A Managerial Nightmare

"Wars swallow gold like a pit in the earth."

Tywin Lannister season 4 episode 5 of Game of Thrones.

….

"What makes you think they're arguing over you?"

Railius asked the intelligent man walking beside him as they caught up to the two arguing men. It was nice to talk to someone outside of the military who was relatively relaxed about things like he was.

"Simple because I seem suspicious! If I were in the Grand Commander's shoes, I would have the same suspicious reaction as who has heard of a noble abandoning his territory to follow a child with an uncertain character and future. I have questioned myself many times on whether it was a good idea, but your performance in your escape from Chavaria made me interested and showed off your potential, so here I am."

The baron said as if it were natural and that he was unbothered by it or that these suspicions could lead to his death.

"Oi, who just says they are suspicious?"

Railius commented in a casual tone, tutting as he walked.

"Does it matter if it is true?"

"Trying to cover it up won't stop it from being the truth. Better to face your suspicions head-on than sneak around doing shit that makes me look worse."

The Baron said in the same casual tone. Obviously, this young lord of his likes a good jest and is casual with everyone he meets, but dealing with a lord like this is easier than one that cares about noble etiquette that Melwin always found annoyingly pompous.

"How do you know it was me who made all the difference in the escape, and it was not others manipulating me."

Railius asked as he thought that he had covered his tracks well and was concerned for if so many people could easily see that it was him who helped create all of House Aurellion's plans that even stunned the wise Chavarian emperor then it is likely people would do anything to kill or get rid of the talented youth.

"Because no matter how competent Ancel is. He has never been able to pull off what he did with you, a scheme that allowed him to completely cover his own ass while getting an ally and enemy of the empire out of the country. As everyone knows, he has lingering attachments to Nadron. They just can't do anything about him because he has not made any big mistakes that would give anyone justification to interfere in his affairs or arrest him."

The baron replied with a smile.

"But don't worry though, my lord, for unless someone is very open-minded and talented, they would not believe that you had a large impact, as I only figured it out after we got help from the good Duke of Plantara, at which point it became blatantly obvious."

"Others would just think the old cunning duke had improved his political skills some more, so you won't have to worry about any backlash from your very impressive plan."

The baron continued helping to allay the young player's fears, who had put so much effort into staying as low-key as possible so his enemies couldn't send assassins after him as it only took one lucky strike or attempt for a headache of Chavaria to be dealt with for even he was surprised at what the young lord of Aurellion had accomplished.

"The fact that you are willing to swear loyalty to me means there are more reasons for you to come seek me out and serve me."

Railius said as he stumbled due to his exhaustion. The baron gently caught the tired boy just before he hit the ground, showing to Leon and the others suspicious of him and the baron's loyalty to his new young lord.

"My lord, be careful. Leon really needs to learn to do things in moderation. At this rate, he will break your body instead of hardening it. I will make sure to speak to him about this issue as, at this rate, he will turn you into an invalid."

The Baron said, concerned at the young lord's welfare. As they entered the large command tent, the two guards outside bowed in respect to their lord as he passed, allowing Railius to have a brief respite from his training as he sat down on a chair with a deep breath.

"My lord."

Leon said respectfully, bringing Railius a cup of water that the thirsty boy quickly drained in seconds, prompting Leon to get another. Even though the loyal regent pushed him to his physical limits, it was only out of concern for him in hopes that he could grow into a strong lad who could protect himself from the world's dangers.

After finishing three cups of water, Railius was finally refreshed enough to deal with his noble house's affairs properly.

Three men were in the tent with him, the men of talent and worth who had loyally followed him and his house into exile when they could have easily turned on him.

Baron Melwin stood before Railius by his side were Leon and Darius. One looked on with a hostile gaze that could freeze a soul, while the other looked on warmly confident in the character of the Baron.

"Tell me of your other reasons to serve me."

Railius asked the cunning baron, looking at him with the same eye of insight that he used on Ancel and the Free Brothers chieftain.

"Simple, if I stayed, it is likely that I would have just become an example for the new Marquis of Nalora to show his authority through.

"Think about it for a second, my lord. To blame House Aurellion for the death of Prince Victarion, they will need to find co-conspirators, and what better people to accuse than those loyal and close to your father."

"So you don't have to worry about me, my lord, because I joined you not only because I heard you managed to escape from Chavaria successfully but also for my own self-preservation."

"And as you know, nothing motivates a noble more than survival and his own self-interest."

"I also respected your late father. He was a good lord, curbing corruption in the realm and ensuring the people lived as peacefully as possible. The new Crown Prince Flavius has already executed a few of his confidants and close allies as collaborators. They need to maintain the farce of their accusations, at least to the world and commoners, who would not know better. So, as you can see, my path back has been blocked. However, I decided to make myself and my family scarce before they could arrive, as no one puts much importance on a baron because, at most, I could raise a few hundred men to defend myself, which is nothing compared to the power of the loyal counts under your father."

