, they would likely seize the moment of Marquis Visen's death to provoke conflict. However, the scale and intensity of such conflict would generally not be great—at the very least, Count Shuvaric would certainly not make a move. Otherwise, the nature of the matter would change completely. Especially now that the Aust Empire had launched a full-scale war against the Tyrella Kingdom, if Count Shuvaric dared to bully the Red Eagle Territory, even the Southern Duke might not be able to protect him.

Yet, the oppressive feeling of impending war still cast a heavy mood over Yam and the others.

Dean Seia did not stay long in the White Mountain Territory. After staying for about a week, he took his leave.

Because he had to report back to Monica and Marquis Visen on the situation of Angelina and Aches.

...

Time quickly entered the cold winter season.

Before they knew it, Angelina had already been living in White Mountain City for nearly half a year.

However, there had been almost no progress in the relationship between Angelina and Aches—apart from meeting for lunch and dinner each day, the rest of their lives were like two parallel lines, never intersecting.

Aches usually headed to the training ground after breakfast and remained there until lunch, which he ate with his family. In the afternoon, if he had no other lessons, he would continue training at the training ground. After dinner, he had free time, but after dinner, Angelina would be dragged to the bathhouse by Cindy, and they usually stayed there for about two hours.

Clearly, Aches could not be expected to wait idly for those two hours. By the time Angelina and Cindy finished bathing, Aches was usually already preparing to sleep.

As for Angelina, she typically woke up around the time Aches left for the training ground, close to noon. She rarely had breakfast, only sipping some sweet water and honey paste to curb her hunger before having lunch.

After lunch, she had etiquette lessons with Cindy—though in truth, only Angelina was required to attend. Cindy simply tagged along. Given Angelina’s personality, she could not refuse Cindy, and since Cynthia and Yam were busy with territory affairs, they were more than happy to see Cindy diligently attending etiquette lessons—especially since the etiquette tutor was a court etiquette instructor provided by the Kasein Family.

After dinner, Cindy would drag Angelina to the bath, where they played for at least two hours.

Once out of the bath, Cindy often continued playing with Angelina for a while longer, though sometimes she would fall asleep early due to fatigue. But Angelina clearly had more to do. After playing with Cindy, she would read for a while, usually staying up until late at night before going to bed. This explained why she always woke up so late the next day.

Thus, after nearly half a year, the relationship between Angelina and Aches remained lukewarm, but her bond with Cindy had grown rapidly.

Now Cindy no longer called her "Angelina," but "Angela"—her nickname. Cindy was the second person to call her that.

It was precisely because of Cindy that Angelina did not particularly miss her life in Eaglehead Territory and Red River Territory. After all, her past life could be described as dull and lonely—without any peers her age to play with, her grandfather had passed away early, and her father was a man considered a useless failure by everyone. As a result, Angelina had also suffered many injustices during her childhood.

And her parents had no way to stand up for her, so even if she returned home crying about the grievances she suffered, all she received in return was a harsh scolding from her father.

Over time, this had led to her somewhat timid and self-deprecating personality.

Being able to read freely became her greatest source of happiness.

So when she was first brought to Red River Territory, met Monica for the first time, and was allowed to freely use the library, she was genuinely delighted. The second time she felt true joy was when she met Cindy and gained a friend.

However, as the Festival of Rebirth approached, the lord's manor quickly began to take on a festive atmosphere.

The Tyrella Kingdom had only two major festival days.

One was the Festival of Rebirth.

This was a day celebrated around the world. It was said to have originally been established to commemorate the end of the old age and the arrival of a new one, with historical origins tracing back to the ancient era when the People of the Abyss were driven underground. But nowadays, few remembered the original significance or symbolism of the holiday—it had become more of a celebration to welcome the new year.

The other was the Founding Day of the Tyrella Kingdom.

As the name suggested, it commemorated the founding of the Tyrella Kingdom.

But this holiday was truly lively only in the royal capital. For remote border territories like the White Mountain Territory, there was naturally no reason to deliberately hold any kind of celebration for it. In fact, during previous years, due to instability in the White Mountain Territory, not even the Festival of Rebirth had been celebrated.

It was only last year that the White Mountain Territory began to restore this festival day.

Now, with the new year approaching, the lord's manor in the White Mountain Territory naturally began preparations—largely due to Angelina’s arrival. Cynthia and Yam discussed and concluded that they couldn’t let this noble daughter of the Kasein Family think the White Mountain Territory couldn’t even hold a proper festival.

