I sat on my throne, tapping my finger impatiently on the arm. Shia and Cannara were absent, leaving the ever-present Hana at my side. A drop of sweat fell down her neck at my impatience.
I was excited, though, and worried in equal measure. When I’d used [Locate Specialist], it had pointed me to a noble in Ribera. After having Cannara investigate, I’d thought him perfect for my Council, but I couldn’t be sure of the Lord's loyalties until I spoke to him.
Larheim’s aristocracy had three meaningful tiers—King, Dukes, and Lords. That was it. There were actually myriad titles they could hold, which was where ‘Duke’ came from. But—as I sincerely didn’t care what ridiculous word I was supposed to put in front of their names—I’d decided to call them all ‘Lords’ instead.
These were mostly irrelevant anyway. A Duke leased the land of their duchy from the King, and bestowed portions and titles on families of high birth and acclaim. Nowadays, it was mostly hereditary.
Lords came in two varieties: Landlords, and lesser Lords. The Landlords were the administrators, who dealt directly with the Dukes, and collected rent and harvests from peasants in return for protection and wages.
Lesser Lords were their children and other family members. They usually either worked for the Landlord or some aristocrat of higher status.
Naturally, the most profit was to be had in ripping off their farmers and miners, so I immediately disliked the system. Ideally, the labourers would own the land themselves, only paying taxes to the Crown.
However, our only state-sponsored education came in the form of the Royal Academy, which was only open to nobles in the first place. Without first increasing education, I couldn’t hope to abolish this stupid system.
In any case, it had too many moving parts. Too many stops before the goods reached their actual target—the population—if they even got there at all. In the first stage of my plan, the Landlords would pay both proper wages and hefty taxes to the Crown. Dukes would just govern the area for me.
The second stage, though, meant abolishing the nobility where it stood, which meant I was treading thin ice when dealing with any of them. If they disputed this, they could easily scheme against me.
I’d seen a lesser Lord when using my Skill, but his class was Economist, and I desperately needed a Treasurer. It was worth the risk.
My main problem was that he worked for Duke Aleister.
Snapping me from my reverie, a series of grunts and groans rang out as Cannara frog-marched a young man—dark-haired and gangly, wearing fine silks and cotton in vibrant colours—into the throne room.
She smirked as she deposited him before me, gripping his ass. He yelped, then turned to her with wide eyes, stuttering.
“M—my dear,” he said, his enunciation precise, “in front of the King?”
“Yes, Cannara,” I said, “in front of the King?”
Shrugging, she whispered something in his ear that made him turn into a beet, then turned on her heel and left. I sighed.
The young noble eyed me, clearly nervous. Konstantin Verard was the third son of the Verard family, who oversaw the fields and mines around Zarua, the capital of Ribera. Despite his position, he was ostensibly a black sheep. His days in the Academy had been spent romancing young Ladies, and upon returning to his house, he’s spent most of his free time drinking and fucking. Lucky bastard.
He also loved fashion, apparently, and the combination had led to his father sending him off to Duke Ribera’s manor, probably aiming to distance himself from the source of his shame.
I thought it was bullshit, but what did I know about how these people’s minds worked?
“Lord Verard,” I said, scanning him up and down. Almost a head taller than me, he appeared as if any movement might have him accidentally punch himself in the groin.
“Your Highness,” he said, shocking me. So there was an accepted form of address for monarchs beyond ‘sire’. This would help if I ever ran into that Atlantean monster Relas had told me about.
“Do you understand why you’re here?”
“Not… particularly, sire.” He glanced around frantically. “I had heard a new monarch had taken the throne, but in honesty, I simply assumed I would find my way to your lovely attendant’s bed.”
“Yeah,” I said, sucking my teeth, “she’s good at that. But you never know, maybe you still have a shot.”
“Perhaps,” he replied, his mouth twitching. “But this is not why you dragged me here, is it?”
Though his words sounded accusatory, the tone was simple and frank. I might come to like this guy.
“No,” I said. “I’ll start with a question—what do you think of your position?”
“I’m… not quite sure what you mean, sire.”
“Your nobility, the circumstances of your birth. What privileges do you think it should give you?”
His eyes glazed over for a second, deep in thought. “Respect, sire, but nothing more than that. All people deserve to be treated with dignity—we bleed the same blood, and our hearts all beat the same. We are born in the dark, and we shall die in the dark.”
