‘Before any of this, we need Nihilum, Your Highness, to do many of my devices; it took me years to get enough of it.’ Edmund crossed his arms.

  ‘It is simple; since the Chatzi got this territory, the kingdom dumped Nihilium here. I don’t know what the other kingdoms do with theirs, but I will look into this matter.’ Ariadne uses the fan to create a breeze for herself.

  Rita and Eliza stood beside each other, confused by the conversation; as far as they knew, Nihilum was a useless byproduct. Rita then recalled a crucial detail.

  ‘Your grace, the mayor is waiting to speak with you outside,’ Rita ?said

  ‘Hum, remember to tell me these things the next time, Rita.’ Ariadne gave a serious look to the head maid.

  ‘I’m sorry, your highness.’ Rita bowed.

  ‘Ok, no problem. Tell the mayor to enter.’ Ariadne pointed to the door and closed her fan.

  The head maid opened the door and signaled someone to enter with her hand. An aged Shafran walked in. He made his way to a chair next to Edmund in front of Ariadne while leaning on a cane. Ariadne caught his attention first, followed by Edmund. That they both have white hair surprised him.

  ‘My name is Burns Hoffman, and I am the town's mayor. Your Highness, it is a pleasure to meet you.’ He made a weak bow.

  ‘?The Chatzi govern themselves by electing leaders with no nobles; you do not need to bow at your age.’ Ariadne smiled.

  ‘Ho, thank you. Now that we have a noble to look after the territory, I hope you can understand some of my and the village's leaders' concerns.’ Older adults, Shafran looked at Ariadne?.

  ‘I was going to talk to you tomorrow about how things will work from now on; my father left a document saying that this territory will be tax-free for five years. I do not think we provide much tax for the kingdom, anyway.’ She tapped the desk with her finger.

  ‘The main reason for my visit is that the archduke's guards are leaving in a month. It may not be enough with just the ones we have in the duchy.’ Older adults, Shafran gave a worried expression.

  ‘We can hire more from the villages. What do you think? Don’t worry about money; from what I’ve read, my allowance was maintained for my expenses as part of the deal.’ She grinned as she kept tapping the desk.

  ‘I am not sure if you will be successful in recruiting, as being a guard is risky given the monster attacks from Velvent.’ He spoke in a pessimistic tone.

  ‘I can help with that.’ Edmund raised his hand.

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  ‘Interesting. What can you give to my soldiers? Is one of these things?’ Ariadne gets the tablet and scrolls.

  ‘Just touch on the square with a “W” on it; the first drawing will greatly help us. A basic weapon for the soldiers, it takes time to make them, but in a month, at least three for each village we can make.' The young man spoke proudly.

  Burns was perplexed by what the young man was saying and glanced Rita's way to see if she understood what he was saying, but all that met his eyes was a bewildered head maid; even the other person to her side was unaware of what was happening, the personal maid of the duchess.

  ‘This peasant here will be the conduit to the duchy's prosperous future; you will know when you see it; just trust me on this.’ Ariadne gave the table to the mayor.

  ‘What is this? Is this a weapon? Looks like a stick.’ Burns looked at the tablet, confused.

  ‘I’m the duchess's slave, a sanctioned slave, so don’t judge her. I will show you what she is talking about in a few days. Well, I believe things from here on out are beyond my pay grade, get it?‘ Edmund laughed as he got up and started to walk out.

  Burns was confused by what the young man said and looked to the duchess for an appropriate response. Eliza rolled her eyes as Edmund walked away, Rita chuckled, and Ariadne, on the other hand, remained seated and stared at the mayor.

  ‘Excuse his lack of manners; he went without speaking to anyone for years. I will care for everyone in this duchy with everything I can.’ She said this while closing her fan.

  The door was barely open when Edmund called for Eliza with his hand; the maid saw it and hurried to the door.

  ‘What do you want, Edmund?’ The maid whispered.

  ‘Where'm I going to sleep? Don’t tell me it's in the warehouse.’ Edmund spoke in a sad tone.

  ‘I don’t know; let me call Rita.’ She replied.

  Eliza hurriedly pulled Rita to the door and asked while Ariadne conversed deeply with the mayor.

  ‘Where is Edmund going to sleep?’ Eliza asked.

  ‘I am unsure; the duchess didn’t tell me about him.’ Rita replied awkwardly.

  ‘So, I am homeless, a homeless slave; is that even possible?’ Edmund rolled his eyes.

  ‘I’m going to ask the duchess.’ Eliza turned around.

  ‘No need to; I’m going to sleep in the warehouse.’ The young man walked away, looking disappointed.

  When Edmund opened the warehouse, all of his belongings were inside. The guards helped him more than anticipated; he smiled, remembering them acknowledging his existence. Looking around, Edmund found no bed, only a place to lie down. The door opened with force as he was about to lie on the floor.

  ‘Peasant, what are you doing? Do you consider me to be a tyrant?’ Ariadne spoke as Eliza held the door for her.

  ‘Everybody said they didn’t know? What am I supposed to do?’ Edmund stood up and approached Ariadne.

  ‘Are you an idiot? There's not even a bed for you here.’ She closed her fan and tapped his chest with it.

  ‘I don’t know, duchess; I’m just a peasant like you say; what would I know?’ His voice agitated as he spoke.

  ‘Edmund, how dare you talk back at her Highness like that?’ Eliza moved in between them and met his eyes.

  ‘I am sorry, but I just can't help it.’ He had a frustrated expression as he peered down at the ground.

  Ariadne touched Eliza with her fan and motioned for her to move to the side. She lifted his chin, also using her fan, looking deeply into his eyes.

  ‘Loyalty is important to me now more than ever; just ask me; everyone will talk to you, not just to use you but to assist you; it is on me to maintain your loyalty; don’t forget this.’ She nodded to him.

  Ariadne approached him and placed her hand on his right shoulder before suddenly grabbing his neck and pulling him closer to her, which caused the boy to startle and struggle.

  ‘But to ensure my future, I cannot let you talk to me like this; there is no worry; you aren’t a child, peasant; I don’t know you; you are not my kin; your past means nothing to me, only your future; so if you prove to me to be useful to expand my domain, yes, I will treat you better and even call you by your name.’ She released his neck, looking at Edmund with cold eyes.

  Eliza attempted to assist Edmund by rushing to his side and helping him stand up as he fell to his knees, grabbing his neck, coughing, and displaying a painful expression.

  ‘Let’s go; I’m exhausted.’ Turning around, Ariadne left the warehouse.

  ‘She is a good person, Edmund; she became like this to survive in a capital full of hatred for her. Try to understand.’ Eliza whispered to him.

  He got up, helped by Eliza, and followed Ariadne to the mansion. As he gained his fitting, he rubbed his neck while looking at the duchess's back.

  ‘I just didn’t want to do any of this.’ He thought to himself.