The World Dragon's Heir

Chapter 691: Who Has Them?

As more guests arrived, the trucks were moved off into the parking area, and Dominic’s group moved into the gardens to join the actual party, and give their birthday wishes to the King.

The whole point of coming in person was the visibility. Letting the other Nobles see you, meet you, and talk about the troubles and successes of their regions.

Only then would you have a clear picture of what they all saw as the real issues.

Naturally, everyone got reports. But they were often from the same source, and it could be biased, lazy, or even just inaccurate, thanks to limited information.

But the Nobles who ran the regions would have a different take on things than anyone else did.

"Am I underdressed for the occasion?" Dominic whispered to Earl Tarleigh as they entered the garden.

"What do you mean? Your outfit is fine. In fact, wearing your official uniform is a bit of a flex here, where we’re all titled, but not all appointed to Royal duties."

"It’s likely the horns, then. I was noticing a lot of those politely disgusted looks," Dominic whispered.

"Those might be for me. I don’t have a great reputation. You see, the reason that Port Tarleigh is the way that it is started with my father. He funded most of the questionable entertainment facilities in the city, to keep the sailors entertained and cut down issues with the Pirates.

They were known to attack cities along the coast at the time, but once he turned the city into somewhere that they didn’t mind stopping, as well as an open port, they stopped causing troubles.

However, that did not make us popular with the other Nobles."

"Ah, that makes a lot of sense. With the two of us together, no wonder they’re all giving us sour looks."

Duke Dovencrune laughed. "Oh, that’s not quite it. You see, as much as the Earl has a sketchy reputation as a purveyor of the flesh, he’s also incredibly wealthy.

A trait that I’m told you also share.

Most of those sour looks are entirely envious of the success that the two of you have shared in entirely different manners."

Dominic laughed, and a few of the expressions turned extra sour.

So, the Duke was right, they were just upset that he had taken a chance and run into massive wealth in Stansia Province.

The other Stansia Province Nobles weren’t doing nearly as well, but they were also still having issues with Wavemates Loyalists, the aftermath of the storm, and the war. That was making their adaptation rougher than Dominic’s, but they were all still doing at least moderately well.

Better than some of the Nobles who had taken over from relatives who had turned traitor.

Their territories had been decimated, the population scattered, and punitive fines were levied for them to keep the title in the family, instead of having it entirely stripped by the King and assigned to a new Noble.

That had happened to some.

It was also where most of the new and uncomfortable looking faces in the room came from.

They used to be the younger sons of another Noble, but they had earned enough military merit, or their family had, that they were awarded titles to the lands of a deceased traitor.

Dominic made his rounds, greeting every face that he recognized, and then the ones that nobody else seemed eager to talk to.

If they were being ostracized, but not by the King, that meant that they were likely going to be eager to make a trade deal. A few more clients for Wistover was never the wrong answer, and there was a chance that he could convince a few of these Nobles to buy some of their more profitable items in bulk, like the magitech fireplace inserts.

What he found was a rather large group of eager customers.

"Ah, Duke Dominic, welcome! We didn’t think that you would make it here this year," a young Baron with bright green eyes greeted him.

For a second, Dominic thanked the custom of wearing your noble house’s crest on your clothing, as it was the only way that he could guess who was who. Even if he didn’t know them all, he knew the ones above Baron, as there were only a few dozen Earls and Dukes in Cygnia.

And once you knew the top ranks, it became easier to pick out the lower ones by their decorations, even if you didn’t know the personal heraldry.

"We weren’t certain that we were going to come, as my wife is expecting, but with the assistance of the mage Sects in Wistover, we used portals to visit. The new airships could have made it in a little over a day, but that’s still a long trip in a small cabin with an uncomfortable wife."

The Baron and his friends all laughed. "That is understandable. I tend to make rather routine tours of the Barony during the later months. We’re on our third in three years now."

"And she still let you try for more? A woman of commendable character, I tell you." Dominic joked.

He clapped the man on the shoulder in congratulations, and then the Baron’s eyes went wide.

"Wait, you’re married to the Paladin Princess, right? You and Thorvald of Northia. That is huge news, does the Crown Prince know?" The Baron asked, knowing that this was the sort of gossip he could not afford to not get details on for his wife.

"Even better, Crown Prince Claudius and His Majesty were in attendance when we all learned.

So, he was one of the first to know, and he knew before she was even showing. Confirmed by Trollish doctors and everything."

"Trollish Doctors?"

Dominic nodded. "If you don’t have one in your territory, I highly recommend it. They have a natural affinity for healing and nature magic, so they are every bit as versatile as a witch coven with a proper garden. But they’re exceptionally useful as midwives, thanks to their ability to constantly heal.

We haven’t had too many births in Wistover so far, but there have been a dozen or so who arrived heavily pregnant.

We haven’t lost a single one so far."

The Barons all shared concerned looks. Sure, trolls were a controversial topic, being nonhumans that many residents of Cygnia considered monsters. But healers that could keep complicated pregnancies from leading to death?

Far too many Noblemen had lost wives to childbirth.

If keeping a troll or two around the Barony was enough to remove that risk, it was worth it. If they could also perform the service for the commoners, they would enter legendary days.

No matter how they were judged by their peers.

"Well, everyone has their own faults and foibles. I can’t say that keeping Trolls in the Barony House would be worse than most of the unmentioned things around here." Earl Tarliegh joked.

The Barons chuckled softly, knowing that he was talking about his own city’s reputation.

But he also had trolls in his city. They had arrived with trade ships, and some had remained behind to run apothecaries and healers shops. It had really helped with certain issues the city used to have.