The Viscount sat in the room where Leon had previously received them. It had now become a bit cozier and more closely resembled a study: the cabinets were filled with papers and books, a second sofa had been added next to the vacant one, along with a small glass table between them. On the walls hung coats of arms: the Royal family of Crow—a crow in profile with a crown on its head; the Ducal family of Celestial—three crowns arranged on a shield, pierced by a sword; the coat of arms of the County family of Sky; the coat of arms of the Baronial family of Star—a falling star leaving a long trail behind it. The table had also changed—it was larger and more comfortable, with a couple of extra chairs beside it for easier discussion of pressing matters. And, of course, on one of the walls hung a portrait of Lord Leon, Baron Star. The painting was quite fresh, completed just before the young man's departure for the capital. His studies were soon to resume, and Leon was expected to arrive in Crow just in time for the start.
Howard leaned back in his new chair, remembering how he had seen the young man off and given him his instructions:
"Remember, Leon," the old Viscount had told the lad. "Your future depends on your studies. You are the last of the Star family, and you must continue your family line and leave behind such a legacy that your late father would be proud of you, and future generations would praise you."
The old man recalled clearly how Leon had simply nodded and waved his hand, indicating he already knew and understood everything perfectly. After Howard returned to Star, he had devoted almost all his time to trying to teach the young man a thing or two. To his surprise, Leon grasped things quickly, despite his reputation as a layabout. Of course, the youth was not the smartest person the Viscount had ever encountered, but now, at least, he was confident the lad wouldn't be lost. At the very least, he would manage to finish his studies at the Academy, and then it would be time to think further.
The old Viscount also needed time to ponder everything that was now happening. Count Sky definitely wanted to start the railway construction, and one could understand him—he had invested part of his budget into it and now wanted some return. But then other complications arose, namely the inheritance of Baron Star. As it turned out, Charles had bequeathed all his inheritance to the next Baron Star, stipulating that only he could manage it. The document bore the Ducal seal of Celestial and the Royal seal of Crow. This meant that the Star inheritance was currently in a kind of interim buffer; no one could use it, including all the funds allocated for construction. Of course, Howard was responsible for Baron Star's property, but he could not dispose of it, as he was not Baron Star himself, and the Baron himself had no access to his inheritance until he completed his studies at the Royal Academy of Crow. This inheritance document added to the Viscount's headaches, and the fury it had sent Count Sky into was hard to imagine. If he hadn't signed the document assigning the property to Howard, they could now, through Leon, have full access to Charles's funds.
But this inheritance document greatly troubled Viscount Lines. It had appeared rather abruptly, precisely at the moment when management of all Baron Star's assets and lands was to pass into the Viscount's hands—meaning into Count Sky's hands. But to the misfortune of Howard and Eduard, the seals were genuine, and Lord Zakery, Duke Celestial, confirmed that he had signed the document. The old man did not doubt the Duke whom his Count served, but Lord Zakery never said that Charles himself had sent him the paper, and their old friend was unlikely to have done such a thing. However, besides the seals, there was also Charles's own handwriting, of which Howard was certain—he had read the late Baron's letters far too often. Nevertheless, the old Viscount's intuition told him something was not right here, but he had no proof.
The main snag was elsewhere: where to find the money for construction? At first, the Viscount feared that all the construction blueprints had burned in the former residence of Baron Star. But to his surprise, copies of these very blueprints were found with one of the late Baron's servants. Interrogating the poor man, the Viscount learned that a few days before his death, Charles had given him these blueprints, ordered him to hide them, and not show them until Count Sky arrived, then hand them over personally. Of course, the servant had not been able to fulfill his Baron's last wish, as he gave the blueprints to Howard instead, which, overall, suited the Viscount, because without them, he would have been tearing out the hair on his already balding head.
But the old man had one main question—why did Charles hand over the blueprints? Had the deceased Baron suspected someone? If so, this truly must have been murder, although the investigation from the royal capital had ruled it an accident. This surprised almost everyone—the Count, the Viscount, and the young Baron were all convinced that it was nothing other than a successful assassination attempt on the Baron's family. But the investigation determined there was no evidence of violent death; at least, it found no signs of struggle, nor anything suspicious on the grounds of the former estate. Of course, their expertise was not the most timely, and much evidence had already been lost in the first few days when almost the entire town visited the estate to pay respects to the deceased Baron. But even so, ruling it an accident was very strange.
Who could possibly have wanted Lord Charles dead?
