Chapter 66 - Those Who Remained

Chapter 66: 66 - Those Who Remained

By the time Adrien reached the courtyard, the soreness in his body had faded enough that walking no longer felt heavy. His Dragonic Physique was doing most of the work. Sixteen hours of sleep had certainly helped, but the speed at which his body recovered was still something he hadn’t completely grown used to.

Yesterday, Gaspard had left him feeling as though someone had thrown him down a staircase and then dragged him behind a carriage for good measure. Today, there was little more than stiffness left in his muscles and the occasional protest from his ribs whenever he moved too quickly.

Absolute Mana Sense reached the courtyard before he did, spreading naturally through the estate and touching dozens of unfamiliar presences gathered outside. There were considerably more people waiting than Adrien had expected.

He stepped through the doors with Evelyne beside him and found Garrick near the centre of the yard. Several dozen men and women stood beyond him in loosely separated groups. Some still wore pieces of Arquenay colours, while others were dressed as clerks, quartermasters, servants or estate officials.

A handful of Clairmont soldiers watched from around the perimeter, though nobody had their weapons drawn. The atmosphere was uncomfortable enough without adding steel to it.

’Can’t exactly blame them.’

Yesterday, House Arquenay had still existed. Today, Gaspard was in Crown custody, his lands had been transferred to House Clairmont, and everyone gathered in that courtyard had to decide what the change meant for the rest of their lives

Garrick approached as Adrien descended the final steps. "My lord. I’ve separated them as best I can. Soldiers are on the left, estate personnel on the right, and I’ve put the officers at the front so I can deal with them first. Anyone who wanted to leave immediately has already been disarmed, registered and sent on their way."

Adrien glanced toward him. "You let them leave already?"

"Your mother made the decision," Garrick replied, shifting his weight slightly off the leg that still bothered him. "I agreed with her. Keeping men here who don’t want to serve us wouldn’t accomplish much."

Evelyne picked up the explanation without waiting to be asked. "Not everyone who worked for Gaspard was loyal to him personally, Adrien. Some served because their fathers did. Others because Arquenay paid their wages and gave their families homes. If we force those people to remain, we haven’t gained servants or soldiers. We’ve gained prisoners."

Adrien looked across the gathered faces again before nodding. "Then anyone still standing here is at least considering staying. That’s a much better place to start."

Evelyne had a thick folder tucked beneath one arm. Adrien had noticed it while they were walking downstairs and had deliberately chosen not to ask what was inside. Unfortunately, his mother opened it anyway.

"I’ve already gone through the first set of Arquenay records. Names, former positions, wages, dependants, property assignments, administrative duties and recommendations from their previous superiors." She turned several pages as she spoke. "There are inconsistencies, obviously, but it’ll be enough to start sorting people."

Adrien stared at the amount of paper in her hands. "You’ve already done all of that? When exactly did you sleep?"

"Less than sixteen hours," Evelyne replied, giving him a pointed look before closing the folder again. "Some of us had work to do."

Adrien narrowed his eyes slightly. "That sounded targeted."

"It was." Evelyne didn’t even try to hide it, and Garrick’s mouth twitched before the old knight wisely looked away.

Adrien decided not to give his mother the satisfaction of continuing and instead turned toward Garrick. "What are you planning to do with the soldiers?"

"Evaluate them," Garrick answered. "Nobody joins a Clairmont unit simply because they were standing in an Arquenay formation yesterday. I’ll start with the officers, then work downward. Discipline, combat experience, Core rank, Path, previous assignments and whether their men actually respected them. Anyone I don’t trust doesn’t get anywhere near command."

"How long before you know what we have?" Adrien asked, watching several of the former Arquenay officers while Garrick spoke.

"A few weeks before I know exactly what they’re capable of. Considerably less before I know who I don’t want." Garrick glanced toward Adrien. "If you have particular instructions, now would be the time."

Adrien shook his head. "You’ve been commanding soldiers longer than I’ve been alive. If I start telling you how to organize units because I’m technically your lord, one of us has lost his mind. Handle it however you think is best and come to me if something important needs deciding."

That earned a small smile from Garrick. "Understood, my lord. I’ll have a proper report for you once I’ve separated the useful ones from the ones who only looked impressive in Arquenay colours."

Adrien then turned toward his mother. "I’m assuming everything that doesn’t carry a sword becomes your problem."

"More or less." Evelyne tapped the folder against her palm. "Arquenay’s territory didn’t stop functioning because Gaspard will die. Taxes still need collecting, grain still needs counting, roads need maintaining, merchants have contracts that don’t disappear with the man who signed them, and several villages are going to want assurances that nothing changes overnight."

"So exactly the sort of thing I should stay far away from," Adrien said, earning a raised eyebrow from her. He gave her a faint smile before continuing. "I’m serious, though. You already know how to run an estate. I don’t. There’s no point pretending otherwise."

