Wizard Earl

Although Connor had absolutely no interest in the appeasement policy proposed by Butler Martinez, out of respect for this old butler who had served the Ferguson family for decades, Connor did not directly reject his plan. Instead, he evaded the question, saying, "Butler Martinez, I have only just returned to the family and am not yet familiar with its internal affairs. Therefore, I think I am not in a hurry to make a decision on this matter. I need some time to consider it!"

Although Connor spoke very politely, Martinez noticed that Connor seemed somewhat indifferent to his advice, so he immediately said earnestly, "Young Master Connor, I know that young people like you are hot-blooded and cannot accept such a serious armed rebellion. If the family were in normal circumstances, I would absolutely not forgive these rebels."

"Young Master Connor, you have just returned to the family. You should not be aware of the situation within the family. Our family's financial situation is very unfavorable, and there are many forces outside that are eyeing the family's existence covetously, always wanting to take a piece of flesh from the family. The phrase 'internal and external troubles' perfectly describes the family's current situation. Not to mention distant places, even within Frosinone, the family's position is precarious."

"Now is the time to unite the entire family against external forces. I'm sure those who followed Domenech, Jack Ferguson, and Bernardo in their rebellion are living in constant fear, afraid that the family will easily turn against them."

"If, at this moment, young master Connor, you can be magnanimous and forgive their crimes, then without a doubt you will win their loyalty and the support of the entire Ferguson family!" At this point, Butler Martinez paused, looking at Connor as if trying to read something from Connor's face. However, to their disappointment, Connor, after listening to his long speech, remained calm and composed, without the slightest change in emotion.

Seeing Connor's ambiguous attitude, Martinez hesitated slightly, but still gritted his teeth and said, "On the contrary, if you, young master Connor, choose to go on a killing spree and pursue the matter to the end when the morale of this family is turbulent, then this already precarious family is in danger of falling apart..."

Hearing Martinez's exaggerated claims, Connor remained expressionless, but inwardly he felt a slight aversion to Martinez's behavior.

As Martinez's butler said, if Connor chooses to take action at this time, the Ferguson family would indeed be in danger under his iron-fisted rule. After all, those rebels would certainly not sit idly by and wait to be killed; they would definitely fight back. However, the danger of disintegration is undoubtedly nonsense!

To disintegrate the Ferguson family, the first condition is the Ferguson Family Knights. As a hereditary noble family, the Ferguson family no longer has a legitimate armed force. The fact that Domenech, Jack Ferguson, Bernardo, and others specifically redeployed the main force of the family knights before launching this armed rebellion at Ferguson Manor shows that although these rebels have many supporters within the family, they have not yet gained the support of the family knights!

If the family knights supported Domenech's armed rebellion, then Domenech wouldn't have needed to deceive the head butler Martinez through Bernardo before taking action to lure the family knights out of the manor, nor would he have needed to recruit those men in black to do his bidding!

As long as the Ferguson family's legitimate armed force, the Ferguson family's situation, though still very bad, will not collapse or completely disintegrate overnight.

As the de facto head of the family, Butler Martinez certainly understood this principle. However, since he still said it, there is only one possibility: Butler Martinez was deliberately exaggerating to scare him and try to make him back down and agree to his appeasement policy.

Although he knew perfectly well that Butler Martinez's decision wasn't for his own personal gain, but for the sake of the family's future, Connor, who was always autocratic, was still slightly displeased. However, he didn't show it, and instead solemnly told Butler Martinez again, "Butler Martinez, I understand what you mean. I will make the right choice for the family's future, but now I need to think it over carefully!"

Seeing that Connor remained adamant, Butler Martinez hesitated, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately only sighed slightly and didn't try to persuade Connor further. Although he had been the de facto head of the Ferguson family when Connor was away, now that Connor, the rightful first heir to the family headship, had returned, it was Connor's turn to make the final decision. He, as the butler, should return to his duty of assisting the head of the family in managing the household; to make decisions for Connor would be overstepping his authority!

Seeing that Butler Martinez had finally fallen silent, Connor, to avoid an awkward atmosphere, took the initiative to change the subject, saying, "Old Butler, how long will it take for me to succeed as head of the family and inherit the title of Earl?"

"According to the provisions of the Imperial Inheritance Law and the Law of Title Succession, Connor, as the rightful first in line to inherit the title of Earl, you only need to send an official letter to the Empire in the name of your family when it is time to inherit."

"Once the official letter is issued and approved by the Empire, you will be Earl Ferguson, young master Connor. At that time, according to custom, the family will hold a ceremony to celebrate your becoming the new Earl Ferguson. During the ceremony, you will receive blessings from the Imperial Royal Family, the Church of the Earth God, and the Church of Storms..." Butler Martinez explained the entire process of inheriting the title to Connor.

"I'll leave these matters to you, Head Butler!" Connor said with a smile.

"No problem, young master Connor!" Butler Martinez nodded. For him, such family affairs were his forte.

After discussing some other matters with Butler Martinez, Connor concluded their meeting for the day. He personally escorted the butler to the door, and as Connor watched the elderly man's slightly hunched back as he left, a hint of helplessness flashed in Connor's eyes…