While the Merchant’s Guild was not willing to take any more than they already had, as they were worried about the impact on the delivery markets if they should start increasing the shipments from Wistover by much more, the King would send every last bit of what Dominic was contributing to Nobles in need, or to the army.
That would cut down on his expenditures, and the amount of tax that needed to be levied in coins.
The crown didn’t really operate at much of a surplus. Most of what they collected went to actually running the country, not making the King rich.
He would gladly have accepted excess wealth, if it wouldn’t burden the nation too much. However, that was not how things actually worked. There was never enough to go around, and the Nobles who were making progress were always outnumbered by the ones who had either gotten old and lost their touch, or who were too new and hadn’t begun to understand how things actually worked.
Many people thought that they knew best. Few were right.
That was where Wistover was different. Dominic didn’t pretend to know what was best.
He claimed to know what was most entertaining. And possibly the most explosive. But he never claimed that he knew how to run things best. So, when ideas came to him, he actually weighed them on merits, not the source.
And that had led to his whole territory being something remarkable.
The auditors were aware of most of what had happened here after Dominic took over. At least in the most general sense of things. But they only knew the history of Wavemates from the legends that passed around after the invasion, or vague stories from other Nobles who had been there before that.
They were both younger men, and had been in school a decade ago, so they had no experience with Wavemates before it was under Dagos control.
They were about to e down to the main room when Dave stuck his head in the door.
"There is soup and food. Your boss says, get clean and e down to join him and the Duke for dinner."
The pair looked at the massive head in the doorway. "Uhm, thank you, Sir?"
Dave rumbled with laughter. "I’m not a Sir. Sirs are Knights. I’m a Manor Guard."
The pair smiled as they realized that Dave wasn’t offended by their confusion. Seeing a massive Troll on guard duty within the house was not something that they had been warned about before they arrived.
They knew, in theory, that there were Trolls in Wistover.
They did not know that they wore armour and worked in the Manor.
They quickly washed for dinner while Dave waited, then escorted them down to the main room, giving a small tour on the way.
"That room is full of paintings, and it has a glass roof. That one is the same, but it’s got flowers. This one leads to the back garden, that one is a sitting room for quiet talks, and that one is for not quiet talks."
"Not quiet talks?"
Dave nodded. "It has soundproofing and thick walls."
Now they understood.
They made it to the main room and Dave stopped at the door. "The rest is all you, I brought you to the most important room in the house."
"The most important?"
Dave nodded solemnly. "The one where the food is. Chef Beth won’t let us eat in her kitchen."
"And don’t you forget it." Beth called from the other side of the kitchen door.
Dominic laughed, and the Tax agent smiled as the Troll exited the room with a sheepish look on his face. They regularly tested the prohibition from the kitchen, in order to make suggestions about soup, or to try to sample what she was making.
More often it was Larry than Dave, but they were all brothers.
"Are they keeping you busy here still? I saw that the new bank building is built right inside the Manor grounds," the younger of the two assistants asked.
"That’s a bit of a sore spot.
The King ordered its placement, which I totally understand. It needs to be somewhere safe so that it can function as an international trade bank.
But they built it in the style of the Capital, not the local style, and it stands out in a most horrific way. Plus, it’s next to the walls and too tall to properly protect from artillery.
We’ve been considering that we might actually have to increase the height of the outer ring wall to fully protect the grounds."
The Auditors smiled. "That is the way of things. Most Noble Manors have at least one building in the pound that nobody actually wants there, but which was placed for a significant event, or by Royal Decree, so they can’t take it down or alter it.
Letting vines grow all over it was a marvellous touch.
Not only does it hide the building, to some extent, is also smells lovely. Having fresh flowers all over the building has to make for an interesting work environment, though."
"I believe that Prince Russel would agree with you. He’s there all day, and surrounded by the smell of roses. If his wife wasn’t aware of the situation, there would surely have been a conversation about which lady’s perfume he had been around."
"That’s a dangerous tactic. Especially with all the incense that the bankers like to use. A bination of incense and flowers will leave everyone who stays there for a few days smelling like they’ve left their luggage in a brothel," the assistant agreed, to the horror of his superior.
"I don’t believe that is suitable dinner conversation. Especially not if the Princess will be joining us."
Dominic watched as the veiled maid at the back of the room gave him a thumbs up, then held up five fingers.
"She will be along in a few minutes. The joys of new motherhood make it somewhat difficult to keep presentable for guests. Especially when your daughter is dragonkin, and somewhat more energetic than a child her age should be."
"Just wait until she is a toddler, Your Grace. You will have a tiny nightmare on your hands."
"Oh, I am well aware. After all, I was once one as well."
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