Risk and Reward

"I hope you understand why you are here."

The Count sat at the head of the room, nervous children were gathered in front of him with their guardians standing behind them.

His only answer from the gathered troublemakers was their downcast eyes.

"Very well, as long as you understand, I am willing to simply be grateful no lasting harm was done. I'm sure your caretakers have already meted out adequate consequences, anyway. Never forget the terror you faced yesterday. Let the memory of that fear deter you from foolish behavior. Allow the imprint of that helplessness to drive your ambition. You are rising talents of Greoburg, I do not wish to contemplate a future without you."

The assembled crowd breathed a sigh of relief. As they made to take their leave...

"Gareth, I would like to speak with you in private."

Mirabelle was concerned, and her face spoke for her.

"Do not worry, I only wish to discuss the matter of his reward with him. He was the hero of the day after all. I simply wish to allow him to speak his mind, without being embarrassed in front of his parents."

Somewhat mollified, Mirabelle left her son alone with Count Cantrell.

---

"So lad, what is it that you want?"

"What are you offering?"

A measured and reasonable response, not the kind I would expect from a twelve year old"

"Almost anything I can give. Pheobe is my great niece, you know. Her grandmother is my youngest sister. She was never recognized by my father, because she was born without a Gift of Longevity. That does not mean I loved her any less, and I look out for her descendants in memory of her."

Money isn't likely to be his choice. He may ask for Phoebe's hand in marriage. Should he consider my precious niece as if she is property, I will kill him even if he isn't Gilded.

"I understand, my youngest sister is also precious to me. If I can truly choose anything, please, don't take her away from us."

That was... unexpected. I was too focused on the possibility of Gareth being a Golden Child. I should have anticipated such an obvious request. Well, now I know that he genuinely cares for his family. The truth would serve me best here.

"I never intended to exercise my right to adopt Amaia's children, and I still don't. The reason I added that clause to the contract with Edward was to make it more legitimate for the magistrate, should it fall under review."

In for a copper, in for a crown. I need give more before I try to take.

"I feel as though you can keep a secret"

Not as though this is a truly variable secret. The crown is already aware, her relationship will keep away social climbing pests, and laymen wouldn't care.

"Amaia is my late brother's daughter. As you know, her Gift isn't really suitable for any practical application. I wasn't able to keep her in an emotionally safe environment, the people I actually trust are always too busy keeping the County stable to look after her, and a close relationship with me would make people suspicious. Had people found out, the poor girl would have been inundated with selfish bids for status through marriage. Such attention would likely have left her unable to trust anyone."

"If that's true, then why did you use her as a bargaining tool?"

"Your father, for all his flaws, cares deeply about his family. Despite the distance between him and his wives, and the youthful beauty possessed by my household staff, he never looked at my maids with desire. I knew, then and there, I would never find a better match for Amaia. And I was right. So, now you know I would never jeopardize her happiness by actually taking her children. You still have a reward to choose."

Sharing some of my secrets should encourage him to respond in kind. 

"Can I tell Aunt Amaia about you?" 

...And the boy still prioritizes his family. At this point, the lack of interest in being rewarded marks him as abnormal.

"Only if you deem it wise. This information could potentially prove harmful in the wrong hands. Please be careful with it."

"In that case... an artifact to replace the one I used."

I'm glad he brought this up.

"Tell me about the artefact you used."

"It was a marked cube. One of the almanacs I read that had illustrations listed the artefact as a defensive measure called an expusion grid."

"And how did you come to posses it?"

"My father sometimes buys oddities he comes across hoping to find greater value in them. He is busy enough these days that he has a significant number of objects to analyze. I saw the cube and took it with me to identify, then decided to carry it with me in case of an emergency."

His request is simple and straightforward, essentially asking for his heroics to be rewarded at cost. As for the grid, such a blatant theft would certainly be out of character for the deferential son. Had this been the case, the boy would have shown his father and received permission to carry it. However, that would implicate his father. Most likely, this is his way of making sure any backlash falls squarely on his own shoulders.

"I feel like you aren't thinking big enough. Do you have any goals in life? I can help you reach them."

"I have plenty of time to find a job I'm good at, and I'll build a family at some point. I just want to live my life in peace."

His maturity, his caution, he is definitely a Fortunate Soul. That said he utterly lacks the greed and ambition that demarcates Golden Children. One way or another, I have to know...

"What if I were to tell you that the details of the report you submitted saved countless lives?"

"What do you mean?"

"The unusual details you denoted about the strange aspects of the attack you noted in your report led my agents to a necromancer performing an extraordinarily dangerous ritual. Had it succeeded, a Disaster ranked Bone Dragon could have been unleashed upon the nation. It may have razed entire cities by the time the capital put together a strong enough force to vanquish it. This is highly confidential, of course, so don't spread it around. Knowing the kingdom itself owes you a debt, what can I do for you?"

"If the crown has declared the topic taboo, can you please pretend this conversation never happened?"

I pride myself on my ability to read people, I wouldn't have lived this long without my intuition. Gareth may be reborn, but he poses no threat to Greoburg. I may burn for this decision, but I refuse to believe the entity in front of me deserves to die.

"Very well. From now on, let's say you are one of my trusted associates. If you have anything you would like to speak to me about, feel free to reach out. I'll find something suitable to replace your defense relic in my personal collection. Take care of yourself, Gareth Hrodger."

I will continue to monitor the boy. I truly hope my trust is not mislaid.