章節 98: He Did What?
"If there were one thing that I would say would be a speciality of House Aurellion, it is how they use others and their conflicts to deal with their enemies in a low-key manner."
"This allows others to take both the credit and the blame for actions and schemes initiated by the noble house itself."
"There is no better example than what happened in the Duchy of Deternor when Railius Aurellion was but 10 years old."
"An event that would only have its truth revealed many years after it was done."
Levath Rammat, Historian and politician in the Kingdom of Athurus.
….
"He did what?!"
Railius exclaimed, not believing what he had heard. Subconsciously, he stood up angrily and knocked over his small table before beginning a rage-filled rant!
"What….. Bloody….. Part…. Of….. Keep a low profile. Did our good commander not fucking understand!"
"Does he not know that we can't fight the duke right now?"
"Does he know how much more effort I'll have to put in now to clean up the shitstorm he created?"
"We spent so long and finally found a place that is safe, and he just had to go and piss off the most powerful person in the duchy!"
Railius complained out loud as he felt a headache appear. He has had to connect and disconnect from the game constantly to allow time to pass as a lot of small things needed to happen, which then needed to get reported to him, making him more and more frustrated with this part of the game where he is a child and can't do much to influence things instead having to allow his subordinates to deal with these rather sensitive issues.
He did not seem to understand that delegating tasks to people and taking responsibility for their outcomes was part of his job as a lord and that he would not be able to handle everything himself, which is why he needed to get used to situations like this where he relied on others to do work for him.
In the tent, Malwin diligently stood by watching his lord's outburst.
'Seems our lazy young lord is afraid of having to do more hard work and more angry about that than anything else.'
The baron noted to himself his black hair fluttered slightly as a biting cold breeze blew through the tent's flap, prompting Railius to put a fur cloak on to keep warm in the absence of the modern central heating that he was used. It also gave him a new appreciation for things that he had taken for granted until he played the game, as there were no modern amenities in this medieval game that tried to replicate medieval times as much as possible.
The closest thing that got to a modern amenity was the friend list and the ability to send text-like messages to friends, but even that is somewhat restricted while in the game and only fully available when they are relaxing in their lobbies.
Seeing that his lord struggled to calm down, Malwin interrupted his lord's loud complaining.
"My lord, what matters now is that we find a way to help Darius while still maintaining our position in the duchy. If worse comes to worse, we can have Darius move Sigismond's security service to another place. Because we have no easily identifiable connection with them, we can stay here while they go elsewhere and send money back to us covertly. There is no need for you to get so angry."
"Darius merely wanted to increase his organisation's reputation in the quickest manner possible so he could help us out with our current dire financial problems. As such, his actions are understandable."
Malwin said, trying to soothe the lord's anger while pointing out that because Railius had already prepared a way out for himself, he did not need to be worried.
"You two sure have a good relationship with each other for you two to support one another so steadfastly."
Railius said his eyes and demeanour, once lazy and inattentive, turned wise and bright in an instant, and it now dawned on the baron that his lord could change from lethargic and uninterested to keen and sharp within a matter of seconds. He also understood the implications of his young lord's words but was surprised when the small boy sighed, seeming to calm down and answered his own worries.
"Though I suppose it makes sense not only did you work together to escape from Chavaria but you also worked together for years, it is not a bad thing for two loyal subjects to get on and be able to work together well."
"Don't worry. I said that out of anger right now. I was not doubting either Darius or your loyalty, my lord."
Railius said, putting to rest any worries that the baron may have as he had not been around for too long, and so being suspicious of him may drive away this talented person that the young player knew he would need in the future as he was only 30 years old at the moment, and so would be around for at least the next 20 – 30 years in game making him an invaluable asset.
"After what you have been through at such a young age my lord, it would be normal for anyone to be suspicious. I don't blame you one bit."
The baron said with understanding at 10 years old, his family was killed, and he barely escaped their fate. Just the fact that the boy could remain calm and take care of matters so well was impressive, as he showed a maturity that was far beyond his years.
