CHAPTER XII.
Missiles flew towards the pirate ships as Arroganz used the guard of his sword as a hammer to crush an enemy armor cockpit, killing the pirate instantly before turning around and kicking another armor that tried a sneak attack from the rear.
Bang! Bang!
Another armor fell from the sky after a short burst of fire from Arroganz's rifle.
"Nicks, James, how are things on your end?" Leon asked as his brother and brother-in-law finished another group of armors, this pirate fleet was an overwhelming force that would've surely reduced his territory to ashes… If they were weak enough to allow it to happen, that is!
"We are done with this trash Leon!"
"Master, scanning of enemy vessels complete, they do not possess any treasures but their arsenal is quite valuable" Luxion's voice confirms their suspicions, or part of them at least.
"Any evidence that would link them to the Marmoria House?" she doubted they would leave a trace to track back to them but he was sure this was that Green clown's doing.
"Capture enemy vessels, I'm not leaving this battle without some profit!" Lord Leon ordered his meager forces.
This was the second time in two months they were attacked by pirates after they had that unpleasant encounter with the Marmoria Heir. Cordelia knew she should have pulled the trigger back then!
Sighing as she looked around Partner's bridge, Mistress Livia was holding Lady Angelica firmly and reassuring her that the battle was over and nothing had happened to their Lord!
No, killing that Green clown would've put her under even more stress than a battle they could easily win and profit from it.
She has noticed it but it's been months since her lady had completely forgotten about the prince and started falling for her husband, kind and attentive and protective Lord Leon.
The duke did not make a mistake bonding them and it shows, when they have the biggest fleet of this region just by capturing enemy ships.
With Partner as their Flagship they've captured a total of ten ships in defensive battles, most of the time they just stand idle because they do not have the crew to operate them but them resting on the harbor were enough of a statement of their strength.
"I want to sell these airships My Lord, they are such an eyesore!" Livia commented, she was not thinking of the profit, she didn't have a mind for business, but she did care about the stress they would cause Lady Angelica.
The red eyed beauty's pregnancy was in the second trimester and they needed to think of her health, and just looking at the vessels put a burden on her knowing this was because some lordling wanted to get even with them for something they didn't even do in the first place was making her worry.
Besides, they have more ships than they can realistically operate.
"I Agree, have your Papa contact the neighbors to let them know they are available, give priority to Redgrave vassals!" Lord Leon said through the communication device installed in Arroganz.
Somehow, Mistress Livia's father ended up as Lady Angelica's assistant and nowadays handled a big deal of administrative matters as the Village Elder, that allowed the Lady of the barony time to rest and be pampered by her family.
Lord Leon was adamant on reducing her workload during her pregnancy, he was such a doting man and Cordelia hoped his brother was taking note of how to behave from him.
Cordelia and Nicks were making progress on their relationship using Holtfort kingdom's traditional courting method: Tea Parties.
Lord Leon had somehow infected Nicks with his tea maniac ways and just as the baron organized tea parties for his women, so did her fiance for her.
Things had been chaste and slow going, but the barrier between them seemed a little bit shorter and more manageable with every week that passed.
Hardening herself again to deal with this battle aftermath she had her own duties to get back to, and there was the distasteful matter of the pirates executions that was done by Luxion's spare bodies.
The round familiar relished in executing the criminals and it spared their Lord the task to execute them himself.
She has gotten used to seeing Lord Leon having a spat with his familiar, they were friends, she noticed, the kind that likes to get under each other's skin but won't hesitate to lend a hand whenever it was necessary.
0X0X0
Daniel Fou Durland was taking a forced leave from the academy to learn hands on as his father called it, they were buying a new warship from one of their neighbors, and supposedly nothing beats real life experience in such matters.
Getting back to his father's territory was a long and tiresome process that he would rather not go through but he was unlucky enough to be his father's Heir and had to study abroad at the capital so he could find a suitable wife…
That was bullshit, not only he was just a Baron's Heir, the Crown Prince was attending the academy in the same year and none of the girls would even spare him a glance, if he was lucky he would be recognized as a mob, a derogatory term used to describe a background character as popularized by Marie Fou Lafan, the Prince's lover.
