"My first meeting with Railius Aurellion allowed me to see his terrifying potential."
"With eyes that can see through the world and a heart of benevolence."
"A man who does not give trust easily but once it is given."
"Never breaks his word and protects you from all outside threats."
"It is my honour and privilege to serve a lord like him."
Baron Malwin Thornsworth, Teacher of Railius Aurellion.
….
"No need for formalities, my lord. Please get up. I need to thank you for helping my soldiers and their families escape from Chavaria."
Railius said to the kneeling man running forward to help the Baron up as it appeared it was because of him that his soldiers and their families could escape so successfully from Chavaria, for his men, despite being strong as stone and loyal to a fault, are not known for being the most low key around.
The Baron took this time close to the boy to take stock of his young lord. At the moment, he looked to be in a sorry state as it appeared that his regent really was pushing his stamina to the limit, but behind his exhausted exterior was a boy of casual mannerisms as he seemed to treat Leon and his loyal soldiers the same.
'I still need to learn a bit more about him but the fact that he managed to persuade the free brothers and escape from Duke Ancel's grasp shows that he was not without talent as no one around him had any political skills, so the small boy must have dealt with and negotiated with them himself. Though he is not arrogant and benevolent, or he would not have helped me up himself.'
The Baron thought but was surprised that as much as he was appraising the young marquis, the young lord was also appraising him. For him to do so at such a young age spoke volumes of his intelligence.
'Definitely not a boy to be underestimated!'
The Baron said in his mind while accurately judging the boy before him over the 8 years of helping Lucius Aurellion out as his number two in his territory; he had dealt with nobles from all ranks, from landed knights who only rule over a village to powerful counts under his lieges command to powerful dukes who come to do business and build a relationship with the Chavarian Great General who had tremendous influence in the empire. At least, he did before Lucius' untimely demise, but even dealing with many of them paled in comparison to what the boy had accomplished and had to deal with.
'I still don't know how he got through Duke Ancel's territory, even I struggle to deal with that old fox! That boy even managed to get him to help get his loyalists out of the country through his lands, showing they had come to some kind of arrangement. Honestly, when Darius said that we were going to cross the border there, it scared me out of my mind, but somehow it all worked out!'
Having worked closely with Lucius for many years, Baron Malwin, like others who were close with the old Marquis of Nalora, knew that the last thing the old general would do was betray his country, and so, like many others, knew that the accusations of treason were false. Unfortunately, the neutral, loyal subject of the emperor was unwillingly embroiled in the battle between the first Prince Victarion and the fifth Prince Flavius for the throne and with Prince Flavius' overwhelming victory and death of Prince Victarion, the loyal general ended up the perfect scapegoat for the new crown prince. Hence, the crown prince dumped all of his crimes onto Lucius and House Aurellion, who was charged with Victarions protection.
"We should continue our talk in the command tent."
Leon said, gaining the attention of everyone, and began to walk toward the command tent that was in the centre of the camp. He was satisfied that the Baron seemed at least loyal on the surface, though he still could not understand why he would give up his lands to follow a child lord so kept on guard.
Railius began to tiptoe away, wanting to escape from his regent's clutches while he could, vowing to find somewhere hidden to hide if needed, but as if the Grandmaster of Loyalty, had eyes on the back of his head, the old man's firm voice stopped the young boy in his tracks.
"My lord, you should be present too. You need to start to learn about these matters, and there is no better way to learn than to listen and learn how others do it, so why don't you accompany us to the tent."
Leon said, looking back at his young master with a firm expression, apparent that he would not take no for an answer. However, everyone knew that it was because he currently had an iron grasp on his young master that he would not let go of easily or who knew what kind of shenanigans his eccentric lord would get up to as he had no problems sneaking out of camp when surrounded by enemies let alone in a foreign land where there were no apparent threats to his life.
At times, Leon lamented why he had such a free-spirited lord, but no matter what he tried, his suborn lord would not change, so he could only do his best to keep an eye on and manage him when he could and sighed loudly, which did not escape the ears of the two attentive men who were accompanying him as it appeared there young lord really was a handful at times.
Still breathing heavily from his day-long worth of exercise, Railius obediently followed on shaky legs. His muscles and energy had all been spent, and the only thing the young lad wanted to do now was sleep, but because of the newcomers, especially that cunning-looking noble, the young player decided to keep his guard and was actually interested himself in how their exiled noble house was doing.
This is because, from his past experience, these dynasty history events were far more than just training exercises, at least for noble families they were. If he were just a soldier who came from a commoner background, then it would be different, but he was the leader of a noble house, and it was obvious that they got some of the most challenging events the friend system had to offer.
While the baron accompanied Railius in an attempt to get to know him better, Leon was having a serious conversation with Darius about this mysterious noble.
"Is the baron's family coming to join us?"
Leon asked in a cold voice, getting down to business immediately, for it was his duty to ensure that no matter what, his lord was protected from all threats, even ones that didn't seem like it on the surface.
"They are and have already entered Nathia, coming with the first batch of our men's families. You don't need to worry about him. I have met his family before; I can guarantee you in on my life that the people he claimed are his family are not fake!"
Darius replied quickly, catching on to what Leon was implying with his question.
"That's strange. He has a territory in our old Chavarian lands does he not? Why would he abandon it to follow a child? Are you sure that all of his family is coming and some are being held hostage by our enemies?"
Leon said, still suspicious of the baron, as his actions seemed to make no logical sense to him and if someone's actions made no sense and had no benefit for them, then they are usually done for malicious reasons, whether willingly or not. After all, didn't Archtorius, one of Lucius' most trusted men, betray him because his son was held hostage?
