Balec Milon
“Your correspondence, Lord Milon,” Alexan said, holding out the tray to me and bowing respectfully.
I pulled my eyes up from the documents I had spent most of the morning poring over, having just noticed him. “Ah, thank you,” I said, taking the gold encrusted letter from the tray. Seeing the familiar seal of the temple, I set it down on my desk without opening it. It was probably another letter from Jaques. Ever since he was witness to me taking Rueln as my sponsor, the man has been a pest trying to gain my favor. In his last letter, he even mentioned inviting the boy to a personal dinner and sought my permission. He invited me as well. I simply wrote back that I declined both and thought the matter was finished. I suppose I neglected to consider his persistence and the annoying habit he had of licking the boots of his betters.
“That will be all, Alexan,” I said, dismissing my manservant for now. I still had hours of work left before dinner was called and I needed to go downstairs to meet my guests.
“I apologize, my lord, but I must inform you that your father has arrived and requests an audience with you,” Alexan said, the tray now tucked under his arm.
“My father?” I asked, surprised, setting my quill down. I had no word he planned to visit my estate. It was quite unusual for him to come unannounced.
“Yes, my lord. He is being served refreshments in the library as we speak.”
“I suppose there is little choice in the matter then,” I sighed, frowning at all the work I had left. I was now obligated to have the late night working that I wished to avoid. “Please, retrieve him and prepare tea. I will speak with him in the west sun room. The light shall do us both some good.,” I ordered as I stood.
“Right away, Lord Milon.” My servant bowed again, then quickly left to obey.
I quickly put away my paperwork, locking the drawer where I kept my documents, then went to my dressing room to change into something more suitable for my guest.
When I entered the sunroom, there was a lovely spray of light shining into the space. Despite the time of year, the enchantments I commissioned on all the windows in my estate kept the temperature at optimum comfort. Living in Recarnia’s capital city of Vahlair was usually a much milder climate, anyway. In all my years, I had seen snow only twice. The enchantments were more a precaution than a necessity.
“Father,” I said, greeting him with a warm smile. “Although it is a pleasure to see you, it is a surprise. What reason do I have to thank for this visit?” My father stood, though his expression and greeting weren’t as inviting as mine had been. I had to restrain myself from showing my amusement. I believe the old man is upset with me.
“Balec,” he said, the stern sound I heard throughout most of my childhood breaking through. “What is this business that I’ve heard recently? Tell me it is just a baseless rumor.”
“Father, to tell you if it is a rumor or not, I must first know what it is you’ve heard,” I told him, taking a seat and motioning him to return to his. “Talented as I am, I am not a knowledgeable in the art of mind reading.”
“Jokes,” my father scoffed, his face flushing red as his temper rose. “You joke with me, now?!”
“Your blood pressure,” I reminded him, as a servant came in with the tea.
“The calming tea as you requested, Lord Milon,” Aliccia said, setting it down between me and my father and serving first my guest and then my own.
“Well done, Aliccia,” I praised her, earning myself a curtsy in thanks. “That will be all for now.” She left without another word and I returned my attention to my father. “Please drink and calm yourself. I wish to know what has upset you this afternoon. It is unlike you.”
Although my father, Lord Caspian Milon, the head of our family at present and a member of the imperial council, was a stern parental figure, he had always been quite affectionate to me and my younger sister. More so as we became adults and left the care of his house. It was rare for him to lose his temper, so it was an amusement to me when he did. An odd sense of humor, my sister called it.
“So you predicted I would be angry with you and you don’t know why?” my father demanded, refusing to drink.
I suppressed a sigh and leaned back in my chair, crossing one leg over the other casually. “The calming tea is what the healer requested you to drink. I told my staff to bring it whenever you come to a visit,” I informed him, raising my brow as I waited for him to settle himself.
The old man grumbled, but seemed to take me at my word, and lifted the teacup to his lips and drank. It was warm, and quite good if it wasn’t too prideful to admit my serving staff did excellent work. The herbs were all prepared here and grown in a greenhouse behind my estate.
