In the few months that had passed since Neera and Davina's escape a lot of things had changed back in Singre.
Although the Duke was finally free from the populace's incessant pestering, having been appeased by the execution of corrupt nobles, he was now constantly pressured by the remaining court, who pushed for an agenda different from his.
The rest of the nobles wanted the immediate extermination of the Evernon county, working for such a situation by trying to impose heavy regulations in fear of losing the revenue from their crops. The Duke, on the other side, wanted to wait for the county's business to be established first before executing the Count for treason so he could confiscate all his assets. This would make his ownership of the business justifiable in the eyes of the nobility, making them unable to fight him for it at the royal court.
With the naval fleet he could also gain the favor of the royal family, coercing them towards a political marriage in exchange for more grain for the military, making the whole idea even more enticing. Obviously, the nobility knew this, hence their strong efforts to prevent it.
Thanks to the antics of his immature son, he could now leverage the control he had over the ownerless lands after the purge in order to keep the court at bay. New heads had to rise from every territory since they had been conferred by the crown, preventing him from taking ownership of them, but having all the descendants detained in the dungeon made it quite easy for him to choose candidates who would be loyal to him.
He might even keep some of their relatives detained for corruption in order to constraint them.
Over all, the whole fiasco turned out to be in his favor, with much more control over the region than when he only bribed his vassals by turning a bling eye to their use of the relief funds. Still, his relationship with the court had most definitely turned sour, with all the remaining nobles favoring his son and insisting in his ascent.
Said son now stood in front of him in his office, with his eyes on the ground while his tutors kneeled on the floor.
"What is this?! Do you take me for a fool?! You think just because you gained some support behind my back you can now laze around?!"
In his hand, crumpled exam papers showed failing numbers.
The Duke had left the brat alone since his academic prowess had been satisfactory, along with his excellence in every other subject he partook in, but now, as if content with the backing he had gained, Elron's studies took a turn for the worse, failing every single task he had been given.
This was completely preposterous. A child becoming so arrogant in front of his father? He would never let this slip by.
A strong slap resounded in the room, pushing Elron's face harshly to the side.
He felt blood gather inside of his mouth, staining his teeth red as he spoke.
"I am truly sorry, father. I will not disappoint you again."
With his head still lowered, Elron swallowed his pride, knowing he had to do so to appease the fuming man in front of him.
If there was one thing that his father hated most it was the disregard of his authority. If a commoner was too slow to kneel in his presence he would be quick to have them publicly executed for disrespecting his lordly status. It was quite a common trait among the nobility, instilling fear on their subjects.
Elron remembered his mother's words previous to coming here.
'Lay low for some time. Your father is too anxious right now, so it is best for you to not appear in front of him for a while. Take this time to prepare yourself and gather your supporters for the succession. When you come of age we need to cement your heirloom of the duchy's seat. Don't worry, I am making preparations for you to succeed.'
There was no other choice for him but to bite his tongue and resign himself.
After loosing Neera, he was finally faced with how complacent he had become. Only vaguely listening to his lessons for years now led him to fail so spectacularly that some even began to wonder whether he had fallen ill.
It was embarrassing to be so outperformed by a commoner, a whore from the harem at that. A girl, no more than a mere toy, had used him to her convenience and left him to rot, that much at least was clear to him.
She had only been using him until her escape, but he still couldn't reveal this fact to protect his reputation and avoid punishment for helping her succeed in taking one of his father's most prized possessions.
"That is enough. Go back to your quarters. All of your other extracurricular activities will cease until your academic scores go back to being satisfactory. Now leave."
With a slight bow, the boy left the Duke's office followed by his shivering tutors.
The Duke turned to his aide, adjusting his collar after his outburst.
"How are things going with the investigation?"
"My Lord, we have sent people to every noble house in the region and studied their movements, but none of them shows any signs of contacting the County. It is actually quite the opposite, with them refusing any transaction with that house."
The Duke rubbed his perfectly trimmed mustache in exasperation.
Following the methodology used in the documents his son had compiled to prove the nobles' corruption, the Duke had asked his vassals to study any major outflows of money from his court's members, trying to find the hidden investor in the grain business, but none of them showed any signs of transferring money in the past.
This could only mean the investment capital had been handed over after the public executions, so they had been studying the houses' movements over the past few months, but no evidence was found whatsoever.
"The investor must be an outsider."
"You think it might be one of the other duchies, my Lord?"
"Possibly. It might even be the royals themselves."
"Wouldn't that be difficult with the state of the kingdom's funds due to the war?"
