From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

The strength of the Fischer family continued to expand, and they had now moved to what once was Isaac Manor in North City, now renamed Fischer Manor.

People thought that the manor was an ominous place, and only under the divine protection of Madam Irene could the lingering evil spirits be subdued.

The rebuilt Fischer Manor was several times larger in area than the original estate, with a five-story structure that had three floors above and two below, and it boasted more than a hundred rooms inside.

Byrne, Irene, and the others all lived on the third floor of the manor, which had secret doors leading directly to every level.

The second floor contained guest rooms, a lounge, a study, a smoking room, a dressing room, and rooms permanently assigned to several trusted family members.

The first floor featured a hall with numerous crystal chandeliers, a grand and respectable banquet hall, and a small library filled with books on shelf after shelf.

The floor below ground housed the kitchens and the rooms of servants and guards. As their numbers grew, a new residence was eventually built nearby to accommodate some of the servants and guards.

Even further down, beneath the next level, lay a vast underground room even larger than the original basement, spanning hundreds of square meters. After reconstruction and renovation, it had been completely transformed into a shrine for worshiping the Lord of the Lost.

Madam Irene had also specially added a hidden door in the underground room, leading to a secret chamber of ten square meters, fully equipped with supplies. In times of emergency, important members of the family could take refuge there.

The number of family guards had grown to more than seventy, and compared to the newly recruited guards, those old guards who had been through many events received better treatment.

Irene promised the new family guards that, with enough effort and experience, they too could receive the same treatment as the old guards.

The old guards all understood tacitly what this “effort” meant. It was doing risky tasks for the Fischer family and delivering a “Proof of Loyalty.”

In the years of consolidating the power in Nasir Town, it was natural for some to become discontented, and that was when the family guards would need to go and give a warning.

The selection process for the Fischer family guards was now very strict, and with the family’s reputation being exceedingly high, it was easy to attract nearby people with combat experience.

If you don’t want to work, there are plenty of others who will!

Since the baron was often absent from the town, seafarers used to visit the town chief when they came to Nasir, but now they all knew they had to visit Byrne, the patriarch of the Fischer family.

The port town of Nasir sat in the northeast of the East Coast Province.

To the north was an endless jungle, to the east the vast and boundless sea, to the south two towns near Fein City, and to the west a town adjacent to a military fortress.

Surrounding the four towns were more than thirty villages, some of which belonged to various baronial families, and others were Royal Family lands not yet granted as fiefs.

Now the people in the surrounding areas of the four towns had all heard of the Fischer family, and many believed that it was only a matter of time before they became a new baronial family.

At the same time, certain families in the region of the four towns also had designs on Nasir Town.

Out of the twelve towns in the East Coast Province, eleven were in the hands of the major viscount families, with only Baron Hovern holding an entire town thanks to the governor.

They had once refrained from aspirations due to the strength of the Hovern family, but now felt that Nasir Town was up for grabs and that they might well replace the trivial Fischer family.

Night fell, and the refreshing evening breeze blew through the streets and alleys of Nasir Town.

In a noisy tavern, an elderly old man was drinking his sorrows away.

He was an aged servant who had once served Byrne but was now completely out of favor, unable to meddle in any personal affairs and marginalized within the Fischer family.

When he first came to the tavern, as long as people heard that the old servant was close to Knight Byrne, they showed him considerable respect, even the thieves from the sleazy street in East City District nodded to him in acknowledgment.

People in the tavern were willing to buy him drinks just to hear a bit of news about the Fischer family. Enduring and keeping secrets, he only shared insignificant matters, which made him the center of attention.

There was even a red-nosed fisherman who eagerly wanted to marry his green daughter to the old servant’s son.

How ridiculous! What do you think you are, not even seeing if you’re worthy enough?

However, one day when an old guard from the Fischer family publicly revealed his current situation, the people in the tavern gradually lost their respect for him.

The old servant became increasingly depressed, accompanying his nights with alcohol and unable to find joy.

I know that secret; I am closer to the Fischer family than others, I am different…

Damn it, why push me away? Those who enjoy divine grace are utterly detestable!

A tremendous jealousy and dissatisfaction exploded within the heart of the inebriated old servant; it was all the fault of the Fischer family, those people were preventing him from getting close to the master!

