Chapter Nineteen – Kalon
All About Alicia
“Are you busy?”
Alicia looked up from her desk, hitting me with her bright green eyes. “Good morning to you, too.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“You’re an intelligent man. Do I look busy?”
That mouth of hers was going to get her in trouble one day.
Even if I couldn’t deny that I liked the fact that she spoke to me like this.
“Not particularly,” I said, walking into the office and looking at the maid waiting there—was her name Lydia? “Leave us.”
She curtseyed. “Yes, Your Highness.”
I watched her leave, then turned back to Alicia. “The hunting competition is only two weeks away.”
“Unfortunately,” she replied, sighing heavily. “Please excuse me if I come down with a chronic headache the day we have to leave and can’t accompany you.”
“That won’t do.” I sat in the chair opposite her. “This will be our first appearance as an engaged couple, and my father will be expecting us to announce the wedding.”
Her shoulders stiffened. “But we haven’t discussed it yet.”
“It’s only been a few days since I returned. Either way, we must figure something out.” I eyed her suspiciously. “As well as coordinate our outfits for the ball.”
“We’re coordinating?”
“Yes. We’re engaged, Alicia. We should look the part of a couple, don’t you think?” I raised my eyebrows. “There’s also the fact that my father believes I fell in love with you at first sight.”
She coughed, dropping her pen. “He what?”
I shrugged. “How else do you think I got you off the Crown Princess shortlist? You were the first choice for both the Emperor and the Empress, and I think my brother was equally as taken with you at the ball.”
“Ugh.” She shivered, rubbing her bare arms.
“Ugh? Not many people would say that about the Crown Prince taking a liking to them.”
“If you haven’t already realised, I’m resoundingly uninterested in his feelings towards me.” She paused. “If that is the case, I suppose there’s no other option but to do things your way.”
“Then I propose we get married as soon as possible.”
Alicia held up a finger. “I feel differently.”
So much for doing things my way. “Do you now?”
“Hear me out and don’t get mad,” she said slowly.
“If I promise not to, can we have this conversation in a carriage on the way to a dressmaker?”
“Why a dressmaker?”
“To coordinate our outfits.”
“But I’m busy.” She pointed at the papers. “I’m almost done with my draft of the emergency relief fund.”
I held out my hand. “Let me see, then.”
“Um.” She moved her fountain pen to the side, and her eyes scanned the sheet apprehensively. “I don’t… I’m not sure. I was going to ask Sir Hayes first.”
“I’m your fiancé and the ruler of Stein. Shouldn’t I be the one to see it? After all, it’s what I think that matters.”
“I suppose you’re right.” She hesitated, then handed me the top sheet. “This is a brief rundown of the emergency fund that will set up the framework for the official policy. What do you think?”
I took it and read through what she’d outlined. “And you’re the one who came up with it?”
She shifted in the chair. “Not alone, of course. Sir Hayes helped me a lot in identifying the priority matters, but it’s mostly my work, yes.”
“It’s impressive.” I met her gaze, and her entire expression brightened at my words. “You suggest that it isn’t handled by the council directly, but rather by a third-party group?”
“Yes!” She put her hands on the desk and leant forward, and the excitement that buzzed off her tingled down my spine.
“You see, although the situation in Stein now is stable, we can’t guarantee that all the corrupt nobles have been weeded out, nor that those you’ve appointed to noble titles are squeaky clean.
Many people seek more once they’ve had a taste of power, after all. ”
She wasn’t wrong.
“Not to mention that aid should not be a political matter in the first place. So, Sir Hayes did some research, and we found that the Talwick marquessate wasn’t the only house who failed to receive adequate help from the previous duke after monster attacks.”
I knew that. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“The five houses that suffered from the attacks and no aid also actively aided the empire during the conquest.” She handed me another sheet of paper.
“Therefore, we know they’re loyal to you as the Grand Duke, and they have a vested interest in helping victims of these attacks.
They’ve experienced it firsthand, and many are still suffering financially because of the assistance they gave to the residents of their estates. ”
I scanned the list. She was correct—the five noble houses listed were territories we’d used as safe passage to lay siege on the castle. “What about the new nobles on the council?”
