Chapter Fifteen
Monster Lessons
He coughed. “M-monsters?”
“Yes. My education differed from my brothers, so I didn’t learn about them. I didn’t need to as there wasn’t much need in the capital city, but it seems they’re quite a problem in Stein. I think it might be a good idea to brush up on my knowledge now that I’m here.”
“I’m sure the Grand Duke would be happy to tell you about them, my lady.”
I doubted that very much.
“But the Grand Duke isn’t here, Sir Otto,” I pointed out with a pout. “I can look in the library, but firsthand experiences are so much better. Have you been on an expedition yet?”
“I went on one during my training,” he replied, finally giving in.
“A group of low-level blighthounds settled down in one of the new iron mines to the west of the castle and stopped the start of the excavation. Sir Hayes decided to use it as one of our tests, and we were dispatched to dispose of them all.”
“Low-level? Are there different strengths in each type of monster?”
“Not all. Blighthounds are one of the most common monsters we come across, and they have a hierarchy like wolves with an alpha, beta, and so on.”
“There are wolves here, too?”
“Yes, my lady. Blighthounds are cursed descendants of wolves, however they lack the loyalty to protect their weak. The low-level groups are weak blighthounds who have splintered off from their pack and banded together, so they’re perfect training for new knights.”
“Fascinating. Do they often venture this close to the city?”
“It’s very rare. Usually, the outlying towns and the villages in the mountains are the ones most at risk, and those close to the river and Lake Stein are most at risk from aquatic beasts.
” He cleared his throat. “The mountain monsters are generally a lot stronger. A lot of the mountains are uninhabited, especially the section across the border in the Polaril Kingdom.”
“Do they not hunt them as Stein does?”
“No, my lady. Polaril is a frigid land with one large walled city. They prefer to focus on their easy trade routes rather than a tempestuous one through the mountains, so the beasts are often left to breed uncontrollably within their borders.”
“Which then causes a problem for Stein,” I summarised. “Presumably the monsters retreat south towards here to find food because it’s warmer.”
He nodded. “Exactly that. It’s worse in winter, and early spring is one of our busiest times as the impassable mountain tracks clear and they begin hunting to feed their pups.”
“How often must you dispatch a unit?”
“As I said, my lady, it depends on the time of year. During the warmest times, we can often send a unit out every couple of weeks. The expeditions take anywhere from a couple of days to over a month, depending on how far we must travel.”
“Does the Grand Duke always go?”
“No. His Highness leads the expeditions to locations with the most powerful monsters or those where there’s a greater number than usual.”
“What’s the case this time?”
He pressed his lips together. “A group of powerful wyverns have swarmed a small village in the mountains. Thankfully the snow had melted somewhat, so the residents were able to evacuate due to a well-timed warning. From what we’ve heard back from the unit, their village was destroyed before the knights arrived. ”
“Did anyone die?”
“Thankfully, no. Everyone made it out alive and without serious injury, although many lost their livestock as well as their homes.”
I swallowed.
Oh, no.
Those people had lost everything.
Escaping with their lives was a miracle, but they had nothing else.
“Thank you for telling me, Sir Otto,” I said. “Please let everyone know I’m heading back into the castle now.”
He stood and bowed. “Would you like an escort, my lady?”
“No, thank you. I won’t get lost this time.” I laughed lightly and got up, then turned to Lydia, the maid who was on her first day of rotation with me. “Lydia, do you know where Ark is?”
She fell into step just behind me. “I expect he will be in the kitchen, my lady.”
“I can make my way back to my quarters; could you fetch him and ask him to come to my office?”
“Of course. Are you sure you can find your way back?”
I peeked over my shoulder and pursed my lips. “I only made one wrong turn on the way here this morning.”
She smiled, and her blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “And you corrected it yourself, my lady.”
“Exactly.” I stopped in the hallway. “Just to make sure, though…”
After I reeled off the route to my room, Lydia decided it was best to take me to the Grand Duchess’ office herself before going to fetch Ark. In the end, I really was still learning my way through this monstrous castle, so it was a good thing.
I did not, in fact, know how to get back to my quarters alone.
How had Bella and Annie memorised it already?
Did they get little maps from Ingrid to study? If so, I wanted one. If I kept this up, I was going to have to start leaving breadcrumbs behind me just so I could find my way back.
On the bright side, at least I had a maid to clean it up for me.
Damn it, no. That was mean.
I wonder how everyone would feel if I stuck little colour-coded arrows to the walls instead…
“My lady, Sir Ark is here.” Lydia appeared in the doorway with Ark just off to her side.
“I was told you wanted to see me.” Ark preceded her into the room. “Where would you like your tea, my lady?”
“On the desk is fine, Ark, thank you.” I sat down behind a desk so large it would dwarf my father’s. “Would you mind pouring three cups?”
“I—I only brought two, my lady,” Lydia stuttered, her eyes wide.
I smiled kindly. “Then please go and get yourself a cup of something warm. It’s quite cold outside, and you were watching the knights with me. In future when I have tea after we’ve been outside, make sure to bring a cup for yourself.”
“Of—of course! Excuse me, my lady.” She bobbed into a curtsey before almost running out in a panic.
Ark chuckled. “My lady, you’re quite different to most other noblewomen.”
“If kindness makes me different, then it’s a judgement I will happily accept. Thank you.” I took the tea from him. “She’s quite a strange one. One minute she’s stern but playful, but the next she’s a ball of nerves. I can’t put my finger on it.”
“If you’ll forgive me for speaking ill of a noble house, Lydia’s previous madam wasn’t known for her warm heart.
She came from one of the few houses who refused to surrender to the empire.