So this year, preparations for the festival in the White Mountain Territory had begun quite early.

Cynthia had even significantly reduced the taxes throughout the territory.

And three days before the festival was to begin—the Festival of Rebirth typically started on the penultimate day of the year and continued until the tenth day of the new year—Liam, whom Cindy had often talked about introducing to Angelina, finally arrived in the White Mountain Territory together with Akar and Anna.

The news that Anna had adopted Liam as her foster son was no secret in the Red Eagle Territory.

No one really said anything about Anna’s decision. After all, she was the only one left in the Billy Family, and her son had been taken by the Kasein Family, which had caused considerable discord between the two sides. Naturally, people assumed that Anna adopting Liam Soderbell as her son was an attempt to draw closer ties with the Soderbell Family.

To this, Anna had shown an ambiguous attitude.

Angelina, though not particularly sharp in politics, had a certain instinct from being born into the Kasein Family. She keenly sensed something subtle and off about the situation: if Anna had simply adopted Liam Soderbell, then as the lord of the Gem Territory, she had no reason to come to the White Mountain Territory to celebrate the Festival of Rebirth with Akar and Liam.

But in reality, Anna not only came, she also brought many gifts, which piqued Angelina’s curiosity.

“Cindy, don’t you find it strange? Baroness Anna actually came together with Lord Akar,” Angelina said, and so she did.

“Not strange at all,” Cindy shook her head. “She’s Liam’s adoptive mother. If she didn’t come with them, would she spend the Festival of Rebirth alone in the Gem Territory?... Don’t you think that’s very lonely, very pitiful?”

Angelina thought for a moment, then nodded. “That’s true.”

“And the most important thing is, there are gifts,” Cindy said cheerfully. “Every time Baroness Anna comes, she brings a lot of gifts.”

“Baroness Anna has visited many times?” Angelina asked in surprise. “Isn’t she busy with governance in the Gem Territory? When I was in Red River Territory, Aunt Monica seemed very busy, just like Baroness Cynthia, always occupied for long periods every day.”

“About twice, I think,” Cindy counted on her fingers. “This is the third time. But even when she didn’t come, she still had Liam bring gifts.”

At that moment, Cindy saw her father and Akar’s family finishing their greetings and entering the house, so she immediately waved for Liam to come over.

When Liam saw there was someone beside Cindy, his heart sank.

On the way to the White Mountain Territory, his mother had reminded him multiple times about Angelina’s identity, so he recognized her immediately. After a brief hesitation, he quickly walked over and greeted both Cindy and Angelina.

“Cindy sister.”

“Angelina sister.”

“You know me?” Though it was her first time meeting Liam, Angelina had heard Cindy mention this younger brother several times over the past few months. Naturally, she understood that barring any surprises, Liam would also become her brother in the future. So she had been keeping an eye on this relative.

“I heard about you from my mother,” Liam answered honestly.

But in the next second, Angelina’s question made Liam freeze all over.

“Right, why haven’t I seen your mother?”

Liam had known about his identity since he was five years old.

His father was Akar Soderbell, and his mother was Anna Billy, the lord of the Gem Territory. He was born an illegitimate child, but to legitimize his identity, his father publicly claimed that he had a mother who had become frail and bedridden after giving birth and could no longer appear in public. The woman who had been sent to the Kasein Family as a foster mother’s stand-in was not her real son either. It was all a cover story, designed to allow Anna to adopt him as her foster son and give him rightful claim to the Gem Territory, which he could inherit in the future.

In other words, his parents had paved the path for his future—all he had to do was follow it.

But they had made it clear: in public, while he could refer to Anna as his mother, he could not appear too close to her. At the very least, he couldn’t let others suspect Anna was his real mother.

However, since almost everyone he interacted with already knew his identity, he had just now let something slip, resulting in an awkward atmosphere.

Liam could only cast a pleading glance toward Cindy.

Puzzled, Angelina also followed Liam’s gaze toward Cindy.

“Liam’s mother isn’t suitable for meeting people,” Cindy said, glancing at Liam. Just that one indifferent look nearly triggered Liam’s trauma response. “She has a very serious infectious disease, so she’s been recuperating quietly in the Gem Territory.”

A sympathetic look appeared on Angelina’s face. “Is your mother alright?”

“She’s okay, nothing’s wrong,” Liam quickly shook his head, once again subconsciously referring to Anna.

But seeing Cindy’s increasingly cold expression, he quickly corrected himself. “Something’s wrong!”

Angelina’s little face was filled with confusion. “What do you mean? Is she okay or not?”

