The Dragon's Flame Queen ✔

✔LXXVII - Doubts in The Air

Billard had been feeling exhausted but a good thing was Master Valentine seemed to send him to his wife everyday and didn't let him do more work as he tended to overwork himself. What could he do? The workload was growing and he had to keep everything in check.

He certainly had many Lords under him but after the Rockdelia incident, he had to keep an eye on them. To be honest, it was hard to keep everyone in check but he had Master Valentine, Demian and Alonzo.

Alonzo was sending reports often and he was glad that he had a quite capable steward. He had almost distributed the lands which belonged to the citizens of Rockdelia and with the accumulated money from the Lords had helped them to gain food and clothes. He had shipped necessary things and Demian had asked the surrounding cities to start their trading in Rockdelia.

The only problem was like its name Rockdelia was surrounded by the rocky cliffs that made it hard for the ships to find docks. The natural habitat wasn't quite fulfilling and with the rocky cliffs and occasional whirlpools it was harder for trade or any form of transport with Rockdelia. Demian had studied the island properly and after a lot of thinking he had proposed for the west dock to be used for the trade purpose as it seemed to be the safest route.

Salamanders would help them as well. All he needed to find a good Lord for Rockdelia. It seemed Demian had also came up with another idea. He had recommended the leader who started the rebellion against the Lords. Although he wasn't from the royal race, Demian said, he was far better than any royalty. And it was time they had to choose people from their own cities to take care.

However, the system required a Lord as other cities didn't want to negotiate with common people who were chosen as a Lord. So, Billard had asked the leader, Hans Petris, to marry Lord Heartstone's eldest daughter, Diana Heartstone.

He opened the small letter which had carved the report of Hans answer and Alonzo had written it with his excellent handwriting.

As he finished reading, he released a sigh of relief.

"It seemed Hans Petris had agreed to marry Lady Diana," Billard said to Master Valentine who was sitting next to him with piles of papers in his hands.

He looked up and said, "That is indeed a good news. Now we don't have to worry about selecting a Lord, I suppose."

Billard nodded, a small smile etched on his lips. Demian might have done things in his barbaric ways but he did it perfectly with proper insight. He felt so happy that the smile had been plastered on his face permanently.

Master Valentine asked, "What is it that Your Highness is happy about?"

"Well, I didn't notice when Demian had grown up." Billard said, "He was just a little boy and still is young, yet he had matured a lot."

Master Valentine nodded as his eyes stayed on the papers before him and his hand continued to write without a pause. Only he could do that while talking. "Prince Demian had been growing up and now you have to stop being so overprotective."

"I know but..." Billard took a breath and released it as he began, "He had been so weak and needed care all the time after mother died. I can't help it."

Billard had to look after his little brother when their father had to look after the kingdom but after just one year of their mother's death, the King fell ill. He had to look after both the kingdom and his brother.

Demian had always been so weak due to the curse that Billard would always panic if anything happened to him. Be it a small scratch or a wound, he would always get worried. He didn't know when he had become a father figure to him rather than an elder brother.