Unfortunately, Varre wasn’t allowed to rest just yet. Shortly after Kerryn disappeared into the castle corridors, a lithe woman replaced him and approached the king. She introduced herself as Lora.

  As it turned out, she was also a retired adventurer and she was put in charge of training a different set of attributes. Namely Varre’s dexterity and speed. Kerryn, as the head coach, determined that the king should stick with a similar plan to the former monarch’s. While he would focus on developing his strength and toughness first, the other attributes shouldn’t be neglected either.

  Ignoring Varre’s complaints, Lora had her student run circles around the courtyard, perform a variety of stretching exercises, and finally gave him a bow and told him to try shooting some targets.

  Unfortunately even that extra session wasn’t enough. The second trainer was eventually replaced by Court Mage Tobias, the very same wizard who participated in today’s council meeting. He looked even less thrilled to be here than Varre himself.

  “Your majesty,” Tobias spoke coldly, “I was in charge of Mikkel’s magic training, which is I was asked to do the same for you. Are you ready?”

  “I could use a break,” the king admitted, out of breath.

  “Good. Me too,” the Court Mage sat on one of the nearby chairs, “let’s see, what we are working with here.”

  Varre passed Tobias the piece of paper listing his stats. Benjamin left it in his care. The chamberlain had left the training area hours ago, as there was still plenty of other work to be done around the castle. After all, someone needed to make sure the new monarch wasn’t poisoned again.

  The Court Mage briefly skimmed through the list of attributes. He was very nonchalant about it, though the king noticed that Tobias’s eyes briefly flashed with curiosity when he passed over the skill section.

  “Just as I suspected,” the wizard said bluntly, “no magical talent.”

  “That sounds like an insult,” Varre crossed his arms, “should I be offended?”

  The court mage grimaced. “Forgive me your majesty,” he bowed his head, though remained in his seat, “I meant no disrespect. Magical talent is very rare amongst most people. Even royals, such as yourself. Or your predecessor.”

  “I suppose that’s why there is a whole position for people like you on the council,” the king looked towards the castle, “we don’t need any experts for other skills there.”

  “Indeed. That is why people like me are needed. Only an expert mage like myself truly understands the threats that magic can pose,” he paused to stare into Varre’s eyes, “and how to defend oneself against them.”

  “In that case, why waste my time training these magical skills at all. Am I going to become a wizard myself some day?”

  Tobias smirked. “I highly doubt that. And yes, I often wondered why we waste time like this myself. But I admit, there are some benefits. Higher attributes will allow you to utilize magical tools and equipment more efficiently, for one.”

  “How so?”

  The court mage straightened up. It seemed like he enjoyed talking about this. “Well, think about it this way. Power measures your raw output. The higher it is, the stronger spells you can cast and the better effect you can get out of equipment. Aura on the other hand, is your capacity. The more aura you have, the longer you can continue to cast spells. Or utilize that equipment. It’s best to work on improving both. There have been wizards who focus on just one, but they’re fools. Barely worth mentioning.”

  “Yeah, I can imagine that being a problem. What about my skills then?” Varre pointed to the piece of parchment still lying on the table, “Kerryn said I should you ask about ‘Strange Mind’.”

  Tobias ostentatiously picked up the paper and read through it again. “Ah yes. You mean your abilities right? I can see it now. Do you know how your ‘Strange Mind’ works?”

  “No. I was hoping you would,” the king admitted.

  “I’m afraid I’ve never heard of it before,” he tensed up, “that’s a rare occurrence. I’m one of the best magical experts in the entire kingdom, your majesty. Probably even the best. If I’ve never heard of it, that ability must be exceptionally rare. Fitting, for a monarch,” he added a compliment, as if to conceal his lack of knowledge.

  “Is there some way to find out how it works? I mean once met a wizard from the guild, I think her name was Elvira,” Varre reminisced, “she didn’t recognize it either. She said she’d look into it, but…”

  The king paused. I don’t really want to admit I was too lazy to check in on her, he thought to himself, think man, think. What sort of excuse could a real king give for something like this?

  Luckily, the court mage didn’t ask about that. “I’m not surprised you still haven’t heard back from her,” the smugness flew out of his mouth, viscous like honey, “that woman is incompetent at best. I don’t know how she managed to achieve the status of senior mage. Now I’m not the kind of person to spread unsavory rumors. However,” he paused for effect, “I can’t even imagine what sordid favors she had to pull to achieve her position.”

  “Really?” Varre was doubtful, “I really didn’t get that kind of vibe from her at all.”

