Chapter 164 - 161 - Betrayal
"That is correct, your grace. In fact, I offer my retainer to you now, so long as our outstanding business is settled in a timely manner. Nothing could please me more than to serve the Royal Family."
James was stunned.
He was… being given away?
He grew angry.
How was this any different than when the bandit had delivered him to the slave camp?!
Suddenly, the Steward's grip on his arm was like iron, restraining him to the point of bruising had it not been for his bracers.
And a moment after that, the lethal attention of the two Royal Guards and the Princess' attendants and even the maid waiting in the background fell on him, and he was pinned down by their intimidation.
The Princess ignored this. She continued speaking to the Aspirant Knight. "Your contribution to the Royal Family is most welcome, Baronet Suero. We hereby grant you the boon of promotion to Viscount, and entry into the Royal Guard." She turned to the Knight Commander, who had a tense expression. "See that the necessary procedures are carried out at once, Commander."
"Yes, your grace."
And then she turned to James, and a mixed expression crossed her face before she settled on a stern expression of authority. "Welcome to our service, Smith. Do your best to support our favored Enchanter." Her gaze turned to the attendant on her left. "See to ensuring that our new Smith settles in properly, Ruby."
"Yes, your grace."
With that, the Princess stood, as did everyone else. The Smith took some prodding, but he also stood and then they all either genuflected or knelt, and the Princess departed with two of her attendants, leaving Ruby and the Knight Commander behind.
The door shut behind her with a soft click, and James attempted to stand but was held down by the Steward placing a hand on his shoulder.
And then he flexed his Strength as a Smith and stood anyway, which had all the Knights present leap to their feet.
"Suero," he ground out between clenched teeth, and glared at the newest member of the Royal Guard.
Suero looked down at him with a faintly sad, but distant expression. He sighed. "Sebastian—"
But he was interrupted by the Knight Commander.
"Knight Suero, you owe your retainer a full explanation. Personally." He narrowed his eyes. "Clearly he doesn't understand what's happening, and that reflects on you, Viscount."
Suero turned back to James, but James spoke first.
"I want an advance on that commission order, and I want my life debt satisfied immediately."
Suero grimaced. "That will no longer be possible."
James swore, and the Royal Guards put their hands on the hilts of their swords. "Watch your tongue, knave!"
"We have a contract," the Smith retorted.
"Had," the Steward interjected. He pulled a copy of the contract as well as the current balance of the debt out of his leather document bag. "You had a contract. It provided an alternate means of satisfaction of the life debt to Viscount Suero, who I remind you, saved your life." He narrowed his eyes at the angry Smith. "That life debt has been transferred to the First Princess, and you are bound by honor to serve her grace. Honor, not the letter of a contract."
James seethed. He swore again, and the Royal Guards drew the first inch of their swords from their sheathes. "This is your last warning, knave!"
"Then I want repayment. I want every last dollar I put towards that debt back," he spat venomously, but the Steward shook his head, and his former lord replied. "That's not how that works."
James hand moved towards his empty tool belt. He brushed his mana sense against the enchantments in his armor.
There was nothing he could do.
He covered his face with his hand, and with his other, trembling, he pulled out a chair and collapsed into it.
It was too much.
The betrayal was too sudden.
He had been so close.
So close!
This last set of armor would surely have been enough to complete his debt. He would have been free. He could have joined the Izguardia family, married Isabella, and then decided whether or not to set out and return to his homeland.
Now…
Now he was tied even more firmly to Iberteria.
There was no leverage here.
It had been a simple transaction. Suero had simply traded him to the Princess in exchange for a promotion.
He didn't have any way to play his debts against anybody else, like he had during the trial in Corto.
Suero himself now outranked Baronet Izguardia, who was the only other noble James could think to count as an ally.
Nor would any of the Guilds stand up for him. He wasn't a member, after all.
Because of the contract he'd had.
He simply sat there, face covered, breathing deeply, mind whirling.
Ruby, the Princess' head attendant, wrinkled her nose in disgust at the scene before her.
How despicable.
She shot a glance at the Knight's Steward, who made a pained expression and shook his head minutely.
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Then she shot a glance at the Knight Commander, who made a similarly pained expression, but nodded.
Viscount Suero would need some education on nobility to match his new rank.
This was why even double promotions were vanishingly rare. Behavior appropriate for a Knight is not appropriate for a Baronet, and behavior appropriate for a Baron is not appropriate for a Viscount. Certainly not whatever behavior had resulted in this.
And now the Smith was Ruby's problem.
"Viscount," she said, and waited a moment for Suero to realize she was addressing him.
"Yes, Lady Ruby?" he responded.
"Explain for me why your former retainer is so distraught."
He at least had the good grace to be slightly embarrassed about all this.
And so the Knight explained how he had come upon the Smith, on the verge of death.
How he had restored him to life with Elixir.
How he had returned him to Corto.
How he had bound him to service by trial.
Conniving, underhanded collusion not even befitting a Knight, in Ruby's estimation.
How they had returned to Cordova.
How he had arranged for the Smith to receive training.
Ruby noted that he glossed over episodes the Enchantress had relayed. The attacks in the streets. The work James had done to pay for his own training. The restrictions on his ability to earn his own money and join the Smithing Guild as a proper member.
How the Smith had nearly satisfied the terms of the contract, and now the contract had been voided.
All carefully framed to avoid taking responsibility for voiding that contract himself, for his own benefit.