The baron said, for he was not a stupid man. The moment he learnt of Lucius's death and the emergency signal, he immediately put two and two together and knew that something was up, so he started to prepare himself for the chaos to come. It was only when he heard of the treason charge that he immediately contacted Darius and began to arrange for the evacuation out of Chavaria, knowing he was not safe.

"Darius, can you confirm that the baron's family is safe and coming here?"

Railius asked the man that he had saved at the battle of Brunag when he played as Lucius.

"Yes, my lord, they are safe and coming here. You don't need to worry about them being used to blackmail the baron like Flavius did to General Archtorius."

Darius confirmed for Railius.

"Good, then, we don't need to be suspicious anymore. I hope you won't take it to heart, my lord baron, but it is hard to know who to trust these days."

Railius said his interrogation of Baron Melwin over not only could he not sense any hostile intent, but the baron's reasoning made sense. Of course, the young player would still take a few precautions against the baron to make sure, but he was confident in his assessment of the intelligent, scholarly man.

He also needed a teacher for his character, who was not Leon, and just as expected, a quest appeared after he accepted the man's service.

[You have received the E rank main quest 'A Teacher For Domestic Affairs]

…..

A Teacher For Domestic Affairs (main quest):

Description: You have successfully recruited your father's old administrator for his territory, who can help you learn about politics and domestic affairs, and have decided to trust him.

While loyal, you know that he is looking for a good lord to serve, and if you seem to be developing into a tyrant, he may leave you in the future.

Learn what you can from him so you have the best start possible.

Difficulty: E rank.

Quest Clear Conditions: Learn from Baron Melwin

Quest Clear Reward: 1 level in 2 non-combat skills of your choice that have something to do with politics or governing.

Quest Failure Penalty: none with the potential of losing this capable advisor if you have done particularly poorly in his tests and lessons.

….

"Of course, my lord, I would be worried if you just trusted someone immediately after meeting them off an oath to a predecessor, as fake smiles are traits of all nobility, both big and small."

"In what capacity may I serve you?"

The baron asked, interested in how his lord would utilise him.

"I would like you to teach me about politics and how to govern properly while my loyal Grand Commander is skilled in the arts of war. He never had a proper education like you. I will also need you to help manage our affairs as I fear many problems will crop up in the near future."

The young voice said.

"It will be my honour, my lord."

The baron replied respectfully and decided he would do his best to educate the young lord while also judging his character and whether he wanted to serve him in the future, as the reason he left the Chavarian Empire was because of the nonsensical purging of a loyal noble house and like all NPC's in the game had his own morales that he lived by and so players had to earn their NPC's loyalty, or they will find themselves betrayed or killed by them even the Pelican Guards would likely betray Railius if they were treated terribly though thanks to House Aurellion's focus on troop loyalty they would endure more than most soldiers would.

Railius Aurellion still had a good amount of military power, and if Melwin helped him get into power, then he would have an insurmountable position in the noble house, likely being second only to Railius in power and control over civil affairs.

After the baron's position in their fledgling noble house was settled, Leon began with the other affairs they needed to discuss.

"My lord, we are running low on funds and food, and in the future, we will have thousands of people to feed, and because we had to leave our lands in Chavaria quickly, we do not have a lot of money spare."

"Thanks to some of our soldiers hunting in the nearby woods and working as labourers, we have been able to keep things afloat for now, but if we had thousands of people to feed within a month, we would be starving."

"We need to devise a plan to make more money so we can survive, as we do not have a territory anymore from which we can resource our army and people."

Leon said, laying out the bleak situation that they were in and the managerial nightmare that now lay firmly in the child's young lap.

As Leon finished his words, another quest appeared before Railius.

[The A rank main quest 'A Managerial Nightmare' has been created]

….

A Managerial Nightmare:

Description: Your noble house has survived and successfully escaped from Chavaria. Unfortunately, you were too successful in your efforts, which means that now you have thousands of soldiers and subjects to look after with no land or domain to rely on to provide either food or refuge.

Find ways for your people to carve out a living for themselves, and you will have their eternal loyalty and build up your reputation as a competent lord.

Difficulty: A rank.

Quest Clear Conditions: Find ways for your people to live.

Quest Clear Rewards: A more powerful and united house for the start of the game, which will be well funded, helping you to expand more easily.

Quest Failure Penalty: A Large loss of in-game starting resources and potential defection of people.

….

Looking at the quest, it seemed that Railius' biggest challenge had arrived for this event, as not only must he continue to be educated and improve his character's skills and stats but also manage those who serve his noble house effectively so they don't leave him or starve.