  “Oh yes, your majesty, I’m absolutely certain,” Tobias nodded to himself, “but don’t fret. That is what I’m here for. This task may have been far too difficult for her pathetic skills, but it isn’t for a real expert like myself. I’ll do proper research and I’ll have it figured it out in no time.”

  The king smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. Let me know what you find out.”

  Phew. That’s one problem out of the way, he thought, he might not seem like a very likeable guy, but this way I won’t have to visit that guild. Finally things are looking up. Problems are solving themselves. Now I’m starting to feel like a king.

  The court mage cleared his throat, breaking Varre out of his daydreaming. “Now, as much as I’d love to finish this session now and have us both go home early, I’m afraid I can’t. That bastard Kerryn might still be in the castle and come back here to check on us. I don’t want to get into any more pointless arguments today.”

  “How noble of you,” the king joked.

  “Yes, yes. Now stand up, repeat after me,” Tobias spread his feet apart and assumed a relaxed stance, “just like that yes. Now, focus on your breathing.”

  As Varre followed the directions, he began feeling strange energies coursing through him. At first it reminded him of the shimmering effect of the enhanced state, but it felt quite different. More stable.

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  “I am currently letting my magical power into your body. I want you to get used to that feeling. Someday, you will have to recreate it,” the Court Mage explained.

  Fortunately, this training session was a lot less physically demanding than the others. On the surface. Once it was over and Tobias finally allowed the king to rest for the day, he felt completely drained.

  By the time the king arrived at his quarters, it was already dark outside. He was planning to eat dinner with Lester tonight. He still felt bad about yesterday’s events and wanted to make sure his friend was okay. Unfortunately, he’d have to wait. At this hour, he wasn’t sure if even Benjamin was still up, waiting for him.

  Of course, like any proper chamberlain, the old man had been waiting. Though he left his liege to handle other critical matters, he checked in on Varre several times throughout the day. The king was simply too occupied by his training to notice.

  Benjamin stood up as soon as the king crossed through the door and welcomed him with a deep bow. “Your majesty, I took the liberty of preparing a simple meal for your dinner. I imagine you might be quite hungry.”

  The table in the living room was packed with an assortment of dishes. Soups, several varieties of meat, plenty of vegetables, and even some pasta. Everything was still piping hot. The chamberlain must have known when his liege would return and got everything ready just in time.

  “Benjamin,” Varre said, already salivating, “what would I do without you?”

  The chamberlain chuckled as he pulled out a chair. “Oh, I imagine you’d do rather well for yourself. But I appreciate the sentiment, your majesty.”

  Varre would have preferred to spend the whole day in bed instead, but this meal almost made the ordeal worth it.

  Still, he made sure to give out some orders before finally heading off to bed. “Benjamin, tomorrow, I will eat breakfast together with Lester. He deserves some company. That is an order.”

  Fortunately, the chamberlain saw no reason to object.

  -*-*-*-

  The next morning, Varre was woken up by the old man, as usual. He took his liege’s words to heart. When the freshly dressed king entered the living room, he was pleasantly surprised to see his old friend already sitting there, playing with one of the forks.

  “Lester!” Varre approached the man and embraced him, “I am so sorry I couldn’t visit yesterday. The schedule they gave me is absolutely insane. How are you feeling?”

  “I already told you,” the merchant said, sitting down, “they didn’t rough me up that badly. I’m already fully recovered. And I completely understand what you mean. I feel far too busy whenever my father wants me to meet with some business partners of his. I can’t even imagine how much work you have to deal with!”

  “Don’t even get me started,” the king answered as he buttered up a bagel, “the meetings are one thing, but they’ve got me on some crazy training regimen! I was exercising for hours!”

  “I guess they need you to be ready for assassins. They’re not expecting you to go into actual combat are they?”

  “They better not,” Varre bit into his food, “otherwise they’re gonna be dealing with even more succession crises soon.”

  “Is it really that bad?”

  “To be honest, no. We’re still looking for whoever killed Mikkel of course, but besides that I think things are looking up,” he straightened up, “guess who just inherited all the properties of all those nobles who got poisoned at the dinner?”

  Lester paused, his spoon of scrambled eggs suspended in the air. “Are you serious? All of that belongs to you?”

  “Mhm. Some of the councilors wanted to distribute it among other people. They were worried about stability, and sending the wrong message, “Varre said in a mocking tone, “they refuse to look at the long term. There are so many better ways to spend that money.” I should know, he thought to himself, I took a business class! And was close to passing!

  “Let’s see,” the merchant began counting on his fingers, “on top of your previous wealth, you received all of the crown properties, plus all of the land, manors, treasuries. Varre, I think you might just be the wealthiest man on the continent!”

