Chương 26: Child

TARION Trying to keep myself stoic, I shivered with elation as I watched the Osberg knights riding on their chain-mailed horses. They escorted my carriage, their pride apparent in their stiff, trained posture. Serious, seasoned soldiers scan the streets for enemies. Nostalgia warmed my heart as I looked upon my father's Osberg Knights. No, mine. The second jewel of Greystone. The steel-plated heroes, adored by the masses. Every Osberg boy's dream and the envy of my competitors. And my uncle.

The Frost Knight, whose name was inverse to his personality, was the leader of them all. Being surrounded by them felt like being back in my squadron again. My knights… I am a duke, so having my own retinue should be standard, but the kid in me who loved King Arthur was also positively giddy.

"Nephew, the streets." Uncle interrupted my thoughts. Opposite me in my carriage, he watched the city pass by.

"They actually look…clean?"

"You can thank my wife for that. One of her first concerns was the rubbish and sewage piling up on the streets, causing disease. To remedy that, she created a cleaning force. Mostly, the elderly and teenagers of unstable housing patrol the roads, cleaning our streets for good pay."

"Amazing…"

"You know what is more amazing? Feel anything?"

"No. Wait…A new road?! Fantastic! The amount of coins you must have spent. You borrowed?"

"Hell no. Not yet, anyway. I am trying to keep the bankers far away. I have learned from the Dowager Duchess's example. But it is a lot to spend. We have much to fix, and a lot needs to be fortified and prepared for. But the investment will be worth it. Feeling less rich will not harm me. Also, the hidden gold from the late Trak has aided our ventures."

"Ah, I forgot.

'Mad duke murders his mayor.' I didn't believe a single bit of it. But seeing you in person, I am surprised you haven't killed more."

"Hahaha, thank you for believing in me, Uncle." I looked over to my right. My duchess sat next, twiddling with a small toy a child had given her at the cathedral, looking withdrawn. I grabbed her fidgeting hand, waking her up from her daydream.

"Are you alright…?" She still fiddled with the wooden rabbit.

"Uh? Yes, yes… A child gave me this toy. She told me it was her favourite toy and the last her mother made for her before…" I held her hand tighter. What could I say? That it wasn't her fault? She will notice the lie in my voice. The cursed clearly came after her. How could I remedy this...? The hundreds cannot be revived, and the child's mother cannot be saved.

"I will make sure nothing like this ever happens again. I swear on the Greystone name." She nodded, still twiddling with the toy, with a melancholy look. I hoped to myself that the sadness would go away once he saw the silver-maned mage's face. I wrapped my arm around Vanessa. The wound still stinging, I brought her close to my doublet.

"Tarion…?" Her eyes of fall looked up at me. One day, they would gaze at someone else.

"Tomorrow, in the morning, come with me to the garden. Let's see if we can get you into fighting shape." Vanessa brightened up immediately.

"Really?! Are you sure?"

"More than ever. Bring Jen as well. She will probably like spending more time with Kurt," I said.

"I don't know about her; Jen's aversion to exercise was quite well-known in our town. But me? I am ready." I felt her heart pounding. Had she been waiting for me to ask her? For how long? Why does she need me to ask?

"See you there, bright and early, okay?" Vanessa smiled until her eyes creased. The dresses and books never made her this happy. She wants nothing but the power to help even more. The prince was a lucky man. IS. He is a lucky man. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Mind if I come as well? I would love to see my nephew's progress."

"Of course, you can! However, my brother will be absent as always. That reminds me…" I knocked on the half-opened window, and Jimmy trotted closer with his horse.

"Any sight of my brother?" I asked.

"No sight of him on the battlefield, Your Grace."

"Fucking hell."

"You swear now!?" Uncle flinched.

"Haha, that surprised you more than me killing a giant, cursed spider?" Speaking with a calm voice, Uncle Laron said, "You are Greystone. It is expected." A chill ran through my body. Before, such words would have seemed like empty platitudes for a sick man. But from my uncle, it solidified all I have been aiming for. I turned away, stifling the huge smile trying to break through. I am Greystone, and so is my damn brother.

"Vanessa, seen my brother at all in the castle?" She shook her head, her soft cheek rubbing on my doublet.

"Not since the day you left." I knocked on the carriage hard enough to make the wood splinter.