“Now, please,” I said, as I watched his shoulders relax. “I believe you have held me in suspense long enough. What has made you so upset with me?” I could think of very little that would have brought my father’s displeasure on me. I have done my duty to the family and my work for the emperor with diligence. The capital thrived on spreading lies and tall tales. If I had an ear for it, I could listen to a new one nearly every hour if I wished. I couldn’t imagine what rumor he was so focused on. I didn’t have a mistress of low birth hidden away anywhere to taint our name.
My father had the grace to set the teacup down before he brought his eyes up to meet mine. From the look he was giving me, I had little doubt he would have thrown it if he weren’t as dignified a man as he portrayed himself to be. “Tell me, Balec, why do I hear that you have become a sponsor?”
“Oh.” I said, the only thing I could think to say. It wasn’t what I expected. How had that reached my father here in the capital? I was taking great care to keep it quiet.
My father straightened, the red quickly returning to his face. “Oh?! Is that all you have to say?!”
“Blood pressure,” I reminded him again and reached for my tea and took a drink, more for the allowance it gave me to think than any need of thirst. When I sat it down, my father was still waiting for an answer, though I couldn’t say he was at all calm. “Father, I should apologize. I didn’t intend for you to hear from an indirect source, but it is true. I have taken a child to sponsor. Word has spread without my knowledge. I would have much preferred to tell you myself.” Although I appeared to take it in stride, I was seething. Who dared speak of my private affairs with such blazon disregard for my wishes?
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“This is unprecedented!” My father exclaimed, his brows raising up in shock. I would almost think he hadn’t quite believed it and yet he came to my home angry with me? “You cannot possibly raise a child here! Where have you been hiding them? I have seen no evidence, and I am here more than once a week to share a meal.”
“Father,” I said, hoping to forestall more of his ramblings. It was amusing, however, that none of his arguments involved any tarnishing of our line by me raising a commoner to nobility. “He is not here. My sponsorship is merely a formality. The child does not wish to join noble society and has chosen a different path. I feel there is no need to force the issue.”
That shocked my father. He looked pale even, the color draining away from his face as I told him my decision. What is there to be so upset about now? “You can’t possibly be serious, Balec!”
“I am completely serious, Father,” I responded calmly, sipping at my tea.
“It is the Imperial Law,” he breathed. “You are risking much for a commoner’s desires! If this were to get to the wrong people, the Emperor could easily ask for your head!”
“All the more reason to keep it quiet,” I said, setting my cup down and folding my hands into my lap. “There is no reason to worry yourself, Father. I have the entire affair well in hand.”
“And what,” he asked, some of the color returning to his face, “do you have in order, exactly?”
He really needed to keep his blood pressure under control. The pressure of the council must be very severe indeed if he was losing his temper over such a minor affair. “The first high bishop submitted the documents I sighed with the temple registry,” I told him, though I neglected to mention I had lied about a good number of them. I had no interest in submitting something that would pull the emperor’s interest in Rueln’s direction.
Jaques wanted to oversee the entire affair, but I refused him. The pompous man did not need to insert himself into my business. The bishop feigned to take it with grace, but I didn’t trust him not to try other ways to insert himself around Rueln. Although Rueln hadn’t mentioned it to me, I was aware Jaques had entered the academy. It would be an overreach of my power to have him removed, so it forced me to wait until he made a mistake.
Shaking my head, I cleared my thoughts to return to the present and not the rising complications that awaited my attention. “I have followed the Imperial Law to the letter. I have seen to his advancement in education. His master’s been paid with a stipend to clothe and feed him, though she argued none was required. I registered him with the temple so that his identity is on record. I have even made arrangements for him to dine with me at my estate later this week. He is in a safe home, cared for, and has potential in the field craft he’s chosen to pursue. There is nothing stipulating that I must take him into my home and raise him as my ward.”
