Lofus fluttered his mantle behind him as he walked away to head back to the party venue. Annegelt, Orgus, and Lofus had finished their meeting with Raymond, and Warm had been excluded from this encounter. Lofus returned to the party alone, and Raymond followed with a submissive Annegelt and Orgus in tow.
As a sidenote, this sort of ruckus would normally cause a fuss—surely, the party attendees would’ve noticed this kind of noise. However, Raymond had set up a barrier to prevent outsiders from witnessing it.
When Lofus returned alone to the party, he breathed a sigh of relief, happy that he’d evaded becoming Raymond’s follower, but the Lightless heir knew that he wasn’t completely in the clear yet. Raymond hadn’t given up on his endeavor.
“An endearing fiancée, huh...” Lofus muttered. “Wasn’t he engaged to— No, now’s not the time to think about that.”
He decided to put that off for another day. In truth, when the academy arc of his dream’s story had begun, Raymond’s personality had twisted and warped considerably because of his fiancée, but Lofus, who only had the viewpoint of the main character, had no means of knowing that. In the second arc, Raymond’s twisted personality would force him to switch gears and drive the kingdom to the brink of ruin. Lofus could almost hear the pitter-patter of this ominous future creeping up on him.
✶✶✶
A few days had passed since our return from the Galleon duchy. The trip back and forth had taken a total of twelve days—almost half a month—and though that was a lengthy journey, we couldn’t possibly have turned down the duke’s invitation. This prolonged absence put us behind on many of our tasks at our fief, but that was what our magistrates were for. Though, of course, it was thanks to one corrupt magistrate that I’d been dealing with a ton of headaches in recent months.
I was called out to my father’s study on this day. I’d been unable to forget the convenience of the train in the royal capital, and I wanted one installed in our territory as well. Ever since I returned home, I submitted petitions to my father, even sending several per day. His response came via Carlos, and I was ordered to directly plead my case to him.
“As I’ve mentioned in my letters, I wish for a train within our fief,” I said.
My father knit his brow and glared at me. “You won’t even give me a simple greeting before talking business?”
“I’ve no need for idle talk, and I imagine you’re the same. I know how busy you are.”
As I stood there coolly, my father sighed.
“A train...” he muttered. “You make it sound so simple, but do you know just how expensive that would be?”
“I beg you to reconsider,” I replied. “The mobility of a train far outweighs the costs, I find. If we can connect our major cities by railway, the train can not only carry cargo, but also allow various industries to flourish. It shall bolster our economy greatly, and a train can decrease travel time as well. Time is money, is it not? I don’t see a reason to refuse.”
My father shot daggers. “You, of all people, dare to mention our economic situation?”
“I just believe that we must have our economy recover as soon as possible, especially for cities and towns that were under Clinton’s jurisdiction.”
“Clinton...” He grimaced at the mention of the name.
“He’s illegally shackled various regions with heavy taxation, forcing villages and towns into poverty. If we are to remedy this situation, a train might very well move things in the right direction.”
Judging from the magistrate’s reports, the poverty-ridden villages and towns could no longer rebuild themselves of their own accord; they required help, and a lot of it. Providing the aid they needed was our responsibility. It was essential to create a new market for the residents to take advantage of.
“Are you talking about Roguebert?” my father asked.
“Roguebert is included, but there are many other towns and villages nearby in need of help,” I replied.
My father placed a hand on his chin pensively. “Very well... I’ll consider it.”
“If possible, I would like your decision to be immediate.”
“Setting up a train is a very complex process. I require permits from the royal palace, and the necessary funding will be enormous as well. I also require a steady source of coal to mobilize the train. All of this cannot be decided upon overnight.”
“I understand.”
He’s right... We don’t have many coal mines in our march, I thought. I suppose our immediate concern is to secure the coal. If we wished to build rails to distant cities, we would also require an ample supply of iron. This seemed like a worthy topic to bring to the Merchant Association during our next meeting.
“That’s all I have to say,” I said. “Please excuse me.”
“Wait,” my father called.
“Yes?”
“Our family will have lunch shortly. Join us.”
“No, thank you. I already ate.”
I was lying, of course. It was still ten in the morning, and I hadn’t eaten lunch yet. My father glared at me sternly, easily seeing through my blatant, almost shameless lie.
“Lofus!” he growled.
“Please excuse me,” I replied.
Undaunted by my father’s rage, I tried to leave. Suddenly, I heard the shrill cry of a black kite right outside the window. When I turned toward the noise, the black bird flew in, its dark feathers dotted by countless eyeballs. It was clearly under the spell of Shadow Eater, presumably by my father. His familiar let out another shrill cry, causing my father to frown and scowl.
“What?” he muttered.
“Did something happen?” I asked.
He let out a quiet sigh and turned to me. “Someone has trespassed into the founder’s tumulus.”
“Huh?!”
My pathetic gasp signaled just how surprised I was.