I dressed myself as best as I could. It was uncomfortably showy and felt unnatural. Unfortunately, it was considered the norm to wear for formal meetings.
I suppose it could be worse. Even though I was meeting the head of the most powerful family in Holfort, I was still a student. I could get away with only wearing the suit and none of the extravagant accessories.
The lowered formality did not ease my anxiety. This was the first plot relevant character I had to deal with with minimal characterization from the game. While dealing with the students had always been nerve wracking, I at least had a guide to predict their general responses. Outside of a brief mention, the game barely acknowledged his existence.
It didn't help that Angelica had been cagey about describing her father. I wished I had the foresight to have Luxion gather intel on the man, but the Duke resided far enough that Luxion would have to leave me in the dark for a few days and delay certain operations.
I did not like flying in the dark. I could only sigh at my predicament.
There was no point delaying the inevitable. If anything, stalling now would hurt my chances.
Nervously entering the room, I saw the Duke sitting behind an ornate desk. He had long graying hair accompanied with a few prominent strands going diagonally across his face. It was more imposing than had he swept it back since it gave an initial impression of a massive scar.
"Welcome, Sir Leon."
"Greetings, Your Grace. I appreciate you taking the time to meet me."
"My daughter tells me you wish for me to open an investigation on your matriarch. Zola Fou Bartfort."
"Lady Angelica did not inform you of the details?"
"Whether or not she did is irrelevant outside giving me reason to meet you. You are here today to speak on your behalf," the man scolded.
His irritation indicated that he was assessing me. He found my response lacking. The question was if he was assessing my upbringing or because he was looking for something. While failing either was bad, I hoped his irritation was because he was searching for something. It meant I could work my way into his services as I intended.
"My apologies, Sir."
"Now then, why do you wish to remove your matriarch?"
"It is my belief that she is part of an organization called the Forest of Ladies, and these women have taken advantage of the pension system to fill their coffers at the expense of youths and the kingdom. I was sold to one of her associates and scheduled to be sent to the frontlines against Raschel. I managed to pay her off and fund my education by going on my expedition. However, I fear my younger brother will be targeted next, and my matriarch is vindictive enough to set up more restrictions to prevent Collin from doing the same as what I had done to buy my freedom."
"I am aware of the existence of these women. The Prime Minister has mentioned you approached him regarding this matter. Like him, I am of the belief that nothing they have done is technically illegal. Morally reprehensible, but legal. And while we recognize that this is an oversight, attempting to correct it might do more harm than good."
"More harm?"
How could routing out these monsters cause more harm? At least a conspiracy seemed more justifiable since that would require someone benefiting. The Duke's acknowledgment of the over sight and desire to fix it muddied the situation. Irrelevant for what I wanted, but I had to wade through this topic and gain insight on how to earn his favor.
"We have many enemies on all sides. Many more men die on these fronts than do the boys sent by these ladies. And the backgrounds of these boys are varied enough that a blanket law would affect far more than just this group. Thus, more damage."
It was a bullshit excuse. There had to be a plot. If there wasn't, he could have put forward a less encompassing law to reduce the number of boys taken advantage of. He was playing on the idea that I was stupid enough or idealistic enough to believe laws had to be all or nothing.
But I wanted his approval.
"I suppose that makes more sense. Thank you for the explanation. But I am not here regarding the Forest of the Ladies. I'm only here regarding Zola," I said as I opened a briefcase and pulled out a folder. I made sure that he could see the edges of the other folders as I handed the one on Zola's over.
After he perused the papers within the folder I gave him, he looked me over.
"What is your endgame?"
"To free my brother from Zola's machinations."
"That you are doing this with his interests in mind is something obvious, but that is not the true reason as to why you are here."
"Sir?"
"You are far too green. While it would be enough to fool the average student, it is painfully obvious to my daughter and me that you have some agenda."
Did Angelica decide to cut me off? Had I finally pushed her trust too far by pushing for this meeting?
Sensing my disbelief, the Duke continued speaking. "Angelica did nothing to push me against you. If anything, she holds you in high regard from the way she tried to set up this meeting with only two thousand platinum coins."
I felt myself relax. I released the breath that I hadn't realized that I had been holding in.
The Duke then gained a serious expression. "But therein lies the problem. Angelica is not one to be so easily fooled, impressed, or swayed. In fact, she was unusually cautious when trying to describe you to me. If your blatant bid to sic me on several individuals of the Forest of Ladies is to go by, your character is questionable at best and your abilities should have been too lacking for Angelica to even bother. Yet you have somehow earned enough of her favor to get away with how you handle the founding heirs."
