It was near sunset now, and Alden stood in the courtyard, facing the large group gathered in front of him. Despite his insistence that there was no need for a pledge, Vusato and Roderic had gathered all the guards and all the other manor residents. He had left Caelen with Lira so she wouldn’t be alone, but apart from them, everyone who lived in the manor was standing there. He had still noticed his siblings watching from a window on the second floor.

  The guards stood at attention on the left, forming a few straight lines, while the maids, servants, and grooms stood on the right. Vusato and Roderic stood beside him.

  Roderic gave a nod, and immediately the crowd began to speak together.

  “I swear fealty to Baron Alden Rinarius,” the whole group said together, their voices merging with each other. “I pledge my sword, my service, and my loyalty to defend his lands, uphold his laws, and follow his commands."

  It felt unreal to Alden, like he was in a vivid dream. He was supposed to be just a low-level mechanical engineer in London working for his promotion. Now people were swearing fealty to him.

  The moment passed, and he clenched his fist. He wasn’t just a resident of this manor anymore. He was their lord now. Their lives and happiness lay in his hands from this day. Looking at their earnest faces strengthened his resolve to do his best for these people—his people.

  He smiled. “I accept you all as my own. As my family. I will do my best to protect you all, from the monsters and from our enemies."

  There was silence for a moment before the guards drew their swords and raised them high in the air.

  “All hail Lord Alden!” they yelled together. “Long live Baron Alden Rinarius!"

  The whole group repeated it many times until the manor was resonating with the sound.

  Alden glanced back at the manor house and saw Caelen adding his own voice from up there, while Lira clapped in support. He waved back to them, then raised a hand to calm the crowd.

  “Alright. We have a lot to do now. Vusato has sent a runner to the village to announce the passing of Lord Edaroc, and they’ll already be gathering outside the manor for the service. Let’s make sure it goes well."

  ***

  A large crowd had gathered outside the manor, packing the area full in the light of a few burning braziers. The sun had already set, and the sky was darkening every minute. An old painting of Lord Edaroc had been set on a table outside the manor, with incense burning beside it. A pair of braziers were lit on both sides of the table to give light and some warmth.

  As Alden looked around, he saw that basically every single person had tears in their eyes—whether still falling or unshed—with many of the village women and children crying openly after they found out that the baron had really died. However, he had kept it a secret that his father had been murdered and only announced that he had passed away naturally while returning from Garitus. There would be a time for retribution to that fratricidal bastard Lidoroc, but that day wasn't today.

  After giving some time to the people to let their emotions out, Alden stood up on a bench the guards had brought. “My dear villagers, I have an announcement to make."

  A hush fell over the crowd as they turned to him, and he felt nervous for a moment.

  “You all know that my father had gone to Garitus City,” he began after taking a long breath. “The reason for that was the rumors we had been hearing about the fortress city charging people for giving shelter in the snowy months. My father went to confirm whether it was true or not, and if it was, to request the duke to allow us inside without payment because of our good relations with them."

  Seeing that the crowd was hanging on to his every word, he continued in a quieter voice, “Before my father died, he had a meeting with the duke, and he found out it wasn’t just a rumor. The duke really is charging to give shelter: a gold coin for each adult, and five silver coins for a child."

  “That’s… that’s outrageous!” someone shouted.

  “We can’t pay that!” a woman cried out, joining her voice to the others who had started to yell in support.

  Alden raised his hands until the crowd calmed again. “I know it is an absurd demand, but the fact remains that we cannot pay it.”

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  Skipping over the fact that the gold from the loan his father had probably taken for this had been stolen by his uncle, he continued, “If it were possible, the baron… I… would have gladly paid for it myself. But we can’t. We just can’t... We simply don't have that much gold here. That means there will be no refuge for us in Garitus City this winter. We will have to stay right here in Sarnok and protect the village and our families from the monsters with all our strength."

  “No…” an old woman wailed.