“They don’t have the education presently. Many of them are struggling with managing their own lands and need regular assistance. Until they receive a better education, they can’t be tasked with something as vital as this.”
“Is education reformation your next move?”
She shrugged. “Who knows?”
“Very well.” I suppressed a smile. “How do you know these nobles will assist you? I can’t imagine you’ll have a hard time convincing Marquess Talwick as his son and heir has had a hand in its creation, but the others might not be so willing.”
“Money.” Her eyes glittered as she flattened her hand on the table.
“There’s an extortionate amount of funds in reserve, and as I said, these houses are still struggling to recover financially from the disasters that struck their estates.
Each household will receive a small, regular stipend if they’re on the relief fund committee, and the Stein knightage will also offer targeted training to their knights on how to specifically deal with various monsters. ”
Ha.
This woman was shrewd.
How had she thought all this up in less than a week?
“Have you asked Sir Hayes what he thinks about his knightage giving up their time to train other household’s knights?”
“Of course. He agreed because the ones who will be trained will be the captains and vice-captains of the orders of the various knightages—they’ll come here and participate in the regular training, so the Stein Knightage won’t be inconvenienced at all.
They will then take their knowledge back to their households to train their own orders.
In turn for this assistance, the households will be obligated to send knights to the smaller villages in their fiefdoms to help them defend themselves.
For the newer nobles who don’t have any knights or are too rural to need them, training will also be given to the guard troops in each town or village. ”
I pressed the paper to my face to hide my smile.
She was terrifyingly competent—was this even a strategy I could have come up with if I’d put the effort in?
I’d known for a long time that the victims of these monster attacks weren’t adequately compensated and suffered needless hardships, and if I’d truly wanted to, I could have made the time to do something about it.
But I hadn’t.
It was my shortcoming. The one area I’d failed in since taking up the mantle of the Grand Duke of Stein.
Yet here… She had a perfect solution. One that would not only help the victims but also lend a hand to protecting the most vulnerable in the first place.
They would be able to protect themselves.
“The distribution of funds makes sense. I assume the residents of the village of Baldor are your test subjects?” I handed her back the sheets.
“I don’t like referring to them as test subjects, per se, but it would be nice to see it in practice. It would also lessen the burden on the residents of the village they evacuated to.” Alicia hesitated. “There’s also something else I’d like to do.”
“Which is?”
“A covert investigation into the temples in Stein.”
She had me there.
“And the reasoning?” I asked.
“The temple has an obligation to assist citizens in times of need, but nowhere in the records of the attacks does it show that’s happened in the last eight years.
They receive adequate funding from the treasury and donations from nobles, so it shouldn’t be trouble to house evacuees. Why aren’t they?”
An excellent question. One I have never asked. “You believe the corruption from the past nobles extended to the temple,” I said slowly. “And they’ve been pocketing funds designed to help others.”
“The priests are servants of Khimos. It’s their duty to provide assistance to those who are less fortunate, yet they don’t seem to be doing so. They’ve been leaving the most vulnerable as just that. Vulnerable.”
I ran my gaze over her pretty face. Her expression was hesitant—almost as if she was afraid that she was asking too much of me. “Then I will arrange for it. An information guild should be the best option. I’ll contact Illusion.”
She gasped. “Illusion? How do you know about them?”
I wasn’t going to tell her that just yet.
I smiled. “I know everything, my darling fiancée. I also know they have undercover priests, so it won’t be difficult to get on the inside here in Stein.”
“Wow,” she mumbled, then cleared her throat. “Ahem. Thank you for humouring me.”
“It’s not humouring you. What you’re saying makes sense.
If the temples aren’t serving the people, then there’s no need for them.
It’s my duty—and now yours, too—to ensure that the people of Stein live happy and safe lives.
” I stood and walked around the desk. “There’s a council meeting in four days.
I will make the attendance of the houses in your report obligatory, and you will present your plan to them. ”
“Me?” she squeaked. “In four days?”
“Yes, you. It’s your policy, and it would do good to reassure Stein that the new lady of their land is an intelligent and competent woman.”
Her cheeks pinkened, and she looked away.
So, she could look cute.
Like a kitten.
Most other times, she was more like a tiger.
“Well, I… Um.” Alicia scratched her neck. “As you wish.”