Chapter 6: A Ruler Walks Among His People
Morning arrived quietly over Blackwood Manor.
The first rays of sunlight slipped through the cracked windows of Kael’s bedroom and stretched across the wooden floor in long golden lines. The room itself was modest by Imperial standards, containing little more than a narrow bed, an old writing desk, a wardrobe with one damaged hinge, and a stone fireplace that looked as though it had not been used regularly in years. Compared with the chambers waiting for him inside the Imperial Palace, it would have embarrassed most princes.
Kael had slept better here than he had in Aurelia.
He opened his eyes slowly and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling for several seconds before remembering where he was. Blackwood Manor. His first territory. His first responsibility. Less than two days ago he had returned to an Empire that believed him dead, and now he was lying in the former estate where Augustus had once begun building his own House.
Home, Kael thought, though the word still felt strange. Not exactly the home I left
A familiar blue light appeared at the edge of his vision.
[IMPERIAL SYSTEM]
[Current Territorial Priorities]
Observe Blackwood
Understand its residents
Identify the causes of regional decline
A final line appeared beneath the objectives.
[A ruler who knows only reports eventually mistakes numbers for people]
Kael sat up.
That’s actually useful advice
The System did not respond.
Kael smiled faintly.
I was planning to go anyway
A knock sounded against the door.
Your Highness?
Edwin.
Kael swung his legs over the side of the bed.
I’m awake
Breakfast has been prepared
I’ll be down shortly
By the time Kael entered Blackwood’s dining hall, he understood exactly how strange the manor must once have looked when it was full.
The chamber could easily accommodate more than a hundred guests. Long windows overlooked what remained of the eastern gardens, faded banners hung between the stone columns, and an enormous fireplace occupied one wall. Much of the furniture had either been removed or covered against dust, leaving only one section of the great hall in active use.
Four places had been set.
Lily carried a basket of warm bread to the table, followed by a pot of vegetable soup, boiled eggs, a small block of cheese, and a dish of preserved fruit. She placed everything carefully before Kael and stepped away.
I’m sorry, Your Highness. This is what we had available this morning
Kael looked over the food.
It smells good
Lily seemed unsure whether he was being polite.
Edwin stood near the wall as usual, while Bram had positioned himself closer to the door. Neither appeared to have any intention of sitting.
Kael looked between them.
Why are all three of you standing?
Edwin answered first.
We will eat after Your Highness has finished
Why?
There was a pause.
Because that is the proper order
Kael pulled out the chair beside him.
Then we’re changing the order
Edwin’s expression remained calm, but Lily looked alarmed enough for all three of them.
Your Highness, Edwin began, the household staff does not normally—
There are four people living in a manor with four hundred rooms. If we’re going to rebuild this place together, I’m not eating alone while the three people doing most of the work stand against the wall
Bram looked at Lily.
Lily looked at Edwin.
Edwin looked at Kael.
Kael pointed toward the chairs.
Sit
Edwin exhaled through his nose.
Your Highness, there are traditions—
I’m sure there are hundreds. We can decide which ones are worth keeping after breakfast
Bram covered a smile with one hand.
Edwin noticed.
Bram suddenly became extremely interested in the table.
Lily sat first.
Very slowly.
Bram followed with considerably less hesitation, and Edwin eventually accepted the final chair with the expression of a man conceding a battle he intended to revisit later.
Kael tore off a piece of bread.
Better
Lily looked at him nervously.
Should we still call you Your Highness while we’re eating?
Kael considered it.
Probably. If Father ever hears you calling me Kael over breakfast, I don’t want to be responsible for the investigation
Bram laughed.
Lily did too.
Even Edwin’s expression softened.
For the first time in years, ordinary laughter filled a room built for nobles who no longer visited.
Later that morning, Kael changed into simple traveling clothes.
No royal cloak.
No ceremonial colors.
No House insignia.
He wore a plain dark-gray tunic, trousers suitable for walking, sturdy boots, and a belt without decoration. His sword remained with him, but there was little unusual about that outside Aurelia. In most rural territories, an unarmed traveler attracted more attention than an armed one.
Edwin looked him over when he reached the courtyard.
You intend to enter the villages dressed like that
Yes
Without announcing yourself
That’s the idea
Edwin frowned.
Your face has already been described across half the capital
Blackwood isn’t half the capital
Not yet, Edwin muttered
Kael caught it.
Was that optimism?
Practical concern
I liked my version better
Bram joined them carrying a walking staff. Lily arrived moments later with a small basket tucked beneath one arm.
Kael looked at it.
