As soon as I was left to my devices, I explored Lucien's private space that would belong to me from now onwards.
It was, quite honestly, overwhelmingly spacious.
Unlike what I expected, it was not a simple bedroom. It was an apartment that spanned the whole of west-wing's top floor.
The area was divided into four; bedroom and closet that was connected to a huge bathroom, sun room and a living area, smaller scale office and personal vault. All of it following a dark color scheme in which grey and black stood out the most with a little bit of deep red.
The bedroom had an astonishingly large four-poster bed that has delicate custom-made carvings and silk drapes. Soft animal hide rugs, pillows, cushions and divans was everywhere giving an air of supreme comfort. The large window was blocked by heavy drapes.
Nearby was the closet filled with literally hundreds of outfits lined neatly and attached to it was the door to the bathroom. The bathroom was perhaps the largest one I had seen in my life, comparable to the ones you might see on magazines. Grey marble lined the entirety of the space. Surprisingly, the bathtub that looked like it could fit at least 10 people was facing a large ceiling to floor window that had a strange shine. I examined it for a few minutes before figuring out that it was an enchanted one-way window!
Ha, it's good to be rich.
The sun room was my next destination of exploration.
It was classically designed space with antique European style furnishing with various delicate porcelain décor and cutleries. It also had a bay window which I thought looked very nice with the soft tulle drapes. Even the darker color scheme didn't dampen the beauty of this arrangement.
Conversely, the office space was a mini recreation of the larger study downstairs showing the dignity and gravitas of the Duke.
I was in the middle of examining the books on the cabinets when there was a knock on the door. I pulled back my hand running along the spines of the leather-bound books.
"Come in."
The door opened and a well-groomed middle-aged man leading six women and two men entered.
I never noticed it before because there were upwards of 50 servants in the entrance and everyone walked away from me in the halls, all the people here seemed to be fairly attractive. Were all the hired help in the Estate selected based on their beauty or is it because of the game elements that everyone turned out good looking?
If it's the latter, what a broken cheat.
I suddenly wanted to go outside and check it for myself but I stifled my curiosity.
"Your Grace."
They all bowed to me in unison. All of a sudden, I realized something.
Wait, wait, wait, are all these people just to help me bathe?! What happened to privacy?!!
I sweatdropped.
"Rise."
They all stood up and seeing their lowered eyes, I didn't have the heart to send them away. Plus, it would be super suspicious as the old Lucien would have been attended to by these many people if Fabian sent them to me.
And even if I wanted to say no, they were already in action.
Two of the manservants and one maid immediately entered the bathroom. Two women moved towards the closet and started sorting clothes in orderly movement. And the rest along with the butler led me towards the empty space in the closet.
"May I, Your Grace?"
The butler bowed his head as he stepped closer. I figured that he was asking for my permission so I wordlessly spread my arms, accepting my fate with an expressionless face. He immediately took the lead to help me out of my ornaments and epaulettes. The three women assisted by carefully shelving away the removed pieces.
The two other women returned with a few clothes and joined the rest.
I was fine till my vest and caveat was removed but as soon as I was left with just my shirt and pants, I was incredibly embarrassed. I prayed to the high heavens that they would stop but my prayers would remain unanswered.
The old butler's hand was deft in removing the buttons of the shirt in lightning speed and soon, I was shirtless in front of five pretty ladies.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't uncomfortable.
After all, I was never used to being bare-chested since I was five or something.
I had to chant inside my head "You're a man now, you're a man now" like it was Buddhist scripture so that I could keep my inexpressive face. Before the old man stripped me out of my pants too, I snatched the bathrobe one of the maids was holding and draped it over myself smoothly.
But the old man was relentless. He still assisted me in removing my pant but at least Lucien junior wasn't hanging out in the open.
Phew, my chastity is safe.
I didn't dare to linger and walked into the bathroom.
There, the large tub was filled now with water and the maid was pouring what looked like essential oils into it. Suddenly the fragrance of petrichor filled the bathroom. It was certainly a unique smell, with notes of vetriver—a very earthy and smoked woodsy scent.
Was this how I smelled the whole time?
My assumption was proven true when my sensitive nose adjusted quite fast to the scent as though familiar.
I must say it is still weird to live in another person's body.
It was tiny things that one overlooks, like your own scent, which truly makes a person. It was different from the perfume I used to use but I wasn't aversive to this scent either. Oddly, I felt like it was a scent I would wear myself.
While I was still immersed in my thoughts, all the help bowed and left me alone in the bathroom.
Thank god they left, I don't think my skin is thick enough if they wanted to stay and watch me bathe.
_:(´ཀ`」 ∠):_
After that sigh of relief, I was distracted from my existential crisis by the warm bath.
The first proper one I would have since I came to this world.
*
Vincent Evant, the middle-aged butler who was previously stripping Lucien, closed the door of the bathroom gently and led the blushing maids outside His Grace's quarters. As soon as the third doorway separated them from the young Lord, they started speaking in excited hush tones amongst themselves.
He sighed in defeat.
Although he was the head of the housekeeping in the Estate's west wing, most of the servants under his helm were young maidens of around 16. It was inevitable that they would be chatty and so full of fantasies when coming to work for the prestigious Argenlon Blanche and its handsome Lord.
He would always make sure to repeat a thousand times that the young Lord was an Archduke and any coquettish behavior was absolutely not tolerated. Sometimes he would even brutally destroy the fantastical dreams of falling in love with the young Archduke that these ladies had in their minds by saying that a man of his caliber and breed would never marry nor entertain a commoner, let alone a servant.
It was the harsh truth, yet many still hold their hopes.
But they also knew their places well enough not to be too forward. Their flirtations would largely be blushing and ambiguous glances which the young Lord would almost always ignore to his relief.
Vincent himself would sometimes close his eyes to their behavior and only admonish them here and there.
And he felt that he was long due another lecture so he interrupted the passionate women, "All of you must remember to be courteous to His Grace. Do not bring such unprofessionalism to your work or you will be dismissed by Mr. Fabian before long."
Evoking the smiling elf's name seemed to be effective as the young ladies quieted down.
"We would never do that, sire. It's just that His Grace would always ask everyone to move out as soon as his inner coat was removed but today he required us to assist him all the way." Ellie, one of the maids with a cute drill ponytails said in a whisper. "Are you not curious, sire?"
"Do not speculate the mind of your Master." Vincent frowned at the girl who shrank back.
"No, I wasn't."
"It would be good if you didn't. Cyril, Hyde, stay here and inquire the Lord if he requires further assistance once he is done bathing."
Two servant boys nodded and stood near the entrance. Vincent eyed the girls once again in warning to behave and left promptly.
"Did you see it?"
Tella, the main who was in charge of preparing the bath asked her colleague conspiring tone.
"Of course!" Ellie jumped in. "His Grace looks just as handsome shirtless as he is in his formal attire. His musculature really made my heart beat like a drum."
"Mine too! I bet His Grace heard my racing heart."
"What do you mean your heart? Everyone's heart was beating fast, okay. His Grace heard a bunch of cacophony at best."
"Hmph! You're just jealous that His Grace took the robe directly from my hands."
"You are just cheater, that's who you are. I was the one who took that robe first but you deceived me into picking the beige one!"
"Girls, calm down. Since His Grace had requested assistance just now, chances are that he would again and then we can get our chance to dress His Grace as well."
"You are right! Perhaps His Grace is weary from all the travel and would be quite lenient and wishes us to help him a little more…"
"It's best we don't overstep our boundaries, Tella. It is His Grace the Archduke after all. We cannot disrespect His Grace."
"Sigh. It is truly a shame we weren't born into nobility. At least then we could compete for His Grace's favor honorably."
The group of women were silent for a minute, ruminating their wayward luck.
"But on second thought, a man as excellent as His Grace would surely be fawned by so many ladies in the Circle, he might be ignoring them as he does us. It would take a beauty as great as the White Princess to move His Grace's heart."
"Hmph, what do you know? His Grace is so powerful that even the Imperial family trembles in fright so even the princess is as good as a commoner to—"
Renee hurriedly covered Ellie's mouth before she could continue and hissed at her.
"Hush. Do not speculate such treasonous things!"
The other women nodded. Ellie soon calmed down and Renee let her go with a glare.
"Anyway~" Tella smoothed the tense atmosphere. "It is true that His Grace seems utterly unmoved in the face of beauties. Otherwise which other lord would remain unmarried at the age of 21?"
"Yes, yes even Baronet Heir Halphen from my hometown who is merely 18 already have three concubines and a main wife. Not to mention his five children."
"Do you think His Grace is waiting for a love story rather than simply taking a beauty to his bed without any romance?"
"Hmmm, could be. Even then, the class divide is a barrier too high to climb."
"I am sure His Grace can do it!"
"Perhaps. But even a Baron would hesitate to marry a commoner as a main wife. How could a Archduke who reigns over even the most powerful of the nobility Circle keep a commoner as his concubine?"
"True. It is a miracle that His Grace doesn't limit his close servants to be those of nobility."
"I hear that it is His Grace's father, the former Archduke, who started this tradition after a daughter of a Count who was serving Her Grace the Archduchess received a bribe from a noble."
"Oh Goddess! What happened then?"
"What would happen to those who think they can oppose the Archduke Nightshade's wife? They were wiped out overnight, of course."
"As they deserve for putting the Archduchess' life at risk."
"I've heard that the offending noble servant was infatuated with the former Archduke and that was why she did it."
"Hah? No wonder why Vincent sire always repeat the same dialogue three times a day."
"I've developed calluses in my ear from that."
"So true."
"I can live without listening the same thing over and over again. At this point I might tell him his lines before he manages to say it."
"Hahaha, I wonder how he will react if we ever did that!"
The women collectively giggled. But their good mood only lasted till the Lord refused to let them dress him after bath and the group of girls had to leave the west wing in dejection.
All was fine in the Nightshade Estate that day.
*
Dressed in a comfy silky robe, I plopped down on the comfortable leather chair in Lucien's private study and eyed the stacks of books and documents.
While Lucien may be trained in handling matters of the Duchy since 13, I was just a highschooler with no idea. It was imperative that I find out what was going on so that I can keep my image and position afloat. I started to slowly comb through everything I could find.
I had figured out that I could read and write the language of this world fairly well, some of the basic memories I inherited from Lucien were that and his instincts with information. For example, I am able to read faster, categorize what I read immediately and recall what I read with a startling quality.
If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't be surprised if he had eidetic memory.
"Tsk, I could have aced my Gaokao with this kind of brain." I shook my head sadly as I swept through the documents. "Even Tsinghua University isn't impossible. The prodigies really are living on easy mode."
For the next hour or so, I went through every important piece of paper I could find and thanks to Lucien's top scorer brain, I wasn't too overwhelmed. I categorized them according to priority and glossed over many things that I deemed not an emergency to finally arrive at a vague conclusion.
The Duchy was way more powerful than I initially assumed.
Sure, I knew of a few inside workings from the game but the reality is far more intense.
Let us start with the House Nightshade Patriarch's title in the Helios Empire.
One must understand that the title of Archduke isn't something that can be taken lightly. In fact, this title does not exist in any other Empires in this continent, other than in Helios. They are equally, if not more, powerful than the Imperial Princes and even called as "Their Excellency" in official documents and only addressed as "Their Grace" by their own vassals. It would be an underestimation to call them rulers of their fiefdom and the more appropriate term would be an uncrowned King inside an Empire.
This is largely because of something called the 'semi-autonomy clause.'
Just as it says, an Archduke is entitled to make decisions regarding military, political and administrative areas without needing to get permission from the Imperial family like the other nobles. They need not entertain an Imperial official in their fief due to same clause as well. Although the previous Archdukes would take the initiative to let the Imperial Capitol know of any significant change beforehand as an act of courtesy.
Even if that is true, it is an incredible privilege when you think about it.
Theoretically, I can sit here and sign a paper to change the currency of Vanehiem Duchy today and the Emperor wouldn't be able to do jackshit to me.
Or even start a rebellion.
This is why whenever a territory or military grows large enough under a Duke, they either split from the Empire to start their own Kingdom or before that the Emperor breaks up the Duchy by political maneuvers to bring the power back to the Imperial throne.
So one might wonder, how did the descendants of House Nightshade keep their chairs with their heads intact?
Because they are powerful, of course!
°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
The history of House Nightshade was illustrious and intimately tied together with that of Helios Empire. The first Emperor of Helios Empire was the childhood friend of the then Patriarch of House Nightshade, in the now obsolete Kingdom of Ezatis. Back then he was the Duke Kravits of Bailux and he was dissatisfied with the King of Ezatis. But he didn't have enough resources to rebel so he convinced the Duke Nightshade of Vanehiem to aid him in his ambition.
The Nightshades, powerful even at that time, wanted to break away from the control of being a noble agreed to Kravits' proposal.
On the condition that the Nightshade Lords will become Archdukes instead of Dukes.
At that time, the first Emperor might have felt that this was an awesome idea as he was more concerned with the fact that he might have to give up half of the Kingdom to Nightshades. Now that they said they only wanted a semi-autonomous state, he was happy.
Thus the Helios Empire was born, with Vanehiem as its mainstay.
The successive Emperors were dissatisfied with the existence of an Archduchy but there was nothing they could do.
House Nightshade was powerful even before their first Emperor took his throne, and that power had only ever grown exponentially. And so currently, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Vanehiem was more powerful than the Imperial Capitol.
But the Archdukes were loyal to the Emperor so it helped maintain the status quo till now, however uncomfortable.
Now, one might wonder why did the House Nightshade confine themselves to serve as a vassal when they could very well make their own Empire?
Good question and the answer lies in the secret of Nightshade bloodline.
Nightshades are the only surviving dragon-slayer bloodline in the recent times. That was because the Patriarchs of House Nightshade were cautious and other slayers weren't and chose to create Empire and Kingdoms in their likeness which fell over time.
They neglected to understand the value of keeping a secret and laying low.
Because, no human in the history of this world was and will be able to defeat a powerful monster like a dragon.
That was an irrefutable fact.
So how did the so called dragon-slayers like the Nightshades accomplish this fact?
Simple.
They weren't humans in the first place.
KNOCK KNOCK!
"I have brought the documents, Your Grace."
Fabian's gentle voice made me look up from the tome I was reading. I kept it away with a sigh.
"Come in."
I watched as he let himself inside gently, rolling a service cart and carrying a pile of documents with astonishing ease. He placed the said pile on my desk and started pouring tea elegantly. I almost wanted to clap in admiration of his suave moves but I quickly controlled myself to look away to the documents.
A quick look through confirmed my suspicion.
Odium Syndicate were Lucien Nightshade's personal force.
A more detached and self-run force compared to the shadow guards but nevertheless moved for the benefit of the House of Nightshade. Interestingly, although the previous Lucien never kept any records of them in his hands I knew quite a lot of their inside workings as someone who used to dabble in information sale as a gamer.
The Syndicate were a bunch of decentralized spies who ran the most tightly knit information network in the whole of Aradia continent. Controlled by a group of five division heads who had never met each other but answer to a single master, they mainly employ the most looked over individuals in the world; beggars, indentured laborers and prostitutes to gather information. They will find out anything you desire at an appropriate price.
While the seasoned WOV gamer in me is thrilled that I was now controlling such a huge golden finger, I was also wary.
Because associating with them was just as risky as being targeted by them.
If it is ever known to the world that I was the sole master of this bunch of outcasts in the eyes of those in power, it will only take them a minute to turn against me in full force. I was sure of it because the Syndicate have offended most, if not all of the higher ups in human territories.
It was essentially a ticking time bomb.
