Chapter 165 - 162 - Allies and Acceptance
James spent the night at the Izguardia manor. The following morning, accompanied by both the Bodyguard from the Castle and guards of the Izguardia family, he returned to the Knight's Order Headquarters and settled his affairs. He dispelled the enchantments he'd woven into his room, packed his things, returned the armband he'd had on permanent loan, and said his goodbyes to those who weren't still sleeping or ill from the festivities of the night before.
Many congratulated him on his lord's—his former lord's—victory, but it tasted like ash in his mouth.
Wanting to clear his thoughts, he turned to the Smithing Guild and did some odd jobs. Nothing particularly notable. He sorted some ore, cleaned up shared workspaces, basically anything that was technically Marlie's job but too heavy for her to do without assistance.
Jez came down from her office shortly before lunch.
"Good job, James!" she declared on spotting him.
He straightened up from the box he had been lifting. "On what?"
"That armor! Those weapons! I saw that gorget you forged, completely blocked that slash! That was some impressive work."
"...Thanks," he managed, unwilling to meet her eye.
"Hey."
She strode up to him, and though he was several inches taller, it felt like she towered over him. She stared into his face a moment.
"Oh. Well, come up and join me for some tea a minute." She turned on her heel and headed up the stairs, and James followed. They sat down and Jez immediately whipped out a privacy warding tool.
When had she gotten one of those? Had she always had it?
She turned it on and got right to the point. "I heard what happened. Obviously you're not happy about it. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But," she leaned forward, "I'm just going to let you know, you're a Friend of the Smithing Guild, even if you're not a formal member. I don't care what any noble or Princess says. You need anything, you come here. Got it?"
"Would… would it have helped? Before I was sworn to the Princess?"
Jez frowned.
"There are limits. As much as I'd like, I can't completely bar a noble from Smithing services. Nor can I forcibly resolve life debts."
James clenched his fists.
Jez leaned back and tilted her head, considering the frustrated blonde young man. "You know this is an improvement, right? You had a terribly raw deal under that Knight." The red-haired woman spat into a conveniently placed spittoon with a resounding ping.
"I wanted to leave and find my home, eventually."
"And leave your wife behind? Or drag her along with you to strange lands as you wander about?"
James jerked his head up and found Jez piercing him with a glare. Then her expression softened.
"You would'nae really done that anyway. You're too responsible."
James left the Guild mulling that over in his mind.
After lunch with Isabella in her favorite gazebo, they went together to the Enchanting Guild, where Enchanter Melinda and the Elder Xavier met them.
"You're finally out from under that upstart Knight, eh? Good. You're Friend of the Enchanting Guild. No no, I won't hear a word against it, James. Don't worry about formal membership." Xavier looked back and forth between the Smith and the Enchantress. "I've never seen a better team in all my life, and I've lived a while! Oh, Melinda, why on earth did I pass on teaching that course personally?"
Melinda simply smiled like the cat that got the cream.
"Now, I hope that you both won't mind if we ask for your assistance every now and then, eh? There are some theories the Guild would like to test now that we have a Smith who's relatively sane—"
"Relatively?" James interrupted with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
"Sane?" Isabella countered.
James blushed and Xavier merely chuckled. "Yes, well, we look forward to working with you both going forward. Oh, you should set up an account with the Royal Bank, young man. And you, too, Isabella. I daresay you'll need to separate your accounts from your family's, given that you've caught the Princess' eye."
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Despite the Princess' allusion the night before, she didn't know the full truth about James' Classes. She simply believed that James was a Smith and a Mage and worked particularly well with Isabella on producing enchanted products together.
At least, she didn't know yet.
The Royal Bank then directed them to the Merchant's Guild, where Merchant Filipe, Guild Elder, insisted on sitting down with them to sample some new tea blends.
"So, you're out from under the Knight's thumb, eh? Good for you," the Merchant congratulated the Smith.
James blanched, and this did not go unnoticed.
