CHAPTER XV.
Both Barfort baronies celebrated the birth of Balcus Fou Bartfort, first grandson.
The baby boy was named Gilbert Fou Bartfort, in honor of his maternal uncle.
The naming was symbolic, by naming the firstborn with the name of the next head of House Redgrave they were not appealing to the current head of the House, who was forced to punish Angelica, but to the next Duke, a measure to integrate baby Gilbert with the next generation of the powerful House.
And it was a ruse.
If Vince Rapha Redgrave asks for help Leon would respond without a doubt.
If Leon had to flee from his territory Vince would take him in immediately.
However, officially, neither House is associated.
Balcus would do the same, but if his stupid child had to flee there was little he could do to protect him and his family.
As he inspected his new airship, he felt like an old man.
He was a grandfather already, his most problematic child gave him the most pride.
He loved all his children equally, hell! He even loved Rutart and Merce, and Zola has admitted they are not his children!
But Leon has always been different, ever since he was a little boy he was much too smart, much too independent and much too talented and antagonistic.
He feared what awaited his foolish son the most.
Nicks and Jenna would have been fine, Finley and Colin too, they fitted much better in society than the prodigious third child Luce gave him.
Leon was a large square object trying to fit in a small circular hole society had for him.
When Zola tried to sell him to a fellow member of an organization called the Forest of Ladies, he feared that society was about to mold him into one more of the countless small objects that formed part of it or worse, he would meet his end.
Against his own common sense Balcus took a loan to pay for Zola's loss of reputation and equip Leon with what he asked for to go out on an adventure.
It was better for his foolish son to die a free man than to die like a dog!
It was three months later he received a mysterious letter from Leon, his own handwriting and words just appeared out of the blue on his desk one morning!
There was also a bag that made such an interesting metallic noise too. The content of the bag was more than what he paid for Leon's gear.
He was alive and well, to his relief, and apparently successful too, not that it mattered much to him after so long without news from him.
Leon wanted to hit a few more ruins and maybe find a floating island, for an instant he hoped his son wanted to become a baronet under him.
But he was not coming back home, instead he was planning to go to the Redgrave territory, pledge himself to the Duke's House and Marry the Duke's daughter if I'm Lucky! Were his words, and he wanted a recommendation letter from him.
That way his son hoped to be given a chance at least.
He felt his heart ache, his foolish son did not want to return home… and for the first time he found himself truly loathing Zola for driving away the child he wanted to keep the closest.
With a heavy heart he wrote the letter without thinking how he would give it to Leon.
He never told him where to send it, he thought to send it to the Duke directly but the next day the letter he wrote was replaced by a thank you from Leon and an explanation of how he did this. He acquired a very convenient familiar it seems.
He, of course, shared the news with Luce and she calmed down and avoided Zola like the plague the next couple of times she decided to drop by to try and convince him to put Collin up for marriage instead of Leon.
This time he had stood his ground and didn't allow his youngest to be sold, when she tried to force the issue he threatened to reduce her monthly payment.
She exploded, she threatened him, the island, his children, Luce and his people but he didn't back down, she returned back to the capital, saying she could marry Colin once he was older.
He still sent only half of the usual amount of Dia to her the next month as a first warning so she could get used to the idea that she would not be doing what she pleased with his children anymore.
A few months later Leon sent a letter saying he would soon arrive with his wife from the Dukedom.
Leon would be arriving a few days after his siblings came back from the academy.
Luce and him cried in relief and happiness seeing him getting out of the Redgrave warship with a blonde woman by his side, he could only smile when the woman, his wife, had to restrain him so he could not just run down and meet with them once again.
He walked at a polite pace with his woman at his side as was proper and that put him at ease, this woman could reign in his son, he got a good match out of the Duke's house. But Leon will always be Leon.
His wife was The Duke's Daughter!
No consideration for his poor heart, he thought he was just joking when he wrote him that letter!
His foolish son broke the mold society made for him and retained his own shape and essence.
It took him a few weeks to really assimilate what this marriage meant for his House, all the while Angelica, his son's wife, had slowly convinced him to name Nicks as his new Heir and to put Zola under House arrest.
Zola's children were dealt with differently.
