“Boo-!”
Issac had a baby in his arms, cradling it sideways gently as he casually walked around in a room. Sylwia was all smiles watching her husband playing with their daughter from a sofa. The baby giggled whenever he made weird notices.
“Boo!! Brrrrr!”
Everything was going well for the couple. Isaac wanted a son, but that didn’t matter. The child was the crystallization of their affection toward each other. If no son was born, he’d simply raise his daughter to be a ruler. In his mind, it was that simple because he harbored no further ambitions other than being able to live peacefully. But there was a tint of regret in Sylwia’s face.
“I am sorry that it wasn’t a son,” She said, smiling still. For noblewomen, the best gift they could ever present to their husbands was a son. This was especially true for first wives.
“Who cares, my dearest. We have a child together. We’ve always wanted children together.”
Having a child together wouldn’t have been hard if they didn’t care about status. However, both Isaac and Sylwia wanted their children to be of a noble birth which was easier said than done. Thanks to the recent war with the Siwen, Isaac managed to get what he wanted, a permanent noble status by being granted the lordship of Rokk. Granted, it was a small town, but it was their town now, a place they could at last call home. Nobody could take it away from them, at least not without a fight.
“Mark my words, I care not the gender of our children. All I desire is a peaceful life with you and our beautiful children, my love.”
Sylwia could only smile in return. And he meant it; He really meant it. And he knew that, for that small dream to become reality, he had to work hard to maintain peace within the kingdom. Unfortunately, with Karsten at helm, it wasn’t so easy because he was a warmonger. The king had always prepared for conflict after conflict. History displayed his warmongering ways clearly. Soon after he was crowned the king, he prepared to be invaded, then the reunification war, then the war with the Siwen. In about twenty years of his reign, he had experienced three wars, far more than what a king experienced generally in his lifetime. He wasn’t sure where the next conflict would be but he knew, for certain, that it would come. There was even a possibility that it could come from within, another rebellion. Good news was that the king was more than capable when it came to wars. At the same time, his diplomatic skills were lackluster, especially when it came to counting coins. Of course, no one was perfect, and that was why advisors existed.
A butler knocked and entered the room.
“Milord, the king has sent a messenger. He asks for your presence.”
“Again?”
He came back from the capital a day ago. When he was given Rokk, he didn’t expect the king to keep him around for so long. He expected the king to abandon him and hire a new advisor. That was what he expected and actually wanted. The role of being a king’s advisor was a dangerous one simply because everything he did wrong, his advisor took the blame frequently. Logically, even if the king wanted to keep Isaac, keeping him on as his advisor was an ill move because he was no longer just an advisor; He was a lord to his own fief. In other words, he could never be truly loyal to the crown now. Even so, weirdly, the king kept him as his advisor which actually troubled him a bit. He wanted to be let go and fully focus on the development of Rokk. Sylwia was doing his job while he was absent, but he wanted to be here with his wife. If he used an airship, the travel wouldn’t have been painful, but the town operated only one airship, and it was used exclusively to bring refugees in. Handing the giggling baby to his wife, he told her.
“I shall be back as soon as possible, my dearest.”
“You should build an airship for yourself if you are going to visit the capital this frequently.”
The baby tried to reach out for her father cutely.
“Fear not, my child. Daddy will be back soon. Building an airship isn’t cheap, my dear.”
He could afford it actually but was reluctant to spend the gold coins until his revenue was more stable. So far, the only purchaser of the copper was Laufeld, and the amount wasn’t much. Besides, he gave them a deep discount. Truthfully, he barely broke even after paying wages for miners and smelters. Regardless, what was more important for Rokk was businesses, and Laufeld offered one. He could not deny that opportunity. Whether making a profit or not, it gave the refugees jobs to do. That was more important than anything else. Kissing his wife goodbye, he went to a stable, and his bodyguards were already fully prepared.
“Let’s get this over with.”
The king had been very aggressively collecting taxes and tolls. This was against Isaac’s advice of stabilizing the nation first and rebuilding his army later down the line. Of course, the king wasn’t entirely wrong in his assessment that the royal army must be rebuilt as soon as possible. He simply gave his advice. It was up to the king whether to heed it.
