Chapter 17: The Count and the Duke
In the morning, Garfield once again awoke under a diverse dogpile of hangers-on. “I really hope I don’t find myself unable to sleep without multiple creatures clinging to me, going forward…”
Garfield put on his dark wool suit and summoned Backdoor Innkeeper. He made Hannah promise to keep this revelation a secret. After breakfast, the two proceeded to the royal palace. The guards immediately showed them to a large room where the hearing would take place. A speaker announced the new arrival:
“Sir Garfield, Gold-ranked adventurer!”
Garfield heard plenty of murmurs from around the room. Clearly, Garfield’s recent exploits had spread within the noble circles. His pseudo-noble clothing may also have caused some confusion. The speaker leaned over to Garfield and whispered into his ear.
“What should I announce for your partner there?”
“She’s a surprise witness from the Empire, named Hannah. Do whatever you want.”
“…Hm. Hannah, witness from the Empire and friend of Sir Garfield!”
Hannah cowered a bit under the attention. Garfield led her by the hand to a small box where they would be sitting. Yttria noticed Garfield intentionally avoid making eye contact with her, or her family who sat nearby. It saddened her a bit, even though she knew it was all in order to help her. She was also a bit jealous that Hannah got to stay with him all this time. Still, she trusted Garfield wouldn’t do anything untoward to the vampire.
Eventually, the royal family was introduced and sat at the front of the room. The King spoke.
“The purpose of this hearing is to hear new evidence that the Polonio family is not guilty of the crimes they were previously convicted. Specifically, we will determine if the Polonios conspired with the Empire to enrich their family at the expense of the kingdom’s wealth and security. If the evidence is sufficient, the Polonio family will be restored to their former status and expected to continue serving the kingdom. Are there any objections?”
“None, my King,” Baron Briarwood declared, representing the Polonios.
“My King,” the Prime Minister added on, “I note that nobody in the room objects.”
“Baron, please proceed.”
Baron Briarwood introduced the Emperor’s advisor and had him sit near the front of the room. He then talked through the timeline, starting from before Yttria was disowned by her family, until now, describing every accusation that was previously levied against the Polonio family.
The expert on the Empire’s actions explained what had really happened. In a few cases, the Emperor’s advisor was not totally sure on how to explain various events, but other nobles starting jumping in with what they had witnessed, helping the Baron piece together the confusing parts of the story. By the time they were finished, everyone in the room was satisfied that all of the charges against Count Polonio and his family were completely false.
“To think we were all so easily fooled by that hostile Empire…”
“My King, may I?” Count Polonio queried.
“Yes, by all means.”
“Shortly before this hearing, I heard from my daughter the true reason why my family was targeted by the Empire. Of course, nobody in my family would betray the kingdom. The Emperor simply came after us because we are famously a proud family of fox-people.”
Garfield was glad the Emperor’s past evil was finally seeing the light of day.
“As further proof,” the Count continued, “he sent operatives into the very capital of our nation to abduct my daughter. I am willing to set aside my desire to see him suffer for what he did to my family. What we must learn from this affair is that it’s important for us to protect the vulnerable citizens of our kingdom… especially uncommon ones like fox-people. Even a Count can fall victim to evil actions resulting from dark emotions.”
Cheers of agreement erupted from the room. The King gestured for quiet.
“Well said, Count Polonio. The Kingdom owes you a sincere apology for what your family has been put through, and especially for allowing the Empire to kidnap your daughter from directly under our noses. Please allow us to make it up to you.”
Count Polonio had a different idea. “So long as the charges are dropped and I am allowed to continue serving the Fenwick Kingdom, I desire for any debts to be paid directly to the man who rescued my daughter from that dreadful Emperor.”
Everyone in the room turned to look at Garfield, apparently waiting for him to express what he wanted. Garfield swallowed, and then began speaking.
“There is a matter of grave importance that I need help with, if the kingdom has the capacity to assist.”
“Name it. If it’s within my power, I will see it taken care of,” the King so declared.
“I need help naming my bears.”
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The King announced the formation of a commission to name Garfield’s bears at a later date. As it turned out, getting on to that commission became much more competitive than anyone expected. Anyway, the King formally restored House Polonio and asked everyone not involved in the next event to depart. Garfield requested a few specific people be allowed to remain.
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In the room were the royal family, the Prime Minister, Garfield and Hannah, Baron Briarwood, The Emperor’s former advisor, and Yttria. The latter two were present at Garfield’s request. Several major nobles requested to stay, but the King declined on the basis that he had some very sensitive matters to discuss with Garfield. Some attendees from the previous meeting expected Count Polonio to insist on staying so long as his daughter was there, but he set the example by marching out with the rest of his family as soon as the hearing was complete.
The King began the second event. “Sir Garfield, the Prime Minister previously sent you an offer, at my request, to reward you for your service to the Kingdom by granting you the title of Baron and granting you both a domain and a manor within the northern district of the city. In addition, you were encouraged to accept the offer of a manor even if you were not willing at that time to accept the title. Shortly after, I informed you that such an offer seemed insufficient, and I worked with my advisors to come up with a new offer that would be appropriate.
‘So far so good…’ Garfield thought.
“A couple of days ago, the Prime Minister and I had more or less agreed on what we should write down in our revised, more respectful offer. Before we had a chance to act on that plan, you blew our expectations out of the water once again.”
“There are worse forms of harassment…” Garfield offered.