"You are aware of the training?"
"I was not speaking of those. Aside from how you handle Jilk's, the trainings are more than reasonable. I was speaking about how you deliberately antagonize the five and do so by dangling the scholarship student as the prize."
It need not be said that he was more concerned about one particular heir's interest in Olivia. While he was likely concerned about the other heirs' interests for political reasons, his daughter was engaged to Julius.
It was ironic that the one relationship he was most concerned with was the one I had the least hand in ruining. Fortunately for me, I could speak the truth and not have him pick apart anything.
The question was how to frame it. I doubt he would want to hear that his daughter's flagging relationship was her fault. But at the same time, going out of my way to shield her might convince him to dismiss anything else I had to say. He already accurately believed I was trying to get into his good graces, and, as a result, any flattery or act of goodwill might further his negative impression.
It might be best to play it as Jilk would.
"It was a... natural progression that I had little influence on. Angelica and I were already tutoring Olivia. It just happened to be that the heirs found her... novel. For various reasons that they only know, they might have developed a less than respectable interest in her even before I met them. As such, they found the idea that I was taking up her time to be stepping on their territory."
That should do the trick. Angelica wasn't blamed, the heirs were at fault, and everything I said was truthful. Even the fact that I did not even need to antagonize them... much. Most of the time, the boys riled themselves up more without me having to mention Olivia.
I only directed Olivia to check on them to make sure they didn't fall into depression. Of course I would never mention how it would further the boys' love for her (now if only it would consistently further her love for them).
"Yet I cannot help but feel as though you are somehow responsible for why the crown prince has been treating my daughter so poorly as of late."
"Had she told you about what Julius has said to her?"
"No, but whenever her composure cracks, it has always been about him. And given how involved you seem to be with the heirs and scholarship student, it's fairly obvious you are somewhat responsible."
"If she has not elaborated the details, I will respect her wishes. However, from what I heard, there were always underlying issues on the prince's side. He..."
I paused as I deliberated over my next few words. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to plant the suggestion for the Duke to dismiss the prince? It would be a point of no return in regards to plot deviations as Angelica would not go against her father. It would potentially save her.
And she would hate me for it. She wouldn't know for sure, but I felt she was intelligent enough to make the correct assumption. Angelica already knew I was the type to plot in the background.
"He... what?"
Looking at the man, I think I saw his features shift for a fraction of a second. I thought I saw concern beyond the political ramifications.
"I hate him. I hate him so much," I said before I could stop myself.
"Eh?"
"That brat is the most hypocritical, illogical, and indecisive asshole I've had the displeasure of meeting. First it's treat me like any other student, and then it's by royal decree, begone peasant (which he said to a noble so that he could spend time with a peasant). Then there's the fact he wants to be seen as a person outside of his title, but every time Angelica tries to get to know him, he shells up like a turtle. I mean, how is she supposed to get to know the real him if he refuses to ever show it. And another thing, I get that he hates being the crown prince, but he could always abdicate the position to his half brother. From what I heard, the boy wants it desperately. It's the perfect scenario for both of them, plus it would answer the stupid question he has regarding whether or not Angelica loves him or his title. Yet he doesn't do it," I ranted until I was hoarse.
After I finished, I realized I screwed up. I had let my raw emotions take control after seeing how much Angelica's father cared for her. It just caused me to let loose all my frustrations.
Even if it was in support of his daughter, I showed I was too immature to reign in my emotions. I lambasted the crown prince, a politically suicidal move had I done it anywhere else. It might still have been a suicidal move depending on whether or not the Duke felt like airing this out to anyone relevant.
Looking over at him, I saw he still had a shocked expression. I presume he had not expected for the conversation to have gone is it did.
After a few minutes to compose ourselves, he asked me, "Are you romantically interested in my daughter?"
"... How did you get that from my vitriolic spiel about the crown prince?"
"From my perspective, you have placed yourself into her trust, are a substantial factor in her engagement eroding whether it be by accident or intentional, seem emotionally invested in her happiness to the point you could be tried for treason, and now I'm starting to think this whole meeting was a naive means for you to rise up the ranks to make yourself socially acceptable for her."
"I'm not going to Helen of Troy her."
"Helen of Troy?"
"Lost history. The point is that I'm not planning on plunging Holfort into a civil war no matter how attractive your daughter is."
Ironically, I was doing it for her love rival.
"But you do find her attractive."
