An Inquiry (Part Two)

April 10. Clear skies. Brilliant sunshine.

Gold and Silver Island welcomed a group of distinguished visitors that day. With the spring sowing finally complete, Romon had come to the island by boat with Nick and Fafier. It was already April, and everything on the island was coming back to life. Its beauty was unlike anything on the mainland.

Dressed in pale blue viscount's attire and surrounded by his supporters, Romon cut a striking figure. Days spent overseeing the spring sowing had given his normally fair skin the slightest tan.

His newly made clothes fit perfectly. Their solid-gold buttons gleamed in the sunlight.

Nick and Fafier, walking beside him, were young men too. Onlookers could hardly take their eyes off them and secretly envied them.

These newly risen nobles were all young, yet they had reached heights others could strive for all their lives and never attain.

"My lord, is this the residential district marked on the plans? It's coming along beautifully. Once the spring plowing is done, will you expand the castle on Gold and Silver Island?" Fafier and Nick knew that Romon's promotion to viscount meant the original plans would have to change. As they surveyed the construction, envy showed on their faces. "The scenery here is wonderful, and the climate is just right. It's a perfect place to rest—and a productive one, too!"

"You're welcome to stay whenever you have time!" Romon said with a smile.

"But the castle won't come first after the spring plowing. We'll build the villages, then roads between them. The residential district by the harbor is finished, but the commercial district is only half done, and work hasn't even begun on the administrative district or the barracks. The castle comes after all that. The lighthouse will be built inside it," Romon explained. "If