“Should my mother be okay or not?” Liam cautiously looked at Cindy.

“Liam, you’re such an idiot,” Cindy scolded. “Go get me some honey paste! I want honey paste now!”

“Oh, okay.” Liam turned and ran off immediately. He truly didn’t want to stay there any longer.

Angelina looked at Cindy. “What’s going on?”

“Liam’s mother is actually no longer alive.”

Before Cindy could answer, Aches’s voice suddenly rang out.

Cindy turned around and saw that Aches had somehow appeared beside them without her noticing.

Due to the upcoming freshman celebration, Aches had not been staying at the training grounds every day since half a month ago. As a result, his contact with Cindy and Angelina had slightly increased. However, even this slight increase was only in comparison to before, when he spent every day at the training grounds. In reality, Aches, who was nearing seventeen, had already begun to be assigned some tasks by Yam, so he could only have his free time after completing his daily duties.

At the very least, he and Angelina were no longer as unfamiliar as before. They would not blush uncontrollably or be at a complete loss for words when they met.

"Go check on Liam." Aches smiled and nodded at Cindy. "I'll explain to Miss Angelina."

"Oh." Cindy nodded and then ran off with her short legs.

"Cindy doesn't really understand these things, so it's better if I explain." Aches sighed, then said with a regretful expression, "Liam's mother is no longer alive, but Liam has never known. From what Uncle Yam said, it seems that Baroness Anna wanted to provide Liam with a mother's love. That's why she took him in as her foster son and accompanied him to White Mountain Territory several times. ...Many people believe that Baroness Anna did it to keep Uncle Akar, but I think no matter what her initial intention was, she has consistently followed through, not just making empty promises. So, I think she's a good person."

As he said this, Aches looked at Angelina and smiled slightly. "I wonder how Angelina sees it?"

"I..." Under Aches’ piercing gaze, Angelina’s face flushed red, and she quickly lowered her head. "If you're asking for my opinion, then I also think Baroness Anna is a very good person. At the very least, she kept her promise. But after all, she is John’s mother. Won’t that be very troublesome in the future?"

John, the child whom Anna had sent to the Kasein Family, was publicly known as the son of Joshua Kasein and Anna Billy. He was also the first heir to the Gem Territory and Angelina’s younger brother.

No one yet knew the specifics of John’s aptitude, but he was receiving the Kasein Family’s most formal and rigorous elite education for noble children. Though only six years old this year, he had already shown considerable talent for learning. This made the Kasein Family very hopeful about his future, with resources allocated for his development even surpassing those for Angelina.

"Our family’s Liam has no intention of contending with John Kasein for the Gem Territory, so what trouble could there be?" Aches smiled indifferently. "If Baroness Anna passes away one day, my uncle might not stay in the Gem Territory anymore. By then, Liam would surely return to White Mountain Territory."

Angelina nodded slightly.

Having received elite education from the Kasein Family, Angelina might not have sharp political instincts, but she was certainly no fool. So, upon hearing Aches’ words, even if she did not fully grasp all the implications, she understood one thing: once Baroness Anna was gone, Akar Soderbell would leave the Gem Territory.

"No need to dwell on distant matters that have little to do with us." Aches smiled. "I heard from Cindy that you really like honey jelly. I made a trip to Old Mountain Village recently and found a beehive there. I cooked some honey jelly myself. I'll have someone bring you some to try later."

Angelina dared not look directly at the seemingly composed and wise Aches. But listening to his words now, she hesitated before finally speaking up. "Actually... I don’t really like honey jelly. It’s Cindy who likes it. That stuff is too sweet. I’m really not used to it."

Aches was momentarily stunned, then gave a helpless smile. "I see. Why didn’t you tell Cindy?"

"She... I didn’t want to hurt her feelings." Angelina’s voice was soft, but her expression looked like she was about to cry. "She gave me so much. If I don’t eat it, it’ll go bad. So, every morning I take a piece, soak it in water, and eat a little bit. I originally thought I’d finish it in a month, but now it’s been six months, and it just keeps increasing."

"Hahaha." Aches suddenly burst out laughing. "That child Cindy—if you don’t tell her clearly, she’ll keep sending it to you. And since she loves sweets and is well-liked by the cooks, she has an unbelievable supply of such little treats."

Seeing Angelina’s pitiful and aggrieved expression, Aches said softly, "Alright then, I’ll explain it to Cindy for you."

Angelina let out a long sigh of relief and immediately thanked him. "Thank you."

