Chapter 19: The First Test for the Count's Assistant
Lumine returned the table to its place, picked up the apple from the floor, and took a bite out of it as he thought, 'The Egyptian civilization... and a freezing cold island, this is my first time hearing of a desolate land of snow. Could it be located in the south? In those lands behind the wall and ruled by the Knights of the Millennium... '
' ... An organization that is self-sustaining, ruling the wall and everything that lies behind the wall. Information about those lands is almost nonexistent... Originally, those lands belonged to the Stark Kingdom, but during the Era of Fire and Blood, they left the conflict with the empires and established the Millennium Brigade. '
' A short time after the start of the Era of Fire and Blood, Rob Stark built the wall and left the rule of everything beyond it... The reason is unknown, the cathedrals recorded nothing about this event, and governments left the land without attempting to control it... No one has the ability to confirm the relationship between the desolate icy land and the Red Mist except for the Knights of the Millennium... No, rather, they are certain of this. '
' The Red Mist is an unstable world. My contact with the aura of the Red Mist from point 1 does not necessarily mean it will make me go to point 2 in the Red Mist... This explains the disappearance of people as soon as they come into contact with the aura... '
' I used to think that monsters lived inside the aura, but my conception was wrong. Contact with the aura of the Red Mist causes transportation. The first time on that trip, we transported to a place resembling a forest, and I didn't notice a difference because of the Voitech army. '
' The second time I slept, and the house transported with me. This means it was exposed to the aura with me, yet the house is just as it was six months ago... I cannot explain this temporal glitch, and just as I anticipated before, I am absolutely in the Red Mist. '
Lumine sighed and tossed the apple back into the trash can before staring at Amelia, who was sleeping in the bed. 'I don't know what I should do... I don't remember her, but her story is real. Her voice is real, with no hesitation of lying or an attempt to fabricate emotions... When she fell to the floor, the light of life vanished from her eyes. It is impossible to fabricate this. '
' When did she leave for her mother? She became a Walker a short time ago, yet she knows my path and knows how it works. And greater than this is the fact that she is also a Walker, the Pathway of Mirrors... '
' The Bond Path symbolizes connection. What about the Pathway of Mirrors? Does it symbolize perception? Or reflection? Unfortunately, I cannot ask her about anything right now, and I still don't know how to bond... '
" Knock, knock, knock. "
Lumine stood up from the chair and headed to the door. Slowly, a creaking sound echoed through the place, and he found before him a girl with purple hair wearing a maid's dress.
The maid bowed with nobility and spoke, "Good evening, My Lord Baron. It is time for dinner. Would you prefer to have it here or in the dining hall?"
'My Lord Baron? Amelia is a noble?' Lumine sighed as he thought to gain some time before the maid, before he spoke, "There is no need for that. Since when have you been working here? And how many servants are in the manor?"
The maid nodded her head out of respect for the Baron before answering, "This is my second day. There is no one else in the manor but me, My Lord Baron."
Lumine stared into the maid's eyes and said, "This is strange..."
When Lumine noticed the look of bewilderment on the maid's face, he continued, "Never mind. What is your name?"
The maid nodded and said, "My name is Dali Rash, My Lord Baron."
* "What time is it now?"
The maid Dali nodded and answered, "We are at seven in the evening, My Lord Baron. Is there something you command?"
Lumine fell silent for a short while to think before saying, "Yes. Stay by Amelia's side until I return. If she wakes up while I am out, tell her that I am busy with an important matter, and I will return at the earliest opportunity. Tell her that this is a promise from me."
The maid Dali nodded and said, "Very well, My Lord Baron."
Lumine hesitated to ask her about the direction of his house. He wanted to return to Rahil and the rest at home so as not to increase their anxiety, but if he asked her for directions to the city of Valencia, it might damage his image as the Baron of this manor. How could a Baron not know the cities around his manor?
Lumine sighed and said before leaving the room, "Step inside."
Lumine asked her to enter the room so she wouldn't see him searching the manor for the exit door.
