Chapter 251: The Branch Family’s Opportunity

Chapter 251

The Branch Family’s Opportunity

In truth, Ellie didn’t want to work so hard. In her new life, she intended to have fun and enjoy herself, but before she knew it, she was working hard again. At first, she didn’t think much of it, but as soon as she sat in a comfortable chair, laziness began to seep into her veins again.

The faint scent of herbs made Ellie very pleased. She wanted to sleep right then and there, if not for the fact that she still needed a bath.

“Rest here to your heart’s content. I’ll take you back tomorrow after you’re ready.”

Owen knew the girl couldn’t disappear. She still had missions to complete as a hunter. Though he wanted to ask her to stay with the family and do nothing, he knew Ellie’s nature wouldn’t allow it.

The girl nodded, starting to feel tired after a sleepless night. Owen handed her a high-level restorative potion. Even though her body was well taken care of, her mind was still exhausted. Without the concentration and relaxation potions, Ellie wouldn’t have been able to stay awake for so long.

“My lady, the bath is ready,” Selin said. Ellie nodded to the large young lord who stood by her side.

Owen gave a small smile and then left. This was Ellie’s time to rest, and he shouldn’t interfere more than necessary. He walked out and headed to the meeting room to handle the remaining matters immediately.

By now, Aman had arrived at the meeting room. He was delighted to have followed correctly, finding that his brother had indeed returned to Set City. As soon as he arrived, the family soldiers escorted him to the meeting room, where his brother refused to explain everything and instead dumped the work on him.

Aman took the time to explain what had happened, which was no small matter. The sudden arrival of Rhea Kingdom soldiers in their forest, undetected by their patrols, and the delayed response of their soldiers could have led to a major issue if the prince had been captured.

“I will send a petition to the Emperor to recall all Setter family’s students from every class. Their failure in their duties must be accounted for,” Steven immediately understood Owen’s thoughts.

His son had returned with the girl and let Aman come back freely, which meant he no longer wanted the Setter family to be under the soldiers’ protection.

Using students for beast hunting was still understandable. They were institute students, the kingdom’s future mainstay. So, during this time, they should contribute to the kingdom while also accelerating their training through real battles like this one.

Nevertheless, their duty was to fight beasts, not to be sent to battle soldiers. This meant that after they had gone beyond their duties and protected the prince, they should be granted the right to withdraw. The students’ help was more than enough!

"Mmm, I don’t think my brother will let Ellie go anywhere now. When he appeared to deal with the enemy, I could feel his rage. He even reprimanded the prince for being deceived by the soldiers."

"Deceived by soldiers?"

"I haven’t uncovered the full details yet, but brother surely knows what’s behind this."

Aman lacked deeper insight because he had not looked into it further after leaving the soldiers to the prince. In other words...they too had been deceived. If Celey hadn’t informed Ellie about this crucial matter, it might have been difficult to handle the soldiers for so long.

"It seems the Fernal and Hart families are collaborating with the Rhea Kingdom." As soon as Owen entered the meeting room, he heard their conversation. He relayed what he had discovered. Normally, he had shadows monitoring the Fernal family’s movements, so it was no surprise he had known their actions from the start.

However, his words nearly took the breath away from everyone in the Setter family. To suddenly say that high-ranking nobles were conspiring with the enemy—wasn’t this a massive rebellion?

"Really? How could they dare do such a thing? If they’re caught..."

"They don’t believe the Ares Kingdom will lose. They just want to profit and destroy Prince Jason in the process."

"Heh, heh. It seems they’re quite bold. So, what now...do you plan to use this information for other purposes?"

"No, it’s up to you."

"Alright, then shall I inform the Jarlon family? Since Prince Joseph’s fiancée is involved, it wouldn’t be fair if Prince Jason’s fiancée was the only one who was kept in the dark."

Steven stroked his chin thoughtfully. The Setter family never involved themselves in power struggles or showed support for any particular candidate for the next emperor. However, they did have a score to settle with the Fernal family.

The Fernal family had started seeing the Setters as enemies first, committing wrongs and not apologizing, always looking for opportunities to destroy them. Since the Fernal family considered the Setter family enemies, the Setter family simply had to eliminate this enemy.

Owen said nothing further. He didn’t see the Fernal family as worth his attention. Initially, Aman had already dealt with the Fernal family, and their business had deteriorated. Their prosperity was ruined, so it was no surprise they decided to make such a desperate mistake.

"If the Fernal family is eliminated, the kingdom’s stability might be affected," one elder said worriedly.

"That won’t happen. The Fernal family’s main product is just one thing. Now that the method for cultivating Sapphire Dragon Scale herbs is out, if we’re worried about not having someone to produce that potion, we can have the Setter branch family do it," Aman scoffed. This elder was from a branch family, so his concerns were understandable.