Merce was given to a good young man as a wife and from what he knows of her she is pretty happy, she was pregnant, she was doted on by her husband and had made plenty of friends among Leon's people.
Rutart thou… he became a womanizer.
The commoner girls around him all flocked to him due to his appearance and noble disposition, it didn't take long for him to succumb to temptation and supposedly he impregnated three different women…
He hoped the boy would mature once he became a father, and he hoped the children were really his because those women had a reputation among his people.
The boy was happy though.
Zola was withering in the cabin he made for her, none of the maids he sent to tend to her could get her to say more than a couple of words, she barely ate. She was slowly dying.
She fell into depression the same day she was put into house arrest and his healer had told him that this may lead to her death.
He offered to move her to the estate, but she refused.
She was terrified that Angelica may come back and kill her if she found her in the estate instead of her cabin and no matter what he told her she wouldn't change her opinion.
His daughter-in-law was too through with his legal wife.
But this all had to be done, and he agrees with all of it.
He had once upon a time loved Zola, but the sentiment was killed by Zola herself.
Now he was entertaining a messenger from Marquis Framptom, he was strongly encouraging him to enter a National Tourney his master was organizing.
There have been a lot of actions taken by the Marquis after the engagement between Angelica and the Prince was broken, it was obvious even to a rural Baron like him.
Framptom has been trying to supplant the Duke as the second most powerful man in the kingdom.
Maybe even grasp a title such as Prime Minister.
This messenger had marketed this National Tourney as a way to increase one's own prestige and even as a chance to earn a promotion… he had to stop himself from scoffing at such a notion, getting promoted was what landed his family into ruin in the first place.
That was of course the carrot, the stick was much more subtle but there for anyone that was not bedazzled by the carrot.
One would be perceived as weak if you did not send at least one knight as a champion, weak Lords are easy targets to overly ambitious neighbors, or pirates, the members of the House that reside in the capital would also face hardships from their fellows.
He has received letters from Jenna informing him she no longer desired to live in the capital.
That she is trying to secure a marriage with one of Leon's neighbors to be close to her family and that was enough for him to know that he should sell the mansion Zola used to live in.
His neighbors knew very well he was the strongest in the region with his fleet of just three ships, one which was a fully operational warship that Leon had gifted to him.
He was worried that so many pirates attacked the Territory his two oldest sons resided in, But he felt his chest swell with pride whenever he heard news of another of their victories.
That deceptively small fleet is much more than his neighbors can muster with their wives still leeching their resources in the capital.
With the infrastructure improvements his territory received and with Zola no longer draining him, he has become the wealthiest Baron around in the terrifyingly short period of a year and half.
Maybe he should also use his wealth to buy another ship from Leon? Just to be sure.
He was sure the pirates that he defeated not so long ago had come here thinking this was Leon's territory!
Entering the tourney?
That would be a waste of resources.
He smiled at the messenger and told him he would prepare for it, he would assist of course, he was sure Leon's House would go as well, it would be nice to have his family together again even if it was just for a few days.
He has to write to Jenna as well, she should go there as well with her boy and meet them there.
0x0x0
Julius Rapha Holfort was on high alert.
He and his friends were hunting for pirates!
It was reckless to do it in just one ship, no matter how powerful his ship's shields are, they would still be outnumbered, they could be at a severe disadvantage due to the ships design.
They were counting on being able to outmaneuver the pirates with their superior knight armors and skills.
His instructors always praised him for his skills, they estimated he would be able to defeat at least six opponents at once.
And with his friends at his side they should be able to defeat any and all armors these pirates could deploy fast enough to board and incapacitate the ships fast enough to not lose their one ship and its precious cargo.
Marie will be aboard the ship, praying for their success and being an extra eye for everyone.
But most of all, she was their Goddess of Victory.
It took him a long time and effort but he finally managed to convince her to give Jilk a second chance.
Jilk had to promise to leave Angelica and her new family alone to accomplish that.
It was surprisingly hard to get him to promise it since to Jilk, Angelica is an enemy that is growing in power, and will one day be a threat to Marie and to the Crown Julius will have to wear someday.
It helped that Lord Marmoria gave him a stern talking to and limited his expenses, Julius and the rest of his group would be paying for Jilk's expenses for some time.