The late Baron Star conducted business quite honestly, and the construction of the railway and the train benefited everyone. Perhaps someone disliked that the railway would belong to Baron Star, who answered to Count Sky, who in turn answered to Duke Celestial. But which of the remaining three of the four great Duchies of the Kingdom of Crow would find this disadvantageous? The Duchy of Wood? On the contrary, it would increase sales of their goods, and they themselves had willingly sold part of their land. The Duchy of Storm? Judging by the situation on the northern border, the current Duke of Storm, Lord Ryo, hardly had time for trains now, with the hermit tribes from the Wild Lands attacking again, according to the latest news. The Duchy of Blood? Their current Duchess Blood, Lady Katerina, was certainly an elderly woman, but quite wise; after all, it was through her Duchy that supplies from the Free Cities came. Yes, there were other trade routes passing through other kingdoms and the White Sea, but still, the most popular route was through the Duchy of Blood. Howard did not think the Duchess would decide to deprive herself of income from the passing trade route, the flow of which would only increase with the construction of the railway.
But if it wasn't the Dukes, then perhaps someone among the Counts? Here things became much more complicated, for each Duchy had between two and five counties, and each Count had roughly the same number of baronies. The old man did not consider Baronets—they were too small fry for an assassination attempt on a Baron in his own city. And searching for the guilty party among all this aristocracy would be too difficult and unprofitable, and could draw the wrath of some impatient individuals upon Viscount Lines.
In any case, Howard decided to keep the information that the blueprints had survived a secret, and would disseminate information more measuredly. He also needed to make copies of these blueprints and send them to Count Sky for safekeeping, in case something happened to the Viscount. After all, this "accident" would not leave him in peace; there was something about it that the old man was overlooking.
Sighing wearily, Howard again began to ponder the more pressing question: Where to get the money? The profit obtained from managing the lands was not hereditary; accordingly, Howard could dispose of it as he wished. But currently, these funds were not very large, and the Barony itself also needed to be maintained. The Viscount's own money was also extremely limited, for his little town of Lines was even smaller than the small town of Star, thus more closely resembling a village, and it was located in the Fly Barony, almost on the very border with the Duchy of Storm. The old man did have some savings, accumulated over his service to two Counts, lying in the Royal Bank, but he did not want to spend them like this. One option was to write a promissory note in Leon's name, for him to repay the full amount Howard would take from his own pocket. But what if Leon did not graduate from the Royal Academy after all? Then he would not gain access to the inheritance and would not be able to repay the debt, at least not immediately, and if he ever got money at all. In his old age, the Viscount did not want to take risks. Turning to his own personal capital was a last resort, and Howard was simply keeping it in mind for now, without seriously considering it. But for the moment, he had no more successful ideas.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The old man sighed heavily and looked at the table, where two unopened envelopes lay before him. The first was from Count Crown, the second from Baron Glass, a neighboring barony to Star, but one that already answered to Count Cloud. Both of these letters were unexpected for Howard, and he could only guess at their contents. However, the first was addressed specifically to Baron Star, the second to Viscount Lines.
Deciding to start with the more prioritized letter, Howard opened the envelope from Count Crown and began to read its contents. The old man's gaze moved swiftly across the lines until, a minute later, he finished reading. The Viscount let out a calm sigh and allowed himself a small smile. Count Crown's idea about them leasing the land already purchased by Baron Star greatly appealed to the old Viscount. It only remained to negotiate the rental price, but the Viscount was thinking of setting it at ten percent of the profit volume. Not the largest income, but it was passive, required no investment from the Star Barony, and would also help establish good relations with the Beech Barony and Crown County. If sales were low, the Star Barony would receive a small income; on the other hand, a floating price would be quite convenient for both sides, preventing the fixed price from being too high or, conversely, too low.
The Viscount's joy stemmed from the fact that this could be done with all the lands, although not all of them were used for agriculture—a tax could certainly be introduced for the right to use them. On the other hand, this could raise discontent among the aristocracy.
The Viscount took a blueprint from the table drawer and spread it out, examining the route for the railway that his late friend had drawn. Studying the paths he had laid out, the old man's face grew somewhat somber. The blueprint was certainly original, but a little different from how Count Sky and the Viscount himself had envisioned it. The route began in the Duchy of Wood, passed through the Duchy of Blood, skirting the territory of Hollow County, then entered the Duchy of Celestial and proceeded all the way to the capital. In the original plan, this route was supposed to go through the Duchy of Storm, and lands had even been purchased there for it. Now he would have to write letters to Counts Hands and Hart to clarify whether Baron Star had bought land rights from them or not.
