Steel and Mana

The city of Lothlia... what a contrast to ours. I mean, to the one we have currently, not the one my people are building. There were more stone buildings here, especially in the city center, behind the secondary wall. No wonder, as the nobility made their homes here, they weren't keen on living in shabby, wooden homes like the rest of the populace.

But, with a capital B, the smell of shit still permeated around most of the town. Most people were still throwing their waste onto the streets, and I didn't see proper sewers anywhere. Haaaaah... It looked bigger, it looked nicer, but it was still smelling just as bad. Shame.

I was focusing on the buildings, roads, and people here while we walked, mainly to not let my honest thoughts show on my face. Yes, we all walked as I asked my Mother to do so instead of taking the carriage. It was good to see that, in the outer city, most houses, even if they were cleaner and more colorful than those I saw back home, were still... primitive. The only difference was that they kept it renovated and somewhat decorated.

After passing the inner gates and finally entering the nobles' quarters, this couldn't be said to be true anymore. This part of the city was leagues above ours. Clean roads, clean houses, and I even saw servants being out, making sure that the horse shit that some carriages left behind were shoveled onto a cart and carried out of there. Money speaks as they say... and the nobles could afford to live in a cleaner place.

"It will sell." My Mother smiled, finally speaking, interrupting my thoughts and scrutiny of the homes of wealthy people.

"I thought the baron would have bought it all for himself," I answered with a small smile, and she returned it with a soft giggle.

"He did, but news travels fast! He simply wants to resell it himself at a higher price. He may be someone I think is a bastard, but he is a shrewd one. He knows how to make money."

"You do, too, no?" I whispered, looking around, and my mom didn't disappoint with her answer.

"Of course! Even more so! So, I sold the batch to him at a higher price than I originally wanted. Then, I met with a few old friends and families, giving them a sample from my own cache. I already wrote up and signed six contracts with six families who placed an order for a batch at... a reduced price."

"Without him knowing..." I added, looking at her with twinkling eyes, and she just shrugged.

"Why should I tell something to him when he is just a baron and I am a viscount?"

"Touché!"

"Tou... what?"

"Sorry! It... it is a magic word, exclaiming victory over another!"

"It has a nice ring to it! It was a good idea to let you study magic! How's Sasha? Is she pregnant yet?"

"Err... No, not yet, Mom." I answered, feeling immediately troubled as her eyes were strict, questioning, and almost angry, making me feel as if a spanking was in order.

"You should get a second wife! Someone who is not a wi-" But she stopped, looking around, quickly changing her words, "Who is not special! We must know!"

"Know what?" I asked, grunting, hating that we have to go over this again.

"That it is not happening because she is... she, or because of you!"

"I feel like I am perfectly fine and functioning right!" I countered, but I could understand her reasoning.

"Son... you are our only child, and I couldn't get pregnant again! Believe me, we are trying to this day! I am afraid you inherited your Mother's curse..."

"Huh, how do you know it is not father who is faulty?" I groaned, rubbing my temple in frustration.

"He is not..." She shrugged, sounding defeated, "He had two bastard daughters before you; they are currently young maids back home! I made him test his weapon out; sadly, he was so potent that the girl gave birth to twins. They were taking care of you while you were little, and we were attending to our duties, you see... of course, you wouldn't remember that!"

"..."

I remembered that... but never noticed. Holy hell! Mother, you are something else! Tsk... but now you also made me worry! What if... argh... I don't need this information right now! Not that it depresses me, but... it could cause problems later on. Without an heir, it could be... dangerous in the future. Damn it! Okay, calm down, Leon... just put this on the pile of 'deal with it later' and move on! Fuck...

...

The meeting with my Uncle was worse than I expected. First, I was made to wait. So much so that my Mother got more agitated than me and dragged me to the side room, ordering the maids to serve dinner. I decided to go with the flow and let her deal with everything.… if the others see me as just a youngster who has nothing to him, not even his own backbone, all the better. I don't want to be troubled either by relatives or by the Empire. At least, not until I feel ready to stand up to any of them.

