Free Web NovelChapter 50: The Grand Duke Explains Power (3)
Spiro stared at me, visibly more alarmed by that than by sword training.
"Must I do that?"
"Yes. Especially now. That is a privelege of a child."
"But..."
"No buts."
He looked genuinely distressed. I somehow want to lament what the world has come to. It feels justified now to want to either burn it down or possess it.
I sighed, "Consider it as a leadership training."
He paused.
"Leadership?" freёwebnoѵel.com
"People who cannot name their own condition cannot properly understand the condition of those who follow them."
His expression slowly shifted.
Ah. Good thing that worked. I would use that again.
"Then I will try, Father," he said seriously.
"Good. I know you’ll do well."
"Will Father be doing it too?"
Silence.
Abi made a strangled sound. I should really strangle him one of these days so the sound that he makes during these kinds of situations are justified.
William, on the other hand, became very interested in the wall. And Bernard looked like a man witnessing someone poke a sleeping dragon.
I smiled.
"Spiro."
"Yes, Father?"
"That was a bold attack, I must say."
His eyes widened. "I did not mean—"
"I know."
He looked worried. So, I reached over and patted his head.
"That is the only reason why it succeeded."
Abi burst out laughing. I ignored him for the sake of my peace of mind.
The lesson ended shortly after because Spiro’s concentration began to fray. He tried to hide it, of course. Quite poorly, however. His eyes slowed, his posture stiffened, and his answers became too quick.
Classic signs of a child determined not to admit fatigue.
"That’s enough for today," I said.
"But I can still learn."
"I know."
"Then..."
"Rest is also a part of training."
He frowned. "It is?"
"Yes. A body that does not recover becomes weak. A mind that does not rest becomes foolish. Do you want to become foolish?"
"No, Father."
"Then rest is a must."
He nodded, reluctantly convinced.
A useful victory on my end.
William escorted him out, taking the folded note for Mil with him. Bernard returned to the ledgers, while Abi stayed unusually still on the sofa.
I looked at him.
"What now?"
"You are surprisingly good at teaching."
"I know."
"No, I mean..." He paused, searching for words, which was rare enough to be concerning. "You teach like someone who has done it before."
I stilled.
Glimpses of my past life where I spent my days on lecture halls with students. Going to excavations as a leisure activity outside office hours. The smell of chalk, old books, rain on campus stone. A student crying over a failed paper. Another arguing about interpretation of some old slab of stone with markings on it. I could almost see myself explaining at a podium that history was not dead, merely impolite enough to outlast its witnesses.
I shook my head. The memories vanished along with that. Alas, those were good times. But life these days were also good. It would even be better if the circumstances let me debut as villain without a hitch. Except, that may have been too much to ask since the world isn’t letting me.
It keeps throwing all these unwanted burdens on me. Though, I have to admit that they were fun to deal with. It keeps the boredom away.
"Perhaps I have a natural gift," I said.
Abi stared at me.
"What a liar."
I smiled.
"I learned from the best."
He studied me for another moment before leaning back.
"You have too many secrets."
I scoffed. How dare the pot call the kettle black? As if he doesn’t keep secrets of his own. I have a growing list already.
"Coming from you, I find that quite insulting."
"Fair enough."
I turned back to the ledgers before the conversation could wander into places I did not care to visit.
The chapel records revealed a wider system than expected. It was not massive yet, or at least not in the documents we recovered, but it certainly was organized. Children from orphanages, charities, debt houses, border villages, and collapsed households were assessed under different labels. Some were sent to labor contracts and noble sponsors. Some were kept to temple custody.
A smaller number were marked with the symbol.
Circle split by a descending line with three marks beneath.
This mark was beginning to irritate me like some kind of second grader syndrome antic.
Anyhow, those children were categorized under terms like vessel potential, resonance response, emotional compliance, and blessing suitability.
Blessing.
What a revolting little word.
Mil and the other two intercepted children had moderate resonance response. Not high enough to be prioritized, perhaps, but enough for them to be transferred.
Spiro’s torn records were incomplete, but the note from Edric Leeds referred to him differently.
It was a very insulting reference for someone with so much stored potential.
A discarded northern subject.
Spiro was marked as low value and will be routed toward Lorillis. He was under no assessment category.
Meaning he had not been part of the same system at first. He had only been smuggled using the same route, perhaps by someone connected to it. A separate disposal hidden within an existing network.
That complicated matters a little. But complication was just another word for delayed clarity.