Upon arriving at the capital, he saw a small line of traveling merchants who were turning away from the gate. They would be the ones who refused to pay the toll of a silver coin. Isaac suggested a toll of just 10 iron coins if there must be a toll. The king did not agree.
A silver coin for a toll just to enter is outright ridiculous.
Rightfully so, the local merchants filed a complaint and asked for an exemption. He visited the capital very recently on that matter, advising him to grant their request. Seeing that he was called back again, it probably had something to do with it.
I simply wish he’d find another advisor …
The gate guards recognized him instantly and allowed him to pass. What welcomed him was the rather gloomy mood of the city. Everything was getting expensive which made everyone displeased. Alas, as much as it pained him to see common folks suffer, there wasn’t much he could do. All he could do was give the king his advice. If he didn’t take them, then that was it. Not wanting to see them suffer any further, he rushed his horse to run faster toward the royal castle.
“In-Infidelity?!” Isaac exclaimed in shock. As soon as he met the king in his chamber, he tossed a letter to the floor which he picked up and read. It was a report from Dido. Apparently, it was believed that the relationship between Daniel Flissing and Lillian wasn’t going smoothly. In fact, Daniel had declared aloud that he was seeing another woman. Now, it wasn’t uncommon for nobles to have mistresses. Therefore, the accusation of infidelity may seem awkward. However, it had some merit. Selecting a mistress was a legal process which began by informing a first wife of the decision and why. The first wife had no right to reject her husband’s desire to have one but did have a say in where the mistress would stay. Daniel declaring out loud that he was seeing another woman in front of her was clearly not a part of the legal process. Therefore, she was within her right to accuse him although nothing significant would come of it.
“I need you to head over to Dido and sort this out!” Karsten barked, clearly angry over the matter.
“My liege, this isn’t really in our place to -”
Karsten interjected, “I will not have my daughter ignored like this blatantly. She is a princess and deserves to be treated adequately.”
He had never met the second princess and did not know what kind of person she was. From what he heard over his shoulders, Lillian was known to be arrogant and demanding. She was a princess after all. The devil was in the details however. A person could be arrogant and demanding, yet still be seen as reasonable as long as he knew his boundaries. Knowing the king and the queen, he assumed that whatever was happening with Daniel was likely Lillian’s fault. Of course, he wouldn’t dare saying that out loud.
“Your wish is my command, my liege.”
Leaving the fuming king behind, he swiftly left the royal castle. He wasn’t going to stay around. He wanted the king to get the message that he was no longer interested in becoming his advisor. Anyway, he decided to use his airship for this visit since the time he’d save was significant. Besides, he didn’t want to be away from his daughter and wife for too long.
Time to build another airship then. Perhaps, I will make this one smaller.
With that in mind, he prepared to depart for Rokk. Catching his airship wasn’t hard since it arrived back in Rokk at least once every two days. Ever since learning that refugees were flocking to Laufeld for some odd reasons, he was sending his airship there to pick up refugees. The king couldn’t care less about the airship at the moment. In his eyes, it was just a big toy that had no significance.
He chuckled at the thought while riding his horse. His group of bodyguards were following him closely.
It has significance, alright. People can travel. They can leave if you rule inadequately.
And that was precisely what was happening in Gonne. People were leaving the city in droves. When he reported the phenomenon, the king looked uninterested.
“So what?” He said.
True, he had little reason to panic. After all, Gonne was just a city. In Isaac’s mind, however, he anticipated that the airship was going to change the world significantly. It wasn’t hard at all to foresee how it was going to affect the world as whole. It would take some years but it was going to alter how the world had been operating. And, of course, such an invention had to come from the kid - the one the king didn’t want to let go.
Perhaps…
He just had a whacky thought. Perhaps, the king had yet to give up. Under normal circumstances, a father did not meddle in his married daughter’s life because, once married, she was no longer his but her husband’s. He did find it strange that the king was sending him to Dido. He really shouldn’t have, at least not until he verified that whatever report was true.
Of course, it is entirely possible that this report is bogus…
Maybe he forged a reason. It was still unthinkable regardless. Lillian was already married. They weren’t betrothed; They were married. Given their ages, they would have shared the bed already at this point. The princess was now damaged goods even if the marriage was somehow annulled.
Come on. I am overthinking things. There is no way the king would pull such a move.
He shook his head to snap out of it.
