Serving Lant Agriche

Chapter 14 - The Maid's Odd Way of Thinking

The fire was still crackling when Dion had finished the book. It was a short read on acquiring power, ruling others, and maintaining dominance but in the flowery language of olden times. Dion suspected that his father may have enjoyed the read, but Dion had never been interested in politics.

"Did you like the book?" Mina said kindly. She yawned and stretched her aching shoulders. It was after dusk and the red moon tonight was starting its ascension in the sky. The baby was kicking and the she had already gone to the bathroom several times to control her nausea. She otherwise had tried to act at ease to be a nice hostess.

"The end justifies the means," Dion stared into the fire. He back was still ramrod straight, never touching the end of his chair. "It is a fitting moral."

Mina was disconcerted by his response. "Yes, that is the author's conclusion in writing the book, but surely you must disagree. The reading level may have been too difficult for you to understand."

For the first time, Dion looked at the maid's face thoroughly, taking in her sweaty, oval face, bloated from pregnancy; the way her hair was pulled into a tight bun, a practical and unflattering hairstyle used by most maids and other women of the working class.

Her thin shoulders and light grey eyes still made her a good candidate to be one of his mother's toys. His mother was quite particular about looks. She only enjoyed looking at beautiful people. Dion's indifference toward everything had a tendency to upset her, but she had never marked his face simply because his face reminded her of Lant Agriche, who she found handsome.

"Why would a peasant like you care about these matters?" Dion said neutrally. He wondered if the maid was some anarchist against the current nobles in power.

"I was a governess who had to teach a noble's children these things," Mina said. "Are you sure you've read everything carefully? The author says war crimes are sometimes a necessary evil. Threats can be used to keep people in check. Fear allows you to subjugate your citizens. You can use anyone and anything to get what you want."

Dion did not understand why the maid was getting agitated. These were common themes his private tutors had taught him from a young age.

The passage about fear had interested him, however. Fear was not enough to keep subjects loyal to their ruler in the long-term. His father embraced corruption and threatened people at his whim. He lived for short-lived pleasures and da*mned the consequences. 

Lant Agriche did not care about self-preservation. He stole, cheated, and killed while letting his underlings like Dion clean up his mess.

He was almost daring someone to oppose his tyranny.

Dion did not much care about his father's wishes, but at least he had a better understanding of what drove his father to commit crime.

It was out of character for him, but Dion asked for the maid's perspective. He was curious to know why the woman had shown him the book.

"The book serves as a reminder of the political atmosphere in our land," the maid sighed. "Innocent people support others in government. There's a fine line between assimilating into a corrupt culture and accomplishing good without becoming corrupt yourself."

He did not expect this answer. He did not agree or disagree with it. He would consider her words in-depth later.

"Maid, you are interesting," Dion said. It was high praise coming from him, although his tone was still cool.

The woman seemed perturbed to be called first "peasant" and then "maid."

"Have I ever told you my name, Master Dion?" she said. "It's—."

"Darlin'!" a man called for her.

 

Mina rose, alarmed by the panicked sound of her husband's voice.