Chapter 19: The Polonio Manor

  Garfield and Hannah walked to the northern district. When they arrived at the gate, Garfield realized he didn’t have anything proving he had cause to enter the district. The guard challenged him.

  “Halt. Do you have justification for entering the northern district?”

  “Yes, I’m invited to Count Polonio’s manor.”

  “Do you have any such invitation?”

  “No, nothing in writing… Oh, but I’m a Duke, too.”

  “Huh?” The Guard called over his commander who apparently was vaguely aware of what had been going on that morning in the palace. He allowed Garfield through the gate. The pair arrived at the entrance to the Polonio Manor.

  “I’m Duke Garfield, here at the invitation of Count Polonio.”

  The guard, who presumably had staffed this gate all through the period when the Polonios were detained elsewhere, was shocked that a Duke would randomly arrive on foot. He had been expecting Garfield, though, so he opened the gate for them. As Garfield and Hannah approached the manor, the entire Polonio family came running out the front door to greet him, multiple employees following closely behind.

  “Duke Garfield!” the Count called out. “It’s an honor to personally meet you. Please afford us the rest of the afternoon to thank you for all you have done for our family.”

  “Please wait a moment.” Garfield glanced at his minimap, which revealed an unusual presence. “Stand back. ?Summon Creature of the Forest, a Beast, Angry Chimp?.”

  The Angry Chimp Garfield used days back to hunt down the Mellow Macaques appeared once again. Yttria and Hannah weren’t surprised, but everyone else present jumped backwards. Garfield pointed towards the eastern wall of the property.

  “Retrieve the spy, alive.”

  The Angry Chimp grunted and then ran off in the indicated direction.

  “Duke Garfield, what is this?” the Count asked. “Is there an intruder? Shall I inform the guard?”

  “No need. Ah yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well. I heard from Yttria that yours is a noble and honorable family, despite what that Emperor wanted everyone to believe. If it makes you feel any better, I suffocated him nearly to death before leaving the Empire. He won’t soon forget that experience.”

  “That—“ the Count started before getting interrupted by the returning Angry Chimp. It was dragging a half-conscious man behind him. Now the Count really did call for the guard. Garfield leaned over the detainee.

  Garfield addressed the detainee. “The Emperor has delegated all matters related to the fox-people to me. It’s time for turnover. Tell me what your mission was and who’s involved.”

  The man frantically looked around at all the people watching, then sighed. “I was supposed to monitor the Polonio family and make sure nobody interfered with the Emperor’s plan. I was working alone and sending messages back secretly. I wasn’t working with anyone else.”

  “Was there a plan to kidnap the daughter? Who was involved in that?” Garfield asked.

  “That did happen, although I wasn’t involved. I don’t believe the people who were involved stuck around after they snuck her out of the city.”

  “I happen to know one of the things you’ve told us so far is false,” Garfield claimed. “If you don’t correct the record right now, I’m going to light you on fire.”

  “F-False? NO! I SWEAR I told you the truth! PLEASE! BELIEVE ME!”

  “?Summon Item of Fancy: Standard Torch?.” Garfield started lowering the flame of a torch towards the man.

  “NO! PLEASE! I TOLD YOU THE TRUTH!”

  The man was way too frantic to be acting. Garfield dismissed the torch into a puff of smoke. “I think he’s telling the truth.”

  Count Polonio turned to his daughter. “Is he always like this?”

  Yttria just smiled wryly.

  The group relocated indoors. The guards would take care of the intruder.

  “I’m actually glad that happened,” Garfield noted. “I had concerns that some of the Emperor’s agents were still in Bretten and didn’t yet realize their mission was over.”

  “Y-Yes. Anyway, once again, please allow me to welcome you to our home. I know the title of Duke was thrust upon you very suddenly so, of course, if you ever have any questions that your administrator cannot answer for you, please do not hesitate to contact me. Also, if there is anything I can do for you as one of the senior leaders in Bretten’s military, please let me know.”

  “Can you post a portrait of me at every gate in the city which says, ‘Guards, stop bothering this guy’?” asked Garfield. It was worth a try…

  After a short pause, the Count burst out laughing. “I’m sure that will stop being a problem within the next day or so. Dukes can’t remain incognito for long, after all.”

  “The kingdom giveth and the kingdom taketh away, huh.”

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  “Do you still intend to adventure with the guild?” the Count asked Garfield.

  “Yes, for so long as it entertains me, at least.”

  “I’m sure someone with your magical ability is always welcome there. If you display your prowess via the Fighter’s Guild to the surrounding nations, I’m sure it will deter any near-term aggression from them as well.”

  “There’s hardly a need for that,” Garfield asserted. “If another nation pulls anything like the Empire did, I’ll just walk into their throne room and give the monarch or whoever hands-on lessons about hypoxic hypoxia.”

  “I have no idea what that means, but I know I’m glad you’re not my enemy.” The Count truly meant it. “That’s enough of me wasting your time. Let me introduce the members of my family who have been waiting patiently.”

  Garfield spoke briefly with the Countess and then Yttria’s older brother, Boro.

  “Duke Garfield, although I’ve heard a fair amount over the past day, could you clarify what your relationship is with my sister?”

  “Sir Garfield, you need not bother yourself with my brother’s inappropriate questions…”

  “Oh, we’re all calling him Duke, and you’re keeping it personal, I see. Duke, before anyone even knew my sister had been kidnapped, you were already racing to the Empire to save her. That is not something you would do for just anyone. Why did you spring into action so valiantly on her behalf?”

  The Count and Countess knew this line of questioning was provocative and borderline inappropriate, but they were quite interested in the answer themselves, so they didn’t step in.

