World Development System 86 17. Waves in Aelius.

At the end of the conclusion, everyone in the town cheered which included Slaves and commoners alike. The cheering was done by Slaves in the most extravagant manner as this very event removed the knot that was tied in their hearts and minds for a long time.
John was smiling from ear to ear after watching this event, however, it was not the same for all the officials.
Many of the officials had different thoughts, This included Tornwall who had mixed thoughts, 'We are making too many enemies and that too in a short time. I guess this is what I would have thought if I never lived a life of a slave However after becoming a slave I guess I now have a different opinion regarding John's decision'
Watching this Vlad thought and laid out his thoughts to Diana, "So this was the reason, why he defied that duke, it seems he preferred to strengthen his long term goals instead of short term gains. A very wise choice by him."

Diana was confused as she asked, "Why do you think so, practically looking, didn't he only make an enemy out of Duke Fjord?"
Vlad pointed towards the people cheering and remarked, "You see all those people celebrating? At some point, they will become John's biggest force and asset. Why do you think your father treats his people better compared to all other domains?"
Diana spoke as she heard him, "Well, I thought it was inherent in father's nature."
Vlad smiled as he asked, "Do you know why the royal family hates our guts?"
Diana said in an obvious tone, "Well we are strong and we have a long history where we defied them a lot, so that is one of the reasons why they hate us."
Vlad explained, "Where do you think our strength comes from? It is from common people, our men don't sell us out easily under pressure, it is harder to cause civil unrest by raising the issue of taxes. So there are a lot of factors. It's good that the elders understand when it comes to the internal interests of our family however they still nag when it comes to lowering taxes. well, lets go there, they are already waiting for us. So you got the gist why he is prioritizing long term goals?"
Diana nodded in agreement as she signaled Maurice, "Ok, come, Maurice, we are heading at the square, inform our men."
Vlad and Diana arrived at the square where all the officials were gathered in front of the Hope restaurant,
Dearil came and saluted Vlad as he began to give his report,
Vlad came to Dearil as he flicked him on his forehead with his finger and said, "I heard you were previously enjoying the show when this incident took place."
Dearil frustratingly thought as he murmured, "That lieutenant of mine must have ratted me out, I will make sure to make him work twice than he normally does. As for that incident, even if I did something, it would have escalated to these levels as that Noble Evan had already recognized Martha so I thought why not let the fire flare and see the show."

Dearil smiled as he gave an understanding look, "I am sure even you were surprised after watching that brat's performance, aren't you? As for that brat, he is already safe, our men gave him the medicine and he is resting for now."

Vlad nodded as he spoke gravely, "Okay, enough of these boring reports, right now I need you to carry out an urgent mission. As you might already know, it is to tail Evan and his men, you will have to report his whereabouts and all the aristocrats he meets, Inform me immediately if he comes in contact with Duke Blackwolf of the west. That guy is seriously funding a lot of pirates to raid our fleets nowadays.
Recently he even tried to hijack our caravans heading to Fire-abyss kingdom. It seems he is quite annoyed by these high-quality soaps."

***
Meanwhile, Glenn and Prague had other thoughts as they saw the whole scene from the sidelines, Glenn laid out his thoughts to Prague, "He is quite imposing and different from what I heard in the rumors. From this incident, I can at least expect him to protect us if the Imperial academy tries to target us in the future."
Prague touched his chin and added, "Hmm... quite different however from a practical point of view, he should have handed over that slave instead of offending Duke Evan. As the gains might not outweigh the losses. However, I am not sure If I am correct since there are a lot of factors which I don't know that Baron John might have considered."

Glenn smiled, "Isn't that good? Since that guy is willing to protect a slave, I have no doubt he is a man who would protect all of his men. I was always worried that he doesn't hand us over if he is implicated with something big in the future."
Glenn pointed at Diana as he asked, "Hey Prague, isn't that the famous princess from the Fire-abyss kingdom?"
Prague nodded and confirmed, "Yes, from what I heard, She only moved here recently as she liked the City and was most happy about the food here. From the rumors, I heard that she even made various deals with Baron John and that is also one of the reasons where his backing is coming from. That man beside her is Duke Bluesea's right-hand-man Vlad. Currently, he is working as her bodyguard. From the rumors that man has quite a lot of authority in Bluesea house and quite scary when he takes matters in his own hands."

***
Vlad met John as he reached the square, "Quite unexpected coincidence that such an incident took place with Jake and his family today. Well, some things are meant to be the way they are, The only advice I can give you is that you should be careful regarding that port town as that Baron is a pussy when someone stronger gives him some pressure, you should immediately start the planning to either invade that port town or claim the wildlands north of Port town so that you can have access to sea and your trade to south doesn't stop or get costlier because of all the taxes you will pay because of crossing the lands. As for Jake, he is already ok and would recover soon enough. I expect this incident to create a lot of waves in Aelius."

John gave a mysterious smile and shrugged, "Well, you can't expect me to give up my men, do you? No one in the future would believe in me if I even gave up on my first knight. As for those waves I already have a solution for those waves. Have you tailed him already? From what I know he will try to make deals with a lot of nobles however his only obstacle will be his brothers."
Vlad nodded, "Well, no worries, They are already being tailed by Dearil. There is some good and bad news. we will talk about them later. You should start making those Ballistas earlier just to be safe."
John nodded and gave an understanding look, "Okay, we will talk later. We will have to prepare from now on."
Vlad and Diana left as they too headed to make their own preparations,
John turned to Taylor as he gave an immediate order, "Bring both Tornwall and Jake to my chambers after he recovers. We will be having important discussions at this meeting. Make sure to inform them earlier."

Chapter end