"Cheers, Rato."
Aldes and Rato toasted.
"Thanks for your service, Aldes. Have a seat."
Rato's seat was empty. During their training together, Rato had said many things to provoke Aldes. He hadn't lost his temper, but he'd taken it well.
It was unthinkable that Aldes, a hostage of the Gerjo family, would fight with Rato, the heir to the Gerjo throne.
"If I leave, Rato will have no one to make fun of."
"Haha, what do you mean, when did I say that?"
Rato laughed awkwardly, trying to play it off.
"Rato-sama is the future lord of House Gerho. I'm leaving now, but if you ever need my strength, just let me know. I'll come running."
Aldes would later say that he could help the Gerjos, but his promise to come right away was also a warning to Rato. He was telling the Gerjos not to oppress the Voldos in the future, and that the Voldos could come to Castle Griffenstein at any time because Aldes was there.
"If someone is a threat to House Gerho, I will ask you for help."
"But I don't work for free, haha."
"When you go to war, you have to pay your soldiers, you can't send them off to fight for free."
"Mr. Rato, please look out for House Boldo in the future. I was a hostage to the Gerjos, but I fought in the war to help them, and I'm sure the relationship between the Boldos and the Gerjos grew stronger in the process."
"Yes, it has brought them closer together, Aldes, but when you leave here, don't forget the Gerjos. Bury the bad memories and take only the good ones with you."
Ratho had thought Aldeth would have bad memories of him; at the time, he was the underdog and the hostage, and Ratho was in a position to bully him, but now that he had heard of Aldeth's exploits at Wallabach, he realized that after he became lord, when House Gerho faced a military crisis, he might need Aldeth's strength. He would have to make good his relationship with Aldeth.
"Of course, Rato, I'll take only good memories with me."
Aldeth finished speaking with Rato and rose from his seat. Aldes wanted to talk to the Treasurer Tuoli. The Treasurer hadn't been there earlier, but he had been there while he was talking to Rato. Aldes went to the treasurer.
"Mr. Treasurer, may I sit next to you?"
"Oh. Aldes. Sit down."
Aldes and Tuoli toasted each other and drank wine.
"Treasurer, if this expedition had failed, House Guerrejo's finances would have suffered greatly, wouldn't they?"
"Yes. In that case, House Gerho would be in trouble."
"I believe I played a large part in the expedition to Wallabach. What do you think of that, Treasurer?"
Tuori had a feeling Aldes was going to ask for something.
"Your part was not small, Aldes."
"Not small? Do you really think so?"
"I guess you could say it was a little big."
"I think it was very big."
Tuoli was a little annoyed.
"So, Aldes, what do you want?"
"I want to be paid for my contribution to the Wallabach Expedition."
Aldes had not been paid the salary of the common soldiers who had joined the expedition.
"Aldes, you have already agreed with your lord that the debts of House Boldo will be forgiven in return for the success of the expedition."
"Yes. You are correct, Treasurer, but I was not paid the salaries of the soldiers."
Aldes and Tuoli's voices rose a little. The others around them wondered what they were talking about.
"The debt forgiveness alone is a great favor to House Gerjo."
"Treasurer. It's not like I'm asking for a lot of money, just the salary of a common soldier on the expedition as a reward."
Rato realized what had caused Aldes and the treasurer to argue. Rato walked over to Tuoli and whispered.
After a moment, Tuoli nodded, and Rato returned to his seat.
"Aldes, as a rule, I don't pay you, but Rato specifically asked me to grant your request, and I will."
"Ah, yes, sir, thank you."
Aldeth had some bad memories with Rato, but he had stepped up to the plate and solved Aldeth's paycheck problem. Aldes turned to Rato and gave him a thumbs-up in gratitude.
Aldes realized that Tuoli was right in principle. But he didn't want to go back to Arenberg Castle, and he wanted what he could get from Grifenstein Castle. Aldes was glad he'd spoken up, just in case.
It wouldn't be much money for a soldier's salary, but it would be a lot of money for Arenberg Castle, and it was the only way he could get it now.
The banquet of the Wallabach expedition was held over three days, and Aldes packed his things during the feast. The next day, after the banquet, they set out.
As with the trip to Castle Griffenstein, the packing for the trip home was simple. Aris gave Aldeth the solar panels and the plans for them.
Now that he was free from hostage, Aldeth felt like a prisoner, free to go wherever he wanted without asking anyone's permission.
