LightReader

Chapter 11 - 11.The King's Response

Golden sunlight streamed through the towering arched windows of the Royal Court. Ministers gathered around a long obsidian table, their voices murmuring in a mixture of curiosity and skepticism as the king examined the sealed report before him.

King Edric Varion, sovereign of the kingdom of Elenath, tapped the parchment with a slender silver letter opener. A man well beyond the fire of youth, his steel-gray eyes bore the sharpness of a seasoned warrior and the measured calm of a ruler who had outlasted civil disputes and border wars.

The letter came from Minister Harbin, the Agriculture Minister—reserved, cautious, and known to avoid exaggeration.

"Gentlemen," King Edric began, his voice steady, "it seems the disgraced son-in-law of House Valorin has stirred something... unusual."

He slit open the seal and read aloud.

"The reclaimed town of Merriton, once a failing outpost, now reports stabilized food supply, reduction in bandit activity, and a notable influx of displaced farmers. The catalyst: an unfamiliar root crop introduced and cultivated under the guidance of Lord Jack."

There was silence, then muttered disbelief.

Prime Minister Roderic Thane scoffed. "Root crop? What's next—miracle weeds?"

But Harbin cleared his throat. "I dispatched an inspector to verify the reports. The results were... surprising. The yield is consistent. This crop—'potato,' they call it—could reduce our dependence on imported grains. More importantly, it grows in barren soil."

Roderic sneered. "Even if this is true, we cannot let one man's rehabilitation distract us. This is Jack—former wastrel, scandal-bound, and married by accident. Are we forgetting his history?"

Minister Harbin didn't flinch. "History can bury a man. Or it can be rewritten. That is not for me to decide, but the facts remain."

King Edric leaned back, thoughtful. "And what of the people? What do they say?"

Harbin hesitated. "They don't speak of him fondly. Not yet. But there is talk—small things. Order returning. Bandits negotiating peace. Fields growing. They say he works until his hands bleed."

A young royal scribe entered with a second letter. "From House Valorin, Your Majesty. Lady Mireya sends it personally."

The king opened it with care, revealing a child's handwriting copied onto parchment.

0"Mother is fighting monsters. Father fights silence. I don't know which is harder. He's alone, but he still tries. I wrote because no one else would." —Laina

A quiet fell over the court.

The king tapped the letter against his fingers. "He has no contact with his family… no wife, no allies, not even his other children. And yet he persists."

Minister Harbin nodded. "He does not ask for aid. He only works."

King Edric stood. "Then I will offer aid unasked. Prepare a discretionary grain loan to Merriton. And draft a letter of Royal Commendation."

Roderic's mouth opened in protest.

The king silenced him with a glance. "I will not crown the man a hero. But I will not punish a man who tries to lift dirt into bread with no promise of reward."

He turned to his scribe. "Let him know the Crown sees him. That is all.

---

In the back of the room, a clerk quietly left. Marquis Ervian Rook's agent, well-placed and always listening, had heard everything. The time to act was coming.

Far away, in Merriton, Jack stood beneath a sun-scorched sky, unaware of the tides he'd stirred.

He had not seen his children's faces in months. Only Laina's letter reminded him of their world.

And now, a different letter was on its way.

More Chapters