9 Chat with James

After I left Becca, I found the closest maid and told her to bring me to my office.

"Anything for you my Lord!", she announced before giving a big smile.

I thought that would be the end of that, but she kept glancing back at me with a blush on her face.

After the fourth time she turned back to look at me within a few minutes, I was starting to feel uncomfortable.

I sighed, "If you have something to say, just say it already."

The maid turned around with a seductive smile, "Oh so you noticed? Haha. I just wanted to let you know that I am available to service you in a private room anytime you want."

My happy expression from spending the morning with Becca instantly turned into a frown.

At my silence, she started rambling, "I know we haven't had a private audience for a couple of months now, so I just wanted to let you know that I am ready whenever the need would arise." She smiled as her eyes slowly moved down to my crotch.

I replied in a cold tone, "I am now a married man."

The maid tried to stifle a laugh, "My lord, you are the one who would stroll around the mansion declaring that a true man needed a new woman around his arm every night and that marrying a plain shrew would not change that."

I placed a hand on my forehead, the original Duke was going to cause me trouble for many years to come. I will have to be constantly vigilant for old partners that wanted something from me. From the way people have talked about the old Duke so far, I might be dealing with a new ex-lover on a daily basis.

However, this first time can be used as an opportunity. I lifted my head up to look at the maid.

"I have had a change of heart. I order you to never bring this up again. Also, I want you to spread it around to everyone working in this mansion that after my first night with Duchess Rebecca, I have fallen madly in love with her and will no longer sleep with anyone but her."

The maid was stunned. I could tell she wanted to voice her doubt, but I glared straight into her eyes to convey the level of my seriousness. After a minute of silence, she mumbled, "I will do as you command my Lord."

"Good, now quickly finish bring me to my office."

I didn't love insinuating that Becca and I slept with each other last night because of our current ambiguous relationship, but it was the best way to keep people off her back about having an heir soon.

It should also make everyone in the mansion show her more respect since going against her would now be the same as going against me.

My declaration of love would not convince anyone until I show them with my actions, but at least it will get the ball rolling.

'Hopefully she will understand.' As I thought this, the maid stopped at a door. She let me know that this was the room I was looking for. I thanked her and told her to start working on the task I gave her. After she took her leave, I turned the knob and walked inside.

At the other end of the room, James sitting at a large wooden desk. He was looking at a stack of papers while muttering to himself.

I coughed to get his attention, "Hello James."

James jumped from my sudden noise. "Hello my Lord! What are you doing here?"

"First of all, I do not enjoy being called Lord. Please simply call me Nicolas. And why are you surprised that I came to my office in the morning?"

James started making a fuss, "I can't call you that my Lord! It is customary for all servants to call their noble employer Lord."

I rolled my eyes, "I don't care about stupid customs. Just because something has been done for a long time doesn't mean it is something worth doing. Our goal in life should be to be consistently progressing so that the world is a better place today than it was yesterday. Not sticking to the status quo just because it is what has always been done!"

With my idealistic monologue done, James finally relented. "Fine…Nicolas. But you need to let everyone know that the way I address you was a command that you gave me!", he groaned.

James really wanted to save his own hide. "Don't worry about it. Now tell me why you were so shocked to see me."

James explained, "oh, that…it is because even though this is technically your office, you never step foot in here."

I guess that's why the maid didn't blink twice when I asked her to escort me to my office as if I didn't know where it was. I wondered, "so what do I usually do all day?"

"You are the captain of the Royal mages. You spend most of your time patrolling the Duchy since the Kingdom is not currently at war. You were promoted to Captain after your distinguished achievement in the last war 2 years ago."

I nodded in understanding. "So I am a war hero. Is the crime so bad in this Duchy that I need to constantly be on patrol even though we are at peace?"

"Well my Lord, like I told you, before you lost your memories you loved to party and play with women, so half the time you were patrolling and the other half of the time you were partying. Since you were always away, I did all the work that pertained to maintaining the Duchy."

"I am not entirely happy about it, but let's keep you doing the work to maintain the Duchy since I don't remember how to do it now even if I wanted to. On that note, what is the political structure like in this Kingdom? Do I have the power to change laws and customs?"

James thought about my question seriously, "each territory has its own set of laws so you have the power to change the laws in the Duchy, but you cannot change Kingdom wide orders made by the King."

I see, so it is like each state having their own laws but still needing to follow the federal law in the United States from my world. I can use this to my advantage since I can make improvements specifically to my Duchy before trying to spread it to the whole Kingdom.

"Are there any political factions in the Duchy that would oppose me making drastic changes to the laws here?"

James looked very worried. "Nicolas…your word is law here in the Duchy after you became a war hero, so no one will openly oppose you. However, I think you shouldn't make any drastic changes that you will regret before your memories come back!"

I shook my head, "I started having the feeling last night that I would never get my memories back and with the way I feel now, I would regret it if I didn't use my power to make changes. I promise to only make changes that will make the Duchy a better place as a whole."

James took a deep sighed, "it looks like nothing I say will change your mind."