But then she suddenly remembered that such expressions and behavior were unladylike and improper according to etiquette, so her face instantly turned red again.

"There’s no need to be so formal between us." Aches shook his head.

Angelina, understanding what Aches meant, dared not lift her head.

Her heart was in turmoil.

When it came to Aches, her feelings were actually very complicated.

On one hand, Aches was handsome, so naturally, she had no complaints.

But on the other hand, it was a marriage arranged out of nowhere. Angelina instinctively felt a bit resistant. Of course, it was also because there had been so little interaction between them over the past six months. She kept wondering if Aches disliked her, if she could continue living in White Mountain Territory, if she would be sent back to Red River Territory, and then have to face Aunt Monica and Grandfather Visen’s disappointed gazes.

Angelina was very afraid.

Fortunately, Cindy had been accompanying her constantly during this time, which helped her suppress that overwhelming fear.

Until today.

It was the first time she understood the hidden meaning behind Aches’ words, and her previously tense heart finally relaxed a little.

Angelina gave a nearly imperceptible nod and then replied, "You can call me... Angela. Cindy and Aunt Monica both call me that."

"Alright, Angela."

...

Elsewhere, Cindy quickly caught up with Liam.

Liam was six years old this year.

He hadn’t learned much else, but he had indeed spent some effort learning to recognize sounds from his father, Akar.

Especially Cindy’s footsteps.

At that moment, hearing that nightmare-like sound, Liam almost wished he had two more legs—then he could run like a horse!

"If you don’t stop, I’m going to call Little Black."

Liam, who could have still pretended ignorance, had to stop when he heard Cindy’s obviously angry voice from behind.

He knew his sister was the type who meant what she said.

If she said she would call Little Black, then she definitely would. And when that happened, he would be the one to suffer. So Liam naturally stopped fleeing immediately.

"Sister Cindy." Liam forced a smile that looked more pitiful than crying.

"Why were you running so fast? What were you up to?" Cindy approached Liam with a stern expression.

"I... I was afraid you were too hungry, so I wanted to quickly go to the kitchen to get some honey jelly," Liam replied.

"You almost caused a huge problem just now!" Cindy frowned, her tone turning cold. "Aunt Anna and Uncle Akar have told you many times to be more mindful in public. Why can’t you think a little before you answer questions?"

"But no one used to ask me those things," Liam said, feeling aggrieved.

In both White Mountain Territory and Gem Territory, no one had ever asked who his mother was. The relaxed environment made Liam subconsciously ignore his surroundings. To him, the lord’s manor in White Mountain Territory was also his home. In his own home, there was no need to be so formal—he would naturally just say whatever came to mind.

This made Liam fully realize that having two sisters now meant double the danger!

"That’s because there were no outsiders before!"

"But, Sister Angelina will marry Brother Aches in the future, won’t she?" Liam argued with conviction. "How can she be considered an outsider?"

"She hasn’t married yet," Cindy snorted coldly. "Besides, her surname is Kasein. Even if Angelina won’t say anything about these matters, she’s not the only outsider in the lord’s manor right now. She brought over more than sixty maids with her. They’re the real problem."

Cindy was willing to trust Angelina.

After all, she was honestly a bit dim-witted.

What Cindy didn’t trust were the maids that Angelina had brought with her—especially that personal maid who insisted on interfering in everything. That had already stirred a considerable level of annoyance in Cindy. But strictly speaking, the other party was still Angelina’s "family," so Cindy found it difficult to find a proper chance to deal with her.

"Alright, it was my fault." Liam obediently lowered his head and admitted his mistake, not stubbornly insisting further.

"We’re already growing up. After the freshman celebration, I’ll be allowed to go outside. You’ll probably have to wait another two years. But you need to prepare in advance, because when you’re able to go out, more people will definitely try to dig up information from you that could be harmful to your parents. So, we have to stay vigilant at all times!"

Liam lowered his head and accepted the scolding, knowing full well that what Cindy said was correct.

"So… do you still want the honey jelly?"

"Just bring one portion." Cindy sighed, having already given up hope for her foolish little brother.

"Huh?" Liam blinked. "Aren’t we preparing a portion for Sister Angelina too?"

"She doesn’t like sweets." Cindy shook her head. "She prefers light, fragrant foods. So the steak should be sprinkled with lemon juice to remove some of the greasiness, and also to enhance the lemon’s aroma… But there’s still a long time until the banquet. Go get some milk and cookies for Sister Angelina."

"Oh." Liam obediently nodded, then turned and ran off.

