“So who are we meeting today?” Nela asked Braydon as the carriage left his stables. She looked considerably better rested than he did, having left him to deal with the merchants on his own. “Well there are a few people that I want to go and see, it just depends on where they are. First, the King. I cannot not …

“If you are related to them then you should know what I told them, no?” Braydon wanted to know what response was going to be. He was mainly asking this to make sure that it was still the same people that had come to meet him. If there was another group after the same thing then it would only get …

“And you want my support because?” Braydon was getting tired of men like this. It was not the first of the merchants that had visited him that talked about how much money they made and how many connections they had. That was all well and good but that was not what Braydon was after. If they truly had all of …

“Before you say anything, we are keeping her.” Braydon said as soon as Nela closed the door after the last servant left the room, the faint sounds of sobbing coming through the door. He had not really paid much attention to the last few servants that they had spoken too after the excitement of Maria. He doubted that Nela was …

“Next.” Maria flinched when she heard the dreaded words from the dragon’s lair in front of her. No matter how much she told herself that it was the old Duke’s study it still felt like it would be her doom if she walked through the door. She was one of the last servants that the new lord had called in …

“So how does it feel to now be an earl?” Nela started poking at Braydon as soon as they were back inside his carriage. Rhydian had taken Gerald’s place outside as the latter had gone to collect their belongings from the inn that they had been staying at. “And how does it feel to be the heir to a duchy?” …

‘Are there even any houses for the commoners in Boshil?’ Braydon had to wonder to himself. He had thought that there were a lot of viscounts and barons that supported the King. He knew it too. There had been more than one discussion amongst all of the King’s allies. But apparently crowds were deceptive. But when they all had to …

“…And in thanks to those who have served the crown so loyally in this great time of crisis, it is only right that they receive rewards just as great as the actions that they have performed.” King Aled finally moved on to the bit that most of the King’s allies were actually interested in. Though Braydon could not be sure …

“I am not sure whether to be happy about the last few days or not.” Braydon had said that he did not want to deal with the merchants that would try to make connections after the power reshuffle. But not a single one had come to visit him. Rhydian did not even have to turn anyone away. He knew that …

“Why are there so many people?” Braydon had to ask. He knew that winning a civil war was something worthy of celebration, but most of the peasantry and merchants were not involved at all. While it may have been a big thing for the nobility, he did not expect to see half of the continent’s merchants around as well. “Newly …