"Professor Munib from the Free City of Starhorod!" the herald announced, and Viscount Lines immediately headed in his direction. Howard glanced briefly at Leon, who was standing not far from the place of execution, and the lad looked completely pale. The old man sighed, for soon he too would have to endure a certain degree of humiliation, with being sent into service. But right now, he needed to speak with the professor before the Duchess Blood made her move.
"Speak of the devil, and he appears," the old man thought to himself, noticing that the elder Lady Katerina was also moving towards the man. But before the nobles could reach him, a strange—for some, even frightening—scene unfolded before them.
Emitting creaking sounds of metal grinding against metal, following the professor, several constructions entered, each about two meters tall, with pipes positioned behind their backs actively emitting clouds of smoke. As Howard noticed, many nobles were stunned by the sight before them; in fact, he himself had been somewhat surprised when he first saw the Mu-6, as the young man named Caspar had called them. But as the old man had thought, after the slight panic experienced by the nobles, as well as representatives from other states such as the Kingdom of Stone, the Republic of Salt, and the Tsardom of Vys, everyone became interested in these unusual mechanisms. Although the Viscount didn't spot anyone from the Desert Empire; perhaps they still hadn't arrived. Of course, everyone present here—except perhaps the Duke of Storm, who looked at the mechanisms with a certain degree of disdain or perhaps even challenge, Howard wasn't sure, for this tall man was the same height as the Mu-6 and possibly even slightly taller, and a few other bored nobles—for everyone else, they represented a new instrument of military power that could change world politics, just like muskets. Even Count Sky watched the unfolding spectacle with interest. And now nobles were surrounding the professor to ask him about these incredible mechanisms he had decided to demonstrate at the Royal Ball of Crow. Of course, Howard had helped the Free Cities' representative organize this presentation to strengthen his influence in the kingdom. As the old man saw, the man possessed many talents: inventiveness and an unconventional approach to matters, combined with his dreaminess. This meant that Munib would most likely become one of the leading professors of the Free Cities. Moreover, he gathered around himself not the worst people, such as the aforementioned Caspar—a native of the Kingdom who, at such a young age, had already visited almost every country on the continent. An excellent helmsman with a good sense of spatial orientation, as the Viscount could note, and he most likely knew how to operate the train. Watching the unloading of that machine in the city of Star, Howard had noticed how deftly the lad understood the train's parts, and the old man assumed the caravan had traveled most of the way on this very train. Perhaps in the desert regions where the Free Cities are located, there are rails between them. But the old man also thought that this construction might be able to move without rails, yet for some reason the scientists hadn't provided them with that capability.
Meanwhile, Munib was surrounded by a crowd of nobles, and Viscount Lines decided that he should leave the man to himself in this situation. Besides, the elder Lady Katerina no longer posed a threat to him now. So the old man turned and headed towards Leon, who was standing a little apart, his jaw nearly dropping as he examined Munib's mechanisms from afar. But the lad could be understood; he had probably never seen such wondrous creations in his life. In fact, unlike Howard, the young man hadn't even seen the train in person yet. But now they needed to meet with the King of Crow to discuss the punishment of Baron Star, which only added to the old man's headaches.
"Leon, come, we need to speak with His Majesty Idivig," Viscount Lines said calmly when he reached the Baron.
"Yes, Your Grace," the lad merely nodded, agreeing with Howard's opinion. This somewhat surprised the old man, as he had thought Leon would offer some resistance. But now he had the feeling that the young man had accepted his fate. Of course, being sent to another duchy for military service to fight the barbarians from the Wild Lands was not the most pleasant prospect for a young man like Leon. And considering the fact that this would delay his studies, he would not come into his inheritance for a very long time. At the present moment, Howard had found sources from which to obtain money for the construction of the railway and factories for manufacturing parts to repair the train. But he didn't know how many years his reserves would last, so he hoped that Baron Star would serve his two years in the Row Margraviate on the front line and return.
With these thoughts, Howard, together with Leon, approached His Majesty Idivig, who was currently quietly conversing with Princess Vanessa. On her face, as always, was a foolish and dreamy smile, and she listened to her brother with a certain detachment. But ever since her childhood, every time Howard saw this girl, the man noted an unnaturalness in that smile, as if it were an act. In her expressions, there were hints of deceit, as if she were carefully listening to your every word under the guise of a simpleton. But the old man didn't really believe this, as otherwise there would be little sense in it. It could be called a game if the princess herself had a claim to the throne, but she had renounced it in favor of her younger brother Arthur, and then Lord Idivig had had to become Prince Regent until Arthur IV completed his studies to ascend the throne.
