Chapter Fifty-Four

  Bloody days.

  That was the only way Torald could think to describe them. Two, bloody, bloody days. Chiefly because it was worse than he thought. Half of all the bureaucrats, two in every five merchants, the entire command structure of the guards and one in every eight soldiers, not to mention the labor camps and prison guards. His impromptu company of killers eliminated some four thousand people over a two day period, and set four times that many, free from their captivity before they made their way back to him again.

  There had been a few casualties, roughly one hundred of those he dispatched on his rampage did not return alive. But if there was a single bandit or brigand or highwayman left alive that lived along the border before, that wasn’t with him now? It was because they began running early and had not stopped.

  But now it was over. All that remained were the final instructions to the assembled mob, for which he had a single task. This time, they wore no masks before him, and organized themselves more or less by ‘profession’. Either criminal or common, their pardons were done, and all that remained was their final direction.

  “My Lord has defeated the beastmen.” He said, launching into his speech with the latest news right away, “The cities, towns, villages, all are liberated and more besides. That means there is land available, and lots of it. And there’s not one of you here that has any of that anymore.” Torald paused to let that sink in, and savor the murmurs and cries of delight.

  Even those who lived by preying on people, hated the beastmen with a passion.

  “As a reward for your service in purging the corruption,” Torald continued as the noise calmed down, “I am authorized to grant you land in the east. Those of you with trades, you may resume them. Soldiers, you will be reassigned with a land grant waiting for you at the end of your service. Brigands, bandits, congratulations on joining the local militia. But remember this,” he raised one finger and leveled it at all of them, “all of you share accountability. Your pardons are conditional upon your collective good behavior. If one of you learns that the other has gone back to their old ways… it might be best if that person disappears on a hunting trip rather than be caught.”

  The enthusiasm dimmed a bit, but he could see in their eyes that they were weighing how much they had to lose. ‘If there are any weak links that won’t be able to help themselves, I don’t think they’ll last long enough to commit a crime.’ Torald thought with a little self satisfaction.

  “All you need to do now, is cut down the tree on which your name and crimes are listed, and transport it east to your new lands, there you will build your houses using that wood, and your crimes will be forgotten by all but yourselves. That will be your penitent’s walk. Go from here, to Yellow Rock, there, you will start your lives over again. We will sort you as needed into a handful of villages, towns, and forts. Are there any questions?” Torald asked, already in his mind he was working out which ones would serve as watchdogs on the lands to be settled, to keep the blackmarkets and corruption at bay as the Kingdom built itself up into a new great power again…

  A hand went up, and a rough hewn looking soldier said, “Yellow Rock is in the old territory, way beyond the-”

  Torald memorized his face, while Yellow Rock wasn’t unknown and could be relatively easily found, few commoners realized it was once part of the Draconic Kingdom, or how much territory had been lost over the generations to the Beastmen threat. “It is beyond nothing. It is ours again. This is the birth of the Draconic Empire. There are no beastmen anywhere near Yellow Rock.”

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  The soldier sucked in his breath, but said nothing more, Torald quickly added, “You lead them to it.” And the numb faced rough faced soldier gave a quiet, disbelieving nod as he accepted the new reality of his world.

  “Now we are done.” Torald stated, and walked away, idly he wondered if those bearing axes would figure out how to share them without violence, or if the number of people who needed pardons would rapidly decrease. ‘I suppose I’ll find out when I’m the Duke of Yellow Rock, and see them finally start to show up.’

  It wasn’t an unpleasant thought to have, and it kept him actually quite content when he mounted his horse and began the ride beneath the boughs of ancient trees, all the way back to the capital, and the ceremony of his own elevation.

  He could only hope that Dominic would still be there when he arrived, and that Lord Ulbert would be there too.

  Waking up with somebody was clearly something Queen Draudillon would need to grow used to, but also… waking up a little late now and then. It wasn’t a surprise that she’d awakened late, not with the door locked from the inside the way it was.

  But between her coupling with her intended, and her ‘questions’ about his son that followed, there had been plenty to keep her awake well into the wee hours of the morning.

  The demon’s body was warm to the touch, though it was strange waking up and finding he wasn’t what he seemed to be the night before… ’Given that I can take on the appearance of a small child, I am hardly in a position to speak of strangeness.’ She stretched out her limbs and groaned a little.

  “We need to get you a throne before the wedding, you know.” The Queen remarked and smacked her lips together.

  “I’m sure my old friend Ainz will provide one as a wedding present, I want to see him today to hand deliver his invitation.” Ulbert responded and stretched himself out the same as the Queen was still doing. It was still strange to think of him as ‘Ainz’ rather than ‘Momonga’ but… he’d get used to it.

  “It would be fitting, wouldn’t it? I want to apply for vassalage as soon as possible. And also, I know a great deal of aid is going to the Holy Kingdom, but the Slane Theocracy is sure to cut me off after this.” The Queen didn’t need to finish the statement.

  “I’ll talk to him about it, of course. Perhaps we can work out some sort of specialization trade between us and the Holy Kingdom so that the Sorcerous Kingdom’s resources aren’t overly strained.” Ulbert’s suggestion was an idle one, but the Queen seized on it at once as he slid his legs off of the bed and stood up.

  “You’re thinking like an Emperor already.” She said, her breasts bounced a little as she laughed, and to her surprise, she felt no shyness about the fact that he could see them. ‘I suppose I’m starting to think like a wife, too. Every hour I’m with him, I feel more comfortable…I can’t help but think I might end up being genuinely happy with this one as a mate.’

  “I’ll get used to it.” He promised, then reaching for his clothing, he stepped into the light that shone through the window and began to dress. The Queen, heedless of her nudity, rose after him and batted his hands away from himself.

  “No, let me… then it will be my turn.” She gave him a sultry smile as he complied with her wishes.

  “We’re going to be late dealing with the Slane Theocracy delegation.” Ulbert pointed out.

  “Let them wait.” The Queen replied, and Ulbert did not even consider a second objection.