Chapter 4: This is about me and the boys

13 June 422

I was feeling incredibly lucky as I sat down to check on recent events.

Scratch that, I knew I had been blessed by Lady Luck herself for what had just happened in recent times.

Once we had made our way back to the mansion, and I ordered the servants to help the two new occupants of the place with food and clothes, the first thing I genuinely decided to study was what had just unfolded to the marketplace. I was just baffled by the fact someone tried to break Lugnican laws with ease and without fearing the retaliation I had provided after finding the scene.

Only after checking on the diary of my closest predecessor, one Eugenius Kasiski, I was stunned by the extensive section dedicated to Hornos Hert and the reasoning behind the lack of action.

The 'merchant that was passing by Erindor' was actually a citizen that had for long crippled the city itself by damaging the local market and favoring any illegal manners to exploit the city's resources to his advantages. Extortions, intimidation campaigns, and several hefty crimes that were never addressed out of fear of any attacks from the thugs under his service.

There were many under his command, enough to warrant a quick order to Ser Orestes to have the local guards dispatched to find where these grunts were hiding. There were some hints left behind by the former mayor, some of which helped identify a large majority of the pricks under this monster.

My direct confrontation had been unexpected and had temporarily left the man detached from his large criminal network, thus depriving him of the means to counter his current bad situation.

After driving the funny thought that I just got some crime boss Capone'd away from my serious thoughts, I decided that an immediate action to permanently remove Hornos was now the only viable way to avoid issues this early on in my career.

A quick execution wouldn't bode well with the people's interest in punishing the bastard, as it would give the wrong message to most of them and create the doubt I was someone that handled all criminals with death penalties.

I needed to set up a proper trial, one open to the public so it could receive popular legitimacy instead of just mine and the military's. And I needed to deprive the criminal scum of any chances to bribe his way out of a long sentence in jail.

As Orestes knocked at the open door of my study to check once again on me, I was quick to greet him with a vibrant tone, allowing him to report about the current progress of the last task I had given him.

The peasants had been the first half of the population to be approached for how quick the process with them was, following were the merchants and the proto-bourgeois class of craftsmen and intellectuals.

The reason why the census would take a day or two more than the time I had initially planned was all because of the Nobility. There was a small group of landless nobles in Erindor, either the second- and third-born children from the important families in the Capital or the descendants of ennobled knights.

While they just had some big houses on their names and nothing else to exert their titles, they were still quick enough to reject the presence of low-born officers tasked with the census for the sake of... Their status.

It wasn't uncommon for nobles to be the main officers of an army. At least that was the case in old monarchies, where peasants couldn't be trusted to hold positions that were of serious importance and high relevance.

Knowing this I decided to have Orestes call in this situation the little noble staff that was already present within the militia and have them take up the job of not only continuing the census but also mending whatever offense was thrown at the higher class during the process.

As I finished dealing with the old knight's predicament, an old maid stormed inside the office with an irate look plastered on her face only to stop and show some mortification with the way she came in.

"A-Apologies for the intrusion, Mayor Bukharin-" The woman started a little embarrassed. "But there has been an accident in the kitchens."

I frowned at this. "An accident?"

She nodded and took me right at the place where a large commotion was stirring, the epicenter of the scene was taken by the two demi-human children.

Hans and Fritz (I know, not the most original names but-) were both pale, looking quite terrified by whatever stuff had just happened. It was strange to consider that they could have done anything even remotely horrible in the span of so little time. Especially with how nervous they were in this new environment.

The scene of the previous night, during dinner, was the prime reason why I would be this skeptical about this eventuality. They had been mostly quiet during the whole time, asking just the barest to even eat their food and asking for permission at every turn. Heck, I could still remember how they looked surprised when I would bluntly remind them that this was their food to eat and they needed no permission to start eating their meals.

So when I was brought to witness whatever was going on, I briefly ignored the crowd of servants trying to explain what was going on and gave a proper look at the place. There were shards of a familiar blue jar on the floor, mixed with cookie crumbles and-

Are you kidding me?

I was curious for why this matter had been inflated to this grand extent.

Turning my attention to Fritz, the boy glanced nervously my way.

"Did you two ask before getting the cookies yourselves?"

He nodded slowly at my question and I could feel a theory slowly turning probable the more I connected the dots around me.

"Did you ask for help about it?"

"Y-Yes," Hans muttered weakly, his stare still aimed to the floor, away from the broken pieces.

The crowd had grown quiet now as I was trying to understand things without people annoying me.

"Can you point me to who has told you so?"

The moment those words left my mouth was right when one of the young men in the place jumped to interrupt.

"Sir Mayor, these two scoundrels didn't ask for anything and-"

"Did I ask you that question?"

The man paused and paled as he just realized that I knew what was going on.

"Might I suggest you to be honest here or-"

"I-It's because they shouldn't be there, Sir Mayor."

I raised a brow at that, turning at the 'brave' man that said this. He didn't speak as I turned to consider him in the situation.

"They shouldn't?" I repeated with a dull tone. "Why?"

One of the greatest questions in the world and the silly racist wouldn't be able to truly answer- and before anyone asks, no I wasn't jumping the gun there with the label, the man was actively glaring at the two children- but he still tried.

"It's- It's because of the War-"

"You mean the one that ended up five decades or so before the boys were born?" He flinched but I was far from done.

"The one that was caused by just a small group of Demi-humans?"

...

"Are we talking about the one that was concluded with an everlasting peace decades ago?"

He didn't reply, he couldn't. No one in the crowd couldn't.

With a tired sigh I gestured to the two children to follow me, and away from this frustrating situation.

"Mind you that I will ignore just this once this lack of judgment from you, mister, for the sake of mercy. The same applies to all of you," I said while narrowing my eyes at the rest before leaving. "But I hope you will not mistake my mercy for a weakness as my patience is very limited and another attempt against my wards will warrant a detention in jail."

I didn't stay for long, bringing the two boys in my office while offering the two seats in front of my desk. I had already completed my daily quota of paperwork, quite a small one compared to what I had planned to introduce in the near future, and so I was pretty much free to spend time as I wanted.

Picking some unused paper, some quill and ink bottles, I decided that maybe I should genuinely focus on Hans and Fritz.

"Do you know how to write?"

A shake of head from both. No.

"Do you know how to read?"

Hans nodded slowly while his sibling replied with another negative.

"Okay..." I picked a book out of the bookshelf behind me. 'First book of Geometry'

"I want you to read the first chapter of this-"

I handed the small tome to Hans.

"While I teach your brother how to read. Okay?"

They both nodded and, as the more introverted twin started his study, I asked the youngest of the two to bring the chair closer to my side.

A few hours passed, and, after taking a brief pause from the teaching, I asked some simple questions to Hans.

"So a square is-"

"A plane figure with four equal straight sides and four right angles."

I blinked, he looked embarrassed and I patted his head to praise his efforts.

He looked a little nervous at the action, perhaps expecting violence through that physical contact, but then he melted at the touch as he felt no pain about it. Yet as he was enjoying the reward, I was trying to make sense of how he was able to memorize those explanations so perfectly.

My musings were interrupted by Fritz tugging at my other arm, a childish pout on his face.

"There, there. You were also good there with the reading."

My other hand was now patting his head too, the pout replaced by a pleasant smile.

And as I spent a full hour enjoying the company of the two twins, I couldn't help but wonder how they were going to grow up.