If he only had 100-odd guards alive, then it would not be much of a problem, but because now that he had thousands of people to look after, if he didn't deal with all these problems in the next few days, then all of his hard work would be for nothing.

Seeing that Leon asked Railius about his opinion and left the question open, it was obvious that, despite his youth, the young lord of Aurellion had a say in these matters that usually would be left to a regent to deal with but showed respect, loyalty and desire to teach Railius about management and governing people.

Looking at everyone trying to work together in harmony and the close bonds everyone had that did not seem to care about power or power struggles. Baron Melwin found it oddly satisfying not to worry about scheming lords who only sought more wealth and power, which sometimes hurt the realm and the people that his lord ruled.

'Despite appearances, House Aurellion is now more united than ever, even with a child lord at the helm. It seems like the future is bright.'

The Baron thought as Darius was the first to give his suggestion.

"We could have our men work, allowing them to embed themselves into the duchy while also providing a living for their families."

"I can pass off as a master fighter and provide lessons in martial arts for a fee. The merchants and even some of the lower nobility rarely get access to master fighters to teach their children and guards and would jump at the chance."

Leon suggested being one of the old regent's better ideas as it would not only give them a source of income but also begin to build relationships with merchants who, in the medieval world, had many uses.

Not only could they be used to bring a lord any goods that he requires, being very helpful in dealing with famine, but they are harbingers of information, knowing where the wars are happening, how they are unfolding and many other details that a lord may find helpful and as these cunning merchants can even be used to find out what resources are going where.

For example, a merchant may say or inform you that food is hard to come by in a particular place, which can mean that there is famine and that a lord or nation is currently weak or that this lord is stockpiling resources for military use which can be an indication of a lord preparing a rebellion or war.

Knowing when someone will attack or whether they are preparing for one allows you to prepare yourself and your realm for the upcoming war, and it is often these preparations and advanced warnings that make all the difference in whether your noble house survives or is destroyed in the endless intrigue that plagues nations of all organisational types.

When the main game started, Railius was planning to secretly start up his own company as his first act due to its many and varied uses not only as a vital source of income that he can use to expand his powerbase but also to gather information from the world that he can use in his various in-game endeavours.

The main reason for his secret affiliation with it and not publicly controlling it is so that he can do business with anyone, even his enemies, and if he learnt of the movement of weapons by his enemies using his merchant group, then even better.

It would also make it easier to make secret movements with a company that he appeared to have no connection to but actually controls, just like how shell companies in the real world are merely there to help in rich people's transition of funds.

The only difference is that this will be a merchant company that eventually goes international, getting whispers from across the world to the lord of Aurellion to use as he wishes.

After deciding that both of the men's ideas were good, he looked at the Baron, indicating that he wanted to see if he had any others to add, giving this new retainer an opportunity to show his value.

After a slight cough, the cunning man began to analyse the proposals given by Darius and Leon.

"Thanks to your father being a renowned general and your soldier's unwavering loyalty, our military is in excellent shape, if not over-bloated.

The baron began giving his opinion after gathering all the information he needed on the current situation for House Aurellion, which was far better than the 30-year-old noble expected, showing that their lord or someone loyal to the house was competent.

"My lord, Darius' idea is excellent for our older soldiers who are close to retirement as their strength will begin to fail, and it would be best for them to retire and start their son's training to replace them as we are going to be in Nathia for a long time so retaining our strength while we lay down a foundation here should be our top priority."

Not only does this satisfy our obligations to them, but if we can make enough money from other endeavours, then we can probably buy or rent farmlands from some of the local nobility and, failing that, set up a few taverns and other entertainment outlets that we can use as information gathering points and stops for our men as they travel."

"Leon's idea is good too. Having him take in a few paid disciples from these men of influence will not only increase our contacts but also, later, when he has enough resources to take in some poorer disciples, we can use them and have them join our military forces, increasing the number of experts in our army."

"Ensuring that Leon does not get recognised as a grandmaster is also important as no matter if they are affiliated with someone or not, every grandmaster is tracked in one way or another by the kingdom, especially for grandmaster fighters like The Protector of Aurellion who could in a single move massively increase the military power of a noble house just by being affiliated to them."

"In addition, we should think up some other revenue sources, as armies are an endless pit that swallows up gold like a ravenous creature in constant need of meat for us to keep our men trained, fed and equipped. We are going to need thousands of gold."

The Baron said, giving the merits of Leon's and Darius' plans.

"Thank you for your council, Melwin, but I think there is another revenue source that we are missing out on, and this one may be the most useful and lucrative…."

Railius said with a smile, not keeping his loyal subjects in suspense.

"We are on a vital trading route, right? Why not lend some of our Pelican Guards as guards for merchant caravans? We can even create a security company around them as only elite soldiers or unique units of others stand a chance against them."