Adrien was still the head of House Clairmont. There would be decisions only he could make, especially now that their territory had expanded so dramatically, but pretending his title somehow made him better at administration than Evelyne would have been idiotic.

She had kept Greymoor functioning while Alaric was gone, and she had continued doing it after his death while the entire house was collapsing around them. Garrick understood soldiers. Evelyne understood the machinery that kept the house alive.

Adrien understood enough to let them do their jobs.

"What exactly do you need from me today, then?" he asked.

Evelyne closed the folder completely this time. "They need to see you. Garrick can reorganize their units and I can put their names into Clairmont records, but yesterday these people served another house. If they’re going to serve yours now, they need to hear what that actually means from you."

Adrien understood immediately.

Legitimacy.

He stepped forward, and the scattered conversations across the courtyard began dying without anyone being told to stop. By the time Adrien reached the front of the gathering, almost everyone was looking at him.

Absolute Mana Sense moved through the group automatically. Stronger Cores stood near the front among the officers. Weaker presences were scattered behind them. Some people’s mana shifted restlessly with nerves, although Adrien couldn’t tell whether that came from fear, anger or simple uncertainty.

Probably a mixture of all three.

Adrien didn’t bother putting on a reassuring smile. "I’m not going to pretend yesterday didn’t happen. Gaspard attacked my family, he lost, and the Crown stripped House Arquenay of its lands. Those lands now belong to House Clairmont. Everyone standing here already knows that, so I won’t waste your time explaining it again."

His gaze travelled slowly across the crowd. "What matters is what happens from today onward. Anyone who wanted to leave was allowed to leave. If you’re still here, I’m assuming you’re at least considering remaining in service."

Several people exchanged glances, but Adrien continued before anyone could speak.

"I’m also not asking you to pretend you’ve always loved House Clairmont. Some of you served Arquenay for years. Yesterday, if Gaspard had ordered it, some of you would’ve fought against us. I understand that. What I care about is what you choose now."

One of the former Arquenay officers at the front straightened slightly. "And those of us who served Duke Gaspard directly, my lord? Are we expected to prove we had nothing to do with his crimes?"

Adrien looked at the man for a moment before answering. "Did you take part in the slave trade?"

"No, my lord. I didn’t."

"Did you know about it?"

The officer hesitated before shaking his head. "No. Not until everything came out."

Absolute Mana Sense couldn’t simply tell Adrien whether someone was lying, so there was little point pretending it could. He glanced toward Garrick instead. "Then Garrick will decide whether you’re fit to continue serving. If he says you are, I don’t particularly care what colours you wore yesterday."

The officer seemed to relax slightly, and the reaction spread farther back through the group.

Adrien kept his voice even. "I’m not interested in punishing every person who happened to work for the wrong man. If you serve this house, you’ll be paid for your work, your families will be protected under Clairmont law, and you’ll be treated as people of this territory. Soldiers answer to Garrick. Estate personnel answer through my mother and whoever she appoints beneath her."

Several eyes moved toward the two people standing behind him, exactly as Adrien expected.

"Major decisions come to me," he continued. "Everything else goes through the people beside me, because they’re better at those jobs than I am. I’m not going to interfere with Garrick every time he moves a soldier or with my mother every time somebody complains about grain prices."

That drew the faintest hint of amusement from somewhere in the crowd, though nobody was brave enough to laugh properly.

Adrien let the atmosphere settle before finishing. "Anyone who decides this isn’t the house they want to serve can still leave before formal assignments begin. Nobody will be hunted down for making that choice. But if you stay, then I expect you to mean it. You don’t serve Gaspard’s memory. You don’t serve whatever remains of old Arquenay loyalties. You serve House Clairmont."

For several seconds nobody said anything. Then the same officer lowered his head.

"I understand, Lord Clairmont. That’s fair enough."

Others began doing the same, some more confidently than others, and Adrien stepped back once it became clear there was nothing more he needed to add.

He looked toward Garrick. "They’re yours from here."

"I’ll begin with the officers," Garrick replied, already looking toward the first group. "You should have an initial assessment within a few days."

Adrien turned toward Evelyne next. "And apparently everyone else belongs to you."

"They already did the moment the Crown signed the transfer," she replied, before holding out the folder she’d been carrying the entire time. "Unfortunately, there is one part I can’t do for you."

Adrien looked down at the stack of papers being offered to him. "Please tell me that’s decorative."

"It’s the first set of appointments requiring the signature of the head of House Clairmont." Evelyne finally smiled when she saw his expression. "You wanted to be useful."

Adrien exhaled and accepted the folder while Garrick began calling former Arquenay officers aside and Evelyne’s clerks moved toward the civilians with their own lists already prepared.

House Clairmont was no longer simply Greymoor and the small group that had refused to abandon it when everything fell apart. There were unfamiliar faces beneath its banner now, new lands waiting to be governed and soldiers who had belonged to someone else only yesterday.

Less than two months ago, Adrien had inherited a dying house.

Now it was growing faster than he had expected.

And apparently that came with paperwork.