The branch family this elder oversaw was near the city managed by the Fernal family. He probably feared that any disturbance in the neighboring city would affect his own. In his eyes...the Fernal family was simply the local power in that area.

However, hearing Aman’s words almost made the elder fall off his chair, while the other elders also felt a wave of panic.

“Se-Second Young Lord speaks as if you have a way to make that happen, ha ha ha,”

The elderly man feigned disbelief, but his mind was already racing. He knew that Second Young Lord Aman had many methods. If the cunning person like him said something like this, it had to be true.

Aman smirked, not needing to say anything more to confirm it. That alone was a clear answer. Some of the elders from the branch families even got up from their seats and approached Aman.

They knew that the Jarlon family would surely crush the Fernal family after this. Although they might not provide any useful intel to the Jarlon family, just letting them know that the Fernal family were plotting a grand scheme and their goal was to eliminate Prince Jason, whom the Jarlon family supported...would prompt them to investigate and gather evidence.

Once the Fernal family was destroyed, who would take over the production of the potion that made the Fernal family so powerful? Didn’t the second young lord say he would leave it to one of the branch families to handle?

In the Setter family, there was only one main family, but they had numerous branch families spread across various cities. Each branch not only sought the position of the head of the branch family but also aimed to reap benefits and develop their branch family as much as possible.

If the branch families could develop themselves significantly, they would gain more fighting power and be able to negotiate with the main family.

True, they didn’t have an opportunity now, but in the long term...in ten or even a hundred years, if the main Setter family no longer had capable heads like Young Lord Owen or Young Lord Aman, wouldn’t it be their chance?

Even though there had never been such a power shift in the Setter family’s history, it didn’t mean it couldn’t happen. The founder of the Setter family had set the rule from the beginning: the head of the Setter family must be someone who could make the Setter family great, even if that person was already the head of a branch family.

They were all instilled with the same mindset: to elevate the Setter family to an untouchable status. When the time came to consolidate power, the Setter family must unite as one.

This belief and determination were ingrained in every generation. After being selected, the elders must come to the main family to sign an oath, using magical devices to verify their loyalty to the Setter family. Anyone thinking of harming the family would face severe punishment. Thus, most elders were not selfish.

Though their plans varied, they all aimed to benefit the Setter family...

“Second Young Lord, could you assign the cultivation of the Sapphire Dragon Scale herbs to the branch family in Brooke City? I’m confident we could do an excellent job. Moreover, our Setter family has acquired a lot of land there, making us the second-largest landowner in the city.”

“Huh? What impatience from the Brooke City elder! Second Young Lord hasn’t decided whom to assign it to, and the Fernal family hasn’t even been dealt with yet. And here you are, offering yourselves. Moreover, saying you’re the second-largest landowner isn’t quite accurate. Isn’t it better to compare the amount of land? In Barfron City, we’ve also been working very hard.”

Before they could discuss the details clearly, the two elderly men were already on the verge of fighting over the cultivation method. Aman smirked with satisfaction, while Steven could only glare at his ungrateful son!

Despite having such a marvelous method, why wouldn’t he give it to the main Setter family? What was that brat planning!? Did he have to suck up to him like these old men???

“As you said, since we don’t know if the Fernal family will be dealt with, there’s no need to rush. We have plenty of time to discuss this. Besides, the potion from the Max family of the Gaia Kingdom is still very profitable.”

“Second Young Lord, we can wait for the outcome regarding the Fernal family. However...we shouldn’t trust the Max family too much. After all, they’re outsiders.”

“Indeed, one day, the Max family might betray us. It’s not like benefiting the Setter family itself. We would never destroy the Setter family,” the two old men grumbled upon hearing Aman mentioned the Max family. Even though the Max family was making a profit for the Setter family now, in the end, they weren’t part of the Setter family and could betray them like the Rhea Kingdom did.

Aman nodded in acknowledgement. He didn’t trust the Max family much either. The Max family had limited power and didn’t solely run this business. Their willingness to share the benefits of the Invincibility Potion was just to curry favor with the Setter family. So, if they could reduce their workload while maintaining a good relationship with the Setter family, it would likely make them happier.

Once the discussion about other families concluded, Aman excused himself. After his eldest brother recovered, he didn’t want to deal with these boring matters anymore. Let the old folks talk. If anything came up, they’d consult with the future family head instead.

Aman kept the image of his brother’s strength in his heart. His goal was to follow as closely as possible behind his brother.

The vision of his future self was of him standing behind his brother, being a hunting partner who stormed through cities together. When his brother fought, he would support and ambush enemies. They would likely earn the reputation of the most formidable brothers of the Setter family.

Besides...if he proved useful, his brother wouldn’t kick him out to create a branch family in another city. He was tired of planning for others and didn’t want to carry the lives of many in his hands. He just wanted to fight daily as a young lord of the Setter family, be a strong hunter, and then eat and sleep in the family estate.