What’s in there?
Bread, water, bandages, fruit, and a sewing kit
Why?
Lily’s expression suggested the answer should have been obvious.
In case we need them
Kael glanced toward Edwin.
Is she always like this?
More organized than the rest of us? Yes
Lily looked pleased.
Kael nodded toward the gate.
Then she’s coming
The old iron gates groaned as they opened, and the four of them followed the road away from Blackwood Manor.
The nearest settlement was called Blackwood Hollow, less than two kilometers from the estate. Kael had seen it from the tower the previous evening, but distance had hidden most of its condition.
Up close, the village told a different story.
Smoke drifted from stone chimneys while children moved between wooden houses and farmers prepared carts for the day’s work. An older blacksmith worked near the center of the settlement, each hammer strike echoing across the road. Chickens wandered between fences, and the smell of fresh bread mixed with woodsmoke and damp soil.
At first glance, it looked peaceful.
Kael had learned not to trust first glances.
Several houses needed roof repairs. One wall had been reinforced with mismatched boards, while another home had cloth stuffed between gaps in the stone to keep out the wind. The market contained more empty tables than merchants, and the farmers who were present spent more time arguing over prices than selling anything.
The people themselves looked tired.
Not starving.
Not desperate enough to riot.
Just worn down by years in which every problem became one more thing they learned to live with.
Nobody recognized Kael.
That suited him perfectly.
Two farmers stood near sacks of grain while Kael passed.
The collector’s coming again next week
Already?
Emergency levy
Emergency for who?
The first farmer snorted.
Good question. I sold a breeding goat last month to cover the road tax, and the road still tries to swallow my cart every time it rains
An elderly woman standing nearby shook her head.
My daughter paid twice this season. Once in coin, once in grain. They told her the first payment had been recorded incorrectly
Did they return it?
The woman gave him a look.
What do you think?
Kael slowed slightly but did not turn toward them.
He wanted to hear what people said when they did not know a prince was listening.
A small System notice appeared.
[Regional concern confirmed: taxation]
[Additional concerns detected: poor harvest recovery, damaged infrastructure, weak administrative presence]
Kael dismissed it.
He didn’t need a screen to tell him the village was angry.
A child suddenly collided with his side.
The boy stumbled backward, and several pieces of firewood spilled from his arms.
Sorry, mister!
He immediately crouched to gather them.
Kael did the same.
You don’t have to panic. I wasn’t using that part of the road
The boy looked at him.
You’re helping?
You dropped them in front of me
Most travelers just step over things
Then you’ve met lazy travelers
Together they collected the wood.
The boy couldn’t have been older than nine. His clothing was worn but clean, and his hands already carried the small cuts and roughness of someone expected to work regularly.
Kael handed him the final piece.
What’s your name?
Finn
How old are you, Finn?
Nine
Kael looked at the bundle.
That’s a lot of firewood for nine
My grandmother needs it, and my mother is working
Where?
The south fields
Kael nodded.
Do you study anywhere?
Finn frowned.
Study what?
Reading. Numbers. History. Anything
The confusion remained.
My mother can read some
Kael’s expression changed.
You don’t have a teacher here?
Finn shook his head.
Why would we?
The question stayed with Kael long after the boy hurried away.
He waited until they were farther down the road before turning toward Edwin.
There isn’t a school
No, Your Highness
A teacher?
No permanent one
Kael looked around.
Healer?
A traveling healer visits occasionally. Blackwood Hollow has no resident healer
Guard post?
Edwin’s silence answered before his words did.
No permanent post
Kael stopped.
No teacher, no healer, no guards
Bram leaned on his walking staff.
There are villagers who can fight
That’s not the same thing
No, my lord
Kael looked toward a nearby well where several women waited with buckets.
How many villages are like this?
Edwin answered carefully.
Most of them have one thing another lacks. One village has a healer but no smith. Another has stronger wells but poor road access. None have enough support to function as they should
Kael’s jaw tightened.
Blackwood has been surviving by making every village solve problems alone
Edwin nodded.
That is one way to describe it
A bad way
An accurate one
They continued through the settlement.
Near the market stood a wooden notice board crowded with faded announcements, livestock sales, missing tools, work requests, and tax notices. One document was newer than the rest.
Kael stopped in front of it.
IMPERIAL TAX NOTICE
All settlements under Blackwood administration are ordered to provide an additional emergency grain levy before the next full moon. Failure to comply may result in lawful seizure of livestock or equivalent property
The notice carried the seal of a regional tax administrator.
Baron Cedric Halwen
Kael read it twice.