The Viscount rubbed his temples, then put the blueprint back in the drawer. Too many variables were being added to his conditions of governance. Howard glanced at the second letter and sighed heavily, wondering what interesting things he was about to learn now. Opening it and beginning to read, he was surprised almost immediately. Despite being addressed to Baron Glass, the letter itself was written by Carolina Crow. The Princess proposed that the Viscount join forces in the railway construction and also offered comprehensive assistance from the Royal family. A very tempting offer, but the Viscount also saw many nuances that the Princess described in the letter. The old man had long understood that Lady Carolina was not distinguished by outstanding mental abilities—an ordinary noble lady who wanted power. And even this letter was meant to boost her authority in his eyes. But besides that, the girl had included some very important information. From the Free City of Starhorod, an engineer named Munib was heading his way, who was to assist with the design and construction of the railway. Also, Munib was bringing with him the first steam train, which would be placed in the Star Barony.
Reading all this, Howard felt a headache coming on. He was too old for all this and these political games, and he still had his duties as assistant to Count Sky, which no one had canceled. Not to mention needing to attend to his own estate.
Although Howard should have been happy about the additional funding from the Princess, he actually considered it a big, underhanded trick that would ruin Count Sky's reputation and diminish the achievements of the late Charles.
Reading to the end, the Viscount noticed that the letter had another page and began to read it. This page was written in a different handwriting and was extremely substantive, despite being brief. It also had no addressee, but the old man was certain this page was not from the Princess.
"Rethink the train's route. It must not enter the Deep Forest. Reject Carolina's proposal."
That was the entire message.
Not entering the Deep Forest would jeopardize the very concept of the railway, as that was its whole essence—to directly transport timber and other useful materials from the forest. Howard did not even know what to say to this stranger about this proposal; it sounded too suicidal.
The Viscount leaned back in his chair again, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He tossed the letters onto the table, trying to understand who needed all this. Yes, the Princess's proposal looked tempting, and if not for Count Crown's letter, Howard would most likely have accepted it. But now he had options. And then there was this strange message, placed inside the Princess's letter, which she had already sent incognito through another person. Apparently, someone knew about the second Princess's affairs and was extremely displeased about it; otherwise, there weren't many other possibilities. But who could it be? Someone from the Royal family? The first Princess was simple-minded, so that option was out. The King himself, Carolina's twin brother? Also unlikely; rumor had it they had a good relationship, and the Prince Regent would hardly engage in this behind her back—he would simply have sent an official letter or thought of something else. Arthur? Too young, even younger than Leon; he probably had no time for trains now, needing to finish his studies to ascend the throne. Adrianna Hart, the twins' mother? Unlikely that this successful woman needed to do anything at all, unless she had lost her mind in her old age.
The Viscount sighed heavily once more, feeling the weight of his years pressing on his shoulders. He was beginning to feel too old for all these affairs. Howard looked wearily at the letter pages he had tossed aside, and his eyebrow rose in surprise. On the page of the letter containing the instruction not to accept Carolina's proposal, new letters were beginning to appear, as if someone were writing on it in real time.
"Otherwise, you and the boy will share the Baron's fate."
Howard grabbed the letter and read the newly appeared line over and over. He had been right after all! Charles had been murdered; it was no accident. And now they were threatening him and Leon. And while he wasn't much afraid for himself, in the short time he had spent with the newly made Baron, he had grown fond of the lad. Perhaps it was even a fatherly instinct, which the Viscount had forgotten when he lost his only son. Apparently, a stroke of luck had indeed saved the young man from death, and the old man could not allow the youth to die—both in the name of his old friend and in the name of his Count, so as not to disgrace either of them.
But in one thing, the unknown killer had miscalculated. Now the Viscount had proof that someone had clearly killed the Baron. Of course, this too could be a falsification, but on the other hand, he could also warn the Count to be more careful.
No sooner had Howard thought these thoughts than the page of the letter in his hands suddenly began to disintegrate, until it turned to dust, leaving nothing behind. The bewildered Viscount blinked, then looked at his lap to make sure he hadn't imagined it. Yes, dust from the page lay on his lap, and the old man brushed it off, as if erasing the memory of what had just happened.
In all his life, Howard had never seen anything like this. He had, of course, heard of all sorts of mystical things—that the Dukes of Wood could listen through trees, that the Dukes of Storm could throw trebuchet stones with their bare hands, and many others—but in his seventy years of life, he had never encountered any confirmation of these rumors. Perhaps the old Viscount had been wrong not to believe in all of it.
The elderly man wearily closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair once more. He had learned too much information today, and the number of tasks facing the Viscount had not diminished. The old man quickly fell asleep, thinking that he would deal with all these accumulated problems tomorrow.
