The door opened, and Lord Elmsworth and Lady Seraphina entered.
Lady Seraphina did not speak; she simply rushed forward and hugged her son tight, crying and kissing his face. When she heard there was a terrorist attack in the heart of the city and her son had not returned, she feared losing him for good this time. Lord Elmsworth did not wish to intervene with the mother and son, so he remained silent.
After her heart rate normalized and she regained her composure, Lady Seraphina returned to her Royal persona. She patted Lorian's head and thanked Kaelen and Jax for taking care of her son. The two bowed deeply to the Lady, assuring her they would give their lives before their Lord received even a scratch. Lorian gave his mother a look that clearly conveyed, "See, you worry unnecessarily!"
As the Lady stepped back, Lord Elmsworth approached and asked Lorian to take a seat. Lorian obeyed his Lord Father's command, his retainers standing vigilant on his left and right. The Lord and Lady also took their seats, and on Lord Elmsworth's signal, the Guard posted outside closed the door.
The conversation that followed reminded Lorian of his past life as Adrian the entrepreneur, meeting with investors to provide an update.
"Have you found their main base?" the Lord asked.
"I am afraid, no, Mi'lord," Lorian replied with a tone of shame.
"So, if we need to attack the Pirates tomorrow, we have to go to the sea?"
"Yes, Mi'lord."
"You are aware our current ships are not enough to catch them."
"Yes, Mi'lord."
"And you plan to counter this by designing and building a new fleet of agile ships. How many do you think you need?"
"At least one hundred."
Lord Elmsworth paused, his eyes were unwavering, "And you have prepared a cost, resource, manpower, and time estimate for this monumental, multi-year project?"
Lorian swallowed his dissolving pride, and spoke the shameful truth, "No, Mi'lord. I have not calculated any of those aspects."
"How much time do you have?"
"One year."
"And you have wasted one week already, without doing the fundamental work," Elmsworth stated. His voice was devoid of judgment, making it all the more cutting.
"We have started the Veridia Restoration Fund…" Lorian offered weakly.
"You have people for that."
"We have gathered important information!"
Now, for the first time, Lord Elmsworth felt a hint of intrigue, "What do you mean?"
"The explosion in the market…" Lorian brought his mouth close to Lord Elmsworth's ear, "…was done by us."
The Lord merely raised a brow. "What?"
Lorian, in a slow, soft voice, shared everything that had happened, which led them to the warehouse and the subsequent arson. Lady Seraphina's eyes widened with fear and surprise as she listened to her son's adventure. Lord Elmsworth, on the other hand, with his usual dignity and gravity, kept listening to the whole thing with a stoic demeanor, hiding his emotion.
After listening to everything, he advised Lorian not to share the truth with anyone else and to let people believe it was just another terrorist attack. He decreed that for the next few days, Lorian would not be allowed to step out of Auric Spire. This was both to send a message that the Royal Family was concerned about their own safety- thereby signaling to the conspirators that the Throne had no idea what had truly happened- and to give Lorian time to check all the documents he had confiscated, as well as work on other aspects of the Pirate Elimination Operation.
As the Lord and Lady prepared to leave, Jax suddenly spoke, drawing Lorian's attention. "Master…"
Surprised, Lorian asked the reason. Jax, a bit confused over whether he was right to speak between his Master and the Lord and Lady, lowered his gaze and extended his arm toward Lorian. On his hand was the strange contraption they had seized from the warehouse.
Expecting to be rebuked for his audacity, Jax was instead acknowledged by Lorian, who thanked him. Lorian then informed his father about the strange item and sought permission to send it to the experts for analysis. When the Lord asked Lorian whom he considered the right person to consult, Lorian suggested Grand Scholar Elara of Solara.
Lord Elmsworth looked at Lorian, frustration and anger evident in the coldness of his gaze. He asked Lorian how he could be certain it wasn't Elara herself who was helping the pirates with this type of technology. What would be the implication of Lorian sending a piece of technology to the person who had invented it and handed it over to the enemy?
Lorian was speechless.
Lady Seraphina tried to take her son's side, reminding Lord Elmsworth that Elara was always on good terms with their family, and Solara was always friendly with Veridia.
The Lord smiled a bit, a chilling expression, and looked directly at Lorian.
"You and your mother confuse history with security. A hostile state across the border is a threat you can see and budget for. But an ally, Lorian- a friend like Lady Elara- that is the one person we have foolishly granted unrestricted access to our most precious resource- Blind Trust."
Lord Elmsworth leaned forward, his voice was a low, but strong, "Do not trust anyone blindly; trust them only as far as their immediate self-interest aligns with your own.
Always remember: a rival must scheme to attack you, but an ally only needs to wait for your weakness. The true cost of blind trust is not that you are fooled; it's that you have handed your enemy the blueprint to your collapse."
Elmsworth patted Lorian's cheek, his expression suddenly softening, momentarily breaking his cold character. He then grabbed Lorian's shoulder and looked him in the eye.
"My child, you are indeed intelligent, courageous, and you have the potential to be the greatest of all time.
But what you lack is practical knowledge. You are too far removed from reality, to the point of being naïve.
It is not your fault, given what you have gone through.
But remember one thing: if you can't develop this rationality and practical knowledge, all your wisdom, smartness, and courage won't save you in the real world.
You will either be torn into pieces, or become the puppet of someone smarter than you, even without your knowledge. Work on it."
"Now, enjoy. I am sending a spirit from my personal collection for you three. You all deserve it for tonight."
A sudden, painful clarity struck Lorian. He finally understood why he had failed as an entrepreneur in his past life, despite having all the knowledge and giving his all. His eyes welled up. He wished he had a father like him in his last world.
Lorian suddenly grabbed his father, hugged him tight, and started crying. The Lord was surprised, but he gave in to the father in him and hugged his dear son back.