46. Conflicts of Interest

Arganan was glad that he and Calista had the chance to properly talk about all that happened. He felt lighter on his feet for the rest of the day, and it seemed like things were looking up.

By the next day, he realized that he was close to finishing paying off his debt. It would take until the end of this current season, but at least he knew he'd be debt free soon, provided that he didn't crash another airship or do something that created more fines for himself.

He was working again in the florist's shop today, when Vishnal came in. "Hey, Arganan?"

Arganan looked up from arranging a few flowers, finishing up the bouquet quickly. "Vishnal. Are you okay?" The young butler seemed rather tense, worried even. It wasn't like him to be so distraught, except for the previous time when he worried about being a good lover to Frey before confessing ot her.

"Well…not quite." He swallowed, before looking around. "Arthur isn't here, is he?"

"No." Arganan managed. "Is this about him?"

The butler nodded, moving towards Arganan and lowering his voice. "Arthur has been acting strangely lately."

"Strangely?" Arganan asked. "How?" Was it because of his and Illuminata's relationship? Or was there something else he didn't know?

"Well…" The blue-haired man looked around briefly, then shook his head. "He had a business deal nearly wrapped up but he cancelled it at the last moment. Since then, several rumors have popped up about him. Like how he's apparently the son of a mistress, or that he came to Selphia specifically because of trouble over his birth mother." A sigh left him, and he shook his head. "Of course, these are only rumors. They might not be true at all."

Arthur might've come here because of his heritage? Arganan knew well of the political trouble brought to nobles who weren't born to nobles alone. "I hope they aren't true, for his sake. I'm sure he has enough trouble as is with the whole prince-swap thing with Frey."

"I hope she's not in trouble, either. I heard an inspector was coming from the capital to visit…" Vishnal looked around, before speaking. "Illuminata isn't here, is she?"

"She went out just now. Amber's just upstairs for a quick break." Arganan managed. Was Vishnal worried about Frey? "Is something the matter with Frey? How is your relationship with her going, anyway?"

"It's going as well as it can be, I think." Vishnal offered him a smile. He then paused, before clearing his throat. "Er…the question is…I've been thinking about a few things."

"Like…?"

Cue Vishnal taking out a small ring, encrusted with a few jewels. Arganan stared down at the ring, and then up at Vishnal.

"You're going to marry Frey? Have you two even talked about this?"

"W-We have, a few times!" Vishnal's face flushed. "O-of course, I can't do much about it right now. I wish I could just fuss over that, but there are more pressing matters, like the rumors about Arthur and my butler examination…"

"Butler examination?" Arganan raised a brow.

Vishnal nodded. "Yes. See, every year, there's a butler examination to see if butlers all over the country will have certain ranks. A Butler Judge will be coming in sometime in the next few days. They'll judge the butler's skills, and confer to them a title in accordance with their talent."

Arganan nodded. "I've never heard of that before, where I come from." Perhaps it was something just specific to all of Norad? Who knows? Either way, he hadn't heard of it before now.

"They use a star rating system, too." Vishnal continued, and a fire seemed burn in his eyes. "Mr. Volkanon is a 3-Star Butler! I know it doesn't sound like much, but it's really incredible!"

Arganan tried to imagine Volkanon, and simply nodded, remembering how the man managed to make bridges out of nowhere. "I can see that fitting him well."

He looked towards Vishnal, observing the young man. It was clear he was passionate about his duty, and Arganan knew there were not many like him. Frey was very lucky to have Vishnal around, even if they weren't dating and despite his inability to cook. But…

"Why be a butler in the first place?" Arganan was curious. "Were you born into the profession, like some families, or…?"

"Well," The younger man cleared his throat, "It was my father who gave me the idea. He said that I should grow into a man that helps others. He was a doctor, and he loved helping people that way. I thought about being one for a while, but I wasn't smart enough to be one. I did research on other jobs to help people, but then I wasn't sure what to do…but then, one day, I met a butler named Sebastian."

Arganan nodded a little. So Vishnal wasn't born into it, but met someone? Sebastian? Arganan tried to remember the butlers and maids that served under him, but he didn't recall any named Sebastian.

Vishnal continued rambling on, his eyes flaring with passion. "He was the shining example of a man, Arganan! When he stood next to his master, it was like the master positively gleamed! He made others shine when he helped them! I started to admire butlers a lot after meeting him, and that was the start of it. I wasn't sure if it was the right job for me at first, though..."

"Oh?" Arganan raised a brow. "Why?"

Vishnal lightly shrugged. "A butler's job is to serve his master or mistress, right? But that way of "helping others" compared to my father's way of "helping others" felt…different. I decided to ask my father. Thankfully," A relieved breath left him, "He approved. He said if I believed it would be helpful to others, I should pursue it with confidence. Later on I was introduced to a friend of my father's, and that's how I got to where I am."