I smiled. I definitely liked this guy. Since he’d passed the first test, it was time to move on. “What about Duke Ribera? What do you think of him?”
He paused, pursing his lips. “Have I your permission to speak freely?”
“I wouldn’t ask a question if I didn’t want the answer, would I?”
Nodding, he said, “Duke Aleister Ribera is nothing more than a common rogue.”
“What makes you say that?” More than completing my quest or gaining a new subordinate, this was also an opportunity to learn information from Aleister’s inner circle.
“The way he treats his people, sire. He takes all that he can out of them, returning only the bare minimum they require to survive, and lounges in his luxurious manor while growing fat from the fruits of others’ labour. Rather than dignity, he treats them with contempt, ensuring their knowledge that they are beneath him.
“And rest assured, the only acceptable knowledge or truth in Ribera is his.”
I paled. How was I supposed to win over those people if Aleister spoon-fed them all their information? Never mind a revolution, I’d be lucky to start a book club.
“So you’re not a fan, then?” I said.
“If I could, I would leave Zarua forever and not look back.”
“What’s stopping you?”
He glanced at his feet, his shoulders slumping. “My family, sire. Should I decide to abandon him or expose his crimes, he has assured me that they will spend the rest of their short lives hanging from a noose.”
I swallowed. What kind of sick, twisted piece of shit used a person’s family for leverage? Still, if Aleister valued him enough to go that far, he had to be good at his job. Moreover, I knew his loyalties now. I had a bargaining chip.
That I could weaken Aleister in the process was a bonus.
“If I said I would protect them?” I said.
“Then I would be inclined to consider my options,” he replied.
Relaxing, I waved at Hana, asking her to bring us some wine. “Where are the crops going, Lord Verard?”
“Mostly to Antira,” he said. “The gold lines Duke Ribera’s pockets, and he keeps what he needs to increase the size of his army. All metals he doesn’t sell to them are kept for weapons.”
A hole opened in my gut. Propaganda, an army, and priceless notes of hedonism sprinkled with narcissism—it seemed Aleister had designs on gathering greater power. Why did I have to deal with this shit?
“I see,” I said, contemplative. “Then tell me, Lord Verard: are you willing to leave your old master behind, and work with me as Treasurer to create a better Larheim for everyone, noble and common alike?”
He took a few seconds to think it over, and Hana returned with the wine, looking annoyed at being treated like a servant. Unfortunately, Ella was already overworked, so she’d have to deal with it for now. After draining his cup, Konstantin nodded.
“I shall humbly accept your offer, sire.”
“Brilliant!” Standing, I clapped my hands, grinning at him. “Everything you need is in the Treasury! There’s a mountain of paperwork to deal with, and I’m not sure about the efficiency of our spending, so if you could go through all that, it’d be a massive help.”
“Um…”
“There’s also some projects I want to start, and freeing up the funding for that takes priority, so I want you to start right away. Every bit counts, right? Oh, and don’t be afraid to hire as many bureaucrats as you need to help, all right?”
He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Yes, sire.”
Ding!
|
Specialist recruited! Congratulations! You have reached level 3! Congratulations! You have reached level 4! Congratulations! You have reached level 5! New Skills available! Class system unlocked! |
Wait, there was a Class system? Why hadn’t this been in my… there hadn’t been a tutorial, had there? I wanted desperately to focus on it right then and explore what multitude of options I had, but I still had to see Konstantin out.
I could wait a few minutes.
As he turned to leave, one of the guards Duke Kalvin had sent—Captain Tomas—announced himself, entering the room carrying a small wooden package. Shia trotted alongside him.
I furrowed my brow, waiting for her to trip, but thankfully it didn’t materialise.
“Captain.” Nodding at him, I let my gaze ask the question.
“A messenger delivered this for you, sire,” he said.
“Where from?”
“Ribera.”
My heart jumped into my mouth.
“I’ve had Lady Kalvin look it over, sire, but it doesn’t appear to be dangerous.”
“The school of magic is different from mine,” she said, avoiding looking at Tomas, “but it’s assuredly magical. I can’t detect any traps, but I still think you should be careful.”
I took the box from Tomas, opening it up and producing the contents.
It was a mirror.
Knowing how these things tended to work, I flapped my lips. Apparently, Duke Aleister wanted to talk.
