"You are Dorian? I must admit, you look far different than I imagined."
Dorian smiled a bit. "I get that quite a lot. Please, worry not about minor details."
"Is that so?" Embre grinned sinisterly. "On my way here I noticed you had a few workers now building roads and walls in your territory. The funds to keep that up are quite extraordinary; I want to assume you have enough left to pay me the money you owe."
The smile on Dorian’s face didn’t waver for one second.
"Of course, Mother also told me you were here for that as well. Seraphina. If you will—" He gestured with his hand.
"Right away." Seraphina walked forward and placed the sack of money right in front of the viscount.
At the sight of the bag, Embre frowned. He wasn’t expecting them to actually have the money on hand, at least not this quickly.
"5000 gold coins," Seraphina announced. "I believe this was the debt Lord James owed."
Embre was speechless for a while, as if trying to find the right words to say.
Then suddenly—
"Forgive my interruption," the inspector said. "I understand that my role is limited to observation, but I must inquire as to how the Aurelian barony came to owe so much money."
Calmly, Dorian aimed his sights on the man.
’An inspector, eh? If he went out of his way to bring one from the capital, then he must think we are doing something illegal, and he’s trying to bring it out to light. Or, It could be something else entirely...’
He smiled at Embre’s foolish attempt before giving a fitting reply to the advisor.
"A few years back, I made a big blunder and ruined a national treasure owned by the viscount; my father went bankrupt paying it back and still couldn’t cover the entire cost; I believe it was around 15,000 gold coins."
"I see, so right now you are merely paying what is left of the funds?"
"Yes, we are," Dorian engaged. "If we had refused, the viscount would have used this opportunity to rip my father’s land from right under his feet. So I hope you can understand why this is a big deal."
Every word Dorian uttered sounded genuine and mature. So much so that it seemed like he was gradually gaining the favor of the inspector. Though Dorian was smart enough to tell that wasn’t fully the case.
"And how did you suddenly make all this money, huh? You are obviously doing something illegal; this inspector is here just to prove just that." Embre leaned forward; one would think he wanted to pounce on Dorian at that very moment. "You lot think you’re so smart; I know what kind of game you’re playing."
Dorian didn’t give much of a reaction; however, Maria and Seraphina could already tell where it was leading, and they were not for it. Not one bit.
Maria had her hand on her blade, while Seraphina glared at the Viscount with eyes capable of looking straight into one’s soul.
Taking another look at the inspector, Dorian decided to use his system.
[Target has been identified.]
[Analysis skill can only be used on one character at a time. Cool down in 6 hours.]
[The target Investigator is skeptic and conspiring.]
’As suspected, they are in this together. Did he bribe him? Not that it matters anyway, I already prepared for something like this.’
"Investigator." Dorian gestured calmly, "I am sure you already conducted your investigation and strolled around the barony before coming here, which means if there was anything illegal, you already have knowledge of it. Well, is there?"
There was silence for a while.
Embre gave the investigator a side-eye, as though urging him to speak.
Which ended up being the case.
"I did take a look around," the investigator allowed the suspense to hang in the air. "And I can say with full certainty the mining ground has not violated any laws."
"What are you doing?" Embre jerked up from the chair, his head red with anger. "This isn’t what we discussed."
The investigator got to his feet, looked at the viscount for a moment, then turned back to Dorian.
"Lord Dorian, thank you for your time, and I wish you well on your path forward."
"Same." Dorian gave a noncommittal reply.
With that, the investigator moved towards Embre, whispered something in his ear, and then strode out of the room.
Right after, Embre glared at Dorian, and without uttering a word, he snatched the bag of cash on the table and walked out as well.
Suddenly-
"Ahh~"
Seraphina rested her back on the chair.
"That was intense; I thought they were going to start up something," she uttered. "Darling, we don’t have to worry about the Viscount again, right? You’ve paid the debt."
"Quite the opposite," Maria spoke from the back. "I am sure the viscount brought an investigator here in hopes of finding the mining ground unregistered or something related at least. Now that he sees it is valid, he will most likely switch to another means to get it."
Seraphina scowled a bit. "Wait, you don’t mean he is going to start a war over this?" she turned to the door where Embre had just walked through. "Surely he can’t be that stupid, right? A civil war will draw the attention of the Duke for sure."
"It’s not exactly certain," Maria responded, keeping calm as always. "But if there was actually going to be a war, then it’s safe to say it will be coming sooner than we expected."
Dorian smirked.
"You’re right," he stood up. "Just my luck, I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this. We have no choice then. Tomorrow, we are storming the military camp." He slowly looked at Maria. "And you will be in charge of leading them, first commander."
Shocked at what she heard, Maria tried to speak against it when Dorian suddenly tapped her on the shoulder and walked away.
Both she and Seraphina glanced at each other once more.
...
Inside his room, he lay on the bed, flat on his back, his clothes still on.
’Ahhh! This is so exhausting...’ he whispered to himself. ’I was supposed to go check the mining ground with Seraphina today, but here I am, worn out after just one meeting.’
He squinted his eyes.
’Nah, that is not it. I just can’t focus on anything right now. Knowing the most important aspect of a land is in jeopardy is kind of killing the mood. Aurelian’s military force is weak; how are we supposed to defend against the number of men Embre has when the time comes?
Most importantly, is this barony even ready for something like that? True, they were poor, but peace reigned as well since no one ever bothered with them. I have to think of something.’
He could vividly remember the evil intent behind the eyes of the investigator and the Viscount. He had no doubt they went back to plotting as soon as they left the barony.
Embre doesn’t seem all that intimidating, but as for the investigator, there was a bad feeling about him.
Sigh~
’I guess I have no choice but to be present at the military ground. I’ll have to pick the best of the best to upgrade. For no, I should close my eyes; it seems upgrading Maria and Seraphina drained me out.’
Trying to rest his brain, Dorian closed his eyes, allowing his mind to sink into the cold abyss.
However, mid-meditation, he suddenly noticed something hovering above his face, like threads dancing and dazzling on his skin.
As he opened his eyes, he found Seraphina inches away from his face.
She made a gesture that suggested she was leaning in for a kiss, but her eyes were closed.
Dorian was stunned at the sight, but for some reason, he refused to speak, part of him wanting to see what she was up to.
Now using her hand to push her hair behind her ear, she expressed with a soft voice he had never heard before.
"You must be exhausted. Poor thing, you fell asleep right after lying down. I was genuinely moved when I heard you speak at the meeting; you seem to enjoy being serious. Well done, sweetie, and here is your reward."
Muah~
She then kissed him on the forehead.
As she opened her eyes to giggle, a gasp escaped her lips, and shock seized her when she noticed Dorian was looking her dead in the eye, his cheeks flushed a deep crimson, mirroring her own. A tender, almost shy smile played on his lips, and a spark ignited between them.
"L-Lord Dorian!" Seraphina’s voice was barely a whisper as she struggled to find her words while sweating bullets, a tremor running through her as her eyes widened ever so dramatically. "W-why are you awake?!"
...
[A/N]
Thank you for all the support; it means a lot to me.