Chapter 43 - Chapter 43: Chapter 42 Daybreak Orphanage (1/2)

Chapter 43: Chapter 42 Daybreak Orphanage

Since Lucius’s death over a year prior, Byrne often experienced nightmares. Sometimes he would find himself standing in a snow-covered forest with his face covered in blood, an uncontrollable sense of loneliness arising within him.

In the forest, there were several corpses with eyes wide open in death. They were Irene, Margaret, and Chris, making Byrne feel utterly cold.

Lucius’s questioning and disdainful voice would come from behind him.

“You failed to protect them, Byrne. I was wrong about you,”

A profound sense of fear and guilt would engulf him instantly, and it was often at this point that Byrne would wake from his nightmares.

Death was never far away. There were just over sixteen and a half years left to prepare for the almost inevitable war between Cyart and Rhea.

If nothing was done, during the war, the tragic situation of the Fischer family being at the mercy of others would repeat itself.

On the northeast side of Cyart, the East Coast would be the first place ravaged by looting and slaughter if the Rheans invaded. Many of the elders in Cyart still vividly remembered the Rheans’ brutal and savage acts.

In a silent and tidy basement, Byrne and Irene, the siblings, discussed various countermeasures.

Byrne took out paper and a pen and placed them on the table, starting to draw circles and write to illustrate the current situation.

“In the upper echelons of East Coast society, the two most prominent and powerful figures are Earl Hovern, the East Coast Governor, and the Tempest Bishop from the Tempest Church,”

“Both have reached the level of low-level Monarchs, and behind them, their major families, the Hovern family and the Tempest Church on the East Coast, boast a dozen Transmutation class Extraordinary Exponents.”

Irene nodded in agreement. Both the governor and the Tempest Bishop were in such exalted positions and wielded such immense power that they could decide the outcome of most matters with a single word.

Byrne continued to detail as he wrote and drew uninterrupted:

“Next are the seven viscount families and numerous True Gods Church forces on the East Coast. Currently, the strongest viscount family is Bast’s Lion clan of Fein City, which is under their control. Bast himself is also an upper Transmutation class Extraordinary Exponent.”

“Then, there’s the Eagle clan controlling three towns on the East Coast. There are five Transmutation Extraordinary Exponents in their family, with the leading figure being ‘Black Hawk’ Viscount Zavier. He is quite poised to challenge the Lion clan’s authority, and they also have an excellent relationship with Earl Hovern, the governor.”

The ongoing struggle between the Lion and Eagle clans had already lasted several years and was a topic of gossip within the entire East Coast’s elite.

Their confrontations had initially been relatively civil, but in the past year, their methods had taken a drastic turn for the worse, escalating to the point of assassinating each other’s supporters.

The Eagle clan was very keen to drive out the Lion clan and take over the rapidly developing Fein City, their tactics growing more reprehensible by the day. And Earl Hovern, the East Coast Governor, seemed to be subtly in favor of this.

At this point, Byrne paused and said somewhat helplessly, “We’ve already chosen a side because of the cooperation between the Fischer family and Mr. Gold.”

“Mr. Gold has his channels and connections precisely because Viscount Bast is his brother-in-law. Now, to the upper circles in the East Coast, we are seen as ‘supporters of the Lion.’”

Irene also sighed and said, “When we decided to cooperate, we had no understanding of the entire situation on the East Coast. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been so hasty.”

Domestic noble infighting included assassinations, but it wasn’t to the perilous extent where death loomed at any moment, yet the threat was real.

“Now the Fischer family has a lot of surplus funds, and we currently don’t have a significant need for Extraordinary materials. It’s time to purchase some Mysterious rare artifacts and sacrifice them to the great Lord of the Lost.”

“Besides, I’m considering establishing an orphanage to shelter those homeless orphans from Nasir.”

An orphanage?

Byrne pondered for a moment, knowing she wasn’t proposing this purely out of sudden altruism, so he seriously asked Irene:

“What’s your plan?”

Irene looked towards the sheet detailing divisions of power and quietly revealed her scheme: