The chirping of birds and howling of the wind in the distance, jolted me awake as I struggled to open my heavy eyes.
I tried to recollect the activities of before I passed out but the thumping in my head did not allow it.
Judging from the fact that I was alone in my room, meant I had been out for a while but not too long ago.
I slipped out of my bed gently, feeling an ache in my right eye as I walked towards the mirror to check the cause.
As I stood there, an eery feeling of discomfort clung to me as I stared at my glowing red eye.
According to the manuscripts regarding Sundra's third eye, this was the first stage of activation and it was usually accompanied by severe pain and constant loss of mana.
"So I passed out from mana deprivation?" I resolved, holding my head as I let out a depraved sigh.
I had expected this stage to occur during the later points of Milo's life but the fact that it happened at such a pivotal poing of my my life, offered me no other choice than to just accept my cruel fate and use it to my advantage.
I brought the eye under control by supplying constant small amounts of mana to it at regular intervals, restoring the normal greenish tinge that it originally held.
'It can't be helped now ' I thought to myself, pulling a shirt over my bare chest and walking downstairs towards the main living room.
Jem was seated beside Fredrick, who crouched down, reading from a book of children stories.
She ran towards me, hugging me tightly as she pulled me by the neck.
"I can't breathe Jem "i scolded, feeling relief as she let go, giggling in amusement.
Milo's mom walked in soon after, moving straight towards me as she pressed her palm on my head to check my temperature.
"You're always too careless with yourself" she reprimanded, worry in her tone as she held my face in her hand.
It was comforting to feel the warmth of motherly love after so long but unfortunately, this wasn't the time for that.
"Forgive me for worrying you again, mother " I responded, feeling her cold grasp on my skin.
I shrugged off her hands gently, grabbing Jem as we all walked to the dining hall for brunch.
"Big brother, do you not have enough love in your body" Jem asked me suddenly, her eyes flashing in curiosity.
'Huh, what the fuck does that mean!'
"What do you mean Jem" I asked, forcing a smile on my face to hide my disturbed look.
"Big sister Tasha told Jem the other day that every body has love in them, that when we use a lot of love we get tired" she continued, oblivious about what it was she explained.
Sometimes I overlooked the fact that she was just a child even though she was born a mana genius.
"It's not love that's inside of us Jem, it's mana" I corrected, brushing her cheeks with my fingers.
'Don't explain things to a child in a childish way Tasha!' I screamed in my mind.
"I knew it, big sister Tasha was wrong. Jem is always right!" She affirmed, giggling and laughing confidently.
We finally reached the dinning hall, ate brunch and I had to retire back to my room for some more rest, courtesy of Vicky's constant worries.
******
{One week later}
'Well this is greatly disturbing'
That was the thought that ran through my head as I read the letter from the trade union, concerning the collateral they had demanded.
It was something I hadn't predicted could happen and even as I stood there, trying to make sense out of all of it, I still couldn't.
"In light of our previous discussion, we request for the services of the young Lord Milo, to serve a tenure of six months internship under the trade union, as collateral for the loan" A line from the letter read, gutting me as i finished the statement.
Six months was the estimated time for the refreshed produces to hit the market and generate profits.
It proved that the trade union had carefully examined our situation and possible measures which could be taken in response, asking for an optimal compensation in the end.
'Those tricky bastards'
"But why me though?" I asked the patriarch, who stared silently at me.
It didn't make sense that they simply wanted just my services as an intern, over long term profitable assets, like a temporary monopolistic trade pact with the county or even plots of land.
"The trade union are a an odd bunch of cunning and shrewd individuals. Maybe they took a liking to your careful deductions the other day". Th patriarch surmised, making it sound like it was a good thing.
'I definitely didn't want anything to do with capitalism again so why!!!!'
Why couldn't I just live the life of a filthy rich counts son in this world?.
It was as if my problems kept on stockpiling since I arrived in this fantasy world.
Making me even envy my previous former life as a nonchalant adult.
I read the letter further, completing it as I handed it back to the patriarch. The decision I was about to make left me in a pinch.
Disregarding the terms of the agreement and requesting for more palpable terms that fitted my quota would mean I was not fit for making complex decisions, and weaken my claim for the title as the next patriarch.
Even though such agreements were made to benefit both parties in the possible long run, convenience was not a part of the deal since it was a lobsided system of profit for only one party.
Accepting the proposal on the other hand, would mean I had to leave the estate for a while, giving Jade more time to bolster support within the ranks since I would be too far off to affect the course of events in the county.
"So, what do you choose" The patriarch enquired impatiently, sitting upright as his hair flowed down to meet his face.
I stared at the paper once more, trying very hard to refrain from crashing out.
"I guess it can't be helped, since we don't have a lot of viable options" I replied sighing, the thought of hectic work days in the coming week bore a hole in my heart.
"I'll take the offer, on one condition" I offered, striking a demeaning pose as I stared cunningly at the patriarch.
"I want to recruit a private army consisting minorily of knights, under my undisputed control" I demanded, expecting the patriarch to wave off my advances as reckless.
It had been on my mind ever since, about my lack of manpower especially in areas that needed such; like reconnaissance or espionage.
A personal army reserved to myself with the approval of the patriarch would mean I didn't have to sneak out every night and raise suspicion amongst most members of the household.
"Good then, but you're only allowed to take a few knights from our knight order. Any other external members are to be decided by you, is that all?" He answered, unperturbed by my sudden request as he dragged a letter from the pile in front of him.
I remained fixed in front of him, surprised that he had reserved this much trust to someone he indirectly labeled cunning and shrewd, but quickly responded so as not to give him anymore time to rethink the offer.
"Yes, patriarch. I'll take my leave now" I concluded, heading towards the door in a haste.
I now had one week to gather and appoint my personal army and I already had a few members in mind.
"You want me to lead your personal army?young Lord are you sure I'm the right choice" Mark asked, pointing towards himself confused by my offer.
"Yes, I believe you'd do a great job too so think about it" I assured him, walking away as I boarded the carriage Natasha had prepared for me.
It was obvious that I would need a trusted knight to work as the head of operations, especially one I could bend easily to my will.
In life there were three ways to acquire undisputed authority or fealty from people.
One involved an act of care or concern showed towards people, naturally lesser than you, like the rich towards the poor by buying their loyalty through wealth.
The other involved the use of authority and a show of leadership, which was mostly common in this world and which I possessed over almost everyone in the county, by respect of being the patriarch's son and possible heir.
The last one was my favorite and one I had constantly spent time researching and crafting in my past life.
'Absolute dominance.'
Humans inevitably cowerd in the face of absolute dominance, relinquishing every thought of betrayal or disrespect towards an absolute force.
It was also by far the most efficient means of garnering support without fear of rivalry.
Since I couldn't use this last option on the knights, who mostly had already been won over by my authority, I had already tested it out a few weeks ago against optimal potential candidates.
And now, I was about to head over to them since all the pieces for my plan had already were already in place.
It took me such a long time, but now I could confidently state that I was ready for an all out war with whoever our transgressors were.
"Time for some fun, I guess!" .