Elias Hunt was a 46 years old man who had served the Fenchel house ever since coming of age at 16 years old. Basically, he was scouted by the Fenchel as soon as he became an adult.
The Fenchel house valued mages highly because, while warriors could be made, mages could not be. Even a farmer can be trained into a decent warrior given enough training. Alas, the same could not be said for mages. Mages required elemental affinity, and it was not something that could be trained. One was born with it.
Elias, being a water mage, was especially sought after. One couldn’t trust medicine to work. However, healing from water magic was pretty much absolute and instant. The only exception was when one’s natural lifespan was close to its end at which point nothing would work anyway.
The late Lord Fenchel who retired and abdicated his seat as the house lord to his only son had four children: A son and three daughters. The son was the eldest child which made it really easy for succession.
When the current Lord Fenchel was having an issue with siring a male heir, he was already at the end of his rope. He already had five daughters.
“Just one more, Elias. Just one more,” He said while rubbing his temple intensively.
Raising a noble child cost money. Girls cost even more money due to wardrobe. Their dresses were never, ever, cheap, no matter what size. Weird.
Soon enough the sixth child came. A daughter at that. Lord Fenchel was dejected severely.
“Is my house cursed?!” He barked with veins popping on his forehead.
Elias wanted to tell him that he had a wife still and should stick with her. They had only a child between them after all. Sadly, for Lord Fenchel, siring more children with his official wife was no longer possible because their relationship broke down after he chose to sire too many children with his mistresses.
His legitimate daughter could still very well inherit the house. Female house lords were fairly rare but there had been cases. Lord Fenchel, however, was firm that a male must carry on the house. His reasoning wasn’t too wrong, either.
“Men can enter war where they can earn prestige and honour. He won’t have to fight on the front line, either. That is a certain way to earn fiefs also. Women cannot do that,” He argued when his council told him to choose his legitimate daughter as his heir.
His council, which included Elias, could not argue back strongly. The late lord of Fenchel participated in King Egra’s invasion to unify the kingdom, and as a result of his involvement, he was granted Laufeld. If they had a female house lord, they had probably not been able to earn their new fief. And, if they didn’t earn Laufeld, they wouldn’t have earned an exclusive access to Macomaco tea.
The house would stall while a female lord was in place: That was his biggest fear. He direly wanted a male heir. Since he couldn’t get one, however, he needed to find one.
This was when the suggestion came up.
“Milord, there is lady Vilma.”
Lady Vilma was the last child from the late Lord. She was used as a pawn by being forced to marry down to a mere commoner just so that the house would have an exclusive deal to purchase Macomaco tea. Aye, tea. A noble’s daughter was basically sold for tea.
There was a general consensus among retainers that she held a grudge, and it would have been a perfectly justified grudge as well. The only time where a noblewoman would marry down to a mere commoner would have been when her house had fallen. Her marriage was no such a case. Of course, she would have been beyond outrageous.
“Vilma...?” Lord Fenchel sounded confused at first as if he heard the name for the first time. He had apparently completely discarded her in his memories after learning that she ended up marrying a commoner. She wasn’t even worth remembering in his mind.
Then he exclaimed, “Vilma! Does she have a son?”
“Two in fact, milord.”
If he had to adopt, he would have wanted someone with a blood tie. And there was no better candidate than Vilma’s child in this case. She was, after all, his full sister from the same parents. It was an ideal situation for her and him, he thought.
A grin finally surfaced on Lord Fenchel’s face. It had been a while. However, it was at this point Elias made a warning.
“Milord, we should not forget that she was forced to marry down.”
Lord Fenchel grimaced, recalling the situation. It was no laughing matter indeed. One couldn’t just throw another away and then ask for a huge favor later. The favor would be giving one’s child away. Of course, it was no laughing matter.
Lord Fenchel looked at his retainers in his office.
“I am all ears. What should I do for Vilma? We are going to owe her a great debt. We must please her at any cost.”
“The obvious choice would be bringing her back to nobility,” A retainer responded to which another retainer argued.
“That would mean bringing her husband to nobility as well. He has no merit.”
Another spoke out his opinion. “We could of course force them to divorce and then bring only her back to nobility.”
