As soon as Alex’s carriage left the main dusty road and approached the paved road that led to his estate, a group of fifteen riders approached, wearing uniforms in light grey and with a coat of arms with a cursive ‘A’ stitched on the left side, above the heart.
The driver stopped the carriage, and one of the riders, an older man with a thin scar on his left cheek that went from his mouth to his ear, stood next to the window and made a slight bow with his head. “Welcome back, Earl Alex. Miss Olive sent a message early this morning that you would arrive by this hour. The maids were also warned, and lunch will be waiting for you and your guests in the Castle. Do you mind if we escort you there? Our patrol shift just ended, and we were about to return.”
“By all means, Captain, I won’t mind at all. How are things around here?”
The Captain opened one of his saddlebags and took from there a purse that he showed to Alex. He leaned over the window and frowned at the sight of the Magical Orbs inside. “What the… When did this happen? Why I was not informed?”
The Captain made a slight frown, and he quickly returned to his serious state. “Sir, there was no need to bother you about two Magical Voids appearing during the dawn. There were only Orcs and a handful of Goblins, nothing we couldn’t handle. It happens from time to time, but as you may very well been told by Miss Olive, Magical Voids are increasing in Beliersia, and since the Earl has so many lands, yours has seen an unbelievable increase of Voids, since some months ago. There are always groups of soldiers patrolling your lands, and as soon as a Void is detected, a group is dispatched to engage the Monsters. Besides a few smashed meters of crops, no deaths occurred until now. At least the number of Magical Orbs in your stock is steadily increasing if that can be some sort of consolation.”
“I would prefer not having any Orb if that would mean no Magical Voids were appearing.”
The Captain disguised a smile. “That would be boring for us. If not for the Monsters, what else would we do to keep us in shape? The men on that Security Force from Baron Rowan are not good opponents, a Spell or an arrow usually makes then flee with their tail between their legs.”
He then glanced to the two frowning Dog-kind soldiers behind him and said, “Sorry, I totally forgot about you guys!”
One of the Dog-kind snorted, “Captain, you are always mocking those guys with that, but none of them is Beast-kind! No way one of us would flee because of a Spell with our tail like that! That would be shameful!”
The Captain placed his open right palm above his heart and made a slight bow and disguised a smile. “I apologise, I tend to see those bums as mere wolves when even wolves have more courage than them. Not that I am comparing any of you to wolves, you even smell differently.”
The Dog-kind looked at his companion and said, “There he goes again, mocking us! Even in front of the Earl! We apologise, Sir, but our Captain sometimes thinks that he is funny and a few nonsenses come from his mouth. It probably has something to do with that scar of his, the Healer that took care of that probably cut some part of his brain while stitching his face.”
Alex made a huge effort not to laugh, and tried to look serious. “At least fighting Monsters didn’t ruin your mood. I always like to see a group of soldiers having fun, to take their mind from the danger their job carries. Shall we go? We need to have a quick lunch because the King and one of his daughters are coming for a visit this afternoon.”
The Captain immediately stood up straight, and his men imitated him, and he said in a serious tone, “Of course, Sir, please follow us. I will also give a message to the soldiers and servants to be ready to receive the King.”
Alex nodded at the soldiers that made a slight bow and trotted ahead, and he went to his seat again. Pearl was staring at him and said, “Your soldiers seemed quite at ease with you. They spoke with respect for your title, but seeing them mocking each other in front of a Noble like you, sounded weird.”
“Probably because we know each other for many years. Besides, I never scolded them for being at ease near me. They know very well how to act and how to address me, when necessary.”
“I see… but they all looked a bit old for a group of soldiers. Shouldn’t they be enjoying a quiet life, by now?”
“Probably, but most of my soldiers are hardened men, veterans from the war or former Adventurers. I also have younger soldiers, but I tend to give a job to older soldiers when they ask, the ones that still have enough guts and health to work. Many of my older soldiers and Mages prefer to work for me, instead of having a quiet life without anything to do. They have been working for their entire life, and many of them didn’t like a peaceful life, after being in battles for so long.”
Pearl nodded and looked through the window. She spoke after a couple of minutes of silence, “There is corn till the horizon. Amazing…”
From the other window, Anika asked, “I think those are… oat fields and then vineyards? Till the horizon as well. How do you manage to take care of all this? How many people work for you?”
“A lot, but I also have equipment that makes the farmers’ job easier. Maybe we can go see some of that equipment while we wait for the King to arrive.”
Anika waved at a group of people that were walking by the side of the road, followed by a line of open wagons that were pulling some strange wheeled apparatus. She was waved back and saw a bunch of happy smiles, as they made a deep bow to the carriage of their beloved Earl.
Anika faced Alex with a puzzled look. “It’s just me, or everywhere we go there are always people happy to see you? Besides that Chamber of Lords, that is.”