And for the Prince to choose that flat girl felt like yet another insult to the boys of the academy!
He had such a beautiful fiance and he changed her for… for… for Lafan!
And that wasn't the worst because if he was unlucky, the girl he invited would show up to his tea party with their friends, eat all of his stock and advise him to do better next time by demanding better offerings!
Some of his fellow baron's heirs had turned to each other for support… which in turn had started some really wild rumors that had devastated them further…
At least he looks better by comparison now!
Every gray cloud has a silver line.
After four days of travel he arrived at his father's territory and had to admit he hasn't made much progress in finding a marriage partner to his family.
He expected some sympathy when he explained his circumstances, but all he got was to get compared to the guy that was selling the airship they wanted.
The guy was his age and already had a wife and a concubine already!
He felt so miserable that he had retired to his room shortly after and swore to himself that he would punch the bastard in the face at the first chance he got!
Empty self sworn oaths aside, he avoided talking with his father during the two days it took to get to this new Barony, and he was so done with airships he hoped they took their sweet time haggling the price.
The island was big, bigger than his father's but what was the most eye-catching was the massive 700 meter long airship and the smaller ships that looked tiny. They were one hundred and fifty meter long ships so they weren't big to begin with but they shouldn't look like toys either.
"This Island has been in development for the best part of a year now" his father said, from the deck of their old airship it didn't look like that. If his father had asked him how long he believed they were working the island he would have said around 5 years.
"They work fast" he admitted calmly knowing that he was once again being compared to the neighbor that had already married despite them being the same age as himself.
"They fought sky pirates!" His father said with excitement not proper of a man his age, even more so because whenever he talked about the criminals it was with dread, they were pests, no doubt about it. "Rumor says that every time they dealt with them they captured their ships!"
Daniel looked at his father surprised at his words, normally pirates were repelled and chasing them was not an option due to their crew's being much more experienced than the ones defending that it made it a bad idea as far as he knew.
"That's reckless!" He said. He was young and he wanted to get some merits and war stories to impress the ladies but chasing pirate ships was a bad idea to say the least.
"Not with a ship like that!" his father was pointing at the massive ship they were rapidly approaching… that changed the perspective of things, surely such a ship would be impossible to sink.
"So who is this new Baron?" he asked, feeling intrigued for the first time. This new guy had profited from what the rest of their neighbors would have called a catastrophe.
"Leon Fou Bartfort," his father said with respect.
Daniel has heard of him recently too, from the Prince's entourage no less, an upstart adventurer turned noble that had disrespected his highness best friend… well shit!
"Father, mmm…" he needed to warn his father about this but was unsure about how to do it "You know this guy picked a fight with the Marmoria House, right?"
To his surprise his father chuckled "Who do you think sent the ships we are about to buy?"
That left him speechless until they had to disembark, he would have to ask his father about it later.
The fields were bigger than he expected and had men hard at work on them, there were pens for cattle to graze, and up close the village looked much more… Pretty.
There were ornaments here and there with nice flowers at the porch of the commoners cabins, the roads were impressive too, this place would be better than his Father's barony the next year if what his dad said was true.
They were greeted by a beautiful woman in maid's uniform and glasses that introduced herself as Cordelia Fou Easton and then took them to the estate in front of a central plaza; there were some new tree seedlings being planted too.
The estate was kept neat and clean; they were taken to a big room where he could see the Bartfort family waiting for them.
And he paled when he saw the blonde, red eyed beauty with a pregnant belly resting in comfortable looking furniture, all the rest of the room didn't matter when he saw the daughter of the duke here.
So this is where she ended? Kind of funny to have her as a neighbor.
"... is my son and Heir Daniel!" his father gave him a pat in the back as he presented him to the new neighbors.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance" greeted back the younger man "I'm Leon Fou Bartfort" he introduced himself and he was happy that he hadn't spaced out too badly "This is my wife Angelica," he knew of her of course.
She still has the same aura of authority about her but there was something different about her, there was more to her now, and he couldn't imagine her smiling like this while she was at the academy.
