NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38: Domineering, rich, wilful Prince Rian
After dinner, Ren Xiyang relaxed on the sofa. His crystal ball connected with Rian’s.
“Good evening, Earl Rosewood. You’re the topic of gossip again,” Rian said, amusement evident in his voice. “Tell me, what did you really do?”
“You have a person keeping track of my movements,” Ren Xiyang said lazily.
“But it’s different hearing it from you.”
Ren Xiyang’s brows wrinkled. He had done a lot of things in the last two days. “Hear what?”
“Say, your lunch today.”
“What about that?”
“I heard that you surprised your people by offering to heal for free,” Rian said. He ended up explaining everything that he heard, both through the rumours and from his source.
Ren Xiyang listened as Rian spoke. “See, you don’t need to hear from me,” he concluded. “We can commend your sources for being sufficiently accurate. Your healing magic lessons were helpful.”
There was a moment of speechless silence from the other side before Rian huffed. “If I didn’t know better, I would think you want to become the Saintess.”
“I’m not that kind of doctor,” Ren Xiyang said. He had a PhD, not a medical degree.
Rian had a tone of faux-disbelief. “Is that so? The other nobles are eyeing you, Earl Rosewood. And those tax collectors you fired have been spreading rumours.”
Ren Xiyang hummed noncommittally. He didn’t care about irrelevant people. Rumours? So what?
“Be careful about healing others though,” Rian warned. “The Schauss Dukedom is in charge of teaching and accrediting all healer mages in the Sedaveria. They may see your actions as challenging their monopoly.”
Ren Xiyang roused himself. “Must all healers, by law, gain accreditation from the Schauss Dukedom to practice in Sedaveria?”
“No,” Rian admitted. “I, Count Aegean, my Royal Guards, they all know simpler healing spells and do not have any formal accreditation since we are not light-type mages. But neither are we practicing healer mages.”
“Then it’s fine,” Ren Xiyang said. “If Duke Schauss complains, I’ll simply ask him about his petition to take over the Rosewood fief.”
At that, Rian snorted in amusement. “I see.”
“Hiring healers is my list,” Ren Xiyang added. “But first, you can tell me where I can hire some water or earth mages.”
Rian in fact knew many of the plans that Ayden Rosewood wanted to implement. “For that purified water system and fixing the road between the Rosewood summer manor and the Capital?” he guessed.
“Yes and no. For the water system and sewage system.”
“But the road to the Capital is important,” Rian joked. “It would be very beneficial to me.”
“If you’re so impatient to see the results, feel free to gift me a few hundred thousand gold coins.”
“You might need those gold bars if you want to hire mages,” Rian mused. “If you want to build the sewage system, I’m afraid you might not be able to hire any mages unless you offer an exorbitant salary.”
Rian himself wasn’t comfortable talking about sewage and human waste and what not. It was a job of the peasants dealt with. However, seeing how candid Ayden was about it, Rian could only put on a similarly casual facade.
“Hm,” Ren Xiyang acknowledged. “I’d like water or earth mages to survey the land, both above and below ground.”
The actual piping and drains would be made from clay by non-magical civilians. An earth mage would be convenient to improve the quality of the drains, but it wasn’t necessary. However, it was important to survey what was underground—hard rock, underground water sources etc.—so that the pipes could be planned.
“If it’s just surveying the land, then I can let you borrow both a water mage and an earth mage,” Rian said in a blasé fashion. “I’ll throw in a healer mage for you too. Their rate is a thousand gold coins a month, each, but I’ll pay it for you.”
“Your Highness’s generosity is overwhelming and timely for this poor one,” Ren Xiyang said drily. “I accept.”
Rian felt better. Although Ayden Rosewood had a lot more freedom as the earl of a fief, Rian was still a lot richer.
“But now you should tell me about what you’ve been doing,” Ren Xiyang said.
“Pardon, the Earl doesn’t have a person following me?” Rian said, sounding scandalised.
