Chapter 20: Chapter 19

After the incident life quickly returned to normal for the citizens. The same could not be said about the officials in the Town hall who saw this incident as an opportunity to root out any and all weed that found its way into their ranks. They did their best to check every possible connection the culprits could have had with other members of the government and a few months later the much talked about investigations were finally over. 

Doyle was standing in front of Alfred in the mansion's study. The room was the same as always, but the atmosphere was not the one this official was used to. The betrayal of his own men weighed heavily on Doyle and his face, particularly his tired eyes spoke much louder than any words. After giving Alfred a deep bow Doyle began to report his findings.

“My lord, the final numbers are in. Unfortunately there were 23 officials involved in this scandal. They have all been transported to the mines and have begun serving the domain.”

Alfred only nodded at first, he was prepared for bad news and only hoped the report would not be as bad as he thought it would be. Unfortunately many of his officials fell into corruption, breaking their oath to him and the dukedom. The duke organized his thoughts and looked into Doyle's bloodshot eyes, “Good, fill in their positions with trusted people and see to it that this does not happen again, luckily their number is not high enough to prevent the normal function of our domain. Increase the number of checks we perform on the yearly level and fire anyone who bends before the rank of the person they are investigating.”

Doyle bowed, he wanted to reassure his lord about the future but all he could say was a simple acknowledgement of the command he received. “As you wish, my lord. If there is nothing more I will take my leave.”

Alfred gestured with his hand and Doyle quickly left the room, he still had a lot of work to do before he could truly say this incident was over, but right now what he was looking forward to the most was a long night in bed away from his desk.

As he was closing the door behind him he found two people walking down the corridor. “My lady, my lord, it is splendid to see you.” He bowed and greeted them with a gentle smile.

Eleonora and Henry returned his greeting and after a few pleasantries went on into Alfred’s study. The man behind the desk quickly rushed over as he saw them enter. It was not rare for them to swing by and chat with him, still each visit was a precious break from work that Alfred was looking forward to every day.

As always Alfred was keen to find out what his family did while he was away. The father inside him could not wait to hear about Henry's achievements and adventures he missed out on today, “What brings you two here today?”

“Henry has something for you Al.” Eleonora said this and gestured to Henry to give his father an envelope he was holding in his hands.

Alfred received it and tousled Henry’s hair up. “Good work son, you are already doing some work around the house. Now let's see what we have here.”

The envelope was from the duchy of Elinstar, it was sealed by wax and stamped with the seal of the duke himself. Alfred quickly opened up the letter and read its contents to his family. They were officially invited to Mathew’s birthday celebration.

“Time flies fast honey, if only we could slow it down a notch.” Alfred's voice had a tint of sadness as he said the latter part of his sentence.

As always Eleonora agreed with her husband, but had to cheer him up as much as she could, “Al, they are children, it is their job to grow.”

Thanks to his wife Alfred recovered and turned to his son, “Henry, soon we will be going on a long journey. It will be your first time leaving our territory and I cannot imagine a better place than the Elinstar estate.”

Eleonora joined in to help convince Henry that this long journey before them will be a fun experience, “Yes honey, there are many great forests and the view is magnificent no matter where you go. There are many lakes and mountains that are covered with snow even in the summer.”

“We will be going there together, as a family, after all the duke and the duchess did say they want you to be a big brother to Mathew. Of course that is only if you like him.” Alfred added, while awaiting Henry's response.

To his parent's joy, Henry, as always, showed no signs of opposition to his duties and spending time with them. He cheerfully nodded and the three continued on with their conversation. The topics changed quickly and soon Anna came over to inform them that dinner was ready. Needless to say Alfred did not do any work that day which led to some scolding courtesy of Anna later on.

