As Eitan leaned his head out of the carriage, a grand stone castle entered his view. The once-imposing walls had visible cracks, and the area around the gate was overgrown with plants. As the convoy drew nearer, a man appeared on the drawbridge. Two women dressed as maids accompanied him.
The carriage halted just before the moat, and Eitan put his sword on his waist before stepping out, escorted by Aengus and Farrel.
"Sir Aengus, it's been quite a long time! What a pleasure it is to see you again." The man walked over to them with a smile.
Aengus' brow furrowed with displeasure. "Lord Gehan, pay your respects to the one who shall be the lord of this place."
Gehan's eyes curled slightly as he turned toward Eitan and bowed. "Excuse me, Third Young Master. I was excited to see an old friend, and I unintentionally neglected you. Welcome to Saorise Castle." He stood erect before he even finished speaking.
Eitan saw Farrel bristling out of the corner of his eyes and raised his hand ever so slightly. Farrel lowered the hand that was going to his hip and stood silently. Eitan looked Gehan up and down before turning towards Aengus. "And this is?"
Gehan's face twitched as he was blatantly passed over, but Aengus answered before he could attempt to get a word in. "He is Gehan Drayton, the standing lord of the Saorise Region. The count has dictated for him to be relegated to an administrator after the young master is instated."
So he's unhappy with me because I'm indirectly causing him to be demoted. Eitan surmised as he looked at the petulant man.
"So, Third Young Master, would you like to bring your party in to rest? You must be tired after your journey." Gehan gestured with his hand, and one of the maids stepped forward. "I shall have Neyr here escort you to your room."
"No need," Eitan lightly shook his head with a smile. "I'd rather get all the ceremonial proceedings over and done with before truly being able to rest. Take us straight to the throne room."
Gehan quickly lowered his head but still failed to hide his contorting expression. "As you wish." He turned around and stepped into the castle at a brisk pace.
As the convoy started up after him, Aengus shifted closer to Eitan. "Young Master, he is being quite disrespectful." He gazed at Gehan's back with a small frown.
The corner of Eitan's lip curled up. "You're quite quick to jump on this 'old friend' of yours."
Aengus blinked with wide eyes before clearing his throat. "Lord Gehan and I both came from collateral families, so we merely shared some acquaintanceship as two with a similar background. Please place no great importance on his words." He uttered in a rushed, low voice.
Eitan chuckled a bit. Aengus was sincere, almost to a fault. He obviously didn't want Eitan to associate him in any way with such an irreverent guy. "Relax. I have no intention of causing a fuss so early."
"I understand. However, he must show proper respect to you as the lord." Aengus added solemnly, "As a knight, insubordination can never be tolerated."
"Hm," Farrel gave a small sound of acquiescence, but his gaze on Eitan showed that he had caught the hidden meaning in his words.
So early. All that meant was Eitan didn't want the first thing he did in this place to be causing a problem. That didn't mean he wouldn't deal with Gehan's attitude in his own time.
It didn't take too long for them to reach their destination. At the end of a hall stood two grand doors which were pushed open to reveal a lavishly decorated hall with a shining throne seated on a platform at the far end.
Eitan's face crinkled slightly at the sight. The defenses of the castle were in such disrepair, yet the innermost was so extravagant. What skewed priorities, especially so in a place stricken with conflict like the Saorise region.
"Let us wait until everyone has gathered." Eitan didn't openly express his dissatisfaction and focused on the task at hand. He decided to wait so all members of the convoy could bear witness to the ceremony. Even if he wasn't exactly close to most of these people, they were still comrades whom he had fought and journeyed with. The ceremony provided a fitting closing to this chapter of their time together.
After a short while, everyone had finally gathered. Two knights, twenty soldiers, a dozen children, and a single servant. Plus him, the young master to be lord. Quite a motley crew they made. Eitan mused as he looked over the people he had come to consider his.
Aengus stepped up onto the platform and reached into his inner pocket. He took out a small scroll and unfurled it. "Eitan Reidar, come forward." He spoke in an uncharacteristically authoritative fashion.