Cindy didn’t go with him, but she also didn’t return right away.

Instead, after waiting in place for a moment, she finally saw Aches’s figure.

"Where’s Liam?" Aches’s first words upon seeing Cindy were slightly accusatory.

"I sent him to fetch something." Cindy shook her head.

"You two nearly caused trouble just now." Aches took the opportunity to speak. "It’s not like before. If it were only Angela..."

"Angela." Cindy repeated Angelina’s nickname with a slight drawl, which instantly made Aches blush. "Ahem, she told me to call her that. …Right, don’t send her honey jelly anymore. She..."

"I know, she doesn’t like it." Cindy shrugged. "She’s afraid of getting fat because her personal maid and etiquette teacher always tell her that eating too many sweets will make her gain weight and look bad. So they don’t allow her to eat sweets. …But how could honey jelly and honey water possibly make someone fat? Her etiquette teacher and maid just want to control her."

Aches was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting Cindy to make such an insightful remark.

"But I didn’t expect her to endure it for six months before saying anything." Cindy spoke with an old-fashioned tone. "By the way, do you plan to talk to Aunt Anna about this?"

Regarding Liam’s birth mother, Yam, Ion, and Akar had naturally prepared.

After all, the truth cannot be hidden forever, so they had already made a contingency plan from the beginning—to declare at an appropriate time that Liam’s mother had passed away. During previous discussions, aside from Liam who was too clueless to understand, both Aches and Cindy had been listening from the side. So they were well aware of how to divert attention if the matter ever leaked.

It was just that neither Aches nor Cindy expected that the plan prepared a year ago would be activated so soon—Yam and the others had anticipated that if Angelina came to live in White Mountain Territory for a few years, she would definitely meet Liam, and inevitably see Anna. So some things had to be prepared in advance, otherwise, they wouldn’t have credible excuses when needed.

Thus, everyone had already coordinated their stories, ensuring there would be no flaws. Yam had even constructed a chronological timeline based on Liam’s birth to add as much realism as possible.

That was why Aches was able to follow up Cindy’s words so seamlessly earlier, completely dispelling Angelina’s doubts. In fact, Angelina had started to become slightly suspicious just now. She knew Cindy’s personality very well, so if everything had been said by Cindy alone, she would have kept doubting. But when the one speaking was Aches—someone known for strictly upholding knightly values—the credibility became entirely different.

"Of course it needs to be said." Aches shook his head. "What happened today can’t be hidden, nor suppressed. There were other people beside Angela earlier. They’re all from the Kasein Family, so this must be handled by your father and the others."

"I think it would be best if you spoke to Angelina privately as well." Cindy thought for a moment before speaking. "Angelina is very pitiful. We shouldn’t deceive her like this. Someone was eavesdropping earlier, so we had no choice. But since she’s going to be your wife in the future—just like my father and mother—then we shouldn’t hide the truth about Liam from her. If she finds out on her own later, you’ll be in big trouble."

Hearing Cindy’s words, Aches fell silent.

This kind of thing wasn’t like the Demonic Sword. As long as they treated the Demonic Sword as an ordinary Rare Iron Weapon or a Soderbell family heirloom, not many would dig deeper. Most importantly, that secret could be hidden unless they exposed it themselves—especially if they refrained from using certain flashy abilities during combat.

But the fact that Anna was Liam’s mother was far harder to hide.

Because emotions don’t lie.

Even if they didn’t show affection openly, many subconscious behaviors and actions couldn’t escape the eyes of attentive observers.

Like earlier—though they managed to convince Angelina, it was because of her age. She wouldn’t think too deeply, and she also wanted to believe Aches’s explanation. That much was clear from her willingness to let Aches call her Angela.

But her personal maid was different. She would surely remain alert, and would now pay extra attention to Anna and Liam’s interactions. That was also why Aches had to immediately report to Yam, Akar, and Anna.

Of course—

Another important reason for Aches’s silence was that he did have feelings for Angelina.

Whether in character or appearance, Angelina had a charm that Aches simply couldn’t resist. He felt that this was proof he had truly grown up—despite his earlier resistance to the arranged marriage, the moment he saw Angelina looking so pitiful that night, Aches realized that all his previous objections and resistance had been a joke.

At that moment, he understood why Uncle Akar had followed Aunt Anna to the Gem Territory.

Still, Aches also knew that there were people in this world like Uncle Yam—who genuinely treated knightly spirit as their life’s creed.

Of course, not the rigid kind of knightly spirit.