Chapter 157: Werewolf Tracks
‘Is this some kind of test? Accepting it would mean agreeing to marry in, but probably not…’ Anse felt he was overthinking it.
Based on his understanding of Illyas, she disdained using such tactics and would definitely ask him directly if there was something.
Besides, it was just a piece of clothing. If he had to avoid even this, it would be too lacking in magnanimity, and Illyas might just kick him out today.
She was capable of it.
Anse shook his head, shaking off those stray thoughts, and immediately washed up and changed clothes.
Only when putting them on did he notice that every piece of clothing fit perfectly, the boots were spot-on in size, combat robes could be fine-tuned for size, but common clothes didn’t have that feature.
These were clearly custom-made in advance.
The kindly face of Illyas’s grandmother appeared in his mind, and he couldn’t help but sigh in admiration; the old lady had truly gone to great lengths.
Illyas was a slacker, and the trivial matters inside and outside the castle were probably all handled by this old lady and the butler.
Dressed, standing before the full-length mirror, he actually felt the person in the mirror was somewhat unfamiliar—upright posture, exceptional bearing, radiating nobility, yet as if veiled by a layer of mist, profound and mysterious, every movement and expression captivating others’ hearts.
‘If I had this charisma in my previous life, I wouldn’t have stayed single forever.’ He admired himself for a moment, put the shield and scepter into the dragonhide pouch, and went downstairs empty-handed.
The petrifying magic on the shield had entered cooldown, probably not recoverable until midnight.
Along the way, almost every waiter who saw him froze for a moment, even forgetting to bow.
Entering the dining room, all eyes focused on him; Grandmother nodded in satisfaction, while Illyas stared at him for a moment, her eyes brimming with amusement.
The butler smiled the happiest; after many years, Jacqueline Castle finally welcomed new vitality.
“Now that’s what clothes should look like, just the hair is a bit long.” Illyas commented, “Let’s eat; didn’t you hold an all-staff meeting?”
“Right.” Anse decisively switched topics, “I’m planning to separate security and the army, establish a defense army, stop handling those trivial matters, and focus on city defense and combat.”
“The thinking is right, but it will require a lot of money, right?”
“No major changes, same establishment, proceed step by step.”
“That’s prudent enough.”
“……”
The two chatted casually for a few sentences, then began to eat quietly.
It was already late after the meal; the two headed to the Durag Union together, though this time Illyas didn’t ride the flying carpet but went with him on horseback.
Nolnos was also a face-connoisseur; it despised Brat riding it, but when Illyas got on, it was overjoyed and showed off like crazy.
Maybe it felt it had finally bested that flying carpet.
Illyas leaned into Anse’s arms and softly said, “My father is a sorcerer, an adventurer from the Dragon Coast, rarely staying at Jacqueline Castle.
My maternal grandfather was also an adventurer; he returned to Waterdeep when my mother was four or five and never came back. Jacqueline Castle won’t bind anyone… not you either.”
Anse understood; the Jacqueline family didn’t need anyone to marry in, but it needed to continue its lineage.
To put it bluntly, he could leave anytime without responsibility, but he had to leave behind the child.
Illyas didn’t know if there was love between them, but she bore the family duty; with the right to choose her own partner, she had no choice but to take the initiative boldly—what if he ran away.
Recommending Anse as union president was her sole orchestration.
“You might not know, I’m not human.” Anse felt this demand was harder than marrying in.
“What?” Illyas was stunned, turning her face up to look at him.
“I’m a dragon.” Anse looked down into her watery eyes, “It’s not just bloodline awakening; I am inherently an exotic metal dragon, currently in the young dragon stage. I don’t know if I can reproduce, and even if I can, the bloodline would be average.”
Dragons only gain reproductive ability in the young adult stage; he was different, true dragon power growing with level, perhaps only able to sire the strongest bloodline offspring at legendary stage.
“How could that be… how long do we have to wait?” Illyas looked shocked; who wouldn’t want their child to be exceptionally talented.
A young dragon sorcerer was already this strong; it was hard to imagine how terrifying Anse would become fully grown.