Baron Halwen
Edwin’s expression turned colder than usual.
He administers taxation across this district on behalf of the ministry
Kael glanced toward him.
I thought Blackwood remained Crown land until yesterday
It did
Then why does a Baron have authority here?
Because someone still had to collect revenue while no active lord governed the estate. Baron Halwen was appointed years ago to oversee tax collection and certain administrative duties
Kael looked back at the notice.
Does he live in Blackwood?
No
Where?
Aurelia
Kael almost laughed.
Of course
He read the document again.
Emergency levy for what?
Edwin hesitated.
I don’t know
You’re the former steward
I have not been given access to the ministry’s current justification
Kael’s expression sharpened.
So they’re taking additional grain from villages already producing below capacity, threatening to seize livestock, and the man signing the notice doesn’t even live here
That is what the notice says
Kael’s eyes stayed on the Baron’s seal.
He did not tear the paper down.
Not yet.
Anger without information would be easy.
Useful action required more.
Get me every tax record Blackwood still has when we return
Edwin nodded.
And I want copies of every levy ordered by Halwen for the last five years
That may require a request through the ministry
Then request it
As House Kael?
Kael looked toward him.
As the prince who owns the problem now
They were not alone in the village.
A hooded man watched from the second floor of a building overlooking the market. He had been there before Kael arrived and made no obvious movement as the prince stopped near the notice board.
When Kael and his companions turned onto another street, the observer withdrew from the window.
He sat at a narrow desk and wrote quickly.
To House Roland
Prince Kael is personally surveying Blackwood Hollow while dressed as an ordinary traveler. No military escort observed. He has questioned local conditions and examined tax notices but has issued no public orders
Recommend continued observation
He sealed the message with plain wax rather than a noble crest.
A trained black hawk waited on the roof.
Minutes later, the bird was already flying east.
Inside the Imperial Palace, Prince Roland Asterion received the report before midday.
He read it once.
Then again.
An advisor standing nearby smiled.
The Tenth Prince is touring villages in simple clothes
Apparently
No soldiers. No builders. No noble delegation
Roland placed the letter on the table.
Not yet
The advisor shrugged.
Perhaps Blackwood will keep him occupied long enough to stop being interesting
Roland leaned back.
You think Father gave him that estate to keep him occupied?
The advisor’s smile faded.
No, Your Highness
Neither do I
Roland looked toward the sealed report.
Kael had no army.
No established House.
No political faction.
Nothing that should have made him threatening.
That was precisely why Roland disliked how much attention Augustus had given him.
Keep the observer in Blackwood
For how long?
Until I decide I know what our brother is doing
The advisor bowed.
As you command
Roland looked toward the palace windows.
Anyone Father bothers testing is worth watching
Back in Blackwood Hollow, Kael continued walking.
He saw an elderly woman trading preserved vegetables because she lacked coin. He watched two farmers sharing a damaged plow because neither could afford repairs. A young mother carried water while holding an infant against her chest, and farther down the road three children practiced letters by copying faded symbols from an old merchant sign.
That bothered him almost as much as the tax notice.
The System appeared again.
[Territorial Observation sufficient for preliminary assessment]
Kael expected another objective.
Instead, only one question appeared.
[What kind of ruler do you intend to become?]
He stared at it.
There were dozens of answers he could have given.
A strong ruler.
A fair ruler.
A ruler capable of preparing the world for what was coming.
None felt complete.
Kael looked around Blackwood Hollow.
Yesterday he had spoken about uniting humanity and eventually changing the world. Those ambitions sounded enormous inside the Throne Hall.
Here, the scale was different.
A broken road.
An empty healer’s room that did not exist yet.
A nine-year-old boy who had never heard of school.
A family selling livestock to pay unexplained taxes.
These were not problems large enough for songs.
They were the kind rulers ignored while dreaming about wars and borders.
Kael finally answered.
The kind who understands one village before pretending he knows how to rule a kingdom
The System window remained for a moment.
Then disappeared.
No reward.
No new skill.
No increase in authority.
Kael preferred it that way.
Some things did not need to become numbers.
He turned toward Edwin.
We have work to do
Edwin looked at him.
Where do you want to begin?
Kael glanced back toward the tax notice.
With the records
Then his attention shifted toward the well, the damaged roofs, and the children gathered near the market.
After that, we find out which problem is hurting people fastest and fix that one first
Edwin nodded.
For the first time since Kael arrived at Blackwood, the old steward did not look at him as though he were merely the Emperor’s son returning to an abandoned estate.
He looked at him like a lord who might actually intend to govern.