After the… incident with the Bartforts Marie wanted to leave them, and Angelica alone.
Marie thought that they were not important enough to bother with them.
Marie was such a wonderful person, but he could not forgive and he could not forget everything Angelica did.
And even if he could, the actions her father was taking painted Angelica as the easiest target.
Much to his chagrin the Duke was simply too powerful and his influence ran deep within the court.
The Atlee and his block remained on Vince's side, and Count Roseblade and his considerable military strength stood behind him.
The Duke's ambitions put everyone at risk, and they needed to do everything in their power to weaken him!
That is part of why they accepted the Wayne girl's request.
The Baron Angelica married, is an accomplished warrior and adventurer at the age of seventeen, the same age as himself and his group.
And even though the Duke has never mentioned him directly, he is always criticizing his own lack of achievements.
Julius was raised in the palace with little to no exposure to the outside world, how was he supposed to accomplish anything when they never even let him wander alone in the capital?
He had to sneak out of the palace to get a taste of what has become his favorite dish: meat skewers.
Hunting these pirates would be his first accomplishment, now that he is old enough to command his own ship he can go anywhere he pleases within the kingdom.
He could not wait to get to fight these pirates!
Surely he would be able to defeat the highest numbers and that will impress Maire even further.
0x0x0
It took them sometime, but they finally managed to find the Pirates.
They were following a merchant fleet and it seemed that they were ready to launch their attack soon.
However it soon became clear that they were noticed as the pirate scum did not attack the merchants, and instead they charged directly at them.
Even when they were ready to deploy and engage they almost did not have enough time to protect their ship and Lovely Marie.
The Pirates were vicious and relentless!
After countless hours of training he was able to defend himself successfully, but he couldn't strike back, his enemies were more numerous than anticipated, his friends couldn't lend him a hand because they had their own opponents consuming all of their attention.
In an act of desperation he casted a blinding spell and then struck two of his assailants down while they were trying to recover theri vision.
Brad Fou Field hated himself for not dealing with his opponents in a more manly way!
It was just instinct, he did not regret it but he knew he needed to train more with his spear, he felt ashamed for how weak he was.
He managed to defeat another one before they could regroup.
That was when he was attacked from his blind spot.
He turned to see an armor that was clearly different from the other pirates.
He just knew that this one's performance was a cut above the rest too.
Just his luck.
He was lucky he wasn't killed by the first strike, but he was still in a precarious situation.
He knew he stood no chance after losing his armor's arm, so he deployed his magical spear tips and did his best to pay attention to his surroundings, it would not do if he let anyone get into his blindspot again!
This was not good, he could not land a clean hit on this enemy!
And when he finally did, his spear bounced harmlessly.
His spell was not responding as it would usually, and he could swear he should be able to pierce any armor with his spell.
When did his spell become so weak?
The pirate inside that armor grew bolder after his attack failed to cause considerable damage and charged straight to him ignoring his spears, one managed to lodged itself in that armor's shoulder, but it was not enough, he couldn't escape…
A hail of bullets stopped the pirate advance and he managed to distance himself from his would-be killer.
Looking around he noticed that the number of pirates diminished considerably.
The one to cover for him was Jilk but he was busy covering Julius.
Looking back at the elite pirate he was just in time to see Chris landing a lethal blow and kill the man that almost got him…
Brad couldn't help himself from feeling pathetic, he was just not good enough with a spear and his spell was not as good as he remembers…
What the hell was he doing with his life!
0x0x0
Clarice was back at the Bartforts, she couldn't help herself and had to ask her father to be sent back here during the break.
The territory was even more beautiful than she remembers.
The first time she came there was only a couple of ships in the harbor, and that was counting the Partner, but now it had five ships not counting that behemoth of a ship Lord Leon owned.
Almost all of the ships were merchants looking to sell something or other to Angelica's husband: Fine wines and fancy dresses, jewelry and exotic spices.
Others were more focused on the growing population of the island, they were close to five hundred permanent habitants now and they represented a respectable target for less opulent merchants.
She heard that Lord Leon came to unexpected wealth… in the form of pillaging a few pirate crews that dared to attack him.