“But it’s different hearing from you.”
Hearing his own words said back to him, Rian’s lips twitched. “Quite a few social functions, and I have to deal with the children,” he complained.
“The prince is pitiable,” Ren Xiyang said dutifully.
“Very pitiful,” Rian lamented. “My Imperial Mother has been in contact with healers, but they haven’t discovered anything new regarding pathogens. However, it’s still better progress than the current diplomatic ventures.”
Thinking about the ‘polite’ refusals from the Angio court, Rian’s mood darkened. The relationship between Sedaveria and Angio was always in flux. They had fought each other in the past, but they had also allied with each other in the past against common enemies as well.
Rian did not have good feelings towards the current king, knowing that he played a prominent role in the ordering the creation of the plague-curse. That was why Rian had suggested to his Imperial Mother to send letters to multiple Angio nobles and not only their king. But nonetheless, the responses had been negative.
“It takes time,” Ren Xiyang responded calmly. “I’ve been thinking about the plague-curse some more. In the original book, the plague-curse was developed by various people in Angio, but when the plague reached Angio, they were also unable to control it and instead were at the mercy of the Saintess Cassiopeia.”
On the other end, Rian unconsciously nodded. “Along with the other nations who also got infected. Sedaveria ushered in a new era of prosperity with Cassiopeia.”
“In the book, none of the researchers was mentioned to have been infected. Was that true in your first life? If so, this means they knew how to control it. However, Angio as a whole was unable to control it. This suggests a few things. For example, the secrecy of the research team’s methods, or the government’s callousness towards its population. Or they underestimated the plague-curse they created, or the plague-curse mutated.”
Rian frowned in thought. “Mutated?”
“Plagues can randomly change parts of itself, becoming more or less transmissible, more or less dangerous, and so forth,” Ren Xiyang explained. “The common cold is something that can change regularly, which is why you can become sick with it every year.”
Rian thought back. “I followed the Capital Investigators after,” he started. After death, that was. “The Angio research team had a necromancer who could control the dead infected. However, the number of necromancers is very small, even when compared to other types of elemental mages. The plague-curse spread too quickly. If they only deployed non-magical soldiers at first, I’m afraid those very soldiers would have become infected, producing a group too big to control even magically.”
“Hm,” Ren Xiyang agreed. Modern times couldn’t control even a simple cold, let alone a zombie-plague. Magic could only go so far. “Then it’s all the more important to prevent the development of the plague-curse,” he said gravely.
“Yes,” Rian agreed. Progress had been slower than he would have liked…but then again, he had only ‘returned’ for a few weeks. Change took time, especially in something as delicate as this.
They talked some more about preventing the plague-curse. Before their meeting finished, Rian remembered to ask Ayden about whether he had made any new food.
Unfortunately, he had, that traitor!
“Perhaps I shan’t lend you some mages after all,” Rian said in spoiled-noble tone.
“Oh, please, your Highness, I beg you,” Ren Xiyang replied in a conversational tone. “I will cook personally for you the next time you come to the manor. I’ll discount my one thousand gold coin per day fee for you.”
Rian: “…”
“Earl Rosewood, learn how to beg in the proper manner.”
“Oh. Good night then.”
Rian snorted, but his heart was amused. “Good night, Earl Rosewood.”
“And sweet, delicious dreams, your Highness.”
The connection cut, and Rian once again wished Ayden’s crystal ball had the ability to transmit images so that he could give him a good glare!
Prince Rian Azure was a very reliable person, earning many good-person cards in Ren Xiyang’s heart.
Two days after their late-night chat, four mages arrived at the Rosewood summer manor: two healers, one water mage, and one earth mage. The four mages were all young adults, freshly out of the Imperial Magical Academy. The two healer mages were non-nobles, surnamed Auclair and Vercher. The water and earth mages were part of the lesser nobility from the Aqua and Hazelwood fiefs respectively.