“That will still require huge compensation for her commoner husband,” Another remarked.
Lord Fenchel put a stop to them. “Before we go to that, I want some reports on the child. How old is he? Does he have potential? I am not going to adopt a fool.”
“We will send someone to keep an eye on the child.”
“Good. Let us take the next step only after we deem the child good enough.”
Several weeks later, a preliminary report on the child had arrived.
Elias was the one reading the report aloud in front of Lord Fenchel and other retainers.
“He is showing good maturity for a child of his age, six. He is clearly diligent as well. He works from early morning to late noon every single day.”
Lord Fenchel had his fingers crossed on his desk, nodding along as he heard the report.
“Good, I say he passed the first hurdle, what say you, retainers?”
None of them voiced a concern at this point.
“I want to meet this commoner man, his father. What’s his name again?”
“Grent, the tea farmer, milord,” Elias replied.
“Good, summon him here.”
However, Elias disagreed. “Milord, unlike us who can bring guards, a commoner cannot travel far without fear of being killed by monsters. I apologize in advance, but you should go to Laufeld and meet him at the mayor’s manor.”
A lord travelling afar just to meet a commoner was certainly unheard of. It was a hard sell. Lord Fenchel grimaced accordingly, clearly displeased with the suggestion.
“Milord, we need him. He does not need us.” Elias reminded him where he stood. “And we certainly cannot take his son away from him by force especially when his wife is Lady Fenchel, your own sister who had done no wrong but was wronged.”
Lord Fenchel clicked his tongue but accepted.
“I see your point, Hunt. I shall do so.”
Elias bowed deeply toward his lord. “My apologies.”
“That is fine. You do have a point. We need him. He does not need us.”
Grent, dressed in his best attire... which was his normal clothes, entered the mayor’s manor in Laufeld. The manor wasn’t extravagant. It was just a spacious two story house.
A butler was waiting for him inside.
“Sir Grent, I’ve been waiting for you. Please come this way.”
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“Y, yes.”
It was never easy for a commoner to deal with nobles. They simply didn’t know the proper etiquette. Vilma taught him some basic stuff before coming here although he was barely remembering anything, for he was too nervous.
His first impression of Lord Fenchel was a refined looking middle-aged man with short beard and mustache. There were grey hairs here and there. His hair was neatly combed sideways.
“Sir Grent,” Lord Fenchel called him out softly. “I apologize for meeting you only now. You are my brother-in-law after all.”
“Y, you flatter me, milord,” Grent hurriedly responded while knelt down.
From there on, he let out the idea of adopting Kamil as his son. Grent knew no noble way to respond to such an unexpected news.
“Y, you what? I mean ... A, are you serious?”
Lord Fenchel grimaced momentarily but softened up right away.
“It will depend on your son. I wish to get to know him better before making my final decision. Have no fear, however, for you will be handsomely rewarded.”
“I, I see....”
“I am going to send a scholar of mine to check up on him. You can expect him within a week. Meanwhile, there is something I’d like you to learn.”
“Yes?”
Grent was told to learn riding and get more used to noble etiquette. Apparently, he had made him wait a bit too long. Well, the guy had to run all the way after all.
“I shall give you a permit to use any horse you see within the town. Do make a good use of it,” Lord Fenchel said as he wrote down something on a piece of paper. He signed it grandly at the end and passed it to the butler who, in turn, read it and nodded firmly.
“I will let the mayor know, Lord Fenchel.”
“Good.”
Once Grent left, Lord Fenchel sat back, sighing deeply. A few retainers who came along with him entered the room from a secret entry.
“He really is a commoner,” A retainer remarked.
“I cannot fathom how angry Lady Vilma must have been,” Another remarked.
It was this point that Lord Fenchel agreed fully with Hunt’s assessment. There was nothing Grent wanted from him, and there was everything he wanted from Grent.
“Send a bird to Lux,” He ordered aloud. “I want Hunt to do the job.”
“Yes, milord.”
Upon receiving the word, Elias Hunt prepared for a short journey. He prepared his elemental crystals and packed two books to teach the child how to read and write. He did bring guards but told them to wait elsewhere once he arrived at Laufeld.