"My mistress Olivia" the Baron continued, he introduced another beautiful woman with blonde hair, blue eyes and a figure that could rival that of the Duke's daughter! "My older brother Nicks, he is our father's Heir and his fiancee Cordelia whom you've met already."
There were no retainers in the room, even the maid was part of the family, that was curious.
What followed was a long tedious negotiation about the ship his family wanted.
How much in raw Dia, how much in goods, how much upfront, how many installments.
An argument here, a joke there, a compliment to butter up the Baron.
A cheat hidden clause avoided, a backhanded compliment, some tea and refreshments.
The Duke's daughter had to take a restroom break and the mistress took the chance to go as well, his father asked when they were expecting the baby to be born, it looks like it'll be a girl (it will) only Lord Leon says it's a boy ( he is wrong, of course).
In the end they manage to strike a deal!
His father and him are invited to take a look at their new ship, excited they go with only the men this time, and the airship is magnificent.
The specs have been upgraded by the Baron, it works differently from what they are used to but training the crew won't be a problem.
They were invited to spend the night in the estate and allowed to use their thermal baths. They were really comfy but it was really uncomfortable to be almost naked near other men.
Neither the Baron nor his brother seemed to mind though.
"I heard you are strong Lord Leon" Daniel commented, he was curious about how strong one must be to chase after pirates.
"I must be, I'll be a father soon!" Said the Baron with joy and giddiness in his voice, His brother looked at him and then proceeded to push his head under the hot water as if trying to drown him… but it was just a game between them and they soon began roughhousing.
"What was that for!?" the Baron questioned after they cooled down.
"You are showing off your lovely, pregnant wife and adorable lover to a boy that has to go back to the academy you heartless jerk!" said Lord Nicks with a scowl.
"Did it really look like that?" Asked the Baron looking him in the eyes apologetically.
Daniel nodded curtly, he could see that the Baron was genuinely excited to become a father but from where he was standing he was showing off Lady angelica and his commoner lover by having them both present in the negotiation and the fact that they appeared to be friends only made it worse!
"I apologize then, but they are the reason why I wake up every morning to train myself" the Baron didn't really apologize for showing them off but he could accept that explanation, and… to be honest he would be showing them off if he was in Leon's place.
"So it's discipline, you are strong because you have the discipline to train yourself constantly?" his father interjected while looking at him, it was obvious that his father would want him to start training daily now!
"It is part of it" Lord Nicks spoke, chastising his father as if he was a student that got only half of the question right.
"But Leon was always talented since we were children." The fact that it was the older brother praising the younger one helped drive the point home, discipline without talent would not achieve these results.
Daniel was almost grateful, he had enough just diving into the capital's dungeon to add morning training every day to boot!
"Would you be training tomorrow?" His father none the less refused to drop his point, Daniel could already foresee a sparring match tomorrow!
0x0x0
The Old hag healing him was doing a good job of it, the pain had already dulled and his body had already healed in a minute what would have taken a week without magic… But he would rather be scolded by those two!
"Lord Leon bad!" Seriously, that commoner was just way too cute! The way she scolded her lover as if he was a misbehaving puppy instead of a maniac with a sword while holding her finger up, that would have disarmed even the Black Knight!
"All this time and you still can't hold back!?" The small smile Lady Angelica had while sitting in a chair that their maid had brought for her was not a scolding at all, some bastards have all the luck.
Meanwhile his father looked down at him and shook his head in disappointment. As if they didn't know this would be the result before they even started!
After warming up Lord Leon and him had taken to a fenced area, where they dueled using wooden weapons.
At the beginning he was cautious, this man is strong he thought, so he probed him once, twice, thrice with the same shoddy parry in reply.
The fourth time he grew bold and almost overwhelmed his guard, the fifth time he tried chaining his attacks as he has practiced sometimes before.
But that was when the Baron had shown his fangs he blocked with the blade of the wooden sword but rotated so he could hit him with the handle of the right on the ribs!
He was lured, forced to make a mistake by a more talented fencer and paid the price.
He himself asked for a second round despite knowing his ribs would need to be taken care off after the duel.
The second time he decided to stay on the defensive and waited for the Baron to make the first move.
The baron was patient but when he realized that he was not going to take the bait this time just smiled and nodded.
