It was truly rather strange when Albaer had left while Alier and the former Duke weren't present in the Dukedom, everyone had thought that problems and complications were bound to emerge by the void left by the capable men of the White Family.
This was a common conception at that time as there was no one left in the Duchy who could take charge of everything. There were capable officials and followers of the White Family but they obviously needed a higher authority above them from the white family as they could not simply govern the Duchy on behalf of the family.
Considering this, Alier was dead, Albaer had left abruptly and the former Duke was in the capital—only Aisha and the children were left in Adenberd and no one had faith that it was enough for things to go on smoothly.
However, the chaos and the administrative troubles that people expected never came. It was as if nothing had happened and the Duke was still in the territory as always.
On the contrary, things were changing for the better and getting more organized.
After Ethan had the chief of the city watch executed in public, he left no loose ends and followed up with extensive investigations on anyone who he thought to have been corrupted by greed. After that day, heads were rolling on the execution grounds regularly as all the corrupt, greedy, and power-hungry officials in Adenberd were thoroughly removed.
The administration was tightened and indirect consequence, the people were living slightly better lives than before. This was completely inconceivable for anyone as there were rumors that Ethan was the one making all the changes and governing the state.
This wouldn't surprise anyone in itself if Ethan wasn't just an eight-year-old child.
And just as everyone thought that there couldn't be more surprises, Ethan launched his trading company which sold some out-of-the-world goods. Although there were rumors that Ethan wasn't involved in the company's workings, this didn't change the fact that he was the brain of the whole company, and without him, there would have been no chess, dragon ladders, cards, or soap.
As all these things accumulated, Ethan's popularity reached a new all-time high extending far and wide from Adenberd.
The chessboards and soaps had also reached their destinations to nobles and royals. With this gift, everyone was elated and Ethan's enigmatic image along with the name of his company began resounding in high society.
Ethan though did not bother himself with anything else as he continued to trail and make plans for his company in his head. The people around him also seemed like they were getting busier and busier as Gerrick had his handful of work trying to manage and expand the company as well as think of ways to cut costs and time on production.
Naenna was busy learning the stick and stones of the commerce and merchant ways as she acted as Ethan's spokesperson in managing the company.
People like Albert, Armford, and the white family's officials and administrators were busy assisting Ethan with governance, and Aisha was busy organizing parties and banquets to promote Ethan's company along with managing the family's finances.
In all this, Luce was left alone on his own and was simply growing normally. Although his behavior had changed completely ever since Alier died. He was even quieter, more reserved, and more focused on his swordsmanship.
Ethan's two personal subordinates, Aria and Ronan were also busy. Aria was assisting Naenna in the venture and Ronan had drowned himself in the obsession with strength. In this pursuit, he had enveloped himself in hellish training as well as becoming Albert's substitute.
One day, Ethan was in the training chambers where he would practice swordsmanship nowadays.
Ethan had given Ronan a Martial Arts Manual from the library of the temple and so obviously, he had found an adequate martial arts manual for himself as well.
Ethan didn't want to focus on Martial Arts but that didn't change the fact that he could not neglect this aspect. And so he had found a perfect Martial Arts Technique that suit his needs.
In the training room, the sound of a sword slicing the air was constant as Ethan rhythmically swung his sword with a loose movement as if he was either bored, half asleep, or totally drunk.
His movements seemed chaotic but calm and elaborate at the same time. Though one thing that he didn't look at at this moment was graceful.
He was stumbling, falling backward, and sometimes just throwing his sword off balanced.
If one were to see what he was doing, one would probably think that Ethan was making a mockery out of swordsmanship. But the determined and clear glimmer in his eyes hinted that he knew what he was doing.
As he continued with his slashing routine, his body moved freely, his wrist twisting in unreal ways as he struck the targets made of sandbags with strange accuracy. This swordsmanship looked very bizarre with no valid stance or footwork, it seemed very random and unfounded. But even so, it seemed to be working perfectly for Ethan.
After swinging his sword limply hundreds of times, Ethan could feel the muscles of his arm tearing in pain. However, he was also getting a hand with this 'Drunkard's Path of Sword Arte' Manual.
This manual needed a certain demeanor and mentality in the user for the manual to be of any use. It was a technique that focused on unorthodox sword techniques that needed more practice and understanding than talent and aptitude.
This martial art was rather weird as well as if needed for its user to have certain qualities, specific mindsets, and demeanor. By learning this, Ethan would at least be able to swing his sword and perform some defensive and offensive maneuvers.
As he was practicing, suddenly, the door of the room knocked urgently and Ethan halted abruptly raising his eyebrows in annoyance.
Ethan opened the door and saw Albert with a troubled expression standing in front of him. Realizing that Albert had something important to say, Ethan backed off, inviting Albert inside.
Albert went inside the room and bowed.
"Young Master, there's some news." Said, Albert.
"Not a good one I assume," Ethan muttered in a vexed tone.
"Indeed, it's troubling news," Albert said with a sigh.
Ethan grabbed the towel and wiped his face and then asked, "What is it?"
"Some of our soap was intercepted by bandits while being transported."
Ethan narrowed his eyes and said, "Damnit, again? Any lives lost?"
Albert smiled bitterly and said, "No, it looks like this there was a different bandit group. They probably attacked not knowing the company belongs to us."
Ethan threw his sword in anger and yelled out, "What the hell is this? What are the nobles doing? It's their responsibility to remove such ailments. Why haven't they done anything about this?"
"They say that they're not able to tackle so many bandit groups. Some of them have tried but the bandits are too crafty."
Hearing this, Ethan sat down on a stool in a thoughtful pose and fell into contemplation. "Did we lose everything?" he asked suddenly.
"Yes, the bandits couldn't understand what soap was and so they wasted the entire cargo in anger."
"What about others?" Ethan asked with concern.
"There hadn't been much plundering recently but some of our merchant caravans were assaulted. Some merchants also lost their lives in those skirmishes." Albert reported with a downcast expression.
"Tell me the truth, they weren't active before. Is that right? Have they become active thinking that there is no one to keep them on a leash?" Ethan asked bluntly.
Albert sighed hopelessly and said in a regretful tone, "Unfortunately, yes. They have become active in these past few months."
Ethan's anger flared upon hearing this. He absolutely could not accept all that hard work going to waste. This is the thing that infuriated him the most.
Ethan also remembered a report he had gotten which said that bandits were wreaking havoc on the major trade routes, harassing merchants, kidnapping civilians, capturing slaves, murdering, and just about every other crime.
As Ethan thought about what to do, he realized that this was a serious issue. Bandit groups were infesting the territory like parasites and this was incurring unhappiness from the population. On top of that, now they were so brazen as to plunder his goods that were made by sweat and blood.
This was absolutely unacceptable. As Ethan thought more about this topic, he couldn't help but wonder why it had come to this state in the first place. Was it because Albaer wasn't here? Or was it because the bandits were too strong?
Whatever it was, it was highly concerning nonetheless. Besides, Ethan's instincts told him that there was something else going on here.
Finally, Ethan considered all possibilities and aspects and then concluded. He stood up and looked at Albert with a firm resolve and said, "I have had enough of this! Prepare an expedition force! We will leave in a few days! I will not rest until all that vile pest is slaughtered."
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