Romello had successfully met with Morris Grindel and Bruno Philling, and the moment he got back to his room, he flung himself onto his chair in exhaustion.
“Welcome back, Lord Romello.” Alf was already there, waiting with a hot cup of tea ready for him.
Romello thanked him and slowly took a sip. “Ahh… That hits the spot,” he murmured, then set his cup on the table and looked up.
“You should probably try to get plenty of rest tonight. You have a long day tomorrow,” Alf said.
“You’re right. I think I’ll do just that,” Romello answered quickly, but he didn’t move a muscle. “But first… Alf, we need to discuss my plans for tomorrow, visiting Duke Crowe and Duke Baskar’s manors.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The duchy of Crowe in the southwest part of Rimmel, nestled between Tweil and Tasmeria. The duke’s name was Chester Crowe. His wife had died young, so Chester was incredibly devoted to his two daughters. He considered them as living mementos of his beloved wife.
Because of the location of his domain, he often caught wind of Tweil’s military campaigns, and as such, he was the duke who most feared Gazell.
“What is his relationship with the hard-liners and the moderates?”
“Both sides are eager to use any means at their disposal to get him over to their side. The most commonly used tactic is marriage proposals for his daughters.”
“Ah, his daughters aren’t engaged yet? If he dotes on them as much as you say he does, then he wouldn’t marry them off to just anybody.”
“Correct. I’m sure he’ll eventually marry them off to the best match within one of the factions, but at least one of his daughters will be the loser in the battle for power.”
“True. I’m sure an ordinary noble would resort to such means, though. That just goes to show how much he loves his daughters.”
“I think so too.”
“Hm, so Duke Crowe values family first… What is the state of affairs in his domain?”
“I haven’t heard any specific problems as of yet.”
“I see. And what do you think of Chester, from what you know of his work?”
“This is just my personal opinion from reading the documents, but I think he may be a very unerring person. That is to say, he upholds the tenants his forefathers created and wants to protect them.”
“Hm, so you got that impression too, eh?” Romello tipped his head slightly to look at Alf. “There are some people who would mock men like him, but not me. In fact, I think it’s inspiring. In government, you come up with new policies and implement them. And when you devise these policies, you have to make sure they’re realistic, that there’s not something you’ve overlooked, and you look toward the future. One might think that once you devise a policy, all you need to do then is to enact it, but it’s not always that simple. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. And other times, you’re just expected to play it by ear, and you’ll have to re-think your policies occasionally. That’s especially so if someone else is the one to actually put your policies into action. You worry that they might not have picked up on all the details. But other times, you’re left amazed at how well they pulled it off.”
“Yes… That is most definitely true.”
“I had so many tough challenges when I first took over the job from my father, but looking back on it now, they all seem like good memories.”
Alf smiled at that.
Romello continued. “You know who else is very impressive, though? Duke Philling’s wife.”
“Kellie Philling, my lord?”
“Yes.” Romello chuckled.
“And what makes you say that? Would you share your impressions of her with me?” It was unusual for Alf to not immediately know what Romello meant, and he looked at him with a searching gaze.
“Well, Bruno certainly is the ultimate decision maker, but I think it’s his wife who does most of his duties.”
“Surely not…!”
“Now, I have no definitive proof of this, but I’m almost positive my hunch is correct,” Romello said with a smile.
“Why do you say that? And why do you look so happy about it?”
“You can just tell some things when you have a conversation with someone. That woman is very used to diplomatic discussions. I think the reason she excused herself so early from the meeting was because she sensed I was on to her. And happy…? I think I’m more amused than happy.”
“Amused, my lord?”
“Yes. She’s very skilled at conversation. If I had let my guard down, she could’ve easily gotten me to reveal my hand. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed myself so much in a conversation. Also, Bruno himself is very knowledgeable. They make a wonderful team.”
“They’re not your allies…but perhaps that’s why you’re so excited? A formidable enemy has shown themselves. You certainly like to be challenged, don’t you, my lord?”
Romello paused for a moment. “I suppose I do,” He had a contemplative, faraway look in his eyes as he considered it. “But I love peace more than anything. After all, I came all the way here to promote it. At the same time, though, I want to challenge myself and see how much I’m capable of. That’s why I went this far. I’m excited to find such strong people in the same line of work as me.”
