“Duke, a letter has arrived from Makarlika. The princess will be arriving in ten days,” Nestor informed Kamil in his study.
“Ten days, huh.”
I expected her to arrive sooner. This gives me some time then.
“In that case, there is something I’d like to do before she arrives. I’d like to visit Reeva, ruled by Lord Hunt.”
Elias Hunt, he hadn’t seen him for years. He hadn’t really had time to visit him and he didn’t exactly have a reason, either. The latter wasn’t really a deterring factor, however.
“Reeva, Duke?” Nestor sounded puzzled. He felt that it was really out of the blue.
“It won’t take long, probably two days maximum.”
“Duke, with all due respect, I really don’t believe this is the right time for a personal visit to Lord Hunt. As you are aware, the Kingdom of Egra has a new king. He may have called for a royal party now, and therefore Lord Hunt may not even be available.”
“Hmm…”
Nestor did have a valid point.
“Additionally, if you visit him without a politically justified reason, it may draw some suspicions toward Lord Hunt. After all, you are not a part of the kingdom anymore.”
Realistically speaking, Kamil was closer to Estana than Egra at this point due to his impending marriage with the royal princess. In fact, it wasn’t even outrageous to claim that he would become the king of Estana eventually.
Politics, eh.
“Sir Vogel, was Lady Vogel close to Lady Hunt?”
Nestor froze up a bit, not understanding the point of his question. Additionally, it took him some time to process who Lady Hunt meant. It would be Amy Wallen.
“I am unsure, Duke.”
“Kindly call Lady Vogel then.”
“Duke, what are you trying to do?”
“Please, just summon her for me.”
Reluctantly, he called for Rose who responded swiftly.
“I’ve answered your summon,” said Rose while showing respect. As a scholar, she usually wore a robe instead of a dress. Therefore, she leaned forward slightly with a palm on her chest.
“Lady Vogel, how was your relationship with Lady Hunt?”
“Lady Hunt?” She seemed to have no idea who Kamil was referring to.
“Amy Wallen!” Nestor whispered to her.
“....Oh, … Ah! Ehm…” It took her a moment to make a proper reply. “Lady Hunt, Duke? I’d say we were close since we were the only ones who worked in the Lux library.”
“Would you say … that you two are close enough to exchange letters?”
She furrowed her eyebrows, again trying to understand what he was trying to say.
“Ehm…, no?” Taken back by the sudden question, she ended up answering a bit too earnestly.
Rose Ros and Amy Wallen were the two librarians of Lux Fenchel library when they were maidens. They had worked together for perhaps about a little bit over a year before Rose was courted by Nestor and eventually married him. Amy would soon follow the suit by ending up with Elias Hunt, a man who was 40 years senior. They were co-workers and nothing more. They got along because they had to.
“Either way, would you kindly write a letter for her? I would like to deliver it personally.”
It was at this point that Nestor realized what he was trying to accomplish. Since Rose knew Amy personally, she would have a reason to follow up, so to speak. This letter could be considered confidential enough for him to deliver it personally. However, Kamil’s intention was a bit different. It was true that he intended to deliver the letter personally but he was going to hide his true identity. This had a chance to work since both Elias knew him well. After he explained his idea thoroughly to the Vogels, Rose agreed to write the letter although Nestor was against the idea.
“Duke, does this really warrant going this far?” he argued.
“Lord Hunt was like a father to me when I was younger. I would like to check on him. Additionally, I am a bit concerned.”
“Concerned?”
“It’s clear to me that Lady Wallen wouldn’t have chosen to marry Lord Hunt. He would have never been her first choice, let alone be a choice to begin with.”
Rose’s face darkened at once, internally shivering at the fact that she may have been in her place if Nestor chose to marry Amy. Noblewoman's biggest fear was Amy’s case where they were forced to wed a man who’d be old enough to be her father. In Amy’s case, a grandfather.
He continued, “It’s clear that she was forced to wed Lord Hunt. And I fear that the Wallen house seems a bit too ambitious to me.”
“Ambitious?” Nestor narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t a fool and quickly understood the meaning. “Duke, are you saying…”
“Yes, I see it that there is a valid chance that the Wallen may be trying to take over Reeva. It should be easy for them, no? Wait until Lord Hunt falls ill and then simply take over his position in the name of protecting his heir.”
Donning a bitter face, Nestor replied, “I cannot … deny such a scenario. History has such cases. However, Duke, I will say that this is none of your business still. Reeva is not a part of your domain.”
Rose, looking fanatically between Kamil and her husband, suggested, “May we call Sir Waszak?”
