Kingdombuilding: All My Inventions Are Novelty

A chorus of ghostly wails rang in his ears, and the memory of that explosion experiment came rushing back again.

’What a familiar experience.’ Simon thought. As he stood and patted himself down, he was overcome with a surreal feeling; he was alive!

In front of him, Gius was straddling Percival, punching his face over and over again.

The dock was in chaos. The Chandlier family’s merchant ship was slowly sinking in flames, and the explosion had affected nearby vessels as well.

From time to time, cries of agony echoed from within the ships.

”Lothair, the steppe tribes, you’ve succeeded in enraging this prince.” Simon’s eyes were hollow, and his quiet voice sounded as though it had risen from the abyss.

He kicked Gius. ”Enough. Is this really the time for internal strife? I don’t care how you do it. You must bring Lothair back to me. I want his corpse hung from the gates of Brambleford City!”

Gius got up, seething. Had it not been for Percival’s words defending the Chandlier family, they never would have entered the ship in the first place.

Had Simon not been familiar with the scent of gunpowder, if it had been any other out-of-touch prince, the three of them would have perished aboard.

”My Lord, I’ll go now. If I can’t catch Lothair, you can chop off my head and feed it to the dogs!”

Gius was nearly exploding with rage. This would ruin Simon’s trust in him going forward.

He said nothing more, turning with the secret guards to rush back into the city.

Percival, his face battered and swollen like a pig’s head, crawled over to grab Simon’s leg and sobbed. ”My Lord, I really didn’t know Lothair was so vicious! Your Highness!”

Simon gave him a cold stare. Dealing with such an idiotic ally was exhausting. He kicked Percival in the rear. ”Don’t blame me for not trusting you. Until this is all cleared up, you’ll have to spend a few days in prison. It’s not just Gius; even I can’t help but suspect you.”

He had to admit, it was Percival who had led him step by step into that ship’s hold. It was difficult not to be suspicious.

”I’m innocent, Your Highness! I only wanted to make you happy...” Percival wailed.

Simon couldn’t be bothered with him. The royal guards immediately took Percival away.

Recalling what had just happened, Simon still felt a lingering fear. On the adjacent ship, the explosion had shattered everything. It seemed the gunpowder had been ignited from that neighbouring vessel.

That was why they hadn’t noticed in time. If not for the faint scent of powder on that old steward’s hands, he truly would have died there.

Back in the city.

Simon went straight to the prison. Gius had already arrested all the suspicious merchants and was subjecting them to intense interrogation.

The man in charge of extracting confessions was one of Gius’s men, called Luis.

”Your Highness,” Luis said. ”They finally talked. These bastards really wouldn’t admit anything until we started slicing skin. They’ve been carrying messages for the local gentry. The reavers gave them plenty of benefits in exchange for information. They were instructed to sabotage Your Highness’s supply lines and even assassinate you. Whoever did the most would be rewarded with land in Brambleford once the reavers took over.”

He threw a bloodied knife on the ground, still clinging with bits of human flesh. This cruel punishment was one that Simon had personally taught Gius.

Clearly, Gius had been absolutely furious this time.

”Did you find out how Lothair got his gunpowder?” Simon’s face flickered in the firelight of the torches in the cell.

”Yes,” Luis answered. ”The reavers gave him the formula. Damn traitors, all of them.”

”Don’t let them die just yet,” Simon said with a chilly expression as he turned to leave the prison. ”I still have use for them.”

’Guard against all dangers, yet still fall to treachery from within.’

Simon had taken a heavy blow this time. But what enraged him the most wasn’t even the loss; it was the traitors willing to sell their souls for foreign gold.

These dogs, these traitors. They ate the Eldorian Empire’s rice, drank their water, walked on their land and yet, just for a few scraps from foreigners, they were willing to see their people slaughtered and their homeland ruined.

He could endure many things, but not this.

The explosion at the dock had also alarmed Benjamin and the others. They entered Brambleford City on horseback at full speed.

In the Governor’s Office, they saw Simon, looking worse for wear.

”My Lord, what happened?” Lancelot asked in shock.

Benjamin, too, uncharacteristically showed concern. ”My Lord...”

Baldwin had already been briefed. He explained how Lothair had set a trap in an attempt to kill Simon.

”That bastard Percival!” Lancelot shouted. ”I’ll go finish him right now!”

”Don’t make trouble,” Benjamin said sternly. ”This is the time for unity, not vengeance. That’s exactly what the enemy wants. This whole thing just shows how deep Lothair’s deceit runs, one step after another. No one could have seen it coming.”

”Exactly,” Liam added. ”First, they burned the grain depot, then used Percival to lure His Highness into a trap. They knew how much hope His Highness had placed on the Chandlier family. Of course, he would come personally, and they were waiting.”

Simon, now calmer, said. ”Enough with hindsight. Gius is already on his trail. The rest of you, don’t sit idle. Bring Lothair back.”

Benjamin nodded. The three men saluted and left.

Baldwin turned to Simon. ”My Lord, the gentry will never stop. And with more traitors appearing by the day, we can’t just keep reacting. We have to strike first.”

”That’s why I came to find you. Today, draft a decree to announce to all six cities: traitors will die.”

”From this day forward, any suspicious individuals can be apprehended by the people and turned over to local authorities. Anyone found to be a spy for the reavers, those who report them will be rewarded handsomely. Also, villages are permitted to form local militias to defend their land and keep order.”

”Militias?” Baldwin’s eyes lit up. ”That’s a new one. Brilliant. That way, each village has its own self-defence force.”

Simon sighed. This wasn’t his preferred approach, but against those who would betray their country for glory, he had no choice but to involve the people.

He then explained how the militias would work.

In short, they were to be locally organised self-defence groups. In wartime, they’d repel invaders. In peacetime, they’d patrol and maintain order in their own areas.

”Think of it as a wartime strategy,” Simon said. ”We’re mobilising the strength of the people. With this, we’ll have the support of all one million households across the six cities.”

Baldwin nodded, eyes shining. ”And it’ll suppress those rebellious gentry as well. Truly killing two birds with one stone.”