"Yes. Is that what you want to hear? That is such a meaningless statement though. You'd have to be blind or stupid not to think she is attractive."
Rather than giving me a proper response, he snorted in amusement. Clearly he found my frustration amusing.
"Can we please stop talking about your daughter? I would very much like to return to the topic of dealing with my matriarch."
He gave me a look.
"... And possibly her cohorts," I mumbled n embarrassment.
"... Leave the briefcase. Angelica will let you know my decision."
Side Plot
After the boy left my secondary office, I turned to go to the observation room next door. In there, I saw Angelica with an exasperated expression. She had heard everything, and like me, she clearly had not been ready for Leon's outburst.
"So, was he putting on airs, Angelica?"
"I... I've never seen him so emotional. Olivia mentioned that Leon had lost his composure before when Julius had... insinuated things about me. I didn't realize it was so visceral."
At least the boy's loyalty to my daughter was unquestionable. It was something to keep in mind if the crown prince and his friends insisted on breaking the power block we had created. Border nobles were plentiful enough and subjugated enough that allying with them and more sympathetic families was more likely to end in victory despite the crown's attempt to stop another Principality from forming.
But I digress. I wanted to know how trustworthy the boy was.
"I meant more along the lines of why he is here. Do you feel that he has more aims beyond some deforestation."
"It is unclear to me. Part of me believes that removing as many of these women as possible is the main goal of his visit. He only took an interest in meeting you after I mentioned that you might investigate one person. His generous offering would line up with that logic..."
"I'm sensing a but in that statement."
"I find that he prefers to micromanage when he can rather than rely on others. Relying on you to rout the women is inconsistent with what I have observed of him."
Looking at the briefcase, I felt Angelica's intuition to be correct. It was too thorough. You wouldn't get this kind of information through word of mouth, and it wasn't the type of information you could just buy. He had to have more of a personal hand in acquiring this information.
Which was why his approach seemingly contradicted his personality. Based on what I gathered from him and Angelica's description, he had no reason to trust that I would do anything with these documents.
"So what do you believe to be his goal."
"I think he wants to prove his value to you so that he may be utilized in the future."
"He's not interested in using our name for his gain?"
"I doubt it. His irreverent treatment of the heirs is not earning him any favors for future promotions. If anything, he seems to welcome the idea of losing his noble title, and I can't find myself faulting him for that."
His desire to be utilized fit the mystery a bit better. The question now was what did he want me to use him for? The Redgraves were involved in many matters, but I could not pinpoint what exactly he wanted that other families could not provide as well.
It was a bit concerning. But...
As I looked at Angelica, I felt the boy had little to no desire to bring harm to my family. But it did not have faith in his judgment. A test was in order.
"If he wants me to have faith in his abilities, then he'll have to earn it."
"Father?"
"How do you feel about recruiting him as your vassal?"
"You are offering him vassalage?"
"I need a reason to investigate these individuals, and not Redgrave's vassal but yours."
"My vassal?"
"I do not have enough reason to trust him with our family's reputation. If anything goes wrong, only you will be affected."
"I am not opposed to this arrangement so long as Leon accepts the offer."
Somehow, I highly doubt he would reject the offer.
AN:
1) Not too sure how I felt about this chapter. The sudden change in tone felt awkward to me, but I really wasn't sure how to continue the discussion regarding why Vincent should trust Leon other than seeing raw emotion of some kind.
2) I feel the aspect of introducing laws to be somewhat accurate and a reasonable explanation given by someone who isn't interested in changing the status quo. Of course, Vincent could be entirely truthful but he could just as well be bullshitting for the sake of weakening the border nobles.
3) I feel he would be in the know of what was happening in the school given he has plans depending on whether his daughter's marriage goes through successfully. Leon's presence around her would be something of interest to him.
4) I feel the side plot was more interesting than the main plot this time. It hints at Vincent's intent to start a revolt if the crown doesn't shape up. It establishes the manner in which the Redgraves will associate with Leon. It also delves more into Angelica's analytical side since she is the foremost expert on Leon in this story.
5) Angelica is in this weird position where she is loyal to her family and loyal enough to Leon to not want to see him get screwed over. Leon's interests in her family aren't exactly known and makes her uncomfortable enough to inform her father of her concerns.
6) On the romance side of things, Angelica thinks Leon might have more than a passing fancy for her. Too bad it's unreciprocated since she is still very much in love with Julius. Though she does realize that she shouldn't be so hard on herself after hearing someone defend her so adamantly. How this affects the plot later is still in the works.