Winter's Crown: Act 7, Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Did I knight my own assassin?

After their discussion from the previous night, she couldn’t help but think that Ilyshn’ish might get it into her head to ‘oust’ her from power one day. Watching her haggle with a magic item merchant in the main plaza, she seemed the furthest thing from a selfish and heartless being. Her silver eyes sparkled in the morning sun, and her frost-white hair glistened like waves of silk as they bounced with her animated gestures.

Contrary to how she expressed herself earlier, Ilyshn’ish’s behaviour fit in seamlessly with the market crowd. Ludmila wondered how the merchant would feel if he realized that he was not up against an exotic-looking Elf, but a ten-metre long Frost Dragon.

Ilyshn’ish hadn’t even expressed the slightest sense of guilt over the idea that she might have killed a member of her own family if her life had gone on as it did before they were all subjugated by the Sorcerer King. It was perfectly normal and expected, and she took pride in many things that Ludmila felt were reprehensible. Frost Dragons were not social by nature, so she could not even make use of rough societal parallels to relate to her as she did with Chief Esess and the Lizardmen.

The spectacle at the merchant stand ended, and, with a radiant expression, Ilyshn’ish came over with her new purchase cradled under one arm. Her dazzling beauty drew looks of admiration from the surroundings, and she seemed to bask in the attention rather than shrink away from it like Ludmila thought she might.

“Bracers?” Ludmila looked down at the Frost Dragon’s prize.

“Lesser Bracers of Armour,” Ilyshn’ish held them out proudly. “I’ve been waiting for something like this to show up for a while. They even included magical dye to recolour them.”

“I wasn’t aware that you could equip something like that,” Ludmila said. “Our lore is distinctly absent of your kind running around wearing something. It wasn’t until I started working with Lady Shalltear on the transportation network that I realized that you could wear anything at all.”

“Up until recently,” Ilyshn’ish replied, “I believe my brother was the only one that used any equipment. I still have no idea where he found those spectacles from…”

Weren’t draconic senses supposed to be tremendously keen? Ludmila tried to imagine Ilyshn’ish’s true appearance wearing spectacles, but she couldn’t figure out how they would fit. Ilyshn’ish moved out of the street and into an alley to stop and try her new items on.

“I’d have thought the Dwarven capital filled with items you could wear,” Ludmila said. “Did no one even bother trying?”

“Well, my father moved in some time after the Demon Gods forced the Dwarves out. By the time I hatched, it was pretty much stripped of valuables by the Quagoa. My father hoarded all of what he considered treasures to himself, and we weren’t allowed to keep anything of the sort for ourselves. My brother and I collected books and the like instead.”

“I suppose that’s what set you off on the path of being a Bard.”

“The lore of the Dwarven capital played a major part in my becoming a Bard, yes.” Ilyshn’ish shifted the bracers over her wrists with a focused expression, “Don’t get me wrong, though: we all have a sense for treasure, so gold coins and the like are perfectly acceptable for my pay.”

“Your pay?”

“I work for you now, right?”

“Vassals don’t get paid.”

Ilyshn’ish’s head snapped up.

“You…you never said anything about that.”

“Vassals not being paid is common sense, so why would I mention anything like that? Your incomes are derived from your taxes.”

“But I have no one to tax!”

“Part of the reason why I granted you land was to learn about all of this since you learn best through experience.”

“Then where might I find people to tax?”

“They’re not ‘people to tax’,” Ludmila frowned. “They’re tenants. It’s just like we discussed yesterday with Chief Esess. They agree to work your land in exchange for living on your territory, receiving your protection, and keeping a share of the productivity.”

“I think I remember that?” Ilyshn’ish frowned back, “Words are hard – I shall do this personally and learn as you suggest. How do I start?”

“You’ll have to bring in tenants that are suited to life on your land,” Ludmila told her. “Humans would find it difficult to live on the slopes of a mountain, but you might be able to find Demihumans that thrive in that sort of environment.”

Ilyshn’ish turned and strode out of the alley, following the flow of the crowd up the street.

“Where are you going?” Ludmila asked as she caught up to her.

