7 The Prince’s Helpers
1538 Words
Noodles are a staple of the college student diet. It is one of the foods that Janus found essential in his formative years, it was one that he was craving for the most. And since there's not a lot of variety of food in this Kingdom, he decided that a few recipes were not enough.
No, noodles had to be a staple diet in this Kingdom ---- it was an ambitious goal, but Janus was determined to see it through.
Better bread would be nice too, so Janus kept that as a secondary priority.
Rufus directed Janus to see Master Oswald. He was one of the stewards in the castle. While Master Darius ran and oversaw the operations within the castle, Master Oswald was the one responsible for the affairs of the estates and manors for Galedon's royalty. He had just arrived in the castle from a trip to one of the properties, and if Janus wanted to change the crop production in his manner then this was the man for the job.
Master Oswald was a burly man with his gray hair swept backward and a well-trimmed mustache. He was surprised to see Janus approach him directly.
"Master Oswald, how are things in my manor?" Janus asked.
"Ah yes, your highness. Production is still going at a good rate. Autumn is coming soon and harvesting season is close at hand. May I ask what prompted your concern sire?"
"As you may already know, I have relinquished all the profits of my Manor towards the King."
"Yes I have been told so."
"But I can still oversee what crops should be produced there right?"
Master Oswald squinted his eyes at Janus. This was the kind of thing that the old Prince never did. He left all of the management of his manor to Master Oswald.
"Of course sire, but what kind of crops would you want to grow?"
Janus showed him the list - a combination of buckwheat, vegetables, sweet potatoes and several others. He also asked how much chicken and pork the manor was able to produce.
Master Oswald looked shocked and pleased at the same time.
"I like the direction you are going with this your highness, but none of these crops are particularly profitable at the moment. What the Kingdom has been growing is Jurdin wheat, which is more popular amongst the bakers in this country."
Janus suppressed the urge to laugh, these people didn't know good bread at all!
"I've been studying from a few books in the library recently and I've collected some recipes that could improve the lives of our citizens. If this works then we would gain considerable profit along the way. I know this could be risky Master Oswald, but I have reason to believe this author's accounts have worked well for other Kingdoms. If it fails, I will present my head to the King himself." Janus said.
Master Oswald considered this for a moment.
"Very well, I will assemble the servants to accompany us in our visit. I will go with you as well, as I have to manage the transition of your Manor's earnings to the King. How soon would you want to leave?"
"As soon as possible." Janus said.
#
Janus spent his free time in the castle reading his books on bread and noodle making. He started to ferment his own yeast, using flour and water and kept it in a jar, feeding it constantly everyday.
There was not a lot of Contribution Points in the castle, he tried a few of the tools and the cutlery in the kitchens, and also the architecture of the castle itself. It didn't yield a lot of CP, perhaps because much of it is very similar to medieval Europe. Because of this, his eagerness to get out of the castle grew.
Master Oswald called him up the next day to meet with the servants who will be accompanying them.
Their retinue consisted of five servants, a member of the Royal Guard and Mr. Oswald.
There was Rufus, who Janus had requested himself. Cedi was a young servant around Janus' age. Then there was Millen, Bodwin and Dulfo who could do a combination of farming and handiwork.
Then there was the knight. A stark figure compared to the rest.
His name was Arthan Kleinmann. He was one of the up-and-coming Knights in the Kingdom and a notable member of the Kleinmann family. The Kleinmann's loyalty to the throne is second to none. His Father, Jonah Kleinmann was once the captain of the Royal Guard. He had led a number of victories for the Kingdom, as well as helped in a lot of humanitarian efforts.
Arthan was around the same age as Anders, although he was of a slightly lower tier. He had short hair and a square jaw. He was taller than Janus by a foot and had a lean muscular body. He was wearing a breastplate emblazoned with the Galedon's coat of arms. A square tower with a horse's head in the center.
Janus wasn't sure why having a Royal Guard as escort was necessary. They would be on a farmland, checking for crops and operations. What's the worst that could happen? Then he remembered that the Prince had collected a lot of enemies in all his failed exploits in the Kingdom. He might need to start learning from the Library's fighting tutorials, but he still hasn't gotten over his fear of blades.
So this group of men would be his helpers. Janus had to know more about his manor and wanted to collect a lot more CP. Perhaps he can ask their help to search for some low level monsters as well as explore some wild flora and fauna.
Except there was something off with the air in the room.
Janus was already used to having the servants in the manor avoid his glances, but this was something else. The men were trembling, their eyes were grim. Rufus looked especially fearful. Cedi held a bitter stare in his eyes. None of them looked at Janus directly.
Oswald and Arthan weren't any better. They looked sullen, even concerned. Arthan was fumbling with his sword hilt, while Oswald was sweating as he explained the journey to the men.
"Sorry to interrupt Master Oswald, but can I talk to you and Sir Arthan for a minute?" Janus said.
They both nodded and followed Janus to the corner of the room.
"What's the matter? Were just going on a manor to inspect crops, why do they look so scared?" Janus asked.
Master Oswald shuffled his feet. "Well, I was hoping that you wouldn't notice. Your highness it's just that---"
"I need you to be honest with me, I may have done something wrong to make them feel this way. My memory has gaps, so you need to fill me in."
"They think you're rounding them up to be murdered." Arthan chimed in.
Master Oswald sighed.
"Wait what? How could that possibly be?"
The steward and the knight looked at each other.
"Can I be honest with you, your highness?" Arthan said.
"I command you to." Janus said, with a hint of annoyance.
"They suspect you because it's similar to what happened with Deena, you ordered her to go to a supposed meeting only to get her killed." Arthan said, with a blank look in his eyes.
"That's merely an allegation." Master Oswald added while shaking his head. "Rufus is scared, especially with how his cooking made you sick. This shouldn't be a problem your highness, I will talk to them to ease their worries. But I must suggest, please be more gentle with them. If not for the Kingdom but also for the favor of his Holiness."
Janus was especially annoyed, since now it was not only the Price's mess that he had to clean up but also his own with Valda. He had gotten a little used to the unbathed human smell, but only from a safe distance.
There was also the situation with Arthan. Janus could sense that he was trying to hide his emotions, it seemed like Arthan also didn't favor the Prince very much. He was only polite due to loyalty, but there was a fire burning inside him that Janus could sense.
He looked back at the servants and focused on the Prince's memories of them. Cedi idolized Anders above all. His ambition was to become a knight. He sparred with Anders in the courtyards and was continually beaten, but he learned a lot from those bouts. The Prince hated him for this reason, and was mean to him at every interaction.
Millen, Bodwin, and Dulfo were easily as worse. Millen introduced The Prince to members of the thieves guild at his own request, the very same ones who swindled him of a fortune after a failed deal.
The Prince had a habit of unleashing his rage towards the servants of the castle when one of his failed exploits spread towards the townsfolk, yelling and berating them to quench his anger. Bodwin and Dulfo were included in one such incident.
Great, all of these men were right to be so afraid after all. Janus felt a pang of annoyance, but he felt stupid. These men were oppressed, living under such a tyrannical master.
At that very moment, Janus thought of Yvaine. She would know the best thing to do in this situation.
"That's it. I'm going to my manor alone." Janus called towards everyone in the room.
This made things even worse.
- Writer