As long as Leon was around, there was no way in hell he would allow something like that to happen again.
"If he was a traitor, why would he help us out so much and even send his family with him?"
Darius asked, trying to stand up for his friend as they had worked together for many years, and he trusted the Baron. It seemed that Archtorius' betrayal of Lucius had hit the Grand Commander hard, and he started to become suspicious of everyone.
"So that he could get close to the young lord, finding and killing a single person in our large world, especially one whom a grandmaster protects, is no easy feat, but if someone could get close to him and find him, then killing him suddenly becomes a lot easier as I don't have the skills to stop poison or other dishonourable methods of murder."
"They didn't get to you, too, did they? It's rare to see you defend someone so vehemently!"
Leon said, his eyes flashing with a cold light as he put a hand on the hilt of his sword. If even someone as loyal and upstanding as Archtorius could betray them, then even those in the Pelican Guards may be compromised by their enemy!
"Grand Commander!"
Darius shouted in anger and disbelief before he knelt on the ground, unsheathed his sword and slammed its tip into the dirt beneath him.
"Grand Commander Vice Commander Nathos and I were saved by the old lord back at Brunag, and he has treated us and our families well ever since! You could say he personally raised us all up! One thousand five hundred of our brothers died defending the last of our lord's line. Even my friend gave his life to protect him and ensure the young lords escape! Do you really think that after all their effort and sacrifice, I would betray us now?"
"Captain Carleton of the Pelican Protectors died defending our old lord from that bastard Prince Flavius. Nathos died in the escape from Chavaria out of all the talented people who survived Brunag to serve our lord and can be trusted without a shadow of a doubt. Only me, you, and Aldorus are left!"
"I would rather have me and my entire family die than betray our lord. I know that Archtorius' betrayal hurts, but we are not all like him! Please trust me, Grand Commander!"
"If you think I would ever betray my lord or House Aurellion, then please take my life now!"
Darius shouted. By now, tears had formed in his eyes as he steadfastly declared his loyalty; everyone in the camp heard it and looked at the confrontation between the two men. The last thing that the loyal Commander would do is betray House Aurellion.
Leon looked upon his kneeling old friend and sighed. He had truly let his emotions cloud his vision in accusing Darius, but even so, he still felt uneasy around the baron.
"I was wrong to accuse you, old friend. There is no need to kneel."
Leon said while sighing. Seeing the Grand Commander calm down but still seeing the unease in his expression, Darius decided to do something that surprised the Grandmaster of Loyalty.
"Grand Commander, our lord allied with Duke Ancel and dealt with the Free Brothers himself, right."
As the Second commander of the Pelican Guards and third highest-ranking officer, Darius was aware of all that had transpired in his young lord's escape from Chavaria, and so decided to trust his lord to make the right decisions as he did back then.
"To do so, he must be good at reading people…."
"Why don't we let our young lord question him and decide whether or not to trust him? Grand Commander, think about it: we can teach the young lord how to fight and about military matters. But what about politics?"
"He obviously has talent in politics like his father but no teacher to refine this talent into something truly special. For his own good and the good of House Aurellion, we must develop this vital talent of his!"
"If we can trust this Baron, not only can he be a teacher for our young lord, but he can help deal with the management of our forces, or do you want our young lord to have to deal with these burdens at 10 years old?"
"If he orders his death or betrays us in any way, I'll personally cut his head off!"
Leon thought about it for a bit, then agreed as he watched the Baron and Railius come over and enter the tent to begin their meeting.
…..
While Leon and Darius were arguing over the fate of Baron Malwin, the baron himself was having a light-hearted conversation with the young lord of House Aurellion.
"Leon's pushing you hard, isn't he."
The Baron said in a calm voice.
"Yes, he is. I can't even escape his devilish training as he suddenly turns up out of nowhere whenever I try."
Railius said in indignation.
"Of course, you can't escape him. A grandmaster of his level can sense the people around him by sensing their aura, and I imagine he has been around you enough even to be able to find you by your aura, even if you were a needle in a haystack."
"My lord, why are you trying to accomplish the impossible? A loyal regent is hard to come by. Just learn from him. He only wants what's best for you."
The Baron said, as even he was helpless when faced with the overwhelming strength of a grandmaster and would have no choice but to obey his command, let alone a small boy.
"Because the impossible is fun, and I'm not built for hard training."
Railius said in a lazy, casual manner.
"Then why don't you leave? He is too loyal not to stop if you ask him."
"Because he has a point, and I would rather be bothered now and survive later than die later due to my slothfulness."
"Oh, that reminds me. I have one question for you that I would like you to answer…."
"Why did the fox leave his comfy lair to serve a little lion?"
Railius asked, prompting a smile from the baron whose keen political insight immediately understood what the young boy was implying.
"The heavenly bird's descendants killed his most loyal lion, and the heavenly bird condemned the little cubs to death. If the heavenly bird is willing to kill his most loyal subject and supporter….
"How can a small, powerless fox want to continue serving such a bloodthirsty, unjust ruler? Better to follow the talented little lion who respects the loyal to create a new realm."
"And who knows, maybe one day that lion will take flight and become a heavenly bird himself."
"Even if a lair is nice and comfy, one must be alive to enjoy it."
The Baron said in the same causal and calm manner as his lord, but just as he said that he heard the shouting and confrontation between Leon and Darius and sighed while shaking his head.
"Seems an argument has erupted because of little old me."