Steel and Mana

Chapter 67 – Helping Hands

The sun was finally out most of the time, not hiding behind clouds as we were way into spring by now. I was watching the changing scenery from my carriage. This time, only Sasha was accompanying me inside while a small group of twenty warriors, led by Oleg, were riding alongside us. We were on my first diplomatic trip as the leader of the Frontier, heading to my Uncle's region.

It sounds more serious than it is in reality. Both of us are newly appointed nobles within the Empire, so we ought to officially celebrate the occasion. What could be weird is that he is a subordinate to me as he is a Baron while I am a Viscount. Usually, it would be me inviting him over, but we both know that would be kinda... impossible right now. So, instead, I accepted his invitation, which also showed we were in a fine relationship.

"What is it?" I asked with a chuckle, glancing at Sasha sitting opposite of me, "You look nervous."

"I am... I never wore fancy clothes and... dancing?"

"It will be fine!"

"Don't laugh! Haaauh!" She moaned, pouting at me, making me laugh even more.

"You are too caught up in little details, my dearest Sasha!"

"It is good if you are confident; you can lead me then because I can't dance..."

"Neither do I."

"What?!" She screamed even louder than before, turning white as the snow.

"Duh. I can't. In my past life, I had two wooden pegs as legs when it came to dancing. Old-fashioned balls? Pffft, dream on. Our dance was wiggling around like having a seizure to some wild tunes that you would find weird. I am sure of the music I am used to would be some kind of demonic wretch here."

"I bet Yuri would like it..."

"Hah! For sure."

"Ugghh... Leon, this is bad! We will be a laughingstock for years!"

"Less panic, dear!" I leaned over, pulling her into my lap, gently stroking her head while hugging her body. "Nobody would dare laugh at us, and we will improvise. I wouldn't worry! I am greatly interested in this party Uncle invited us to."

It was a formal letter, arriving a week earlier. It detailed that I was invited to a banquet hosted to celebrate his position as a baron and, in turn, my title as the new leader of the Frontier. At first, I wanted to refuse, but that would be a dick move, especially after he helped me this much. I wanted to ask Mom to come with me, but she refused, telling me I was the leading figure now to go and do it myself. She was right, so here I am, heading out.

"We will mingle with the nobles a little," I explained after she finally settled down, "Have some small talk and whatnot before we excuse ourselves. It won't be that difficult. The letter did say to bring some fancy clothes because there will be a dance, but that does not mean we must waltz before everyone else!"

"Brr... I hope not! I am already nervous that they will see me as a nobody anyway..."

"Isn't that better?"

"Hm?"

"Being a nobody." I repeated, gently caressing her face, "If you are a nobody, they won't care about you. We can then have fun in our territory without worries. So please, don't get angry if something happens, and don't burn down my Uncle's castle!"

"So you expect something to go wrong?"

"Eh? No, I did not mean that!" I couldn't help but shrug, thinking that I spoke as if I was intentionally jinxing us, "Okay, let's start it over! Think of it like a bit of vacation. We are getting out of reviewing, planning, and building and coming to have some fun instead. I will also use it to connect with the nobles present and memorize their faces, names, etc. I will need to be in touch with those surrounding us."

"What about the luggage? Are you planning to sell it?" She asked, meaning the little samples we are bringing along.

"I do plan to show it off." I grinned, poking her nose, kissing her face. "But only to my Uncle. I will let him choose and be an intermediary. Some of them will be attributed to him as his inventions. I don't need them to be traced back to me. He can order from us in bulk and resell it to what he sees fit. Think of it as me surveying the market."

"Surveying..." She murmured, repeating the words.

"Yep. Mom is still in the middle of training those who will make up the bulk of my Merchant Guild. When they are ready and will be sent out, I will already know what our inventions are worth in the nobles' eyes. I will ensure they don't sell it for less than what my Uncle gets for them. It will be the bottom price for our goods."

"Isn't it going to be what we will sell them for? You will make them name a higher price?"

"I will. These parts of the Empire are the poorest regions, so when they visit a more wealthy territory, I want them to be more brave. Name a higher price and only come down if no sales are being made. But no lower than what my Uncle and his minor nobles can afford! If they can't sell it? So be it. We will think of something else."

"Mmmh... I believe in you. This thing is hard, and I don't like it... So don't ask for advice from me!"

"Oh? Something that my Sasha is not good at? What manner of witchcraft is this?"

"I am not Merlin!" She pouted, trashing a little in my lap, "I can't be good at everything, unlike him."

"True... the kid is weird. He has been studying Marca's notes and has been going on about how fun plants are. I am finding it hard to try and play along..."

"At least I know that you are also just a human~! We can't be good at everything."

"Cheeky~!" I giggled, kissing her, letting it make me forget how much I hate riding carriages and feeling it throw us around inside like some human pinball machine.

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When I arrived at my Uncle's city, its atmosphere was a bit different. For instance, I saw more guards patrolling the walls and the streets than when we first came here. I will have to ask Elliot what that was about. By the time our carriage stopped and Oleg opened the door, helping both of us down, it was already dark.

"Good to see you again, Leon!"

"Uncle Elliot!" I smiled, greeting him nonchalantly as he approached us, forgoing all formalities. I didn't mind if word got out that I acted like someone who was equal or maybe even below him a little. Let them spread rumors and let them speculate as much as they want. "Did something happen, or did you double the guards for my arrival?" I asked jokingly, and he only sighed, shaking my hands.

