Speechless was the most apt description of the other people in the room trying to digest what the Prince and the Earl had just talked about.

But true to form, the Earl didn’t give them time to process it all.

“Meeting now adjourned,” Ren Xiyang said decisively. He collected his papers and stood up. “Manager Gregory, you implied that some of the books and employment contracts were stored here. Do you know where? Manager Ashdown, you also mentioned my father’s jewellery and money boxes. Where are those stored?”

Manager Ashdown quickly stood up, but Manager Gregory was the one who spoke.

“I know where all of those are. I will take you.”

“Please show me now. Everyone else, have a pleasant evening. Your Highness, I’ll see you tomorrow. Kel?”

“Yes, my Lord.” Kel smartly followed her lord out of the meeting hall.

Manager Gregory and Manager Ashdown also quickly exited.

Manager Gregory took the group to the main study room, the master bedroom, and Roland Rosewood’s secondary private study room. Kel and even Manager Ashdown helped carry the heavy stacks of books, jewellery and money boxes to Ayden Rosewood’s suite.

“That’s all, have a good rest,” Ren Xiyang dismissed the two managers. Only Kel remained behind.

Now that he was the Earl Rosewood with the magical signet ring, Ren Xiyang could easily open all the money boxes, not just Alyssa Rosewood’s. The amounts in them were sufficient for the first steps of Ren Xiyang’s plans. He looked over the employment ‘contracts’ next, which were really just brief notes of employee details, wages, and thumbprints.

“Kel, you’ve been very helpful lately. Do you wish to continue directly aiding me, or do you have other preferences, such as cooking or gardening?”

Kel quickly replied, “My Lord, I wish to continue serving you!”

Ren Xiyang looked at her briefly. There was a power imbalance between them…but she didn’t seem like she was forcing it like Manager Gregory was.

“In that case, you’re promoted to life assistant. You’ll receive an extra silver coin every fortnight. To help with your work and mine…ask Maria, I believe, if she is willing to be the secondary life assistant, to cover while you are on break and to help you help me. Depending on her exact duties, her wage will also increase.”

Kel opened her mouth, but she couldn’t say any words. An extra silver coin? Silver??!! As a maid, her salary had been counted in copper coins, and her savings amounted to only a few silver coins-worth of copper coins.

“I take it that you accept?” Ren Xiyang asked, his gaze softening.

“Yes, my Lord! I won’t fail you, my Lord.”

“Then, I have some tasks for you now. Firstly, I need you to help everyone organise into seven groups to take turns having days off…”

Not long after, a flushed Kel hurried down to the kitchen, a piece of paper with her list of tasks (that she could actually read a bit of!) and a bag of coins that clinked as she walked.

The other servants quickly gathered around, pausing in their task of cooking dinner for the entire manor as they listened to Kel’s breathless report on their new Earl’s latest orders.

“…And the Earl gave me all this money to buy all those things,” Kel said, shaking the coin bag. “And I need to record it down…with Aaron’s help? Aaron, the earl said that you’ll get a ‘bonus’ for teaching us to read, so you can go to his study later.”

Aaron perked up at the mention of money. “Alright!”

The servants all discussed with each other. Kel assigned some people to help purchase all the things the Earl had requested. She also went around making sure to tell the guards, and farmer and outdoor servants too.

After debate, the indoor and outdoor servants formed ‘holiday groups’, with the first group all hesitantly visiting the Earl after dinner. They walked out of the Earl’s suite with their salaries and a note that they could each bring back a person they thought was suitable for hire for one of the many jobs the Earl needed going forward. Most didn’t plan to leave straight away, though. Aside from the ones whose family lived in the very nearby Redmond town, it was too late in the day to travel. Not to mention, they wanted to see the Earl’s duel with the Prince tomorrow!

What would happen? Who would win? The Earl caught those assassins, he was really strong! But Prince Rian was a prince, and he had been trained by the best mages!

Argggg, they couldn’t wait to watch!

 

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Queen Mira was faintly exasperated when she heard about Rian’s duelling challenge during that evening’s crystal-ball-call.

“In the end, you are still an impulsive twelve year old boy,” she said, half amused and half disapproving.

“Don’t tell Imperial Father?” Rian tried.

“Oh, you surely don’t think that this duel will remain a secret, do you?”

“I’ll have a meeting with Imperial Father later,” Rian promised obediently. He had things to talk to his father about, anyway.

“Why are you so worried, Imperial Mother? Big brother is not that weak and the Rosewoods are weak!” came Rian’s little brother’s voice. He came into view in the image in the crystal-ball.

Rian raised his eyebrows. “Do you think you can defeat the new Earl Rosewood?”

“I’m an ice mage, ice is better than fire!” Little Alexius Azure boasted. “I heard that the new Earl has tricks, but I have skills!”

Queen Mira chuckled. “Do you, now?”

Rian smiled faintly. He was afraid his little brother might be in for a big surprise.

