As Leo and Ben stood before the dilapidated palace, a pale and ghostly looking butler emerged from within the shadows of the crumbling building. The sight of him gave both Leo and Ben a sudden jump scare.
"Greetings, my Lord. I have been expecting your arrival," the butler said in the most emotionless tone possible, as his tone only added to his aura of being more of an undead rather than a vibrant human being.
For a while Leo was stunned, however, he soon regained his composure and stepped forward. "Hello, I am 'TheBoss', the new Baron of CrestHill. And you are?"
"I am Gregory, the head butler of this estate," the man replied with a slight bow. "Please, allow me to give you a tour of your new home."
Leo and Ben exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of curiosity and dread as they followed Gregory through the broken gates and into the palace.
As they walked through the halls, the full extent of the palace's decay became evident.
The walls were covered in cracks and moss, and the floors creaked under their weight.
Broken windows allowed the wind to howl through the corridors adding to the eerie atmosphere and paintings that would have once adorned the walls seemed to be either stolen or vandalized, as only square patches of brighter paint seemed to remain over the walls where Leo assumed once a painting would have been hanging from.
"Wow–" Leo muttered to himself, looking at the sorry state of the estate as he suddenly felt as if the motels that he and Ben stayed at within the capital, were much more luxurious compared to this palace.
"And this my lord is the servant's quarters… This is where myself and some other servants of this estate live" introduced Gregory as he presented the only part of the estate that did not look like a ruin, perhaps due to regular maintenance.
Within the servants quarter were a few notable figures, whom Gregory began introducing one after another.
Firstly there was Martha, the head cook, who was slumped over in a chair, half-asleep.
Edward, the gardener, who was nowhere to be found initially, and eventually when he did appear, he was covered in dirt and looked more like a beggar than a servant.
Then there was the maid, Eliza, who was sort of pretty? However, her lack of personal hygiene and chatty personality instantly turned Leo off.
And finally, there was a small bellboy who was Gregory's assistant called 'Meep', who was a mute and most likely under the legal age for working.
At that moment, Leo could hardly believe his eyes. "This... this is my staff?" he muttered to himself, as he felt his dreams of sitting in his luxurious garden and being fed carefully peeled grapes by his maids coming crashing down upon him.
"Is this my retirement home?" Mumbled Ben, as his dreams of living a retired life seemed to come crashing down as well.
Finally, after showing the servants quarters, Gregory led them to what was supposed to be Leo's study.
The room was small and cluttered with dusty books and broken furniture and was a far cry from the grand and elegant office Leo had envisioned.
"This is your office, my Lord," Gregory said, motioning to a rickety old desk. "From here, you can manage the affairs of the Barony."
Leo sighed and sat down at the desk, the chair wobbling precariously, just like Leo's fragile mental state after inheriting this sheer mess.
"Alright, Gregory. Show me the geography of the Barony. I need to understand what we're dealing with." Leo commanded, as he steeled his heart to witness what exactly he was dealing with here, so that he could estimate the time it would take him to turn this place around.
Nodding, Gregory looked for an old map within the study and after finding a tattered old map stashed in a far corner, he unrolled it on the desk.
"This, my Lord, is CrestHill Barony. Here is Dustbrook Village, from where you must have arrived.
DustBrook village is the worst economic region of our territory known for its poverty and high crime rate.
Then there is the central town of Berkshire, where we are now. It is the largest settlement but suffers from the same issues as Dustbrook.
We have no large merchant trading groups trading with us here, and most of the local trade is controlled by local mafia, who sell goods at an unreasonably high price" Butler Gregory began, as he covered the two regions of the Barony that Leo had already seen first.
Then he pointed to another small dot on the map. "This is Fendy Village. It is slightly better off than Dustbrook but still plagued by poverty and neglect, however, it won't have open shit piles mounted near the streets like DustBrook as at least the public hygiene system is still functioning there"
Leo leaned forward, studying the map closely. "What about this area here?" he asked, pointing to a patch of barren land covered with rocks and stones.
Gregory's expression turned somber at this question, as he said "That used to be the most fertile land in the Barony, ideal for agriculture.
However, due to a severe drought in the eastern region for the past four years and no irrigation lines to artificially draw water to the region, the land has now become completely barren and unsuitable for farming and is the main reason behind the region's food shortage."
Leo sat back in his chair, the weight of the situation settling heavily on his shoulders.
"So, we have a Barony filled with poverty, crime, and barren land. Is there anything at all which is unique or positive about these places?" he asked, feeling extremely frustrated, as he hoped for some semblance of good news, however, his poor fortune denied him even a sliver of hope.
"I'm afraid not, my Lord. The Barony has been neglected for many years. It will take a lot of effort and resources to bring it to the prosperity level of the rest of the empire.
Currently, we have nothing going well for us, however, we do sincerely hope that you can turn things around with your intelligence" Gregory said, as it was at this moment that Leo finally realized just how fucked he truly was.
"I have been scammed…." Leo murmured, as he felt an intense wave of hatred emerging in his heart towards the East Duke at this moment.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target, good job everyone! ///