"Being a butler must mean a lot to you." Arganan remarked. "In a way, you remind me of someone I knew. His name was Asthar. Have you heard of him?"

"Er…yeah, actually." Vishnal nodded. "I overheard Zael and Therius discussing him. But Asthar was a knight, right?"

"Yes. However, he was very devoted to being a true knight. One that really helped others, rather just being a knight for the sake of respect and a title." Arganan closed his good eye, and he could imagine the late General in his navy blue coat, beaming with the most genuine smile he'd ever seen. "It's a shame he's gone. I'm sure he'd visit here if he lived today. But like you, he was devoted to his duty to the very end. That's the kind of person you are, and I respect that about you."

"Thank you." Vishnal smiled softly at that. "That…means a lot." He paused, before he gasped. "Oh, I'm sorry! I've just been rambling on so long about the whole examination that I almost forgot, er…" He cleared his throat, looking up at Arganan. "My worry is…what if the Butler Judge doesn't approve of my relationship with Frey?"

Arganan swallowed. Oh. Crap. He'd been in this situation before with Zael and Calista initially falling in love, when he previously was Count. He knew what it was like to be on the same end as the Butler Judge might be if he found out about a relationship of two people of different stations.

"Well," Arganan managed, taking a deep breath, "I'll be honest to you about this: The last time I witnessed a relationship between two people of different social stations, I initially tried to get them together. To be more specific, I tried to get Zael and Calista together. But it wasn't because I wanted them to be in love with each other for the rest of their lives, but because I wanted Zael for his own abilities. The Outsider's power." He remembered all the times he pushed Zael to swear fealty to him, for the sake of Lazulis, and so Zael could be with Calista, and he frowned. "But…had he been a normal mercenary, I would have given him little thought. Probably do all I could to push them away. I don't know if I'm the right person to ask about that."

"So you think the Butler Judge might object to me and Frey being together, given your own experiences?" Vishnal asked, frowning lightly. "Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Maybe." The other admitted. "I don't know what the nobility of all of Norad thinks about nobles and those of lesser status having relationships with each other." It was true; he really didn't know. He made a mental note to look that up, given that Calista wanted him to be an ambassador or go-between for Lazulis and Selphia as is. "Perhaps they have different opinions, compared to the Empire I came from. But…I know you and Frey love each other very much, but if the Butler Judge finds out about it, it could be troublesome for both of you."

"Well…okay." Vishnal nodded a bit. "I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I can ask Frey to keep our relationship on a low profile until this is over." He paused, before asking, "I thought you'd object to me and Frey being together in the first place. If you had such strong feelings about Zael and Calista's relationship back then, why not me and Frey?"

Arganan swallowed. "Well," He finally managed, "Back then…I was a man who cared for nothing but power and status. Now, I have neither of those. And not just that, either. I think…what I care about has changed, since then. I don't want to make the same mistakes here that I did back there in Lazulis, either."

The younger man nodded. "I think that's a good thing."

"Besides," Arganan added, chuckling slightly, "Even if I did object to you and Frey being together, I have no power to force you both apart. And Frey would probably give me hell if I did anything to stop you both from being together."

Vishnal couldn't help but chuckle at that as well. "That's fair, I suppose."

The bells of the shop rang, and Zael burst in, panting.

"Zael?" Arganan stared at his nephew-in-law. "What are you doing here?"

"Have either of you seen Arthur?" Zael managed, eyes wide as he looked around.

"Er, no." Vishnal shook his head. "Is something the matter?"

"Well…." Zael sighed, looking up at both men. "Frey mentioned something to me about a royal inspector coming into Selphia because of the prince-swap between her and Arthur. And now Arthur's missing…"

"Do you have any idea where he went?" Arganan asked.

"Not really."

That was when Frey burst in, panting, and Calista followed, looking slightly less exhausted but still just as concerned.

"Princess!?" Vishnal's eyes widened as he approached Frey. "Are you…?"

"Looking for Arthur." Frey panted, looking towards Vishnal, and then towards Zael. "Kiel let me and Calista know just now that Arthur was seen headed to a cave in Yokmir woods. We need to head there now!"

"What?" Zael's eyes widened as he looked towards Frey and Calista. "Then we should. He could be in trouble."

"Wait, what?" Arganan stared between Zael, Calista, and Frey. "Why is Arthur going to a cave? What is going on here?"

"There was a shady-looking guy going around here in town." Calista explained, swallowing. "Kiel told me and Frey just now that he last saw him with Arthur before they headed to the cave…"

Was it a kidnapping in disguise? A way to get Arthur alone? Spies from the capital? Who knows? Arganan gritted his teeth, and he shook his head. "We should get to him, if it's that worrying. I'll come with you."