Eitan walked confidently in front of Aengus, coming to a halt just in front of the throne. He directly faced Aengus and crossed his arm over his chest and bowed his head.
Aengus' eyes glimmered, and he took a subtle breath before continuing. "With the power bestowed upon me by his lordship, Count Everade Reidar, I hereby declare you, Eitan Reidar, as Lord Eitan of the Saorise Region!" He held up the scroll as he thunderously proclaimed.
"I pay respects to the lord!" Farrel was the first one to fall to one knee and shout. This caused a chain reaction among the soldiers, and even Lind followed suit.
"Respect to the lord!"
"Glory to Lord Eitan!"
"May the Saorise Region prosper!"
The thirty-odd people kneeling and calling out together provided quite the sight. Unable to go against the flow, Gehan had also ended up on the ground, but he didn't let out so much as a mutter, contrasting the bellows of praise around him. After tucking away the scroll, Aengus also got down onto one knee.
Eitan was about to say something to end the ceremony, but Aengus' ardent voice beat him to it. "Today, I, Aengus Tyrnol, wish to become a knight in service to the lord!" He placed one fist on the ground and the other hand on his knee, bowing his head deeply. "I pledge my honor and life to serve as your sword and shield until the end of my days. Please accept this oath!"
Eitan stared down at Aengus with a partially slack jaw, a whirl of emotions going through him. Uh, I know he never officially swore an oath of fealty to my father, but is this okay?! Why's he doing this anyway? How drastically has he changed in this life for him to do this? But he didn't have the time to settle the storm inside him. Leaving a swearing knight unattended was a grave insult to their honor. Gah, I'll consider everything else later. He's trustworthy, that's all that matters. After all, how could he deny someone who died for his sake? Even if it wasn't an aura oath like Farrel had done, just this much already showed great devotion.
"I, Eitan Reidar, Lord of Saorise, accept your oath." He unsheathed his sword and tapped it on Aengus' shoulder. "May you bring glory to Saorise."
Aengus raised his head with a smile so bright he appeared a few years younger. "Yes, my lord!"
Eitan returned his sword to his sheath and moved back, taking a seat on the throne. "All of you, rise."
Everyone in the room stood up at his words. Without needing to be told, Farrel stepped up and stood behind the throne at Eitan's right. Aengus took the cue and moved to stand guard on his left.
"Gehan," Eitan looked down at the man, not bothering with any formalities. He had no inclination to maintain courtesy with someone who had disrespected him first. "This is my first order as lord. By tomorrow morning, I want all the documents detailing the current state of affairs of the territory. Do you understand?"
Gehan's back teeth clenched, but he leaned down to a bow. "Yes, Your Lordship."
"Aengus," since Aengus was now Eitan's knight, he dropped the formalities with him as well.
"Please give me your order!" Aengus' eyes sparkled as he stepped forward.
Eitan cast a glance over him. "Settle in the soldiers before assisting Gehan in his work."
A look of understanding passed over Aengus' face, and he bowed. "As you will." He may be a bit too earnest, but he was by no means stupid. He picked up on the fact that Eitan didn't trust that Gehan wouldn't do anything to the documents he prepared.
Eitan turned away with satisfaction and called out, "Lind."
"Yes, Lord Eitan." Lind didn't even stutter over the new manner of address as he stood below the throne.
"Have Neyr guide you to sort out the children's accommodations." He gestured to the maid Gehan had previously introduced. "Then ensure my dwellings are prepared."
"Yes!" Lind bowed at the waist and before moving away.
"That will be all. Disperse." Eitan closed out the gathering with a wave of his hand.
Everyone swiftly moved to fulfill their respective tasks, leaving only Eitan and Farrel in the grand room. Eitan's expression suddenly chilled as he tilted his head up. "Any news on the task I gave you?"
Farrel immediately dropped to his knees, his head hanging low. "This one is incompetent. I have checked with the information guild branches we've passed by, but still have no results."