Lumine left the room after ordering the maid Dali to sit and watch over Amelia, and thought, 'Most likely, the manor is close to the city. I don't think she could carry me to a far place in her condition... Could it be that we are on Nobles' Street?'
Lumine linked the manor to Nobles' Street in the city of Valencia, a modern street half an hour away from the western gate of the city. Sometime after Lumine's birth, the previous Count wanted to invest in the nobles within the city, and prepared seven manors for potential nobles, but to his misfortune and lack of talent, he did not succeed in convincing anyone and lost a great deal.
At the present time, Lumine did not remember anyone living on Nobles' Street except for Count Vicoth, the current Count of the small city of Valencia.
'If my analysis is correct, and since it is near me, I must secure the house for inspection... I will go to meet the Count and accept his offer on the condition of buying the house.'
'What a pity, the Castle Man's card has disappeared. I must find a way to contact him before my meeting with Christie in just a few days... Otherwise, there will be no benefit from the house.'
'I hope to find something about Vincent and his group quickly... '
While Lumine was thinking and analyzing, he heard the voice of a girl panting from behind him, cutting off his thoughts, "My Lord Baron... hah, this is a gift from My Lady Baroness. She told me to give you... hah, it."
...
It did not take Lumine much time while searching for the door, as he was on the first floor and found before him the balcony overlooking the ground floor, and easily recognized the location of the stairs and the outer door.
He had been afraid that the manor would possess many opposing rooms; in that manner, he would have had to search each room to verify the place. But fortunately for him, this manor possessed rooms surrounding the balcony without opposing rooms.
He walked out of the door, and thanks to the gas lamps upgraded for lighting, he found before his eyes a large garden, a long stone pathway leading to a gate, and on its two sides roses of all kinds and colors. Behind them was a grassy lawn and some statues of deer and rabbits, and on the right side of the garden, an outdoor seating area.
Lumine did not explore the garden and stepped out of the gate before breathing a sigh of relief. He recognized this street and had passed by it several times in the past to look at the manors—Nobles' Street belonging to the city of Valencia.
In the darkness of the night, and beside some of the gas lamps upgraded for lighting, there was no manor that cast a glowing light under the cloud-filled sky except for two opposing manors.
One of them was Baroness Amelia's manor from which Lumine had just stepped out, and the other could be none other than Count Vicoth's manor, as the remaining manors were uninhabited.
Lumine eyed the manor before him, ignoring the gate and the garden. With his extraordinary vision, he spotted two men standing before the door, and knew they were from the manor guards by their iron armor.
He sighed and advanced toward Count Vicoth's manor.
He bypassed the gate and the garden, and as he drew close to the door, one of the two guards shouted, "Who are you, and what are you doing here at the Count's manor?"
The second guard shook the shoulder of the first guard who had shouted, and whispered in his ear, "You, it seems he wants to exchange currencies, don't yell like that."
Lumine heard what the guard whispered, but he did not understand what he meant or what currencies he would exchange.
Lumine eyed them with great confidence, kept his curiosity inside, and said to one of them without tension to prove himself, "Go and inform Count Vicoth that I accept his offer. Tell him that I am Baron Lumine... I will wait for him in his office."
Lumine went silent for a quick moment, eyed the other guard, and said, "You there, lead the way to the Count's office."
The first guard swallowed hard and said aloud before running inside, "Yes, sir!"
While the other guard nodded his head and walked slowly toward the Count's office.
Lumine did not feel a great difference between Count Vicoth's manor and Baroness Amelia's manor, as it was of the same design: a ground floor and a first floor overlooking the ground floor. The only difference was in the staircase connecting the two floors.
In the Baroness's house, there was a single staircase that centered down to the ground, while in the Count's house, there was a single staircase that split circularly to reach the ground floor.
Lumine followed the guard and climbed the stairs, passing through the corridor beside the balustrade until he reached the Count's office.
He entered the room and found a wooden table at the end of the room beside the window, and before it two luxurious chairs made of leather and wool. The room was surrounded by shelves filled with books.
