Chapter 144 - Understanding the position of the Lesser Nobles
Before the war even started and most people got in their position, Vlad remained standing at the front of his house even before Sofiya and the others departed.
Looking around himself, he went back to his house, going back to his room, and went to a large storage chest that had many of his clothes. Shifting from dress to dress, he nodded his head, saying with a pleased tone.
"My, my. So my little Fay actually managed to sew something similar to my ceremonial dress. This is really reminiscent of my younger days. Hah, I sound once again like my older self."
Saying that with a smile on his face, he swiftly changed his casual clothes into these new clothes that, compared to the clothes in the chest, simply didn't belong there or in this era.
After that, he walked to a body size mirror that reflected his appearance.
"Sigh, I should grow my hair again. My old clothes don't fit properly if I am cut short."
After he said that, Vlad closed the chest, walked to grab Nemesis from his study that began shining a bit with a red aura when he grabbed it. Cleaning up the blade a bit calmly, he could feel a weak will inside Nemesis, something he noticed since awakening his spirit.
"Don't worry, partner. I will help you grow to the pinnacles a sword can achieve."
Vibrating a bit, Nemesis then stopped emitting any light or showing any activity signs, turning into a normal longsword.
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Finishing his preparations, Vlad walked out of the house and moved toward the sea surrounding the Wisdom Palace and where in the distance he could see the Noble District.
"I should make a visit to this Noble District since I have never seen it with my eyes. Indeed, let's see in what degenerate state it is now before I know how to act my will upon them."
Slowly blood began to gather around his back and morph in the shape of wings. Following that morphing of blood, he began surrounding himself in a black mist.
No longer waiting, he jumped toward the sea without caring that he was weak against the seawater and began flying close to the sea level at a fast speed.
Strong winds began disturbing the sea in his path, but fortunately for any fisherman or boat, they weren't present when Vlad was moving toward the noble district.
With each push of his crimson wings, he was getting closer to his destination, and in some minutes, he was close to the Wisdom Palace, but especially to the noble district.
Looking around himself while flying at fast speed, he noticed many transport size ships sailing around the sea and slowly moving around the noble district. This slow speed allowed Vlad to see perfectly who these people on the boats were, and the image of the noble district began to form in his head.
'This part of Sagletius is like Venice.'
'The people here use transport ships to travel in and out of the city using the sea and the canals. Impressive, to think people here would have such artistic and architectural gift to construct something similar to Venice.'
*** Lord, this Venice, how was it? ***
' Hah, don't remind me, the amount of annoyance those Venetians bankers created for me while I was looking for funding to fight against the Ottomans is something you little one can't imagine. Here, let me show you a part of my memory.'
Saying that, Vlad frowned a bit on the outside, but in his mind, he was standing on the large throne while being surrounded by a red Wisp and a black moth with a dead head on its back that were sitting on his shoulder. While on the throne, a vision appeared forward, like a portal, where the images of his memory that he referred to in his talk began being played out for the red Wisp.
*** Wow, these people wear the same clothes as you, Lord. The city also looks impressive.***
[Little Red, you are wrong, what you are seeing is just the nice part of the city. Like in any other place, there are also dark places. But I have to agree that the masked women there were a pleasant experience even for me.] I commented the black moth while looking at the red Wisp.
' I will subtract myself from this conversation. Do whatever you want, but don't disturb my infiltration.' said Vlad while closing the memory fragment with a wave of his hand, while at the same time closing his eyes and resting his body on the throne.
Once done with his mental talk, he moved to one of the ships entering the district, and with a swift way, he landed on the ship and spread out some dark mist around the people on the ship before they could even notice him.
"[Memory Fragment]"
Spoke Vlad softly under his breath before the dark mist surrounding him and the wings on his body began entering back into his body. Seconds later, the people on the transport ship, two noblewomen around their thirties and one guy that seemed to be a rich one, along with the guy rowing the ship, talked around each other, mainly the woman wearing beautiful clothes.
Then turning their heads at Vlad, they gave a courteous smile and asked Vlad, with an interested tone.
"Prince Dracula, why would you come to visit Kaysang, from all the way to the distant lands of Wallachia?"
Vlad, who made himself comfortable next to the noblewoman, smiled back courteously and replied with a calm tone.
"My ladies, I am just exploring around the sea and teaching myself on the matters of other kingdoms and states, with the hope I might improve the well-being of my people."
The two ladies took long gazes at Vlad, who was wearing his noble clothes from his first life, a recreation of them in the hands of Fay, Alicia and Elisabeth, and could only smile shyly at him.
"Your Excellency, sadly, you came at a bad time to Kaysang. We are in a precarious state where some rebellious people try to encroach on us nobles and destroy our lives. All I hope is you find safety once things escalate." said the rich-looking guy to Vlad with some emotion in his tone.
Hearing this made Vlad's expression shift to a more serious one, and as he stared into the eyes of the rich guy, he asked for more details.
"How come so? Why should citizens of the same country revolt against one another? I don't understand."
"My Lord, they are a band of criminals lead by the infamous criminal Blood. The part of the city they control is hell on earth, where only criminals walk on that dirty soil." commented one of the women on the ship.
This comment made Vlad chuckle a bit before saying with a confused tone. "Aren't they people too? When I came to Kaysang while passing by Valent City, all the people I spoke with could only praise Sol and their advances and trade practices. Did I get the wrong story from other people? That would be sad to know that I was lied to by the people."
The two ladies looked a bit down while the rich guy struggled to say something. Yet, Vlad, seated close to one noblewoman, touched her hand softly and said in a calm tone.
"My lady, why look down all of a sudden? Are you afraid of something? Tell me, have I been lied to by the Valent people?"
Feeling Vlad's soft touch, the woman raised her head to look in Vlad's green eyes that shone a bit with mesmerizing crimson light.
"My Lord, I am ashamed to tell you this, but because of the Council of Nobles lead by the grand nobles, we lesser nobles can't really express our thoughts and dissatisfaction to what is happening in Kaysang."
The instant the woman close to Vlad, who was holding his hand, said that the other woman and the rich guy's faces turned a bit panicked, except for the rowing guy who seemed to not even care.
"Katerine, stop talking about things you are forbidden to do!" said the guy to the woman.
Vlad raised his index finger as if to shut the man from talking while at the same time releasing a stronger pressure on the guy, lowering his head again.
"So your name is Katerine. What a beautiful name. Do you mind continuing? Tell me, what do you really think of the rebellious people in Sol and the entire situation of Kaysang?"
"My Lord, you are an outsider and a prince at that. Maybe you can help us in this hard time. This person, Blood, who took over Sol, a part of the Sagletius usually controlled by some bandits, I can't deny he transformed that place into something that can rival the biggest cities of the kingdom. But, we lesser nobles worry that we would be in between the conflict once he opens fires at the great nobles.
We are split. A significant majority of us lesser nobles don't support Duke Lacilet and his acolytes, while others would blindly believe his lies about how the people of Sol and the other nobles allying with Blood would hunt every noble.
It's evident for everyone with a brain that this person doesn't really see us lesser nobles as his enemies. Otherwise, why would he work with the nobles who wouldn't join the Council of Nobles?"
"I see, so you guys are split up. That's hard for you. But why don't you try to move out from this place, go back to your fiefs and not be included in this conflict?" asked Vlad calmly, while his image of the nobles residing in Sagletius started to shift a bit.
"We can't. If we do that, Duke Lacilet would target us and kill us, along with our families and take over our fiefs. The best example for such a situation was Duke Selentes, who had his family destroyed and his Dutchy destroyed and incorporated by Duke Lacilet. How can we, some lesser nobles who have a territory the size of some villages, fight against him and his acolytes?" said the woman, while her face turned depressed.
Hearing this confession from this woman, he tapped her hand a bit and said with a calming tone.
"Shouldn't you wish this Blood guy wins against this Council of Nobles?"
"Of course, Lord, but we should keep this only to our hearts and hope he doesn't target his wrath on us, lesser nobles. We are not much different compared to commoners. The only different thing is that we hold a noble title and some small lands, and we might have a higher literacy compared to them."
"He shouldn't be so blinded to not observe these things. I guess you guys just have to stay quiet in your houses and not fight against this guy. All you can do is hope that the future will be kind to you and remember your act of solidarity with the other side."
The woman turned her eyes at Vlad's expression, where she could see how calm and confident he was when saying those things.
"Thanks, your Excellency, for those encouraging words. Ahh, I feel much better sharing this."
Then as they were talking a bit more, the rowing man finally stopped after arriving at a small docking area, the point where Vlad and the others got off the ship and moved on their separate ways after bidding farewell.
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Vlad, who advanced toward the city, could only chuckle softly when remembering the face of that noblewoman Katerina. A small Baroness owned land close to the former Duchy of Selentines.
"She wasn't really that bad. Soft hands and body, it would have been fine to pursue her a bit if I was without a fiance."
[Master, your desires sure run deep inside your body. You know that the more you are consumed by darkness, the more I will love you.] said the Death's Head Moth in Vlad's head with a charming voice.
"Piss off, moth. We passed past the period where I couldn't control this power. Maybe those hellish monsters might prove a challenge to me, but you? Hah, that's funny."
[Sure, sure. I will wait for you to mess up.] said the black moth giving off a sinister laugh inside his mind.
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As Vlad entered the Noble District, he was welcomed by a series of alleys that were like a spider's web. Between the ends of each alley, he could spot a canal system transporting people from point to point.
Apart from this, around those alleys, all kinds of beautiful architectural buildings entered his sight, from homes to shops, everything was there for you to see. The people moving around the district were all diligently dressed.
Gorgeous ladies all the eyes could meet, dressed in aristocratic clothes or the kind only someone with money would buy. At the same time, the men walked casually in gentlemanly garments to match the ladies. This was indeed the zone only the chosen of the kingdom would live in.
Separating the district where all the alleys were intersecting was a grand square that he could see in front of him from where he was. Decorated in white marble and guarded by a large column in the middle of a fountain.
When leaving the square and continuing his exploration, passing another small bridge, a large building looking to be close to a cathedral started to show itself to Vlad's eyes.
The style was one never seen by Vlad, but it had some parts of gothic architecture and some roman architecture combined. When Vlad saw the cathedral, his first reaction was to snort, thinking back at his ignorant self that was a dedicated believer to almost zealot level, which resulted in a hellish life on his part.
'To think that there would actually be similar believers in this world. Sigh, I need to reform them once I get on the royal seat. While faith is important for common people, churches need to be a spiritual symbol of that faith that wouldn't conflict with my world.'
'I will not let myself be weakened by some old bag of bones that would push around their will be extorting my people for their own agendas.'
Looking around the cathedral, he saw the well-dressed men and ladies entering and exiting the cathedral, to which Vlad didn't care, instead of walking by the cathedral going to look for other places.
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Minutes passed with Vlad's exploration that took him to different places and alleys meticulously maintained by slaves wearing tattered clothes. When Vlad moved around the alleys and into residence zones, he could see the beautiful slave girls doing laundry or cleaning the nobles or wealthy people's houses. Their alleys, windows, he had slowly seen all.
'There is still a different treatment to these people working here. While they might be slaves, at least they are treated well to be fed.'
As he stepped forward, going back to exploring other zones looking like a dignified noble who was checking the city, he spotted a medium-size building where kids around 8 to 13 were going inside. He was intrigued by this view of well-dressed kids followed by their servants entering the building.
"Ohh, interesting. These nobles also have a University? I heard some of those stories from Kavos, but I never gave them much importance. Let me check how the atmosphere is around."