"Guards!"
Railius called out, prompting the two guards that stood watchful outside his tent to rush in with no one around in their camp except their own people. These guards wore their Pelican Guard armour due to its comfort and strength; the crimson cloaks latched onto their shoulders helped to keep the cold and other elements from affecting them too much.
"My lord?"
They asked respectfully, waiting for his orders.
"Call for a meeting in the main command tent. We have urgent business to discuss, and I'll need the input of the Grand Commander!"
Railius' childish voice sounded out, attempting to be authoritative but failing. Luckily, Leon Mantelon was a loyal regent, and thanks to him allowing Railius to build up a reputation amongst his men by having him deal with The Free Brothers and Duke of Plantaria, he had a lot more say in matters than a child ruler typically would as he has already shown such capability at such a young age.
"I'm sorry for interrupting your lecture, teacher, but it appears we have an urgent matter to attend to."
Railius said, bowing to his teacher to show his respect while having a sorrow-filled expression as he quite liked his lessons with the baron that were far more relaxing than Leon's, where the Grandmaster of Loyalty became a demonic instructor forcing him to do all sorts of painful and exhausting exercises in an attempt to improve his physical attributes.
"Don't worry, my lord, it is far more pressing to deal with Darius' matter. Despite his intelligence and loyalty, he is prone to getting himself into trouble. I can't count how often I have had to smooth over his actions to others when we worked together in the old territory. To be honest, in this respect, he is a bit like you, my lord."
The Baron said, wondering what kind of trouble his friend had stirred up this time.
In the command tent, Vice Commander Oswan, Baron Malwin and Leon Mantelon stood before Railius, who was sitting at a small, nicely carved oak wooden table; while it was not of the best quality, it was far more than adequate for the young lord's needs until they had the money to arrange for something that was much more fitting for his station.
"What are your thoughts on how we resolve this crisis?"
Railius asked sternly after getting all the information he needed from the messenger Sigismond had sent them and explaining it to his subordinates. He wanted to know how they suggested in dealing with their current predicament that threatened to turn a duke against them.
The last thing he wanted to do now was deal with these sorts of matters as he had training quests to do, but no one said that being a noble was the easiest thing in the world as, despite their apparent wealth and power, they always lived on a knife edge as this power could be taken away from them at any second.
"My lord, can we not just protect someone else and apologise to the duke?"
Oswan asked as he had much less experience in politics than Malwin and so could not see that Darius had not only burnt the bridge with the duke but shit in his bed too.
"That's impossible! The duke is someone with great pride. He won't tolerate someone embarrassing him or his allies. We would just be prolonging the inevitable while ruining the security services reputation."
Malwin said ending that idea for a while would gain them a few days. Once the Duke had finished with this merchant, he would then turn his attention towards Darius as he was the person who put him in this embarrassing and challenging position in the first place!
Everyone knew that it was the duke who decided who could trade through his duchy and when and that without him, you were destined to die a gruesome death as by hook or by crook, he would get his money and control over these merchants who then would trade with who he asked.
This was actually one of the main reasons why he had managed to gain so much influence in the kingdom as he used his position to control what goods went where, so if someone wanted iron or food quickly from the south, then they would have to bargain with him, not the merchants. So it would be understandable that the duke would want to show those within and without his duchy that he was still as powerful as ever and deal with Sigismond, who dared to challenge the profitable status quo that he had created.
"My lord, why don't we use the Count of Brineyard? It is House Aurellion's speciality, is it not?"
Malwin suggested, a cunning smile appearing on his face.
"The Count of Brineyard, huh?"
"Yes, that could work."
Railius said, understanding what Malwin was implying and smiling as well. It was nice to work with intelligent people as with only a few words exchanged; both men had already decided on House Aurellion's next move and their solution to the problem.
"My lord, would you mind enlightening your loyal subjects as to what you and the baron are talking about."
Leon asked, happy that the two seemed to understand each other so well but annoyed that their conversation went right over his head.