So, I sat in silence, waiting for food, and avoided any eye contact, even with the servants. I wasn't stupid, I knew some may have been tasked to relay any and all happenings to this douche, so I sat there, squirming here and there… being nervous. I think Mom picked up on it quick as she never addressed my strange behavior, even playing on it a little, telling me to relax already.

When he finally appeared, he did so after a maid loudly announcing the arrival of the 'Baron of the Fertile Fields, Benedict!' or something like that; in my head, I was thinking about him, going around the wheat fields, shitting on the ground, fertilizing them by himself. All alone… Maybe that is why the city smelled just as bad, huh? What stopped me from laughing was the procedure I had to perform. Bow, introduction, whatever else… even though I was the future viscount, that title was yet to be bestowed upon me. So… he was above me but also not. It's a weird situation if you ask me, but I can deal with it. His attitude and the way he carried himself? That was much harder to not comment about.

He very quickly waved a hand at me to stop and get back to my chair but continued to ignore me and sat down with a wheeze. I now fully knew why he was not recruited… he barely fit through the double-sided door! I couldn't tell where his neck was as he looked like a snowman who half-melted then got refrozen… or something. He was sweating grease and smelled like someone who hadn't bathed for a year, leaving giant patches on his expensive clothes by the simple fact he had to come down from his room.

I tried looking for similarities between him and my Mother but found nothing, as his face was distorted by the fat rolls attached to it. Eye color? Couldn't tell. Hair? Long and either black or brown, but that brown could be grease and not its natural color. What in the actual fuck was going on? I know people could let themselves go… One of my old friends in my old life did the same. The poor fellow got his legs blown off and went off the rails… but even then, he was aware of his situation and never was… rude.

This thing that calls himself my Uncle? He was berating the servants left and right the moment they were late with the food. Worse, he was constantly cursing at the cook, saying he didn't use enough salt or the food wasn't cooked well enough, yet he was stuffing his face continuously. I hate when people talk while eating and chewing, and I felt sick to my stomach just listening to his slurping and belching… I wanted to throw up. When I was at my limit and looked at Mom, she was not there.

No joke, I could not see a light in her eyes. I never saw her like this, but I get it. She was tuning her brother out, already forgetting to be angry and to berate him; instead, she was like an automaton, sometimes saying 'yes,' or 'agree,' or something else, just so she didn't have to interact with him while he was eating. Fucking A+, Mom! I need to learn that skill…

In the end, I had to tell him about my life a little, so I made up some stuff, how I like the simplicity and how I am training to later take after my father, the usual stuff. The moment I brought it up, he began explaining to me his genius plans and tactics... for the next... four... hours. I think by the second one, poor Sun Tzu would have asked for a cyanide pill just to escape... When I was finally let go, thanks to my Mother dragging me away, I felt like I was tortured for days.

"Bastard..." Both of us exclaimed the same thing after getting to our room.

"Don't mention that outside of this room!" She warned me with a smile, "Haah... I totally forgot what I wanted to discuss with him... damn it. Anyway, I will deal with it tomorrow while you go into the city. Here, take this!"

"Hm?" I raised an eyebrow, taking the small letter from her and reading it through before I tore it apart and threw it into the fire that was burning inside our fireplace. "Is the information accurate?"

"It is. Son, be careful. Even if you bring the soldiers along, this city is their home turf. They have an advantage here. We do suspect that some city guards are on their payroll!"

"Don't worry, Mother! I'll be careful, and I am going there to make a deal not to fight!"

"If it goes south, don't worry about consequences. Safety first, the rest I will deal with! If something big happens out of it... Try to make it even bigger!"

"Huh?" I flinched, looking at my smiling Mother, who now looked like a fox, ready to pounce.

"He is still a baron who is below us... and I could use it as an excuse to start pressuring him so much, even he starts feeling it under that blanket of fat he wears!"