Our Family Has Fallen

He was indeed not the type to complicate things. Grendel, having figured out Lance’s personality, also realized she might have been a bit too sensitive. She nodded in agreement immediately.

”They truly weren’t lacking that bit of money. In the past, our trades alone resulted in them taking a cut of millions of Gold Coins from us each year, and that didn’t even include the Potions they kept for themselves.

Moreover, they controlled the trade routes between the Mountains and the Empire, monopolizing most of the precious materials from the Mountains. No one knew how much they earned each year.”

Upon hearing this, even Lance’s calm demeanor changed slightly.

What did millions signify?

He went to Totnes, one of the top trade hubs in the world. He stole for a whole night, and the reserves of around ten trading companies, along with various antiques, artworks, and other assorted items, amounted to barely this figure.

Hamlet’s current development was, in fact, the result of his continuous financial investment. If there were a stable annual income of millions of Gold Coins, he could simply lie back and relax.

And Bastia’s income was far more than that; these should have been mine...

”Humph! No wonder they set their sights on Hamlet.”

With the Deerhead Tribe gone, this trade naturally came to a halt. The loss of such a large sum of money didn’t cripple Bastia’s operations, but suddenly losing a habitual income was more unbearable than death for them.

Coupled with the Empire’s internal strife and the Emperor being too preoccupied to care, Count Bastia’s ambition to make his dominion more powerful than Hamlet was nurtured.

A hint of ferocity could be discerned in Lance’s eyes; it was clear Bastia had been marked for future retribution, to be recorded in his little notebook.

However, Lance had not lost his reason. He considered the money as being temporarily kept with them, to be reclaimed later. As long as the Old Ancestor isn’t dead, everything else is inconsequential.

”Speak your mind if you have something to say; there’s no one else here.”

Lance quickly regained his composure and turned to look at Grendel; he could sense something.

At this point, she didn’t dwell on it further and voiced her thoughts.

”If the Eagle Flock are traitors to the Mountains, then isn’t the Deerhead Tribe one as well...?”

Grendel could only sigh, slowly shaking her head as she continued, ”Our dealings with Bastia provided them with funds and Potions, while many of the tribes in the Mountains couldn’t even afford the Potions we brewed.

”Our tribe’s fate was foreseeable. It’s just that no one, including myself, realized it at the time. I only understood all this recently.”

With her explanation, Lance understood why Grendel felt this way. Bastia used the Deerhead Tribe’s money to buy equipment and train armies to fight the other Barbarian Tribes. Once the other Mountain Barbarian Tribes learned of this trade, the Deerhead Tribe would undoubtedly become the target of their hostility.

This also explained why, when the Deerhead Tribe was attacked by the Fang Tribe, the other Barbarian Tribes simply stood by and did nothing. The problem stemmed from this.

Lance was also somewhat stupefied. Were the leaders or Priests of the Deerhead Tribe really that confident? Or were they just too optimistic, thinking the other Barbarian Tribes wouldn’t move against them? But nobody anticipated that Warwolf, that blockhead, wouldn’t care about such things and would just act.

Thinking of this, Lance suddenly realized the true reason behind Grendel’s words. He furrowed his brows and asked in response, ”So, you suspect that Warwolf’s massacre of the Deerhead Tribe also involved other tribes?”

Grendel didn’t speak, but the troubled look on her face told Lance he had guessed correctly.

If that were true, then her targets for revenge would expand from the Fang Tribe to those other Mountain Barbarian Tribes, leaving her feeling utterly lost.

”I don’t think it’s reached that extent. Warwolf started attacking other tribes right after assaulting the Deerhead Tribe, which shows his arrogance and egotism had reached an unreasonable level. He wouldn’t be manipulated by anyone.

And at the time, it was only the Fang Tribe that attacked your tribe. The most the others did was fail to provide timely aid, which is a normal choice for them when observing an uncertain situation.

Otherwise, if it really were a joint effort, how do you think you could have escaped? They wouldn’t have left a tribesperson alive, burdened with vengeance.”

Lance understood their position. As a member of the Mountains, if you’re exploiting us, using the resources of the Mountains to support the enemy, living lavishly while your brothers eat dirt—if it were me, I’d want to take you down too.

Lance’s line of thinking was indeed correct. If the other tribes had really conspired together, Grendel would never have been able to escape the Mountains alive.

Following Lance’s reasoning, Grendel quickly calmed down. After thinking it over, she realized it was more likely she had simply confused herself.

Lance stood up, approached her, and comforted her in a soft voice. ”You don’t need to carry that nonexistent guilt, because you weren’t the one who did those things. Any connection you had to it vanished along with the Deerhead Tribe into the annals of history. You are now a person of Hamlet. You are my person.”

What truly mattered to Grendel? Why did she entertain such thoughts?

The reason was simple, likely stemming from the shift in her identity, triggered when she encountered the Eagle Flock, the traitors of the Mountains.

She had intended to discuss it with Lance but was interrupted by Amanda, and the matter had dragged on until now. Then, just moments ago, she had heard about Bastia’s aggression towards Hamlet.

When Bastia’s role shifted from partner to enemy, it naturally evoked such emotions—the guilt of having aided an adversary.