The Asturion

Merne Castle, the center of power for the Merne Lecturate, was far from being one of the kingdom's most imposing fortifications. However, its proximity to the border made it essential that its walls were always in good condition and that it maintained an adequate number of defenders at all times.

Due to the war and the countless losses suffered during her father's time, trying to fulfill this latter task was what Alana had been dedicating herself to in recent months. And it was not just the soldiers who needed replenishment but also the servants and craftsmen who had been enlisted into the army out of necessity.

"Father, Alana did the best she could… I hope you are proud of me," Alana murmured to herself.

The first rays of light that pierced through the bed canopy woke the young lecturess from her light sleep. But unlike in recent days, she decided to stay like that for a little longer. It was the first time in months that she didn't have to worry about the next trip to survey her territory.

By now, it could be said without fear of error that Alana was the youngest lectur or lecturess to know almost all of her territory. She had traveled so much that it worried her servants, who insisted daily that she should take a break.

But for Alana, immersing herself in her duties was a way to forget her father's death. She didn't even have the comfort of her mother, who had died shortly after giving birth to her.

After lying in bed doing nothing for a while, the usual bad thoughts began to appear, so she decided it was time to get up. Dressed in her red camisole, she headed to her chambers' bathroom, built using a combination of engineering and water magic.

Alana washed her face and brushed her long, silky black hair. She liked to do it herself, as her father had taught her from a young age not to rely too much on the maids.

After playing a bit with her scarlet hair lock, her charming feature that she seemed to have inherited from her mother, Alana proceeded to dress herself, despite the maids' complaints, who felt they would be left without a job and sent back to the fields. Of course, Alana had no intention of doing such a thing.

"My lady, breakfast is served."

"Thank you. I'll be right there."

As she was finishing getting dressed, one of the maids called her from the other side of her chamber door. She hurried to put on her shoes and headed to the dining room.

Her usual breakfast awaited her: freshly baked bread, three batenka eggs, and seasonal fruit. Occasionally, meat was also present, but since the war began, she and her father had decided to avoid it.

Meat could be dried and preserved more easily than other types of food, making it a regular meal for the army. The more they could reserve for it, the better.

After breakfast, her routine consisted of exercising. The exercise itself consisted of practicing her combat skills, either with the sword or magic. Just because she was a woman didn't mean she could avoid her duty as a kingdom noble to defend her territory.

For a noble, combat prowess was evaluated much more than knowledge. It was crucial in determining which class they would be placed in at the Royal Academy. For this reason, Alana never skipped her training.

Even though she could no longer see her father in person, she believed she could still make him proud from wherever he was watching, whether from the very kingdom of Liliefer or from Eferida's lap while preparing for a new life.

After exercising and a quick bath, it was time to proceed with the rest of her obligations. Having finished her excursions throughout the territory, Alana could now fully dedicate herself to its administration and attempt to solve the problems she had found.

Of course, while it was commendable that she had traveled to all corners of the lecturate, bringing words of encouragement at her young age and after suffering an immense loss herself, there was no way she could solve everything alone.

Therefore, the audience hall was where she met with the various sesturions who administered the lecturate and acted as the lectur's advisors. From them, she always received different ideas and opinions, and based on that, she made the decisions that guided the territory's development.

The fact that all nobles had advisors was one of the reasons why they were evaluated more for their magical and combat abilities rather than for any other aspect that could be delegated to a specific advisor.

In the case of a lectur or lecturess, the lowest rank of the Findelor nobility, their advisors were usually sesturions. Although they were not nobles, a sesturion owned their own estate, contributed soldiers, and led them in their lord's army. They were essentially the knights of that world.

Under the sesturions were the asturions, somewhat akin to a squire and a page combined. The difference was that asturions were not necessarily young (though they often were), and one of their main roles was to lead a small group of soldiers, either under a sesturion or directly under the lectur.

The latter was the case with the young asturion who approached Alana once the council had ended. He was a young man who had been of great help recently, and due to his contributions and innovative ideas, Alana had decided to make him one of her personal asturions, the first she had appointed herself rather than her father.

After a friendly greeting, the two began to talk as they walked through the castle halls.

"I never would have imagined that a young volunteer from such a remote village would be so capable. Honestly, I am incredibly grateful for everything you've done."

"Princess, you are much more incredible. Despite everything you've been through and all the work you dedicate to improving your territory, there isn't a day when you don't also strive to improve yourself. This morning, I saw you practicing with the sword, and now, after enduring all the debates in the council, you're heading to study in the library… Honestly, I'm a bit worried about your health; you should rest a little more."

"I've told you before, I'm not a princess; there's a big difference between a princess and a lecturess," Alana responded, laughing. "And don't worry, I'll have time to rest… But, on the other hand, no matter how much I study, I don't think I could come up with even one of your ideas, like the last one you presented. The way you found to control the river flow and at the same time improve the irrigation of the fields was impressive. I thank you once again."

"My lady, it's my duty, as your asturion, to do my best to help you in aiding the people of our territory, so devastated by this horrible war…" The young man paused to search for something in his pockets. "And now that we are talking about that, I got something for you. I know it's just a trinket, but I would be honored if you wear it at some point. It's my gratitude for the trust you've placed in me."

With that, the young man presented Alana with a silver necklace that had a red jewel in its center, matching her ruby-colored eyes and scarlet hair lock.

The lecturess took the necklace and turned towards the window to hide the slight blush on her cheeks; it had been a long time since she had received a gift from someone other than a family member.

Hearing something in the distance, Alana looked outside the window and saw three children around her age brushing the horses in the stables: two redheads who seemed to be brother and sister and a white-haired boy.

The red-haired child didn't delay brushing a spot he shouldn't have and had to dodge a kick from the animal under the exasperated gaze of his sister and the other boy.

Alana watched the spectacle with curiosity for a second before turning her attention back to the young man.

"Melrick, the salary of my asturions is for you to spend on yourselves, not on me, but I appreciate your gesture very much," Alana said, smiling. "Don't worry, my lady, I've kept enough to sustain myself this month," Melrick bowed. "Now I apologize, as I have some pending matters. I hope to see you another time. Would you like to practice sword fighting together someday? I'm far from your skills, but as an asturion, I would like to improve as soon as possible to defend you if necessary."

"Of course, I will be waiting."

They bid each other farewell, and Melrick continued on his way to another wing of the castle.

Alana then decided to put on the necklace. She felt a bit embarrassed to do it in front of Melrick, but showing it already on wouldn't be a problem.

After wearing it, Alana continued on her way to the library. If someone had been beside her, they would have noticed that the red jewel of the necklace emitted a slight glow and that at the same time, the girl's eyes became a bit cloudy.

There was one who did notice something, though, Melrick, who couldn't stop a faint smirk from forming after seeing the red jewel on his ring shining faintly.