Chapter 4: The Duke of Vitreal

As Linea opened the door, he saw the same brown haired maid. How do I keep running into this one? “You again.” 

 

“Ah yes, f-forgive me my Lord, the other maids saw that you requested me to bring you a writing utensil so they assumed you preferred my services.” Linea’s frowned. That makes me sound like I prey on the servants.

 

“Don’t word it like that.”

 

“My Lord forgive me, I don't understand.”

 

“When someone asks you why you are running a personal errand for me, say ‘because I asked you to do this specifically’.”

 

“My Lord, forgive my stupidity!” She got down on her knees and slammed her head into the ground. “I-I apologize for my mistake! Please don’t kill me!” 

 

Linea’s face blanched. My image, dear god… this girl will ruin my image. “Just get up, forget it. God, err Goddess. Here, just give me that” He reached and grabbed the pencil and walked the few steps to his desk. Right, Duke’s office. Where the hell in this maze of corridors would that be?

 

By the time Linea returned to the still open door, the maid from before was nowhere to be seen. Oh well, any of them will do. Stepping out of the room, Linea pointed to the nearest of the bevy of maids cleaning and dusting the already clean corridor.

 

“Hey, you.” The maid looked up, concerned at the attention. “Yes, you.”

 

“Your name. What’s your name?” 

 

“My name? Pardon but why does My Lord need my name? It’s not fit to be spoken to by someone as great as you, my Lord.” Her voice was quivering. She’s afraid? 

 

“I will not ask again. What is your name?”

 

“It is Lumiera my lord.” He gazed down at her. Even standing she was almost a full ½ meter shorter than him.  

 

“Very well Lumiera,” he had to consciously make his voice more pompous, nobody spoke like this on Earth, so it was difficult to try and emulate the air of a ‘Lord’. “Guide me to the Duke’s office then.”  

 

“V-very well my Lord.” She looked extraordinarily uncomfortable. As Linea followed her down the hallway, he took extra care to restrain from frowning. Hmmm, is it that servants are not usually asked for their names or is it that Lumiera is just a very low ranked servant? As they walked, the previously indifferent maids who had barely acknowledged his existence were now openly stealing glances. Hmm, perhaps it is not done for a Lord to follow behind a servant, but I have no choice. I don't know where my father’s office is. As he watched, he could see Lumiera try to make herself smaller. Normally, Linea wouldn’t have cared that she might get harassed and ignored because of this, but with his negative karma value of -27.3 million staring him in the face it was hard to just let it go.

 

Linea’s brain began to work in overdrive. What relation does the Goddess have with the Vitreal Duke? There’s no way she doesn’t have one because of the fact that the book’s very answer was the Duke calling me to his office. Linea’s desire to frown deepened further. He gave in, his eyes narrowed and his forehead creased. As he began stroking his chin, Is he her servant? It was possible. If the King was already her servant, how hard would it be to include a Duke? Oh well, the answer is just a few steps away. The maid stood in front of two large solid gold doors. Large black polished black handles stuck out from them. “Thank you for guiding me, Lumiera, you are dismissed.

 

 

“It was my pleasure my lord.” She said with a bright and relieved face. Linea scoffed. If you’re going to be that relieved to be rid of my company you should at least try and hide it. The doors opened and Linea walked in. An absolutely enormous room welcomed him. The room was easily 20 meters across and wide, with the ceiling easily 10 meters high. The entire back wall was massive ornate windows, the floor, shiny lacquered wood. Columns flanked either wall leading up to a massive wooden desk. Orbs of pure light hovered around the desk casting shadows of the carved dragon that formed the desk’s legs. A pair of large statues of an angelic figure with 6 wings coming out of her back were on either side of the table. The statues had diamonds for eyes and their wings were lined with smaller shiny objects. At the table a single man sat. He was huge, with a barrel for chest and tree trunks for legs. 

 

As the man stood, Linea immediately realized that the questions he had written in the book about him killing the Duke of Vitreal were an absolute impossibility. There was no way he could kill a man like this. As the man approached, Linea couldn’t help but feel the pressure. It was like he exerted his own gravitational field. Linea had stood in front of some of the most powerful men on Earth, dictators to lunatics, yet none had terrified him like this. If he wanted, I’d be dead before I knew it. Still, Linea knew that in such situations, maintaining calm, or even the facade of calm, was imperative. He schooled his features and clamped down on his fear. What kind of etiquette would make the most sense? He quietly bowed his head in the direction of the man in respect. This is probably the safest bet. 

 

As the Duke drew closer, Linea lifted his head and observed him. He had the same black hair that Linea had, but while the Duke’s eyes were like voids of darkness, Linea’s had a golden hue around them. Those were the only differences between the two, otherwise his face was almost a dead ringer for Linea’s. The man drew closer until he was a few feet away. He paused there, and quietly looked Linea up and down. After a few seconds, the man knelt on one knee and bowed his head. “This humble servant greets the Goddess’s Executioner.”

