Ronald opened his eyes slowly. The alcohol's effect had reduced greatly and he could think clearly now. Blinking back all feelings of sleep, he looked outside and saw that dawn was approaching. Internally, he was annoyed for being woken up at such an hour.
Since he hadn't gone out to greet the Duke upon his arrival, he thought it would be delayed to the next day.
Despite his objections, unlike the usual Ronald, he remained silent and wore a cloak with the help of a servant. He couldn't voice his complaints since they were against his father, the Duke.
Within a few minutes he arrived downstairs in the lounge. There, the Duke waited for him, sitting down impatiently.
"Good evening father"
"Seeing as you didn't come down to greet me, it seems my absence has made you lose respect for me"
Before the Duke's rebuke, Ronald began to panic. He was fear stricken and weakly stuttered explanations.
"N-no. I-
"I don't want to listen to your excuse. Just follow me"
Not giving Ronald the chance to say anything, the Duke got up and moved outside.
Ronald followed the Duke closely behind. The crescent moon illuminated the garden in which they walked by. Outside, the only noise were does from the creatures which inhabited the place. Silence pervaded between the two, until the Duke finally spoke up.
"Ronald" The Duke called to his son.
"Y-yes?" Ronald raised his head and stared at the Duke.
"Do you know where we are right now?" Duke Belv asked.
Ronald paused for a second and observed his surroundings. It was the mansion's garden which was re-designed annually with renowned architects and gardeners in the South. He didn't have any appreciation for things like scenery but he answered the Duke. For he knew all questions asked, were never in vain.
"We're in the garden"
"Yes. Not just any garden. But the garden where the first Emperor had bestowed powers upon Southern founding families!"
Ronald simply nodded, unsure of what his father was talking about. The Duke seemed to be talking about an exciting fact. He felt a bit tipsy and couldn't completely follow.
The Duke swiftly turned to him, annoyed by the lack of response.
"You do know these families, Ronald?"
"Of course!" He answered.
Every citizen of the Empire knew that basic knowledge. Ranking of nobles were all based on their history as pillars of the Empire. However, this hadn't completely applied to the South hierarchy.
The Empire had been founded after a gruesome war of secession. The first Emperor led his army to victory, along his brave comrades and generals. Those with notable achievements were awarded with noble titles.
At first, the Empire was centrally governed without any divisions. However, many conflicts arose amongst the self important nobles who assisted the Emperor. The idea to allocate parts of the Empire to the various nobles was then brought up, and later executed.
Thus, the Empire's division into North, East, South and West, while the capital occupied the centre region and was administrated by the Imperial family.
A few years later, rebellious groups broke out and terrorized each region. At that time, the Emperor had grown older and had lost those of his most loyal generals in their death or their betrayal.
Only a few families remained loyal to him and were willing to preserve their founded Empire. Thankfully, these few loyal families were very powerful and fought for the sovereignty of the Emperor victoriously.
To prevent future conflicts, once the internal war of the Empire had ended, clear boundaries were created around the various lands of nobles.
The first Emperor was grateful to the loyal families that fought for him and decided to award the families even more generously than before. The aristocrat hierarchy was adjusted and the families were bestowed with the most prestigious noble titles, along with wealth and mysterious treasures acquired from conquests.
In the South, the noble families that had defended the Emperor's name victoriously were the Deor, Farret and Elby family. The Emperor gave the Deor family the Marquis title. The Farret family was given a Count's title. And he bestowed the title of Duke upon the Elby family. However, the head of the Elby family rejected the title and instead requested for the lesser title of Count.
The Emperor agreed to the request, thus, the Elby family was made a County. The reason for the Elby head rejecting the title of Duke wasn't stated in history books.
There being the presence of one Duke in each region, except for the South, the second Emperor and his ministers decided to create a Duchy in the South for a stable political structure. The second Emperor's most loyal aide, Lord Belv, was sent to the South and positioned as a Duke.
The three families were saddled with the duty protecting the South, while the Belv Duchy passed on laws from the Imperial family and laid on the South's borders.
As time passed and the Empire developed and expanded, their duties became almost nonexistent.Thus, ending up in today's aristocratic society which only involved political struggle for supremacy. The complex duties of nobles, no longer an obligation.
"So you know Deor, Farret and Elby were the three founding families of the South" Duke Belv began, sure that Ronald had recalled the history of the founding families. The tone he spoke with him seemed gentle at first. "However, the Belv family, strangers to the South, were given the greatest honours. Do you know why?"
Acting careful to choose an answer. Ronald was silent. Taking a moment to think, he then replied. "Belv was given the greatest honour because our family was the most loyal"
"Your answer is half correct" It was then that the Duke halted his steps. His tone seemed shaky. Almost as if he was hurt. "Belv was the most loyal to the Imperial family"
The Duke paused and was silent. Ronald eagerly waited for him to carry on. Suddenly, the Duke dramatically turned around, shocking Ronald for a second.
The Duke exclaimed. "But Belv wasn't given the greatest honours!" The rage in his eyes was visible as he stared into the air. "The Belv family has always, and will always be pawns of the Imperial family"
"W-what?" Ronald could only weakly stammer. Here was his mighty father, the only Duke of the South, who he saw as the most superior being. Here was the Duke, calling the Belv family, their prestigious family, a mere pawn for the Imperial family.
Ronald could barely register all the Duke began to ramble on about. The only thing he could understand was the intensity in which the Duke spoke in.
The Duke spoke incoherently, about magical powers, artifacts, novels, a guild and other things he couldn't quite catch. All Ronald could do was stare at the Duke who looked like a madman. As Ronald stared back into the eyes of his father, the moonlight reflected the emotions that swirled in his black eyes.
"I have a new product idea that will be obtained from the refinery" Finally, the Duke spoke up audibly.
It was then that Ronald began to shake. What refinery? The one that was burnt by a mysterious enemy? It was what Ronald couldn't tell the Duke. He had hidden it from the Duke, and wished to keep it so.
So much of the Belv wealth had been invested into the refinery. He had tried this past month, to recover the money lost. But he had still failed...
Noticing how much Ronald quivered after his statement, made the Duke frown and call out.
"Ronald! What is it?"
The sudden exclamation by the Duke made Ronald flinch. The previous excitement in the Duke's countenance faded and was kow replaced with displeasure. His dramatic change in behavior scared Ronald greatly.
It was only after taking in a deep breath, that Ronald was able to muster courage the speak. "The refinery i-it...."