“To the Demihuman Quarter,” Ilyshn’ish said, “to find Demihuman tax–er, tenants.”

“You should come up with a plan for your demesne first,” Ludmila told her. “Figuring out what sort of industries are viable in your territory is crucial.”

“I have no idea about any of that,” Ilyshn’ish told her. “Can’t I just buy someone that does that?”

“Buy someone…slavery is illegal in the Sorcerous Kingdom. Also, saying things like that is problematic as a member of the gentry.”

“Then what about that…that thing that the Merchant Guild does? I sent someone to sell a Winter Wolf corpse since the entire affair was too complicated for me.”

Was she talking about hiring an agent from the Merchant Guild? Considering Ilyshn’ish’s circumstances, something to that effect would be a viable avenue for her.

“That might be a good idea,” she told Ilyshn’ish.

“I-it is?”

“Yes,” Ludmila nodded. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but I’ve started a company of my own. I’m not very good at the whole business side of things, either. It is still very small, but I am slowly hiring skilled individuals to work for the company, and they handle all of the things that they’ve been hired for.”

Ilyshn’ish turned her head to look over at her with the usual expression she wore when something piqued her interests. Ludmila wasn’t sure if she should be thankful that they had a topic to discuss in earnest, or worried that it was all she might want to learn about.

“So you don’t do anything?” Ilyshn’ish asked.

“I have the final say on the overall direction of the company,” Ludmila answered, “but the day to day operations are left for my employees to handle.”

“Oh, I think I like that: it seems ideal for someone such as myself. So your employees do everything for you, and then you tax them.”

“What? No – you pay your employees. If the company succeeds and grows to a certain size, you may start deriving income from the profits.”

“You make it sound as if it’s not guaranteed,” Ilyshn’ish cast a suspicious look at her. “It also sounds like something that takes time.”

“That’s right: it isn’t a guarantee when it comes to profitability. How long it takes would depend on what you’re doing. The company that I started has a lot of research and development involved, so it will probably be a long time before it grows into something comfortably profitable. You don’t have to start something so complex – something simple would be easier to understand. The mountain that I granted you is as large as Warden’s Vale, so it shouldn’t be hard to form a company that at least turns a small profit.”

“Then what would you do if you were in my position?”

“Well, I’m used to thinking a certain way, so something like a Ranger company immediately comes to mind. It’s something I’ll be doing in the future for myself as well, but as part of a larger plan.”

“What would this ‘Ranger company’ do?”

“Tasks revolving around the management of a healthy forest. Trimming old growth, keeping animal populations in check and foraging for various goods that can be found on your land like fruits, spices and herbs…everything they collect as a result can be sold at the markets in the harbour town. The remainder from what you pay your employees would become your income unless there’s some aspect of the company that you’d like to improve upon that requires funds.”

“Hm…is this any different from having a small tribe move in that serves you? In exchange for their continued existence, the Quagoa provided my father with their treasures. I believe this arrangement is something like what you describe, except there is an additional step involved in obtaining gold coins.”

Ludmila tried to ignore the casual way in which she described the ‘arrangement’, focusing on the elements she could use to relate to her vassal.

“A tribe living on your land needs to survive off of it somehow, so you would need to find some way to turn their excess population to productive work to make up for the loss. As an alternative, the families of your company employees could live in the harbour town while they work in your territory, reducing the burdens on your land. They would likely prefer that in the future, since the town is already closeby and will have the infrastructure and facilities that a small hamlet does not.”

“That makes sense for me, I think, but how do you benefit from this?”

“They would pay a lease for living in the harbour town, contribute to the local economy and help grow the population.”

“So I won’t owe you any strange favours for this?”

“If you were a regular noble,” Ludmila said, “I would be taxing your incomes. In the case of a Knight, their incomes are meant to support their military contributions. I don’t mind keeping it that way for you, as long as you uphold your obligations. Failure to do so will force me to reexamine our relationship.”

“The way you say it makes it sound like a threat.”

“It is a legal consequence,” Ludmila told her, “which is far more certain than a simple threat. I don’t mean it in any sort of belligerent manner, however: this is just the way things work here, and you shouldn’t expect otherwise. You will need to be able to wrap your head around this sort of thing when you deal with others in an official capacity, and it will help you better understand what you observe in nations with similar legal structures to ours.”

