Chapter 010: Banquet
At the age of ten, Kailar had grown from a small little child to a big boy. At the least, he was well over four foot five and was among the tallest children of the same age.
As he grew older, his innocent childhood ceased to be. His free time to run amok and be autonomous grew less and less. His father needed the help of Kailar’s ingenuity to help absolve some of his troubles.
Since Andrea Ettorek learned of Kailar’s profound skills in handling the affairs of his dukedom, he consciously allowed his dearest son to involve himself in political affairs. Through time, Kailar’s prestige grew in Red Leaf. But if Kailar could choose, he didn’t wish to spend his time in these sort of things. He’d rather pull a few strings from behind the scene and make Red Leaf’s GDP rise exponentially by several percentiles. That’d be much easier for him.
But he had no choice.
Maybe showing his talents once or twice was ok but when Kailar continuously propped ideas one after another, it inevitably came to light in the eyes of his father and his courtiers.
They marveled at this little lord, wondering what the future would hold for them and looked forward to the development of their dukedom. If they were prosperous all due to this little monster, they’d have nothing to worry about. Just sit back worry-free.
Though it’s true that knights are the most respected of all occupations, it seemed that this little monster was nothing but gold compared to the knights.
Can’t believe how fast this little lord had grown up…
“The banquet?” Kailar raised his brow. He sighed, frowning slightly but he didn’t speak any further. This was already the fifth invitation from his father this month. He’s afraid that he couldn’t push away this time.
Sigh.
It’s better he pays attention to the agricultural fields and make sure there are enough ryes and barleys to feed enough heads, to make sure the farmer’s had enough in store.
“Yes, young master. This time, there is no choice but to go.” The one who spoke was Andrea Ettorek’s ambassador. Though truth be told, he was only second in rank and Kailar was first in line.
“Alright. I’ll go so I can satiate father’s desire.” Kailar knew the purpose of this banquet: First, meet new political partners and matters in trade or marriage in hand. Second, contact old friends from the past.
But of course, the main importance of their coming was regarding the matters of the second generations. They needed to be married and half of them were used as mere pawns by their parents to advance their political agenda or status. They were nothing but dolls to be used here and there.
Kailar having proven himself over the years wouldn’t need to be used as a bargaining chip. He had enough prestige to choose whom and who he could marry. As for the other children, it was only their bad luck and insufficiency.
The banquet would surely be something worthwhile seeing. He’s sure many lords and dukes would look at him like a delicious baboon, instantly handing his daughters to him for a hand in marriage. He should have no problems declining the offers. He was safe for the time being till was at least seventeen years of age.
“Sibo, I’ll leave the matters of housekeeping duties to you.” Over the years, the once wild and villainous Sibo turned a new leaf as he had been nurtured by Kailar. Now he was a middle-aged man with a sort of gentleman persona as he wore a black suit and tie. He had that sort of butler look going for him.
Sibo smiled and bowed deeply. “Yes, master. I hope you can bring back a beautiful lady.”
Kailar laughed and berated him so.
Thereafter, he got up and rode his pure white horse which like Kailar had also grown over the years. He flung his noble robes and headed towards the castle.
Red Leaf had changed completely. The scenery was like that of a Dutch town style streets. The two-story residential houses were one of the safest heights of today’s current stone-wood. Flowers were planted on the first floor and the oak trees lined each other in perfect symmetry. The paved road allowed two carriages going one way and another going the other way.
It was spacious indeed.
One section of Red Leaf was a residential area. The commercial area was all the way from the other side. It was large and spacious, made entirely for commercial purposes. Other than thriving businesses, there were no residential houses in this section.
Kailar had assigned patrol guards to prevent troubles arising in the commercial and residential area.
The nobles, merchants, and civilians lived in prosperity on the outskirts of Red Leaf. Not many were able to live in the castle and those who were lucky enough were held as an item worthy of envy.
Ever since the people moved out of the interior parts of Red Leaf and proceeded to live on the outskirts, Red Leaf had undergone a major transformation. Not only had they easily supported and fed over three thousand workers, it had also attracted numerous numbers of merchants looking to buy and sell materials to Red Leaf.
The arrival of this merchants only further increased the economy’s vitality. The merchants too thought it the best deal. The money they earned from selling materials were quickly spent on other specialties. In this way, Red Leaf did not lose anything because the merchants had done nothing but make the dukedom more prosperous than ever.
This was the theory of economic circulation.
With the help of the merchants, Red Leaf’s revenue increased a great deal over time.