I sighed internally as I read the report from 'Marionette' the division head in Helios, Draud and Femos. It spoke about the internal situation of House Ascart of Bural, one of the four Dukedoms of Helios and bordering Vanehiem.
They were proposing to open a trade channel exclusive to each other that divided the profits 70-30, favoring House Nightshade.
"House Ascart seem to be very generous." I commented, wondering if Fabian had an opinion on this matter.
"I believe that they wish to form a friendly alliance with Your Grace."
He spoke lightly as he placed the porcelain cup on my desk once he was done aerating the tea. I saw his stoic smile that looked a little mocking when in the shadows. I combed through the wall of words on the document leisurely, trying to connect what I was reading to Lucien's and Empress' skillset.
I spoke after a pause.
"Is that so? It looks to me that a Dukedom that took a hit after their mine collapsed, investing in a new project with the lower percentage is a foolish move."
Well, even though this specific collapsed mine was an event in game which is sure to give massive gains in half an year or so, they should have no idea in the current timeline.
It was incredibly suspicious.
"The eldest daughter of Duke Ascart is turning sixteen soon and will attend her debutante this spring. Perhaps they wish to show their sincerity for a marriage alliance?"
Hmmmmmmmmm….
While I'd like to think of myself a catch, there was a reason why Lucien Nightshade never had any wives or even concubines. One, he was too busy and two, everyone in the nobility was scared to associate with him and risking the doubtful eyes of the Imperials. Hell, even Lucien's mother first came to Vanehiem as a Princess from a fallen Kingdom seeking asylum as a war refugee. His father's two other wives were also from smaller Viscount vassals of Vanehiem.
So why would Duke of Bural, who was definitely one of the top in the noble Circle, want his only daughter to be married to the possible doom of his own Duchy?
And if marriage was just a bait, what was their true intension?
"Marriage, huh?" I rubbed my temples in thought.
Conclusion of this mental rant: How will I find a girlfriend with this kind of reputation!
＼(º □ º l|l)/
"Your father had met his wife, the Archduchess, around your age." Fabian gently reminded. "This humble servant would like remind Your Grace to actively look into this matter."
I also want to, okay?
But is there anyone who is not scared of Lucien in this world? QAQ
"And you think House Ascart is the answer to my love life?"
I tossed the papers and picked the tea to calm myself. Fabian waited till I took a fulfilling sip of the amazing jasmine tea he made.
"Don't jest, Your Grace. Rats like them should know their place."
I felt like shuddering in fear when he said that with his usual amicable smile. Then I wondered what triggered him so much.
Un, Fabian must be very angry at them playing my sensitive feelings about my love life for their dirty little schemes.
He is so protective. UwU
Suddenly, I felt that the scary butler was a little cute. I smiled as I took another sip.
"Don't worry, Fabian. I am well aware and I think such little tricks are not worth mentioning."
I assuaged his fear that I might take their intensions at face value. I am well aware that Lucien scares away potential brides faster than a gambling debt on the family property.
This was definitely a move to scam money from me using honey trap!
HA!
I would like to see how they try to one up me, who ran a merchant guild before!
"I also think that there is a possibility that our Duchy can gain from this proposal. Since they wish to stimulate their economy as they claim, let us help them." I smirked. "At a price, of course."
That's right!
This great one was eying their collapsed mine!
It was only fair that they are allowed to freely trade inside Vanehiem and own rights to exclusivity for a price higher than a honey trap. And once they start to sell inside, it wasn't a big deal to use the influence of the local merchant companies to put pressure on them while I reap the profits!
They dare to take advantage of my virginity, they shall pay! Dearly!
"The largest merchant company in the Duchy is Monolith, yes? Owned by a commoner?" I recalled the game information.
Monolith Enterprises. Run by a very nice baldie NPC who can predict the market with astonishing accuracy. Has a monopoly in auction business.
"Yes, Your Grace. His name is Thibild and lives in the eastern port in Griem."
"Send him a letter inviting him to Argenlon Blanche."
"As you wish, Your Grace."
Fabian bowed before refilling my empty tea cup.