Chapter 188: The Floodgates Open

"Before you say anything, we are keeping her." Braydon said as soon as Nela closed the door after the last servant left the room, the faint sounds of sobbing coming through the door. He had not really paid much attention to the last few servants that they had spoken too after the excitement of Maria. He doubted that Nela was that interested either considering the reduced amount of time that it took her to interrogate them about their links to the Duke or anyone else.

"I would have kept her even if you didn't want her." Nela calmly replied. Evidently she had liked something that she had seen in the girl whilst reducing her to tears.

"And you still decided to make her cry like that? You can have her if you want, I did promise to get you a personal servant when you came to me. It is long past due that I get you one now that the war is over." Braydon was going to keep her employed if only for feeling bad for her, but if Nela wanted her as a personal servant it was only one servant lost. Considering that they were going through the process of gutting the mansion's staff, that was little consequence to him.

"Glad to see that you keep your promises." Nela smiled in victory. If he knew her as well as he thought he did, she would have asked him about it if he did not bring it up himself.

"Only those that I think are important." Braydon returned the smile as he lifted himself from his chair. Since they had gone through the servants, sending a good majority of them packing, it would not be long before Rhydian stopped holding off any merchants that came by. He at least wanted to stretch his legs before he would be confined to that same chair for the rest of the next few days.

"Getting smooth now, are we?" The compliment was not lost on Nela, who rose her eyebrows at something so uncharacteristic of Braydon. One of the things that she had not expected when Braydon marched off for war was basic human interaction. Not in a place where your goal was to kill the people you face.

"Still years from being presentable to anyone other than you." Braydon couldn't keep it together for more than a few seconds before giving a backhanded compliment.

*sigh*

"Years indeed." Nela nodded in agreement. If he wanted to be charming, he at least had to be able to hold more than a sentence with the opposite sex before saying something offensive or off topic.

*knock knock*

"Come in Rhydian." Braydon knew who it was without even having to see them. Most of the staff had just been fired and those that remained were still 'a bit' frightful, Gerald was probably seeing what alcohol the wine cellar held, and the merchants would not come to see him whilst Rhydian was holding them off.

"Time for the merchants, Sire?" Rhydian knew that they had finished already. It was easy to tell, there were no servants filled with dread nearby.

"Might as well do it now before I go and join Gerald in hiding. Just make sure that they are actually worth their salt. Or in this case, mine." Braydon knew that he had to meet them at some point, might as well be all at once. But that did not mean that he wanted any Tom, Dick or Harry looking to make it big trying to sell themselves to him. He did not have the time for that. He wanted people that were at least moderately competent and knew what they were talking about. It was the least he could ask with the amount of merchants that he was going to speak to.

"No need to worry on either front, Sire. Anybody not important enough was already scared off by those who could hold their own after I told them first come first served. And on the other issue, I enlisted Gerald's help as soon as he returned. Your cellar is safe for now." Rhydian smiled at the last part. He had taken no small pleasure in dragging Gerald away from his mission of finding the cellar.

"Good job. Would you mind telling the servants that if they treat our guests poorly, they can join their former colleagues." Braydon knew that they could not just up and replace the staff but that did not mean that he was going to have them perform poorly. Not that he doubted that Duke Ryder had bad staff but he hadn't exactly made a great first impression on those that would now be working under him. And second ones would have to wait for later.

"Then have a good night, I will probably see you in the morning." Rhydian smiled as he turned around and left, closing the door behind him.

"It depresses me that he is saying that mid afternoon." Braydon knew that it was true. Having seen the number of merchants that had been queuing up to enter the capital when he arrived, if only a fraction of that came to visit him then he would drown under their numbers.

"Make sure that you at least let Colin know about any agreements before you set anything in stone." Nela said as she followed the recently departed Rhydian to the door.

"Somewhere fun to be?" Braydon asked with no small amount of salt in his voice.

"Why of course, I need to get my new maid an outfit more fitting for the personal servant of a duke's daughter." Nela laughed as she left, leaving Braydon speechless. It seemed that now that she had had her fun, she was leaving this for him to do alone. He knew that it was his responsibility but the way that she had said it still left Braydon irritated, nonetheless.

"To think that it was me that used to run away from hard work." Braydon felt a bit odd at the reversal in roles, trying to convince himself that it was just him growing more accustomed to his title and the responsibilities that came with it.

*knock knock*

"Mister Becker has come to speak to you, Sire." A slightly timid voice spoke from the other side of the door. One of the servants that had survived the purge. 'And so it begins'.