Accounts

Aden's Study. The Keep,

Greenfields, Souville province,

Algrim.

18.13.1623. S.T.

...

"What about the tax revenue from the third month?" Levi asked, running his fingers through the hair of a red-haired girl seated at lord Aden's desk as she fiddled with a charcoal nib whilst examining her drawings with a vaguely critical eye.

From his seat at the edge of the table, Levi stared down at what he assumed to be a stick drawing of a noblewoman, an amused light glinting in the corner of his eyes.

"Its continuation is on the fifth page my lord, please refer to the bottom," Robert, the household’s steward, said. He wore a simple grey coat with black hoses and his brown hair appeared well-groomed, much unlike Levi’s tousled obsidian curls.

"The increase during that period was coincidental, my lord. The farmer's harvest was in surplus, so lord Aden raised the tax briefly to deal with the overflow. The following two sessions however were normal hence the difference." Robert said before hesitantly asking "However, is this okay, my Lord? Reducing this session's tax by this much would seriously affect your financial capabilities during the first months of the coming year, especially given our currently skyrocketing expenditure."

"Just do as I said. The towns are still reeling from my earlier stunt with the Hera’s, some leniency on my part should be permitted for the common folk." Levi dismissed Robert's concerns with a light wave before looking back at the drawings on the table.

"Any progress on the keep’s renovations?"

"Yes, The barracks repairs were completed yesterday and the blacksmiths and most of their equipment have already been relocated here." Robert nodded and said. "But I was informed that we might not be able to complete the repairs of the Keep’s hall before the first snow starts."

"Fair enough, I did not expect this much anyway. Especially given how many serfs we pulled out of the workforce," Levi said.

"How about the budget I requested?" He asked the butler.

“It’s on page seven, milord,” Robert said as Levi flipped through the small booklet.

“The cost for repairing the Keep’s facilities is estimated to come in at around five hundred gold Royals. For the newly formed militia, it is estimated to cost around thirty copper Tehs to train a single man for a month, this includes the daily wage you insisted we pay them for their service and their feeding during the entire training session. Given there are four hundred of them, excluding the fifty that are slotted to join the logistics unit, the training budget for this winter is estimated to come in at an excess of twelve hundred silver Thales.

The butler paused, flipping a page in the bundled scrolls in his hand.

“Equipping the militia to your specifications comes in at around twelve hundred and seventy-five gold Royals. To equip a single crossbow archer with the ‘standardised’ chainmail-and-gambeson armour, a helmet, a crossbow, a round shield, a bullock dagger and five baskets of bolts cost around two hundred and fifty silvers, the cost inflates to forty-two hundred and fifty Thales for the three ‘platoons’ of fifty archers if the plan to arm a portion of the platoons with windlass arbalests holds. As for the infantry, their equipment consists of the standardised armour, a helmet, a kite shield, a bullock dagger and an iron-tipped spear with the cost per individual at around a hundred Thales and the total coming in at three thousand Thales for six platoons.

“The total expenditure including the cost for running the towns and maintaining both keeps and its servants is sixteen hundred and seventy-five gold Royals. Our reserves are mostly nonexistent since Lord Aden drained most of it in the war effort and the rest were stolen by the traitors during their mutiny, but the meagre income from the mine, taxes and the spoils of war from looting Redwater come in at approximately two thousand and thirty gold Royals after deducting other essential expenses,” the butler said rearranging the bundled scrolls before tucking it in his cloak. Levi drummed his fingers on the lothwood table in thought for a while before responding.

"Good, anything else I should know?"

"Yes my lord,” Robert replied with a nod,” the crossbow twine and the fletchers needed for producing the bolts can be made in town but I advise we purchase them from one of the lesser mountain tribes at mount Aiga if we want to meet the time frame you allocated. Also, sir Justin’s team finally recovered the last of the horses that escaped from Redwater stables. All hundred and twelve animals have been accounted for."

"Hmm... OK then, I want you to tally the cost of the twine and fletchers needed. Sir Justin and his band would be tasked with purchasing them,” Levi said.

“Also, a few more of the captured knights have agreed to your proposal," Robert added.

"Oh? What about Earl Gilbert?" Levi asked with a crooked brow while the little girl also looked up curiously.

The steward shook his head.

With an understanding nod, Levi replied. "You may leave. I'll check in on him later. Also, inform the blacksmiths that I would stop by at the smithy later to check their progress on the task I gave them."

“Yes, my lord.”

Watching the steward leave he turned back to the girl at the table.

Seating on the edge of the furniture, he asked peering at the drawings on the table with a perplexed expression. "Javi? What is this?"

Lancelot's only child looked back down at the shallow pile of paper on the table, blushing in embarrassment.

"Ah! I'm sorry. I wasted so much paper again,” she said, fiddling with the charcoal nib in her hands. “I'll ask Mother to send you another bundle later when we get home."

Chuckling, Levi stared amusedly at the fourteen-year-old apologising to him. Until a few days ago James had never truly met Lancelot's family. Although he had inherited memories of them from Levi he had only until recently actually met them.

