56 – Sparring

Owed to the rainy weather, the mood in the manor was subdued. Everyone was going about their morning work slower than usual. No one wanted to go outside if they could help it either, which was understandable with strong wind driving sheets of rain nearly horizontal at times.

Not even the roof covering the walkways connecting to the servant quarters and barracks helped much.

Most annoyed were the guards. Where the maids and servants could quickly dash from one building’s shelter to the next if they really needed to, a guard’s job was, of course, to guard. In other words, stand around at the gate to the grounds or patrol around.

Training was no reprieve from the elements either, since the main training yard was outside and uncovered.

Still, aside from a few grumbled complaints, the men went to their posts without delay. Lars apparently had a good grip on discipline. It was nice to see, even though I would definitely need to have a talk with him about the security situation some time.

During breakfast, I suggested to the cook that he prepare warm drinks and broth for when patrol rotations switched. Having a bunch of my men fall ill so close to an important occasion – the visit by Kalin’s sister – was something I’d rather avoid.

Speaking of, that visit was only about seven days away. A week and a day, I reminded myself. Weird world with its six-day week. Of course, the estimated arrival time was just that, an estimation.

Mia reported the preparation progress to me while I ate. It all sounded good to me.

A fancy room on the first floor had been prepared to the best level this manor could reasonably provide a noble lady. Several more were made ready for any accompaniment. No way any sister of Kalin’s would travel alone, there would be at least a few servants and a knight or two, even if just for appearance’s sake.

How this Lenora’s personal strength measured up was unknown, but if she was a legitimate child of the duke, no expense would have been spared in her upbringing. Doubly so if her mother was also someone important. I doubted someone of that caliber would really need a bodyguard for anything, aside from handling annoyances.

That was not to say she wouldn’t have one. Lars, who joined me halfway through the meal, estimated there would be at least two knights accompanying her. Said it was general family procedure for traveling heirs.

In comparison, Kalin only had the one knight assigned to him. And even that was apparently seen as excessive coddling by the duke. An exiled, ‘cursed’ child didn’t deserve even that much, many voices had said back then.

In any case, enough rooms were already fully prepared to accommodate any reasonably sized group. There was also some room in the servant quarters, if Lenora brought a lot of her own entourage. No one liked to talk about where this extra room came from, but everyone knew.

How ‘convenient’ that a bunch of staff was removed so recently. I hadn’t yet considered replacing the losses to the non-combat staff. It wasn’t the highest on my priority list. So far, the manor was still operating just fine on slightly reduced numbers.

If the traveling party my ‘dear sister’ arrived in was unreasonably large, there were more rooms that could be prepared. Worst case scenario, people would have to share. Or sleep in the town’s inn, though that would not be well-received at all. We could just hope it was a more usual circumstance.

Over the past few days, our stores of various consumable items were also restocked and expanded. Things like soap, firewood, ‘higher-end’ food, wine and other, less important supplies.

Our kitchen might not be able to fulfill truly outlandish requests, but a moderate level of luxury could be provided. We were after all only a manor belonging to the lord of a small backwater town.

And if my ‘dear sister’ made a big fuss over it, then I had some strong words to say.

In addition to the physical preparations, Mia also had everyone renew their etiquette lessons. Not that anyone had grown lax about that here, since until almost two weeks ago Kalin himself had been the kind of man who didn’t tolerate lapses in decorum from those he saw as ‘lesser’.

All of that was about the extent of possible steps we could take to be ready. Well, Mathew’s work in the garden was also something, but there was no way he’d get that under control in a few days. Especially so if the storm kept up today.

No, the noble lady would just have to bear a somewhat unsightly bit of greenery.

Unfortunately, I was by no means an expert on entertaining important guests. I didn’t even really know what nobles did to pass the time in this world. Kalin mostly drank himself into a stupor or read books. When he wasn’t tormenting some unlucky fellow who’d pissed him off somehow.

Most of said books had also been on potential cures for his condition, though he had of course never actually found one. The rest were entertainment literature, tales of great heroes and such. Basically all of his collection went up in silver flames with the tower.

As for other ‘noble’ pursuits, the town and manor were pretty barren. No theater, orchestra or tournaments. I vaguely recalled a wandering circus coming by every once in a while? Not that a fancy noble like Kalin would ever visit such a show, oh no.

Eh, we’ll figure something out. Worst case scenario, my unwelcome guest will just be bored out of her mind.

On the topic of free time, Mia actually broached the subject with me. Today was Rest-day, basically the equivalent of Sunday back on Earth. Meaning, many people took the day off if they could.

Not many people could, of course. Especially not so close to winter. To the peasants, Rest-day was more of a suggestion. Though they did usually make at least a little time to visit the temple if at all possible.

More relevant to me personally, this was also the day where my staff was most likely to be allowed time to visit their families in town. And today was a dreadful day for that.

Just as no one wanted to work outside right now, trudging down the hill in this weather was also understandably unpopular. This problem had a simple solution – I just had Mia announce that people could delay their time off until the weather cleared up a bit. Under the stipulation that the manor not be totally empty as soon as the rain ended of course.

Based on my acting steward’s reaction to this statement, that had not been the case before. Under Kalin’s rule, you could either suck it up and brave the storm, or give up visiting your family for at least another week, if not more.

Far from an ideal way to handle things in my opinion, especially since Rest-day was also payday and a not insignificant portion of my staff’s families depended on the extra income.

Mia’s was one such family, at least before her life was turned around by me. Before, some people working here didn’t really have a choice but to potentially get sick from being soaked through. Their families needed the money after all, and missing a delivery one week meant a long time until the next possible opportunity.

At least that was less of an issue now under my reign. A day or two’s delay was much more bearable than potentially weeks. Plus, pay raises – even small ones – should help bridge the gap even further.

Once I finished breakfast, Lars had a surprise for me.

When we strode into the entrance hall together, the room was already occupied. Ten guards were busy doing warm-ups there. All those lucky enough not to be on active duty right now.

“I’ve taken the liberty of moving the training location for today, Lord Steelheart,” Lars said. “I believe you won’t have any objections?” His gaze was inquisitive. Was he testing my reaction?

I could understand why. Even with all the changes in personality – for the better, in my opinion – I’d displayed over the past short while, the entrance hall was still a symbol of prestige. Old Kalin would have probably had a fit, seeing it ‘misused’ in this way.

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Personal training from Lars was a different matter, since Kalin himself was so important. Obviously. Same with a feast, that was ‘important enough’ to warrant the hall’s use. More so for one I myself threw.

“I have no issue.”

“Good. In fact, this is a step forward in your training. Instead of always sparring with me, you’ll get some experience with different opponents. Please keep to our previous restrictions.” He grinned at me. We both knew that if I didn’t hold back, sparring with a normal human would probably end poorly.

First it was warm-up time though. Aside from wearing my weighted gear as usual, I actually held back more than usual. Other people were using the room, so running at full speed would be quite hazardous.

Once Lars called to begin sparring, there was some unrest among the men. I realized not many had actually witnessed my new strength. Sure, I’d been training in the hall for nearly a week now, but only Lars and Mia regularly watched. Most others were busy with their own work.

And the level of exertion I’d displayed during warm-up exercises wasn’t too impressive, especially since everyone else was distracted.

In other words, no one wanted to pair up with me. My reputation had been improving a bit – raising people’s salary and treating them well would generally do that – but accidentally hurting me in a spar was not high on anyone’s priority list.

One person did volunteer after some momentary hesitation. I’d been staring at him in the group as well, so he probably felt a bit put on the spot.