Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 589: Decline

The eldest son of Earl Lauren, Eric, daughter Marjorie, and even some elder collateral relatives, were not spared.

The atmosphere within the castle was tense, with rumors spreading amid oppressive silence.

Especially after the investigators confirmed the second son, Calvin, had indeed committed suicide due to a mental breakdown, the verdict overseer, Malcolm, looked at Earl Lauren with a more profound meaning in his eyes.

That gaze seemed to say, "Silencing witnesses? A good tactic, but... this does not hide much."

The net of the investigation tightened ever more, and Earl Lauren felt like an insect trapped in a spider’s web; every struggle only caused the cold silk to bind tighter.

The letter he presented to the Knight Hall pleading guilty appeared so pale and feeble in the face of this meticulous examination procedure.

Now he could only pray, pray that the Empire’s board could be lifted a bit higher, and fall a bit lighter, pray that the ancestors’ glory could still protect the Lauren family, preventing them from being entirely submerged in this storm.

Yet all of this was beyond his control.

For the first time, he felt so clearly how fragile the so-called noble glory and family foundation were in face of the Empire’s cold laws and absolute power.

The joint examination by the Knight Hall and Tribunal was like a precise and ruthless surgical operation, thoroughly exposing the Lauren family’s hidden abscesses and hazards to the Empire’s view.

The review lasted an entire month during which Red Rock Castle seemed like an isolated island, and the endless stream of visitors and caravans vanished without a trace, replaced by the cold gaze of black-armored knights and the endless glow of probing magic from investigating wizards.

Ultimately, the decree signed personally by verdict overseer Malcolm, was filed with the noble parliament of the Empire and delivered to Earl Lauren.

This document, sealed with both the Empire’s emblem and the Tribunal’s sword seal, was coldly phrased and unquestionable.

Second son Calvin Lauren, privately researched and held a forbidden ritual connecting with a high-risk Other Plane, resulting in the death of four Empire civilians and one noble collateral member, with irrefutable evidence; his actions constituted the crime of heretical contact and murder.

As he is deceased, his personal criminal responsibility is not pursued, but his reputation is permanently revoked, and he is expelled from the family lineage.

Earl Lauren, as the Family Head and lord of the fiefdom, failed to timely discover and prevent the forbidden research behavior of direct relatives, bearing unavoidable serious dereliction and inadequate supervision responsibilities.

The Lauren family as a whole, having failed to effectively restrain its members, resulting in a malignant event harmful to the Empire’s safety and stability, has severely tarnished the family reputation and is deemed unsuitable to continue bearing the heavy responsibility of Red Rock City lordship.

The punishment came swiftly: stripping the Lauren family of the hereditary rule over Red Rock City, revoking their Earl title, and demoting them to Viscount.

The new fief was designated as a barren small town named Graystone Town at the Empire’s northern frontier, along with a small amount of surrounding land, whose yield and strategic value could hardly compare with the prosperous Red Rock City.

Half of the Lauren family’s immovable properties and liquid assets in Red Rock City and surrounding areas were confiscated and poured into the Empire’s treasury, as compensation to victims’ families and to cover the Empire’s investigation costs.

Main members of the Lauren family are required to relocate to Graystone Town within three months, and without the Empire’s permission, they may not return to the Empire’s core areas for a hundred years, nor assume any important Empire positions.

This decree, like a clap of thunder, completely shattered the Lauren family’s two-hundred-year foundation.

Although they were not completely exterminated, losing the foundational land of Red Rock City, the esteemed Earl title, and most of their wealth, being exiled to a remote frontier, was no different from a slow death for a once prestigious family.

After the decree was announced, the decline of the Lauren family began at a visibly rapid pace.

Former allies and vassal families hastened to sever ties, fearing implication.

Red Rock Castle, once bustling with visitors, now stood desolate.

In the family’s guard, those with some capability and connections began seeking new paths, spreading disarray.

With half the fortune confiscated, the family-run mines, caravans, estates, and other enterprises were either directly seized or rapidly withered due to broken financial chains.

Creditors flocked in demanding repayment, further aggravating the financial collapse.

In Red Rock City and the broader Seville Empire’s noble circles, the Lauren name had become synonymous with downfall, taboo, and disgrace.

They became taboos avoided during noble salons and banquets, the social circle completely excluded them.

A caravan, far smaller than before, carried Viscount Lauren’s family and a few loyal servants, silently departing Red Rock City under the gaze of countless eyes filled with sympathy, contempt, or indifference.

They left this red rock city, cultivated by generations, soaked with ancestral efforts and glory, heading to that unknown, barren, and uncertain northern town.

Red Rock Castle was taken over by the Empire and shortly after bestowed to another emerging noble who achieved merit in the plane wars.

In the midst of this event, Duke received his task reward, the most critical being three thousand points of Knight Hall contributions.

He planned to use these three thousand Knight Hall points to redeem two High-tier Breathing Techniques, and then some high-tier Combat Techniques.

These were mostly prepared for future subordinates, as Knight Hall enforces strict controls over Breathing Techniques.

High-tier Breathing Techniques can only be taught to direct relatives or soul-bound slave creatures, as slave creatures are considered personal property, there’s no restriction.

Duke stood before the obsidian counter at the Knight Hall resource exchange center, his fingertip gliding over the textual flow on the crystalline panel.

The Knight Deacon handling the reception pushed two inheritance Crystal Stones etched with crimson flame patterns towards him, their voice as stiff as legal codices.

"According to Knight Hall Breathing Technique Control Ordinance, redeemed High-tier Breathing Techniques, Molten Heart Iron Forging Breathing Technique and Fury Wind Breathing Technique, are limited to the following teaching methods: direct blood relatives and soul contract-bound slave creatures..."

The rules were numerous, and the deacon recited them for a long period, as if reciting scripture.

Though the regulations were lengthy, enforcement was not always strict.

If you silently passed them on to someone, Knight Hall generally would find this difficult to detect, and such occurrences were not unheard of.

Moreover, if you possess certain power and status, even if Knight Hall finds out, they would likely turn a blind eye.

As long as you did not proliferate them extensively and on a large scale, Knight Hall could pretend to be unaware.

However, this is based on your strength; having strength means rules will bend around you.

But if you lack strength and background and dare violate Knight Hall regulations, you will certainly face punishment.