 

***

 

Days quickly turned into weeks and today the Sigurdsons, together with a big escort group of knights and soldiers, left the city of Ul. They went along the massive highway that connected most major cities in the kingdom to each other and to the capital. The journey was a long one so they stayed in many towns and noble estates along the way and Henry met many new people. Being around his parents and Anna was truly a fun experience, there was never a dull moment in the carriage or when they were left alone by their hosts. The duke and duchess also used this opportunity to inspect their territory so it was killing two birds with one stone.

After a full month and two weeks of travel they finally passed through the splendid gates of Arlean, the capital of the North and the ancestral home of the Elinstar dukes.

They were greeted by many knights and officials who escorted their carriage to the duke’s mansion, while most of their men were shown to their camping grounds. Awaiting their arrival at the very gates of their home were the three Elinstars.

Benjamin stood before his guests and bowed lightly, “Welcome my friends, it is a great honor to have you with us on this joyous occasion.”

“Thank you for your invitation, the honor is ours my friend.” Alfred returned the greeting in the same manner. These greetings were far more formal than one would expect but it was only natural as this event was closely watched by numerous people and the two families wanted to show proper respect before relaxing later on, away from prying eyes.

The greetings went on for a few minutes before all eyes fell onto a small child who was hiding behind his mother. Eleonora quickly glanced at Henry and he stepped forward.

“You must be lord Mathew, it is a pleasure to meet you and thank you for inviting us to your celebration.” Henry said while performing the best bow he could, as he did not want to give Anna any reasons for retraining.

The child timidly stepped from behind his mother, while still holding on to her dress, and returned the greeting. “The pleasure is all mine. Thank you f-for your visit.” 

The grown ups wore smiles as the boy finally spoke some words but in Henry’s mind there were many questions. The child looked weak and too small to be called 3 years old. He felt like any wind could lift him up and carry him away, this caused a strange sense of wanting to protect this little existence to light up in Henry.

“Now, Mathew, it is rude to have our guests waiting outside, inviting them in.” Gisela whispered this into his ear and the boy quickly nodded and trotted over to Henry. He grabbed his arm and led him into the mansion while everyone around was left watching, not sure what to do.

Holding his hand Henry felt that it was quite cold and even though the children did not run for a long distance Mathew was having trouble breathing.

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“Mathew, can we sit down somewhere, I have been traveling so my legs are not as strong as yours.” Henry did his best to imitate discomfort and Mathew gave him a sympathetic smile before leading him to the living room. The boys talked among themselves for some time before they were joined by the grown ups.

The talks were quite fun for Henry to listen to, they ranged from academy adventures to battlefield and party events. Mathew was even more intrigued by the whole situation as he did not have a chance to enjoy such talks, especially since this was the first time he saw someone talk with him and his parents as equals. The newcomers were friends with no ulterior motives, they did not want anything other than to have a good time together.

After finishing a story about the time he got to serve in the student council as punishment, Benjamin decided to see how the children are doing, “Mathew, are you enjoying your time with Henry?” 

“Yes papa, did you know Henry can use a sword? When will I get to train like him?” One could see the boy's desire to run and play, but unfortunately his body could not follow. The duke’s expression fell as he did not want to ruin his son’s mood.

“Soon, you must grow first you know, make sure to eat a lot all of your food and I am sure you will join me in training in no time, ok?” Henry swooped in and saved the situation. Mathew’s face lit up and he grabbed Henry’s hand.

The frail boy showed great determination and grabbed Henry's hands. He looked straight into his new friend's eyes and asked with sparkling eyes, “Do you promise, you will train with me?”

Henry's response was instantaneous and brought a wide smile to Mathew's face, “It is a promise.”

The adults in the room knew much more about the situation than Henry so they wore strained smiles on their faces. Still it was much better to give him some hope than to crush his dreams and desires, no matter how impossible they were.

Gisela gave her son a few more minutes of this bliss before reminding him it was time for him to retire. “Mathew, it is time for your therapy. Come along son.”

Mathew nodded to her words and decided to make a request, “Mama, can Henry come with me?”

