The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

Ravian closed the last book and placed it on the return cart beside his desk.

He had spent enough time searching the same shelves, and nothing suggested that staying another hour would bring him any closer to the Golden Scriptures. Those would have to wait, along with the questions he still had about the Taboos, because Patrick expected him back before sunset.

And unlike the books, the Earl would probably complain if he was kept waiting.

Ravian checked that the metal badge was still inside his coat, then headed toward the administrative entrance. The quiet conversations on the lower floors faded as he passed through the inner doors, where Shern looked up from his ledger while a sweep of mana passed over the badge.

”Finished for today?”

”For today,” Ravian replied.

Shern glanced at his empty hands, recorded his departure beside his name, and waved him through.

Outside, Ravian narrowed his eyes against the late afternoon light. He had spent so long inside the archive that even the carriage wheels sounded loud to him now.

House Viola’s carriage was already waiting, with Shmichael standing beside the open door.

”The Earl’s guests have arrived, Mr. Rayan.”

”Then it’s a good thing I remembered to leave.”

”You did agree to a time, Mr. Rayan.”

Ravian smiled as he climbed inside, and Shmichael shut the door before he could say anything else.

The carriage left the Academy grounds and joined the evening traffic. Ravian leaned back against the seat, watching the buildings pass as he finally allowed himself to think about something other than the books he had spent the day reading.

They slowed near a blocked drain where several paving stones had been removed from the road. A loaded cart had stopped to let another pass through the narrow gap, and both drivers were busy arguing about who should have waited.

Ravian watched the shallow water pooled against the curb while their voices reached him through the window.

By the time the carriage moved again, he was thinking about the six engineers Patrick had arranged for him. Judging by what he could see along this street alone, they would have plenty to keep them occupied.

Two unfamiliar carriages were standing in the courtyard when they reached Viola Manor. Their attendants waited nearby, while a servant came down the steps to receive Ravian.

Larette met him inside and glanced past him at the fading light.

”You made it.”

”I said I would, didn’t I?”

Larette suppressed a smile and led him toward her father’s study. They could hear people speaking behind the door, so she knocked and waited for permission before entering with him.

Patrick sat at a table covered with documents and several preliminary drawings for the project. Two people occupied the chairs opposite him.

One was an older man with red hair graying at the temples, holding a page of figures in one hand. He looked up as they entered, his expression calm. His coat was finely made, although apart from the embroidery along its edges, he wore very little ornament.

The woman beside him wore a dark green dress, with her hair pinned away from her face. She kept one finger against a line in the document she had been reading as she turned to look at Ravian.

Patrick rose from his chair.

”Rayan, come in.”

Ravian approached the table while Larette sat to one side.

”This is Grand Duke Alexander Veyla, and beside him is Marchioness Charlotte Cali,” Patrick said. ”Your Grace, Lady Cali, allow me to introduce Rayan Veyr, the man responsible for the project.”

Ravian looked at the older man again, concealing his shock.

’Lysandra’s grandfather?’

He had expected Patrick to invite influential nobles, but he hadn’t expected someone of this man’s standing.

The Veyla family had direct imperial lineage and governed two of the Empire’s three largest cities. Ravian had known how powerful they were even before visiting the archive, and now the head of that family was sitting in front of him, reading figures for his infrastructure project.

Just how much had Patrick told him?

Ravian inclined his head toward both guests.

”Your Grace. Lady Cali.”

”Lysandra has mentioned you,” Alexander said.

Ravian’s eyes widened in disbelief.

’What? She told him about me?’

Ravian couldn’t make sense of it. She had said she wouldn’t tell anyone about him, so how was this even possible?

”We were in the same squad at the border,” Ravian replied anyway, deciding to leave his questions for later.

For now, he had to keep as much information about himself as possible from House Viola.

”Yes, she told me.” Alexander set the page down. ”I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”

Ravian couldn’t tell how much Lysandra had said about him from that answer, and he wasn’t going to ask with everyone listening.

Patrick frowned slightly as he listened to the exchange, but he had noticed Ravian’s reaction and decided to say nothing, at least for now.

Patrick gestured toward the remaining chair, and Ravian sat down as Charlotte glanced at the drawings again.

”Patrick tells me these plans are yours,” she said. ”Will you be overseeing the technical work as well?”

”Yes. I’ll explain the system to the engineers and review their work, but they still need to take proper measurements of the routes and sites before we can finalize the plans.”

”Good. I noticed that some of the dimensions were missing.”

”We’ll have those once the measurements are done.”

Charlotte nodded and lifted her finger from the line she had been studying, apparently satisfied that the omission hadn’t been an oversight.

”House Cali operates the largest forges in the capital,” Patrick explained. ”Their workshops supply weapons and armor to the imperial armies, and they have the craftsmen we’ll need for the project’s metalwork.”

Ravian looked between the two guests before turning back to Patrick.

The Earl had invited a Grand Duke and a woman whose family equipped the Empire’s armies. Both could certainly afford to invest, but money alone couldn’t have been the reason he had chosen them.

”You were thinking about the nobles who might interfere?” Ravian asked.

”That was part of it,” Patrick replied. ”We will need access to land, materials in considerable quantities, and enough craftsmen to keep the work moving. We will also be digging up roads that people use every day. There are plenty of ways for someone to delay us if he decides we owe him something.”

”Such as a share of the project.”

”Precisely.”

Patrick pulled one of the maps closer and rested his hand beside the marked routes.

”A noble might suddenly object to our shipments crossing his land, or arrange for the men we’ve hired to be offered work elsewhere. Someone else might decide that improving the streets outside his family’s holdings entitles him to a say in how we run the project.”

Ravian studied the map.

Unfortunately, none of that was difficult to imagine. He had already seen how quickly a simple matter could become troublesome once someone with enough authority took an interest.

And arguing with every noble who wanted something from them would take time he had no intention of wasting.

”So you wanted to deal with that before we started, right?” Ravian asked.

”I wanted them to think carefully before trying,” Patrick replied, his gaze turning cold. ”It is much easier to keep the work moving if we don’t have to stop every few days to settle another dispute.”

Alexander rested his hands on the table.

”We’ll settle any genuine disputes over access before construction begins,” he said, his voice as calm as it had been throughout the conversation.

Charlotte reached for one of the drawings and turned it toward herself.

During the discussion, Ravian failed to notice that one person’s expression had changed completely the moment Grand Duke Alexander mentioned Lysandra.

That person was Larette Viola.