“We… we…” One guard tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come.

  Roderic turned on the third guard. “And you? Sleeping in your own damn piss? Just how much did you drink in the city?"

  “We didn’t!” the guard protested. “We didn’t touch a single drop of ale!"

  “It’s not their fault,” Kirol said, cutting in. “None of us drank any alcohol on the way. The baron would never allow it anyway. I think there was something wrong with the water we drank that morning. Or maybe it was in the food. I can't say for sure, but I had been feeling a little drowsy since the morning that day—just like the other guards. I thought it was just 'cause we didn’t get much rest on the road.”

  The lanky guard scratched his chin, looking at Alden. “Now that I think of it, that morning before we left the city, we ate at an inn Lord Lidoroc took us to. Usually, the baron and your uncle ate inside the castle while we guards found something elsewhere. But the baron was in such a bad mood after his meeting with the duke that he didn’t stop to eat there, so your uncle told us he knew a good place where we could eat before we left the city and took all of us there. I think someone mixed something into our food or water there.”

  “This... this is…” Vusato tried to speak, but the words failed him.

  "That bastard Lidoroc must have planned all this in advance!" Alden growled, now growing more and more sure about it. Or maybe Lidoroc just got greedy after seeing so much gold, and decided that it would look better in his own hands instead of the money being used to save the life of villagers. That lowlife murdered his own brother for that gold!

  “It’s my fault...” Kirol repeated, looking down. “I should never have been taken out like that, even if something was mixed in the water. But I just didn’t expect your uncle could ever do something like this. I had my back towards him while I kept watch, so I could look out into the forest for monsters. I never thought there would be an assassin right behind me!”

  “But why...?” Hilda asked, tears streaming down her face. “Why would Lord Lidoroc do this?"

  "He's no lord," Roderic spat, “but only he could answer that. Or Lord Edaroc, if he were still alive..."

  Alden blinked a few times hearing his father's name, tears threatening to fall again from his eyes. Then he heard feet running toward the group. He turned and saw Caelen, crying and furious. Caelen shoved past the guards as if searching for their father behind them.

  “Where is he?” Caelen shouted. “Where is my father? Where!"

  The guards lowered their eyes. Hilda stepped forward and hugged him, despite his brother's attempts to free himself to keep looking. “Oh… Caelen…” His brother broke down completely, sobbing openly.

  Alden turned, thinking he should tell Lira himself, but then he saw her slowly being helped to walk toward the group by a maid. He moved toward her. She looked almost emotionless at first. When she reached closer, he saw the unspoken pain in her eyes as she looked up at him. “Is it really true, brother?"

  Alden just nodded, noticing how she didn't call him by his name like she often did.

  Lira looked down. “So he left me too… Mother already left me alone, and now Father too…” Her voice trembled. “You and Caelen will leave me too... Everyone leaves me eventually..."

  Alden felt his throat tighten. Their mother had died when Lira was very young, and now their father had been murdered. She was liable to think of the worst. He bent down and hugged her tightly. “I won’t leave you, Lira. Never!"

  For a moment she tried to stay brave, but then she broke down as well, her sobs joining Alden’s own tears.

  Alden looked around as he patted her back, trying to calm her down. No one in that place had dry eyes. Not one person. Men or women, everyone had tears in their eyes.

  It showed just how loved Baron Edaroc Rinarius had been here. He had been the kind of man who rode hundreds of kilometers on horseback so village boats could carry more ore and earn gold for the villagers before winter. He was someone who had taken a personal loan to pay the entrance price for the villagers, so they wouldn't have to stay here in the dangerous winter months. But now he was gone, and everyone’s eyes had turned to Alden. From today, he was the one who had to lead these people through these perilous times...

  He hadn’t truly understood what being a baron’s son meant when he had arrived here, but now he felt it down to his bones. All these people's hopes, their safety, their well-being—everything now rested on him. It was up to him to make sure they survived the coming winter, since there was going to be no refuge for them in Garitus this year.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  ***

  It was late in the afternoon now, and Alden was sitting at the head of a trestle table in the main hall, with Vusato on his right, and Roderic and Kirol on his left. Hilda and the other maids had started preparing the evening meal in the kitchen to their right. Caelen had also insisted on joining them and was sitting there as well, with his eyes still red from crying, while Lira had been taken back to her room by a maid after she had grown too tired, after crying for hours.

  Alden looked at the majordomo. "So how does this work? Do I have to pass an appraisal or something to become the baron? Or get the permission of the Duke to lead this village?"

