The morning sun filtered through the curtains, casting a warm glow in Damon's room. His mana veins still throbbed with residual pain from the evening before. He still wasn't able to use True-Sight, but based on how much he had recovered over-night, he would probably be able to activate it by nightfall.
The room was still saturated with Mana. Damon could feel the number of particles moving around and could trace and follow them much more easily than usual. This was probably an effect of some of the extra mana that had leaked out of the orb during the surge.
Weirdly, his mother did not look to be on alert because of this extra mana.
His mother was in the room along with William and Lucy. He could hear them talking and stayed quiet, listening in on the conversation.
"…You don't need to worry about your uncle Fernand or any of those others. You're in my care Lucy, for as long as you feel like being by my side, no one can force you to do anything."
It looked like Ariel was discussing their choices for the future with them.
Damon could not see any of their expressions or gestures, as he did not want to interrupt their conversation by moving.
There was brief pause, and then he heard his mother continue.
"William, what I said to you before your awakening still applies. As far as I am concerned, you had already passed the test and become one of my people. You were with me in the study yesterday, so you are well aware of how sought after you are. I will ask you once - are you still willing to stay by my son?"
Damon heard a rustling and then -
THUMP!
"William!"
"You!"
He heard both Lucy and his mother exclaim, but their exclamations were cut short by William's voice.
"My Lady, from when I was a kid till now, I've always tried to find my place. You know, being an orphan and all, I never really felt like I belonged anywhere. When I was in the orphanage it wasn't as bad because none of us felt like we belonged anywhere. But when I went to the training centre, I would see some of the other kids coming in the morning with their mother and leaving in the evening with their father. I really felt it."
Damon could hear the emotion in his voice.
"You're the first person to accept me and give me a place I can call home. All those fancy nobles I met yesterday, they all gave me the same look, I got back in the training center. The same look I got back in the orphanage when they saw me handling a sword. They treated me like something they could own."
William drew in a deep breath.
"You accepted me even before the awakening. For that, your son will be my Lord till the day I die."
There was another long silence, and then Damon's mother spoke.
"Thank you, William, I won't belittle your feelings by telling you that what you have done is unnecessary, but I will say this - in future, do not kneel so low for anyone but my son. You are worth more than that."
It seemed that the loud 'Thump' had been William falling to his knees with such force that it had startled Damon's mother.
Damon was impressed, his mother's actions were the cause of the undying loyalty that William had shown him in his previous life.
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"I personally think you could do with some more kneeling..." muttered Lucy.
"I personally think you could do with some more growth." Responded Damon.
Knock Knock!
A polite but firm rapping at the door interrupted their back and forth before it truly started.
"Come in," said Ariel.
Damon heard the door creak open.
"Good morning your Highness, my name is Kerron Stenbrig, and I am here today in lead of the inspection team." It was a man with a fairly high-pitched voice.
Hearing the name, Damon sat up with urgency and called out, cutting off the man's introduction.
"Abubbbubu!"
"Excuse me Mr Stenbrig" said Damon's mother as she approached the cot, smiling down at him as she lifted him up and out of it.
"How is my prince doing this morning." She cooed at him, and he smiled back in response.
Returning to her seat with Damon in hand Ariel addressed Kerron Stenbrig once more.
"Do continue." She said.
Looking at this man, Damon's fears were confirmed. It was indeed the same Stenbrig that he knew.
He was a thin man of average height who had a hooked nose and deep-set blue eyes. His hair was graying, and though it and his goatee were cut and styled, they still had a somewhat 'scraggly' quality to them.
He looked to be in mid-forties. His face was beginning to wrinkle, and he seemed slightly gaunt. Despite this, his eyes seemed charged with energy. He had a piercing gaze and a very calculating look about him.
He leaned slightly on a weighty wooden cane that had a beautifully carved ivory horse-head handle. By the way he stood, it was clear that the cane was more for decoration than mobility.
He was dressed in neatly pressed attendant's uniform. The badge on his Jacket was burgundy, but rather than black stripes, it had three black diamonds. His burgundy tie also had the same markings. This man was Level 3 Master Attendant. To rise from a associate attendant, through the ranks of a regular attendant and up into a master attendant, he would have had to serve both nobles and the government for several years, and perform exceptionally well through those years of service.
Damon knew this man very well.
Not as a Master Attendant, but rather as the Ambassador General of Aristia – a role he would be promoted into in the next few years.
Kerron Stenbrig was brilliant man with a shrewd mind, a strong grasp of the law and extremely flexible morals.
He was a strong supporter of the first Queen, and in Damon's previous life, he had engineered the weakening of the second Queen's faction, and was suspected to have been behind the in-fighting and eventual fall of the Marlow family. Damon was also quite sure that he was also behind Damon's eventual exile.
"As I was saying, your highness, I am here with the inspection team. I was recently promoted into the role of Aide de Camp to the matronly bodies." He gave Queen Ariel an oily smile.
"That is to say, I am to assist with the overseeing and management of the finances, resources and operations of the various properties and projects that belong to both Queens. I must apologize to you my Lady, though I have only recently taken on this role, it seems that you have been greatly wronged in the finances and upkeep of this manor, and I am here to resolve this issue."
What a brilliant move! Thought Damon.
The first Queen could not directly interfere with the second Queen. So far, she had made moves to stifle the finances of the second Queen's camp and to fill the manor with her people.
The shock of the awakening outcome paired with Queen Ariel's actions the day before of clearing the manor of most spies, had probably lead the first Queen to this move. She had used her influence to create an office that had legal right to directly manage the second Queen's resources.
Once more, Damon was reminded of just how far the first Queen had entrenched herself in the noble circles. To be able to affect the creation of Government posts as well as who would be assigned to them, it was clear that she many influential nobles on her side, and many who, if not for her, at the very least, were not against her.
All of this was really down to that idiot of his father's propensity to go out for war and not even leave his attendant behind – placing sole trust in his ministers and advisors.
The first Queen's father just so happened to be the Grand Minister of the kingdom. The true source of Queen Isabella's power came from him. But she had spent many years building it up further.
Many things slid into place in Damon's mind. In his previous life, this assignment must have had a huge impact on his mother's political power, whilst making it easier for her opposition to execute the various schemes that would cripple her further in the years to come.
As if to prove Damon's point, Kerron continued speaking.
"To be honest with you, I have already done a quick sweep of the Manor, and it really is not up to scratch. But that is why I'm here! I will arrange for the building to be refurbished, the furniture to be replaced, and I will ensure the hiring of very thorough guards and maids to make sure such a standard is maintained." He beamed a smile at her as he spoke.
It was a very nice way of saying that in exchange for refurbishing the manor, he would hand pick all the maids and guards within the manor.
"This probably has a lot to do with how Lucy got dismissed." thought Damon.
If this man got his way, it would make it much harder for Damon to build his own political power in future.