The sound of papers shuffling filled the room as a man skimmed through their contents.
“Tax assessments from merchants, I did that one,” he mumbled, flipping to another parchment. “Already signed that one, rejected that one, ignored that one…” He kept muttering as he moved from paper to paper. “I know I missed one thing, but where is it?”
Another day, another hour-long session of looking for lost papers on his desk. It was a common occurrence for the man. No matter how many times his daughter had warned him to clean up his desk, he just couldn’t seem to get around to it.
After a bit of searching, he finally found the envelope he was looking for. His eyes widened in joy. “Aha! Found it!”
The man tore open the envelope, mailed from a Baron family out near the coastal city of Kayya. As his eyes scanned the lines of the letter, his shoulders slumped in disappointment.
“Another request to join the Sareid School… Some people still don’t understand that only the Duke handles that in the capital… I’ll have to write another response later…” he sighed, his dark green hair falling over his sunken eyes.
“I’m just a regent, why do people keep sending everything to me?” he groaned, slumping down to his desk face down.
A sudden knock on the door jolted him awake.
“Father?” A familiar, calming voice seeped through the door. “A letter just came in.”
“A-Ah, yes.” Tenard fixed his hair quickly. “Come in, Ranette!”
The door creaked open, revealing a sight that instantly restored his spirit. A young girl with messy, faded green hair walked in, adjusting her glasses as she did. The door clicked behind her, and she held out an envelope.
Her dark red eyes widened in disbelief as they scanned the piles of paper stacked across Tenard’s desk. “Father, I told you many times already…” she talked in a meek voice. “At least separate yesterday’s paperwork from today’s…”
Tenard scratched the back of his head with a wry smile. “A-Ahaha, I really wanted to. But, you know, the moment I sat down, I couldn’t get up…”
Ranette held her head in disbelief. “Then at least call a butler to help you out.”
“No, I can’t do that.” Tenard shook his head. “I can’t risk the servants looking through classified documents.”
“I get that, Father. But still…”
“Enough about me, Ranette. What do you have for me?”
Ranette held silence for a moment before deciding to start speaking. “A letter, from the main branch.”
Tenard’s ears perked up. “Really?” Content orıginally comes from 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒•𝙣𝙚𝙩
He reached over to grab the envelope. He eyed the seal and confirmed that it was indeed the official seal of Sareid.
Tearing open the envelope gently, he began to read its contents. But the moment he read the first two words, he flinched.
The Duke had the habit of calling him his “brother” despite him being from a branch bloodline. Sure, they were raised together, but his habit was so strong that some truly believed that Tenard was the Duke’s blood-related brother.
That would cause a whole heap of controversies and misunderstandings if left untouched, especially by families who were adamant for the Sareids to keep their vow.
No matter how many times he had warned the Duke… Tenard felt hopeless.
But no matter, he still had an entire letter to go through.
As I’m sure you’ve heard, Carine has been personally invited to the First Prince’s birthday celebration.
Heard he did. It was the talk of many, to the point even some of the peasants in the region had heard of it. Tenard himself was joyed upon learning this.
Earning the support of the future King, not many families can achieve that no matter how much they kiss boots. Not only would this lead to more freedom in managing the territory, but it would also open up connections and business potentials.
In light of this, I have decided to visit the manor in your region before the event. It has been too long since I’ve seen the family estate. I didn’t want to postpone my classes, but when else can we celebrate such an occasion together?
Both Reyna and Carine will accompany me, of course. We will start our journey there in a few days. Please inform your staff to make the necessary preparations for our arrival.
Looking forward to seeing you soon, dear Brother. I hope that when I arrive there, you have at least cleaned your desk.
Tenard leaned back in his chair, a slow smile crept across his face. Kyrat was coming to visit… it had been months since the Duke had last set foot in his own estate. Tenard felt a sense of relief.
It was about time. Even if it was just for a short while, the Duke’s presence would refresh the idea of who truly held power here. Day by day, he felt like more responsibilities were pushed onto him.
And then there was Carine. She hadn’t been here for years.
Ranette would be over the moon to see her cousin again. Tenard knew just how much she looked up to her.
His thoughts were interrupted by Ranette’s voice.
“Father?” She adjusted her glasses, narrowing her red eyes suspiciously. “What’s in the letter?”
Tenard folded the parchment and slipped it into his drawer. He glanced at her with a gentle smile.
“Oh, nothing too urgent. Just a bit of a report from the main branch. Business as usual.”
Ranette’s eyes narrowed further. “That’s not ‘business as usual’...you’re smiling. You only smile like that when you’ve found a good bottle of wine or something…”
Tenard froze for a split second. How was her intuition always this sharp?
“Ah, speaking of wine… Ehem!” He coughed, reaching for the nearest stack of papers as a distraction. “Can you fetch me the tax report from Vollum? I need to double-check something before I forget.”
She clearly saw through his deflection, but after a long, silent stare, she relented. With a quiet sigh, she moved to a drawer and pulled out a folder.
“Here it is, Father.”
“I appreciate it, Ranette,” he said quickly.
She stared at him a moment longer before shaking her head and walking toward the door. The door slowly began to close, but then it creaked open slightly as Ranette popped her head back in. “You’re hiding something,” she said, peeking by the door. “It better not be another sudden visit.”
“H-Haha, as I said, it was just a normal report,” Tenard chuckled nervously, waiting until she closed the door before slumping back in his chair.
“She’s too sharp for her own good,” he muttered to himself. “I wonder if Lady Carine is the same?”