She heard some of the locals joking about going out to hunt for pirates…
The paths were now paved and the central plaza had a few new trees planted on it, they looked well cared for.
The crops looked plentiful and the serfs looked extremely happy with their unmarked bottles of what she supposed is homemade liquor…
There was just no escaping certain things in the kingdom.
She was with Angelica and Olivia while they gave her a tour of the new things in their territory, a few new shops had settled while she was away in what was a new area designated for commerce.
When they were returning to the Bartfort Estate after touring for all the new things in the territory.
"Angie…!" Olivia, who was carrying baby Gilbert around, called for the Lady of the land in such an informal manner that would have been unimaginable a couple of years ago, "Gil is hungry!" The oddity that was Lord Leon's lover and Angelica's best friend passed the cute baby to his mother.
"He tried to feed from you again?" Angelica asked with amusement, and to her surprise the former commoner nodded.
They do look alike from a distance…
""Lady Clarice…!" a young boy around fourteen years old came running towards them, it was Colin Fou Bartort. Lord Leon's youngest sibling, the cute kid fell for her at first sight when she was introduced to all of Lord Leon's siblings.
He offered a small decorated bag containing a few pastries he got from one of his brother's bakers.
She accepted the offering with her best smile, she felt flattered to be this charming young man's first crush and while she didn't encouraged she didn't reject him either.
Besides her both blondes giggled, they would tease her about this later.
however it was an enjoyable status quo for both of them, she got a self esteem boost from him and he would gain experience in dealing with ladies for when he attended the academy.
It was a shame he was the… she doesn't even know what is Colin's place in the succession for his father's title.
Angelica told her that the supposed firstborn of Lord Balcus is the product of adultery, but he was not stripped of his last name as of yet, and the the wife had two children, that woman was here in charge of the Thermals (it was way too amusing to watch Lord Leon grit his teeth whenever someone called his fancy outdoor baths by that name!)
It doesn't matter anyway, hopefully Colin's crush will vanish before he enters the academy, they are not suitable partners for each other.
Speaking of the academy…
There are four students of that prestigious institution wasting their time sitting around a table while eating some of the same pastries Colin provided her.
Two of them are Angelica's sisters in law, the older one is chatting with her suitor, the Heir of a nearby Barony, the younger one is looking at her group with stars in her eyes and abandoning the group to walk towards her own group.
Clarice has noticed the girl… Finley was her name. Finely has a slight case of hero worship for Angelica and she adores her first nephew too.
There is another couple of academy students with the older sister, the boy is another Heir to a Baron from… somewhere in the borders.
The girl that accompanies him is his own love interest, she was… coerced to be here by Jenna, it was kind of hilarious to see the girl trying to hide from Jenna behind the book she was reading.
The ponytailed girl became notorious in the academy when she started her… ruthless match making, she hunted the introverted girls that inhabited the academy and forced them to get to know the poor Barons.
Did she mention Jenna was ruthless?
She once saw her dragging one of such girls to Saintess knows where to meet with a suitor. By the hair!
Her efforts were paying off according to her followers, there was little doubt that her fiance will be the leader of the Poor Barons Group next year.
They sat at a bench nearby
"Big sis can I hold baby Gil please!" Finley catched up to them.
Gently Angie passed her baby to the younger girl, the baby complained at first but eventually calmed down. and let his aunt carry him around.
This, Clarice thought, was what she wanted from life, a simple life surrounded by friends and family.
0x0x0
Aaron was watching the group of girls walk back to the estate of the Baron.
He has just arrived today and he has already confirmed at least one rumor.
The Villainess of the game gave birth to a healthy baby boy a couple of months ago!
He wasn't sure what was going on, she was supposed to still be at the academy being cheated by the prince!
He had counted on that, but not!
His own knowledge of the game has somehow become obsolete without anything he could do about it.
But he knew that for almost a year already.
That is why he managed to become the Queen's eyes and ears here within the Bartforts territory.
His original goal was gain access to the academy by stacking accomplishments as an adventurer and seduce some unwitting noble girl and live the good life!
However it soon became obvious that something happened in the academy and the Villainess was taken off the board… Officially at least.
By a stroke of luck he managed to learn the Queen needed a spy, and he possessed the Lost Item that could make that possible.