"Driver! To the red light district!" I felt the carriage shake as it took a different turn.

"Nephew. I understand a man has his needs, but to bring your wife…"

"Haha, no, just going there to bring an idiot back." Bolts fly out of hinges with a kick on the brothel's door. It's John's, and workers sitting around the bar froze, aware of the kind of man who had come through the door. Vanessa passed through the door, stepping over pieces of the wood. I wished she hadn't stepped into this place, but she insisted on coming along. Said she wanted to experience all the city has to offer. She peeked around, examining the dirty environment.

Not shying away from debauchery, she studied the men who came here, the women who worked the rooms and served such men. I do understand her curiosity. After all, her mother laboured in such a place before conceiving her. My uncle came after Vanessa, with an irritated expression. Probably because of the smell.

"Really, Joshua? This place?" He stole a cup of mead from a John, smelt its contents and nearly vomited.

"SHIT!" I found a brunette bartender with almond eyes and a sharp, small chin. Asian in look, but in this world, she resembled a foreigner from the Liú states in the Far East. I walked up with my sword rattling on my back, above my cloak.

"Tell me. My brother. What room is he fucking in?" Her voice fluttered.

"Fifteen. Sir, Second Floor." She pulled something under the bar table and heard the steps of a bodyguard running toward me. My head bopped to the left to dodge a right straight. My own right connected with the man's jaw. His eyes went up into his head as he collapsed to the floor.

"This is why I didn't want you to come, Vanessa." The Frost Knight and I exchanged glances, and Uncle Laron pulled Vanessa closer.

"Go on, play. Your wife is safe." I nodded and made my way to the stairs at a walking pace to not disturb my healing injury. A dagger came for me on the stairs and was slapped away. My fist broke a greedy John's nose. Grabbing his brown hair, I broke his face on the wall for every step I took. On the first floor, gravity pulled the head out of my grasp, and I wiped the dead man's hair on a confused customer. On the second flight of stairs, a sharp-faced man tried his luck with his fist.

I held my hand out, and the unfortunate idiot crushed his fist on my mana shield. I pat the man's head as he screamed with bones poking out of his skin.

"Fifteen, was it?" I arrived on the second floor, counting the doors.

"Ah, here," I knocked, giving my best customer service voice.

"Sir, refreshments!" I heard several people ruffle behind the door, and it opened to reveal a dishevelled, red-headed noble wearing a white robe.

"Finally! I was parched – Oh... Bullocks…" Hands wrapped around his slim neck, I pushed forward into the dark room. Two brunettes trip over the bed naked. A woman and a man?

"Having threesomes while your city is under attack? Kinky bastard. The screams of the dying make you horny?"

"NO, I CAN EXPLAIN!" I squeezed a little hard, his feet dangling. His face was turning as red as his hair.

"After Fulken Road, I thought you would understand and learn. But no. You hide. I give you tasks to complete with my wife. You couldn't even be bothered to turn up on the first day." I let go. My mana leaked out as I looked down at my coughing brother. I inspected him. Still a third circle, writhing on the floor in a crying, pathetic eyesore.

"Brother! I would've been useless out there!" I squatted close.

"No. You choose to be useless. Fuck whoever and wherever, but as I told you, the gold you use to buy these workers comes at a price." I watched his expression. He won't learn this way. Maybe shame will be a better motivator for improvement. I picked him up from his robe.

"Wait, Tarion! WAIT!"

"Ah! Duke Greystone." Something shifted in the room. The air, stained by the smell of sex, became harder to breathe.

"What an honour it is for Your Grace to visit my establishment," a deep voice spoke.

"To have not one but two brothers of the great house here, the lands above must be looking down on me fondly today." I turned to the door. Candles in the corridor lit the back of a built, immaculately dressed, shaved-headed man. Two heads taller than me, chains sparkled around his thick neck. A perverse smile showed golden teeth under his light brown goatee. Weathered middle-aged skin wrinkled around his brow, and eyebags hung under his brown eyes. But his sixth circle hue pulsed around him with such exuberance.

His attributes focused on extreme strength and body at around fifty points. The brothel owner bowed.

"Fjord Hasel, Your Grace. Happy to serve." The tattoo on the left side of his head... The Horn.