As they made their way towards the northern exit of the main plaza, Ilyshn’ish’s steps abruptly stopped. Ludmila turned to see her hesitantly glancing in the direction of the Magician Guild.

“What’s wrong?” Ludmila asked.

“Nothing,” Ilyshn’ish answered.

Ludmila turned back forward and took a few steps, only to find that Ilyshn’ish still hadn’t moved. She returned to stand before her.

“Are you sure nothing is wrong?”

Ilyshn’ish only stared at her blankly before appearing to break free of whatever was holding her. She stepped past Ludmila and continued on her way.

“If something is bothering you,” Ludmila said as she caught up and fell into pace beside Ilyshn’ish, “you should let me know.”

“Why?”

“Why…because I’m your liege. I have responsibilities towards my vassals, and you looked entirely out of sorts just now.”

“What’s done is done,” Ilyshn’ish said, her eyes focused on the way forward. “There’s nothing you can do about it, anyway.”

“You don’t know that until you tell me what happened.”

“But I do,” Ilyshn’ish said. “You always emphasize duty and obligation and ‘upholding His Majesty’s will’. Never mind doing something about it, you’ll agree with what happened.”

That’s as far as her trust goes, I guess.

It wasn’t very far. Ilyshn’ish only lent her ear to the things that might gain her some advantage and was mostly closed about her own life unless she was expressing what she considered her superior views.

They returned to the manor in silence, where Ludmila released her until the evening. Ludmila had a training session with the Adventurer Guild after lunch, but the strange episode bothered her to the extent that she decided to skip her meal. She went out again, this time making her way to the postal service headquarters. After entering the plotting room on the top floor, she approached the desk where Ilyshn’ish’s agent was seated.

“Good morning, Lady Zahradnik,” the Vampire Bride rose from her chair and lowered her head. “Is there something I may help you with?”

“Good morning,” Ludmila replied. “Do you know if something happened to Ilyshn’ish recently? Something involving the Magician Guild.”

“One moment please.”

The Vampire Bride knelt down, pulling open one of the filing cabinets of her desk. She picked out a file and rose once again, offering it to Ludmila. Ludmila received the file and flipped through what appeared to be a log of Ilyshn’ish’s known activities until she came across an incident from two days previous. Her mouth fell open.

“This was allowed to happen?” Ludmila asked.

“The reasoning appears sound,” the Vampire Bride said. “Is there a problem?”

“This is a huge problem!” Ludmila told the Vampire Bride, “Who was consulted for this…verdict?”

“No one was consulted. It was a result of the appropriate procedures being carried out.”

Ludmila smoothed away her irritated scowl before reading through the reports again. There was one from the Vampire Bride agent, as well as one from the judiciary. Ilyshn’ish had gone to seek the services of the Magician Guild to determine the value of her eggs, after which she was reported for attempting to sell them. She was found innocent of theft, but the eggs were identified as valuable research materials and seized. The reasoning was that Ilyshn’ish was a subject of the Sorcerous Kingdom, and property and belongings of the Sorcerer King’s subjects were ultimately the property of the Sorcerer King.

While this was technically true, no one in their right mind would consider doing such a thing, as it would undermine the faith of the people in the administration. More to the point, it was a brazen act of tyranny that went in the exact opposite direction of the Sorcerous Kingdom’s overarching policies when it came to how it would be perceived as a nation.

“Where is Lady Shalltear at the moment?” Ludmila asked.

The Vampire Bride pointed past her shoulder. Ludmila turned to find Lady Shalltear directing some Vampire Brides to retrieve various documents for her. Thanking the Vampire Bride for her assistance, she went down beside the plotting table to speak to her liege.

“Good morning, Lady Shalltear.”

“Good morning, Lady Zahradnik. You have a very rare look about you today.”

“Were you aware of this?” Ludmila held out the file.

Lady Shalltear took the file into her hand, eyes scanning down the page that Ludmila had left at the front.

“I wasn’t,” she said as she looked up at her, “but what of it?”

