Chapter 442

    Tom P.O.V.

    Watching Ajax kneel in front of the king as he accepted his title as Duke had me feeling a mixture of feelings. The clothes he was wearing now were worth more than our entire house back in the village. He was always so driven and he pulled us all along with him.

    For the past few years I had unconsciously been building up resentment for him, with every meeting where I was dismissed and every duty I picked up for our family while he trained and studied I had been growing more and more annoyed. But that all ended last night.

    “We can’t operate like a normal noble family.” He had said. “I don’t have the training, Skills, or the time to act like a normal head of the House and that will remain so until I step down and let someone prepared take the position in the same way the other Houses of Gryndor operate.”

    It was only then that I realized that Ajax wasn’t going to become a normal head of House Hearthbound. He was fully going to let us handle our duties as we saw fit and he would only support us while providing a general direction we should strive for.

    I took a good look at the sea of nobles around me, a few of them had dismissed me out of hand thinking they just needed to wait to talk to Ajax but they would soon find out that I am as high as it goes.

    “Rise Duke Hearthbound.” the kings said as he offered Ajax his hand.

    The room exploded into cheers as Ajax took the king''s hand and rose to his full height, a good head taller than the king, not everyone was happy with the turn of events but they all wore happy smiles as they applauded and cheered. A few years ago I wouldn’t have been able to see through that, now I had [Social Understanding] and [Read Intention], both of them were only uncommon but they worked well with each other.

    “Thank you, Your Majesty.” Ajax’s voice resounded throughout the court, unlike the king''s; however his was propagated by his stats and not a social skill so the nobles closest to him had probably felt like he was shouting. “Your family will always be welcome at my estate near Lessis.”

    The news that our family estate would be just outside of Lessis in the direction of the dungeon had been a very welcome piece of news last night. Knowing that I will become the ruling mayor of Lessis, the city where I grew up from a village boy into a man and a guard was the cherry on top. All of my connections would make it that much easier for us to establish ourselves and with the current noble rulers being as disliked as they were it wouldn’t take much to win the populace’s approval.

    “Duke Hearthbound’s promotion is not the only announcement I have today.” the king said as Ajax stepped away from the throne and made his way back to me.

    All of those who had dismissed me in the past had found themselves quickly dismissed in turn. Today was a day of celebration and it was to be spent with those who had treated our family well even when we were a brand new Baron House.

    “Your Grace.” Knight Bonehammer greeted Ajax before he turned to me. “Lord Hearthbound.”

    Knight Bonehammer was an old man, not so much in age as in body. At a little over three hundred years old he was barely past his prime for a noble. Knight Bonehammer hadn’t been born a noble however he had gained his Knighthood at the end of the last war.

    The man had been very talented for a commoner, he had no skill with magic but he had trained hard and joined the army at an early age. He had had a family and lived the life of a normal soldier, when the war came his talent and luck had shone through, he had survived numerous battles, so many that he was still in his prime by the time his wife passed, the couple had no kids as there had never been a good time to have them.

    After being granted the title of Knight the man remarried, with peace settling in he instead focused on raising a family and then began the search for a noble family to pledge his services.

    “Knight Bonehammer.” I greeted the man with a smile and a firm handshake, I would have also given him a hug but it wouldn’t have been appropriate anymore with Ajax’s new standing as a Duke. “How is your family?”

    Both of Knight Bonehammer’s sons were older than I was but they had become great friends. Being raised as semi-nobles and with their father sparing no expense they had shown the same talent that had gotten their father to knighthood on top of all the advantages a noble would usually have.At the age of fifty the boys still looked on the younger side and with their levels being at sixty five they were well on their way to becoming elite soldiers.

    “The boys are doing great, though Grace and myself are moving slower and need a hand every now and then.” he answered, a glimmer of joy in his eyes as he noticed he wasn’t dismissed like many nobles of much higher station were.

    Despite Grace being more than a hundred years younger than her husband she didn’t have his level of Vitality, both of them were getting old. It was dad who had first met Knight Bonehammer and introduced us and I knew he had been getting out measure on whether we were a good House to pledge to, he had all but decided over the eight months we had known each other but held off until he met Ajax.

    “A pleasure to meet you, Knight Bonehammer.” Ajax greeted the man.

    “Why don’t you come by tomorrow night.” I invited the man, Hatchet and Luna were already coming and I knew a few of Ajax’s friends would be by as well, as much as I wanted to give both of them a chance to take each others measure the open court wasn’t the place to do it.