The preparations were done and the main guests had arrived. Gregory Shellford wore an ornate scarlet gown with golden embroidery. He held his head high and with confident steps glided through the crowd to the stage. His face glowed with gentle grandfatherly smile but he carried himself with authority was on the stage. He said few flowery words in greetings and drove straight in the topic. The lecture was a refreshing break from the boring and monotonous lectures. He even provided his views on the state of our financial system and the economy as a whole. He even touched upon liberal policy reforms that he was pushing for. It couldn’t have been more obvious which political faction he was from, and what he was trying to convey; at least he was subtle about it. But looking at the glowing and hopeful faces surrounding, Joe couldn’t help but think that the subtle message was not received. These students with all their knowledge and expertise were hoping to make a change for sure; but they were only thinking on the administrative side, they were completely ignoring the political side of things.

They were only looking at what was in front of them, a calm and composed man in his fifties; a young man, mind you. Who had climbed the ladder of bureaucracy and made a name for himself. A man who was a student just like them; he sat in these very seats attending boring and tedious lecture just like them and became one of the most important figures in the kingdom. They fail to see the aging man behind it; his prominent wrinkles and the bags under his eyes that he meticulously hid. It was a warning to them; warning of the political chess-piece that they were going to be. A chess-piece who thinks he has the power to bring change but is ultimately held by the very strings of the political faction he submitted himself to.

After the lecture was over, people milled around and congratulated him. Thanking him for his great lecture and tried to curry favor, he was flanked by people on many sides. He was handling them well, in Joe’s opinion. It must be from the decades of experience trudging through the open council that helped him perfect such art. Joe went through the crowd towards professor’s room. He wouldn’t just wait here and waste his time anymore. He sat in the office, waiting for twenty minutes. He hated waiting; he never waited for anyone, he would rather do something productive with his time. Shuffling of footsteps interrupted his thoughts as his Professor entered with Gregory Shellford. Joe stood up and greeted him as they shook hands. Let’s start this charade.

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“So you are the young man that Gabriel talks about so frequently, it is good that there are a few responsible youths like you, whereas nowadays everyone I see only care about fighting” You look like you’re fighting your own battle, with all those stress-marks piling up. And it doesn’t look like you’re winning. “Of course fighting for our motherland is important, but so is managing the country, and young people need to understand that” he stressed looking through the window. You would really tell your sob story to anyone who would listen wouldn’t you? Even if only to get a reaction out of them

“Of course my lord, there are always two sides of a coin; you can’t run a country on military might alone, efficient utilization and allocation of resources to continuously keep the country fed and grow is certainly an important task. Especially when only a few are adept at it” Gregory turned, fully facing Joe. Interested now, aren’t you?

 “You come from house of Ashton?” Joe nodded “I didn’t know that house of Ashton had any financial inclinations. If my memory serves me right, they only have ever produced military officers” You wouldn’t have if you hadn’t asked around for me and had recently come to even know of my noble house. Joe gave him a smile.

“I may have been the first Ashton to venture out of the norm” Joe said without clarifying.

He looked at Joe with his piercing gaze, measuring; but didn’t press for answers “I have heard much about you, the papers you published are quite satisfactory. Very few youngsters purport deliberate slower reforms like you do. Whereas lately every academic paper I get suggest these radical and abrupt changes to our policies. They don’t even consider what impact it will have on the economy or the effort it will require to pass the suggested reforms through those old bas...” he practically scowled at the end. But cut himself off seemingly aware of my presence now. It seems like his faction is getting more and more pushed back.

He shook his head “Anyways it is good to see some youngsters having sense of what to suggest. No reform comes…” He frowned, “when people are vehemently opposed to change.” You mean when old geezers sitting at the top let their arrogance and idiotic thinking come in front of their decision making. It’s good that someone with more than half a brain is among the top policy makers; otherwise this kingdom should have been in ruin

“Forgive my insolence milord but isn’t it in human nature to fear change? While I agree with your purpose, the means through which you want to achieve it might be inefficient. While outright confronting might not have helped, cooperation can be a solution” Gregory scoffed, but before he could refute Joe cut him off “Even if it was an illusion of it.”

