Chapter 18: Return home

Dear Helika:
Your mother and I have indeed received your greetings.
Daxis is still the same as before, calm and peaceful, but without you, your mother may be a little lonely. Of course, there are still worries, but I have read Victor’s letter to her in a letter, knowing that everything is fine with you, and your mother is very happy.
To be honest, I am also a little worried. Will letting you get in touch with the martial arts practice so early will actually have a bad effect on you? Was it that I was clever but was mistaken by cleverness? Fortunately, it seems that my worries are unnecessary.
This winter comes later, so don’t neglect to put on clothes in time for yourself and don’t get sick.
If conditions permit, how about going home for a while in winter? Although martial arts practice pays attention to learning and returning home, but your mother and I miss you very much. Remember, home is always your solid backing.
Love your father Warners Crozwell

Sitting in the carriage, once again read the letter his father sent last month. There is a warm current flowing in my heart.
Haha, I suddenly went back without saying hello. Will you be surprised? In the heart of the young man, looking forward to it.
Looking at the winter rain faintly falling outside the carriage window, the boy thought in a daze.
Unknowingly, in the fog and rain, the curve that is familiar to the teenager has been vaguely outlined outside the car window.
Close your eyes and feel the taste of home-the feeling of being close at hand, but very far away, reaches its maximum at this moment. "Hurry up." The boy urged the driver.
"Okay, Master." The coachman from Alside's house raised his whip...

"Master Viscount, this is the financial report of the fishery this month..."
"Master, road maintenance matters..."
"The tax rate notice from Bariyahat..."
In the study of Kholzwil's Viscount Mansion, the Viscount himself frowned upon hearing the reports one by one from his subordinates.
Since I rejected the tax increase request from El Barea last month, my own economy has been greatly affected.
The Duke’s family has a long history of contradictions between the tax rate and the small lords in the territory. Since the reform of the "iron-blooded prime minister" became famous all over the world, the powerful aristocratic forces have been rapidly compressed. The traditional aristocratic forces led by the four famous sects have launched a series of targeted revenge. These include strengthening the control of media power in various territories, resisting various imperial government reformist decrees, manipulating the market through capital, and increasing taxes to cover the military expenditures of the leading army to counteract the gradual development of the regular army. The "iron-blooded prime minister" whose middle vision is getting bigger and bigger.
The increase in taxes on this territory naturally caused a lot of dissatisfaction among local nobles. The economic system of a small area is inherently simple, and arbitrary changes to policies that violate the laws of the market are very detrimental to the development of the territory. Therefore, a large number of lords rejected the four famous sects' request to increase taxes, but this quickly evoked revenge from the four famous sects.
Needless to say, economic sanctions, the most despicable method is to use their powerful voice to spread rumors in the media and even the emperor. Fortunately, the emperor is still a sage, and he has his own judgment on these rumors, but there is no major disturbance. After that, there were more secret methods, such as malicious slandering of certain lords, eliminating their reputation in the imperial aristocratic circle and business circle, forcing them to have to cooperate with the aristocratic faction; or privately hiring punks, Rogue bandits, and even the hunting regiment, came to harass the local lord
Now, the houses of Kholzweil and Alside, as well as the nobles in other places in the Kruchen State, are under pressure from the duke’s family. However, the Ragram of the Alside family is a special case: "The Alside family" and "The Saint of the Gun" have a deep relationship, and their genre is also well-known throughout the continent, and the owner of the family has been a master from generation to generation. Not to mention that the current master also has the title of "Swordsman of Light." He is powerful and has a detached position in the martial empire. Even in the Duke’s house, one of the four famous sects, he dare not use too many insidious methods. It's just deadlocked. However, it is different in my own home. The Duke’s family can be described as omnipotent. The fishery’s transaction volume and financial reports have fallen sharply because Bariyahat unilaterally restricted the transaction volume and added tolls. The surge in road maintenance costs caused the Duke’s family to send people to destroy the guide. The power lamp caused the beast to appear on the avenue (although there is no evidence, but who else can be except the Duke's house)-dealing with these problems made Viscount Kholzwell's head.
However, despite the difficulties, Viscount Kholzwell refused to give in. He worked desperately, trying to save some situation.
After reviewing the documents on the table, the Viscount Master heard the sound of the door knocking again--
"Come in." He said irritably, anyway these people couldn't give himself even a piece of good news.
"... Well, master, master... are back."
"what?!"
The foreword is withdrawn.

After expressing his gratitude to the coachman who took his pains home, the boy walked into the gate of the town.
The layout of the building has not changed from when I left half a year ago, but the pedestrians on the street look weird and lacking vitality.
In the usual winter, although everyone in the town is shivering with the cold, at least they seem to be well-nourished and talk about happy topics.
But when I came back, I found that the acquaintances I met occasionally on the street were also listless and seemed to be deliberately hiding something.
There is something wrong, the boy thought.
With doubts, the boy returned to the Viscount Mansion and his home.
Following the attendant at the door to the study, the boy saw that his father was struggling to write in the study.
He seemed very happy to see his father. He ordered the kitchen to cook the food and the guards to get the tea. However, it seems that there is always some deliberate feeling.
"Father... what's the matter?" Heliga finally couldn't help asking, "The winter in previous years has never been so busy. Is something strange in the town?"
"..." A sense of disharmony flashed in Warners's heart, and he almost blurted out the difficulties encountered these days-think about it, a man who has been the lord of the empire for more than ten years is actually trying to Year old complaining? And this child is still his own son!
"It's not good for a child to be too early..." Warners thought to himself, but what he said was: "Some old problems are just a bit serious this year, so don't worry. You go back to your room and rest earlier. I'll be served by someone, and we will have a good chat during dinner and engage in father-son friendship."
"...Well, then you pay attention." Some worried teenagers did not continue to ask in the end, but the doubts in his heart never disappeared.