Thereafter, Kairal proposed to his father to invest the taxes earned into building roads for the benefit of the kingdom and people.
In a world lacking in modern tech, paving roads became an arduous task compared to the manual digging of the ridge and canal.
The taxes aren’t only placed into road building but also on other matters which Kailar proposed in order to build a prosperous dukedom. Naturally, Andrea Ettorek followed along.
Compared to other territories lacking in resources and improved economy, Red Leaf provided numerous items beneficial for the merchants and a comfortable road that’d create more money for Red Leaf in the long run.
For the eager merchants, there was no better place to go than here. They enjoyed the benefits of capital trade and low-cost taxes.
How generous is the Grand Duke?
Insanely generous!
But little did these merchants know that they were a bait to make money.
With Kailar proposing ideas one after another, Andrea Ettorek put them all into action. In the past few years, Red Leaf’s economy has been nothing but great. It’s prosperity spread throughout the whole kingdom. This attracted the eyes of numerous merchants seeking to make profit.
Surrounding lords and dukes also wanted to grab a piece of Red Leaf’s economy. If not, then they could learn from it.
Surely this banquet would bring nothing but trouble.
Sitting in the carriage, Kailar sighed and shook his head while looking at his ever-so-excited father, wondering what he was thinking about.
He looked at his mother’s eager eyes. He knew she longed for a daughter-in-law. Kailar knew that this sort of topic should never be discussed with her else he’d never hear the end of it so he quickly turned his head.
Kailar was a wise fellow. He remained quiet and lipped-tight during the ride to the banquet. He didn’t want to hear his parents constant nagging nor did he want to utter out his reluctance to attend.
But he found it too quiet. Kailar didn’t like that. “Father, why don’t you just host a banquet at our castle? Won’t this give the lords and dukes a chance to see the new look of our place.” Let those nobles wallow in envy and jealousy. The road was good enough too so it’d be easier to get to Red Leaf.
“Hahaha…” Andrea Ettorek laughed. “I don’t have the face to do that. The person hosting the banquet is His Majesty.”
His Majesty?
Kailar’s eyes widened. Well, it seems things turned out much more interesting than he anticipated. He wanted to know who the king was, the father who raised the legendary King Arthur.
This should be fun.
Chapter 010: Banquet
At the age of ten, Kailar had grown from a small little child to a big boy. At the least, he was well over four foot five and was among the tallest children of the same age.
As he grew older, his innocent childhood ceased to be. His free time to run amok and be autonomous grew less and less. His father needed the help of Kailar’s ingenuity to help absolve some of his troubles.
Since Andrea Ettorek learned of Kailar’s profound skills in handling the affairs of his dukedom, he consciously allowed his dearest son to involve himself in political affairs. Through time, Kailar’s prestige grew in Red Leaf. But if Kailar could choose, he didn’t wish to spend his time in these sort of things. He’d rather pull a few strings from behind the scene and make Red Leaf’s GDP rise exponentially by several percentiles. That’d be much easier for him.
But he had no choice.
Maybe showing his talents once or twice was ok but when Kailar continuously propped ideas one after another, it inevitably came to light in the eyes of his father and his courtiers.
They marveled at this little lord, wondering what the future would hold for them and looked forward to the development of their dukedom. If they were prosperous all due to this little monster, they’d have nothing to worry about. Just sit back worry-free.
Though it’s true that knights are the most respected of all occupations, it seemed that this little monster was nothing but gold compared to the knights.
Can’t believe how fast this little lord had grown up…
“The banquet?” Kailar raised his brow. He sighed, frowning slightly but he didn’t speak any further. This was already the fifth invitation from his father this month. He’s afraid that he couldn’t push away this time.
Sigh.
It’s better he pays attention to the agricultural fields and make sure there are enough ryes and barleys to feed enough heads, to make sure the farmer’s had enough in store.
“Yes, young master. This time, there is no choice but to go.” The one who spoke was Andrea Ettorek’s ambassador. Though truth be told, he was only second in rank and Kailar was first in line.
“Alright. I’ll go so I can satiate father’s desire.” Kailar knew the purpose of this banquet: First, meet new political partners and matters in trade or marriage in hand. Second, contact old friends from the past.
But of course, the main importance of their coming was regarding the matters of the second generations. They needed to be married and half of them were used as mere pawns by their parents to advance their political agenda or status. They were nothing but dolls to be used here and there.