Alex looked to his left side, and waved at the group that was bowing. “I guess it’s understandable, considering the life I grant them. Many of them used to work for other Nobles, and I know they didn’t smile as much as they do now. There are also a lot of orphans that lost their entire families to Monsters, and after reaching adulthood, they came here, to work for me. I know that some of the older orphans now have a family of their own because they got married to someone they met that also worked here. I have complete families working and living in my lands, and their children study in my Schools. The children can also learn a trade and when they get older, they can choose what to do. I don’t force anyone to learn a particular trade because I have many for them to chose and I am always receiving new people, so I never lack new workers.”
Anika slowly nodded and glanced at Pearl Pearson and Wenammy that were looking at Alex with dreamy eyes. She made a slight smile because, like her, they were also impressed by the way Alex talked about his amazing achievements in a carefree way as if it was only normal for a Noble to care so much about the people that worked for them.
After a large curve, a Castle could be seen at a distance, on top of a hill. Wenammy was the first to notice, and she gasped, making the other two women lean over the windows to see what made her be like that. Then they saw it. An immense Castle with tall, thick, rocky walls all around, with six huge towers with flags on each pinnacle. Huge stained-glass windows, dozens of them, indicating an incredible amount of rooms, and a thick forest on the left side of the Castle, that spread far north.
Anika pointed at it and looked at Alex, opening and closing her mouth, unable to mutter a word.
He made an awkward smile and spoke, “Yeah, I always thought it was a bit too much, but that Castle was built by workers and Mages from all the countries of the alliance, to thank my father and his friends for what they did during the war. I changed a few things inside to make it more to my liking, but it still seems over the top.”
Anika almost shouted, “You said you had a manor… That’s no manor!”
“I have, a little far ahead after that Castle! I normally live there, I only use the Castle to receive the King or foreign dignitaries. Or to show off to a few annoying Nobles when they want to ask for a licence to sell or replicate my products.”
Wenammy made a slight smile. “I think there is the finger of a couple of High Fairies in that Castle. I recognize the sculptures on the towers and the design of the arrow slits in the walls.”
Alex looked to where she was pointing and said, “Yeah, my father told me those were a gift from some powerful beings, but he never told me whom.”
Anika made a big smile. “Alex, you are becoming more interesting by the minute! You are not only pretty, you are kind, a good listener, filthy rich, and you even have a Castle that would shame the King of my underwater country!”
Alex made an awkward smile and spoke a little worried about the way she was leaning against him, almost kissing him. “Maybe it was not a good idea to come here…”
As the carriage was approaching the main gate, the guards stationed on both sides of it signalled to the ones inside, and a set of ropes that went around several pulleys was puled, and the gate opened.
The riders that were escorting the carriage entered into the main patio, and after dismounting, they made a line near the other soldiers that came running from everywhere.
The page jumped to the floor and after placing the step, he opened the door.
Alex was the first to get out, and was greeted by a choir of voices, “Welcome, Earl Alex Brim!”
Alex nodded and held the hand of each woman, as they stepped out of the carriage. An older Dog-kind male with short grey hair and a little bald came from the big metallic door across the patio, waving his fluffy grey tail, followed by two uniformed Dog-kind maids that were smiling in happiness.
They all made a deep bow near Alex, and the Dog-kind spoke, “Welcome back, Earl. I hope you had a smooth voyage.”
Alex went straight to the older Dog-kind and hugged him. “I am glad to see you well, uncle!”
Alex then introduced his adopted uncle to the three puzzled women. “Everyone, meet Viscount Finley Henderson that I consider as my family, one of the best friends of my father, and the keeper of my lands. Uncle, this is Miss Anika Wright, Miss Wenammy and Miss Pearl Pearson.”
Viscount Finley blinked in a surprise, and he then made a deep bow. “Welcome, Ladies. Miss Olive warned me about your beauty, but it has been a while since the last time I saw three members of the most powerful Races in this World in front of me at the same time.”
Anika approached and stared blankly at the smiling old man, and stuttered, “F-Father… I-it is really you… Time was good to you… you still have the same beautiful glow in your eyes…”
Viscount Finley made a slight smile. “You look astonishingly beautiful in that dress, Anika.”
They hugged for a while, with Anika quickly cleaning her tears. She then backed away and touched her forehead with his. “I missed you, you fool! Mother told me last time I was with her that she still sees you, from time to time. So, this is where you were hiding, for the last few years. Why you never returned?”
“I didn’t want to put your mother in a delicate situation. She has to maintain the appearance of a strong Mermaid, and every time I was with her, she returned to her usual subservient demeanour near me, and that always caused some problems for her. She comes here every two months or every time she needs a break from her duties and stays for an entire week.”
“So that’s why she doesn’t have a new partner, she still loves you, if she keeps on coming here just to be with you!”
The Viscount made an awkward smile. “I suppose… despite I don’t see why she still fancies me, I am not the same strong Dog-kind that I was when we fell in love, so many years ago.”
“You have the same bright in your eyes, and it seems your mind is still sharp. I understand why she is always so eager to visit you. You must tell me everything you have been doing here. I saw a lot of things already, but it seems there are a lot more surprises around Alex!”
She then remembered they were not alone and faced Alex, feeling embarrassed. “Oh… I totally forgot you were here…”