Saying that Vlad started moving toward the building, following behind the servants and kids who walked to the building. It was quite comical for a tall man like Vlad, about 1,87 meters, to follow behind the noble kids.
His expression was calm and even intrigued, but when almost entering inside the building, some guards stopped him from entering the building, turning a bit conflicted when seeing Vlad's noble appearance.
"Your Excellency, this building is off-limits. Only the descendants of the great nobles and accredited citizens of Kaysang can enter this building."
Vlad looked at the guards with a calm face, not gesturing any annoyance or discomfort. From nowhere, he frowned a bit, and a dark-crimson wave exited his body, touching those guards, knocking them unconscious.
"What amusing fools. But only a small breath from me is enough to put you to sleep, so why bother me?"
[That's always something that will bug at us, those fools who can't open their eyes and see danger in front of them.]
*** They are not dead. ***
"I know. Why should I even kill them? Knocking them unconscious is easier using my will."
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Walking inside the building had a hallway that had rooms left and right and a stairway leading to an upper floor. Vlad spotted a bench by the side of a wall and started in silence to observe the kids laughing and talking between themselves.
A cheerful atmosphere where kids were going in different rooms by the hallway. Soon he was the only one in the hallway. The cheerful atmosphere the kids made ended. However, not long, an adult showed up, walking from the stairway down towards one of the rooms, noticing the tall young man standing there on the bench looking around the hallway.
The adult was around 1,76 meters and had a fragile frame with black hair and glasses. Vlad only noticed the man when he was right in front of him. When seeing Vlad from up close, the glassed men remembered some portraits he admired when he was younger.
The young man in front of him looked quite close to that hero of his, the Crown Prince Vermilion Lucius.
"Your Excellency, who might you be? You don't seem to belong in this environment. What are you looking for?"
"Nothing much, just the cheerful laughs of innocent kids. Hmmm, maybe I should go so I don't disturb those kids. See you later, mister, who knows, maybe we might meet again soon." said Vlad while looking at the scholar's face who was doing the same, feeling that the young man was truly closer to Lucius in appearance
"Wait for a second young man, stop right there. What is your name?" asked the man quickly when he saw that Vlad was moving out of the school.
Chuckling when he heard the adult asking him that, he said. "Vlad. Just Vlad for now, anyway, it was nice to see those cheerful faces." answered Vlad, later going out of the building.
The guards only now recovered from Vlad's will. However, when Vlad exited the building, he once again spread a bit of his pressuring will, getting those two guards again unconscious.
The teacher followed Vlad's back, and by the time he went out, he couldn't see one shadow from Vlad but instead saw the two guards that should guard the school entry, dropped on the ground unconscious.
"Don't tell me it is that young man doing?"
Going toward the guards, he shook them to wake them. While doing so, the guards slowly wake up and held confused faces when staring at each other and the teacher.
"Lord Antonius, what just happened? I clearly remember that I was watching as the kids were entering the school building. When suddenly a noble young man that I've never seen approached to enter, then suddenly everything went black." asked one of the guards, followed by his partner, who nodded his head in agreement, feeling that what the first one described was similar to his experience.
"Hmm, interesting, something I've never seen before happening. Well, it is good that no one is hurt. Go on to your positions, guys. I have to teach those noble brats again."
"Lord Antonius, you are not angry at us, right?"
"Hah, why should I be? You've been serving under me for like what? Eight or nine years by now?"
"It is ten years with this year."
"Ahh, that's right. So why bother asking me that? Go back to your positions, and if you hear a commotion come and report to me."
"Understood, my Lord."
Saying that, the teacher entered back inside the building after he was done checking on the guards.
Entering inside, he was welcomed by the noise of the noble brats arguing with each other.
'Sigh, damned job. So much I wish I don't have to deal with those nobles spawns. But I can escape from here. My family is held hostage by Lacilet's bastards. I can only do this job quietly. However, news that Blood from the other side of the kingdom is preparing to strike down Lacilet. I can't wait to hear about those bastards' demise."