"Uncle," Calista looked him in the eye, "You just got out of the Clinic."

"I know." Arganan managed, looking towards her with a soft frown. "But who knows who could be out there with him? Besides, I've been through Yokmir Forest before with Forte. It's not that bad compared to Ethelberd."

Zael groaned. "The more we argue about it, the more likely Arthur's in danger! We can all go together."

"Very well." Calista relented. "I already sent Therius to let Forte know about this, so they'll catch up with us. We should head there now."

Arganan made sure to leave a quick note for Illuminata and Amber about the matter before leaving for Yokmir Forest with Calista, Zael, Vishnal and Frey. It occurred to him that this was the first time he was with both Calista and Zael at the same time, exploring together, and he wondered how this would go. He knew that both his niece and nephew-in-law were hard to beat in battle, and better fighters than Arganan himself would ever be, but he hoped that Arthur was still handling things well enough, if he was in danger.

As they arrived at the cave, they noticed that Arthur was there, as well as the shady-looking person from earlier…surrounded by a few too many monsters.

"Rrgh!" The former Prince stumbled backwards as one of the monsters managed to nick him in the arm, a gash forming. Arganan winced, before rushing in.

"Arthur!"

"Wha…Uncle!?" Arganan heard Calista yelp, but just as the monster swung at Arthur with its claws again, Arganan summoned the shield. Blue light surrounded Arthur and the monster clawed the shield instead. Arganan winced, stumbling slightly as he made it to Arthur's side due to absorbing damage from the monster's attack.

"What the!?" Even the shady-looking person from earlier looked shocked. "Who the hell are you!?"

"Save the questions for later!" Arganan snapped back. A monster lunged at him, but he managed to block it with another magical shield. "Calista, back me up! Zael, you too!"

"Right!" Zael took out his sword as Calista summoned her Holy magic, ready to attack the monsters head-on.

"Don't count us out!" Frey took out two Dual Blades, just as Vishnal summoned a magic spell. "We've got this!"

The battle itself didn't take a long time, surprisingly. The monsters of Yokmir Forest were weaker than fighting, say, Ethelberd for example. It only took minuets to send the monsters running, much to Arganan's relief. No one was injured, save for Arthur, and Calista quickly healed him up with healing magic. Now that the dust settled from all the fighting, there were a lot of questions that needed answering.

"What was going on here?" Arganan eyed Arthur and the shady-looking man with him.

Arthur took a deep breath, before starting to explain, adjusting his glasses briefly. "This gentleman and I chatted for a bit, and then I pretended to leave by the town gate. In reality, I hid, and then followed him all the way out here. I saw him take out a hammer and hit the cave walls…"

"And that attracted all the monsters." Arganan finished.

Arthur nodded. "Exactly." He managed, before looking towards the shady man, frowning. "You wanted to lend truth to the lies you told me." The shady man scoffed, but Arthur kept talking. "He's an information collector, and I purchased information from him, hearing that this cave would soon collapse. He came out here afterwards with the hammer in his hand." Arthur pointed out. His brows narrowed as he looked towards the shady merchant. "Several years ago, there was a cave-in. Were you responsible for that as well?"

"I sold you information!" The shady collector protested, glaring at Arthur.

"You sold lies that you wanted to make true." Calista half-snapped.

"You merchants are all alike, too!" The collector protested, ignoring Calista. "They make up anything about the stuff they sell. Only you big-time traders get to control what's sold. And thanks to you…my father's farm is barren!"

"That's why you did it?" Arganan frowned. "Because you ran out of business?"

"Course I did." The collector managed, looking towards Arganan once, and then towards Arthur. "Only the crappy stuff is sold because of you lot, and then you drive up the prices so any of us trying to make an honest living can't do a thing! So what's the difference between using money and power to sell hyped-up crap, and information that isn't true yet?"

Arthur took a deep breath, then sighed. Somehow, he still looked rather calm, despite the other man's complaints. "It's utterly different. First and foremost, there's the matter of customer satisfaction. I, at least, am unsatisfied with the information you gave me."

The shady collector tried to sputter up a protest, but Arthur ignored him, continuing to explain. "Also, I do not "hype fake information" to sell a profit. It's the job of merchants and traders to bridge the makers and buyers of products together. A sale only happens when a person creates a product that the buyer wishes to gain. And it's a trader's job to spread word of a product's value to as many people as possible, and reaches them at a reasonable price. That's at least what I think it should be."

