Chapter 487

“So you went with execution after all.” Warden Grievous said as talked with Tom.

“He deserves it.” Tom said with finality, his eyes cold as he remembered how the refugees who made it to Lessis all those years ago looked.

“Violence in a brothel does not have execution as a penalty.” The warden pointed out. 

“But an open assault on the mayor does.” Tom pointed out continuing even as he saw the warden open his mouth. “That he posed no real threat is irrelevant.” 

Tom wasn’t just meeting out justice with this. This was also his way of showing everyone who was looking towards House Hearthbound as prey that they were not to be trifled with. It was the royal family that stripped House Nestor of its title but the execution would send the right message.

“You’ve made up your mind on this.” The Warden’s words weren’t a question, merely an observation. He showed no reaction on the outside yet on the inside he was proud. While he didn’t agree with Tom’s choice fully he was happy that during his time in the capital Tom had grown up from the boy who would follow his word to the letter.

“The only regret I have is for his bond.” Tom said as he stroked the fur of his own bond who purred at the attention causing his entire desk to vibrate. “I don’t know if I should be happy he at least treated the salamander well or sad that it will be hurt by his death.” 

“You don’t blame them for what happened to your village?” Grievous was surprised by that. 

“That wasn’t on them.” Tom shook his head. “I might be one of the few who see it this way.” 

It was then that Lexi, Alana and Silvia all entered the room following a knock on the door. “Hope we’re not interrupting.” Alana said as they all took a seat.

“Not at all I’ve been expecting you.” Tom said as he looked towards the door. “Ajax?” 

“‘I’ve earned my break, I can train and craft in peace for at least two days.’ were his exact words.” Lexi said doing a good impression of her fiance that caused a round of laughs. “He was training Jari and Nashara as well as some of our younger retainers when we left all while working on starting up a small garden on the estate.” 

The small garden in question was Ajax’s plan on how to grow plants before transplanting them into the bigger farm that would end up forming around the mana infused lake. It would serve as a stepping stone for him to allow certain plants to be infused with mana before being planted in a much higher mana environment. But it would take time and not much focus to set up the garden.

“He can’t take two days.” Tom let out a heavy sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “He just got back.” 

“We negotiated him down to one day.” Alana said. “But tomorrow he is gathering the crafters to work out the curriculum for the school.” 

“That’s… not ideal, but good enough.” Tom said with a nod.

“Have you decided what you are going to do about the former Baron and his family?” Lexi asked. “Especially the criminal.” 

“He will be executed.” Tom told them his decision. “I don’t know yet who should be the person to carry out the sentence, as for the rest of the family they will be watched and we’ll see how they act. I feel as if their intentions were sincere yesterday before we were interrupted.” 

“What about the bond?” the warden asked. “It clearly won’t grow as powerful as your own but it was still well cared for. What will happen to it?” 

Tom hesitated to answer. He could see in his mother’s eyes what she thought should happen to the salamander, Alana wasn’t as determined but she also agreed. Much as he wanted to spare the creature since it wasn’t truly responsible for what happened he might not have a choice.

“Give it to the eldest of the family.” Lexi said. “It’ll only bond again quickly with someone it knows. Giving the bond back will show tempered judgement on your side but it will also force the Nestor’s to be a lot more proactive.” 

“How so?” Silvia asked, her question starting with a bit of bite that softened by the end, her face showing some remorse and guilt at how she snapped at her future daughter in law. 

“Even if it won’t reach its full potential since it hasn’t been pushed from an early age the salamander is still a decently powerful magical creature.” Lexi explained. “By giving it back you are all but forcing them to raise it strong if they want the chance to regain their nobility as one of your knights in the future. That will cause them to burn through their savings, stimulate the economy and give the Nestors something to strive for.” 

The detailed explanation left everyone shocked. It was easy to forget with the personal dislike Lexi had for noble gathering but she had been raised in the capital, while she may not have liked the games noble children played she had learnt how to play them and had the Skills to back it up.

“What else?” Silvia asked.

“What?” Lexi was surprised, she didn’t know how Silvia saw through her to figure out that she had held something back. 

“It wasn’t anything you did dear.” Silvia said with warmth. “It’s just that those reasons alone aren’t enough, you have no personal tie to what happened and with the rage Ajax held on to for years that wouldn’t be enough.” 

Lexi smiled at that before wincing as she started her explanation. “We would ideally get to see how the salamander progresses since it may prove to be a big asset to our House.” Lexi looked towards Tom. “Depending on how easy it is to bond with the youth and how many eggs are available many of the House’s youth could end up bonding to one.”

Considering the rarity when it came to bonds many referred to a half a dozen a century or so but that would still be a lot considering that bonded combatants like that tended to grow and live for many centuries. 

“You would have us repeat the actions that led to a tragedy?” Warden Grievous asked. 

“In terms of taking the eggs? Yes.” Lexi answered. “We’d be much more careful when doing so however. We’ll ensure to have a strong enough force for more than a smash grab and dash. Ideally in a few centuries the lizards that do bond into our House will mate and give birth to stronger offspring. In time they might even rival the royal family’s gryphons.” 

“That, is certainly not something we can dismiss out of hand.” Tom said, happy to have found a way to protect the salamander. “Now, what did you come here to discuss?” 

“Since Ajax will be working on the school curriculum tomorrow that means we need to work out how much and what we are doing in regards to any political training we might have in schools as well as how we will handle and the social Skills the children will no doubt develop as they interact.” As she spoke Lexi removed a stack of papers from her spacial ring and placed them on the desk. These are the soft rules the study groups I attended in the capital have as well as some of the more common problem situations and Skills that come up.” 

“The rules for the ‘school’ as you call it can’t be soft.” Grievous said, suddenly very happy he was part of the discussion, something he picked up on being intentional since there was no doubt that the guard will eventually have to police incidents that happened at the school, the only question was how soon that will come to be. “Unlike your study groups there will be a lot more people attending and almost all of them will be commoners, there will be no need for preferential treatment due to social standing.” 

“I agree.” Lexi said. “We also cannot entrust any issues to be handled at home by the parents, unfortunately commoners just don’t have the time and experience to deal with some of the Skills that can come, especially when a situation gets overlooked for even a short while.” 

From there Lexi ran the meeting. She was the one with the experience and most of the information, despite that while she presented multiple solutions to the problems that would and could happen she wasn’t the one to decide on how it would be addressed. She recognised that she didn’t have the experience in the same way the others did when it came to being raised as a commoner. 

Between the four of them Tom, Alana, Silvia and Grievous covered a lot of experience. Each had grown up differently, Tom had made his own way from an early age as a guard, Alana had done so as a merchant with no backing. Silvia had been raised in the capital to a decently well off family and Grievous had grown up as a commoner during a time of war.