The journey from the Imperial Capital to Blackwood Manor took nearly half a day.
Unlike the smooth stone roads surrounding the capital, Blackwood's roads were cracked and uneven.
The carriage rocked constantly.
Lily, sitting opposite Kael, struggled to keep a basket of bread from bouncing onto the floor.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness..."
Kael smiled.
"Don't apologize."
He glanced out the window as the carriage lurched over another pothole.
"Apologize to the road."
Even Edwin chuckled.
"These roads were once among the finest in the Empire."
Kael looked outside again.
"What happened?"
"No one repaired them."
"Not for fifteen years."
The carriage rolled past another village.
This time, Kael asked the driver to stop.
"My lord?"
"I want to walk."
Edwin looked concerned.
"We still have three hours before we reach the manor."
"Then we'll walk for three hours."
Without waiting for an answer, Kael stepped from the carriage.
The village wasn't large.
Perhaps eighty families.
Wooden homes.
A tiny shrine.
A blacksmith's forge.
A single tavern.
The villagers paused when they saw strangers entering.
They looked tired.
Cautious.
One elderly man whispered,
"Travelers?"
Another shook his head.
"Nobles."
The atmosphere immediately changed.
People lowered their heads.
Children were called indoors.
Doors quietly closed.
Kael noticed.
"They're afraid."
Edwin nodded.
"They've learned to be."
Kael walked to the village square.
He didn't announce himself.
Instead, he walked to an old stone well.
The rope had snapped.
The wooden bucket rested at the bottom.
Women waited nearby with empty pails.
"How long has it been broken?" Kael asked.
One woman hesitated before answering.
"Two months."
"Has anyone reported it?"
She laughed bitterly.
"To who?"
No one had an answer.
Kael walked around the well.
His previous life on Earth surfaced in his mind.
"The rope isn't the problem."
The support beam was rotten.
The pulley had split.
Even if someone bought a new rope, it would break again.
He turned to Bram.
"Can it be repaired?"
The old gardener crouched beside the well.
He inspected the wood.
"It can."
"In a day."
"If we have timber."
Kael nodded.
"Then we'll find timber."
The villagers exchanged puzzled looks.
One man stepped forward cautiously.
"My lord..."
"You don't have to trouble yourself."
Kael smiled.
"If I don't trouble myself with your problems..."
"Why should you trouble yourselves with mine?"
The villagers fell silent.
That evening...
Blackwood Manor's dining room was filled with maps.
Not military maps.
Village maps.
Edwin spread parchment after parchment across the table.
Kael sat with ink-stained fingers, writing notes.
Village One.
Broken well.
Village Two.
Bridge damaged.
Village Three.
Flooded fields.
Village Four.
No healer.
Village Five.
Collapsed grain storage.
Hours passed.
Lily eventually placed tea beside him.
"You've been writing since sunset."
Kael didn't even look up.
"There's a pattern."
Edwin leaned closer.
"What pattern?"
Kael tapped the map.
"Every village has a different problem."
"But they're all waiting for someone else to solve it."
He looked around the room.
"The Empire isn't failing because of one disaster."
"It's failing because of a thousand small ones."
The room became quiet.
Even Bram stopped sharpening his tools.
The system appeared.
"Imperial Insight"
Excellent observation.
Large empires rarely collapse from one catastrophe.
They decay through neglected details.
Kael smiled.
"I figured."
Another notification appeared.
New Feature Unlocked: Territory Ledger
Blackwood Territory
Population: 2,893
Villages: 11
Roads: 4 Main Routes
Bridges: 9
Operational Wells: 23 / 41
Schools: 0
Clinics: 0
Markets: 2
Security Posts: 1
Public Satisfaction: 18%
Kael stared at the final number.
Eighteen percent.
Lower than he expected.
Edwin looked over his shoulder.
"What is it?"
Kael hesitated.
The system wasn't something he intended to reveal.
"Nothing."
"Just thinking."
Later that night...
Unable to sleep, Kael wandered through the quiet halls of Blackwood Manor.
Moonlight spilled through broken windows.
Dust floated through the air.
The manor creaked softly with age.
As he passed an old portrait gallery, he stopped.
A painting hung at the very end.
It depicted a much younger Emperor Aurelius.
Standing in front of Blackwood Manor.
Surrounded by perhaps twenty men and women.
None wore crowns.
None looked wealthy.
Yet every face held determination.
Below the painting was a faded inscription.
"The First Companions."
Kael stepped closer.
"Edwin."
The old butler appeared from the shadows.
"I thought you'd find this eventually."
"Who were they?"
Edwin looked at the painting for a long time.
"They were not born as heroes."
"They were carpenters."
"A village healer."
"A retired knight."
"A merchant."
"A hunter."
"A scholar."
He smiled faintly.
"They built an empire together."
Kael studied each painted face.
No famous dukes.
No legendary nobles.
Just ordinary people.
"They believed in Father..."
Edwin nodded.
"And your father believed in them."
Kael remained silent.
Then he looked back toward the sleeping manor.
Toward Lily.
Toward Bram.
Toward Edwin.
Toward the villages scattered across Blackwood.
Perhaps...
He didn't need to search the continent for extraordinary people.
Perhaps...
They were already here.
The system's blue window appeared one final time.
"Hidden Objective Updated"
The First Companions
History has begun to repeat itself.
Seek those whose loyalty cannot be bought.
Reward: Unknown
Kael smiled softly.
He looked at the portrait one last time.
"But maybe..."
"I have the beginning."
Outside, the wind swept through the old banners of Blackwood Manor.
For the first time in decades...
They no longer looked forgotten.
They looked like they were waiting.