“I see…” Alf murmured with a smile.
“Why do you look so convinced?”
“Two reasons. One, you have selflessly governed the kingdom; I’ve witnessed this with my own eyes. Honestly, sometimes I wonder how you can work so hard, but I know it is because you aren’t a selfish person. You never put yourself first. So, honestly, I feel relieved to know that you want to challenge yourself.”
“Ah, I see.”
“And the other reason—and I could say the same thing about General Gazell—is that you both have a dauntless nature. Instead of swearing off danger, it seems to excite the both of you. I believe that to be why you are so capable of making measured decisions.”
“Enough analyzing me. Let’s get back to the topic at hand. I have to meet with Duke Baskar next.”
“Pardon me, my lord.” Alf’s smile deepened, and he bowed deeply. A serious expression then crept over his face.
Duke Dennis Baskar. His domain was in the southern part of Rimmel, sitting between Duke Sligar’s and Duke Crowe’s. He divorced his wife more than a decade prior, and they shared one son together.
“As I told you before, the duke’s internal affairs are in dire straits. He was taken in by a moneylending merchant and got involved in the slave trade. At first it was just happening within his own domain, but now it’s spread all over the country. I’m sure it hasn’t been investigated since he’s under the protection of the other dukes, and he probably used that to his advantage. Once Duke Sligar uncovered the plot, the other hard-liners found out. My proof of this is that Duke Sligar isn’t the only one supplying goods.”
“But don’t you think it’s strange that Duke Grindel and Duke Philling haven’t noticed citizens mysteriously disappearing from their own domains? After meeting with them today, I have a hard time believing they’d be oblivious to something like that.”
“I suppose that would be due to how skillful Duke Baskar’s merchant in question is. As long as those who went missing don’t have family who would raise an uproar, word wouldn’t necessarily reach the dukes.”
“I see… I suppose that’s possible.”
“Indeed. Since I already knew about the slave trading, I was able to find out that much. I would imagine investigating would be quite difficult if one didn’t have some information already at hand.”
“Hm, if the case is as you say, then he must really have someone good behind the operation. Any other clues?”
“The identity of the merchant has been hidden very cleverly. It’s possible they are connected to Duke Sligar somehow, behind the scenes.”
Romello laughed out loud. “Ha ha ha! So you mean to say the one pulling the strings behind the curtain this time was probably Duke Sligar! Well, no wonder he ‘uncovered’ Duke Baskar’s actions! That also means it’s possible that Duke Sligar somehow caused Duke Baskar’s dire financial straits himself.”
“I expected you would say that, so I am looking into the possibility.”
“Hrm… And why do you think this person has a connection to Duke Sligar?”
“We were able to find out the merchant’s identity. His real name is Dirk. He was born in the capital, and his father was also a merchant. The father died when Dirk was very young and left him in debt. After that, he went from place to place and ended up working as a lackey for an unsavory organization. He rose in the ranks there and somewhere along the line made a deal with Duke Sligar. However, he was betrayed by a trusted confidant in the organization and fell from grace. As a result, he changed his name and now goes by Nort. He reportedly runs a business that makes and distributes illegal medicines in the capital. His operations have been expanding over the past several years. From his past behavior, we can surmise that Duke Sligar also has a hand in this business, but I am looking into that as well… Unfortunately, it has taken more time than I had expected to get more information. I’m terribly sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. You certainly did your research. Do you know anything about Duke Baskar’s financial affairs?”
“He was never that wealthy to begin with, but his financial situation completely went on the decline due to his ex-wife and son’s wasteful habits. We didn’t see anything suspicious in our previous investigation, so we paused it. Now, we’ve reopened it, trying to see just what was Duke Sligar’s handiwork. So far, we have not found any connection between Duke Baskar’s ex-wife or her family and Duke Sligar, so we’re looking into how they could have been related at the time.”
“I see. Let me know as soon as you find out anything else. Do you think they were plotting an invasion of Tasmeria even back then? Or was it simply part of an internal power struggle within Rimmel at the time?”
“Judging by the time period in which he started working, I’d imagine it was the latter.”
“Hmm… I see. Well, I suppose even the invasion plot is part of the power struggle. It was a way for them to see who was on their side, and if they could just figure out a lawful way to invade us…” Romello trailed off, which was unusual for him.