Walking into his office, Alfred saw Anton waiting for him, reading through a couple of documents. Even when Alfred summoned him, the man never stopped working, and it was one of the things Alfred loved about him. "Thank you. I know you are busy." Alfred said politely, taking a seat at his desk.

Anotn quickly finished up what he was doing, sighing the bottom of the paper and putting his seal on it before facing Alfred. "What is it you wished for, Your Majesty."

"An investment opportunity." Anotn’s ears perked up hearing that, and he leaned in closer." As you know, the Empire will begin its conquest soon. But we have a problem once it is complete. Chent. They are a weak nation, but everyone East of them will come to their defence if we forcefully invade them. So I was wondering how you would like to set up a branch within the City States."

Anotn fell into thought and counted in his mind the costs of such an operation. "It is possible, but I will need a lot of resources. But why. I know the Gold Bank was to expand, but I thought it was something I would do with conquered lands."

"Of course, that is how it usually would be. But Chent is different. A place that worships money. They can’t be invaded normally without angering their neighbours, so I need another way to take the land. I need you to get on their council."

Anotn eyes widened as he realised, and with a slight chuckle, he looked at Alfred slyly. "Gain influence and request to be vassalised. It could work, but I doubt it. They like independence. Make making money for them easier."

"I simply need you to get on the council. The deal for vassalage is still a way off, but I’m sure I can offer them a favourable deal." Anton sighed and nodded.

"I can do it. I have enough wealth to create a presence there. But I need to ask. How much freedom am I getting to do this?"

"Ahh." Alfred realised what he was on about. "No slaves. It will only make things harder in the future. Besides, I have an image to uphold; my hands need to stay clean, and in turn, so do yours." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Anton nodded and got up. "If that will be all, I need to prepare." Alfred nodded and saw him off. Leaning on his chair, he wondered about slavery. Although he hated the practice for moral reasons, he felt bad that he didn’t end use because of that lone principle. It was simply a system that didn’t work. With slavery, scientific advancement slowed down and all but solidified a nation’s collapse unless it moved away from it. Despite feeling bad about why he did it, he knew he was a good person for stopping it. If he had stopped the evil, it wouldn’t matter for a reason; people would only remember that it had been stopped.

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A cheer erupted in Henryk’s manner as the nobles all lifted their mugs. They had once again received a report that Henryk had held off Snowid’s forces once more. It had become common for them to receive this news, but each time they did, it reignited their belief in their fight against Snowid.

Lech watched as the nobles who didn’t participate in the fighting themselves indulged in the feast. It made him think of the rot his father spoke of. Looking at them, he couldn’t help but feel he was right. If he could have, he would have been fighting at his father’s side, but someone had to manage the Empire shipments, and Henryk trusted only his blood.

Part of the deliveries that should have gone to the soldiers fighting instead were siphoned away for the nobles to continue their luxury. He had tried to stop it once, but the nobles threw too big of a fuss that it wasn’t worth the hassle. He had thought if joining the Empire was a good plan before, but seeing the sight before him, he couldn’t help but wish they would already take over and remove the dead weight.

"Lech." The butler walked over and whispered in his ear. Nodding, he got up and excused himself, walking down the long halls of the Manor. Sitting in a room was a hooded man. Seeing Lech, he pulled it down and smiled happily.

"Prime Minister." Lech made sure to bow to the man who was close to his age. Part of him was annoyed that someone like him could be so high-ranking in the Empire, but another part of him saw it as an opportunity. Maybe Alfred wouldn’t trust him to start with, but what about in the future? What if he could become like Issac and take his place in the Empire’s upper echelons?

"Please sit." Issac politely said, keeping his smile. Lech nodded and took his seat. "As you know, the Empire has been funding the civil war for the past year, and soon, we will have our chance to begin our full invasion. Tell me. How are things over here?" Issac’s eyes went serious as he pulled a pipe out and started smoking.

Looking down at his hands, Lech nodded. "A stalemate. Whilst we can hold the river, pushing beyond it is impossible. From what our sources gather, the King is still waiting for the Laska’s to mobilise, which means we haven’t even faced the full brunt of the Commonwealth yet."

"If we throw a foreign marriage in aswell," Issac muttered to himself and fell into thought. Taking a puff of the pipe, he nodded to himself and looked back at Lech. "The South?"

"Stalemate, but the King is pushing. We can hold the forest, but without my father there, they lack proper leadership."

"Mmm. If we sent over a commander to lead the Southern defence hypothetically, how would your forces feel."

"How good is he?" Lech asked, and Issac chuckled.

"Second in Command of the Ammary Military."

"Harding?" Lech questioned in surprise. He had heard of the man and knew much like him, and Issac was also one of the younger members of the Empire who had immense power. But that wasn’t all; he heard of the man’s ability. "His ability isn’t in question, but the soldiers may struggle to follow an Ammary commander."

"They better learn." Lech bitterly smiled at Issac’s words.

"It would be a great help, but they also need more troops there. Snowid is fighting on two fronts, and he knows my father is cautious. Much more suited to a defence."

"I can maybe mobilise part of the military, but I need his Majesty’s approval and my father’s."

"What about the Unyeilding?" Lech raised his eyebrow. He had heard of the elite force of the EMpire and wanted to see them in action.

"Absolutely not." However, Issac shut it down quickly, "The amount of resources it takes to create one Unyeilding makes it risky to mobilise them when we don’t lead the war. Sure, Marcus will be in command, but he can not be trusted to have such a large number of them. Only His Majesty, my father and the Marquess can."

"A shame. But I understand." Lech didn’t push, knowing getting in the Prime Minister’s bad books wasn’t good. "I will send word to my father. Your support will be heavily appreciated." Issac smiled and stood up but frowned as he looked at the distant wall.

"What is the noise? I heard it when I came." Lech gulped, seeing the cold look on Issac’s face, and frowned.

"The nobles who have sided with us. More specifically, the cowards."

"Are they partying? In a time of war." Issac asked in disbleif. He knew it was good for morale to have such things sometimes, but that was only when the situation was good. They were in a deadlock, and every resource mattered.

Lech felt embarrassed and meekly nodded. "They threatened to pull support if they felt their... ’liberties’ were being taken. My hands are tied."

"Idiots," Issac said with a scoff. His hand hovered over the door handle, and looking at Lech, a sharp glint was in his eyes. "Have the name of those who believe their ’liberties’ are being taken made."

Lech gulped again but nodded. He understood what he meant and couldn’t help but think of his father’s words. Maybe the Empire was the only way to remove the rot and fix the system that had spiraled.