Finished with another meeting, Sorina collapsed into her chair and let out a long sigh. After a few moments lost in thought, she straightened her posture, stood up, and walked to the window. From her office, only the rooftops of the houses could barely be seen. She quickly noticed how, as the days passed, the columns of smoke were decreasing in number. It was at that precise moment, when she had finally found a little peace, that someone knocked at the door. It was Levi and Antón, who were worried about Hunt and Neo. Once the reports were finished, Sorina invited them to sit while she herself served tea to each of them.
Her position was clear: the conflicts between the nobles and the two boys. The new mission of the knights was to keep Neo and Hunt away from the nobles and the clergy, at least during the week of the festival. The two men nodded, and after a few brief questions, both left the room with the utmost respect.
Alone once more, she returned to the window to observe the horizon, when she was interrupted again. This time it was the call to dinner. An announcement she was pleased to hear. She gathered the documents without haste and went straight to the dining room, where her children were waiting for her to begin eating.
— Alistar — Mother, we are not worthy to eat at the same table. —
— Amisair — We cannot go on like this. We are no longer your sons, we are slaves. —
— Sorina — You will be whatever I decide you are. — She sat at the table and signaled for both of them to take their seats. — And I have decided that you will remain my sons. I do not want to hear another word about this matter. —
When dinner was over, Sorina asked them to accompany her to her office. Her three children were bewildered; it was not a usual hour for a meeting.
— Doina — What is happening, Mother? —
— Sorina — First of all, are you two recovering well? —
— Alistar — Yes, Mother, we are well. We still have bruises and, according to the mistress of the healers' guild, the deeper wounds will only leave scars. —
— Sorina — Salvia. Her name is Salvia. I hope that from this day forward, you begin calling people by their names. You are still my son, and I will not tolerate you behaving as before. Understood? —
— Alistar — Yes, Mother. —
— Sorina — And how are you? —
— Amisair — I still struggle to see through my right eye, and I cannot fully move my arm, but I am well. —
— Sorina — I already know that you are well. — She said while looking at Doina. — Let us move to what concerns us: Neo and Hunt. —
Trying to summarize the past few weeks, from the moment her sons departed for the capital until the previous day, Sorina and Doina took around an hour and a half to explain the situation in the city and who those two foreigners were.
— Sorina — Why are you both so quiet?
The two brothers avoided looking at their mother. The silence stretched on for several seconds, until Alistar gathered the little courage he seemed to have left
— Alistar — Mother... if you permit me to speak. —
— Sorina — If you are going to speak, do it without asking permission. Or better yet, do not speak. — The tone alone was enough to make his shoulders shrink.
— Alistar — Yes, Mother. There is something I do not understand. Why did Neo and Hunt save us? They owed us nothing. We... did not even deserve mercy. I ran Neo through with a sword, and Amisair... —
Sorina held his gaze until what little resolve he had left broke.
— Sorina — Because they are not like us. It is that simple. Here, most people act out of fear, self-interest, habit, or prestige. They will have flaws as well, like everyone else, but they are not rotten inside. They act according to their law. One they follow even when it harms them. —
— Doina — They speak of Tolmas in a different way... with more love. — She murmured softly while Sorina slowly shook her head.
— Sorina — They serve a Lord better than Tolmas. One who does not demand cruelty, does not abandon, and does not ask for blood in order to feel worshipped. —
— Doina — Is that why they help without calculating advantages? — Alistar frowned, confused.
— Amisair — Then do they believe in another god? —
— Sorina — No. It is we who believe in a false one. — The breathing of her three children stopped for a moment as they tried to process that statement.
— Sorina — They are not the kind of men without principles who can be bought with a few gold coins or a couple of threats. They have principles, and that makes them very dangerous. —
— Alistar — Mother... do you believe in a god other than Tolmas? —
— Sorina — Yes. But we will discuss that another day, and only within these walls. For now, I will leave things as they are... although I will not return to the temple. —
The three of them were surprised to hear that from their mother, a woman who never missed the weekly celebrations.
— Sorina — On the other hand, Neo and Hunt saved you because they saw people where others... only saw criminals. Remember that before you speak with them again. —
The two lowered their gaze for a moment, a moment Doina used to change the subject.
— Doina — Mother, they know Neo and Hunt by name... but they do not know what they have done these past weeks. — Sorina looked at her sons.
— Sorina — True... — She fell silent for a minute. — Alistar, Amisair, you have been defeated, and that may be useful to us. — Alistar barely raised his head.