Kailar having proven himself over the years wouldn’t need to be used as a bargaining chip. He had enough prestige to choose whom and who he could marry. As for the other children, it was only their bad luck and insufficiency.
The banquet would surely be something worthwhile seeing. He’s sure many lords and dukes would look at him like a delicious baboon, instantly handing his daughters to him for a hand in marriage. He should have no problems declining the offers. He was safe for the time being till was at least seventeen years of age.
“Sibo, I’ll leave the matters of housekeeping duties to you.” Over the years, the once wild and villainous Sibo turned a new leaf as he had been nurtured by Kailar. Now he was a middle-aged man with a sort of gentleman persona as he wore a black suit and tie. He had that sort of butler look going for him.
Sibo smiled and bowed deeply. “Yes, master. I hope you can bring back a beautiful lady.”
Kailar laughed and berated him so.
Thereafter, he got up and rode his pure white horse which like Kailar had also grown over the years. He flung his noble robes and headed towards the castle.
Red Leaf had changed completely. The scenery was like that of a Dutch town style streets. The two-story residential houses were one of the safest heights of today’s current stone-wood. Flowers were planted on the first floor and the oak trees lined each other in perfect symmetry. The paved road allowed two carriages going one way and another going the other way.
It was spacious indeed.
One section of Red Leaf was a residential area. The commercial area was all the way from the other side. It was large and spacious, made entirely for commercial purposes. Other than thriving businesses, there were no residential houses in this section.
Kailar had assigned patrol guards to prevent troubles arising in the commercial and residential area.
The nobles, merchants, and civilians lived in prosperity on the outskirts of Red Leaf. Not many were able to live in the castle and those who were lucky enough were held as an item worthy of envy.
Ever since the people moved out of the interior parts of Red Leaf and proceeded to live on the outskirts, Red Leaf had undergone a major transformation. Not only had they easily supported and fed over three thousand workers, it had also attracted numerous numbers of merchants looking to buy and sell materials to Red Leaf.
The arrival of this merchants only further increased the economy’s vitality. The merchants too thought it the best deal. The money they earned from selling materials were quickly spent on other specialties. In this way, Red Leaf did not lose anything because the merchants had done nothing but make the dukedom more prosperous than ever.
This was the theory of economic circulation.
With the help of the merchants, Red Leaf’s revenue increased a great deal over time.
Thereafter, Kairal proposed to his father to invest the taxes earned into building roads for the benefit of the kingdom and people.
In a world lacking in modern tech, paving roads became an arduous task compared to the manual digging of the ridge and canal.
The taxes aren’t only placed into road building but also on other matters which Kailar proposed in order to build a prosperous dukedom. Naturally, Andrea Ettorek followed along.
Compared to other territories lacking in resources and improved economy, Red Leaf provided numerous items beneficial for the merchants and a comfortable road that’d create more money for Red Leaf in the long run.
For the eager merchants, there was no better place to go than here. They enjoyed the benefits of capital trade and low-cost taxes.
How generous is the Grand Duke?
Insanely generous!
But little did these merchants know that they were a bait to make money.
With Kailar proposing ideas one after another, Andrea Ettorek put them all into action. In the past few years, Red Leaf’s economy has been nothing but great. It’s prosperity spread throughout the whole kingdom. This attracted the eyes of numerous merchants seeking to make profit.
Surrounding lords and dukes also wanted to grab a piece of Red Leaf’s economy. If not, then they could learn from it.
Surely this banquet would bring nothing but trouble.
Sitting in the carriage, Kailar sighed and shook his head while looking at his ever-so-excited father, wondering what he was thinking about.
He looked at his mother’s eager eyes. He knew she longed for a daughter-in-law. Kailar knew that this sort of topic should never be discussed with her else he’d never hear the end of it so he quickly turned his head.
Kailar was a wise fellow. He remained quiet and lipped-tight during the ride to the banquet. He didn’t want to hear his parents constant nagging nor did he want to utter out his reluctance to attend.
But he found it too quiet. Kailar didn’t like that. “Father, why don’t you just host a banquet at our castle? Won’t this give the lords and dukes a chance to see the new look of our place.” Let those nobles wallow in envy and jealousy. The road was good enough too so it’d be easier to get to Red Leaf.
“Hahaha…” Andrea Ettorek laughed. “I don’t have the face to do that. The person hosting the banquet is His Majesty.”
His Majesty?
Kailar’s eyes widened. Well, it seems things turned out much more interesting than he anticipated. He wanted to know who the king was, the father who raised the legendary King Arthur.
This should be fun.