My father looked flabbergasted. I was completely disregarding the practice set forth by my predecessors among the aristocratic community. My interpretation of the law may be unorthodox, but suited my purpose well. I was rather pleased with the arrangement.
“By the lords and gods, Balec,” my father breathed. “You tempt fate.”
“I know the law,” I insisted, unflustered. “On paper, he is my ward. That, in the sense of the pestering temple, is all that is required.”
“At least tell me the child’s name.” Father sighed and leaned his face into his hand, suddenly looking his age. He has been overworking himself, that much was obvious.
“Rueln Layheart,” I answered, pouring myself another cup of tea and refilling his. “He is an exceedingly bright child. Bright enough to choose to find disgust with politics, one life being more than he wished to repeat.”
That comment had my father chuckling, some of the tension leaving his shoulders if not his eyes. “I wish to meet him.”
“Of course,” I answered, without the slightest hesitation. “It will be good for you to have more family than that old codger of a brother and your two meddlesome children. Narel shall meet him too. I’ll send an invitation tonight.”
“Family,” he said. “Hmph. Does the child understand the extent a sponsor's contract has in his life?”
“He and his master read the contract, and though she is knowledgeable of the laws in part, I doubt she has informed Rueln. He comes from an impoverished background and has an ill father and two siblings. With the child’s character, I have every reason to doubt he would have participated willingly with the sponsorship. I am far too busy to raise a child alone in this estate, and he is happy where he is. It is the better decision to leave him be.”
“Others will not believe so, Balec,” my father warned me, sitting back and running his hand through his well-trimmed beard. “If word of this spreads, someone might come along and fight to take him from you. There will be court battles, at the very least. The emperor could get involved. This will be a mess, Balec.”
“If anyone tries to interfere with my rights as his sponsor, then they will meet the end of my sword in a duel,” I stated, all warmth slipping away from my voice. “It is my right to protect what is mine, but in any case, I have taken steps to ensure he is of little interest to anyone else. Time will only tell if I will succeed.”
The room grew quiet as a servant entered with two trays of finger food. The servants set the trays down between us, taking the now empty pot, and left without a word. Seeing one of my favorites on the tray, I smiled. The chief had prepared it just for me, I knew, so I plucked it off the tray and set it beside my tea cup.
“By the way, Father,” I said, leaning forward to study him. “Tell me, from whom did you hear that I became a sponsor? If there is a rat meddling in my affairs, I would like very much to know who it is.”
“I received a letter,” my father admitted, digging in his coat pocket and pulling out a plain envelope. “I do not know from whom it was from. There was no address.” He offered it to me. I took it and opened the folded sheet up to reveal a scrawled sentence.
‘Congratulations to the addition to the family of the noble house of Milon. May your family prosper with the sponsorship. To the glory of the empire’s future.’
“What nonsense is this?” I murmured, unsure what to make of it, until I remembered the letter Alexan had brought to me when he spoke of my father’s arrival. “Alexan,” I called, knowing my manservant was just beyond the door.
Alexan entered and bowed to me, poised to obey my order. “Retrieve the letter I left in my study immediately.”
“Yes, my Lord Milon,” he said, then hurried away.
I returned my attention to the letter and was still studying it thoughtfully when Alexan returned and offered me the golden trimmed envelope. I took it and broke the seal, unfolding the letter and read. When I finished, I set the two down in front of my father so he could see the similarity in the distinct scrawl.
“When was this letter delivered?”
“This morning.”
“Alexan, when did I receive my letter?”
“Early this morning, my lord.”
I thought as much. “May I keep this letter, Father?” I asked, plucking it up and folding it. He nodded, and I stuck both in my lapel before picking up my teacup and resuming enjoying my drink.
“The writing is the same. What are you planning to do?” My father asked, not at all concerned that I wouldn’t take care of the issue.
“I have yet to decide,” I freely admitted. “They have overplayed their hand, and that deserves the proper response.”
“Do as you see fit,” my father said, speaking as head of the Milon house.
I smiled. “Oh, I will.”