"Send a message to Darius telling him to seek out the count. I'll write him instructions myself to help him and tell him to keep to the script this time. I don't want another problem like this appearing on my lap due to him going rouge."
Railius said before turning to his loyal regent with the same smile he wore when he succeeded in getting Duke Ancel of Plantaria on his side.
"Don't worry, Uncle Leon, you will enjoy the coming show. I guarantee it. How about I tell you what will go on backstage once I've finished this letter?"
Railius said with an evil laugh as he wrote his letter, knowing that unless he told Leon his plan himself, the regent would try to stop him, and he needed his permission for this plan to go smoothly.
….
"He did what?"
In a castle that dominated the city below its dark grey stone, spreading suppression to the surrounding dwellings and country, a handsome man sat on a throne in an opulent throne room around him. Paintings of his forefather's achievements adorned its walls, chronicling the presence of a once prosperous territory that had fallen due to the depravity and greed of the last two rulers.
"Crash!"
A golden chalice was thrown to the ground by the angry duke whose voice seemed to reverberate through the castle walls as his subordinates were silent, afraid to gain the ire and hatred of the now-angry nobleman.
"You telling me not only did Packard challenge this 'security company' but then was beaten by some no-name caravan guard in public, and to top it all off, the leader of this mysterious group even dared to threaten me with the king and crown prince?"
The man questioned the quaking messenger, who hoped he would not be punished for being the bringer of bad news.
"Y-yes, your grace. Just as The Red Blades were about to get the contract, these men appeared to beat up Captain Packard after he challenged them and then proceeded to take the merchant's contract for themselves. They even did it for a 1/3 cheaper than The Red Blades."
The terrified messenger said, stuttering slightly before mustering up his courage and finishing his sentence by speaking clearly.
"Why the hell weren't they arrested then?"
The duke said in anger before one of his advisers said.
"Your grace, their leader, was quite eloquent and seemed to be educated. As you know, it is rare for commoners to have such good education and if news of a noble being arrested for being challenged by a commoner reaches the royal court, then…."
"Yes, I understand! You can leave!"
The duke said to the messenger, who could no longer be of use to him as it was likely that his advisors were already familiar with this incident.
"So, have we discovered who he is and where he came from?"
"No, your grace, we should have a report about that within a few days, but that security company or whatever has left the capital with the merchant Ralston Ryemire, but we do know that their accents seemed Chavarian."
"Chavarian? What the hell are Chavarian's doing so far down south? Does that emperor think he can mess around in my lands now?"
The duke spoke his mind out loud as he took on a thoughtful expression, his anger subsiding and being replaced with the greedy, ruthless pragmatism he was so renowned for.
"I see interesting look into them more and that new refugee camp that turned up as they seem to be settling down for the long haul."
The duke said as his court acknowledged the order, he dismissed them.
"Ronas!"
Duke Ridorfin called out to his trusty grandmaster and advisor, who seemed to appear from the shadows and knelt in respect before the nobleman. His bright blond hair and grass-green eyes shone in the chandelier light while masking his presence. If it were not for Ridorfin seeing the man himself, he would have no idea that he was here as his aura seemed formless, matching perfectly with his surroundings.
"Is everything prepared?"
The duke asked, having long planned to take out this merchant as his opponent had bribed him with a significant amount of money and promised the duke would even get 10% of all his profits if he could deal with this Ralston person.
"Yes, your grace. The bandit groups have been contacted and will set up an ambush before they leave your lands."
"Good. The Red Blades also got humiliated by these insolent bastards, so allow them to help out if they wish. I don't want anything going wrong with this operation. Our reputation and control of the merchants depend on it, and if this group can get them to their destination without needing our help, then they will be less inclined to seek us out for 'donations'!"
The cunning duke said, a vicious glint in his eyes.
'I'll show those fuckers and anyone else who dares to seek trouble what happens to those who go against me!'
The Duke thought as he picked up another golden chalice filled with wine, not knowing that his actions would bring him endless problems in the future.
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LaziestDragon
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