According to the aides’ reports, Jard and Sesto simply performed their duties as lords. That was all. Jalpa was not foolish enough to take this at face value. These aides were reporting on two young men who might take Jalpa’s place. They would want to shy away from negative assessments and exaggerate any positive news as much as possible. In the year that his sons were away, neither of the cities they worked in had changed significantly, for better or worse, and the aides reported only that the young men did their jobs as governors.
Jalpa’s conclusion was that his sons had been lazy. He scowled at Jard, then sighed lightly. “In the year that you governed your city, Van exterminated a large dragon, became a baron, developed his village into a fortress city, and produced results on the battlefield. As his older brother, are you not embarrassed?”
Jard grimaced. “N-no. I suspect Van received aid from Count Ferdinatto.” It was impossible for his little brother, not even nine years of age, to perform those feats with his useless magic. “Rumor has it that Count Ferdinatto’s daughter now lives in Van’s territory, and I think it is safe to say that my little brother has become one of the count’s pawns. He leaned on Count Ferdinatto’s aid to slay the dragon and develop his territory. In his position I could do the same, if not better.”
Jalpa had felt the same way his son did in the beginning, but now that he had seen Van’s magic firsthand, Jard’s assumptions came off as pure delusion. “Cease with this nonsense. His Majesty has personally visited Van’s territory and recognized his accomplishments. If Count Ferdinatto had a hand in any of this, he would never have so much as attempted to fool His Majesty. Besides, to take down a dragon normally requires assembling fully equipped Chivalric Orders of two to three thousand knights, not to mention a team of first-rate elemental mages. His Majesty would certainly have noticed Count Ferdinatto doing something so bold.”
Jard attempted to respond, but the words wouldn’t come. He was caught off-guard by his father recognizing Van’s accomplishments, and he struggled to piece things together. Had his father summoned him merely to reprimand him?
Again, Jalpa sighed. “Last month, we took down one of Yelenetta’s critical strongholds,” he said at length. “Have you heard?”
“Y-yes! I would expect nothing less from you, Father.”
Jalpa frowned. “I see. Well, that stronghold is now being managed by Van.”
Jard blinked a few times, wide-eyed. He squeezed out his next panicked words through a tense jaw. “That’s impossible! The boy is not even ten! How could he manage such a strategic location?!”
Jalpa nodded, then snorted. “The men who fought in the battle to take the stronghold have already returned to their respective territories, but I imagine they will begin prepping for the next battle. The riffraff who remained to assist Van were all viscounts and below. Unfortunately, I was unable to slip any loyal orders into their ranks.”
“What is His Majesty thinking, leaving a stronghold to low-level nobility?” Jard muttered. Jalpa shrugged and shook his head.
“I’m certain His Majesty believes that even low-level nobility can defend the area for a month or two. Even if many of them fell in battle, it would be no great blow to our national defenses. I do not intend to let all of this transpire beyond my watch, however, and as such, I have dispatched Murcia to aid Van.”
Jard’s head whipped up. “I see. Then if anything were to happen, Brother Murcia could take command, and his successes would be credited to our house.”
“Precisely. But we must not forget that House Fertio has always displayed its value through battle. I suspect that His Majesty will ride this wave of success straight into Yelenetta, stripping away more of their land, and that is when our house will exhibit its true worth.” He locked his eyes on Jard. “That is why I summoned you and Sesto.”
Jalpa was lying. In reality, His Majesty had ordered Murcia to cooperate with Van, but Jalpa made it sound as if the plan was his. Jard had no way of knowing this, of course, so he took his father’s words at face value, concluding that this was all a test for him as a candidate for the head of the house.
“I understand. Sesto and I will show them the true power of House Fertio,” Jard said, smiling ferociously.
Jard
JARD WAS GIVEN THREE THOUSAND MEMBERS OF HOUSE Fertio’s Chivalric Order. As they assembled weapons and goods for their march, Sesto joined up with him.
“Sesto! Long time no see!”
“Long time no see, Brother.”
Jard noticed then that his little brother’s expression was dark, his voice rather gloomy. “Did something happen?”
Sesto frowned pitiably and sighed. It looked to Jard like he’d grown a bit, but hunched over as he was, he actually appeared smaller. He nodded. “Father scolded me. He said I played around with my money and couldn’t even maintain my city after doubling my city’s taxes…”
“Ha ha ha! You idiot, all businesses give us favorable treatment because we’re House Fertio! If you hold a banquet or something, any number of nobles from viscount rank on down will come to you with plans to make money. But there’s no use crying over spilled milk,” Jard said, throwing his brother a proverbial life vest. “Just raise your tax revenue by an additional fifty percent and have the merchants look for money-making opportunities for you.”
In Jard’s view, Murcia was a powerful rival in the line of succession but Sesto was destined to become Jard’s right hand man. He valued his younger brother in that sense. Sesto was weak to temptation, and his indecisive nature meant that he would never truly become Jard’s rival.