Arganan knew that if he could, he would have probably beat the crap out of this false collector by now, even if he was formerly a Count. Being in Selphia certainly changed him to being a man of literal action, for better or worse. It was probably a good thing to leave this situation in Arthur's hands right now. He didn't have to do much this time, lest he end up in jail or something for brawling with an fraudulent collector. Definitely for the best…

"One more thing."" Arrthur took out a bag that Arganan didn't recognize, but he noticed Frey's eyes light up with recognition. "You are familiar with this tea, correct?"

The shady collector's jaw dropped at the sight. "What…that's the tea my father grew!"

"It's well made." Arthur remarked, with a soft smile.

"But…he said he wasn't going to grow it anymore." The collector was heard muttering, but Arthur sighed.

"I have a message from my client as well. He says, if you see my stupid son, tell him this for me: We're short handed, so get your butt back here right now!"

The collector went silent, stunned. He paused, before shaking his head. "We tried so hard for so long to get people to notice…that's why I gave it all up to do this! How come it had to start after I started all this…?"

"Your old self stopped a current self from going down a dark road. Is that not correct?" Arthur managed. He smiled, even as the other sighed.

"You're a weird fellow."

"Am I?"

"Well then." The group turned to see none other than Therius and Forte, having just caught up with the group. Forte cleared her throat, looking towards the man. "I certainly overheard all of that conversation, just now. You will need to come with me to the castle. There are things you need to explain."

"Well…okay." The man relented, and he left with Forte with no struggle at all. Arganan figured that the man would be punished appropriately for trying to destroy a natural habitat, on top of spreading false information.

Therius watched Forte go, and then looked towards Zael, Calista and the other. "My apologies for not being here sooner." He managed. "There is no excuse I can give for such a delay."

"It's fine, Therius." Calista offered him a reassuring smile, and then Arganan looked towards Arthur, then Therius.

"Just thank Arthur for being diplomatic so I wouldn't beat the shit out of a fraudulent collector."

"You almost what?" Zael's eyes widened as he looked towards Arganan.

Arganan could only shrug. "You can say that being here in Selphia made me more…active."

"Hence the airship fines?"

Arganan glared at his nephew-in-law. "I'm almost done paying them, I swear."

Frey could only chuckle a little, but that was when Arthur spoke up.

"While all of us are here and mostly away from the rest of the town…" Arthur cleared his throat, "I do want to clear up a few things. It's true that I'm not the legitimate son of a king. I'm the son of a mistress. My mother left me and vanished, and her last words were "People are not to be trusted."

"What?" Frey's eyes widened. Arganan couldn't help but wonder how exactly Frey felt. Confused, perhaps? Worried? Arganan knew that Frey knew of his history with Calista, but it wasn't like Frey knew of anyone else with rocky family relationships otherwise, given her current amnesia.

Arthur sighed. "I, of course, don't think of her as my mother. However, I've been wondering why she chose that, of all messages, to say that to me. That is why this one time I had to see things with my own eyes and hear with my ears. I had to know if there was any real connection…or what the bond between mother and son was like."

The last few sentences seemed a bit…odd. Arthur frowned, looking towards the cave, and then to Arthur. "Arthur…?"

"Anyway," Arthur finished up, "I caused concern, and I apologize for that. However, the matter's resolved now."

"What?" Frey stared at Arthur. "What about the whole Prince-switch thing?"

Arthur stared back at her. "You mean the investigator?"

"Yeah."

Arthur chuckled softly. "Oh, that. The man we spoke to was an 'information collector' right? His job is to investigate areas and gather information, but we still consider him an 'investigator.'"

"Wait!? What!? So that rumor was false?" Frey's jaw dropped. "He was just checking out the area?"

"Yes." A soft chuckle left Arthur. "My apologies for not clarifying that. But…if I were to be recalled to the palace, that would be a bridge we'll have to cross when it happens."

"Geez!" Frey's cheeks puffed up a bit at that, even as Vishnal broke into a chuckle. "You could have told me that sooner!"

"My apologies," Arthur repeated, chuckling. Even Calista and Zael looked both amused and relieved. Therius simply sighed, before looking towards the group.

"Given that we're done here, I believe it would be best for all of us to head back to Selphia? I'm sure one or two people would wonder why all the nobility suddenly went missing."

"Therius…" Calista sighed, but Frey offered her a sheepish grin.

"It's alright. Therius has a point. We should head back."

As the group started heading back to Selphia, Arthur hung back by Arganan's side. The former Count observed the other's previously-lighthearted expression turn a bit darker.

"Arganan?"

"Yes?" Arganan looked Arthur in the eye. "What is it?"

The other took a deep breath, before he asked, "Can you come with me back to my office? I'd like to speak with you privately about something."

"Er…alright." Arganan wondered what it was about. The rumors surrounding Arthur himself and his heritage? News about the royal capital? Or something else?