Chapter 3: Semi-humans.
After the contract was signed, the two men headed to the square in front of the castle. There, about 2000 people had gathered and were watching them with great anticipation.
Naturally, the young prince immediately noticed the displeasure or indifference, a palpable feeling openly directed at Carter.
[It seems these people don't appreciate their baron] Desmos commented dryly, which, were it not for the delicate situation, might even have brought a smile to the young prince's face.
Carter, however, merely offered a small smile, completely ignoring the murderous stares of his citizens. "Well, sir, it seems most of Sedona's inhabitants are here."
[Are you sure we can't stab him, even just a little bit?] Desmos pleaded, because he really, really wanted to spill the blood of that rotten son of a...
"Make your announcement," Rose said, cutting off his faithful companion's interruption. In truth, she felt the same, but had other priorities. I seem to have a lot of work ahead of me, she thought. After all, if she truly wanted to use this city as an operating base to monitor the region, it was crucial that she at least try to improve the quality of life for its people.
[I volunteer for the position of head of security! I could even train your militia] Desmos exclaimed with his usual energetic tone. He had always dreamed of being a military sergeant; to the Great King, it seemed an incredibly exciting role.
Baron Carter, ignoring the private conversation between the prince and his spear, cleared his throat to capture the people's attention.
"Esteemed residents," he announced, "I, Baron Carter, have transferred the title of baron to the young Baron Rose. From this moment on, he is the new ruler of this city, so please, give him a warm welcome."
As soon as he finished, Carter took a step back without losing the smile that became even more radiant on his face.
[Come on, let me do it... or at least punch him in the face... knock out his teeth, heck, I'd settle for a wedgie] pleaded the spear, who really, really wanted to inflict physical harm.
Three seconds later, the residents' silence broke, and Rose could hear every single murmur. Some spoke of another poor man tricked by the "old bastard"; others complained that the baron had already bled them dry enough and they didn't need a new baron to raise taxes even higher.
Still others lamented the number of times their ruler had changed, only to end up returning to Carter. Although Carter was a tyrant, an idiot, and a lover of gold, he was the only one who knew a little about administration. Rose understood: you couldn't raise taxes on a city that was literally falling apart. Therefore, he would have to use the gold and silver he had brought with him to try to save this place. Heck, he would even have to maintain the city himself for a while.
Naturally, those comments made the young prince glance sideways at Carter, who visibly felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the young man's silver eyes beside him.
"Lord Baron, they are just common folk. You know how they are; they complain about absolutely everything. But you don't have to worry, they won't do anything against you," he assured him with a nervous smile.
Rose didn't even deign to respond, which made Carter truly nervous, at least until he remembered something.
"Oh, by the way, I left a little gift for you in the castle dungeon. Remember to check it out later. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving"—and with that said, he turned around and rushed out of the place before Rose could make any move.
Then he got into a carriage and left as if the devil himself were chasing him, along with a small group of thirty people.
[Could he be any more obvious?] Desmos asked dryly. Damn it, the old man definitely had the subtlety of a Molotov cocktail!
"I still blame you for this," Rose said, slightly losing her usual composure and now sounding genuinely irritated.
Even so, he simply let out a slight sigh of weariness as he watched the group leave. At the same time, he noticed the residents waiting for him to address them. It wasn't the first time he had spoken before so many people, but at that moment, he really had nothing to say to them.
"You may leave," he told them calmly.
Shortly after his words, all the people began to withdraw, leaving the young prince watching them in silence.
Although he had just arrived, he was now responsible for their lives. He had no way of knowing how much they had suffered before his arrival, so, until he analyzed the situation, he would have to devise ways to revitalize life in the village. At home, he was used to seeing men getting up early to work, women going to the markets for their shopping, and children playing in the streets. This, in contrast, was basically a damn dead city.
[Do you want to see what he left us in the dungeon?] Demos suggested. Rose really didn't want to; something inside him told him it couldn't be anything good. However, there was nothing like a prison to discover the problems the town was facing, as most nobles used to imprison their detractors, and these, in exchange for a pardon, would be willing to talk.
With that in mind, he simply turned around and returned to the castle. It was completely empty; it was evident that the man had taken all his servants, which caused him to sigh.
"At least I'll concede he's not so stupid as to leave behind anyone who might talk about his crimes," he muttered to himself. The good side was that it saved him the trouble of having to extract information from them.
This completely cemented the image he had of Carter; everything was a simple plan, something more than obvious. However, what didn't worry him was a key detail: the problem with someone who has repeatedly scammed many people with the same trick is that they tend to become overconfident and get annoyed when something goes off-script.
Carter was sure that, sooner or later, his adversary would make a mistake. For the moment, he would focus on doing the best for the people around him while waiting for that moment. Following his best friend's suggestion, he decided to go to the dungeons to investigate the matter of the mysterious "gift."
It wasn't very difficult for him to find it. He only had to follow the wailing of the lost souls until, finally, he reached the castle dungeons. They were in the most secluded corner, behind a bolted and barred door. However, his faithful companion flatly refused to look for the damn key, so the door was quickly knocked down.
As soon as the door fell, the stale air inside assaulted him with a stench of dampness and putrefaction that almost made him vomit what he had eaten. Fortunately, he just moved forward, as, compared to the smell of the Underworld, this was quite tolerable.
After all, no matter how atrocious the acts committed there, this dungeon was nothing compared to the prison of Tartarus, where his grandfather, the great Lord Hades, punished the souls of the wicked for all eternity.
Thinking about that made him smile, imagining where the three judges would place a crawling pest like Carter.
[Probably in Cocytus... he's a traitor after all, and you know how the old corpse-breath is with traitors] Desmos said shamelessly. After all, he himself had served under the god of the dead in his time and knew the man very well.
"Yes, probably," Rose said calmly. Personally, he would throw him into the ocean of boiling blood, but well, that would be the judges' decision when the time came.
Rose set that thought aside and kept walking directly to the back of the dungeon. In the deepest part, his eyes, capable of seeing in absolute darkness, spotted what he assumed was the gift Carter had left him: a small figure huddled in a corner. From what he could see, she measured just over a meter and a half, perhaps a meter seventy, but she was practically skin and bones and was alive purely by miracle.
So as not to make a loud noise that might hurt her more than she already was, Rose leaned down to the height of the huddled body.
"Hey... Are you alive?" he asked, gently tapping the cell bars.
Damn it, if he could still save her, he would do his best to help her; no one, much less a slave, deserved to die like that.
The sudden noise only caused a slight tremor in the creature's body and made her turn slowly. Fortunately, not needing light, she didn't unnecessarily hurt her eyes, which allowed the young prince to see her face. She had beautiful violet eyes, in which a clear disgust was noticeable. Despite being practically starved and mercilessly beaten, she showed no fear.
End of chapter.