Gregory stared at him but didn’t make any move to interrupt. Good, he’s interested

“Wouldn’t you want your enemy to be unsettled? To constantly be on guard? To be driven to a corner where only cooperation can be their only reprieve?  Wasn’t our glorious kingdom founded on those principles?” Gregory raised an eyebrow at that, “Cooperation; I mean” Joe clarified “It’s imperative that we follow on our ancestor’s footsteps-but so is learning from their mistakes” Joe leveled his gaze “Change is inevitable my Lord; it’s how we react to it that shapes our future.” He said folding his hand behind “At least that’s what I believe.”

He stared at Joe then turned around and laughed “It has been a long time since I heard such wise words”. Now you’re being tight lipped huh. He turned, his gaze was piercing and lips thin, and extended his hand “We should chat again sometime, this was a productive conversation Joeseph Ashton.” Guess this is all the information I would get from him, at least he now acknowledges me. Joe shook his hand firmly and met his gaze. Gregory stared and cracked a smile then tore his gaze away to look at professor. There was some untold conversation they had between themselves; Joe took it as his queue to leave.

“I would like to excuse myself my lord, I’m sure you have important matters to discuss” he said. They both nodded and he exited. He went straight to the cafeteria, the two hours of lecture and the conversation made him hungry. The conversation went well enough, true didn’t get a lot of information but at least he made a good first impression. At least that will keep him intrigued enough to keep a beneficial exchange between them.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

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Joe arrived at the double doors leading to a large mess hall. Tables and chairs were everywhere, more were students, discussing, debating and making a ruckus. Sighing he swept a glance for a quiet table. “Joe!” he caught glimpse of Matt on a lone table, sitting far out in the corner. A nice and quiet place with no one in ear-reach. He waved and Joe went over, pulled the chair and made himself comfortable. “So how was the lecture?” Matt asked.

“It was informative; there was a great deal to learn”

“That’s great!” Matt beamed. He had brought lunch for Joe too and gave it to him. They had their meal in relative silence which Joe appreciated. He didn’t want to talk about the lecture; or the meeting and would have hated to lie to matt about it. They were conversing and halfway were interrupted by a blonde haired girl dressed in empowered battle suite walking towards them. She had an athletic build with her blonde curvy hair nestled in a ponytail revealing a fierce face.

“Hey guys! How’s it going?” she asked.

“It’s a fine day and you’re looking lovely Miss Kathrynne” Matt said. We both raised an eyebrow at that. Matt never spoke to her like that. As a matter of fact he didn’t talk to anybody like that; he was always… reserved and formal.

“I’m good, how was your day?” Joe asked, sparing Matt an odd glance.

“Same old same, you know. I heard you guys partied hard last night.” She paused sparing us a glance “Who knew you administers can party this well” She said winking at us.

“You saw us?” Matt said, eyes widening. It was a wild night alright and we really went nuts.

“Of course, it was even better than ours, I think” she said.

“I don’t think we can party harder than a bunch of empowered” Matt said.

“Oh don’t say that, more than half of us are battle maniac and that makes up a boring party.” She said with a grin.

“So who is coming for your departments guest lecture?” Joe interjected.

“Gabriel Winchester” Her shoulders rose “I’m so excited! He’s the commander in chief of our eastern border bastion. We can learn so much from him.” It seems the king wants him to retire, dragging him all the way from border outpost to entertain a bunch of teenagers. “And we can also get a few pointers on our specializations” She added.

“I don’t know his specialization, but at least he a combat empowered. He can be of great help” Matt commented eying Joe subtly. He must have come to the same conclusion and chose not to dampen her mood. Good job. Joe smiled at him encouragingly. He’s learning.

“So Matt, when is your lecture?” she asked.

“It’s at four. Don’t ask about the guest lecturer he is a nobody from the Merchant’s Association, it would have been so much better if it the lecturer was a representative of Domnion Incorporated. Even one from the active seats of the open council would have been a great” he sighed.

“Dominion?” she asked pondering, “Ah I have heard of them, they are quiet famous for… something” she muttered in low voice.

