It was a short ride to the Baron’s manor, for he lived quite close to my town. The carriage got off the broad dirt road and entered a small wood through which a path ran right in the middle. And without me realizing it, we were in the large garden in front of the large multi-story manor that to my inexperienced toddler eyes resembled a small palace. The carriage ran along the path through the garden, and I could see vast arrays of flowerbeds, mostly roses.

I was let off in front of the doorstep, and above it, a maid, a young adult woman of maybe twenty, twenty-one, was waiting for me.

“René of the Tavern?” she called out to me.

“If you say so, mademoiselle.”

“My, my. I was told you were a child, but I didn’t expect a toddler.” With that, she beckoned me to come with her.

She led me through the beautifully decorated marble hall, up the red-carpeted stairs, and through corridors to finally come to a stop in front of a wooden door at the end of the hallway. She knocked twice.

“Master majordome, the boy is here.”

The room was a modest office. Behind the wooden desk, a silver-haired hawk-like man was waiting for me in his chair. The desk was taller than me, so the man stood up and came around and knelt before me, lowering himself to my eye-level.

“René of the Tavern?”

“René, Master majordome.” I bowed politely.

He smiled big and offered his hand for a shake, to my surprise. I shook his hand as manly as I could, which made him smile even more.

“Come, my child. We have been waiting for you.”

Still holding my small hand, he led me out of his office. From the way the maid had addressed the man as ‘majordome’, I knew he was the one running the manor. If the Barony were a country, this man would be the minister of interior. And this puzzled me. ‘What am I doing here?’

We walked through the hallway some more and came to a large spacious room. This had to be it. This had to be the Baron’s court where His Lordship handled the dealings of the Barony. But the Baron wasn’t there. Instead, half a dozen men were sitting on the long bench at one wall, underneath a large painting that depicted the Marquis of the Roseland bludgeoning Dumas to death. I immediately recognized the treasurer among the men, and upon seeing me enter the court, he waved his hand with a big grin on his face.

“That’s him? René of the Tavern?” one of the men asked.

“My… It’s just a baby!”

At this point, I was a bit scared. The majordome must have sensed it for he once again knelt beside me and patted my shoulders.“Do not be afraid, my child. We do not intend to devour you.” Then he bared his fangs as a joke, and I burst out laughing.

For the next three freaking hours, the men asked me questions about everything. They read a passage of a poem and asked me what I thought about it. They asked me math questions. They asked me what I thought about the fact that the La Rose family gave up the Marquis title. They asked me what I thought about Montclam, a piece of land I had never been to. And we got into a long discussion about how the people in my town could do better. They spent a good amount of time explaining how certain things ran in the manor and then asked me what I thought about it. Questions led to answers which led to discussions and sometimes to arguments. At one point, I found myself sitting with them, brainstorming an economic drive that, hopefully, would result in more roses exported to Montclam and beyond.

I was reading aloud a long poem written on an equally long scroll, and the men were listening with eyes closed, sometimes nodding, when the Baron walked in. We jumped up and bowed.

“My good men, how goes?” The Baron came by my side and ruffled up my hair.

The majordome looked at his fellow men’s faces one by one, and they each nodded.

“Your Lordship, we came to the agreement René of the Tavern is… gifted.”

“I suspected so.” The Baron agreed.

The majordome bowed again and continued.

“I see the boy, once he comes of age, heading Your Lordship’s court.”

The Baron lifted his eyes from me and met those of his men. They nodded. I was standing there with my mouth agape.

“Excellent! Majordome, please arrange for the boy’s room.” The Baron let out a cry of joy and turned to face me. “René of the Tavern, welcome to my humble manor. But first, we shall go discuss the matter with your father.”