He changed his stance a little bit and swung his blade and when he tried to parry it was light as a feather, it was just a feint and he was left wide open to a punch to the ribs! That was the second time he attacked the same area.
The motherfucker hits hard!
The third time it was just a show of how much outmatched he was, perfect parries, perfect dodging skills, better reflexes there was not a single aspect of combat he wasn't bellow the Baron and when the third round ended he was a mess with hematomas and scratches all over his body including a few cuts on his shirt here and there.
And now the Baron and his lover were squatting in front of Lady Angelica's chair speaking to her belly, the man put his ear on it only to retreat hastily and loudly saying "He kicked me!" with a big smile.
Getting closer to the family he could hear what they were saying easily, "Even your daughter thinks you overdid it!" scolded the crimson eyed future mother.
The commoner giggled and petted the Baron saying "It's alright she still loves you" while Lord Leon complained saying "No one believes me when I say it's a boy!"
"Thank you for the spar" he thanked him for the lesson in humility.
He wasn't weak, if he was he would have died in the Capital's dungeon already. But he wasn't talented nor practiced everyday to hone his skills.
It was natural to lose to someone with a cultivated talent, he offered his hand and the Baron promptly shook it.
"It was nice to have someone new to spar with, I only have my brother and brother-in-law to have matches regularly"
"I guess, '' he said, not really finding the experience to be nice at all.
"Perhaps you could come over the next holiday?" lord Leon asked with hope.
He did not want to spar with the Baron again but the island was nice but once you get over how awkward it is bathing with strangers the thermals here are something he could get used to.
"Maybe you can bring your girl next time!" this was said with a devilish smile, seriously, that was scary!
"Leon!" Warned Lady Angelica, but hadn't she assumed he had no girlfriend by scolding her husband?
"Lord Leon, Bad!" even the lover assumed as much!
This guy enjoyed his women so much that he had a blissed expression even when they scolded him!
There were no girls like that in the academy!
Or none left unattached at least…
"What? Jenna will come here from the academy too!" Ohh the Baron was planning to set him up with someone?
How much of a bitch does she have to be if they want a complete stranger to take her away?
Because, if she wasn't engaged yet she could only be a bitch!
"Oh! My son will be here and it'll be his pleasure to meet with your sister Lord Bartfort!" Betrayed! by his own father no less!
0x0x0
Clarice was about to lose her patience.
The girl in front of her was worse than the Lafan girl!
Not only does she not have a drop of noble blood in her veins, she also feels entitled enough to give her orders!
"Listen!" she said when she finally had enough of her, "I want nothing to do with Jilk or his friends ever again!"
"You are just pathetic!" Stephanie Fou Offrey, the daughter of Count Offrey, someone her family was not on good terms with, had the gall to try and order her around!
Clarice knows that the poor excuse of a noble has approached all the girls that were once engaged with the boys of the royal entourage to convince them to join her in her plans for revenge.
The fool already forgot what happened to Angelica!
She was particularly insistent with her after the Lafan girl had a fight with Jilk.
They tried to be discreet about it, but everyone had their eyes on them, there was too much at stake and if the Lafan girl lost her grip on her Harem there would be much to gain.
"The words of a fool!" she said not giving importance to the words of the girl, there was nothing she could say to make her change her mind, and there was even less she could do to force her!
She could see the girl get angrier and angrier, the demihuman servants she flaunts around were getting ready to try to intimidate her.
Clarice may not be allowed to have a personal servant like the slut in front of her, but she has no need of one to protect her, that is what her followers are here for!
"You better calm your pets or I'll have them put to sleep" she told Stephanie preemptively, she could get away with it too, and the blonde knew it.
She walked away from the fake noble calmly knowing that for all of her supposed power the Offreys never do anything to those with an equal or superior standing in the kingdom.
"You are just a coward!" The Offrey girl shouted angrily.
The words of a fool.
She saw what happened to Angelica, or at least what the Duke wanted everyone to see.
If she went along with that fake noble's plan she would end just like Angelica, but her father does not a conveniently unassuming, talented man he wants a blood tie with. She would really end with a miserable man at the borders of the kingdom if she gets caught, if not worse!