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You contemplate a moment going to your family- but there was no point. Let them be. You hobble off to your room, to enjoy some isolation before the business of court found you again.
They do find you again. Often. Most of the time when you're in the swing of things. Messengers delivering notes of lord complaining of the state of emergency, missives from frightened villagers proclaiming an orcish army has sprung up in the hills around them (when they're five hundred miles from the darklands), merchants bargaining for a reduction in tax until the state of emergency ended, barons demanding permission to raid the stores of merchants so that they can be better prepared for the invasion.
You mean to be a good king, truly, but by the time the tenth bell rolls around you, the scrolls and letters that arrive are tossed to the side, unread. If any were to have the seal of any of your advisors, or the military, or the orders, you would break them open, but after enough of these tedious pleadings, you've decided the kingdom can survive two hours without you writing "No" over and over and over.
Instead you investigate your father's book collection. Books on herbs, old laws, history, a joke book, a bestiary, some guide to elven etiquette... A great deal of reading that doesn't involve your present predicament. Eventually you find something of interest. Your great grandfather's letters, written to your father.
He never died, you note with a bit of sourness. Legend held great grandpa was spared the ravages of time, and seemed as young as he ever was, even after reigning for sixty years. One day, the legendary founder of your dynasty just. decided to be done with it. Gave the crown to your great uncle (Who died fairly soon after and passed it on to your grandfather), instructed Le Fevre to watch over your line, and sailed off into the ocean with a few of his friends and lovers.
Lucky bastard. Here you were, the blood of isekai in your veins, and with none of the gifts.
You flip through the letters, trying to find anything of relevance. Nothing really notable. Among the letters, something you hadn't seen before. Some kind of small portrait- a masterwork of art. Almost looked like a window to a real world of a very pretty young woman dressed in black, one eye covered, with a strange floral hat on top of her head. A clasp at her neck with some kind of gem, surmounted by metal shaped like fire. Strangely familiar. Past that, a great deal of notes on how to manipulate and puppeteer the court, something about love, and... Hm. Something about fire arrows. With detailed designs here. Well, there's something that might be useful. Nothing liked to burn. Setting things on fire in war would be good, right? If you could make enough of these that they weren't just a curiosity.
>Design Gained: Fire Arrow Artillery.