It was Knight Marlleo, coming to report to Licerio after returning from his mission. He approached and knelt before him.
"Young lord, the former Baron Grojo left our territory unharmed. After that, he ran into bandits and ended up dead."
"Former baron, Marlleo. You've done well—a man like him couldn't be allowed to go free. The other nobles will have noticed the marquis's unusual movements and will surely investigate; it wouldn't have taken them long to find him, and he would have confessed everything with very little pressure. You're dismissed, Marlleo."
Marlleo rose, said his farewell to Licerio, and left the room. Licerio watched the knight's back as he went and began drumming his fingers on the table.
From a drawer in his desk, he took out a sheet of paper and crossed out a name: that of the former Baron Grojo.
On that sheet were seven more names, all of which Licerio intended to cross out in time.
He put the sheet away and returned to his work, turning his mind to the next steps.
Over the following two weeks, López was due to complete his mission of stabilizing the new territory and informing nearly everyone of their new lord and the changes that came with it. After that, the next plan could begin: forming an elite squad to explore the ruins.
For now, it would consist of himself, the territory's three knights, and some of their squires—a small enough group to avoid drawing attention but sufficient to handle whatever they might encounter.
A week and a half later, López returned having completed his task, and during it he had come across something significant.
"My lord," said López, a spark of barely contained excitement in his voice, "it seems the former Baron Grojo wasn't entirely useless. He was quite good at hiding certain things; I found a clandestine iron mine in his territory. Concealed under brush and earth, behind a colossal stone wall put up by some theurge that blended remarkably well with the mountain itself. It was so large that not even fifty grown men could have moved it, let alone done it without leaving any trace."
Licerio dropped the papers he was holding onto the table and gave López his full attention.
"How did you find it?"
"It wasn't that hard, in the end. He had a hidden compartment under his desk. I wouldn't have found it if you hadn't ordered me to search every corner of his office—especially behind paintings and in the desk itself. Inside it he had extensive records on the mine, profits, and buyers." López pulled several sheets from one of his pockets and handed them to Licerio.
Licerio read through them carefully, not missing a single word. A few moments later, he set the sheets down and stared at them with a distant look. Another problem, he sighed inwardly. And this one is bigger than the last.
Just thinking about it made his head swim. The neighboring kingdom of Mitea, the Marquisate of Chrysalis, and even two nearby counts—the Count of Trosia and the Count of Jantiola—all of them buyers and backers of the mine.
"López," said Licerio in a firm voice, his expression serious, "you cannot tell anyone about this."
"Yes, my lord."
They then spoke at length about the mine and its surroundings, with the most important detail being the stone wall erected in front of the entrance—though more than a wall, it was a carefully arranged mass of stone.
López had gone to see the mine with his own eyes, and even knowing its location from the papers, it had taken him nearly three full days to find it. It was carefully concealed behind all manner of natural growth and debris.
On top of everything else, the wall of stone that almost completely hid the entrance to the mine—its sheer size and the weight of the stones used in its construction made it impossible that anyone could have managed it unnoticed.
The work would have required at minimum seventy to eighty able-bodied men working without pause—and that was not counting the task of quarrying the stones and shaping them as needed.
The only answer they could think of was the involvement of an unknown theurge, likely of a power considerably beyond Casea, a mere apprentice.
Things had grown complicated: an unknown theurge who had helped construct a clandestine mine selling iron in secret.
Licerio drummed the table as he tried to work out where that theurge had come from. The drumming grew faster and faster until he struck the table once with more force and picked up a sheet and his quill, wanting to get his thoughts down on paper.
He wrote out his hypotheses and deductions—starting with the one he was most certain of and ending with the least.
The first possibility was that the theurge belonged to the neighboring kingdom of Mitea; the second, that he was the marquis's. Perhaps that was what Poret had meant by doing business—not just with the ruins in their territory. The last was the Conclave of the Primaries, though with them Licerio could only add them as a precaution, since he knew nothing about them. He also added a lone question mark—some unknown force he had not yet identified.
