They soon arrived at the manor’s west entrance, and not long after, they found themselves at the main entrance to the mansion where the servant boy who didn’t speak waited to admit them. Leaving the carriage behind, they were led through the mostly empty corridors of the mansion and up the winding staircases of the tower where the Baron’s study was. The climb was arduous after such a long trip, but Herzog's determination to see the Baron propelled him upward. At last, they stood before the Baron’s study. The door swung open, revealing Baron Lucio Bonatelli, wearing an ankle-long white tunic with a brown v-shaped hood around his neck and shoulders. Underneath, he wore a deep blue cotehardie which showed its yellow-edged pattern at the sleeves coming out from under the tunic, which he paired with his yellow pointed shoes. The child is flashy as always.

“Lucio, my lovely little darling angel!” Herzog yelled the second he saw the Baron.

Herzog sprinted past the bookcases filled with antique texts and straight to the big oak desk where Lucio was running some calculations. Herzog hugged him uncomfortably tight, even though the startled Baron didn’t reciprocate it. It amazes me time and time again.

image [https://i.imgur.com/H9MOr16.jpeg]

“Oh, how much I’ve missed you since last time, son. It’s been too long already,” the coddling Herzog said, tightening his grip.

“Uncle! Claudius! What are you doing here?” Lucio strainingly said.

“Happy World Day to you too, little Lord,” Claudius, the Jester, answered.

“Timmy! Why wasn’t I informed about our guests?” a furious Bonatelli yelled, but he received no answer from the mute boy.

“Come on now, son. We also have important business to discuss after that letter you wrote, so we felt it was best to come visit,” Herzog said. “Oh my, how you’ve grown in the last year.”

“Couldn’t you have sent a letter back?” Lucio asked, still trying to get away from Herzog.

“Of course not!” Herzog answered, finally releasing him. “It’s a holiday after all. And we also wanted to personally invite you to come home for Christmas.”

Lucio threw a confused look at Claudius, who just shrugged his shoulders.

“Will you come? Please! Sofia missed you so much and so did your brother,” Herzog pleaded.

“Come on, little Lucy,” the Jester taunted. “What harm will a little trip to the capital do?”

“Okay, fine!” the Baron agreed.

He was definitely not pleased by that decision, but knowing Herzog, he wouldn’t have given up on a family reunion anytime soon. It was the smarter choice to give in early.

“Great!” an ecstatic Herzog exclaimed, before his face immediately fell and his expression turned blank. “Now, about that letter you wrote. Is it true?”

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As much as he disliked the man’s hot and cold personality, he was often reminded, through spending so much time with him, that the jester Claudius respected the Minister of Commerce, Duke Alois Herzog of the High Council of Carnifex, for his uncanny single-mindedness. That man wants results above anything else.

The three Carnifex nobles sat in a circle of big crimson armchairs near the bookcases. It was the ideal seating for a study as the arms rested comfortably on the armrests. Although that child seems to care more about looks rather than smarts.

After the mute servant brought them their drinks, the men picked up on the conversation.

“Tell me, Lucio,” Herzog said. “Is it true that you’ve found a LVL 1 Player?”

“Yes, Uncle,” the Baron calmly said. “Don’t you believe me, uncle?”

“Of course I believe you, don’t say that!” the Duke immediately replied. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

Herzog rested his chin on his palm, as he always did when weighing all possibilities.

“It could be a Fourth Wave,” the Jester tried to guess Herzog’s thoughts.

But he dismissed that thought right away. “No, this can’t be a Wave. We would have heard about more cases like this. When was it you first saw him again?”

“Just a few days ago,” Lucio answered. “Of course, I took him in and offered him a position as a Soldier.”

Herzog smiled. “Of course you did. That’s my boy!”

The Jester hid a smile behind his mask. That boy is full of shit.

Lucio continued: “He was hesitant at first, understandably so, but he accepted my offer a few days ago, around the time I wrote to you. Now the problem where I needed your help is: How do we LVL him up? I have to keep my word, don’t I?”

“Yes, yes, you do. That’s important!” Herzog mumbled. “But the question is: Why didn’t he arrive in any starting area in Cavon? Why did he spawn here in the Whispering Woods?”

“Maybe there’s something wrong with the Spawn Points in the Fourth Wave?” Lucio hypothesised.

“Yes, that might be possible,” Herzog ruminated.

The Jester balled a fist. Lucio stealthily gave him a sly smile. He learned from the best.

“Anyway,” Lucio tried to grab Herzog’s attention. “I was thinking of sending him to Cavon with Becket, so that he can grind some EXP.”

“But Lucio, you can’t leave the miners defenceless.” The Duke sounded concerned. “What if they get hurt and bring you lower yields? You’ve got a duty to the King.”

“Don’t worry, uncle.” Lucio stood up and grabbed some papers from his desk. “As you can see, I’ve been running the numbers.”

He presented the members of the High Council with indecipherable handwriting. The numbers seemed more like arbitrary scribbles than coherent thoughts.

“I’ve been able to come up with productivity-enhancing methods to increase the yield per capita.” The Baron tried to sound smart. “Meaning that I’ll deliver the same results but with significantly cut-down manpower.”

“Attaboy!” Herzog said, glancing over to Claudius, as if he was trying to impress him. “How did you do it? Some sort of new technology?”

“No,” Lucio answered. “It’s just that, when you wrote that you need more supplies for the front lines to hold during winter, it really got me thinking on how I’d be able to intelligently reallocate my slaves to save up on resources.”

“My boy, my concerns shouldn’t burden you.” Herzog teared up. “How thoughtful of you.”

“Yes, how thoughtful,” the Jester repeated, tapping on his armrest.

Claudius knew that there was something that the boy wouldn’t say. Reallocate you say?

Bonatelli put the scribbling away. “In short: some miners will work on the farms now and rations will be cut.”

“Splendid,” Herzog said.

The Jester thought back to the rusty hoe. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

Herzog dismissed his criticism. “They can survive with less. What’s the harm?”

Claudius tried to remind him of the sorry condition the farmlands were in, but his words were cut short by the sight outside the window. Thick plumes of smoke billowed from the southern side of the hill.

Lucio rushed over to the window. His expression darkened.

“The shanties are on fire,” he said, his tone grave.