  “It seems like everyone has the wrong idea about this, no matter how many times I say it. Yttria is a friend and a fellow adventurer… one who I have come to depend on, and who I believe depends on me. When someone of such status is in need of help, I will proffer that help.”

  Garfield placed a hand on his guild badge. “Rescuing someone from Emperor Foucault is truly a trifling matter. If the roles were reversed, I’m sure Yttria would make the same effort as I did. Unfortunately, she is a swordswoman rather than a user of magic, so sneaking into the throne room would be challenging, but I’m certain she would try her hardest!”

  Nobody knew quite how to respond to that.

  “Boro, is it? If you should ever find yourself captured by an evil Emperor, and I don’t have plans that day, I will come save you too.”

  “Sir Garfield, how rude!” said Yttria, rebuking Garfield. “You should check if I have plans or not that day as well! Perhaps I will assist!”

  Boro sheepishly retreated from the conversation. The Count decided to step in again.

  “Duke, what will you do now? Aside from transitioning into your role as Duke, that is…”

  Garfield patted Hannah gently on the head. “I’m going to finish helping Hannah here recover from her time in captivity. Also, she’s a user of magic like me, so I’m going to assess her magical ability once she’s healthy enough.”

  “Ah, I forgot to ask but she’s not a fox-person like the other prisoners were, right? Who is she?” the Count asked.

  “Hannah Foucault,” she answered herself.

  Several jaws dropped in unison. Yttria clearly hadn’t told her family some of the details, to her credit.

  “…Despite the name, she’s hardly related to the current Emperor, don’t worry,” Garfield assured the Polonio family.

  “…I see. I’m glad you were able to rescue her from captivity.”

  Garfield had one more issue to bring up. “The only question that remains, as least as far as I’m concerned, is what will Yttria do now?”

  “Meaning?” asked the Count.

  “As I understand, she was in training to become a knight of the kingdom when you were forced to send her away. During your detainment, she worked as an adventurer to support herself while practicing her skills with a blade. Now that your family is restored, will she return to her original path of becoming a knight?”

  Count Polonio turned to his daughter. “Yttria, do you have any desire to delay becoming a knight? Do you wish to adventure more, perhaps?”

  “I do still wish to become a knight but, the adventuring I’ve done with Sir Garfield has been some of the most fun and excitement I’ve ever had. I hope there will be some more opportunities for exactly that.”

  Yttria looked to Garfield with eyes full of determination.

  “As I mentioned earlier, I do plan to continue adventuring. Interestingly enough, Yttria and I have never accepted a request together as a single party.”

  “What?” Boro asked, suddenly rejoining the conversation. “Yttria, didn’t you say you’ve adventured with him before?”

  “Now that I think about it, Sir Garfield is correct. When we worked together to clear the goblins out from the caves north of Bretten, we were technically each on separate solo requests. After Sir Garfield released me from my restraints in the Empire, we worked together to explore the prison and save the prisoners, but we weren’t working on a formal request.”

  Garfield nodded along. Yttria continued her explanation.

  “We’ve met before and after requests on a couple of occasions to discuss them, but didn’t travel together. Technically, the guild should have no record of us working together.”

  “When I first started accepting requests, I had no real desire to party up with others,” said Garfield. “However, I eventually plan to register Hannah as an adventurer, and I don’t mind bringing people who I can trust. If you like, you can join us for requests when the time comes.”

  “Father, I don’t see myself as a career adventurer. Will you allow me to continue on the path to becoming a knight while still leaving, on a moment’s notice, to complete Adventurer’s Guild requests?

  “Normally, that wouldn’t be possible. Knight training is not something you can complete in a half-hearted manner. In this case though, I think an exception is warranted.”

  Yttria smiled and actually hugged her father. Even he was a bit surprised by this. “Actually, Sir Garfield, judging from the swordsmanship you demonstrated in the Empire, could you possibly help train me using practice swords or the like?”

  “Wait, what is this about the Duke displaying swordsmanship in the Empire!?” the Count asked desperately.

  “Did I not tell you, father? When Sir Garfield came to save me, the Emperor insisted that Garfield duel against one of his swordsmen. Sir Garfield defeated a man named Adán, I believe, who twin-wielded broadswords.”

  “Adán!? Isn’t he considered the top swordsman of the Empire? Duke, you defeated that man with swords?”

  “As I recall, he didn’t have any swords left when I defeated him. I bet he’s still bitter about that…” Garfield snickered at the memory.

  “What!? You defeated him without even killing him?”

  “Indeed,” Garfield confirmed. “I don’t like killing people and, save for one unhappy moment Yttria witnessed, I’ve been able to avoid it throughout my life.”

  “Oh, you mean that guy who you turned into a puddle on the wall?”

  The rest of Yttria’s family stared at her. Garfield spoke first.

  “Yttria… It worries me how you can say those words so casually…”

  “I didn’t care much for that guy.”

  “You’re more like me than I thought… loyal to your friends and dreadful to your enemies…” Garfield observed.

  “Perhaps you’re rubbing off on me a bit.”

  Boro then decided, “I don’t even WANT to know what their relationship is anymore.”

  Garfield and Hannah returned to the Bretten Sunset Inn one last time.

  “It’s official, I’m checking out. Thank you for providing me a room all these days.”

  “Despite all that happened, I’m glad you stayed here,” the innkeeper offered. “So, where will you be going now? Are you upgrading?”

  “You could say that…”

  “We’re moving to the northern district!” Hannah bragged.

  “My! What brings you there?”

  “I can’t… I just can’t do this…” Garfield laughed and turned to leave, but Hannah stayed to finish the conversation.

  “We’re moving into a manor!”

  “How wonderful! Which one?” the innkeeper asked.

  “The Duke’s.”

  “Even more incredible! Which Duke?”

  “Duke Garfield.”

  The innkeeper’s mouth became a flat horizontal line.