Sigil Online: I became the duke's third son
Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Chapter 80

"Let’s go." Luan ordered his servants, and they all made their way toward his room. He needed to finish that report fast. It wasn’t only for those two but also for himself, like Liana had said. He will be granted a fief soon. Therefore, he needs to prepare for that.

After they all entered his room, he immediately sat down at his desk and took some papers and a pen, with Kian and the others all standing around him.

He loudly tapped on the desk with his finger and glared at them all. "Get out of here; I need to concentrate. Instead, go do something useful, form groups, and write down ideas, and when you have worked a single one out, present it to me." He ordered them, rolling his eyes.

The servants all formed groups of around three. Kian, Kafele, and Luciano sat down together. And started brainstorming just like the maids.

Luan leaned back in his chair after the servants formed groups and sat down around the room, his expression shifting as his gaze dropped to the blank sheet of paper in front of him. Frontierland. Untouched, undeveloped, likely dangerous. A headache, sure—but also an opportunity.

He grabbed the pen and began jotting down quick notes. Roads first. No one could trade, build, or move soldiers without roads. Next—water. A river, a well, a spring—anything that could sustain life and crops. His thoughts flowed faster than his hand could write. Fortifications, population growth, and incentive structures. Offer land to settlers, tax exemptions for craftsmen, and security patrols. Infrastructure to draw in value, not just drain coin.

It was rough, messy, and entirely theoretical—but it was a start. And this time, it wasn’t just a game or a project. It was real. His fief. His future.

But what if there was already something there? A half-built village, a worn-down fort, or maybe even an abandoned border town. Luan scratched his chin. That changed everything. The foundation would be there—people, buildings, maybe even forgotten resources. It wouldn’t be about building from scratch anymore, but revitalization.

He quickly listed out priorities. Assess the existing population—who stayed, why, and what they needed. Identify structures worth saving, then allocate manpower to repair or repurpose them. A run-down garrison could become a town hall. An overgrown granary, a temporary storehouse. Restoration was faster and cheaper than fresh construction, and the sooner they got basic function up and running, the faster settlers and merchants would trickle in. Efficiency first—luxury could wait.

The hours slipped by as strategies were discussed, discarded, and reshaped. Ideas clashed, merged, and evolved, with each servant group pitching in and challenging one another. By the time dawn peeked through the windows, papers cluttered the room, and half the servants were nodding off. Luan, meanwhile, had fallen asleep at his desk, pen still in hand, snoring softly over his latest scribbled outline.

Hours slowly passed, and it was already noon after Luan woke up. Stretching his whole body, he looked around while rubbing his eyes.

"Ah, I must have fallen asleep," he muttered, looking around at all his servants also slowly waking up and groggily looking around.

"Sleep well?" he inquired, looking around the room.

Only after hearing that did Kian and the others seem to realize what had happened. All of them shot upright and bowed toward Luan.

"It’s fine; it was a busy night. Go clean yourself and put on some new clothes; after that, go and grab some food and be done in an hour or two. You all earned that." Luan proudly stated, glancing at the paper in front of him.

After only a night, there was a vague action plan. He was quite proud of his progress; of course, it wasn’t perfect, but that wasn’t necessary right now. He just needed something to showcase to those two and Liana.

Thinking about her, he started grinning. ’She’s beautiful. I am such a lucky guy,’ he mused.

As he also took a shower to freshen himself up, after that he ate ’breakfast’ around noon. His mother glanced at him worriedly.

"Why did you not come for breakfast?"

Luan awkwardly scratched his cheek. "I was busy with something yesterday and went to bed quite late."

Hana looked straight at him and just nodded. "Alright, but do remember that I prefer to eat with everyone together," she reminded him.

"I know, Mom, it won’t happen again." Luan reassured her with a smile.

"So, Luan, what do you think about the engagement?" His father asked. His curiosity got the better of him; he was originally not going to ask, but after Luan didn’t come to breakfast, he felt that something was wrong.

Luan rolled his eyes. "Of course it will happen. She let the Empress know, and it should be getting announced soon. So I’ll probably need to go to the capital earlier than planned," he said, a smug look on his face.

After hearing that, the room was dead silent. No one could believe it. Was it really happening? Hana stared in disbelief at Drago.

Who, after a quiet pause, burst into a smile. "Good job!" he said, giving Luan a thumbs-up.

"Already? Isn’t it too early? Are you sure?" Hana shot one question after the other at Luan; her precious son was actually getting engaged, and with an imperial, no less!

This was huge news, then her mood suddenly soured a little. She seemed to remember something. ’I guess I’ll have to invite them, but would they want to be invited to the engagement announcement?’ she wondered.

As multiple silhouettes appeared in her mind. Shrugging, she decided she should send a letter to let them know, and then they could decide if they wanted to come or not.

"Are you ok, Mother?" Luan said, bursting Hana’s bubble.

"Huh, ah yeah, I’m fine," she quickly replied.

Luan narrowed his eyes; there was clearly something going on, but it was no use trying to push it out. His mother was very unyielding.