“Ah, yes, we need a third opinion,” Nestor agreed readily. And thus Cezary entered the discussion and he was swiftly informed of the situation.
“Lord Hunt, huh. I do also know him quite well. A decent man albeit naive at times. Strictly business wise, Sir Vogel is correct. He and his domain are not our business.”
Then he folded his arms, falling into thoughts for a moment, before speaking up again.
“Duke, what will you do if you do find the Wallen at fault? Mind you that Lord Hunt is not a fool to begin with. He may already be aware.”
“That’s…,” Kamil trailed off, unable to give him a firm answer. Even if he did find that the Wallen was scheming behind Elias’ back, there was not much choice for him. Elias was in his twilight years, and thus there was only a small chance of his child entering adulthood before he’d pass of age. Until his child would reach his or her adulthood, Reeva would fall under the Wallen’s control. If the regency lasted long enough, it was entirely within the realm of possibility that the Wallen might be able to take full control of the town. This was what Kamil was afraid of the most. The Wallen might even kill Elias to achieve the optimal condition for a hostile takeover. Of course, there was no hard evidence to support his fear, but the mere fact that Amy was forced to wed a man like Elias was sort of proof that whoever was in charge of the Wallen family was ambitious and bold enough.
“I honestly do not know what is going on over there. I would need to see first before making any decisions.”
“Very well, then let’s put it this way. What will you do in the worst case scenario?”
The worst case scenario would mean that it was clear as day that the Wallen was scheming behind Elias. Before Kamil would answer, however, he added.
“It would entirely depend on what Lord Hunt thinks. If he is fine with it, then you, as an outsider, have little say in this.”
He explained further that Elias had limited options, and Amy was just too young and inexperienced to be able to run a whole town alone. She would need support of some sort, and the Wallen would be it.
“I reckon they are well aware of the situation, the Wallen,” he said with a crooked smile. “Yes, Duke, I see where you are coming from clearly. It smells and it smells pretty foul. Why now, though? Why do you care now?”
“It wasn’t as if I was free. Now that the deadland is cured, we have some breathing room. Besides, they wouldn’t have shown their true face right away. Now is about the right time. Am I wrong?”
Cezary nodded along slowly. “You’d be right. I am pretty positive that Lady Hunt has given birth by now.”
“Sir Waszak, are you agreeing with his idea?” Nestor chimed in since it looked like Cezary was going with Kamil’s idea.
“I am not agreeing with the Duke. I am simply stating the obvious. The Wallen smells, and here is another thing. It is none of our business. Reeva is a village at the best and a hamlet at the worst. If the Wallen wants such a pitiful settlement, who are we to deny?”
Information regarding Reeva was scarce but, at the best, it had a population of five hundred. The refugee situation could have helped the village to grow, except for a fact that common folks wouldn’t have known that a new settlement was founded. Additionally, wandering merchants wouldn’t generally travel there, either, due to the lack of opportunities to make profit. Hitchhiking wandering merchants was one of the most common ways for common folks to migrate which wasn’t quite possible for Reeva. It would take at least a few generations for it to show potential. Heavy investments would be needed to accelerate the progress just as Kamil had been heavily putting everything he was earning right back into the city for developments. The latter had means to produce a healthy profit at least. Reeva had nothing of note to generate profit, probably.
“I will not do anything foolish. I can guarantee that much,” Kamil said in his defense and to convince his advisors. He did mean it as well. He had a family to look after, and his motto had always been protecting those closer to him first.
“I know you won’t. But, if possible, I want you to look at things differently,” Cezary said. “If you see a way to destroy the Wallen and take Reeva, then why not?”
Both Kamil and Nestor opened their eyes widely.
“Are you serious?” Nestor uttered, and Rose looked disgusted.
“I am. Duke, we may be small but we are an independent state. We are within our rights to expand our border. I don’t believe we were forbidden to expand.”
They weren’t forbidden indeed. In fact, there was no such a clause at all.
“The new king of Egra, Leonhard, yes? If he proves to be incapable, it may be possible for you to form a new nation with lords who are willing to defect. Besides…”
He looked around, taking quick glances at Kamil, Nestor, and Rose.
“The victor of the Age of Darkness has traditionally formed his own kingdom. If Duke defeats the Age of Darkness, he will be within his rights, shall I say divine rights, to found his own kingdom.”
