Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 64 The Royal Messenger Returns
The Earl's fingers tapped the table unconsciously. "So, what is your suggestion?"

"Cut off the supply of magic stone fragments." Edmund said bluntly, but his voice trembled slightly due to his inner struggle.
"Father, Ron has been in the Black Mist Jungle for nearly a year. If he had any potential, he would have shown it long ago. Continuing to waste the family's money will only..."

"He's your own brother!" The Count suddenly raised his voice. "Have you forgotten how you protected him back then?"

A complex emotion flashed in Edmund's eyes.

Indeed, when Ron was a child, as the eldest brother, he was almost infinitely tolerant of his youngest brother.

Even when Ron got drunk and caused a scandal at the aristocratic ball, he was the one who stepped in to clean up the mess, carrying his brother home and shielding him from his father's wrath.

"Father, of course I remember this." Edmund said in a low voice:

"But now is not the time to make a decision based on personal feelings. The livelihoods of hundreds of people in our family are hanging by a thread. We have already paid enough for Ron. Those magic stone fragments..."

Edmund smiled bitterly and shook his head. "You know very well that in our kingdom, a complete piece of magic stone can buy a large castle. Even fragments are of extraordinary value. They only condense at the intersection of specific spiritual veins, and our mortal kingdom has almost no spiritual veins."

He flipped open the account book in his hand and said, "Last month, we used the equivalent of several thousand gold coins in our family fortune to exchange for ten magic stone fragments. Even so, I heard that only six or seven were delivered to Ron each time."

The Earl looked up suddenly. "What do you mean?"

"That cunning fellow Hawkins." Edmund sneered:
"I suspect he withheld some of the money, but we have no actual evidence and can't do anything about it. After all, he's a royal messenger and has a lot of backing."

The Earl's expression turned gloomy, and silence spread in the study, with only the occasional crackle of the flames in the fireplace.

After a long pause, the Earl sighed and said, "I understand. Perhaps you are right, Edmund. We do need to consider the entire family."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the withered fields outside the manor:

"Starting next month, no... We've already prepared it this month, let's start the month after next... We'll suspend funding for Ron."

The moment he uttered this sentence, the Earl seemed to have aged a lot, his shoulders were slightly hunched, as if he was bearing an invisible burden.

Edmund was about to say something when there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Master!" The butler's voice came through the door, with a hint of unusual excitement: "The royal envoy is visiting, saying there is an urgent matter!"

The Earl and Edmund looked at each other and saw confusion and vigilance in each other's eyes.

The unexpected arrival of a royal envoy usually means something very important.

Earl Ralph and Edmund hurried to the hall and saw a man in a black velvet cloak standing there, with a royal crown emblem on his chest.

The envoy was in his early thirties, with a serious and dignified face and a standing posture as straight as a sword. It was obvious that he came from a military background.

"Your Excellency, Lord Ralph." The envoy performed a standard court salute and said in a deep and powerful voice:

"I am Orlando Wilson, the special envoy, and I have come here on orders from His Majesty." The Earl returned the greeting and gestured for the other party to take a seat. "I wonder what brings you here, Lord Wilson?"

Orlando sat down and took the teacup handed to him by the maid, but did not take a sip. "My Lord, I have two important things to tell you."

He put down his teacup and said solemnly, "First, the news about your fifth son, Master Ron Ralph."

The Earl looked up suddenly, a hint of nervousness flashing in his eyes: "Ron? What happened to the kid?"

"According to the news from the Black Mist Jungle, Master Ron has successfully passed the qualification assessment for a junior apprentice and officially became a junior apprentice."

There was a hint of respect in Orlando's voice:
"Even more astonishingly, although his initial spiritual power aptitude was only sixth-class, he achieved a breakthrough in less than ten months. The Black Mist School highly praised him, rating him as 'medium potential'."

This news struck the hall like a bolt of lightning. The Earl and Edmund were stunned, unable to digest this sudden and shocking change.

"This is impossible!" Edmund blurted out subconsciously: "Ron, his qualifications..."

Orlando smiled slightly. "In the wizarding world, everything is possible, Master Edmund. It is said that Master Ron has shown a rare talent in potions. He is now the assistant of Mrs. Allen and has even attracted the attention of the senior apprentice, Master Holt."

When the Earl heard these names, although he didn't know them well, he knew that they must be extremely extraordinary people, and an indescribable pride and relief suddenly surged in his heart.

Edmund couldn't help but feel happy when he saw the smile on his father's face.

He has loved his youngest brother since he was a child. Even though Ron always did some ridiculous things when he was still a member of the family, the blood-related family ties never faded.

"What about the second thing?" the count asked after calming down a little.

Orlando's expression grew serious. "It's about Hawkins, the messenger you commissioned to deliver the magic stone fragment."

He took out a letter with the royal seal from his bosom:
"It has been verified that Hawkins has been withholding the magic stone fragments you gave to Master Ron for the past few months. According to royal decree, he has been beheaded and his family has been exiled into slavery."

As he spoke, he winked at the attendant beside him, and a box was presented. When it was opened, it turned out to be the head of a man with a face full of pain...

When the Earl and Edmund saw the familiar face in the box, their expressions changed at the same time.

Both of them were knights who had experienced many battlefields. They were surprised at this moment, of course not because of the bloody nitrate head in front of them.

They just didn't expect the royal family to be so decisive that they executed Hawkins in one go and even wiped out his entire family.

"More importantly," Orlando continued, "after Master Ron learned of this, he generously offered to return the magic stone fragments that had been withheld over the past few months to the Ralph family in the form of equivalent value at the school."

He took a heavy box from the attendant and placed it respectfully on the table in the hall.

"Here are 20,000 pure gold coins and two business contracts in the eastern district of the royal capital. These are the treasures that Young Master Ron designated to be returned to the family after he exchanged the withheld magic stone fragments at the academy."

(End of this chapter)