There was no one in the room except for a man with graying hair and mustache standing before the desk.
The man bowed toward Lumine and said with a calmness that showed his experience, "Welcome, Your Lordship, to the manor... I apologize to you on behalf of my lord the Count; it will take him some time to come to the office. I am the Count's assistant, Alfred Rash."
Lumine advanced forward as he thought, 'Rash, could it be that you are the grandfather of that maid, Dali? And also, you are the Count's assistant... I must respect Dali more. I didn't thank her when she delivered the medal to me... for you are her grandfather and will become my teacher... '
Lumine approached Alfred, extended his hand to shake his, and said, "Lumine Toria... we will meet each other a lot in the coming days."
..
In the old system of nobility in the Kingdom of Patis—the current Kingdom of Fagin—the title was restricted to the person themselves. When a Duke married a girl of lower status than him, a Viscountess, a Baroness, or even a commoner girl, his wife would obtain a title one rank lower than his, and she would obtain the title of Countess. And when a Duchess married a man of lower rank than her, a Viscount, a Baron, or a common man, he would obtain the title of Count.
Thus, even when the Duke married the legitimate heiress—the Queen—he would not rise in rank to become the King, and even when the Duchess married the legitimate heir—the King—she would not rise in rank to become the Queen.
But after the revolution of Olym Pater, this system changed to a newer system, dividing the nobility between administrative and symbolic... and to increase marriages among the nobility, when a girl married a person of higher rank than her, she would obtain his title, and obtain a rank equal to his rank. Even if she was a commoner and he was a Duke, her marriage to him raised her rank to become a true Duchess.
To limit fraudulent marriages, divorce for the nobility became forbidden without the King's permission, and the one with the older rank possessed an authority that surpassed the other... Lumine, as Amelia Toria's husband, obtained her family name and obtained the same rank as hers, thus becoming Baron Lumine Toria. But in all cases and in any disputes, her authority was higher than his, her testimony was more believable than his, and her word was above his.
Because of the importance of the Marquis at the borders as the first symbol of defense, it became the sole exception in both systems... No one obtains his title as a Marquis except for the legitimate heir, and to become a legitimate heir, you must prove your competence before the King.
..
Simultaneously with Lumine, Alfred extended his hand to shake his.
Lumine sat on the chair before the desk and spoke while pointing with his hand to the other chair before him, "Please, have a seat. We can talk until the Count arrives."
..
At a later time, a man entered through the door and said, "I apologize for being late, Your Lordship the Baron. Your wife came to me to buy the manor three days ago, I am certain she is a woman who su—..."
Count Vicoth was struck with shock when he found Lumine sitting and talking with Alfred, who was standing beside him. Initially, when he heard his name—Lumine Toria—he thought it was just a similarity in names, and did not place a possibility like this.
The Count remained frozen in place for a few seconds until he said, "Alfred, you may leave."
Alfred nodded his head and spoke in response to the Count, "Your orders are obeyed, master."
The Count sighed after Alfred left the room and said, "Lumine Toria... are you joking with me right now?"
"No." Lumine shook his head and denied as he pulled a bronze medal out of his pocket and gave it to the Count.
The Count stared at the medal to analyze it. On one side of the medal, the shape of a massive fortress was formed, while on the other side, there were words written in the Voden language, 'Toria Family'.
The Count eyed Lumine and the medal numerous times before staring, "When did you get married? You... for... ahh."
The Count sighed and let out everything in his chest of shock and denial before continuing, "I was wondering about the offer you accepted, but now... to save time, what are the conditions you want?"
Lumine raised three of his fingers and said, "I don't want much, just three conditions."
The Count nodded his head and listened to Lumine, who continued, "First, Baroness Christie Russell owns a house that she rents out, and now the police have sent to the Hansan branch to issue a warrant to search it... I want your help to resolve this."
The Count remained silent for two seconds before saying, "You want to cover up what is in the house using my rank? I don't know how you found out about these privileges, but I think I know why you know them... Fine, I will go to consult her tomorrow morning, but her approval or rejection depends on her."