The kingdom of Mitea and his own had been allied since their founding, rising together and competing against the world to establish themselves. But some decades ago, Mitea attacked, and they had been at war for twenty years—a conflict that came to be known as the War of the Last Bond.
Seeing that the unknown theurge and whoever stood behind him had not intervened in this war, there could be several reasons, though Licerio had three in mind: they were far away and news took a long time to reach them; they could not act for fear of being exposed; or they had already gotten what they needed, and the former baron and the mine no longer held any value.
The cause didn't matter now—he had to deal with the problem in front of him: what to do with the mine.
To avoid trouble, he could notify the king of its discovery and present some evidence of what the former baron had been doing. It would be better to keep the marquis's and the counts' iron purchases buried—those could prove useful later. Simply mentioning the kingdom of Mitea will be enough to draw all the blame there. Licerio nodded slightly to himself, satisfied with the plan.
He had worked out a solution that left him reasonably content, but the more he thought, the more he realized he knew almost nothing about iron mines and how to manage them.
He gave in and went to discuss it with his father and the secretary, trusting their greater experience on the matter.
He arrived at the door and was about to knock when he heard two voices inside—his father and his mother. He knocked and entered, greeted his parents, and sat in a chair beside his mother.
It had been quite a while since the three of them had spent time together; he was always occupied now, and when he did have a free moment, his mother was busy helping manage part of the territory.
One of the rare times they were all together, Licerio set aside his reason for coming and spent the afternoon watching and talking with his parents.
He had always known it, but he had inherited nearly all his features from his mother—her light-brown hair and brown eyes, her well-defined nose and sharp gaze. From his father he had taken his build, with broad shoulders and long arms.
He was so absorbed in studying his parents' features that he startled when they both burst out laughing and looked straight at him, and he pulled his attention back to what they were saying.
"Your medical review was two days ago, wasn't it, father?"
"If you already know, why are you asking? Don't play dumb," Lucio chided. "Stop trying to manage this old father of yours," he said, somewhat irritated—and grew more so when he heard his wife laughing at him. "Tch. He said that by next month I should be able to start moving around."
"We should go visit my parents once you've recovered," Melia cut in, easing the moment. "News of this territorial war will have reached them by now, and they'll be worried."
"Let's do that—though your father never much liked me and might throw us out if we stay too long," he sighed. "I'll have to count on my wife to defend me," he laughed.
Licerio and his mother, Melia, both laughed along, and the warmth of the evening carried on until nightfall, when the three of them had dinner together.
The following day, Licerio went to his father to discuss what to do with the iron mine. When he entered the room, Lucio was in the middle of a conversation with the doctor. At the sound of the door, the doctor turned, and seeing it was Licerio, greeted him at once and glanced toward Lucio. Lucio gave him a small wave of the hand—a signal to go.
"What did the doctor want?"
"Nothing, just sticking his nose where it doesn't belong—telling me I won't be able to remain a knight," he grumbled. "Setting that aside, what do you need?"
"Ah, yes, about that…"
Licerio told his father everything—the discovery of the iron mine, the unknown theurge who may have been involved, and all the parties connected to it. He finished by asking his opinion on what to do with the mine without coming out of it damaged.
"Our duty is to report this mine to his majesty and strengthen the kingdom. You won't be able to keep it hidden forever in any case—inform his majesty, be rewarded for it, and expose a case of corruption that was bleeding the kingdom."
"I also thought about reporting the discovery, but I wanted to know what would happen to it afterward. Would his majesty take it? Would we manage it ourselves?"
"Most likely he'll do nothing—he'll leave the noble who found it to manage, run, and develop it himself. After that, he'll buy the iron from you and expect a discount, saving money by not having to develop the mine himself and purchasing it cheaply."
"That seems like a common arrangement—he probably does the same with every noble's mine."
"Yes, the king saves a great deal of money that way, and the nobles earn the king's favor and get some benefits out of it in return."
Father and son spoke for a few more minutes before Licerio had to return to work. The work never ended, and there were always reports to go through—many of them disputes or situations among his villagers, numerous of which were simply a waste of time.