Eitan propped his head up on his palm and let out a soft exhale. "No, it isn't your fault. I shouldn't have expected much in the first place." Most of the information he had was either vague or possibly even faulty, as he wasn't active at all at this time in the past. Everything he knew from this period was, at best, secondhand. It had been put together by either rumors he'd overheard or recollections from information he'd been told. "But there should be something soon, so update me the moment anything is found."
"I will report the moment I am able," Farrel answered firmly, only lifting his head just enough to meet Eitan's gaze.
Eitan put his urgency to rest as he met Farrel's steady golden eyes. "Good." He allowed his eyes to fall half shut as he leaned his head back. I'll figure out my next steps after reviewing those documents tomorrow. With Aengus watching him, I'm sure Gehan won't be able to pull any crap. He thought with mild amusement. Actually, that's another thing. What could possibly have prompted Aengus to make such a decision? The man was such a stick in the mud that he didn't even swear a personal oath to his father, the count, but chose to remain just a family knight to avoid any direct connections to power. So what about Eitan made him change his mind this time around?
*****
"Aengus, have you gone mad?"
Aengus' eyes narrowed as he closed the office door behind him. "Lord Gehan, you'd do well to be more polite in your tone. To both me and the lord."
Gehan's face flushed lightly at this. Not with embarrassment, but anger. "I can't believe you're really supporting a kid like that as the lord of this region! No, more than that, you even directly made an oath! To the useless, exiled third young master of all people. What is that, if not madness?"
Aengus also became incensed at this progression. "I will not warn you a third time. Watch your words. He is no longer the third young master, but the official lord of these lands. Don't you dare demean his name ever again." His fists clenched slightly as he resisted the urge to reach for his sword. From how he was acting, Gehan obviously knew nothing of Eitan's recent deeds in regards to the plague. But even if that wasn't the case, Aengus couldn't stand hearing ill of the one he now called his liege.
Gehan's eyes widened as the fact that Aengus was absolutely serious set in. "I always thought you were a man of principles, but I suppose not." He scoffed as he turned away. "That little lord of yours is undoubtedly going to run this place to ruin. To place an inexperienced and ill-mannered brat like that in charge, just what was the count thinking?" The last sentence was muttered under his breath, but Aengus' sharp ears still managed to catch every word.
"You-!" He became filled with fury. He reached out and grabbed the back of Gehan's collar, pulling hard enough for him to stumble. This caused the papers in his hands to go flying around the room. Aengus would not have taken such an action if it were just himself that was insulted, but Gehan dared to disparage his liege. Not once, but twice. It was only due to being weathered down by age that he managed not to pull out his sword on the spot. "If such foulness is all your tongue is good for, I feel you would be better off without it." He threatened as he brought Gehan's face just inches from his own.
Gehan paled at the sudden manhandling, and his pupils shook as he met Aengus' bone-chilling stare. "You- I-"
Aengus clicked his tongue and tossed Gehan to the ground. "Clean up the mess. The necessary documents must all be organized for the lord, even if we do not sleep tonight."
Gehan slowly pushed himself up to his feet, haphazardly gathering a few papers in his arms as he stood. His lips were pursed shut, and as he met Aengus' gaze, he avoided it with a flinch.
I can't believe I ever entertained a man like this as a friend. Rather than further scorning Gehan, Aengus felt more disgruntled with himself. He eyed Gehan with a stony expression, causing the ruffled man to tremble a bit. His cowardice compared to his earlier arrogance only served to irritate Aengus further. He let out a long exhale before he bent down and grabbed the last of the scattered papers. I must let it be.What's most important right now is ensuring my lord's order is carried out perfectly.
He calmed down at this thought and spoke evenly to Gehan. "Let us get to work."
Gehan's brow furrowed, but he gulped and nodded after a final glare from Aengus.
I shall not fail the first command given as the lord's knight. Aengus resolved and fully dedicated himself to assisting—or, monitoring—Gehan for the night.