My King from Another World Book 1: Stuck in Another World

Chapter 12: Desmond

Seeing Davina leave with the server, I smile. She handled that very well. I didn't expect her to. I would understand if she did freak out over the wine being spilt onto her dress. However, she was very calm about this.

"I don't know how you can employ such clumsy workers," Eloise says, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turn to her. She has a disapproving look on her face. "I mean, earlier today a young boy spilt water all over my dress."

Young boy? I wonder if she's referring to Arthur. Perhaps Davina saw the whole thing and helped out Arthur because of it.

"I'm sure the young boy didn't mean to," I say, finishing my food.

She scowls.

"You can't always let your servants off the hook," she says, tone harsh. "How else will they learn if you don't punish them?"

I scowl.

"I do punish them," I say. "But only if they blatantly break the rules. Again and again. I doubt any of my castle staff would deliberately dump water onto you. If he has, he'll be dealt with. I intend to hear the full story though."

She sets her lips into a thin line.

"I think your guest should learn some manners," she says. "She not only disrespected me the other day, but also disrespected me today. She spouted insults at me. I refuse to be disrespected."

I arch a brow at her.

"Who was the boy that spilled water on you earlier?" I ask.

"Don't know," she says and shrugs. "Just know he had messy hair, and baggy clothing."

Sounds like Arthur. I'll need to get him some new clothing. I'll check up on the story with Davina and him. Just so I get the full picture. Seeing the time, I stand.

"I better be getting back to work," I say. I head out of the dining room, carrying my plate. Dropping off my plate, I head down the hallway towards my study. While I would like to get some research done, the kingdom comes first. And there are some matters I need to take care of.

Stepping into my study, I close the doors behind me. My study is a medium size, with a large table in the middle of the room. Shelves are filled with parchment organized neatly. Inks and quills sit on another shelf. A fireplace rests along one wall, and plushy chairs sit in front of it. Logs sit next to the fireplace.

Seeing the stack of papers, I have to go through, my shoulders slump a little. A king's work is never done.

Shaking my head, I slump down in my large chair, and pull over the stack of papers. Many of them are things I should fix around the village and army. We need new armor, and weapons. I sigh and lay my head back. Perhaps Davina's idea of trading money for resources was on point. But that could take years. Samael could attack at any moment. I can probably build another blacksmith to get the work done.

Going through the pile, I see that many of the issues listed can be managed. Davina's idea niggles in the back of my mind. Using the silver we get from the mines, we forge the coins we need. However, silver is a temporary resource. We can't possibly sustain our kingdom on that alone. At least, not forever. Right now, we're one of the most bountiful kingdoms in this world. But how long can that last for?

Maybe Davina will have another idea on that. Something that could be of value, but easy enough to make. Without anyone remaking it and pawning it off.

Finishing the pile, I compile solutions that can help the problems. At least, as many as I can fix at the moment. Her school idea isn't a bad idea either. Many of the children in the village are taught from home. I never considered a public school, as she called it, for all of them to come and attend. We have plenty of copies of books and material they can use. Tobias providing lunch would of course require me to raise his pay, but I think I can manage.