Lord Of The Eastern Castle

The Invitation

Chatter could be heard from a nearby room. Ryan walked on a fine red carpet which led towards a particular direction. The wooden architecture around him was finely made out of human sweat. Large paintings were pinned against the wall. Ryan walked past as he examined each of these paintings.

He wore a white and black outfit. A black shirt was inside and a white and black overcoat held together by golden threads from the front. On his shoulders, a black fur flowed from the front of the right shoulder to the left. Black pants made out of finely stitched silk. The pants reflected only a small amount of light signifying that even light could not go against the monarch.

Holding Ryan's arms was a woman with white hair and blue eyes. She had extremely sharp features and was walking beside Ryan. She wore a black dress that cascaded to the floor, the velvet material of the dress did not disappoint. The contrasting color of her hair and her dress made her stand out.

Walking past the exquisite paintings, Ryan noted that the Patriarch of the Mines family either was interested in art or liked to give off the impression that he was imaginative and was interested in art.

"Good evening, your majesty. It's a pleasure to see you here."

One of the two knights guarding the door said.

The door seemed to be holding the weight of all the chatter, whispers, gossip, and conspiracies.

The guard pushed the door open with not much effort.

Silence fell onto the room as people looked towards Ryan who had now arrived at the scene. Deep silence. It was so silent that even the crickets in the garden could be heard. They were waiting for Ryan's approval to return to their unproductive discussions.

Ryan walked forward, towards one of the tables. There were 5 cups of liquor which were placed on the table. It was a streamlined glass cup with a circular opening at the top and becoming smaller and smaller as it reached the bottom.

He picked up one of the glasses and raised it in the air.

"This is not a serious meeting, it's time you all enjoy. Cheers!"

The silence disappeared and the usual chatter filled the room. Ryan said that this was not a serious meeting, however, each of these Patriarchs and the children escorting them knew that this was no simple party.

This is not a simple party. All the families, both big and small which are involved with agriculture as their main business are present here. Did the Patriarch of Mines plan for me to form proper relations with these families? What is his intention?

Currently, the biggest families that contribute the most to the economy are the Rihgurd and the Mines family. It seems that the Mines family can be influenced by me, however, the Rihgurd family has minor disagreements.

"Your Majesty, it seems that you are planning on bringing a new policy to the kingdom. Would you mind explaining it to the other nobles?"

A man shouted from the crowd. The crowd had now gone silent since they were now invested in this new subject.

"Can you first introduce yourself? I wouldn't wanna talk to a faceless man."

A man came into vision from the crowd. He was a fat man, with brown hair, ugly. It seemed that his clothes had become a mess. He was under the influence of liquor, this gave him the confidence to speak so boldly against Ryan.

"My name is Rin Rihgurd. I am the son of Richard Rihgurd, the patriarch of the Rihgurd family."

The guy said as he made a bow. He couldn't however handle the weight and nearly slipped. Two nobles standing on either of his sides helped him stand up back on his feet.