If only I could get rid of them, then I could enjoy the great divine favor all by myself!

Staggering out of the tavern, he stumbled, unaware, to the front of the church, gazing at the large bell in the bell tower for a long while.

“If, if I go in and denounce them, wouldn’t that be…”

A sudden and terrible thought emerged, startling the old servant himself!

Upon reflection, for the great god, it doesn’t really matter who serves as the proxy, then…

He swallowed hard, suddenly feeling an overwhelmingly vast and irresistible will, like an unending gray eroding the night, nearly crushing his meager and feeble soul.

“Mercy! Mercy! I was just thinking, just envying the Fischer family! I have never been disloyal to my lord!”

The old servant knelt on the ground in extreme fear, frantically pleading for mercy.

Finally, that great will that had appeared for just a moment vanished from his mind, covered in sweat, hardly standing, he hastily left.

On his way home, the old servant suddenly saw a familiar black figure.

It was Madam Irene!

The mysterious Madam Irene, clothed in an exquisitely made black dress, stood silently in the shadows.

Her face expressionless, her charming eyes harboring an inextinguishable darkness, almost all members of the Fischer family feared her.

“Ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!”

The old servant suddenly realized something and screamed out, turning to run away, only to be grabbed by the arm by a man behind him.

Byrne, under the moonlight with golden-rimmed glasses and dressed in a dark brown coat with a vest, looked more composed and restrained than he had more than three years earlier.

“Mercy, mercy, please spare me!”

Byrne just shook his head, adjusted his glasses, and said indifferently, “Come with me, don’t worry, it’s alright.”

The young man’s words seemed to have a strange power, and the old servant inexplicably calmed down.

He was very aware that Byrne was a person who valued past relationships and was deeply sentimental, and he immediately felt he might survive this.

Captain Theo, the Guards Captain, had been waiting in a carriage on the other side of the street, not giving the old servant even a glance.

Once the two men took him onto the carriage, the old servant began to feel uneasy again, and when he realized they had stopped in the northern forest, he immediately fell to his knees in fear, begging and clinging to Byrne’s legs.

“No, please, no, I have a son and a daughter, Patriarch Byrne, Young Master Byrne, don’t kill me, I served you for several years in the past!”

“Hmm, I’ll take good care of your children, don’t worry.”

After ensuring calmly, Byrne freed himself from the old servant’s grip and returned to the carriage.

The old servant ran towards the forest like a madman, internally cursing the Fischer family, wishing that wretched lot would all go to hell!

“Theo, you and Byrne wait for me here.”

Irene said casually, and then calmly made her way into the forest, carrying the same shovel she had used in earlier years.

Captain Theo nodded, silently waiting for Madam Irene to reemerge from the woods, looking as pristine and composed as ever.

The problem was completely resolved.

Back in the carriage, Irene looked at Byrne, who seemed a bit uncomfortable.

Irene spoke very calmly, “This is the first time for something like this, but it won’t be the last, if you ever feel too upset about it, let me take care of it all.”

Byrne shook his head and smiled slightly, saying, “There’s really no need for that, Irene, I’m certainly not like a child who needs protecting.”

“Even the Blood Receivers may not be entirely loyal, we must absolutely remember what happened today.”

He paused before continuing, “Tomorrow night, we will witness the first batch of Blood Receivers cultivated from children, they will become an aid to the Fischer family.”

“Currently, several families in the region of the four towns have their sights set on our Nasir, and the situation of the Fischer family is anything but safe.”

The two baronial families closest to Nasir are the Kesse family in the west and the Leander family in the south.

Their territories, lying between Nasir and the three other towns of the region of the four towns.

The Kesse family has two Extraordinary Exponents who’ve reached Transmutation, possessing three villages and effectively controlling five surrounding villages.

The Leander family has only one Transmutation-ranked Extraordinary Exponent, owning two villages and effectively controlling three.

Since the power vacuum in Nasir, the Kesse family has been particularly interested in the resources of Nasir as a harbor, and they are filled with envy towards the Fischer family ruling over the entire town.

Byrne’s gaze was piercing, his voice full of determination and belief:

“And I have touched the 3rd Rank, soon stepping into an even higher position, and then everything will be entirely different.”