  “It’s going to be our doom…"

  “We are all going to die this winter,” someone else cried.

  Alden raised his voice. “No, we won’t die! I won’t let it happen!"

  The crowd calmed slowly, but the atmosphere had turned heavy. Alden took a deep breath, knowing he had to say something to boost their morale, or the situation could get worse in the coming days. “I know I am new to this, but I ask you all to trust me. I give you my word that I will protect you all. I will make sure we are safe this winter. It is my responsibility, and I will not let you down."

  He had no real idea of how he was going to do that, but the people needed to see that their leader was confident. They needed to maintain their trust in their leader—him—despite him having absolutely zero experience of running a barony, especially in the winter. But he would stay true to his words. He had to protect them.

  It was quiet for a moment before someone began to clap. It spread until the whole crowd was clapping, though there wasn’t much enthusiasm in it. It was hard to feel hopeful, knowing large monsters might run over the village within a few months. Still, people took hope where they could. They didn’t have another choice. None of them did.

  Alden stepped down from the bench and told the majordomo to begin.

  Since they didn’t have a church representative in Sarnok anymore due to past disagreements with his father, Vusato and a few village elders took responsibility and began saying prayers, with the whole village joining in.

  Finally, after they were done, the guards told the villagers to come to the table one by one so they could see the portrait of Lord Edaroc for one last time. Without the baron's body, a portrait would have to be enough.

  After the villagers formed a line, the servants handed each person a mug of ale and a small piece of pie Hilda had baked, and everyone in the village raised a toast in his father’s memory, after they bowed in front of the portrait one by one. It took a long time for everyone to come forward, pay their respects to the previous baron, and then congratulate Alden on his new responsibility.

  Alden smiled at them, shook hands, and patted children on the head. It only made the situation more real to him. He had to protect them. He had to protect Sarnok—their only home—from the coming winter and the monsters.

  The village must survive!

  ***

  The service had ended a short while ago. The guards and servants stayed behind to manage everything and bring the tables and braziers back, but Alden felt so exhausted that he returned inside after the last villager had taken his ale, and found the first empty bench in the main hall and lay down on it. Caelen had gone back to the second floor to keep Lira company.

  Soon, he heard footsteps coming toward him. He sat up slowly and saw Vusato and Roderic walking towards him, while carrying three mugs in their hands. The captain set the mugs of ale on the table as they sat across from him.

  Nobody spoke for a while.

  “It’s… it’s real...” Vusato mumbled as he took a long gulp of ale. “I can't believe he's dead... Just a week ago, I was talking with him about how we would manage the whole village’s migration to Garitus before winter, and now he isn’t even here.” He swallowed and shook his head. “I kept telling him to take a boat, but he never listened to anyone once he had made up his mind…”

  Roderic nodded and drank from his mug. “I'd told him he should take more guards with him, but he said he didn’t want the village undefended if a monster attacked while he was gone. He cared for the village more than he did for himself till the very last day he lived here. Damn that bastard Lidoroc!"

  Vusato took another gulp. “Lord Edaroc may not have been the mightiest of rulers—he couldn't get the coal mines back from Marachi—but the village never had a more caring leader than him. He may have stopped wearing his plate armor decades ago, but he was a flawless knight until the very end... He would have gladly given his own life to save a villager’s life."

  Alden felt it was ironic that he had been reincarnated as Edaroc’s son after doing something similar in London. He exhaled, staring into his own mug. "He was a good man..."

  “To Baron Edaroc,” Vusato said, raising his mug and taking a big swig. “May he become one with nature."

  “To Baron Edaroc,” Roderic repeated, and emptied his mug.

  “To Father...” Alden said, suddenly feeling the loss. He had never known his parents on Earth, and the only parent who remained alive in this world had passed away within a week of his arrival here. He wondered if he was just unlucky or cursed in some way...

  Vusato’s next words pulled him out of his thoughts. “So, what’s next?"