After the Grand Duke assumed his position, he began an investigation into the corruption amongst the nobility, and that particular house was exceptionally cruel to their staff.
” Ark paused. “Their servants were the first ones he distributed to the new noble houses, and a good many of them joined us here.”
“What about the servants that were already here?”
“Some refused to surrender with the previous duke, and others left, seeking another path in life.” Ark sipped his tea.
“What about you?”
“Ingrid and I have worked here for fifty years, my lady.”
“Wow.”
“Indeed. We were mere teenagers when the then-duchess rescued us from the streets and took us in as her staff. It was thanks to her kindness that we were able to find our paternal family in the empire,” he explained.
“Unfortunately, her son wasn’t nearly as kind, and Stein almost fell to ruin under his rule.
One of my cousins works in the Imperial Palace as an advisor, and when I heard rumours of the war, I reached out to him and became a spy for the empire, and that’s why the Grand Duke kept us in our positions. ”
My eyes widened. “How interesting. Your life is like a novel.”
“Perhaps I should write one.” His eyes twinkled. “Now, that’s enough about me. Lydia told me you needed to speak with me.”
“Yes.” I set my teacup on the saucer and told him what I’d spoken about with Sir Otto. “It’s so far removed from everything I’ve known in the capital, but I can’t help but feel dreadful about those people who’ve lost everything. I was wondering what aid is available for them.”
His expression grew grim, and he pressed his lips together into a thin line.
“There isn’t much of anything, my lady. Many of them end up being taken into noble houses as staff or find low-paying jobs in the slums if they’re lucky, and their children end up in orphanages because their parents can’t support them.
All that’s provided is a minor sum from the treasury to help with necessary relocation, and anyone who was registered to have provided food and shelter in the immediate aftermath of the attack is reimbursed. ”
I blinked at him. “So, there’s no help. They lose everything through no fault of their own, and then they must lose the most precious thing they have left, which is each other.”
“It’s rather shameful when you put it like that, my lady.”
“It’s shameful no matter how one puts it.” I got up and walked over to the window. Like my bedroom, the office overlooked the mountains, and today they were shrouded in cloud at the peaks.
Those people—were they in the very mountains I could see from this privileged position of mine? While I stood here in a protected castle with warm fires and good food, did they even have a roof over their heads, much less anything else?
I touched my fingertips to the cold glass.
“These people are treated as disposable. If they were nobles, it would be a different story. Even if they lost their estates and worldly goods, many of their businesses would still be intact. The lower classes don’t even have that protection, especially not in the remote villages. ”
“You are quite right, my lady.”
I closed my eyes. A part of me wished I’d never asked Sir Otto about this expedition. If I hadn’t, if I’d minded my own business, I wouldn’t have this sinking feeling in my stomach. I wouldn’t feel the fervent urge to do something, to change this messed up system.
Perhaps it was my past life hitting me with this sense of righteousness.
I’d lived in a country where aid was readily available for both domestic and international disasters.
I’d witnessed huge floods where charities and the average person came together to save people and perform miracles and where the government stepped in to help.
Of course, insurance was also a thing there and not here, but still.
I needed to help.
If escaping an attack like this with their lives was a miracle, then it was sheer cruelty for them to befall the tragedy of losing their families right after.
“Why are there no provisions for this? Is Stein so poor that it cannot set aside emergency funds to assist these people? Or is it that the council here is lacking in either heart or ability?” I asked.
“I believe the corruption of the former duke is to blame, my lady,” Ark said softly. “Under his tyranny, the nobles were able to tax residents higher than ever before, making these tragedies all the worse.”
“So, Stein has the means to help these displaced villagers?” I looked back at him. “And to do so in the future?”
“Financially speaking, yes. However, many of the new nobles now are commoners by birth. Many are skilled with the people and the land, but the policies are lacking due to them having little more than a rudimentary education. As you can imagine, the previous duke wasn’t interested in investing in education for the common folk. ”
So, the councillors here were good, kind people, but their education wasn’t up to snuff.
“Then I suppose such a policy should be in the hands of someone who possesses the education of a noble.”
“Yes, my lady.”
I looked down, barely suppressing a sigh. I didn’t want to come here and act like the Grand Duchess, especially not this soon. I wanted to draw this out as long as I could, but my heart simply wasn’t allowing me to.
And, hey. I had two lives’ worth of knowledge. If I could draw up this policy and leave this legacy behind when I bounced out of here, then that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
Maybe it would even guarantee me a job.
Ultimately, if something good could come out of my misery, it would be worth it.
“Ark.” I planted my hands on my desk. “Get me all the treasury documents from the last ten years. I want to know exactly what funds are in reserve, how they’re separated in the budget, and what’s available for use.
Find out how many people were evacuated from that village, where they are, and how many people are helping them so we can arrange an emergency fund to ensure the refugees are provided for, then have someone get me reports on them all.
Have someone draw up a report on the temples in the areas vulnerable to monster attacks—I want to know what they’re doing to assist during these times.
” I paused. “It might not do much for these villagers in this attack, but it will help others in future.”
Ark’s hazel eyes met mine, and the smallest, warmest smile crept onto his face. “As you wish, my lady. I will have Sir Hayes assist you in sorting the documents.”
I sighed. “If you must.”
“Then I will take my leave.” Ark got to his feet. “Also, my lady, we received word shortly before you called for me that the unit led by the Grand Duke is on its way back to Stein.”
I froze. “When will they arrive?”
“Three days from now.”
“Very well. You may go.” I watched as he excused himself from the room, then collapsed onto my chair after he closed the doors.
Oh, goodie.
This was a nightmare.