After the incident with Sean, the over-protective Viscount hadn't let his family near the castle once and he even sent them away somewhere when Levi decided to attack Redwater.

It was until two days ago did Lancelot decide it was safe enough for them to return.

Gently pinching Javi's nose, Levi replied. "I am not angry about the papers, just tell me what you were drawing."

"Really? But you always got angry if I wasted too much paper and always made me bring more whenever I came over as punishment." Javi said, peeking up at him, doubt suffusing her gaze.

"Don't think too much, just tell me what you were drawing.”

"Are you sure?"

"Hmm."

The little girl looked down at her stick drawings before looking back at Levi.

“Promise you won’t laugh.”

“Huh? Yeah, sure,” Levi replied, barely stifling a chuckle. “Sure.”

“Humph!” Javi pouted, turning away. “Go away! I know you just want to laugh at me.”

Well, Levi did want to laugh, but she didn’t need to know that. “I won’t laugh, I promise,” he lied smoothly.

"...Okay,” Javi relented after a moment of contemplation.

“I was trying to draw a portrait of lady Luna. Mother showed me a painting of her that was made when she was younger." Javi said, a colour of excitement gradually returning to her face.

"She was so beautiful, just like Mother! I want to be just as beautiful as her when I grow up and marry a valiant sir just like Father." The young girl continued animatedly. "That was why I was drawing a picture of her, but, but..."

Looking down at her crude drawings a colour of embarrassment stained her face. With a small chuckle, Levi sorted out the sheets of parchment with charcoal drawings on them.

“You promised not to laugh!”

“I didn’t.”

“Lair!” Javi accused, folding her arms as she turned away from the earl.

With a smile and a small shake of his head, Levi pulled out some of her earlier drawings. They were not that bad for someone of her age, the only problem was that as she continued her attempts to redraw the image, she got sloppier with each new iteration until the images eventually devolved into mere stick drawings.

'This isn't bad, this?.. Girl, you are just being lazy!' Levi muttered in mock outrage, Javi ducking upon hearing his accusing tone.

With an amused shake of his head, the earl picked the charcoal nib she dropped on the table. Pulling out a plain sheet of parchment paper, he scooted to a more comfortable position before he started to draw.

Curious, Javi peeked at the parchment from the corner of her eyes, pouting still. Her curiosity soon prevailed though as she began to observe Levi draw, avid fascination plastered on her face. Clean flowing lines manifested, the outline of an effeminate face, a lithe bust and delicate features later appeared, becoming clearer and more vibrant by the second.

James was never an artist. He was quite terrible at visual arts, having his expertise lie more in the realms of memorization and logical analysis. But yet there he sat on lord Aden's treasured table, shading in realistic features to the image he was drawing. This didn't come to Javi as a surprise, however, as she was aware Levi was beyond capable of such ‘minor’ feats.

Watching the image gradually come to life, Javi seemed to suddenly remember something.

"Levi,” she called.

“Yes?” Levi replied without looking up.

“Hmm, last night I heard father tell mother there was not enough money to run the town and comfortably maintain the castle through the coming winter, so why don't you want to take more from the townspeople." The red-head asked, cocking her head to the side, seemingly in a bid to make sense of something.

“Would you care to elaborate, Javi?”

"Well, Mother once said that the people have to pay the tax, just like the lord has to defend his people. So, I don't think you should feel guilty about anything, I'm sure the townsfolk wouldn't mind too much.”

"It’s nothing like that Javi,” Levi replied, smiling faintly. “The situation of Redwater and Greenfields has been very unstable lately, Redwater especially. All the recent news and the lockdown have heavily agitated the community. If I suddenly increased the tax a lot of people might suffer this winter and trust me when I say the community is at its most productive state when it is comfortable. Doing this will also help me win some goodwill with the people, and make them more compliant with my recently unreasonable demands.

"That is just proper human resource management and the reason why I am the Lord and not your father."

"Are you sure?” The girl asked doubtfully. “Father sometimes calls you a milksop when talking with mother, and when I asked tutor Jin what that meant she said it is used to describe a person who is indecisive and lacking in courage.”

Silence. Levi’s scribbling came to an abrupt halt.

“Oh? Viscount Lancelot said that?”

“Yes?" Javi replied with a hint of uncertainty. She didn’t know why, but somehow the little girl knew she just fucked up someone’s day really bad.

Turning his head from the portrait he was working on, a warm smile appeared on Levi’s face.

“Your old man loves to court death doesn't he?” he chuckled. “Don’t mind him. Also, I’ll try to remember this the next time I see him. Thank you for informing me. You are such a sweetheart”

“You are welcome!” Javi replied innocently, her bright smile returning with full intensity. Then she paused suddenly realising something.

“But…”

“Hmm?”

"But,” Javi said hesitantly, “father is just twenty-nine years old. I knew he was old, but is he really that old?"

"...”

"...Nevermind," Levi said with a suddenly depressed sigh.

"Okay..."

Then with a small giggle, she swiped the now completed drawing from the table.

"Woah! so pretty!"