 

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By the next day, news of the events had spread to the Capital and among the aristocracy across the Kingdom. Rian himself was partly to blame—of course he had to tell his Imperial Mother everything that happened. There was no doubt the others in the room—like Count Aegean, Imperial Councillor Blewitt, and Solicitor Carmine—had their own expensive methods to quickly communicate at a distance.

Everything about Ayden Rosewood was the latest hot gossip. The first rumours about ‘Ayden Rosewood’ among the aristocracy had derided him. When the nobles had heard that Ayden Rosewood’s bloodline was to be tested, they sat back and waited for the upcoming sordid reveal.

No one had expected the outcome.

The results showed that Ayden was not only the son of the late Earl Roland Rosewood, but also of his legal wife, the late Lady Marie Rosewood nee Cordovan!

That meant he was a legitimate child, yet he was kept under such extreme secrecy!

Completely new rumours and conspiracy theories abounded. Was Ayden Rosewood raised as a secret weapon for Roland Rosewood? Was Ayden Rosewood supposed to support the eldest son Silas Rosewood from the shadows? Had Ayden Rosewood become sick of his hidden status and killed his family?

If Ayden Rosewood had killed his family in order to inherit, then he had been very successful! Rumour was that he had threatened everyone to make him the Earl Rosewood immediately, and oh, not to mention the farce of a ceremony…

Those in a certain know gave each other sly looks. Baron Cordovan and Duke Schauss had been preparing to petition the King to act as temporary regents for the Rosewood fief, the key arguments being Ayden Rosewood’s age and his lack of ability to manage the full Rosewood estate and fief.

Ayden Rosewood was only twelve years old. It wasn’t uncommon for a ‘lord regent’ to take over until the child reached the age of majority. Only rare genius children could successfully head an aristocratic family: others would lead their fief to ruin, negatively affecting other aristocratic families and the kingdom. A child like Ayden Rosewood, who, according to the rumours, acted like a commoner, would surely be unsuitable.

Baron Cordovan was the closest living relative, as the late Lady Rosewood was Baron Cordovan’s sister. His fief was adjacent to the Rosewoods, so it would be much easier for him to ‘help’ Ayden Rosewood.

In contrast, Duke Schauss were only distant relatives on the paternal side to the Rosewoods. However, Duke Schauss was a lot more popular and had a much better reputation as the Duke of the fief that produced highly adept healer mages and had a much higher profitability than the Cordovan fief. Under his management, he would surely make the Rosewood fief ‘richer’.

But now those plans were utterly destroyed. And if the Earl Ayden Rosewood or the Prince Rian Azure found out about it…it wasn’t clear what those two would do to the Cordovans and the Schausses.

If so, other noble families could rise…

But that was a lot of future speculation. There was something more important and extremely current: the eldest Prince Rian challenged the Earl Rosewood to a duel!

A magic duel, for Saintess’ sake!

They couldn’t believe that Prince Rian would do such a thing! And the duel was on that very morning! Those who heard this could only curse, because they simply couldn’t travel fast enough to witness it in person.

 

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Unlike the agitated Count Aegean, Rian Azure was calm as the time for the duel approached.

Having lived one life, he was confident in his own abilities. Instead, he was reviewing what he had learned so far about Ayden Rosewood and comparing it with what had happened in his past life.

In his past life, Alyssa Rosewood was only ten years old, suffering from burns from the fires in the manor, and all-around not in condition to rule a fiefdom. Eventually, his Imperial Father the King had declared that both Baron Cordovan and Duke Schauss were to co-manage the Rosewood estate. The two lords were meant to keep each other in check. Of course, those lords both embezzled money from the Rosewood estate. Alyssa Rosewood had eventually found this out, and it was one of reasons why she hated Duke Schauss’s daughter, the heroine Cassiopeia Schauss.

But in this second life…

It was already drastically different.

Rian had been truly surprised to learn that Ayden Rosewood was actually a legitimate child. After watching Ayden Rosewood in the past few days, he became increasingly sure that Ayden wasn’t a ‘rebirthed’ Alyssa Rosewood with memories of the first life. Ayden Rosewood showed none of the identifying ticks nor patterns of speech of the late Alyssa Rosewood, and he clearly wasn’t restraining himself from those behaviours either.

Ayden was different from Alyssa, from personality and temperament to conduct and activities. For example, Rian couldn’t imagine Alyssa Rosewood getting her hands covered in dirt.

Instead, Ayden Rosewood felt something like a peer. He certainly wasn’t a twelve year old. He certainly had some future knowledge. Part of his agenda appeared to align with Rian’s.

And soon, with the duel, Rian could personally test Ayden Rosewood’s magical ability. The hints from Ayden Rosewood’s ‘flying’ demonstration, to his flexible and controlled use to fire to capture those assassins…

Rian couldn’t wait.

 

 

 

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Ren Xiyang: Duel? Have we turned into a shounen novel now? Defeat means friendship?

Rian: ? (@^_^@) ? Aren’t we friends already?

Ren Xiyang: (ー_ー )