Sylwia was overjoyed to see her husband back so soon. She was even happier after he informed her that he was going to build a second, but smaller, airship specifically as his personal transport. He called his engineer to draft a plan, and the quote came up; It was two and half gold coins which was about the half of what it cost to build his first airship. He gave his approval for it. And, within a day, he was aboard the airship meant for Laufeld and was on his way to Dido. It took only two days. On foot, it would have taken at least seven days, not to mention requiring at least ten guards.
I am not going to travel on foot from now on.
The time efficiency was simply off the chart. He felt silly for trying to save money. The Flissing hadn’t fully embraced the airship yet, and thus everyone was surprised to see an airship landing down on a city square near the guild.
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“I am Isaac Knell of Rokk. I am on a mission from the king,” He declared to several guards who came to intercept the airship. A guard turned around and dashed toward the Flissing manor while others kept a close watch on the airship and Isaac. Soon enough, Lord Flissing himself arrived flanked by a pair of heavily armored guards.
“Lord Knell? So, it is really you.”
It appeared that Baptiste doubted that Isaac himself came.
“Lord Flissing, greetings.” He bowed with a palm on his chest. Likewise, Baptiste did the same.
“What brings you here? You surprise me.”
It was an unannounced visit after all.
“Lord Flissing, do you really not know? I’ve come here, bearing the king’s report on your son.”
Baptiste furrowed his eyebrows at once.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Your son is accused of infidelity.”
“I BEG YOUR PARDON?!”
“Are you saying that you are unaware?”
“I am not. Please, let us go inside and will you allow me to inspect the letter?”
He didn’t have to show Baptiste anything. However, it did look like he was unaware. Additionally, he had no intention of making the Flissing his enemy. If he was just an advisor, he might have acted more tough. Once inside, Isaac was taken to a living room where he was served a cup of tea. Baptiste soon returned with his son, Daniel. At fifteen years old, he looked more or less an adult. He featured well combed blond hair with green eyes. He was half a head taller than his father and was more slender. Baptiste wasn’t fat but slightly wide.
Once the father and the son sat down in the opposite direction to Isaac, Baptiste asked for the letter at which point, he pulled out a rolled paper to him. Baptiste read it carefully. Meanwhile, Isaac studied Daniel’s reaction. There wasn’t one; He didn’t look nervous at all.
What is going on here?
He should have been nervous. Either the kid was a good actor or he may have not done anything wrong. Once Baptiste was done reading, he handed it over to his son who also took his time to read. When he was done with it, he passed it to his father, and his father passed it back to Isaac.
“I have no idea what is going on,” Baptiste said. “Daniel, do you have anything to add?”
“I do not. I do not have a girlfriend or a mistress. Lady Lillian is the only woman I’ve slept with. I swear to the God of Life.”
As expected, they shared the bed. Lillian was no longer a princess. She was now Lady Flissing.
“Then should we call lady Flissing?” Isaac suggested. Both men agreed. If both were innocent as they claimed, they wouldn’t have any reason to refuse and they did not, reinforcing his belief that something else was going on.
Soon, Lillian entered the room, dressed up in an exquisite red dress with golden threads and silver linings. He felt that the dress was something Sylwia would look absolutely lovely in with her red hair. The three men stood up and showed their respect to the lady.
“Lady Flissing,” Isaac informed her. “I am Isaac Knell, the king’s advisor.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Oh, so father sent someone finally.”
From that statement alone, it was clear that she was the culprit of whatever was going on. She was, in his honest opinion, not a great looking woman. She was average at the best. If it wasn’t for maids looking after her hair and skin, she could easily have been mistaken for a farmer’s wife. Sylwia was so much prettier, he felt.
“Would it be possible for us to be able to talk in private?” Isaac made the suggestion to Baptiste and Daniel, both of whom agreed. As they left the room, Baptiste discreetly threw a frustrated grunt at Lillian. He noticed it just barely. Once the men left, Lillian sat down and crossed her legs which was seen rude especially in front of men. It simply meant that she wasn’t seeing him as a man worthy of her attention in spite of him being a landed noble. She probably didn’t recognize the name, Knell, and figured he was from a minor house. She wasn’t wrong. Even if the Knell was a landed noble house, it was a minor house at this point.