“I fear if we are too slow rewarding you, you will accomplish something that creates a debt the kingdom is wholly unable to repay. Therefore, I insist that we agree to resolve this issue right now at this very meeting.”
“You’ve already put my mind at ease about the problem of naming my bears, so I’m not sure there’s much else that I need.”
Most of the attendees laughed, but the King maintained a stoic expression. He knew not to underestimate this man’s humble nature, which was unlike anything normally seen in noble society.
“Please allow me to continue the earlier discussion. Baron Briarwood informs me that you rescued not just Count Polonio’s daughter, but also over thirty other prisoners, most of whom you brought back with you to the kingdom to safeguard. Is that correct?”
“Yes. I intend to ensure they are taken care of.”
“That entire issue can be resolved, if you wish, by granting you a manor of sufficient size that it requires a staff of several dozen people. Any of the people you rescued could be employed to work at your abode in the capital. Of course, as previously offered, the kingdom would cover the standard operating costs, including paying all the employees.”
“That would be helpful. Is there a catch?” asked Garfield.
“The tricky part is that very few manors are substantial like what I just described. The Prime Minister and I identified one which could be used to this end. However, it is of such grandeur that only a Duke would take up residence.”
Yttria looked surprised at the implications of that statement. Hannah yawned like none of this affected her. Baron Briarwood had a serious look on his face, like he knew this was coming. The King’s children just looked at each other, confused. The Baron suddenly jumped in.
“My King, as I’ve explained to you in the past, Sir Garfield has expressed concern that he does not have experience being a noble, and he is not confident in his ability to manage a domain commensurate with being a noble of a senior rank… especially a Duke.”
“That is true,” the King admitted. “That is why the Prime Minister and I put together a list of several candidates who could potentially administer a large domain on behalf of a vacant lord. What do you think, Sir Garfield?”
“I had a feeling it would come to this. Can we change topics for a moment?”
“Huh?” said the King, surprise written on his face. “Uh, sure, what is it?”
“I want to discuss the punishment of Mr. Advisor over there for all his involvement in meddling with the kingdom.”
The advisor bowed his head, ready to accept any punishment.
“Oh, I do realize we need to address that, but I did not consider it urgent. That man has been extremely helpful to us of late, and is still cooperating, so I’m fine letting him stay here as a guest, for now.”
“I must insist that we punish him immediately,” Garfield asserted, somewhat surprisingly.
“…After all that happened, I can only imagine your reasons for feeling that way. I will not object. If you have any particular thoughts on that matter, please share them.”
“I’ve already thought of a suitable punishment, actually.”
“You have?” the advisor asked. Baron Briarwood began asking a question as well, only to get interrupted by Garfield.
“Sir Garfield, what are you—“
“This man shall be stripped of his name and henceforth he shall be known formally as ‘Assistant Duke’.”
“Huh?” said the King.
“What?” the advisor asked, mystified.
Yttria, who knew Garfield well enough to figure out where this was going, burst into laughter. Garfield clarified his intentions.
“He’s one of the only people I know who’s capable of effectively managing a large domain, and he’s also the only one I know who can’t say no. Considering how much time I’ve spent side-by-side with him recently, the fact that I don’t know his actual name is quite embarrassing, so the cunning thing to do would be to strip him of his name and give him a self-serving new one.”
“This is why you want him to be called Assistant Duke?” the King asked.
“Yes.”
“…Now I see why you need help naming your bears.”
“…Yes.”
“Very well. Ben, are there any problems with this?”
“None at all, my King. The man is certainly qualified, and all authority will be retained with Sir Garfield. Also, if we spread the word that Sir Garfield’s administrator is the man who helped save Count Polonio’s family when they were wrongfully accused, the public will likely accept it.”
“I see.” The King addressed the group. “Can anyone else think of any other problems?”
A few moments of silence passed without anyone speaking.
“Please don’t expect me to carry out all of the typical duties of a Duke. I’ll be flexible if you will.”
“Very well,” the King agreed.
And like that, Garfield became Duke of Rox, the southernmost region of the kingdom. A moment later, the door to the room swung open.
“Is this OVER yet!?”
“Huh? Kay?”
“My King, I have been waiting patiently for a chance to finally discuss magic with Sir Garfield, but these meetings are taking ALL DAY.”
The King buried his face in his hands. He gained an ally today but still had many problem children.
“Duke Garfield, do you have time to meet with our Court Mage? She really has been yammering on about wanting to meet with you again.”
“I did promise Yttria I’d stop by her family’s manor after this was done, so I’ll need to keep it brief.”
“Fine! Come with me!”
Garfield looked at Yttria, who smiled and nodded. “Assistant Duke, could you please discuss the particulars with the Prime Minister and anyone else?”
“Uh, yes. I’ll make the arrangements for the manor the King has bequeathed to you as well as transferring the people you rescued from the Empire. I’ll also learn about the new domain and prepare to brief you on it later.”
“Excellent. I knew I was right about you. All right Ms. Court Mage, let’s go.”
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Garfield, Hannah, and Kay walked to her wing of the palace.
“The things you’re probably going to ask me about are very sensitive. Is there a place we can speak in absolute secrecy?”
“Yes, I have a space set up just for that purpose. Follow me.”
The group sat down around a table in a special chamber that was presumably insulated by magic.
“I know you said you don’t have much time for now, but please do your best to tell me everything!”