  "No..." Vusato took a deep breath. "As of today, you are already the acting baron of Sarnok. It’s the Duke of Garitus who makes it official with a sealed decree, but right now we can’t risk you going back there for an inauguration ceremony, not with your father's murderer still out—not when we know that everyone will have to stay right here for the very first time in my memory. The villagers will be scared when they find out about your father, so they need someone here to lead them through these difficult times."

  "Will there be any problems in getting the Duke to agree to name me the baron?" Alden asked. It wasn't going to be easy to lead this village in any way. He didn't need the Duke adding more problems in front of him and the village. Even thinking about that greedy bastard who was charging a price for safety left a bad taste in his mouth.

  "It shouldn't be difficult," Vusato replied, "since you were the official heir of your father. Truthfully, your uncle could also raise a claim for Sarnok, but now that all evidence says he is the most likely murderer of your father, he will never be accepted—by the village or the duke. So you are the Baron of Sarnok from today, for all intents and purposes. You don't even have to go to Garitus for an inauguration if you don't want to. You'll be too busy here as it is. We can just send someone there with the news of the previous baron's passing, and the Duke should give him a sealed decree to make your claim official."

  "Alright then," Alden said. "I agree with that idea. I don't want to leave Sarnok right now."

  Vusato's eyes met with the guard captain for a moment, before they both stood up abruptly and gave a deep bow to Alden.

  “I swear fealty to Baron Alden Rinarius," the majordomo said loudly. "I pledge my sword, my service, and my loyalty to defend his lands, uphold his laws, and follow his commands."

  Alden felt overwhelmed hearing that and wanted to say there was no need for this, but before he could say anything, Roderic began speaking.

  “I swear fealty to Baron Alden Rinarius," the brawny captain said in his gruff voice. "I pledge my sword, my service, and my loyalty to defend his lands, uphold his laws, and follow his commands."

  Kirol repeated the same words. Then Caelen began to speak the pledge as well.

  Alden smiled at him. “It’s alright, Caelen. You don’t need to swear anything. I trust you."

  Vusato shook his head. “No. He is nearly of age now, so it’s better if he does swear."

  Caelen straightened and gave the pledge in earnest, making Alden smile faintly. It only made the weight of this new responsibility feel heavier on his shoulders.

  Once everyone sat down again, Vusato said, “Later we will gather all the guards and manor servants—maids and grooms as well—so they can swear fealty to you together.”

  “Alright,” Alden said. “If that's the custom, then so be it."

  “We can’t have a proper funeral for Lord Edaroc anymore without his body here—may he rest in peace—” Vusato continued, “but we should still hold a small service to pay our respects. The news will spread throughout the village by the time the miners return in the evening, so we should arrange a service to make sure everyone gets a chance to say goodbye. The whole village loved him, so we owe this much to him."

  “I agree,” Alden said. “I don’t think we can afford to do too much right now, but we can arrange some food and a barrel of ale outside the manor in the evening, so everyone can raise a mug in his memory."

  “I’ll take care of it,” Vusato said. "Now for the more important topic. Garitus is charging people for shelter within its walls.” He looked at Kirol. “You were present for the duke’s meeting with the baron, right? Did you hear how much they’re demanding?"

  Kirol exhaled. “It’s far too much. It’s a gold coin per adult, and five silver coins per child. For each month."

  “What?” Roderic exclaimed. “For each month? All this just to enter their gates? They don’t even give food and shelter to the refugees! What are they even charging for?"

  Vusato shook his head, disappointment clear on his face. “This is absurd... It will cost nearly 600 gold just to get entry inside the fortress city for the whole village for each month. We need to stay there at least three months, and preferably most of the fourth. That’s above 2000 gold for the whole village. It’s not even remotely possible for us to pay for it."

  "What about the villagers?" Caelan asked. "They should still have some savings, right? Everyone knows father would have paid for them if he was alive, but can't we ask them to contribute their own share for buying shelter in Garitus City."

  Vusato sighed. "With demand for our iron ore falling every year, the villagers barely get to save anything. What little they do have has to be reserved for buying food for their families in the winter months."

  “I wonder if the duke is charging refugees just to fill his coffers,” Alden muttered, “or if there’s some other hidden reason behind it.” He looked at the majordomo. “What’s the state of our finances? I never got to see that ledger earlier. I want to know if there's any possibility at all for us to afford paying for the village?"

  Vusato frowned. “Are you sure you want to hear that here in the open?"

  Alden looked around. A few maids were lingering at the kitchen doorway, and some guards were seated at a nearby table, listening curiously. “No. There’s no point in burdening other people with it. It’s our responsibility."

  He didn’t want to use his father’s study for such meetings—not yet—so he nodded toward the door of the small dining room across the hall, the one reserved for the baron’s family. “Let’s move there. It has a large enough table, and that room is secure."