Lady Vilma’s house was modest at the best. It was a simple wooden house without any traces of luxuries. Elias had to grimace.
“This is not right...,” He said to himself. A noblewoman from the mighty Fenchel living like this? To him, it was utterly unacceptable. He was not one of decision makers when Vilma was married off to a commoner. Therefore, he had no idea that it would have been this bad.
“What was the late Lord Fenchel thinking?”
Steeling himself, he entered the house after knocking.
“Greetings, Lady Fenchel and Sir Grent, my name is Elias Hunt. I am a retainer from the Fenchel house in Lux.”
Grent nodded, and Vilma curtsied. Lady Fenchel was wearing a commoner’s dress which was just a worn dress with an apron attached on front. Despite her poor wardrobe, she seemed to be doing well. Her face seemed lively, and she seemed fed well. Still, Elias’ heart bled when he saw a lady of the Fenchel house wearing a commoner’s dress.
After they sat down at a dinner table, Vilma asked.
“Would you like some tea?”
“Would it be Macomaco tea?”
Grent laughed. “Of course, what else would you think we have?”
“Then please. It’s been harder to get it in Lux.”
“We’ve been selling our entire produce to the Fenchel directly though.”
“Please do remember that we have six young ladies in the house.”
Macomaco tea was extremely popular with ladies. They loved sweets but had to control their weight. That was not the case with Macomaco tea. It tasted sweet and, no matter how much one drank, she didn’t gain much, if any, weight. Rightfully so, every noble lady wanted this tea, but there was only very limited supply. This man, Grent, operated one of three Macomaco tea fields in the kingdom. He certainly had his value.
“Here you go, Sir Hunt.” Vilma delivered a cup of light red liquid. Elias gracefully smelled the aroma.
“Ah, this is the real thing,” He remarked with glee. “Smells like high grade as well.”
It had been years since the last time he drank Macomaco tea. Due to Lord Fenchel’s six daughters, nobody else was allowed to drink the tea. His daughters monopolized the tea. Even Lord Fenchel himself could rarely drink it. It was that bad.
With his mood vastly improved, thanks to the tea, he had a casual conversation with the couple. While conversing, it had occurred to him that Lady Fenchel seemed to have accepted her fate and was content with her life. Perhaps, it was her way of coping with the downfall, he thought. Regardless, he found her remarkable for being able to accept the life of a commoner.
“As you know, I was sent by Lord Fenchel to educate Sir Kamil.”
Both Grent and Vilma nodded.
“First, I’d like to check which elemental affinity he has. Lord Fenchel wishes a mage in our ranks. After all, warriors can be trained. But mages cannot be made without appropriate elemental affinity. With appropriate affinity, a warrior can be both.
“Right,” Gent replied with a nod, and Lady Fenchel responded, “We both have a weak affinity to fire. I don’t think you can expect much from Kamil,” Vilma commented.
“We will see about that. Elemental affinity is something everyone is born with and it is not something a child inherits from his parents.”
Not many knew, but elemental affinity was something that carried onto other lives. The concept of rebirth was something scholars were fairly well aware of. The purpose of the two supreme Gods was exactly it. They’d take a soul from a dead person and would give a new life to a different body after erasing memories. What did carry on was elemental affinity.
For example, when Elias is dead, he would have similar, if not the same, water elemental affinity in his next life as well. Thus, parents having virtually no elemental affinity wouldn’t affect their children.
Elias looked around. “By the by, where is Sir Kamil?”
Grent stood up. “He is out at the field, working. Well, I will go get him and send him back home. I will work in the field now.”
“See you later, dear.”
Nodding, he left the house at once. Once he was certain that Grent was gone, Elias told Vilma.
“I am going to say that Lord Fenchel never expected something like this would occur.”
Vilma smiled in response and said nothing. He expected some form of reaction from her but there was none.
Has she truly accepted her fate? He wondered.
“And there is something I must inform you, Lady Fenchel.”
“Oh?”
“Depending on my evaluation, there is a chance that Lord Fenchel might want to engage Sir Kamil with his daughter instead of just adopting him.”
Vilma frowned immediately. Elias knew why exactly. It would be a cousin marriage which was not illegal but highly frowned upon.