"Oh? Indulge this old man, if you would. I don't mind a spot of gossip now and then…"
James kept it short, merely saying he was displeased with how his debt had been voided and now he was sworn to service.
"Oh. Oh! Oh my…" The older man pulled out one of those privacy warding devices and activated it. "Let this old man share some wisdom with you two. James, my boy, what do you suppose would have happened if you'd paid off your debt to the Knight, satisfied the terms of the contract, and left his service?"
James frowned, and Isabella tilted her head. "I suppose I would have left the Knight's Order Headquarters, either found an apartment or moved into the Izguardia manor, and then devoted myself to finding my family."
Isabella nodded.
Filipe shook his head sadly.
"No, my boy, you wouldn't. Your body would have turned up in some ditch outside the city the very next morning, I assure you."
"What?!" Isabella exclaimed.
James turned pale but remained silent.
"Especially after the display your former lord put on in the Arena yesterday. I'm sorry to say, but we've had to fire the appraiser who evaluated the work you two did, it was criminally undervalued. Literally, criminally undervalued. Sadly, it's too late to do anything about it, now that the relevant contract has been voided."
He raised a hand, preemptively containing Isabella's outburst.
"Rest assured, young lady, that I will personally see to it that the Merchant's Guild makes it up to you both. The last thing we want is conflict with the Izguardia family, and the best crafting team of this generation."
Isabella continued frowning, and Filipe sighed.
"I don't suppose a large sample of our teas would assuage your wrath, O Enchantress?"
"Hmph!" Isabella huffed and turned away, raising her nose. "I suppose it will do, for now!"
Filipe chuckled. "Thank the gods. Know that you both are Friends of the Merchant's Guild from now on. And I hope you'll both be amenable to requests every now and then, for certain products." He tapped the privacy ward device, turning it off. "These things are incredibly rare, you know. Devilishly hard to make. I rather suspect the two of you could pull it off, though." He gave them a meaningful look.
"We'll consider it," Isabella declared.
And even though Isabella was already receiving a large amount of tea for free, Filipe did manage to sell her several more packages of new blends.
It was only mid-afternoon, but James returned to the Castle, accompanied by the Castle Bodyguard and several Izguardia guards and servants, carrying his tools and things. The Knights guarding the gate recognized him instantly, thanks to his unique blonde hair, and a maid guided them first to a workshop set against the outer wall. There was already a standard smithy, along with fresh supplies of charcoal and ingots of various metals.
James set down his Journeyman-quality anvil and eyed it appraisingly. "I suppose I'll work on pushing my tools up to Master quality first, then."
He didn't notice the maid raise her eyebrow a fraction of an inch.
The heaviest objects put away, they were then led to James' new apartment, in a building set aside entirely for retainers who were not, themselves, nobility. It was spacious, fully furnished, and fully stocked with anything he might need.
"Oh good, the bed's big enough," Isabella commented, and James instantly blushed bright red.
"Isabella!" he exclaimed.
"What? I'm talking about the future, of course."
Out of nowhere, another maid loomed in the doorway to the apartment. "Ah, there you are, Miss Isabella. If I could have a moment of your time…"
Isabella squawked, trying to flee, but the maid captured her and scolded her thoroughly for her impropriety and educated her on proper manners within the Royal Castle.
James and his Bodyguard shared an awkward look, hearing the noises coming through the closed door to the bedroom, but the Izguardia family guards and servants breathed a sigh of relief.
"Finally someone's taking the Mistress to task."
"Thank the gods."
When James met with Countess Sevilla, the First Princess' head attendant, at the appointed hour, his attitude was much improved.
"You may largely do as you like. Keep in mind the quiet hours when Smithing loudly is not permitted, and remember that the Princess' desires come first."
"And, er, what are the Princess' desires, exactly…?" James asked nervously.
"From you? Jewelry and knives, mainly. It would behoove you to practice jewelry crafting, so that her grace may have many styles and options to choose from to match her attire and the occasion, but if you simply listen to Isabella's directions, that will be satisfactory."
"Right, I'll practice jewelry, then."