— Doina — Useful? —
— Sorina — No one fears a humiliated man. No one watches a slave closely. Fools only watch the strong. —
— Amisair — You want us to appear weak? —
— Sorina — I want you to be so for as long as it is convenient. And I want the other families unable to measure us. —
— Amisair — What is happening with Anita's nobility? —
— Doina — The other noble families are worse than they appear. Without the heads of their houses and with their heirs discredited, many widows have been forced to take control. Several houses are disoriented. And now that you have returned as slaves... everything will worsen. —
— Sorina — And the worst has not even begun yet. Tomorrow more visitors will continue to arrive for the festival: nobles, merchants, agents, and the curious. All smiling and ready to strike. —
— Alistar — Meaning... — He said, tightening his jaw.
— Amisair — The sons of the other houses hate us. They will seek revenge. —
— Sorina — Some of them, yes. But they will hate one another as well. They followed you and helped you kill, then they beat the two of you... and now they must sit down to dine with their mothers, in the best of cases, as though nothing had happened. Shame does worse things than hatred. — Alistar looked at his younger brother.
— Doina — Everything is becoming more complicated. —
— Sorina — Tomorrow I will spend the day meeting newly arrived nobles, widows, and men convinced they know how to hide their intentions. I need to rest before enduring them. — She gathered some papers that Doina had been reviewing and headed for the door.
— Sorina — The three of you will do the same: rest, observe, and think. I do not want to see wounded pride, desires for revenge, or foolishness. — The three nodded with a slight movement of the head, and Sorina opened the door and paused for a moment.
— Sorina — This family has already fallen once. It will not happen again. —
Already in her bedroom, she changed clothes and extinguished the candles before getting into bed. She remained awake, staring into the darkness, remembering the days when she cried believing she had lost everything. Now, with her children alive beneath the same roof, she wept again. But this time not from anguish. With her face barely damp, she gave silent thanks to the one who had heard her when no one else had.
The following day passed as expected. From the first hour, she resumed meetings with the nobles of Anita and their relatives newly arrived from other cities. All of them sought something: favours, marriages, or information. Access to positions or future advantages. And almost all of them, sooner or later, ended up asking about the same thing: the printing press.
Sorina gave them all the same answer, with the same empty courtesy. Even before she had ordered discretion, the guilds had already hidden their machines from outside eyes. That confirmed something important to her. For the first time in years, the city was beginning to move as one.
At midday, she was forced to eat in her office. She requested a meal rich in meat, more out of curiosity than appetite after the recent conversations. The cooks, believing they were protecting her health, filled the table with vegetables and left the meat as a side dish. Sorina stared at the plate for several seconds before eating, disappointed.
— Sorina — Tell me what you have thought about Anita's current situation. —
— Alistar — The most important matter, and what we should focus on, is the festival. According to reports from Corlen, captain of Anita's cavalry), many faithful have arrived this year to worship the golden statue of Tolmas. In addition, according to a contact in the temple, they plan to carry out at least five sacrifices a day, not counting the special one dedicated to the statue. —
— Sorina — Neo and Hunt abhor sacrifices. There is some reason we still do not see, but I am certain it is not good to allow them to continue. —
— Doina — We cannot simply change the religious rites. The duke, or even the king, could condemn us. —
— Amisair — But we could weaken the temple by using the people of the city. If fewer people attend the ceremonies on the eighth day, the temple will fall by itself. —
— Alistar — The matter of the temple is very complicated. We still have to think of other solutions. —
— Sorina — When you are not drunk and there are no harlots nearby, you speak like a true marquis's son. —
— Alistar — Continuing with the reports, regarding the nobility we know it is weakened. Thanks to contacts among the palace servants, we know that many mothers treat their sons as slaves. However, a small group still treats them as sons. Those houses will likely interest us more. —
— Amisair — Those same houses are the ones that did not strike me out of social pressure. I remember the fear on their faces as they kicked me. —
— Alistar — I do not remember them all, but if I am not mistaken, most were sons of viscounts or counts. —
— Doina — They are most likely the same ones who joined Amisair out of fear of our house. —
— Sorina — If they still hold some respect for us, and not only fear, they may prove useful to us. After all, they are the ones in contact with the commoners. —
— Alistar — Speaking of commoners, according to Levi's reports, the sons of the craftsmen from Orlan's company are more than capable of performing administrative tasks. Most of them already know how to read and write. In addition, not only do they know the multiplication tables, but they also know how to divide with several digits and even use decimals. —
— Amisair — I knew it. Neo and Hunt are unique. In just a few weeks, they have educated a group of commoners. How much could they achieve at the university? Doina, how was the mathematics competition? —
— Doina — Humiliating. Both of them, as well as Pudiente, solved every exercise in very little time. And above all, they even solved those that had no solution. —
Doina stood up, searched among the documents on her desk, and added:
— If I am not mistaken, I should have them here. —
She approached Alistar with a mathematics notebook and handed Amisair a copy of the competition's solutions.