Nestor became pale but he didn’t look displeased. He became pale due to the sheer possibilities of what Cezary had just spewed. If Kamil would become a king, his two vassals would stand to benefit the most. The Vogel would absolutely become a landed noble, and not just a mere landed noble, either. They would become powerful landed nobles like the Fenchel and the Flissing. The entire Vogel family would kneel before him in a heartbeat. He gulped hard at such thoughts. Rose seemed to be having a similar thought as well. Seeing the Vogels becoming grippled with ambitious thoughts, Kamil had to admit that Cezary was exceptionally good at convincing people. He would have fallen for his words if he wasn’t wiser. He had no intention of founding a new kingdom and he was quite sure that Cezary knew this as well. After all, he had been serving him for many years now. They knew each other extremely well at this point.
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God, he made it sound so easy there.
He chuckled internally.
As if it’s easy to defeat the dragons… That’d be my job…
Then he realized that, if he was giving everything to defeat the dragons, he would be within his “divine” rights to want something as well. No one could really deny him even if he wanted to found a new kingdom.
Shit.., he isn’t wrong there…
When he snapped out, he noticed that the three people were looking directly at him as if waiting for his answer. The atmosphere felt tight. He felt as if they wanted him to go with the idea of establishing a new kingdom.
“I cannot make any guarantees,” he eventually declared. “As you are already painfully aware, we never saw our city becoming an independent state in the first place.”
“That is good enough,” replied Cezary forthrightly. Kamil didn’t outright reject the idea. That was certainly good enough for him and Nestor.
“So, are you letting me deliver the letter then?”
“Duke, I will send a few spies first. If your suspicion holds any water, then I don’t see why not. If the Wallen is truly loyal to Lord Hunt, you could simply send a letter.”
Kamil wasn’t someone who was satisfied with just exchanging letters. If he wanted to check on someone, he had to meet them. That was his way. Alas, he wasn’t going to go against his advisors wishes on a matter that was considered rather insignificant for them.
“Very well,” he conceded. With that, the meeting was adjourned between them. However, a request to meet him was received almost right after. A woman with jade eyes and short black hair, donning a pale yellow robe entered his study at once.
“I believe congratulations are in order,” Kerekes declared. She had been away due to the situation in her country. Honestly, he didn’t think she’d come back. She was a very patriotic woman and would probably fight to death if asked. There was a good chance that she was ordered to go back. He waved away. “No need for pleasantries. How is the situation in the South?”
Darkness clouded her face at once. “Grim,” she replied. “We’ve lost a settlement already due to a monster invasion. ‘There are just too many of them,’ they sent such a message before going silent.”
The North would be experiencing similar events at this point. The difference was that there wasn’t anything left in the immediate vicinity of Siwen mountain. Reports were received that a horde of monsters were gearing themselves up, presumably to attack Elsos and Suvi. The former was where Karsten was. There was also a possibility that the monsters were gearing up to attack Atra since they sent an army before. The monsters weren’t something Kamil was able to dispatch, given the lack of soldiers under his command. Additionally, mobilizing and making his journey all the way to the front line was an ordeal itself. His primary targets were dragons which were believed to be the source of the monsters. Cezary had advised him to wait for them to come out and meet them midway instead of attacking them in their own turf, which he agreed. But, if the dragons weren’t going to come out at all and instead utilize its minions, it would become a different matter.
“Do you require my assistance?”
“Your assistance, Duke? Certainly, your job is to impregnate our princess and solidify the succession.”
He immediately started rubbing his temple. “Sorry, I asked,” he muttered in response soon after.
“It was not a joke, Duke,” she replied candidly. “That is your most important job.”
“Even when your people are getting killed left and right?”
“Yes,” she replied firmly. “If a specific bloodline is lost, it will never be back.”
The Rajmund bloodline began with Kozma Rajmund who defeated a dragon and founded his own kingdom. In many ways for the people of Estana, the Rajmund was the pride of the nation. It wasn’t just Kozma’s feat of defeating a dragon, either. There had been no particularly bad rulers from the bloodline over thousands of years. Therefore, their citizens had faith in their kings and queens; many were more than willing to die to protect their royal lineage. Kerekes was no exception to the general feeling. She would do anything to protect the royal blood. For Kamil, however, the whole concept was simply alien. Having such faith in such a thing as a bloodline was just too strange. To him, a royal bloodline was just another bloodline; nothing more, nothing less. But he wasn’t going to argue and kept his thoughts within.
“Anyway,” he changed the subject, “Your presence means the princess is coming soon, yes?”
“Yes, I am here to check her lodging and guard her in the near future.”
“Of course. We did what we could to decorate her room. You are free to inspect.”
It should be done by now, I think?
He wasn’t completely sure. Karla was rushing things, and he realized why. He should have realized that someone was going to inspect the preparation before she’d actually arrive. Heiga was a royal princess after all. They wouldn’t just throw her at him.