"I greet you, Your Highness, Lord Idivig; Your Highness, Lady Vanessa," Howard said, not even bowing before the King and his sister, unlike Leon, who immediately bowed and lowered his head, awaiting permission from the royals to raise it. "Forgive me for my impertinence, but my legs are failing me, as is my back, so I cannot show you the proper respect as my charge, Baron Star, can."
"Enough, Viscount Lines," the princess smiled. She had spent almost the entire evening near the Duke of Wood. After Howard himself had spoken with Lord Nikolai, the girl seemed to have merged with the young Duke, not leaving his side for a moment. On the contrary, it seemed she was like a watchdog, preventing him from escaping. But after the demonstrative execution of Lord Pyotr, the princess seemed to have lost interest in the Duke and was now conversing with her brother. "I think my brother will not be offended that such an old and honorable man as yourself cannot kneel before him."
"Well observed, my esteemed sister," the Prince Regent of Crow replied, his face unchanging. But in his gaze, the Viscount saw interest in his person. "How is your health? Has it not worsened with your age? Since our last meeting, I see you have acquired a cane."
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty, but even old people like myself must fulfill their duties. One cannot let mere age overcome them," Howard calmly replied, looking directly at his monarch.
He had never feared people above him who held greater power, for they had nothing to take from Howard. The old man had long ago lost his family, so the fear of death no longer frightened him. He saw his purpose in life as serving his Count, to honor the memory of his deceased wife and son, immortalizing their names in his surname, and inscribing his family name in history so that no one would ever forget the viscounts of the Lines family. That was why he was not afraid of the King standing before him; the old man had long had nothing to lose, unlike the youth who had knelt. However, Howard was not stupid and always showed respect to people who outranked him in title and social standing; otherwise, he could disgrace his Count or even set him up.
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"A fervent zeal to fulfill one's duties, Lord Howard, is quite commendable, especially in our times," said His Highness Idivig, closely examining the old man's face. "But I fear you will not be able to continue at the same pace for long. Have you already decided to whom your duties will be transferred, or have you perhaps found a successor?"
"Not at all, Your Majesty. I will certainly remain in the ranks for a few more years. This little trifle of a cane is merely an annoying misunderstanding called old age, which, as you have noted, slowly creeps up on each of us," the elderly man replied dryly, still looking His Highness directly in the eyes. The King of Crow merely snorted in response.
"Nothing can be certain, Lord Howard. But I can only assume that you came here not to exchange pleasantries with me and my sister," Lord Idivig said with a slight smile.
"You are quite right, Your Highness," the old man replied, still dryly and without emotion. "I would like your decision regarding Baron Star not to be announced publicly at this ball. I fear our nobles have already experienced one shocking event, and an additional scandal and rumors could shake the prestige of our wonderful Royal Ball of Crow."
At these words, Howard noted that His Highness paused to think, but his reflection did not take long, and he answered the Viscount rather quickly.
"Yes, we can refrain from announcing it at this ball, as previously planned, Viscount Lines. But I had thought that the possible dispatch of Lord Leon to guard our borders might encourage other young nobles to also demonstrate their valor and enter military service," said the King of Crow. Howard noticed someone approaching them from the side.
"Forgive me, Your Highness, but I overheard your conversation, which I hope was not secret, given it took place in the main hall. But allow me, Lord Adrian of the Cloud family, to go together with my friend, Lord Leon, Baron Star," suddenly spoke a tall, fair-haired youth with a just-starting-to-grow beard and a short haircut, dressed in a sky-blue tailcoat. He approached Baron Star and knelt beside him.
"His Highness, Lord Delmar the Third, second son of His Imperial Majesty, Lord Olufemi the Fourth, Emperor of Desert," the herald announced almost immediately after Count Cloud's son finished speaking.
"I must excuse myself from you, honorable lords; I need to greet an important guest," His Majesty Idivig suddenly said and quickly walked towards the open doors, against the backdrop of which a black-skinned man had appeared, beginning to move somewhere, not giving an explicit answer to Lord Adrian.