Gisela was stunned, her friend's boy really got close to her son. The usually reserved and timid Mathew wanted someone other than her to be by his side. Still she could not put such a burden on Henry, so she wanted to refuse.

“Can I aunty Gisela?” Unexpectedly Henry also made the same request so she was in a difficult position and looked over at Eleonora who only nodded to confirm her agreement. The two boys were escorted out of the room by a butler while the two ducal families continued their conversations.

 

***

 

After the therapy which consisted of a healer using mana and an alchemist administering his medicine to Mathew, the two boys rejoined their families and enjoyed a lavish meal. What troubled Henry was the fact that Mathew did not look much better after a full hour of treatment and even seemed drained, which was somewhat understandable given his small body.

Something inside Henry wanted to give this brave boy a hug and promise him that everything would be fine but he was not stupid. Later that night Henry was in his room staring into the ceiling and thinking about his new friend.

‘The Elinstar duchy is very rich, that means there is no shortage of funds for healers and medicine. Given their high status even the royals might offer a helping hand, still Mathew is only getting weaker and the way his parents look at him, whenever he coughs they seem petrified.’

“If there is no cure the duke, or even the kingdom can provide, perhaps…” Henry’s mind drifted into slumber as he thought about a certain potion that was impossible to craft in the game, but was attainable by clearing a certain instance. Unfortunately it was a one time deal, one chance to clear it and one use.

 

***

Days flew by and in an instant it was the morning of the celebration. A beautiful carriage stopped in front of the Elinstar mansion. It had not been followed only by the people of duke Benjamin, but also by a large contingent of knights bearing the insignia of the kingdom. Inside, an uncle was doing his best to prepare his nephew for a very important meeting he would have.

Nicolas was buttoning up his nephews shirt while giving him some final words of wisdom, “Remember prince Rufus, show the people you meet proper respect. Also remember to be gentle towards the younger children. The young lord of this domain is sickly so do forgive him if he makes any blunders.”

Rufus gave a half-hearted response, “Yeeees uncle, I have heard that many times already, from you, from brother Alexei and from my parents. It is only a provincial party, I have attended many great events already.” He had had enough of these advice which everyone was giving him, as if he was a brat with no brain or nobility.

“Your family trusts you, this is truly a wonderful opportunity to present yourself to the world outside of the capital.” Nicolas did not say the rest, the king gave his son this chance as it was impossible to fail. The child celebrating and his parents were a lost branch of the Elinstars, soon they would die out and a branch family would take over so even if Rufus failed it would not cause him, or the royal family any harm in the long run.

Nicolas let out a sigh and opened the door. He only hoped his nephew would play his part and learn something from this gathering.

The duo exited the carriage and proceeded to the venue. Before them was a long red carpet that led straight into the ballroom. People waiting along the corridor made way for the royal prince and his famous uncle while the knights saluted them as they passed. Soon they arrived at the ballroom where their entrance was announced by an attendant. Once inside they were greeted by the duke, his wife and the host of the party, Mathew Elinstar.

Rufus was now fully energized by the gazes and the respect he was shown so far. He did his best to show good manners towards today's hosts, “Greetings my lord, my lady. I am Prince Rufus Logar and I have come in place of my parents to congratulate you and young Mathew on his birthday. His Majesty wishes to convey his best wishes to you and hopes to see you in the capital soon.”

“We thank your highness for your kind words, please convey our gratitude to his Majesty.” Benjamin returned his greetings in a perfect manner, as expected of a high ranking noble.

Seeing his father speak, Mathew decided to say a few words himself. “Thank you, my lord, for taking such a long trip, please enjoy this humble party.” Mathew was doing his best, but he was quite stiff.

“Thank you young Mathew, allow me to also congratulate you on this joyous occasion.” Nicolas stepped in to prevent the child from speaking any further and after a few more words with the duke he went further into the room with Rufus, who was quite unhappy for being labeled a simple lord.

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