I pointed to one column. "Bernard."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"Cross-reference every child marked with the symbol. I want origin, transfer destination, sponsor, temple branch, and current status."
"Understood, sire."
"William."
The old butler had returned silently, as always.
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"The children we secured. How are they?"
"The physician says they are stable. They are frightened which is normal, but they are responsive. Also, Mil has received the Young Master’s note."
I looked up despite myself. "And?"
"He cried a little." freeweɓnøvel.com
Oh. I could never get the emotional range of little children. They vary so drastically.
I looked down at the ledger.
"How inconvenient."
Abi smiled faintly.
William continued, "The other children asked if the Young Master was also rescued."
My fingers paused.
"What did Mil say?"
"He told them the Young Master was the son of the person who took them away from the bad people."
I closed my eyes briefly.
Wonderful.
Now I was becoming a bedtime legend for traumatized children. This was not the direction I envisioned for my villainous debut.
Absolutely not.
"Do not let that spread carelessly," I said.
"Of course."
"And the ward program?"
"The jnitial framework is being prepared. We will need a temporary facility in the Capital if more children are recovered before they can be moved safely to Sonomi."
"Use the west safehouse for now. And quietly purchase the adjacent property if available."
"That is already being negotiated."
"Excellent."
Bernard spoke cautiously. "Your Excellency, if this expands, it may attract attention."
"There’s no question about that. It definitely will."
"Then..."
I smiled.
"Let them notice the version I want them to notice."
His eyes sharpened with understanding.
"A philanthropic initiative?"
I grimaced.
"Do not say that again. It going to give me the hives."
Abi laughed.
Bernard amended quickly, "A Konstantin-sponsored training and welfare foundation."
"Better."
"A program for displaced children with aptitude."
"Better still."
William added, "Under the future patronage of Young Master Spiro?"
I paused.
"Hmm. That is also feasible, I suppose."
If the program publicly centered around Spiro, it would serve several purposes. It would legitimize his presence, soften the scandal surrounding his origins, give him a visible role without exposing his secrets, and gather rescued children around him naturally.
It would also make anyone targeting the children appear to target a Konstantin heir’s protected wards.
A foolish move that can potentially be fatal.
I smiled.
"Prepare it as a future possibility. Not to be announced yet."
"Understood."
Abi shook his head, amused. "You are building your son’s faction before he has all his adult teeth."
"I believe in the principle that early planning prevents future mediocrity."
"Villainous parenting indeed."
"It is competent parenting."
"Same thing," he said again.
This time, I allowed it.
By late afternoon, the first interrogation report from Father Caldus arrived.
He had not broken fully, but he had cracked just enough.
The Chapel of Saint Orwen was not the center but was merely a relay point. The symbol belonged to an old inner circle within certain temple branches, though Caldus claimed not to know its true origin. Children with resonance potential were transferred to different places depending on assessment.
Just as in the records, to noble sponsors or to hidden temple facilities.
But some went to an entity he called the Choir.
The Choir.
How theatrical and utterly distasteful.
When asked about Lord Keeper Marcellus, Caldus had panicked so badly he triggered the black self-silencing seal again. Abi had prevented his death. Barely.
That was enough to prove my conjecture. Marcellus was important.
Good.
I liked it when enemies organized themselves into priority lists.
As evening settled, I received another message from the palace.
The Crown Prince has requested a private meeting. He stated no reason stated only a time.
Tonight.
I stared at the letter.
Abi leaned over. "The puppy is calling you again."
"Do not call him that."
"Well, are you going?"
"Yes."
"Of course you are."
The Crown Prince reacting to the relic, the temple’s child assessment network, the Lord Keeper’s name in the chapel ledgers, and the hidden illness were no longer separate threads.
They were beginning to knot. And knots existed to be pulled.
I stood.
"Prepare the carriage."
William bowed. "Will Lord Abinatha accompany you?"
Abi grinned.
"No," I said.
His grin vanished.
"What? Why?"
"I need you to stay here."
He blinked. "Here?"
"If Marcellus or his associates realized the chapel was compromised, they may look toward the estate, the safehouse, or Spiro."
Abi’s expression changed.
"Ah."
"Protect the estate."
He straightened.
For once, no jokes.
"Fine. Understood."
I looked at him carefully. "And Abi."
"Yes?"
"Do not turn anyone into decorative mist unless it’s necessary."
His eyes gleamed.
"Define necessary."
I sighed.
Truly, the lamp could not be commissioned soon enough.
