The young lord took a sigh as he relieved his stress from the current uneasy political situation. From his memory, and with the knowledge he has learnt during his reincarnation, he understands he is a member of House Alfhard, the last Alfhard. And their domain includes Hestanar, a port city near the border of the Hinck Theocracy.
But Kent is not only a lord, he is considered to be an Earl. The difference between a lord and an Earl is that the lord owns a castle and some borrowed land. The key here is the "borrowed" part. A lord owns a castle, but the land on which his castle is built is owned by an Earl.
Thus, Kent has quite the title to be envious of. Only a few people have the title of an Earl in Tetbury, and Kent could be considered as one of the few. However, although Kent is an Earl, the land he owns is minuscule compared to the other Earls. Kent is considered to be a pseudo Earl, as he only has one castle in his land, his own.
The Hinckneth Land, as Kent's domain is called, has a deeper meaning to it. The "Hinck" part in its name is not a coincidence. As it was years ago when Kent's forefathers earn their Earl status by directly changing allegiance from the Hinck Theocracy to Tetbury. Thus, House Alfhard once served as bannerman for the Hinck, but their traitorous action to instead follow Tetbury earned the House their Earl status.
As for the tense political situation, it is only to be expected from all the ongoing conflict. With Tetbury being nothing more but a dominion, they are nothing more than a puppet for the Wisted's use. Tetbury's official name is the Dominion of Tetbury, being a puppet state for the Kingdom of Wisted. Though Tetbury earned its self-autonomy to act as they please in its domain, Tetbury's international affairs are dictated by the wishes of the Kingdom of Wisted.
The Kingdom is at Tetbury's West. The Theocracy is at Tetbury's East. So really, Tetbury is nothing more than a sacrificial lamb to protect the Kingdom of Wisted if the Hinck Theocracy ever invades them.
But the Hincks haven't instigated any matters to be concerned about, the past few decades of peace were always welcomed by all. All but until recently. Rumours say an envoy got mysteriously murdered during their visit, others say a high official was openly mocked during their travels. Whatever the reason, the Hincks has openly declared war.
It was an act that put the whole continent in jeopardy, causing a ripple effect in many of the surrounding states. Though the Hincks are not attacking Tetbury, there are no guarantees, not when a lunatic is ruling the Theocracy.
But that is why Kent is also taking preparations, as too were House Giraudus. As lords that own castles near the Hinck, it is paramount that they act vigilantly against those loonies. House Giraudus, the ruling family of Witford, already sent their finest scouts to survey any suspicious activities.
Therefore Kent has taken particular emphasis on Hestanar's defence, as well as training capable men that are of strength to protect the town in times of need. With the possibility of war looming over the horizon, Kent could only hope his preparation are enough to repel any possibility of hostile conflict.
Because at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is, whether are we ready for any outcome those lunatics might throw at us.
***
The chattering noises of kids filled the downstairs as the lord continuously write scribbles on his parchment paper, jotting down his ideas and anything of interest that he might want to deal with.
Though serving as a lord is taxing, Sebastian is always of great assistance. But now another duty calls the lord, as he prepared his teaching materials and try to memorise his content one last time before calmly walking into the classroom. He is to begin teaching literature. For this lesson, he says, he'll read from the Old Testament.
The teacher's lecture is followed by questions from the students, to which he gives allusive answers. Kent stressed the importance of self-analysis and independent interpretation of the reading materials.
Kent quieted his class as he began reading the Old Testament, a scared text passed down by Dunbury Religion.
.
The story goes that at the age before us, before the beginning of time, Noah, a Sheep Herder guides his animals through the mountains to reach a distant location.
The journey was far and taxing on the Sheep Herder as the landscape was bare of any food. Water was also hard to find.
But after many days of travel. At last, the Sheep Herder arrives at a rocky shore with an endless amount of water.
All of a sudden, a voice sounds, Tarenmouth, a brown wolf that resided in the mountain, asks Noah for some food as her hunger threatened her life.
The wolf asked Noah for the flesh of a small lamb to feed upon. Regretfully, Noah accepted the deal, as he feared the brown wolf attacking him.
After Tarenmouth ate one lamb, she was still hungry, but she ignored her hunger. Again, Tarenmouth asks another lamb, but this time to feed his wolf pups.
Noah was already devastated by the sacrifice of a small lamb and wanted to reject it. But when he realised so too did the brown wolf needed to feed more than herself, Noah agreed.
Watching painfully as Tarenmouth killed another lamb in front of his eyes, before feeding it to her pups. Tarenmouth thanked Noah for his kindness, as well as his sacrifice.
But again, Tarenmouth asks for another lamb, this time to be sacrificed in honour of her ancestors that are watching above her. Noah the Shepherd didn't pay any heed. No rejected the offer, reiterating that sacrificing life for something that is already sacrificed is pointless.
Tarenmouth answered "I will eat you, and your offspring; I will drink your blood and bathe in it" threatening the Shepherd.
Noah pleaded for mercy. Tarenmouth the brown wolf, responded to him, saying she would release him on one condition, that Noah kills his children in her place. With no options left, Noah complied with her demand.
.
"And what do you think the text is trying to tell us?" Kent asked his class as he closed the thick book of ancient text.
"The text is trying to show us how the sacrifice of a life, for the sake of an honour that is given by the righteous is a stupid idea." said one.
Kent nodded his head, but he voiced another question. "What about the sacrifice of an animal? Isn't that more honourable?"
"Does the animal truly need to be slaughtered to justify an honour?" questioned another student.
"There is a sacrifice – a sacrifice. The noblest is the one where you feel no pain" Kent expressed.
Now it is the kids' turn to question the reading material. But they seem unsatisfied with what Kent had to say.
The moral teacher in the classroom had to fight back against his expectations of how the lesson should go. After all, he was the teacher.
"Noah is our ancestor, and he is the only family member to have been left alive," Kent says.
"He will be judged for his hubris" he adds
"He made the same mistake as us," Kent says to his class.
"But our ancestors haven't made the same mistakes, so they aren't as sinful as him." said one.
"His sins must be forgiven because of the sacrifice." said another.
"But Noah is the one who needs to be forgiven. He was the sheep herder and should have provided the bread. Noah should have made a sacrifice that satisfied him".
.
The moral of the story seems to have little to do with Noah himself, and everything to do with what society believes a good person should do to avoid karma.