  “Well, I am the king you know,” he chuckled, “still, are you sure about that? I mean, there are other kings around right? I doubt we’re the biggest country around.”

  Lester leaned forward, excitement palpable in his voice. “Yeah, but not on that level! Pretty much every other rules splits his kingdom between his main lords and followers. I can’t think of anyone else who owns this much wealth directly.”

  “I guess I didn’t think about it that way,” Varre looked out the window, “do you think that’s why my advisors are so worried? They don’t want people to get jealous?”

  “Hey, I’m just a merchant, don’t look at me,” Lester laughed, “still, there’s just so much wealth… I mean, I remember when my uncle died and passed everything to my father. It took us weeks just to get through all his books. I can’t even imagine where to begin with a task like yours.”

  “Is it really that bad? I mean I have a treasurer, you know? That’s what he’s there for.”

  “Yeah, but he’s never had to deal with anything on this level! He deals with gold and precious metals. Manages salaries. I doubt he sells a lot of land or other properties. At least not often.”

  The dots slowly began to connect in Varre’s mind. He stared at his friend in silence, the corners of his lips slowly rising.

  “Varre? What? What is it?” Lester urged.

  “How would you like a position on my council?”

  The merchant dropped his spoon on the table with a loud clang. “What? Are you serious?”

  This is perfect, the king thought, this will be an excellent apology to him. Nilo had a great idea. Nothing makes Lester happier than an opportunity to turn a profit. This way, I get a trustworthy friend to help me manage my wealth and he gets a job out of it in the process. Win, win scenario!

  “Varre, I can’t do that! I know nothing about managing a country!” the merchant protested.

  “But you know plenty about managing a business,” the king pointed out, “and that’s what I need you for.”

  “Come on, there’s gotta be plenty of much better people for this job!”

  “Perhaps. But not people I can trust as much as you,” Varre leaned closer, “look, I can’t do this alone. This whole managing a kingdom business will drive me mad! I need help.”

  “And I can help you by becoming one of your advisors?” Lester cocked an eyebrow.

  “Yes!”

  “An incredibly important person, with incredibly important tasks and an incredible amount of power?”

  “And an incredible salary to boot!”

  Lester sat there in silence for a few moments. “Well. If you put it that way… I suppose I accept!”

  Varre extended his arm and happily shook his friend’s hand. “Welcome aboard friend! We’ll achieve great things together!”

  “I hope so. But I hope you know what you’re doing too,” the merchant sat back down, “What position will I have anyway? Do you want me to replace your current treasurer? I may have learned some things, but I don’t have many contacts in the financial world, you know.”

  “No, I think our current Treasurer will be keep his position. You will be my Head Merchant. You’ll help me manage my properties for now and help Gruber figure out how much money is all of it worth anyway. But afterwards,” Varre pointed to the city outside, “I’ll need someone to help me figure out how to sell all of the stuff we will be producing. From what I understand, I will own a sizable chunk of the country’s farmland now. We can’t just ship all of that food to the capital.”

  The two friends spent the rest of their breakfast together, excitedly talking about their plans for the future. Varre was happy just to finally have a friend he could talk to again. Council meetings should go a lot smoother now, and if he ever wanted to organize a massive feast, he’d have one guaranteed vote in favor.

  They were about to finish up and head out, it was almost time for another meeting after all, when a guard interrupted them.

  “Your majesty,” the soldier began, “I apologize for bothering you, but sir Nilo, son of Count Clement is here to see you. He said it is urgent.”

  The two friends exchanged worried glances. “Let him in!”

  It took a few minutes before the message reached the young noble. Then another few minutes for him to navigate the network of corridors to arrive at the quarters. As they waited, Varre and Lester kept wondering about what could have possibly happened to warrant a visit at this time. If Nilo hoped to get some breakfast, he was already late.

  The sudden opening of the doors would soon reveal the truth. Their friend had a concerned expression and was slightly out of breath. He clearly rushed to get here as soon as possible.

  “Guys,” Nilo exclaimed, “I got a letter from my father this morning! I mean that’s already strange enough,” he started pacing around the room, “he almost never sends letters. We haven’t seen each other in years! I mean, the whole reason I’m in the capital is to build connections here. And now I’m friends with the gods damned king! The only time we ever talk is when he comes here on some urgent business.”

  “Calm down Nilo,” Varre touched his friend’s shoulder, “it’s gonna be alright. Tell us what was in the letter.”

  The young aristocrat took a moment to breathe in. “My father ordered me to leave the capital and return home. Immediately!”

  Find out in the next chapter!