The four mages were a bit confused about being sent out to the Rosewood summer manor. They had heard many rumours, and Prince Rian had given them a cute dazzling smile and a lot of gold before sending them away post-haste.
They arrived at the Rosewood summer manor in the late afternoon.
Earl Rosewood greeted them. He didn’t seem as intimidating as the rumours had him out to be, nor as impolite was some of them had heard.
Or perhaps he had warmed up after they introduced themselves and told him that Prince Rian had sent them.
(It was the latter; their family names meant nothing to Ren Xiyang.)
“Then I won’t leave you wondering,” Ren Xiyang said, smiling slightly. The weight on his shoulders had lightened with the arrival of these four mages.
“Mage Auclair and Mage Vercher, I would like you to visit all the towns and villages in the Rosewood fief. Your tasks are to spend some time seeing to the people and assessing the overall health of the settlements.”
Mage Auclair felt disdainful in her heart. They were trained healer mages. This kind of work should be left to peasant doctors.
In contrast, Mage Vercher felt a bit of anticipation and unease. He had been one of the rare mages from a farmer-peasant background. He wasn’t sure how he’ll feel upon seeing how the peasants lived again.
But regardless of what the two healers felt, they had been sent by Prince Rian and ordered by Earl Rosewood. Both of them lowered their head.
“Yes, we understand, My Lord.”
“Good. As for Mage Aqua and Mage Hazelwood, I require the Rosewood land to the surveyed. I would like detailed maps showing water and elevation above ground, and rock composition and underground rivers below ground.”
Mage Aqua and Mage Hazelwood glanced at each other. Huh, it turned out Earl Rosewood was as strange as rumours made him out to be. “Yes, My Lord.”
“Thank you.” Ren Xiyang’s eyes were warm. “Now the staff will take to your quarters for the night.”
Ren Xiyang left first, heading to the kitchens to inform Mrs. Cooks about an extra dish he was feeling tonight.
As said, the Rosewood servants helped the four mages to their rooms. And while they didn’t dine with the Earl, their dinner that night was quite delicious.
Rian was very smug when Ren Xiyang talked to him via crystal ball that night.
“Oh, they arrived already? Very good.”
“You seem to be entrapping me in owed favours,” Ren Xiyang said drily. “Should I be afraid of what you want of me in the future?”
Rian chuckled. “Can’t I keep my cards close to my chest, Earl Rosewood? I hope they’ll behave.”
Ren Xiyang snorted lightly. “Are they here because you like them? Or dislike them?"
“Their skills are suitable for the task, they all agreed to go to the Rosewood fief and aid your cause in my name,” Rian replied without answering.
Ren Xiyang really couldn’t expect more from this kind of politicking prince. He said, a little mischievously, “If you didn’t like them, you shouldn’t have sent them here to enjoy the food.”
Rian sucked in sharp breath. “!!” He had miscalculated this bit!
He exhaled, regaining his countenance.
“I’m merely helping you be an example to other nobles,” he said self-righteously. “If only other nobles could improve the country as you are doing. The Imperial Council is supposed to aid in governance, but instead it’s factions bickering with each other.”
“Poor Prince Rian,” Ren Xiyang replied in a deadpan voice. “Are you avoiding talking about your lack of progress with the Angio Kingdom and medical research?”
“Earl Rosewood, you wound me deeply!”
Rian couldn’t see, but on the other side of the crystal ball call, the corner of Ren Xiyang’s lips had curled up.
Rian: Oh, you’re missing X, Y, Z? Here, I’ll kindly let you borrow them~
Ren Xiyang: …I know you’re probably up to something but I’ll accept anyway, I guess.
Rian: ^_^
The BL Palace has a short-story anthology that is releasing stories now! I wrote something for it too~ If you’re interested in reading cute (or horror-y) short BLs, then please check it out https://www.scribblehub.com/series/537604/bl-golden-gaytimes/ ^_^
(and yep, it’s called Golden Gaytimes heheh)