"We're gonna be Aubs?!" Riya asked in shock, "But we don't have any Mana?!"

"I said the exact same thing! Minus the part where we don't have any Mana and told them that our Mana was bound. The Aub of Aureus and the Zent still relented, saying it was 'Divine intervention' and that it 'was a sign the Gods had not abandoned them yet' or something like that."

Aureus? "What does a Prefecture have to do with this?" Max asked.

Melissa looked at Jayden, "Jayden, explain, I'm too tired to explain everything."

"So basically." Jayden started, "There had been a fight for the throne that lasted for a couple of years and the war just ended a few weeks ago, Aureus was Tarquel's most ferocious supporter so they get a bit on an 'in' into whatever policies the Zent makes… Also the Zent lost the Liber Iuris which is like this book but acts like a remote control and controls the Country and since the Zent lost it the Zent is most likely a puppet King and Aureus is kinda pissed that they didn't get the land they were promised and instead due to 'Divine intervention' their land got snapped up and added to the mega Prefecture so now they're most likely after our blood and want us to fail so they forced us to accept the mega Prefecture as our Prefecture using the power of the puppet Zent…. Any questions?"

Riya had so many questions. "How big is the Prefecture?"

Jayden placed a map of the country onto the table, "See these shaded regions? All of it is ours."

Fucking Aureus, "But that's bigger then even Aureus! And Aureus is the biggest prefecture! Well… Was the biggest Prefecture!" Maria exclaimed, "And we don't have any Mana!"

"What's more." Max started, "Most of the Archduchal clans have been executed by now."

"Executed?" Leo asked, "All of them? Even the student-aged ones?"

"All of them." Max nodded, "Other than the unbaptised children and unbaptised servants of course. You know, the ones who aren't old enough or didn't have enough Mana to be considered of their rank. Also many Knights have died from the war so it is less personal to keep order."

Fucking Hell this was not looking good. "Anything else we need to know?"

"Well…" Jayden started, "One of the only good things is that we don't have to fill up four or five separate foundations, the Bellum Prefecture did a survey and found out that all the foundations have merged into one and are now in the middle of the Prefecture, they're currently guarding the foundation for us to dye it. Oh, and we're also expected to create a temple because of some ancient law that says that the Temple and the Archduchal castle should be in the same city."

Haha… what? "But we don't have any Mana?!"

"Well we need to get Mana from somewhere because apparently, the Prefecture 'dries up' if it's low on Mana and plants won't grow which means that animals would die and if livestock dies we will have a peasant and noble uprising on our hands!" Jayden took a few deep breaths of air, "We're all fucked, but with a little manipulation, we won't have to die."

…Manipulate people? "Haven't we lied enough?" Shuu asked, saying exactly what was on Riya's mind. "We told them we were sent by their Gods! And that big lie lead us to this!"

"We don't have a choice." Sally said, "They won't believe us and even if they did, we're commoners, worse than commoners because we don't have a single drop of Mana! If they figure out the truth, we won't have any protection for ourselves!

She was right… they were dead… deader than dead if the Nobles found out they were duped… "So we… Continue lying?" Riya asked.

Sally nodded, "Better than the alternative…"

They all decided to wait till tomorrow to make a plan, they were all too tired to think straight.

----------------------------------------

The next day Riya brushed her teeth and started to think. They needed Mana to fill the foundation… Could they use someone else's Mana? Someone loyal to them… but who? None of them knew any Nobles well nor did they have any deep, personal connection to them, so how do they go about this?

Breakfast was made by a couple of cooks from former Liberterra (one of the losing Prefectures that joined to form the new Prefecture), the only thing Riya could taste was the spices used, the veggies and meat itself had no flavour, not even the perfectly cooked rice (known as reis here) could save the meal.

“Next time, I’m cooking.” Leo said, “This tastes so bad.”

“I know right?” Riya said, “Do you think it’s because of whatever cooking method they use here? Or do the veggies and meat simply have no flavour or something?”

“Could it be that the Mana is having an effect on how we taste?” Sally asked, “I read through Max’s copy of Death to the Zent and it had a small paragraph about how Mana tastes sweet, the more Mana in something, the sweeter it tastes, since everything in this world has Mana except for us, and we probably don’t have the taste buds to sense Mana, maybe the food tastes sweet or something to everyone else while we’re stuck with this… bland but spicy food?”

First of all, Riya was very jealous of how fast Sally could read (she had the other two books of the trilogy but kept putting off reading them because she wasn’t vibing with the books and their current reality) and second of all, Sally did have a point… “Could be.” Valerie said, “We’ll just have to do an experiment on it later.”

After eating, a bunch of people came into the living room. Riya was a bit confused by what was happening, “What’s going on?” She asked.

“I extend my sincerest apologies for the untimely interjection,” The attendant from yesterday said. “But allow me to apprise you that the retinue of attendants, scholars, and knights hailing from your nascent Prefecture have convened to fulfil their duties of service. Regrettably, the number of knights has been compromised, owing to the lamentable casualties sustained in the unfortunate conflict.”