__________________________________________________________________________

 

When Duke Rayleigh Vitreal heard that his son was acting strange in the morning, conversing with maids instead of ignoring them like they were objects, it was already a possibility that the Goddess had once again called upon his family. Although maybe his son had acted on a whim, Rayleigh could still feel hope at the prospect. So he was surprised to learn only a few hours ago his son had gone to see the city. 

 

His son, who had never once stepped foot outside the manor, with its clean water, clean air, extensive gardens and quality food, had not only left, but had spent almost an entire day outside. At first Rayleigh was in shock. Maybe he just got lost and that was why he spent so long outside. But a report from another servant told him that Linea had not gotten lost at all, but instead wandered around purposefully, visiting shops and talking to people. 

 

At that point he was rather sure it was time for him to execute his duty. However, just to be certain, he called his son into his office. He needed to be sure. As soon as his son walked in, the Duke felt the hair on his neck rise. There was something different about him. The previous listless, meager man his son had been now radiated an aura of confidence and charisma. His eyes which were once emotionless and vapid were now filled with a cold intelligence. The aura he gave off had significantly strengthened, now on par with some of the strongest adventurers he had met. So my 26 years of dreams weren’t meaningless. Rayleigh drew closer to his son and gazed into his eyes. A hue of gold lit them. The executioner has arrived. 

 

The Duke of Vitreal kneeled before his son. “This humble servant greets the Goddess’s Executioner”, his baritone voice rumbled out of his chest. 

 

From above him he heard. “Don’t waste your time kneeling. We have much to do and very little time to do it. Sit, we have some matters to discuss.” 

 

“Of course.” Rayleigh stood up and gestured towards the desk, “Would you like the head of the table?” 

 

“No, I’m perfectly fine sitting as a guest. The last thing we need is a servant walking in and seeing us in different seats. Besides, I am not nearly trashy enough to take a man’s chair from him.” 

 

“Very well.” Rayleigh strode to his desk and took a seat, his son following suit and pulling out a chair on the other side. 

 

“To what extent will you follow my orders?”

 

“To any and all. The Goddess has asked me to be your right hand and to aid you with whatever you will need.”

 

His son gave a smile, “Not bad, a full Dukedom under my control.” His son frowned again and gazed back at Rayleigh. “I will not mince my words father, from what I have seen, the Duchy is a miserable place to live. In fact, to claim this land as ‘under your control’ would be nothing but asking to be insulted. Is the state I found in Realvi the same throughout the Duchy? No, is it worse?”

 

“Realvi is one of the better cities comparatively.”

 

“Do you mean to tell me that other cities have even higher piles of shit in their streets?”

 

“As much as I regret saying this, yes. In fact, the situation is the same throughout the entire Kingdom. To the nobility, owning land is the equivalent of owning power. They prefer to purchase rural land in the hopes of finding pockets of gemstones or mana crystals. If there are people living there, they are forced off and into the cities, as any city has only been built on land with no other value. Most other cities are so polluted that the air itself is poisonous, and people travel underground to avoid the stench” 

 

“Are you serious?”

 

“Yes, I am indeed serious.” 

 

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“What measures has the crown taken to increase the standard of living of the people?”

 

“None, the King owns none of the land as he is seen as a Divine Figure above the pettiness of man. It is the rest of the nobility that owns the land, and who is supposed to be under his direct control. The three Dukes collectively own about half the Kingdom’s land, the rest was split between the lower noble ranks.”

 

“So, in other words, the King has no concrete grounding outside of the established Church and core military since he is a servant of the Goddess, while the nobility control nearly all of the economy and land?”

 

“Yes”

 

“What kinds of powers does the Church command?”

 

“It is merely that. A Church. They collect donations and lead prayers. Sometimes they organize street cleanings, but after a few days their efforts dissolve since they have far too much area to cover, and such work is damaging to a person's pride. The people have high faith, but the nobles shield themselves from their ire by propping up statues of the Goddess and having the largest donations to smaller churches.”

 

“Shit”

 

“Yes, it is indeed a very shit situation.” Rayleigh watched as his son leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. 

 

“So I need to be King while still having the full authority of the Duchy.” Being King would give him the right to control the other nobility while controlling the Duchy would allow him to have a more concrete way of establishing control.

 

“Pardon.” Rayleigh believed he had misheard. “You want to control the Kingdom and a Duchy?” 

 

“Hmmmm? Naturally. My goal is to improve the lives of as many people as possible by as much as possible. I need to control the entire Kingdom to reach the desired scale.”