“Milady, I feel like I am missing several pictures here. What is exactly happening here? And what’s with the report? Lord Daniel claims to be faithful.”
She grunted, looking flustered. “It is so boring here,” She eventually blurted.
“I beg your absolute pardon?”
“It is boring here,” She repeated.
Internally, he frowned hard.
What are you, a child? You are married now.
“Milady, you are -”
She interjected, “Daniel is not letting me ride horses. He is not letting me go out at all. I am stuck in my room all day long. If he made me feel better in bed, I might be less inclined to vent. He is so unremarkable in more ways than one.”
Of course, he wouldn’t let you out and do things. Until you bear him a son, that is how your life will be. And you should never badmouth your husband even when he is not around. Learn some manners, lady. If you have issues with your man, talk to him, not me.
Even then, it was hard to believe that they had let her do such things. They must have let her do whatever she wanted in her youth. As a result, she became spoiled.
Sighing, he crossed his fingers.
“Milady, what would you like me to do here? And pray tell; did you make up the report?”
She replied dismissively as if it was not a big deal, “I have. He is in fact faithful to me, so far anyway.”
Sooner or later, he would get mistresses. Not every nobleman had them, but the way she was acting, Daniel would definitely get his mistresses.
“Milady…” He was lost for words. He would rather be at his house with her wife and baby than be here, wasting time with this whack job of a lady.
For Goodness' sake, she is just like her mom and dad.
The couple was very well known for their ridiculous shenanigans. Isaac was the only one who was able to handle them the way he did which ironically prolonged his career as the advisor.
Lord Daniel, I pity you, sir.
If he had a woman like her as his first wife, he would rush to acquire a mistress as soon as possible just to get away from such a woman. Thankfully, Sylwia was a sweet woman.
“Milady, what would you like me to do?”
“I want to be able to do things. I want to go out.”
“You will be able to do such things once you give your husband a child.”
She pouted immediately, clearly not pleased with the answer he gave. At this point, he had two choices. One was to butter up as he would normally do since she was a royalty nevertheless. The other was to remind her of the reality she was in. Since he no longer wished to continue on as an advisor, he decided to go with the latter.
“Milady, you should know that you are no longer the little princess that you were back in the royal castle.”
Her eyes went wide as a result of hearing something completely unexpected.
He continued regardless, “You can no longer fall back to your father whenever things go awry because you are now Lady Flissing. You are on your own now. If you wish, you can certainly build your own faction within the Flissing. That will help you in the long run as well. Nevertheless, please heed my advice.”
With her mouth agape, she stared at him for a good moment. As the uneasy silence dominated the room, he wondered what she might be thinking. She could very well send another letter to the king, demanding his punishment or whatnot. Or she could perhaps listen to his advice. His advice was a sound one. Whether she liked or not, she was lady Flissing now. Her future was not with the royal family. She should be working with the Flissing and focus on gathering her own allies within, not from outside. Regardless, he couldn’t care less what she was thinking. His job was done.
“I believe my job is done here,” He said as he stood up. Her eyes were tracking him. “I shall take my leave unless you have something to say.”
She didn’t say anything, and he left the room to find Baptiste standing outside. It didn’t look like he was eavesdropping. He was simply waiting for him.
“Lord Knell, I take that you’ve given her sound advice.”
“I have. But I do have a suggestion for Lord Daniel.”
“Go on. I am listening.”
Isaac gestured to walk down the hallway, and they did. He did so to get away from the door so that Lillian couldn’t listen.
“I’ve told her that her future is not with the royal family but with the Flissing.”
Baptiste nodded firmly. “You’d be right,” He replied.
“But there is a decent chance that she won’t change her ways. In such a scenario, I strongly suggest your son acquire a mistress for his own sanity.”
For men, a woman was often an escape route where they’d forget about reality and simply indulge himself in pleasure. Lillian was not going to provide that hospitality.
Looking surprised, Baptiste stroked his chin. “It looks like we are on the same page. I will be honest then. I was never in favor of this marriage to begin with. A marriage tie with the royal family is more troublesome than its worth.”
A noble family would generally want to have a firm control of their own internal affairs. A royal marriage broke such a balance. This was a good example. Lillian called for outside assistance. This would have not happened under a normal noble marriage.
“Have they slept together?”