As expected from the head maid, I am glad that Karla saw this coming.
Then he had a subtle chuckle, recalling how Flora arrived in his care. The truth was that she was thrown into his care with just her body and not much else.
I think I miss those old days…
He could still vividly recall the day he brought her out of her cage for the first time. She was timid and afraid of a whole new world unfolding before her eyes. She may have been older, four years older to be exact, but it didn’t feel like she was more mature. For the couple, age was just a number since Kamil was far more mature from the get go. She looked to him to lead, and he did. Would it be the same with the princess?
I don’t think so.
Unlike Flora, Princess Heiga had already established her space. If there was a common theme between her and Flora, it was that both were being forced to marry. Other than the single fact, everything else was different.
“Lady Izabella, pardon my question, but do you think this marriage will work?”
She looked into his eyes, displaying subtle confusion as if she was asked a pointless question. “You need to define ‘work’,” she replied, and that was a good enough answer on its own.
“I see,” he replied, crossing his fingers on the desk. To her, the marriage would be a success as long as children were born. To him, it was something different. It was clear that they were on completely different pages.
Fine, as long as she stays out of my way, I suppose I will oblige.
“Anyway, I shall take a look at her room. Will you accompany me?”
“Very well, I shall.”
He was a bit curious as to how the room turned out. Karla was really going at it after all. Thus, they made their way to the princess’ designated room which was less than fifty steps away. The manor, being an underground facility, was cramped, layout wise. Everything was very much close to each other. Unlike Kamil and Flora’s rooms, however, Heiga’s room had an actual distance by having to exit a room and then walk a bit.
“Just so that you won’t be surprised, the princess is a very active person. Don’t expect her to be a doll in a room,” Kerekes remarked while on the way.
“She is a warrior, I was told.”
“Yes, has always been. She never planned to marry, and it was accepted that she wouldn’t. Of course, as you know, the circumstances have changed.”
Honestly, he wanted her to be out of his sight if that was possible. If she was an active person, the chances were that she’d be outside rather than inside, which might work for both of them. Of course, she would be forced to stay indoors once pregnant, which by all accounts was to happen soon. One of his biggest fears was how Flora would handle this situation. She had kept on saying that it was fine, but the reality was that nobody really knew how it would work out. The princess might bully her even, which wasn’t unheard of among wives according to history.
“So, here we are,” Kamil said as he opened the door to the princess’ room. Just like Kerekes, he didn’t know what to expect, either. Upon opening the door, he saw a king-size bed within an antique frame. And there was a room divider in a corner. Presumably, a bathtub would be beyond it. There was a large closet along with what looked like a desk although it didn’t look quite like an ordinary desk. He didn’t know, but it was a makeup desk. Flora had one in her room but had gotten rid of it since she barely used makeup. In the middle of the room, there was a round table with three chairs. Finally, an enormous crimson carpet covered most of the floor, hindering cold air from rising above. The room looked fairly basic and was probably too bare for a princess.
Kerekes immediately rubbed the bridge of her nose upon seeing the setup.
“She is a warrior,” she remarked. “She doesn’t need a makeup desk. There needs to be a training dummy along with a rack for weapons.”
“Uh…, okay?”
“And I dislike the grades of furniture. These are not fit for royalty.”
The problem was that no one in the manor knew what an Estana royalty would be pleased with although, even by their own standards, the manor was quite frugal. Kamil had no love for fancy furniture, and Flora didn’t care much, either. As a direct result, the furniture found within the manor was, at the best, something a wealthy merchant would possess. It was clearly not fit for royalty.
“But this is the best we have.”
Probably. I haven’t got a clue.
Heaving a long sigh, she placed her hand on her waist. “I suppose she will understand. But I do beg you to bring in a training dummy at least.”
“That shall be done.”
“And, as you are probably aware, she will bring her own maids.”
“Understandable.”
This could invariably create an independent faction within maids. In Flora’s case, she had brought only Avina. Thus, it wasn’t much of an issue. If the princess would bring a lot of them, it could become a big enough issue. The last thing he wanted was unrest within.
“How many maids, if I may ask?”
“I honestly don’t know. The princess wasn’t a typical lady and had no maids until very recently. She took care of herself on her own.”
As a warrior, having maids on an active field would have been a hindrance indeed. In some ways, she was like Flora, abnormal in many ways but on the opposite end of the spectrum.
Well, it sounds like the bottom line is that we will see how it goes once she arrives. No point in speculations and whatnot.
“I see. I shall expect great things from her.”
“Do you mean that, Duke?”
“No, I don’t.”
She chuckled. “At least you are honest.”