What of it? Ludmila’s mind froze at the flippant answer. Was this sort of thing perfectly acceptable to His Majesty’s servants?

“It is an affront to the dignity of His Majesty and His Majesty’s realm, my lady,” Ludmila said. “It makes him look like a petty tyrant, at best. This destroys the progress made by the policies set forth by His Majesty and his court. Faith in His Majesty’s rule will crumble if word of this sort of thing gets out.”

“…really?”

“Really! I can’t even figure out why the Elder Lich conducting the investigation would think that this was the proper course of action.”

“Shouldn’t she be proud to be called upon to contribute to Lord Ainz’s realm?”

If perceived in a certain way, nobles would most likely consider it a point of prestige, as Lady Shalltear suggested. Ilyshn’ish did not have that frame of mind, however.

“At this point,” Ludmila said, “most of the subjects would not think of it that way. Cultivating this sort of loyalty and pride is a lengthy process, and doing something like this at the current juncture only impedes it.”

“Mmh…” Lady Shalltear furrowed her brow, looking down at the report again, “then what do you believe should be done about it?”

“Use the appropriate channels to get them back,” Ludmila said, then frowned. “Are there appropriate channels for this?”

“W-why are you asking me?!” Lady Shalltear replied, “I’m no good at this sort of thing – that’s why I have you!”

“If we try to file this through an Elder Lich,” Ludmila considered their options, “I suspect it will be rejected under the same grounds. The way you described Lady Albedo doesn’t make her seem like a good candidate either…I think this is worth bringing to His Majesty’s attention, especially since it’s something that’s bound to happen again if left as is.”

Lady Shalltear’s face twisted into a conflicted expression, as if the mere mention of the Sorcerer King piled doubts and worries onto her.

“It’s not something that needs to be brought up in court,” Ludmila said. “Actually, it’s probably better resolved quietly, and the problematic measures amended before it can happen again. Perhaps at a private audience or some roundabout way…”

“Are you absolutely certain about this?” Lady Shalltear asked, “I don’t want to waste His Majesty’s invaluable time.”

“By all appearances, my lady,” Ludmila answered, “this goes against His Majesty’s benevolent policies. It is something that I believe should be brought to his attention.”

The file disappeared into Lady Shalltear’s inventory, and she let out a breath.

“I’ll figure something out. Lord Ainz is a great and busy man, so it may take some time…”

“Thank you, my lady,” Ludmila lowered her head. “I’m sure it will be of great service to His Majesty and his realm. Ilyshn’ish will be especially pleased.”

“Have you made any progress with her, by the way?”

Ludmila hesitated for several seconds, unsure how she should answer.

“That’s…it’s really beginning to sink in how different Dragons are from Humans,” Ludmila said. “I don’t mind accommodating her way of learning, but I feel like there are some things that just don’t mean anything to her at all. From what I’ve seen of her so far, she’s entirely self-serving and places no value in service or loyalty. Fear and greed are the only things that seem to motivate her. How did Lady Aura go about making Hejinmal her companion?”

“She put the fear of death into him, I believe,” Lady Shalltear replied lightly. “Have you considered that the approach you take with your regular vassals is not suited for a Frost Dragon?”

“I thought about giving her a ‘poke’ more than a few times,” Ludmila smirked, “but something tells me that it’s not a good idea. If she’s to be what you envision for her, leaving her with a memory filled with grievances doesn’t seem like a good way to secure the cooperation of an immortal being that remembers absolutely every experience in perpetuity. For now, I believe I can move forward with teaching her most of what you need for her work in the Empire, but gaining her trust will probably be a long and involved process.”

“If you insist on conquering that route,” Lady Shalltear told her, “have you considered speaking with her family?”

“Her family?” Ludmila snorted, “She appears entirely devoid of familial instincts.”

“She told you that? Her brother doesn’t seem that way.”

“…really?”

“Really. When Lord Ainz went to confront his father, Hejinmal begged him to spare his mother. He also expressed concerns over Ilyshn’ish’s well-being since her arrival – several times, in fact.”

“Then I suppose I should go visit him,” Ludmila said. “Thank you for your advice, my lady.”