— Sorina — I did not know you had a copy of the exercises. —
— Doina — Being the link between the university and the marquisate has its advantages. —
— Alistar — This book... who else possesses it? —
— Sorina — We have all the copies, but some noble families and several guild masters were able to look through it. —
— Amisair — Impossible... How is it possible to calculate this? —
— Alistar — Mother, we must restrict the use of the printing press. We cannot allow this information to circulate. —
— Sorina — Each guild has two printing presses. Besides, nothing is printed without my approval. —
— Alistar — The printing press is very dangerous. The king will want one as soon as he learns they exist, if he has not already done so. —
— Sorina — I will send him ours and ask Neo and Hunt to create a better one. —
— Doina — I noticed that as well. Neo and Hunt do not seem accustomed to using it, as though in their homeland they used something different. —
— Amisair — They are most likely creating primitive versions of the tools they know so as not to lose their advantage. —
— Sorina — You are right. I would do the same. —
— Alistar — Continuing with the request of those two... they have demanded, which is not acceptable, that you increase agricultural production. —
— Sorina — I shall have to scold them for their manners, but their reasons are justified. According to what they have told us, a diet based only on meat or only on vegetables is harmful to health. —
— Alistar — But the city cannot feed itself on grain alone. Farmland could be expanded, although deaths among peasants from monster attacks would also increase. —
— Amisair — We will have to think of something. —
— Doina — Or ask them. —
— Sorina — They are presenting us with very strange inventions. They are most likely trying to guide us in a particular direction. —
— Alistar — We will have to ask them directly. We cannot allow two foreigners to control us. —
— Doina — In fact, they have purchased the city's citizenship registry. —
— Sorina — Then they are almost citizens already. Their formal union with Selene and Dalia would make them full citizens. —
— Alistar — We will also have to manage that. We have much to think about, but it is essential that we meet with them and make a decision. —
— Sorina — I agree. We cannot let them slip away. If their technology, their knowledge, or their way of thinking falls into the hands of another city or into those of the king, in ten years we will regret losing what is now within our reach. —
— Doina — Then we must offer them something so they do not wish to leave us. Otherwise, if we try to bind them by force, they will leave… or turn against us. —
— Alistar — Or worse. They may pretend to obey while strengthening another family or even another nation. —
— Amisair — I would do that. Smile, nod… and sell behind our backs. —
— Sorina — That is why I am glad we stopped you in time. — She took a blank sheet and spread it across the table. — First, we will decide what they truly desire. Until now, they have asked for little for themselves, and that worries me, even more than nobles who demand the impossible. —
— Doina — They have purchased citizenship, tools, work materials… and secured their marriages. —
— Alistar — They also possess a workshop, students, and have contact with guilds. —
— Sorina — They do not want luxuries… they are trying to establish themselves. — Doina nodded slowly. — And they already have a foundation from which to begin growing. —
— Amisair — Or from which to escape when it suits them. — Sorina looked at her children one by one. — They are strong. If we chain them or make them prisoners, they will escape. Then they truly will turn against us. —
— Sorina — Bind them to the city, but make it seem otherwise. — Doina barely smiled.
— Alistar — Doina, what would you propose? —
— Doina — Marriage, a position, and a great debt. —
— Sorina — Exactly… Their unions with Selene and Dalia will give them a home. A post at the university will give them public prestige. And funding for their projects will create mutual obligations. Only then will they feel needed and remain in the city. —
— Amisair — They can still leave. —
— Sorina — What matters is not whether they can or cannot, what matters is that they do not wish to. — Silence returned for a few seconds.
— Alistar — And if they ask for more than they should? —
— Sorina — Then we shall give them less than they ask and more than they expect. — Doina took notes without concealment. — As for the university… if we give them complete freedom, they will displace the useless masters within a few months. —
— Doina — The mediocre keep their positions because they have no competition. But we will not humiliate the old masters openly. We will create new chairs. —
— Alistar — And who will occupy those places? —
— Sorina — They will choose assistants. We will choose who may become an assistant. —
— Amisair — Now that sounds like control. —
— Sorina — Learn to distinguish between control and organisation. —
— Doina — The festival remains. If we act against the temple while favouring those two foreigners at the same time, some will say we have betrayed Tolmas. —
— Sorina — We will not act against the temple, but in favour of the city. —
— Alistar — That is the same thing with better words. —
— Sorina — Governing often consists of exactly that. — Amisair laughed through his nose.
— Doina — Then, what shall we do? —
— Alistar — We could empty the streets near the temple without forbidding anything. —
— Sorina — That is a good idea. —
— Alistar — Though it will enrage the priests. —
— Sorina — The enraged make mistakes more quickly. — Amisair smiled sincerely for the first time.
— Amisair — Mother… today you are frightening. —
— Sorina — Summon Neo and Hunt tomorrow, after the festival begins, around midday. I wish to speak with them before they invent another problem… or another uncontrolled solution. —
— Doina — And if they refuse to come? — Sorina walked toward the door.
— Sorina — Then I shall go myself. —