Riya mentally counted the number of attendants, knights, and scholars there were; altogether she counted one hundred fifteen attendants, seventy scholars, and forty-nine knights. So two hundred thirty-four personnel to be shared by eleven people. Damn that was a lot of people! Almost twenty-one people per person! Were so many people really needed to attend to them or whatever?

“Hello Everyone.” Jayden said, “You’re all here to serve us and become part of the new Archducal family, correct?”

There were a few murmurs of ‘yes’ in the crowd, Riya thought she could see some dispaired and ashamed yet hopeful looks on a couple of faces, “Why are they ashamed?” She asked Max quietly.

“They just lost a war and lost their Prefecture which has just joined together to form a new Prefecture, of course they’re ashamed.” Max said.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Ok mister smarty pants, no need to rub it in…

“To do so we have a few small requirements first.” Jayden explained, the attendant who had been serving us for the past few days stepped up and started to hand everyone quills and parchment, “Each of you are expected to write your name, where you’re from, a bit about yourselves, why you would like to work for us and what makes you think you will be a good fit for serving us, you have a Bell to finish writing and to submit your paper.”

Riya watched as all the would-be retainers took a piece of paper and started writing, she felt a bit out-of-place here, everyone looked so dedicated and so… Focused… It felt a bit intimidating for some reason, were they so… Diligent because they actually wanted to work with them? Work with her?

Shuu brought everyone to the otherside of the room so we could have our own discussion, “So, what will we be naming our new Prefecture?”

“How about Venice?” Harry suggested.

“Hmm… No.” Maria said, “I don't want our new Prefecture to be named after any city, country or even state on Earth, we can model a city after Earth later on, but I don’t want our Prefecture to be named after something from Earth. The loss is just too… New right now… You guys know what I’m saying.”

Riya could agree with that.

“How about Equestria then?” Melissa said.

“I’m not about to name our Prefecture after My Little Pony,” Valerie said, “Pick something else.”

“How about Westeros?” Max said.

“I don’t like the unholy connotations that come with the name.” Riya admitted.

And thus, they quibbled like this for a few minutes.

“Fine!” Deb said, “How about we just name the Prefecture Harmonia? We all want to live in Harmony there.”

“How about we all have a vote?” Sally suggested, “All those in favour of Westeros raise your hand.”

Five hands were raised.

“All those in favour of Harmonia, raise your hands.”

Six hands were raised. Which left the other five disappointed.

Sally thought for a minute, “Alright, since Harmonia barely passed with a majority, those who wanted to name the Prefecture Westeros can name the Capital city, but it can’t be Westeros, pick something else.”

Max, Shuu, Melissa, Harry and Maria all had a talk within themselves before Harry started to say, “We will name the Capital, Disturbia.”

…Were they serious? “Like… After that Rihanna song?”

“Absolutely.” Maria said, face serious, “There is nothing more we’d like to call our capital city.”

Hmm… Riya thought about it for a few more minutes, calling the capital city Disturbia… It honestly was a vibe… She looked at the others, they seemed to agree with her.

“Ok then…” Sally said as she wrote it down onto a piece of paper, “We’re naming our capital city, Disturbia. Next on our list, we’ll be convincing all our new retainers to fill the foundation for us, agreed with that?”

“What will we do for the.. Um… the Spring festival?” Jayden asked, “The one where we’re supposed to go around the Prefecture doing the spring prayer, handing over chalices so farmers can grow crops?”

“How about we make the Giebes and their families Blue Priests and they could fill their own chalices?” Max suggested, “If they really love their giebedoms, they should show it by filling their own chalices.”

Sally wrote that down on her piece of paper. “Ok last of all! We all need to create something, something these people have never seen before so they all don’t suspect we’re commoners and actually think we’re sent by the Gods to send new trends and what not, any suggestions?”

Leo was the first to raise his hand, “Well I took a peek at the kitchens after breakfast and before coming back here and I found out that they scald the veggies and meat before cooking, so I could, you know make an information campaign on why people should stop doing that and the benefits? Other than that I do know a couple of recipes.”

Sally nodded and wrote that down, “Ok… Putting you down as a ‘nutrition expert’, anyone else wants to help him?”

“I could help.” Shuu said, “I know about economics, I did my B.Com and am… was doing my M.Com, I can help develop business strategies for any recipes he wants to sell or any restaurants he wants to open and help him with his information campaign.”

Riya thought for a minute, what can she do? She didn’t have much going on for her, she was in the middle of giving her B.Sc in geography but having a B.Sc in geography was kinda useless because GIS and other such data analysis tools she knew about and how to use didn’t exist so it’s not like she could give any pointers… She was into literature and fanfics… maybe she could write?

Sally wrote that down, “Ok Good, anyone else? Deb? What about you?”

“I was more into music and the arts… I could introduce a few musical instruments?” Deb suggested, “If that’s not possible, I can introduce poems, music and literature from Earth?”

Sally wrote that down, “Anyone who wants to help him?”