“Within five years.” Anse was very confident.
“Then… I’ll wait for you.” Illyas sighed faintly, jumped off the horse, and flew away on the flying carpet.
“Huh? No hugging if no kids?” Anse grumbled helplessly.
By the time Anse arrived at the union and entered the meeting room, dozens of middle to high management officials were already there, and even Illyas sat calmly in the first seat on the inner side of the long table.
Giant Tail and Kalenno were also present.
Seeing him enter, everyone stood to greet him, their gazes falling on his white formal wear, expressions ambiguous.
Anse didn’t care, scanned the room, and asked, “Is everyone here?”
“Yes.” Quentin suppressed a smile at his lips, trying to appear more solemn.
“Let’s begin.” Anse placed a stack of documents on the table.
“Colleagues, first item of the meeting: each of you report recent work situations, problems encountered, and ideas one by one…”
The notification had been issued yesterday, so everyone was prepared, sitting upright, ready to leave a good impression on the new president.
After the Graham incident, everyone had a preliminary impression of the new president: decisive and swift, thunderous in action, but reasonable and evidence-based, no purges.
This was a good start; at least everyone sincerely thought it was much better than the former president’s either ignoring things or one-size-fits-all approach.
The first to speak was Governor Rein, mainly on administrative issues. Second was Tax Official Little Harold, third was Magistrate Pardo…
Durag had never had this kind of meeting format; many couldn’t control the pace and time, so Quentin had to keep reminding them, or it wouldn’t finish in a day.
After these people spoke, Anse had a fairly clear understanding of Durag’s situation.
Management was lax, like a makeshift troupe, full of loopholes and problems, far from rigorous and standardized.
It wasn’t just Durag; most forces in Faerun were like this.
The second item of the meeting was Anse’s military reorganization plan, passed unanimously—no demotions, more positions, higher pay, stronger military.
All expenses came from tax surpluses; the new president had no objections, so of course everyone raised both hands in approval.
Expansion was assigned to Quentin, with cooperation from Magistrate Pardo and Giant Tail.
The last item of the meeting was originally to discuss Durag’s development direction, but unfortunately no one dared speak much, fearing trouble if they said the wrong thing, so it turned into a trivial matters handling session.
For example, sending someone to notify Amn to redeem people; those captives were priced at 100 gold coins each—if Amn was willing, that covered a year’s military expenses.
Also mind flayer patrols and reporting measures, settlement of incoming refugees…
Many matters were proposals from councillors, ideas from Anse, and final decisions by him.
He was enthusiastic, finding it novel; after all, holding the future of a city and tens of thousands of people in his hands was an experience not everyone had.
This was the taste of power.
The meeting ended quickly, with everyone gaining something.
Before, they could only hear from direct superiors and certain councillors, working in confusion; at least this time it was clear, and they knew who the real boss was.
Anse decided to hold such meetings weekly; he might not attend, but required at least two councillors to participate and resolve specific issues.
“You seem very familiar with this kind of work?” In the corridor, Illyas walked side by side with him, eyes full of doubt.
Anse handled it very methodically, like someone who had undergone similar elite training.
“Uh, roughly understand a bit.” Anse shrugged; he hadn’t been a mayor, but he was very good at meetings.
At the guild leader’s office door, Illyas didn’t follow in: “I’m heading back to the castle; be careful yourself.”
“Your castle’s warning magic array doesn’t seem very effective.” Anse casually grumbled.
“It’s not fully activated, that’s all; it’s very energy-intensive.” Illyas gave him a look and turned to leave.
Anse was a bit surprised; actually, a magic array covering such a large area being able to detect common advanced professionals was already impressive, and it turned out to be not in complete form state.
Just as Illyas left, thumping footsteps came from downstairs.
Quentin appeared at the stairs, hurried to Anse’s side, and whispered, “Guards have spotted a werewolf!”
“Where? How many?” Anse’s heart skipped; Verdant Courtyard had just reminded him yesterday, and it came today.
“Don’t know. A guard on duty at the south gate came to report; he discovered a fellow villager who was bitten by a werewolf and then escaped…”