"I would be lying if I said that was the main reason. I will tell you soon. Lady Sasha, it is an honor to meet you." He bowed elegantly, kissing her hand, making my wife blush and trying to return it with a curtsy.

"It is my honor, Baron Elliot."

"Just Elliot will do; being the wife of my nephew, who is above me in rank, already makes you my superior. Not to mention the fact... no matter." He added with a chuckle as he led us into the castle.

While walking, we talked simply about how the winter was for both of our territories and what a lovely night we were having. It was nothing serious, at least until we finally arrived at the already prepared dinner table in a separate room.

"So?" I asked, sitting down beside Sasha and letting the maids put the food on the table. I could see roasted beef, pork, and maybe deer on the table, with mostly mashed potatoes as the side dish. It immediately made my stomach rumble, in sync with Sasha's.

"Ahaha, eat, eat!" Elliot laughed, finding my wife's blushing face cute, not wanting to hold us back, "As to answer your earlier question, there is a bit of unrest, but nothing major."

"Is it some remaining factions following your elder brother?" Sasha asked while picking meat onto her plate, subconsciously licking her lips.

"Yes. They do not pose a threat, but they have been sabotaging me here and there. The most serious act was that a grain caravan was attacked and burnt down."

"Grain?" I asked, my hand stopping as I silently chewed on the meat, "That is not good. Your place is where most of our food comes for the winter for now."

"For now?" Elliot smiled, which made me shrug.

"We do try to diversify our sources. But we just started. Building up a stable source of food takes a few years. We can't just slaughter all the animals in the first year."

"True."

"That is why any attack against your food is a direct attack on our food. Tell me more."

"There is not much, really." He sighed, thinking a little. "You took away the leading bandit group, which created a power vacuum. They began fighting over who would become the top dog, and that aroused the interest of those minor nobles who were in the Piggie's pocket."

"What about your cleansing?" I asked, reaching for my cup of wine.

"The leading heads rolled nicely, and I made trusty friends to sit in their places. The people who are causing trouble are mostly not even 'nobles' but wealthy families, previously getting fattened up by looking over the trading deals. The idiotic brother of mine delegated everything down to his trusties in the end. He was giving away his power more and more... The only thing he was good at originally was slipping through his fingers. We acted in time or a few years, and my family would have been replaced without us realizing it! Stupid fuck!"

"Was it that bad?" We asked simultaneously, making my Uncle fall silent for a moment, trying to reign in his rage.

"It was bad but not THAT bad that I couldn't handle it. But some people did get richer than they should have been. Now, they escaped being beheaded and replaced, and after everything settled, they began making moves in the background. First, they hid, and now they are poking out their ugly heads from their hiding holes. They are copying you, even if they don't know!" He added with a chuckle, making me raise an eyebrow.

"Oh? What do you mean? They are using bandits?"

"Yes. I don't know their end goal," Elliot shrugged, sounding frustrated, "and I am not keen on learning it either. Maybe they think they won't be traced like that, but I know about them because of it."

"They squealed." I smiled, leaning back in my chair, and my Uncle nodded, wiping his mouth.

"I captured some of them, and after enough torture, they told me all I needed. I identified the three families involved in this kerfuffle and plan on getting them rounded up. I just need a good reason to do so. Something rock-solid."

"Why do I feel like your invitation now seems suspicious, Uncle Elliot?"

"I knew you would bring me some things that you would want to sell."

"Ah... Am I that easy to read, dear?" I asked with a playful groan, turning towards Sasha, who considered it for a moment and then nodded. "Ugh... defeat! Complete defeat! Oh well. Tell me, Uncle! I am all ears and happy to help. You already set it up as it is partially my fault..."

"Oh, I wouldn't dare say that!" He grinned, winking at me, "As I said, I already know who they are. The problem is, if I make a move against one of them, the others can destroy the evidence before I get to them. That would only leave me with one of the families destroyed."

"Is it not feasible to attack them at the same time?"

"No." He answered, turning serious, and with a wave of a hand, his leading maid walked forward, placing a small box before me.

"What is... this?" I asked, opening it up and seeing a little rectangular device within it, which clearly had CC embedded in the middle of it. "What's this?" I asked again, looking up at him and giving it to Sasha, who was eager to examine it.

"It is something that is called a Warning Signal. I had to look it up myself because one of the bandit lieutenants had it with him. They come in pairs. Crush one, and its pair also breaks."

"There are two sharpened little CC needles within, Leon... I can see them! It needs to be pressed from both ends, and it will crack the one in the middle! How interesting..." Sasha was already dismantling it like a professional, making notes in her mind about how it worked.

"I don't know how they got it, but if they have something like this, that means the families are most likely in contact with each other. I make a move; the others will be able to destroy the evidence by the time I go in."

"What do you need me for, Uncle?" I asked, leaning forward, resting my chin on my hands, and smiling. This sounded fun... more fun than I expected.

"Your goods. I will announce that on the day of the banquet, you will hold a little... auction. We will invite them too. While the heads of the families gather in my humble castle, my men, along with yours, can go in and occupy their courtyards. Even if they send out the signal, with the leaders here, we can detain them.

"Hohoho~ Well, Elliot... Count me in! See?" I turned towards Sasha, who was blinking her eyes rapidly, being disrupted from studying the magical tool, "Now you don't need to worry about dancing anymore!"