***
Snowkeep Palace - Duke's Office
***
"Lord Darius?"
Matthias' voice rang out from outside the office where Darius was busy, catching him off guard and to lose his focus.
"H-huh?"
He blinked twice, forgetting what he was even doing before slapping himself.
"I mean... please enter!"
Matthias entered the room, a small smile on his face. He clearly heard Darius' confusion and was slightly amused by it.
This made Darius himself get embarrassed by presenting such an unsightly demeanor to the new castellan.
"Is there anything you need, Sir Matthias?"
"I have prepared the paperwork to transfer the land rights of those convicted to you."
He placed a pile of paperwork on the desk, all already finished and completed for Darius' sake.
"You should now be able to focus on your work."
"Ah, I see! I appreciate it!"
Darius sighed in relief. The fact that he didn't need to handle the paperwork for that meant that he had a few hours less of work to deal with.
"What are you working on right now?"
Matthias asked, looking at the papers that Darius was working on.
"Taxes, some are too exorbitant, and for the most useless things as well... it has minimal benefits and only slows down things."
Darius answered with experience, clearly already understanding how efficiency and good governance work just from his voice alone.
'Lord Justinian really did pick well...'
Matthias nodded to himself before grabbing the parchment that Darius was working on.
"Let me help, I'm already done with my tasks for today."
He offered; he was still the Duke's steward after all, not just a mere castellan.
***
Snowkeep Palace - Courtyard
***
"Move, move!"
Lucan yelled out, clapping his hands loudly as he urged the men to prepare their armor, mounts, and belongings in advance.
"We don't want any delays tomorrow!"
But the work was being done faster than expected, with each one of them now being equal to elite knights; the preparation was as easy as fighting an ant.
He sighed, looking around the palace, before spotting the huge sun symbol hanging just on top of the palace walls.
One that was devoted to the God of War, Arethrus.
This made him remember Justinian's arcanist nature immediately.
'I should pray to the gods and thank them for blessing the duke...'
He thought to himself, it was the least he could do for their blessing of granting him a competent liege.
"Come on! move faster! The quicker you're done, the more time you whelps get to sleep!"
***
Snowkeep Palace - Servant's Quarters
***
"Everything's been going well, hasn't it?"
A male servant spoke, on his break as he sat on a chair and sipped some tea, his face clearly refreshed and calm despite serving a duke.
"It kinda makes me paranoid... haha."
A female servant spoke, folding her uniform for tomorrow.
"I don't blame you, with the rumours of the duke being divinity and all that..."
The female servant sighed.
"Do you think any of it is true?"
Another servant entered the room this time, interrupting their conversation, having heard it all from outside.
"That's enough of that serious talk, instead... let's talk about the Duke and the Lady Cassia!"
An eager female servant yelled in glee, her face filled with theorizing and imagination about what their lord and lady's relationship is.
***
Snowkeep Palace - Justinian's Room
***
Cassia sat on the bed next to Justinian's sleeping form, observing his face. She was ordered to rest to ready herself, but at the same time, she couldn't.
Justinian was a public figure no.1 across the capital; she couldn't just rest and leave him unprotected.
Especially after all he had done for her, treating her like an actual lady instead of a knight, treating her equally despite his status as an arcanist.
She wanted to serve him well to repay him for his kindness.
"This won't be the first time I've been sent on a night mission."
Cassia chuckled, pulling up Justinian's bedsheets to cover his body.
"I apologize for disobeying your orders... but I'll keep watch instead..."
'Not like I'm not used to staying up late.'
***
All across the capital was echoing Justinian's actions were echoing, each one like a domino affecting everyone he ruled over, from the army to the servants.
It was clear he had earned their trust, and now they were all ready to see what would come next.
What Justinian had planned for the future of the capital.