“Are you kidding me?” Matt gasped “They are the fasted growing company but they had only been established for 6 years now. Not much is known about them except for their owners, which get this; are commoners” he said eliciting a gasp from Kathrynne. “Although I suspect they have a noble backer, but it still amazes me how far they have come in a short period of time. They have completely captured the essential goods market in many counties and recently even made their entry into the capital. Although in my opinion they should have entered years ago, by now the big 3 noble families might even had devised countermeasures for them. Even the merchant’s association recognizes them and has a seat reserved for them if they decided to join”. Joe coughed and eyed him. He looked back and a look of realization dawned on him and he got the message “um… As I was just saying, it would have been great for one of them to be our guest lecturer”

“Oh, um... Don’t worry Matt; I’m sure you might learn something from him.” She said meekly.

“Who did you get Joeseph?” asked Kathrynne.

“Gregory Shellford” Joe said swiftly, inciting a reaction from Matt almost instantly.

“What the hell!” he exclaimed, eyes becoming wide. He shut himself up promptly not daring to make a fool out of himself again. “Should have taken finance too” Matt muttered under his breath. It really was a pity for Matt; he was looking forward to this day for as long as Joe had been.

Joe ignored him and focused on Kathrynne; she was fidgeting and sending him wary glances subtly. Although not so subtly; as he had caught her many times now but she still refused to acknowledge him.

“Do you have something to ask me Kathrynne?”

She stiffened up for a moment but recovered and hesitantly asked “um... Can you tell me what happened between you and your family?”

Matt narrowed his eyes. It was not a topic discussed with outsiders, especially not with other nobles. Only he and Marcus knew about it. And besides, what noble families did within themselves was of no concern to anyone else. If someone was caught spreading rumors about them, one can face severe punishment. Joe didn’t show it outside but he was surprised. Everyone today was defying his expectation, first Matt now her. Looks like they are maturing

He knew it was just a curiosity and she was not goaded by anyone else. It would have been too obvious and she possible would have been the worst candidate. So he decided to indulge her. It’s not like she could do anything with the information, the most she could do was to hurt his family’s reputation. And as for hurting him personally; he had enough safeguards in place for that. She couldn’t do anything to him. But if she did think of doing something, he would make her life miserable.

Joe looked at her and smiled, let’s test her.

“It’s nothing serious, my family wanted me to pursue other interests than I am currently pursuing.” He paused and looked at her “And I disagreed.”

Her eyes widened, as she got the severity of the issue. Joe’s message was cryptic but a person with noble upbringing would have gotten the gist of it. Noble families with military affiliations rarely had any of their members in nonmilitary positions. He had defied his family’s expectation and came to the capital in pursuit of an administration position. It left him vulnerable, and as a fourth child of a noble house he was a walking goldmine of information that the other nobles could get a piece of. Or they can just hold him as political hostage and there will be no one to protect him.

She said nothing, now realizing the severity of the issue and thus my forthcoming answer to which according to her; may had been an innocent curiosity. She looked puzzled for a bit. He could see her connecting the dots in her head and coming to the conclusion. A look of realization flashed on her face as looked at him “You trust me with that information.” A glint in her eyes visible

Joe smiled, it seems she got it.

If this got out, he would have a suspect in hand and with enough safeguards, could implicate her and bring her down, ruining her in the process even her whole family if played right. Not only he had a confidant in her now, the sensitivity of the issue and his trust may even allow him to control her somewhat. Although she wouldn’t know that and Joe hadn’t planned to do that to her; she was a good girl, but unfortunately, just the perfect candidate for it to work on. She was a little too curious and a bit too reckless. You have to tread carefully in this world if you don’t want to get burnt. It was a test for her which she passed somewhat, but it was also a trap, in which she fell the moment she asked me the question. It was a warning and a lesson; a lesson this institute won’t teach her. A lesson that will help her immensely if she learned it early and without harming herself too much in the process. It was a gift from him; a service with a price in exchange of her silence and loyalty. A small price to pay if I say so myself

He leaned back into my chair and smiled at her, Welcome to the world of politics miss Kathrynne Sherington.