But the slender maid showed no sign of backing down. “When Lord Van first arrived, the village was under siege from bandits. To protect his new territory, he took up his sword and fought them back. And when a dragon attacked the village, he risked his life to bring back Sir Esparda, who stayed behind to buy us time. None of this is the result of good fortune. This village became what it is now because of Lord Van.”
Her eyes filled with tears and her fingers trembled, likely because she knew exactly who she was talking to. Jard took a step toward her and roared, “Insolent woman! No mere maid may speak to us like that!”
Despite the fear that made her shoulders shake, she refused to back down. But then a child’s voice cut in.
“Whoa! Jard, Sesto! Long time no see! Have you both been well?”
The complete absence of urgency in the speaker’s voice shocked Jard straight out of his anger. We both looked past the maid to the dozen or so people approaching from behind her. At the center of the pack was Van. Aside from having grown a tiny bit taller, he looked unchanged. I had no clue who the people behind him were, and while I had expected to find Dee and Esparda at his side, they were nowhere to be seen.
At length, Jard managed to squeeze out a few words. “Van, you need to do a better job educating your maid.” The girl’s shoulders jumped.
Van placed a gentle hand on his concerned maid’s back and then stepped forward. “My apologies. Till has been looking after me since I was a little child, so she may have let her feelings get the best of her.” With a smile, he added, “She’s normally an incredible maid, even if she can be a teeny bit scatterbrained at times.”
The maid named Till shyly cast her gaze downward. This only served to further annoy Jard who, with an aggravated look on his face, said, “It has been some time, Van. Sesto and I had a look at your village. Not bad at all. It might be smaller than our cities, but it certainly seems busy and safe. Of course, I could have developed it much more.” He shrugged.
The people behind Van looked exasperated. Actually, wait a second. What’s with this guy’s elaborate attire? The fabric was high quality and the ornamentation intricate. This was not the attire of someone headed into battle. In fact, his clothes were as ornate as Father’s—but surely these people couldn’t all be high-ranking nobility? If they were, it made no sense for Van to be the one showing them around. He may have recently acquired a peerage, but he was still only a baron. Were they letting him getting away with it because he was a child?
Either way, there’s a good possibility they outrank us. We should greet them. I leaned past Jard and quietly called out, “Van, introduce the people behind you.”
Only then did Jard notice the ornate attire of Van’s company. Quietly, he said, “Mm, good point…”
Van must have heard him, for he stepped to the side with a smirk, letting us stand face to face with his guests. “The attractive middle-aged man in the center there is none other than King Dino En Tsora Belrinet. Next to His Majesty is the beautiful and powerful Viscount Panamera Carrera Cayenne, and…”
The introductions continued, but we didn’t register a word Van said. That first casual introduction was of His Majesty. The others appeared to have significant peerages as well, but how could we be expected to keep listening after being introduced to the king?
“…And last but not least, my super-duper kind and talented maid, Till. She’s also an amazing chef. Oh, and I can’t possibly forget Khamsin, who’s becoming an amazing swordsman.” Van smiled and waited for us to react.
“M-my sincerest apologies,” Jard said clumsily. “I am Jard Gai Fertio of House Fertio. This is my younger brother, Sesto Ele Fertio. We have come to participate in the battle as representatives of House Fertio.” We both bowed.
His Majesty scowled at us for a moment, then looked at each of our faces in turn. He cocked his head ever so slightly. “Hmm. We are preparing to invade Yelenetta, yet the marquis sent only his children to the front lines? Is this not the perfect opportunity for him to demonstrate his strength?” A smile graced his lips. “Or is this his way of saying that the two of you are stronger than he?”
Jard put on his best smile and shook his head, brimming with confidence. “Not at all. We both have a long way to go…though I aspire to one day surpass my father and elevate our house to even grander heights.”
It was unclear how His Majesty received the response, but it was vital that he not mistake our intentions. With few other options available to me, I spoke up. “U-um, Father—Marquis Fertio—will arrive shortly. He decided to strengthen his forces…”
Despite my best efforts to explain the situation, His Majesty’s expression remained unchanged. He sighed, gazing discontentedly at us. “It is fine. About what you said earlier—Jard, was it? You said you could develop this village further?”
Jard nodded. With all the confidence in the world, he said, “Of course. This territory seems to have received a great deal of hired help and supplies, but if I were in charge, I would not have designed it with such an odd shape. Aesthetically, it is breathtaking, but the current standard design for fortress cities is much more efficient. Additionally, I see few, if any, slaves. The judicious use of slaves vastly improves productivity.”
I panicked quietly through all of this, assessing His Majesty’s reactions. I really wished my brother would stop speaking without thinking first. With the amount of money and manpower that must have gone into developing this city, it was entirely possible that His Majesty had a hand in it all. Hell, the design itself may have been His Majesty’s idea.
Fortunately, it seemed we’d managed to avoid insulting His Majesty, for he simply nodded, his expression impassive. “Mm. So you say our kingdom’s standard fortress city design is optimal? A year ago I would have thought the same. However, unfortunate as it may seem, Baron Van’s design is far more effective than our standard layout. Even more astonishing is that he developed his territory without any outside aid. I recommend touring the region with that in mind; I am confident you will both learn a thing or two.”
Jard and I both looked at Van, who beamed and puffed out his chest. Van did all of this? He made this fortress city?
Impossible. Van was banished with no wealth to his name, and little more than a year has passed since then. How could he possibly have designed and built such a city? This level of construction would require an insane amount of money and resources.
Jard seemed to be thinking the same thing, but there was no way either of us could go against His Majesty’s words. All we could do was agree with his suggestion.
Jard and Sesto both begrudgingly agreed to do as His Majesty recommended. I had two members of the Seatoh Chivalric Order accompany them on their tour of the village. His Majesty wanted to look around as well, so we parted ways with my brothers.