Retired

Epilogue Chapter 2: A Break from Assassins

I sighed and leaned back in my leather desk chair. I had just finished the last interview of the staff. I had interviewed them, making sure that they would not either help an assassin sneak into the property or would not harm anyone. Liz's father had arrived a week after we had landed. We had gotten used to the different gravity. Having stayed in lower gravity planets, I was not accustomed to the heavier gravity. Liz had just gotten over her gravity sickness.

Liz's father spoke up from the desk next to mine. "Drake, the slow decrease of taxes as worked so far in the first month of implementation."

I looked up. "What are the effects so far?" I asked. He adjusted his glasses as he stared at the screen in front of him.

"There initially almost no change. This was probably due to the people being hesitant to invest or buy anything. Now, they're buying a lot more. So far, their economy was grown a lot."

He paused as some dust rained down from the ceiling. The manor was under construction. After firing all the foreign labor, I had hired a large number of labors to deconstruct almost all of the complex. I had decided to leave the firing range, the exercise complex, and on Liz's request, the gardens and the pool. They had just finished, leaving several hundred acres of land. A brief look at the list of public areas made me decide to build both a zoo and a park in the open land. 

I had called the various labor companies to a meeting. Occupying a large conference room, I gave them a mission. To rebuild the city. I said. They all stared at me then started grinning. That grinning to clapping and whistling. A couple, I saw, were even crying. The contract that everyone signed gave everyone who worked under the companies jobs. I would be paying them out of pocket. The total expenditure would hardly make a dent in the amount of money accumulated by Daria

The next several weeks were hectic. I had to go to meeting after meeting, get introduced to important people, etc. At the end of each day, I would collapse on my bed with Liz and fall asleep almost immediately. 

Eventually, the workload lessened because I dealt with the majority of problems that Daria had made. In my free time between meetings, I would get some exercise or take a stroll with Liz through the gardens.

I was sitting at my desk one day when suddenly a holo popped up. I had an incoming call from Robert. I waited a bit, drumming my fingers on the wooden surface. Right before the call was to be cut off, I accepted it. The holo expanded, showing the face of the emperor.

"Robert." I said curtly.

"Brother, how are you doing? I hear that your duchy is doing very well."

Doing very well was an understatement. Most of the city had been rebuilt. Public approval with the government increased tenfold. The economy was getting better by the day. As I passed through the city, I saw the development. Gone were the homes with makeshift roofs. In their place stood new houses. Not grand, but plain. I saw children riding their bikes to school. With an increase in law enforcement, crime had gone down incredibly. Now kids could go to school by themselves without having to fear about getting kidnapped. 

The car lowered its altitude and landed on the airstrip. Liz and I hopped into the waiting cruiser and took off. I was a bit moody since I was unable to check the spacecraft for any explosives, but moodiness faded when we stepped out of cruiser as I saw Robert and his family waiting. 

When Liz and I approached the royal family, Robert stepped forward. We shook hands and then hugged.

"Robert."

"Drake."

"I still don't like being the Grand Duke."

"Get over it. And you're still Supreme Marshall."

I shook my head, chuckling. I then pulled Asta into a hug. "How are you, Drake?" She asked.

"Same old, although being important is making me grow grey hairs." I responded smiling.

She chuckled and went to hug Liz. I then got tackled by Chloe. "I'm glad you're back, Uncle Drake."

I smiled down at her. "I will only be here for a short time, Chloe."

I shook Daniel's hand. He tried to crush my hand in his. After letting him get a tighter grip, I tightened my hand. He blanched as I rolled his knuckles, smirking. "How's the hoverbike?"

A month ago, I had sent a hoverbike to Daniel as a replacement for the last one I had destroyed. It was brand new and had the best handling and acceleration money could buy.

He grinned. "It's awesome, but you didn't need to do that." I put my hand on his shoulder then tousled his hair. "I'm your uncle, and as your uncle, I get to spoil the hell of out of my niece and nephews."

I bent down and wrapped Little Drake in my arms. "Well hello there Mini Me." I said to him.

He giggled. "Hi Unkle Drake." I raised an eyebrow. He had gotten better at pronouncing since the last time I saw him. 

"Am I still throwing my medals around?" I asked. He looked at me seriously. Well, as seriously as a 5 year old could get. "No. You give them to people so they can eat."

I was caught off guard by Little D's words and could only stare at him. Robert chuckled at my expression. "His tutors have been teaching him what you have been doing in Eastmarch." I smiled. Little Drake soon got distracted by the short beard that I had grown in past month. Liz liked to rub the stubble when I was growing it out. She said that it made me look more authoritarian. As if the medals didn't make anyone cringe.