"Oh, it seems my brother has left us," Lady Vanessa said, sighing somewhat sadly, while still maintaining her slightly foolish expression. "But I think he wouldn't have minded that our Arthur's friends went together to the border in the Row Margraviate. Even my younger brother, as soon as he heard this news, wanted to go with you, Leon, but I'm afraid Idivig could not allow that."
"I understand everything, Your Highness," Leon said, speaking for the first time during the conversation. "Arthur must prepare to become king."
"What a clever boy you are, little Leon!" the princess smiled sweetly after Baron Star's words, causing him to blush. "But as for you boys, my brother has already left, and before me, such young and brave warriors who will soon go to guard the border of our kingdom, there is no need to kneel."
Howard noticed how Leon and Adrian exchanged glances and stood up almost in unison. But the old man also noted a solitary figure observing them, leaning against the wall of the hall.
Baron Orange.
The old man merely grunted to himself, trying to maintain an unwavering expression on his face. Howard assumed he had clearly heard everything, but unlike Lord Adrian, he had no intention of risking his skin. There was a "true friend" for you. Howard was almost certain that Leon's current predicament was due to Richard, who had been watching Howard with an intent gaze almost all evening. The Viscount thought that this youth wanted something from him but didn't yet know what. However, the old man also concluded that there was no point in communicating directly with this cunning lad; he needed to find alternative routes, for example through Lord William, Count Worm, since technically Richard was his subordinate. But at today's reception, the old man hadn't noticed him or his wife, Lady Alice, which was strange. Even his Viscount Bird was nowhere to be seen. Despite the fact that Worm County wasn't large—it comprised only two baronies: Yors, which belonged to Richard, and Tomorrow—it was strange to see only one single representative of theirs. Had this lad already extended his influence so far?
"What fine young men you are!" the princess exclaimed, approaching the two risen lads and simultaneously putting her arms around their necks. "I am so glad my dear Arthur has such lovely friends! Adrian, I will definitely convey your decision to my brother, or rather, remind him of your brave deed! Just please, return alive, my dears. This kingdom needs you to become its new support!"
With these words, the girl released the young men and cheerfully headed off somewhere. But Howard's keen eye determined that the girl was again heading towards the Duke of Wood, who was currently conversing with the Duke of Celestial and Count Sky. Perhaps they were discussing projects related to the railway. If so, then Lord Eduard would surely relay the information to his Viscount—at least Howard hoped so. The man also noticed that part of the nobles had surrounded the Imperial Prince, His Highness Idivig, and Lady Carolina. But apparently, Howard had already missed the main gist of the matter while he was occupied discussing Leon's problem. Judging by appearances, the conflict had been resolved, as the Imperial Prince moved towards the balcony, and the King of Crow, along with his sister, for some reason left the hall. Along with this, Howard noticed how Princess Vanessa's face had changed, as if she had become saddened. He also saw that Richard had disappeared somewhere while the old man was distracted. He also noticed a small gathering of people where Lord Ryo, the elder Lady Katerina, Lord Arthur, and apparently Lady Katerina's granddaughter—the younger Lady Katerina—were talking quite loudly, attracting more and more attention. The only thing was, while Howard had been busy with Leon, he realized he had completely lost sight of Professor Munib.
"What shall we do next, Lord Howard?" Leon asked the old man. He hadn't moved away, and neither had Adrian, distracting the Viscount from his thoughts.
"The same as we planned before, Leon: build the railway, the factories, and develop our kingdom," the Viscount sighed wearily, then turned his gaze to Adrian. "Thank you, lad. Leon needed this support."
Adrian only smiled slightly shyly at Viscount Lines' praise but decided not to respond. Perhaps this act was impulsive and not very well thought out. But currently, the kingdom was at peace, and even the savages from the Wild Lands weren't mounting their raids on the Northern Walls as actively—huge stone structures stretching from the Mountains of Death to the Deep Forest, thereby encircling the entire Duchy of Storm. As far as Howard knew, these walls had been built long before the formation of the Kingdom of Crow, and possibly even before the formation of the once-kingdom of Storm. At least, the descendants of this family do not attribute the construction of these walls as their own achievement.
"No!" suddenly came the cry of the young Caspar from the balcony where the Imperial Prince had gone, and Howard paled. He could only hope that nothing worse and irreparable had happened.