His aide was right. With the condition of the national coffers it would seem impossible to invest in a naval business, but the situation would be different if one of the royal members invested out of their own private funds.
He truly hoped this wasn't the case.
"How are things going with the people we infiltrated in the County?"
"They have still not been discovered, my Lord."
"Good. Send them to dig around for more information about this business. Tell them to try to get a copy of the contract if possible."
"But the security has risen after the attempt on the Count's life."
The Duke sighed. Those stupid nobles.
"It doesn't matter. If they get disposed of we can just send more, but we need that information right now, otherwise we are stuck."
The aide bowed.
"As you wish, my Lord. We will bring the results as soon as we can."
He dismissed the servant and looked out of the window.
"We need to be quick before anyone else intervenes."
"Yes, my Lord."
Left alone inside the office, the Duke paced from side to side. He had to find this investor no matter what.
----
In Lacarthy, the capital of the kingdom of Cambria, a tall castle stood towering above the bustling city. The presence of the military banners and patrols was everywhere, and an air of gloom hung over the air despite the futile attempt of the season's blossoms to sweeten the air.
Inside the castle walls, in a lavishly decorated office, a meeting was taking place. The high ranking officials were reporting the news from the front to the king of the realm, Asterre Johan Cambria XI.
"It is looking bad, your Majesty."
"How bad?"
"We have lost the Westeria fort in the south. The enemy troops are closing in on us."
"That was our last defense in that region. I thought I told you to keep it safe at all costs."
The general kneeled.
"I apologize, your Majesty. The supplies didn't arrive on time, and we believe the enemies were aware of it. We were attacked when the men were hungry and tired. The morale is extremely low."
"What are the countermeasures?"
"We have set a line of defensive outposts, although we do not expect them to hold them back as much as the fortress did before."
"And now we have lost the advantage to push forward since we would have to siege the fort."
"Yes, your Majesty."
The King gestured for one of his attendants to bring a map of Cambria, spreading it out on the table.
"Where is the defense line right now?"
The general stepped forward and traced his fingers on the paper.
"Right about here, your Majesty. Just a couple of miles north of the fort."
"There is an open plain here, right?"
"Yes."
"Push higher up north. We might be loosing ground, but the terrain becomes an advantage with those mountains creating a bottleneck. It will be much easier to defend. We can hold it until we can bring more reinforcements from another front."
"But, your Majesty, we would be forfeiting these towns to the enemy. They will be annihilated."
"These are necessary casualties. It this position is breached the whole southwest might fall."
"I understand."
The King turned toward another of his military officers.
"How is the construction of the navy going?"
"Good, your Majesty. We are expecting to have a hundred ships in the next five months."
"Perfect. We have to prepare another wave of conscriptions along with the provision logistics to support the navy."
"Um, about that, your Majesty, I have been given some information that you might find relevant."
"Speak."
"In one of our port cities in the north, where some of the ships are being constructed, there appears to be a commercial fleet in production as well."
"A commercial fleet?"
"Yes. Apparently one of the counties under the Laurendt duchy is intending to trade with the Nalia empire in order to bring grain to the kingdom."
"Huh."
The King chuckled. Whoever that Count was, they had nerves of steel. He had tried to push his court to support the grain trade with other countries for years, but seeing the revenue they gained from the higher prices, the nobles always squirmed their way out. Seeing that all the houses were against it, it was almost suicidal to choose to take on such an endeavor.
"Which county is it?"
"The Evernon County."
"Have you heard of it before?"
"No, your Majesty. It seems to be a small noble house without much influence in the north."
"Is Duke Laurendt their sponsor then?"
"No. It seems like they have another investor. The Duke might even be against the proposal. Besides, I don't believe he might have much time for trading with the whole purge he passed on his court."
"Ah, that is right."
The King had heard of the massacre in the northern court in passing, but he didn't pay much attention to it with all the other pressing matters at hand.
"When can we expect for the grain to come?"
"With the building of the fleet and the trip to the empire I believe it should be over a year from now."
It was disappointing, but nonetheless useful. The war showed no signs of being over soon, and with their dire situation, the King predicted this grain trade could prove to become very helpful to alleviate the strain on the kingdom's coffers.
"Keep an eye out for it then. Better yet, hand this task over to the Third Prince."
"Prince Lukas?"
"Yes. His mother refused for him to go to the front, even pressuring me with the help of her father to prevent it, so we might as well give him something to do."
"Ask him to investigate and bring me more detailed information. This is an opportunity we must protect at all costs. He shall be the one to fall with it if it fails."
"Yes, your Majesty."