Lumine spoke after the Count finished, "No problem. My second condition: I want free days for rest, three days a week, and I will give you my full energy on the remaining days if the salary is good... "
The Count stared intently and said, "Lumine, these are three compound conditions... but no problem, I will consider them as one condition. But first, do you know that the King has changed the currencies?"
The Count went silent for a second before sighing and continuing, as he knew his answer without him speaking, "A few days ago while you were on the trip, the King issued his decree and issued new official currencies, and canceled dealing with the old ones... "
The Count pulled a paper out of his pocket, handed it to Lumine, and continued, "We deal now with a currency called Lair. It consists of 13 denominations: one Lair, two Lairs, five Lairs, ten Lairs, fifty Lairs, one hundred Lairs, two hundred Lairs, five hundred Lairs, one thousand Lairs, five thousand Lairs, ten thousand Lairs, and of course a quarter Lair and a half Lair... In very brief terms, prices have changed. The King did not link the currency to the price of the pound, the previous currency, but linked it to the price of water. One Lair is enough for you to buy a water bottle of 500 ml size... "
"Meaning that your salary will be 30 Lairs a day, 210 a week, 900 Lairs a month, but this is after you become an official assistant. Right now, you are a trainee... cut it to half."
Lumine ignored the calculations and took the paper. On the front, the shape of a massive building was drawn, standing out with its towering height amidst the buildings around it. With a quick glance, Lumine returned to his memories and remembered this building from one of his school classes—the Fly Building, the oldest and largest in the kingdom, one of the five living monuments since the Second Era of humanity, the Era of Fire and Blood.
And on the back part, the number '1' was written beside writing in the Voden language, 'Lair'.
Lumine wanted to speak, but he was preceded by the Count, who sat in his seat behind the table, "For this reason, I was late in coming. We do not possess a bank in the city, the market has stopped, and people are exchanging their money through me, and I must send my servants to Hansan so that I can replace the pound with the Lair. I spent most of my time meeting civilians and recording their money in the ledger. How exhausting this is... Alfred and I were barely enough, but now we have some time. There were some people who know how to read and write and don't have a job; I employed them here at the manor for this profession... "
"Lumine, I will ask you in your capacity as my next assistant, do you possess a better solution?"
Lumine stared into the Count's eyes before raising his elbow to the table and leaning his face on his fist to think.
He remained silent for more than a quarter of an hour. He had not expected this question, and even the Count knew this and gave him the freedom to take his time, but in the end, Lumine found an answer, "I will assume that you tried to convince one of the banks to build a branch in the city, but failed. My advice? We must have a private bank for the city."
The Count wanted to interrupt Lumine and reject the idea, but Lumine raised a finger and continued, "Shh, I am not suggesting to you to build an entire bank... we can build a small bank that operates on a specific system, instead of one massive bank in the center of the city, or major streets... I suggest that we build a private system for the people of Valencia. In crowded streets, we build small buildings to exchange money, directly instead of waiting... "
"Pay them from your private money and exchange everything you own of the old currencies for the new, and we can advance and start with these currencies."
"People prefer speed. Instead of walking all the way to your manor, and waiting for your followers to go and return from Hansan, they will come directly to the new banks. And as a benefit, we will take 5 Lairs from every 100 Lairs, or change the percentage if you want."
"By this move, the shops in the village will accept the pound and exchange it with you, you will take a percentage from them and the market will return. This is my suggestion, you can employ another person and thus you obtained four to operate in the small banks."
The Count stared at Lumine's face for some time before sighing and saying, "Ahh, your confidence makes the matter seem easy... but what will we do later? The market will return to operation, and the pound will disappear with the days from the market."
Without hesitation, Lumine answered as if he had anticipated this question, "Two choices. Either demolish the small banks, or we invest our income during the earning period to build a larger bank, a real bank... Oh, I also suggest calling these small banks 'exchanges'. People will exchange the pound to take the Lair."