Chapter 18: Nobles.
While Rose and her group were still dealing with the problems he had left behind, Carter was simply ecstatic. He was counting, perhaps for the thousandth time, the gold coins he had swindled from that silver-eyed young man, whom he had providentially met at that bar almost a month ago.
With great care, he lifted one of the coins and examined it, contemplating the face of the man who, it was said, had united continents beyond the sea. He couldn't help but smile smugly.
If that idiot only knew that he had already sold the city more than fifteen times... he had no doubt that, had he known, his threat of shoving that pretty spear up his backside would have been carried out. Honestly, he was glad he hadn't found out until now; after all, if he truly came from beyond the sea, he wasn't a nobody and was, without a doubt, a person to be feared.
He decided that, ultimately, he didn't want to dwell on the matter any further. Perhaps he was just a traveling merchant who used that spear for self-defense in these lands. Who knows, maybe he could even claim it as a family heirloom once the thieves' party finished him off.
Knock, knock.
Soon after, someone knocked at the door. He opened it immediately, allowing his son to rush in and slam the door shut.
"I've told you many times, boy, don't slam the doors," Carter reprimanded the young man.
"Sorry, father," the boy said before directing his gaze to the foreign gold coins. The unusual money made him raise an eyebrow, confused for a few brief moments. "Is it from the Rising Sun?" he asked.
Of course, he knew that Sedena had been recently sold to someone. Hell, he himself had been there when the sale was finalized, but he hadn't witnessed the moment his father received the payment. It was the first time he had seen the money obtained for that city.
"That young man came from beyond the sea, probably just a traveling merchant looking to make a fortune in these lands," Carter scoffed, totally convinced that those comfortable fools in their seats of power knew nothing about the harsh conditions of these lands. "Anyway, speak, boy, what did Baron Omar say?" he asked as he looked at the young man.
"He is willing to cooperate with us these years, but in return, he wants to recruit our knights—thirty of them!" the young man growled, furious. "We barely have forty knights, and that bastard wants to take thirty from us. He's a bloody thief!" he ranted.
In the past, when they were still the nobles of Sedena, their military strength was barely forty men. That had actually been the main reason why they had sold their territory to the first unsuspecting person they found.
Recruiting only forty knights was surprisingly few for this continent, although it was quite normal in a city of barely two thousand inhabitants. However, given the excessively high cost of training a knight—especially if they were equipped with armor, swords, and the best quality food possible—and without forgetting the salaries and other expenses, this humble barony could not afford more.
This was only because he had accumulated a large amount of gold over half his life. Therefore, he was forced to use those nobles as war officers, while his rank-and-file soldiers were civilians he forcibly recruited.
If the emperor had taken the trouble to investigate the situation on the continent, he probably would have been completely enraged, as his laws prohibited this type of practice. However, to maintain stability in the eight most powerful continents, he had allowed the nobles of the more remote regions to act as they pleased. This happened despite the fact that they were legally part of the empire, and most of them completely ignored the laws and kept the population ignorant of this fact.
"What else did Baron Omar say?" Carter asked, rubbing the gold coin with a cloth. He was more concerned with his business with the Baron than with his son's immature complaints.
"He wants eighty percent of the loot, and we must sell him a hundred of our slaves," the young man growled, visibly furious.
"Only 20%," Carter murmured to himself, shrugging, as it was better than nothing. "And, did he say which city we should sack?" he added.
"The city of Westeros, it is said, does not have many defenses and has little more than a dozen knights. Even with the recruitment of citizens, at most they will have gathered a hundred people to reinforce their defenses," the young man replied calmly.
"Tell Baron Omar that we will send the thirty knights, but in exchange, I also want us to sack the city of Sedena. I want the precious spear that idiot had. It would undoubtedly be wasted in the hands of that young man," Carter said. In reality, he had nothing against the fool who sold his city, even if he had threatened him with death, but that spear was truly beautiful, and he had desired it from the moment he saw it.
"Father, why? Sedena is worthless. Besides, if that man really comes from the empire, killing him could attract the emperor's wrath," the young man commented, completely perplexed. Damn it, messing with the bloody king of the world is definitely not a good idea.
Carter, however, simply stopped polishing the coin in his hands and turned his head to look at his son.
"The autumn harvest is just around the corner. I spent my money on that harvest, and by right, it is mine. Furthermore, as I told you, I desire that spear; it should be worth enough to buy a new noble title," he explained calmly.
"Father, I definitely don't understand you," the young man said, unsure if his father had become senile or was simply incredibly stupid. After all, he had refused to spend the imperial gold as soon as he had it. And now, he wanted to kill someone to whom they had sold a city whose value was, literally, less than the parchment of the sales contract.
"Every year, the wheat harvest gets worse; the land is becoming barren. It's time to change territory and simply acquire a noble title in a more prosperous place," Carter explained calmly.
"And to whom will you sell Sedena once you have it back under your control?" the boy asked, still unsure if it was a good idea. Something told him that young man was not an ordinary person they could kill without consequences.
"A merchant from the capital is willing to give me twenty gold coins for it. In fact, he expects to move before spring," Carter said, laughing.
"Father, I don't think you should do it. I have a bad feeling," replied the young man, who actually didn't want the situation to continue. He was used to constantly ripping off idiots, but not this boy; his gut screamed at him that if they tried, they would simply die.
Carter, however, simply ignored his son completely and continued speaking with a wide smile: "All merchants are so foolish; they want to live as nobles having been born from the mud."
The young man felt a twitch in his eyebrow at his father's gross ignorance of his concerns.
"Father, I'm not joking, that guy stank of blood... Do you really think that if he comes from the Empire he's someone common? Damn it, he gave you a hundred gold coins without even trying to haggle!" he shouted, completely furious. What else did he have to say for his father to finally understand that this wasn't a bloody game?
"You worry too much, boy. He's probably just a soldier fed up with the politicking of the Empire... or maybe an exiled noble," Carter said, making a dismissive gesture with his hand. Then he continued with a more pragmatic tone: "Tell the knights to redouble their efforts in searching for more slaves. I've heard that the nobles in the interior love young flesh, and they should sell for a good price."
"Understood, father," the young man said through clenched teeth.
Although the matter of the slaves was completely indifferent to him—in his eyes, commoners were nothing more than cattle awaiting sacrifice—he couldn't stand his father ignoring him like that. Even so, he simply left the room, hoping that this wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass.
Little did they know that, since the day Rose had left them, a small black crow with silver eyes had been following them. This crow now took flight back to its master's city.
End of chapter.