All of it slowed things down, and Licerio had to spend a great deal of time resolving them, wondering why everyone brought their problems to him, expecting him to solve them.
He was fortunate to have his mother and his father's secretary helping him, and he was looking forward to receiving the baron's title and building a group of trusted assistants to handle all of that. Meanwhile, he rescued every spare moment he could, also delegating part of his work to his mother after she found out what the project was and wanted to help in some way.
His desk was covered in plans for different chairs—buried under sawdust and wood shavings from the carpentry work—and he had to call servants in daily to clean up the mess before he could continue.
Moreover, Licerio occasionally left the manor to meet with blacksmiths and carpenters, spending a few hours working alongside them to develop the project. There had been many mistakes and setbacks, but Licerio calculated he could have a first usable prototype within a month.
Three weeks had passed, and the entire manor was in an uproar.
Word had come that a royal envoy was on his way, and in preparation, the manor had to be readied for his arrival.
The arrival of a royal envoy meant only one thing: matters of consequence. Although a letter had been sent to the king two weeks prior reporting the discovery of the mine, it was impossible that he would send a royal envoy over that alone.
Licerio had dressed in his finest clothes, with his mother at his side; his father had not attended, as he had to maintain his current role—acting as a man who had lost his mind.
Out front, a man dismounted his horse and announced himself to the steward waiting outside. The doors were opened, and he was shown in, the steward announcing the arrival of the royal messenger.
Licerio and his mother stepped forward to welcome him as the current regents of the barony and those responsible for managing the territory in the baron's absence.
The envoy was short but carried himself with great bearing, with heavy grey at his temples and a near-white beard. He wore a large purple hat and a long purple robe, simply made and without much ornamentation.
They exchanged a few light remarks that eased the tension in the room. A moment later, the envoy reached into his bag and produced a scroll bound with golden and crimson thread and opened it. Everyone in the room knelt, waiting for him to speak.
"This is a decree from his majesty." The envoy drew a long breath before continuing. "His majesty is deeply saddened to learn that one of his most valiant knights, who fought for the kingdom, has been left crippled and has fallen into madness; he hopes fortune is kind and that a recovery may yet be possible. He is also greatly pleased to hear that this knight raised a worthy son and that this son will be as valuable to the kingdom as his father before him. Therefore, I hereby authorize the transfer of title, and Licerio Bareo shall be named the new Baron of Lisea and Rosea; it is his majesty's wish that this may ease the burden on his old knight." The envoy closed the scroll and handed it to Licerio, who was still kneeling. "The title transfer will take place in three days, and by the authority his majesty has conferred on me, I will preside over the ceremony."
"I am grateful for his majesty's concern for my father—he would weep to hear it, were he still himself. I accept the decree, and I hope the envoy will stay with us these coming days and join us for dinner."
"It has been a long journey, and a few nights in a good bed would be very welcome—I accept the baron's offer and will be glad to join you for dinner."
Licerio personally accompanied the envoy to his room, then took him out to see the territory, guiding him through its best corners.
At dinner, they talked across a wide range of topics, including news from the capital; the envoy was noticeably struck by the breadth of Licerio's knowledge and his clear-headedness for someone so young, finding himself reminded of much more seasoned counts.
Over the following days, Licerio and his mother organized everything for the title transfer ceremony and sent announcements across all their territories.
To make the process as accessible as possible, it was to be held in the village directly below the baron's manor. The square there already had a stage, and it was the best location for it.
On the third day, Licerio dressed in his finest clothes, combed his hair, and hung his sword at his hip.
His father had been ennobled as a knight and later as a baron through his service in the wars. Permission had been asked, and the envoy had agreed to allow Licerio to wear it, as it was no great issue under the circumstances—but this was to be the only exception, since bearing arms in the presence of his majesty was a crime.
The square was packed, everyone wanting to witness the naming of the new baron and see his face; others had nothing better to do and had come to treat it as a spectacle. Everything was ready, but one thing was still missing—the most important thing: Licerio. The young man had not yet arrived, and five minutes past the agreed hour had already come and gone.