The Knight Commander glowered at the newly minted Viscount.
But he would castigate him later. In private.
Pablo had had a point. Suero did have dishonorable tendencies.
The correct and noble thing to have done, would have been to insist on a life debt or repayment for the value of the Elixir. And the Corto Magistrate should have insisted on this as well. He would have to inspect the contract to see what the Magistrate had gotten out of the crooked deal.
Ruby was so upset she allowed herself to pinch the bridge of her nose and let out a great sigh.
What a mess.
The Knight had delivered them a poison pill. Nothing was quite so toxic as resentment.
And once the Knight was gone and out of the Smith's sight, that resentment would turn on the Princess.
And that would not do.
"Guards, remain here. Commander, see the Viscount and his retainer out."
"Yes, Lady Ruby," the Commander replied, and the three men departed.
The Countess Sevilla, head attendant of Princess Maria, spent many hours in that room with the bitter Smith. It took all her conversational skill to draw him out, understand his position and feelings, explain his new situation, present new opportunities in the best possible light, and finally, when even all that wasn't enough, she summoned the Enchantress. Her eerie cousin Grim came as well, as a chaperone, but he was most lax in his duties. He spent more time flirting with the maid than keeping the courting pair at respectable physical distance.
Ruby overlooked it. If the chaperone didn't care, and it got the Smith to accept his new position with optimism rather than pessimism, she could overlook it.
Although she would have the maid scold the girl later, for her impropriety in front of a Countess.
Late, late into the night, she succeeded.
The Smith had come around.
A shared workshop for the pair, access to materials, an apartment within the castle grounds, and a large salary were part of it.
Assistance with getting full, fair payment for the outstanding commission was a larger part. The Smith had wanted to cancel it, which wasn't possible after the Princess had agreed to the Knight's terms, but Ruby had convinced him that gouging the Knight on price would be more satisfying in the long run.
It had helped, too, that the terms of service to the Princess were far superior to service to the Aspirant Knight.
He could do whatever work he wanted, so long as the Princess' desires came first.
He could charge whatever he wanted for his work.
He could work as little or as much as he liked.
He could join guilds as he liked, and even better than most members; he would be privileged as befitted a retainer of the Royal Family.
It was odd that he had asked about a guard escort, but perhaps it was a matter of pride? There were those among the nobility who flaunted their power through the strength of their bodyguards. The Izguardia family almost fell into this category, given Berserker Maya and Dead Edge Grim, but Naked Blade Isabella proved that their family just produced anomalously powerful fighters. It didn't seem to be a power play.
In any case, providing a guard escort was trivial for the Princess, and pleased the Smith greatly, so it was more than worth it.
The Enchantress was also pleased, so it was two birds with one stone. Or one guard, as it were.
Assuaged, the Smith calmed down, and a glimmer of intelligence shone in his blue eyes.
He asked about the Princess' political situation, showing he recognized his error in not fully understanding the Aspirant Knight's position and goals, and that he was already working to ensure he didn't make the same mistake twice.
Ruby merely gave a small smile and demurred.
"The hour grows late, Smith James. I promise you, on my honor, that you shan't be embroiled in schemes nor royal politics between now and tomorrow evening, when we can continue this discussion."
The Smith nodded, satisfied. Then, he tested the limits of their arrangement.
"And am I free to go tonight to the Izguardia manor, and spend tomorrow settling my affairs?"
Ruby smiled a little wider. "Of course. That would rather help our maids, who otherwise would have to scramble to prepare an apartment for you so late at night. Simply return to the Castle by six o'clock tomorrow evening."
He nodded with a serious expression. "Six o'clock. Thank you, Lady Ruby." He bowed formally, as befit a commoner to a Countess, but ill befitting one retainer to another.
"Please, raise your head, Smith James. We both serve the same Lady. I hope we can both work together for Her sake."
His expression tightened, but by the time he had fully raised his head it was back under control. "Of course, Lady Ruby."
A Bodyguard was summoned and with the two Royal Guard Knights he escorted the Smith away to the Izguardia manor.
Ruby finally slumped into her seat.
"More tea, m'lady?" the maid offered.
"No, it'll be hard enough to fall asleep as it is."
For how exhausted she felt, her mind still whirled with thoughts of integrating the Smith into her lady's retinue and the Royal Castle as a whole.
Author's note: The contract that was forced on the Legendary Smith at swordpoint in Corto was truly despicable, even by the standards of the day. Sources suggest, given that the contract itself is lost to time, that the Smith was under a life-debt to the Aspirant Knight, and that he might have been freed from that debt once full repayment for the Elixir had been made. As such, there was no means of recovering moneys paid to the Knight short of full repayment, as in this case, wherein the life-debt was transferred to another noble.
Editor's note: The practice of life-debts has gone extinct in the centuries between today and the Smith's time. Life-debts typically came into being when a noble saved the life of a commoner, and it was recognized that, given the commoner would be dead but for the noble having saved the commoner's life, the noble then held the privilege of life and death over that commoner. The practice was not considered slavery, but the life-debt could be transferred between nobles. At the moment when the Aspirant Knight transferred the Smith's life-debt to the Princess, the prior contract between them became void, and the Smith's life-debt reverted to the norm of the day: fulfilled either by a lifetime of loyal service, or satisfied by saving the Princess' life. It was at this point that the Smith's fate became irrevocably tied to the Kingdom of Iberteria and the Royal Family.