Chapter 19: Playground of the Dukes

Whilst the King had made sure that nobody in his sphere of influence was a spy, his sphere of influence was small. Not everybody in the capital was loyal to the royal house of Fiver, the founding dynasty of Fiveria. That the new viscount had sent a messenger to the king had not gone unnoticed amongst the factional nobility. It had been noted by neutral nobles, but those openly hostile to the king took a keen interest in what had been relayed.

Aled knew this would happen and made sure to order that lips be kept tight on the matter of the iron mine. His aid to Braydon and the latter choosing to join his faction would end up being known regardless. If they knew about the iron mine, however, all bets would be off. There was not much in the way of iron on the western side of the Brimestones, it was mostly imported, making it a rather expensive commodity. They had plenty of coal and gemstone mines, hence jewelry being popular in the capital. Such resources were not so readily turned into military might. A significant iron mine could potentially start up a civil war in earnest. The King was just glad that Duke Burn had already returned to his lands, he knew the man would love to see the other factions fighting.

"Let's just hope that the Dukes will keep their interference to a minimum." Aled sighed, hopeful that the Dukes would be happy to watch Braydon butt heads with Earl Blake. If they decided to get involved there might well not be much hope for his new ally.

"That boy has already made enemies of Duke Oakley by existing, and Earl Blake by taking in Burgess's daughter. He doesn't need another to get on the bad side of Burn too." Aled thought of the power bases of the noble factions. While the capital was relatively central, it was slightly more to the west. Most of Duke Oakley's power was in the north, hence button heads with Earl Blake in the north-west. Duke Burn was relatively less powerful than the other Dukes but still as powerful as Blake. He was relatively safe in his south-eastern holdings. The west was a mix of the King's minor allies and Duke Ryder's faction. Ryder was the most powerful of the Dukes having consolidated most of the southern nobles to his banner. Duke Oakley would be on par with him if it were not for Earl Blake keeping him busy, the cause for a great many hostilities between the two factions.

King Aled's faction was as strong as Duke Burn or Earl Blake on paper but his support was more scattered than the others. Not to mention they all had a silent agreement to keep the king from getting too powerful. Many neutral lords would side with the king if he were too powerful, a benefit that came with being the legitimate ruler. Though, much to his chagrin, a benefit he was not seeing.

For the most part the east and north-east were the grounds for proxy battles between the major factions using the various barons that they back. In the centre of this was Wathamalin, ruled by the guilds. They enjoyed the status quo on the east, allowing them to keep their position in the large town. This was also where most of the neutral nobles' fiefs lay. It was the reason why the larger factions had not made any moves directly, lest a new faction forms. And it was why the King was hopeful that the new Viscount would not face the full brunt of the factions.

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The rider returned to Cliforge 6 days after leaving for the capital, bearing the good news. This would be a great boon once the help arrived. It appeared that none of the peasantry from the old Viscounty of Kirton had decided to move. Braydon was dismayed when he heard that the barons had started skirmishes with each other on their eastern borders. There was no hope for them to gain any new subjects from this route.

"Lets just hope the royal convoy arrives in a timely manner." Braydon was speaking with Colin who was overseeing the return of the temporary workers to Baron Monrow. Colin was in charge of the logistics, Rhydian was incharge of ensuring that no trouble was caused as they made their way back through the castle grounds.

"Indeed, we would be able to move forward with so many plans that are just not feasible without the money or manpower." Braydon nodded in agreement, his ambitions were useless without the means of achieving them.

"Perhaps, you could hire more staff for your castle with it. Female staff, the kind that would serve myself and Mireille." He nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice behind him. He looked accusingly at Colin who had seen them coming and not told him. The elder had a kind smile on as if looking at his grandchildren, causing Braydon's discontent to have nowhere to go. He'd be the last person to show discontent toward Nela, it would be used against him later.

"I deeply apologise for not having this matter sorted out sooner." Braydon apologised as he turned around to see Nela's sweet smile and Mireille's usual slightly vacant stare. To be truthful it had been thrown to the back of his mind when he was told about it, a bandit problem would do that. He had not recalled it since.

"No matter, it has not impacted upon us much." Nela replied, causing Braydon some confusion. 'Don't noble ladies have servants all the time, especially for dressing?' Then he looked to Mea who had been following the two in the background and felt enlightened.

"It appears Mea has been doing an excellent job of looking after you. If it suits you, I can have her duties in the kitchen removed so she can be an attendant full time." Braydon's suggestion got a look of extreme shock from Mea, that was more than just a promotion. Going from a kitchen hand to a personal attendant of a lady, there was simply no comparison.

"Mea mine." Mireille staked her claim, getting a laugh out of Braydon and Nela.

"It seems she has been spoken for, I would have to implore you to wait a while longer before I am able to find you an attendant." Braydon turned to Nela. Judging by the smile on her face it appeared she was more than willing to spoil Mireille as much as he was.

"She is like a little sister to me, how could I fight with her over Mea." Nela was also clearly happy to see Mireille getting along with Mea. Meanwhile, Mea stood stock still. She could hardly believe that her position had been made a permanent measure. Mireille, seeing her lack of reaction, went up and hugged her from behind. Mireille had made a fatal attack. A reanimated Mea, looking embarrassed at her faux pas, tried to struggle away but was defeated by the teenager's grip. Seeing the scene the other three simply just smiled. 'How is she that strong with an injured shoulder?' Braydon idly wondered before thinking Mea must be going easy on her.