Aldes headed west to Arenberg Castle. He wasn't afraid to walk alone through the mountains; all those orcs were nothing compared to the bandits he'd dealt with.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Aldeth didn't encounter any bandits until he reached Arenberg Castle. When the guards of Arenberg Castle saw Aldeth's face, they shouted.
"Aldeth is here. Aldeth is here."
The gates opened. Aldeth entered the castle, and soon people came running out. Family and vassals.
"What you've been through, my son."
Aldes's mother, Dicena, was middle-aged, but still beautiful. She hugged her son tightly and burst into tears.
"Mother, we're back safely."
"Long live. My son."
Aldes's father, Hugo, opened his arms. Aldeth fell into his father's arms.
Several of the vassals and servants wiped away tears at the sight of him.
"Aldes, let's go inside."
They entered the castle's halls. Aldeth had come unannounced today, and the food had not been prepared. They took their seats.
"Libo, don't overdo it just because I'm here, please prepare the meal as usual."
"No, I can't do that, not when Mr. Aldes has gone through so much trouble to get here."
Said Libo, the cook.
"That's fine, but it's not mealtime, so please make him some tea."
"Yes, of course, I will."
"Father, did you receive any documents from Gauto about debt forgiveness?"
More than anything, Aldes wanted to know if the debt had been forgiven.
"It came yesterday. It's an official document with the coat of arms of the Gerjo family, and Gauto says he'll forgive our debt to the Boldo family."
"That's good, Father."
"You, Aldes, have saved the House from a crisis."
"Now we can breathe a little easier."
Aldeth chatted briefly in the hall with his family and vassals, then returned to his chambers for the first time in a long time.
The room looked exactly as he had left it. Aldeth was unpacking and resting. The solar panels and schematics were tucked away in a locker by his bed.
After eating his usual small meal, Aldes returned to his room. During the meal, Aldeth had told Bachelor Wintry to come to his room later.
Aldeth went to the window in his room. He put his hand on the window. As he did so, he remembered waiting for the aroma pigeons at Castle Griffenstein.
There was a knock at the door, and Wintry entered.
"Please sit down, bachelor. There were a lot of people around earlier, and I couldn't speak to you calmly."
"You're welcome."
Aldeth wondered what he should do now that the expedition to Wallabach was over. Normally, the eldest son of a family would be expected to take over and become a lord, but Aldeth's situation was different.
When Aldes left Arenberg Castle, he didn't know when he would return. With no heir, the family had to decide on a successor. In Aldeth's absence, his second son, Tari, was to be the heir.
While Aldeth was away, the Boldo family decided that Tari would be his successor, and a succession was organized around Tari. However, unexpectedly, Aldeth returned to Arenberg Castle, having done great things for House Gerho and having the Boldo family's debts forgiven.
The Boldos could be swept into a feud over the succession if Aldes insists that he is the eldest and should be the heir.
"Bachelor, if I stayed in Arenberg Castle, there would be some people who would be uncomfortable."
"What do you mean, Aldes, you are the eldest son of House Boldo, and your place is here in Arenberg Castle, not there?"
"You speak well, bachelor, and I didn't expect to return from Castle Griffenstein so soon either. It's always good when the eldest son is taken hostage and then quickly released to return home, but the situation isn't necessarily that way, since Tari has become my heir since I left."
"But Aldeth, you saved House Boldo from a crisis, and you're the eldest, so you should be the heir."
"You're not wrong, bachelor, but things don't always work out that way. If I stay here, House Voldo will be torn apart. I remember learning about sibling rivalries in my history classes.
After my successful expedition to Wallabach, I thought about what I would do next, and I came to one conclusion: I would leave Arenberg Castle."
"Aldes, you're leaving, where do you think you're going?"
"I haven't decided where yet, but I know for sure that I'm leaving Arenberg Castle. But don't misunderstand me. I'm not leaving because I dislike my family, my vassals, I'm leaving for the well-being of my family and my vassals. If I leave, my brother, Tari, will be able to take the heir's lessons as scheduled, and House Boldo will remain stable.
If I stay in Arenberg Castle, and House Boldo is forced into internal strife, who's going to be happy about that? The Gerhos."
Wintry sensed that Aldeth had grown a lot since his time at Castle Griffenstein and the war against the orcs. Aldeth was right. Aldeth must leave for the well-being of House Voldo. But as a Wintry, I was sorry to see him go.
"I see your deep meaning, Aldes, and I understand. You've been in a life-or-death battle, and you've thought things through."
"It will be easier for everyone if I leave, I know, though it is sad. And in my last letter, I asked you to investigate Burgelia's whereabouts. Have you found out anything?"