“Lord Fenchel is worried about the future of his legitimate daughter. If Sir Kamil shows enough potential, he wants to entrust the future of his legitimate daughter to him.”
Now, this idea was not in fact Lord Fenchel’s but his own. He had yet to bring this idea to his lord. If their son was adopted and inherited the house Fenchel, his legitimate daughter would pose only danger. She would become a seed of chaos because her children would have a claim on the house. A logical decision would be her assassination.
The only way to prevent this from occurring was being married to the adopted heir. He felt that there was no other way.
“How old is she?”
“She will soon turn ten.”
He knew it wasn’t ideal that a woman was older than her husband. Perhaps a year or two was fine, but it was four years apart. The age gap was already pushing the whole idea to its limit. At the same time, he was fairly positive that Lord Fenchel would accept this idea. Again, this was the only way to save his daughter. Otherwise, should he decide against it, then only assassination would await.
“I do see where he is coming from though,” Elias lied in his lord’s defence. “It is Lord Fenchel’s best interest to keep his own child relevant.”
“It must have been bothering him a lot.”
“It has. He has grown a lot of grey hairs as of late. He has given up siring more children and is planning to cut off some of his other children by paying them off.”
He was at least glad that Lord Fenchel was a reasonable man. He listened to his retainers which was a very important feat that often lords didn’t possess. He was a good ruler as well. He just simply did not have luck with heirs.
Perhaps, it is true that one can’t have everything. Him not being able to have a male heir may be a balancing act from Gods.
“Mom, I am back.” A boy with short brown hair and blue eyes entered the house and froze momentarily as he spotted Elias.
“Kamil, this is Sir Hunt. He is a scholar sent by my brother. He wishes to educate you.”
Elias stood up and bowed weakly. “Elias Hunt, at your service.”
“O, okay,” Kamil replied timidly.
“Lady Fenchel, please give us some privacy.”
His first impression of the boy was good. In spite of being a farmer’s boy, he had refined features.
That is Lady Fenchel’s son, alright, he felt. It was clear that there was a noble’s blood running in his veins.
Elias had a pouch on his belt. Opening, he pulled out four small crystals and placed them on the dinner table.
“These are elemental crystals, fire, water, earth, and wind.”
Elias touched one by one, and one of the crystals began to shine in blue brighter and brighter as he touched it.
“As you can see, this water crystal is reacting to my water elemental affinity. Sir Kamil, please gently touch each crystal until one shines. You need not touch more once one of them reacts.”
“Right.”
Kamil touched a reddish crystal which showed no reaction. He then touched a blue crystal, no reaction. When he touched a green crystal, it began to shine in green immediately.
Elias narrowed his eyes as he carefully gauged how much it shone.
About five out of ten, not bad. Better than what I expected.
“Not bad at all, Sir Kamil,” Elias said earnestly. “Much better than what I expected to be honest with you.”
“Now then, do you know how to read, Sir Kamil?”
He shook his head. “I don’t. Mom never taught me.”
It was at this point that Elias realized that Lady Fenchel had given up the life of a noble. If she planned returning by any means necessary, she would have begun educating her son as soon as possible and then made it known that her son was talented. The Fenchel house, who’d have a female heir, might have noticed her son and would think of adopting him. But he was going to keep this only to himself. He wanted Lady Fenchel rewarded and even brought back to nobility if possible because her current living standard was simply absurd for a lady of the Fenchel.
“I see. Well, you are only six years old. It’s not too late. I suppose teaching you how to read and write should be the first step.”
“Okay.”
He learned reading and writing quickly. In fact, Elias was amused how quickly he mastered basic reading and writing. He expected weeks. Instead, it took mere days. He struggled with complex grammar and vocabulary. However, given he was just a 6 year-old, that was perfectly fine.
His impression on the boy skyrocketed at this point. He could no longer see him as a farmer’s boy at this point. He was, in fact, a legitimate heir to the house Fenchel.
As his final act, he taught him the basics of magic as well as showing him an advanced water magic, Seiche. He left swiftly afterwards, even ditching his guards. He had to inform his lord as soon as possible.
“Milord, you have your heir,” He said as he rode a horse toward Lux.