“I believe they have. But I am not entirely certain.”
“Oh? Why are you not?”
“Maids didn’t report blood on their bed sheets. They did share the bed, but I am unsure whether flesh was mixed.”
A virgin should have bled even if just a little. Virgin women riding horses had a chance to break their hymen. Of course, the two men were unaware of this, given how rare a young woman rode horses in this world.
“Is that so…” Sighing, he asked, “Do they get along?”
“From what I could tell, no. On the surface, they are getting along. But I’ve aged enough to tell whether they are faking. I do feel that they are faking.”
“Troublesome then…”
A first wife not getting along with her husband wasn’t something new in arranged marriages. In such a case, a second wife or a mistress would be called. The issue was that Lillian was formerly a princess, meaning getting a second wife was out of the question since that’d directly insult the royalty.
“You’ve done your job, Lord Knell. I thank you for siding with us.”
If Isaac sided with the lady, it could have gotten uglier for sure. He beamed a bitter smile back to Baptiste. This could well be his last job as an advisor. He would be very glad to be fired from his position. Not wanting to waste any more time, he chose to depart pretty much instantly after the chat with Baptiste. Interestingly, Daniel came to see him off.
“You should stay for the night. It’s getting dark,” He said to Isaac who was walking onto his airship.
“No, sir. With the airship, day or night no longer matters. It will take no less than two days to reach the capital, make my report, and then go back home.”
“Less than two days?” Daniel looked shocked.
He beamed a grin at him. “Yes, the Flissing should build airships. This is the future, Milord.”
“The future…”
Isaac bowed to Daniel with a palm on his chest. “Farewell,” He said as the airship took off.
Once he was back in Keviel, he made his report to the king truthfully and fully expected to be fired on the spot.
Finally…, at last…, it’s over!
However, to his dismay, the king’s reaction was … strange.
“I see. You did good. As expected of my personal advisor.”
“Sir…?”
“I’ve thought about it since you left. As much as I adore my daughter, she is out of my hands.”
No, no, NOOOO! Why the sudden change of the heart?! Just fire meeeee!
In spite of his internal scream, he kept a calm face.
“My liege, the truth remains that I was very rude to the princess. I don’t feel I deserve my position as your advisor. I implore you to -”
Karsten interjected, “No, it’s alright. Sometimes, you need an outsider’s voice. I don’t want a yes-man. I want someone who can see things from another perspective.”
He wasn’t wrong, but that wasn’t the issue here. Isaac wanted to be fired.
“My liege, I fully expect a retaliation from the princess. Relieving me from my duty will please her at least.”
It was his last ditch attempt to get himself fired. Instead, Karsten did something unexpected. He called a scholar and brought a gold coin.
“I don’t think I’ve ever really paid for your years of service. Here is a reward for your service so far.”
Why won’t you let me go?
He cried internally. Money was money regardless, and he needed it. A gold coin was no small amount.
“Keep up the good work. Dismissed.”
@#%$^&*&%$#
Bowing, Isaac excused himself while raging inside. He heaved a looooong sigh as he walked out of the royal castle, toward the airship. He was sure he could have gotten himself fired. He did everything in his power to get fired. In the end, he wasn’t fired and was instead rewarded. He facepalmed himself over the awkwardness of how the events unraveled itself. It could have gotten quite ugly indeed. By siding with the princess, Isaac could have gotten himself involved in a small internal conflict between the Flissing and the Egra. And, right at the moment, internal conflicts should be avoided at all cost. In such a sense, Isaac did end up doing a remarkable job of diffusing the situation. He realized that, in a desperate attempt to get himself fired, he had done a fine job somehow.
All because I couldn’t care less…
He chuckled and sighed soon after. He needed to leave the king’s side sooner or later. The reason was simple. A warmonger’s fate was never pretty; History showed that countless times. By staying as his advisor, he would go down with him if Karsten was to go down.
I still have time. The kingdom is stable so far. I still have time…
At the same time, Gregor’s last words to him echoed in his mind. He told him to leave the king sooner rather than later. If it wasn’t for Sylwia, he would have left the king many years ago.
I shall protect Sylwia and our children no matter what. I swear to the God of Life that I will do anything, ANYTHING, to protect my family.
With renewed determination, he walked aboard his airship.