Looking at the picture he had to admit his mother was one fine catch. With perfectly symmetrical facial features and most probably limpid brown eyes like his, she was indeed a fair lady.

Although neither iteration of himself had ever met the woman he had seen quite a few well-preserved paintings and had heard descriptions about her countless times which was why he could so easily recreate her portrait.

Watching Javi run around the room, holding the picture to the light and giggling made James feel a strange, foreign nostalgia. The feeling didn't last for long though as a soft knocking sound at the door roused him from his reverie.

"Young lord, may I come in?" a soft voice called following the knock.

"Oh no! It's Mother! No!" Javi panicked, rushing to block Levi's mouth with her hand. Sadly, the earl had already replied before she could stop him.

"Come in—"

The door opened and a beautiful woman walked in. The young lady appearing to be in her mid-late-twenties had a face very similar to Javi's. Her eyes were green with a bluish tint and her hair was auburn, much like her daughter’s.

"Good afternoon, Lady Junita. How was your day?" Levi asked, his lips partially hidden underneath Javi’s palm curved into a light smile.

"Wonderful my lord." She replied with a curtsy and a soft smile. Although near imperceptible, The right corner of the lady’s lips twitched in a visible sign of exasperation. Her left brow scrunched up in a rather questioning manner as she took in the rather questionable scene.

Lady Junita stared expressionlessly at her daughter leaning heavily into Levi’s chest, her gaze hovering over the scene for a brief second before shifting towards the messy pile of paper littering the absent duke’s favourite table.

Seeing this her smile grew visibly wider, warmer, as she turned back to face her daughter with crescent, smiling eyes.

"Javi dear, won't you greet your mother?"

"Mo-mother." Javi stuttered, collecting herself with a small gulp. Almost subconsciously, the girl smoothened her dress, adjusted her hair and stood a tad straighter in a bid to appear a little less unladylike.

Levi reckoned it was working.

Javi’s mother stared blankly at her daughter for a few more seconds before releasing a tired sigh. "I am sorry, my lord,” the lady said, gently rubbing her temples. “I will have a servant send some fresh sheets when we get back."

Watching their interaction with a hint of schadenfreude, Levi almost didn't want to intervene.

Almost.

"Don't bother. It’s nothing,” he said plainly with a dismissive wave. “Also, no need to be too harsh on Javi for the mess. She is just a child and will very soon learn to outgrow these little antics of hers.” The unruly girl turned slightly to glance at Levi, a hint of gratitude in her eyes.

Lady Junita simply stared blankly at Levi, but he returned the gaze with a warm smile. The woman stared at him some more before finally relenting with a resigned sigh. Gently retrieving her daughter's hands, she curtsied once again.

"I came to pick Javi for her afternoon lessons, we'll be taking our leave now, my lord."

"Take care," Levi nodded.

"Bye-bye Le... I mean Lord Levi." Javi said, peeking at her mother's poker face before sticking out a tongue on her way out.

Now alone, Levi fell into a rather contemplative mood. Standing from his seat at the table he walked towards the window. There he looked outside the window, at the townspeople busily going about in preparation for the coming winter. Mere pawns in a game much larger than they could ever comprehend.

There the earl stood in silence listening to the sounds of the birds chirping in the distance. An existence woefully ignorant of its own value, how could it hope to contemplate the worth of others.

“A milksop huh?” he muttered, chuckling ominously to himself, “Oh, how far from the truth can one man get…”

{COS}

Evening.

In a tent.

Aden sat on a cushion opposite Vaiu as he read from a sheet of parchment. A plate of food by his side had gone cold, unattended.

‘Sean,’ the duke thought to himself. ‘You bloody son of a whore.’

A few moments later, Aden sighed, dropping the note on the table separating him from his host.

“Are you sure he is alright?” the duke asked, shutting his eyes in a losing bid to restrain his anger and bloodlust.

“Yes,” Vaiu replied calmly, despite sensing the man’s turbulent emotions. “Probably a bit shook given the unusual recklessness with which he ordered the insurrection and lockdown of Redwater, but he should be fine.”

“And that imbecile?”

“I have no information on his location right now, but I could order a search if you want…”

“...Please. Thank you.”

“It’s not a problem.”

Aden sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. Vaiu watched him hesitantly.

“I am sorry about your friend,” the matriarch said finally. “By the time I got the intel, it was already too late to change anything.”

“It’s alright,” Aden said with a dismissive wave. It didn’t matter anymore. No point souring this meeting with an issue now inconsequential. “It’s only thanks to your efforts that we could plan an escape route for their Majesties, and we could make it out without much fanfare. Things could have gotten much worse than it currently is.

“Besides, it’s reassuring to finally confirm that even you are truly not all-knowing.”

“You always fail not to amuse me, Aden,” Vaiu replied with a small squint.

“So, what happens now?” Aden asked.

Vaiu’s squint morphed into a blank expression. Then she smiled.

“So quick to forget, are we?..” she replied, causing the duke to begin cussing himself internally. “Well, thankfully I am not so forgetful. We would escort you to Greenfields, while we negotiate how you are going to settle the accounts you owe both the Creed…

And myself.”