Damn… There went Riya’s plan…

Jayden volunteered to help, “I can help, I’ve also got a B.Com and was in corporate for a year before coming… Here…”

“Right…” Sally said as she wrote it down, “Maria, you next, anything you’d like to sell?”

“Hmm… Well Fabric seems to be very important here…” Maria turned towards the attendant, “Marguerite, can you come here please? I have a question.”

The attendant came forward, “Yes your Grace?”

“How is your fabric made?” Maria asked.

The attendant looked confused and pale, “I humbly apologise, but regrettably, I find myself struggling to comprehend the essence of your inquiry. Might I implore you to kindly reiterate your statement for my better understanding? Your guidance would be most appreciated.”

Poor attendant, she looked so scared like Maria would smite her or something.

Maria started to talk in long twisted Noble talk, “Pray, may I inquire about the method by which you produce your exquisite fabric? Does the process entail the meticulous art of handweaving, or are you endowed with the use of specialised machinery to create such splendid textiles? Your insight would be most enlightening.”

The attendant looked like she understood what Maria meant to say, “Indeed, the entirety of our fabric is meticulously handwoven, a testament to the dedication of our skilled artisans. As for the tools employed, a humble hand loom is the instrument of choice. Following this intricate process, it is the honourable duty of noble women to delicately sew the fabric with protective circles by the grace of their hands. Your inquiry is most appreciated, and I am at your disposal for any further elucidation.”

“Thank you.” Maria said, “You may leave.”

The attendant bowed and left to go back to supervising the applicants.

“Alright.” Maria said, “I know what I’d like to make, I wanna make a foot-powered sewing machine and either a spinning jenny or a water frame, whichever is easier to make.”

Sally wrote that down, “Any business volunteers?”

Shuu volunteered to help spread the trend.

“I’d also like to help.” Harry said, “I uh… got into engineering kinda early so I could look over some stuff if you need help?”

Sally wrote down his name, “Right, is that all you’d like to do or do you want to make something else?”

Harry thought for a minute, “I’d like to make a lathe.”

WTF was a lathe? Riya had absolutely no idea.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to handle it?” Sally asked sceptically, whatever it was must have been really difficult or detailed to make.

“I’m sure.” The eighteen-year-old said, “We’re gonna need it to make more detailed things later on, best we just start now.”

Sally wrote that down, “Any business partner to help him?”

“I can help.” Melissa said, “Although, not sure by how much, I’m only in my first year.”

“Any help is good help.” Harry said.

Sally wrote their names down. “Ok… anyone else?”

“I am… Was a medical student.” Valarie said, “I can make rubbing alcohol for external wounds, actual alcohol for internal wounds, also I’d like to make pads and tampons cuz I only have a small limited supply of them and using old cloth just isn’t sanitary. Other than that I do know how to make shampoo and conditioner?”

“Good Idea.” Sally said, “We only have a limited supply of each of the things we have, best start to manufacture some before we run out of it entirely. Any helpers?”

Melissa volunteered.

“Ok…” Sally said, “Since I’m a student of science, and we’ll be needing a lot of steel for a lot of upcoming projects, I’m going to try to make a blast furnace.”

Damn… Some of these people were so ambitious… Riya didn’t even know what to make yet!

“Next, Riya! Any ideas on what you’ll be making?”

FUCK!

“Uhh…” Ok… THINK! What did she know how to make? What did people need here? Ok ok… what is she good at? Writing! She was good at writing! But writing was expensive, ink was expensive! And so was parchment! Paper wasn’t invented yet! And the quills were just too difficult to write with… use that, “Books!” She said, “I uhh… I can make ink! And paper! And fountain pens! And the printing press so we can have lots and lots of books! You can never have enough books!” Especially if they were romance books! Or horror genre! Or thriller!

“Ok…” Sally said, “Any volunteers to help?”

“...I will.” Riya turned to look at Shuu, “I can help spread the trend.”

“Good, good…” Sally said as she wrote down their names, “Anyone else I’m missing… Max?”

“I’m going to build the capital.” Max said, “Though it may take longer than a year to do if that’s ok?”

“Oh ya sure sure.” Sally said, “It’s perfectly fine. Anyone who wants to spread the word and advertise about the new Capital?”

Jayden and Shuu raised their hands.

After that, they all broke into little groups, gossiping amongst each other, trying to figure out who’s friend material and who’s coworker material.

“Thank you for helping me.” Riya said to Shuu, “You uhh… Hope we get along with each other?”

Shuu just stared at her, Riya felt sweat drop, did she make a mistake trying to have a convo with him? After a while of saying nothing, Shuu finally spoke, “Yes, I hope we can work together, think nothing of it… You simply reminded me of someone so I felt obliged to help.”

“Who is it?” Riya asked before she could stop herself, “You must be very close to this person.” Shit! Will he back away from helping her now?!

Shuu just gave a sad smile, “She is, she’s as good as my sister and… your personality reminds me of her.”

“What was her name, if you don’t mind me asking?” Her voice cracked at the end of the sentence.

“Her name.” Shuu started, “Was Hana Fujita.”