 

Rayleigh gazed at him. On his face his expression remained neutral, yet in his chest, his heart burned with both pride and sadness. To think this was the man who was meant to be my child… 

 

“What is the opinion of the commoners? What do they think of the nobility and the crown?”

 

“Most of them fiercely support the King and view the nobility as parasitic vermin. Among the nobles, the Vitreal Duchy’s is considered the best, but all that means is that we are the least hated, not that we are well liked.” 

 

“Yes, the giant pristine palace in the middle of a shit piled city would most likely inspire such a reaction.” Rayleigh flinched at his son’s harsh wording. Ever since he was a boy, all he had ever wanted to do was give his people hope. What other glory was there in being a leader other than seeing your citizens looking to the future with excitement? But he was a warrior, not a strategist. He had no knowledge on what to do to make his country a better place. It stood as one of his greatest regrets. 

 

“Tell me about the current state of the Ducal finances right now.” 

 

Rayleigh snapped his fingers. After he heard a knock on the door: “Fetch me the documents on the treasury and our current assets.” After a brief few minutes, an old man in a well-tailored suit walked in, left a gray crystal on the desk, and walked away. Rayleigh smashed the crystal in his hand, and a few papers fell out. “In currency there are around 72.3 million gold coins, 52.8 million silver, and 258 million copper. Our land is worth around 250 million gold coins. We have 4 mana crystal mines that earn 2.3 million gold annually, and 15 gem mines that earn 1.3 million gold annually.”

 

His son quieted for a few moments, muttering under his breath at a rapid pace. After another few seconds of silence, “Embezzlement?”

 

“None whatsoever. If there is anything we nobles are good at, it is keeping track of our money.”

 

“Compile me a list of all unnecessary, or vanity spending. Do not stop paying the employees, we will need loyal servants soon. Come up with a plan to increase our current cash reserve by as much as possible. Also, relative to the other Duchies, are we the most wealthy or least wealthy?” 

 

“I believe that we are extraordinarily far behind the Lumen Duchy, but we are also significantly wealthier than the Hearth Duchy. As for your command, I will begin immediately” 

 

“Any numbers?”

 

“None, we can only create a rough guess from what we know they own. Spies struggle to enter the Duchy since servants usually spend their lives from birth to death at their respective Duchies, their children filling in the roles once they are too old to work”

 

“Hmmmm. What about our military strength?”

“Save for the King, we command the greatest forces.”

 

“For some reason the prince was rated extremely lowly by the Goddess. Why?”

 

“The Prince is a piece of trash, worse than most nobles. At 25 years old, his only notable accomplishment was being able to bed with every woman at one brothel. He is trash, willing to kidnap children or wives from off the streets and use them to satisfy his perverse desires. No greater punishment exists than to clean up their corpses, beaten and bruised. He actively sabotages the King’s efforts and has even given away a few of the Kingdom’s heirlooms in order to sleep with a famous singer. There is no better way to describe him than to call him a man who has fallen into depths of depravity.”

 

“What would the King do if I killed the Prince?”

 

Rayleigh frowned. To think he speaks so easily of killing a man. “The King is the kind of man who views his own people as his children. He already knows what his son has done, but it is difficult to say what he would do. If you wish to seize the Kingdom through marriage then I believe that disposing of him quietly would be the best option, although it will be difficult. Although very undisciplined, the Prince sits at the very high C+ rank, and is surrounded by several high ranking guards.”

 

“Very well then, that is the last of my questions. Ah, before I go, I have a few things I need you to do.” His son looked down at his hands and began to check things off. “Implement direct and private communication between us. Set the treasurer on high alert, very soon I will need to withdraw massive amounts of funds. Also, hire an etiquette tutor, , a swordsmanship tutor, and a magic tutor.” The Executioner paused for a moment before gazing at Rayleigh, “Are all of the Dukes as strong as you.”

 

Rayleigh, confused by the question, replied with a brief “Pardon?”

 

“I’m asking if the heads of the other Duchies are as impressive as you.”

 

Rayleigh coughed into his hands to try and hide his growing smile. My son thinks I’m strong. So what if he was being treated as a servant? To see his son so in charge of himself and his surroundings, what greater joy could a father have? He killed his smile. “The other nobles are pigs, lacking in self-discipline and honor. They are weak, vain, and petty.” 

 

“Good.” His son gave a strange expression. He was smiling, yet in his eyes Rayleigh saw malice. “The weak minded are easy prey.” His son got up to leave. As he watched his son’s back, Rayleigh was filled with a hope he hadn’t felt in years. Perhaps if it is someone like you, then just maybe this land has a future…

And as Linea made to open the doors, he turned back to Rayleigh. “Send a message to the King. Tell him the Vitreal Duchy has a proposal he would like to hear.” 

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