“Would you be pleased if you were in her shoes or even in my shoes?”
She refused to answer his question directly and changed the topic instead. “It has to be done,” she said stoically. It was at this point where Nestor appeared from afar. He had a grim look on his face and rushed toward him, whispering to his ear once he was close enough.
“Duke, Suvi has fallen.”
Kamil glanced at Kerekes who seemed to have overheard. Therefore, he decided not to pretend.
“Fallen as in?”
“Wiped out, annihilated.”
Without saying further, they immediately headed back to his study where Cezary was already waiting inside. Kerekes followed in since it concerned everyone present.
“Any detailed report?” he asked aloud as he sat down.
“Atra sent no reinforcements. The city was on its own. The walls were too vast for the defenders to do their job properly. In the end, the city fell after about just two days,” Nestor reported.
“I expect Elsos to perform far better, given its much smaller footprint,” Cezary added.
“Duke, it must be noted that they would have held on far longer if it wasn’t for the siege weapons. Ladders and siege towers were spotted.”
“Thankfully, no battering ram,” Cezary added quickly.
“Shouldn’t I go there?”
“No!” Kerekes exclaimed. “You have a job to do here!”
Oh, for fuck’s sake…
He shook his head.
Donning a crooked grin, Cezary added, “I am with her although it’s for a different reason.”
“Go on, Sir Waszak. Let’s hear your reason.”
“Monsters are probably the dragons’ minions. No matter how many we defeat, I am almost certain that they will pop right back. It is the dragons we must defeat, and we must wait for it to leave its lair.”
“And if they don’t leave at all?”
“They will at one point. We’ve translated lots of ancient texts, and their tales share some similarities; it is that the dragons tend to show themselves once humanity is on the brink. We are not at that point yet, far from it.”
“In other words, we must watch more to die?”
“Much more. I get a feeling that the Age of Darkness is some sort of a culling event.”
“A … culling event?” Kamil repeated slowly while everyone, bar Cezary, raised their eyebrows. Vass mentioned a similar thing. He said that it was “a test” for civilizations to pass. Failure meant annihilation.
“Either way, Duke, the bottom line is that you must wait. If you are the only one capable of harming the dragons, then you must not show yourself until they do.”
“But, Sir Waszak -”
Cezary interjected at once by having his palm raised toward him. “Duke, let’s say that you remove a large portion of the horde with your magic. You will likely pass out at that point. What if the dragons move in while you are passed out?”
He couldn’t argue back right away. If the dragons were waiting for him to act and attack while he was recovering, he wasn’t sure what’d happen. The reason he was denied to fight the dragons in their turf was the lack of an escape route. If he used too much magic and passed out, it would be very hard to get him out due to interference from monsters and elements. Cezary wanted to make sure that he could be retrieved if he got into danger. He was briefed into this and was well aware of why he was being denied to fight the dragons. Still, he felt he just couldn’t sit idly.
“But I cannot just sit back and wait forever.”
“You will not wait forever. The dragons will make their moves at certain points. We are not there yet. In the grand scheme of things, we’ve lost mayhaps about 20% of our total population. It’s not that big of a damage.”
Strictly number wise, over 200,000 had lost their lives at this point. There were a lot of casualties but within an acceptable level. What Cezary was trying to say essentially was that it wasn’t the end of the world and that Kamil needed to calm down and look at the bigger picture. Taking a deep breath, he surveyed the room. Nestor didn’t seem concerned and neither did Kerekes. The latter demanded him to stay to do “the job” anyway. Her priority was clearly elsewhere.
“Elsos will be the next, no?”
“Most likely,” Cezary replied.
“Should we not try to save Lord Karsten?”
He had no love for him, but it still needed to be asked.
“He is just a lord; nothing more, nothing less. I am sure that he can leave if he wants. He has clearly chosen to stick around.”
Stick around for what purpose? … To hold the line? Of everything he has done, why would he do that now?
Questions mounted.
Has he … changed? Why? Did he learn something from his near-death experience?
He was poisoned by the holy power. It wasn’t unthinkable that he may have seen something while rotting to death. He crossed his fingers and had a solemn look on his face.
I feel like I need to talk to him.
“Duke,” Cezary called him out as if wanting an answer.
“Fear not, I will heed your advice.”
After all, he was really never wrong. It would be foolish to go against his advice. Without his advice and contribution to the invention of airships, he wouldn’t really be here. He would have been stuck in Laufeld and would have only managed to keep the status quo. Still, he couldn’t shake off a feeling that Karsten may have seen something and may have learned something valuable. For the time being, however, he was to stay still.