Chapter 252: Chapter 253
"I’m starting to see the outline."
"That is enough for today."
Aurelian gave him a dry look.
"You came here with all of this already planned."
Orvain looked completely unapologetic.
"That is something every elder and branch leader needs to do as they have too many lives on their shoulders."
Aurelian shook his head, but some of the tension had left him. The proposal still carried risks, and he wasn’t blind to them.
Bringing an entire branch of the family into the Crownward March would change things. It meant new people, new responsibilities, and new expectations.
At the same time, it solved several problems he already knew he would face sooner or later.
And although the family is supplying part of the staff, those are temporary, and all of the support will be based on what they find after he and the family expand outwards.
But the place needed commanders who could eventually take responsibility for worlds, stations, and fleets without requiring him to personally oversee every decision.
It needed schools, training systems, and a steady pipeline of capable officers.
None of those problems could be solved overnight, but they could start being solved now, and that mattered.
Aurelian looked at Orvain.
"How quickly can you prepare a list?"
Orvain looked mildly offended.
"I already have one."
"Of course you do."
"Engineers, survey crews, logistics officers, two administrative teams, a medical group, some security personnel, and three young commanders I want tested under your supervision. I can reduce the numbers if necessary."
Aurelian wasn’t surprised.
Orvain had probably started preparing the list before he even asked for this meeting.
"Send it to me, Father, and Astercourt. Let Eirenne review the security side as well."
"I will."
Aurelian nodded, then paused for a moment.
"And Orvain."
"Yes?"
"If this gets approved, your people need to understand what they’re joining."
Orvain waited.
"This isn’t a safe inheritance. It isn’t some quiet family territory where everything has already been built."
"I know."
"The Kharov are nearby. Mournveil isn’t fully understood. There are old Vhaloric systems scattered throughout the region. We have awakened machines, ancient ruins, and plenty of things that look dead until they suddenly stop being dead."
Orvain’s expression didn’t change.
If anything, he looked more interested.
"Good."
Aurelian stared at him.
Orvain smiled.
"The reason why I can do this is because of this risk, as the branch needs some real danger for them to show their potential, and the one you have over there can be considered as the best one so far."
Aurelian sighed.
"Why do I suddenly pity the people you are sending, especially the commanders?"
Orvain laughed.
"Who knows, but it’s better not to tell that to the people leaving."
Aurelian seriously doubted that.
The conversation naturally wound down after that, and they began walking back toward the main estate.
They had been talking longer than Aurelian realized. The morning sun had climbed higher, and the gardens were noticeably brighter than when they first arrived.
Around them, the estate continued moving through its normal routine.
Staff crossed distant paths.
Transport shuttles traveled between towers.
Small craft moved toward the family starport.
Everything looked calm.
Ordinary.
Yet somewhere beyond all of that, hidden behind Mournveil and far from Alliance space, an entirely different future was taking shape.
As they approached the estate entrance, Orvain slowed slightly.
"I’ll speak with Cassian today."
Aurelian nodded.
"After that, it becomes official."
"Father probably already knows."
"He does," Orvain admitted. "But he’ll still make me explain everything, don’t know why he does this, but none of the elders or the branch leaders mind as they get to discuss the ideas with him, which is better than just waiting for the patriarch to decide."
"That sounds accurate."
Orvain chuckled and shook his head. "You understand him better than most."
"Not always."
"No son ever fully understands his father."
Aurelian glanced at him but didn’t respond. By the time they reached the entrance, Orvain looked ready to leave, only to stop at the last moment and turn back.
"One last warning."
Aurelian raised an eyebrow. "Another one?"
"This one is actually important."
"I’m listening."
Orvain folded his arms. "The moment other branches realize I’m moving first, they’ll react."
"I expected that."
"Some will support it, some will be jealous, and some will pretend not to care while quietly preparing applications twice the size of mine."
That sounded believable. The Arcturus family had never become powerful by producing people who ignored opportunity, and Aurelian could already imagine the response.
Branches searching for new territory, young commanders looking for advancement, families hoping to secure positions before everyone else arrived, engineers seeking opportunity, and administrators chasing influence.
The March would attract attention sooner or later, and that was inevitable.
Orvain pointed at him. "So don’t accept everyone."
"I wasn’t planning to."
"Good."
His expression grew more serious. "A frontier becomes strong because of the people who arrive first. The right people create the culture, while the wrong people create problems that can last for generations."
Aurelian nodded. "I know."
"I believe you."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Orvain smiled again, though this time there was less humor behind it and more genuine approval.
"Then I’ll see you at the meeting, future troublemaker of the family."
Aurelian blinked.
"Future?"
Orvain laughed.
"You’re still young. Give it time."
Before Aurelian could answer, Orvain turned and headed down another garden path.
He looked entirely too satisfied with himself.
Aurelian watched him disappear around a corner before Astra moved closer.
"You are considering accepting."
"Yes."
"It would help."
"It would also complicate everything."
Astra looked at him calmly.
"Most useful things do."
Aurelian gave her a suspicious look.
But then he shook his head; he simply stood there, looking upward at the sky above the estate.
Traffic lanes crossed overhead in neat patterns as ships moved between different parts of Arcturus space.
But his mind was on what improvements these changes would bring to the Crownward March.
As pieces of it were already beginning to connect themselves to the heart of the family.
Soon, engineers would arrive, followed by administrators and survey teams that would push deeper into the region.
Orvain’s branch might tie part of its future to the March, and in time, there could be training systems, academies, schools, and command programs operating under its banner.
With every step forward, the frontier felt a little less like a temporary foothold and a little more like a true territory, something permanent, something capable of surviving beyond the people who had first built it.
Aurelian took a slow breath.
"Let’s go find Father."
Astra immediately fell into step beside him.
"Do you think Lord Cassian will approve?"
Aurelian considered the question as they walked. He thought about Orvain’s proposal, about Mournveil, and about everything the March still needed. Most of all, he thought about his father.
Cassian had an annoying habit of already knowing things before anyone bothered telling him.
"Yes," Aurelian said.
Astra glanced at him. "You sound certain."
"I think he approved before I was even asked."
That earned the faintest hint of amusement from her.
"That does sound like him."
"It does."
Together, they headed back into the estate, where another round of discussions was undoubtedly waiting for them.
