Adrian did not take his small group straight to the palace. He booked an expensive inn in the commercial district, paid for a few premium suites, and told Aria and Claire to stay behind and rest.

He headed to the royal palace completely alone and he expected a standard courtroom setting. A boring legal desk, a few scribes, and maybe a royal judge to hear his case.

But when the heavy iron doors swung open, Adrian realized he had walked into a massive political trap.

This was not a small courtroom at all. This was the grand throne room and almost all of the high-ranking nobles in the entire empire were standing there.

Duke Silas Ashford stood near the front. Marquis Draven Voss crossed his arms on a chair nearby. Adrian spotted his own older brother, Duke Anderson, looking at him from the side. And sitting right next to Anderson was Marchioness Vaneira, his bitch of an ex-wife.

Adrian let out a slow, tired breath.

’Looks like this is gonna be a massive headache.’ he thought.

Because sitting right up there on a ridiculous looking golden throne was the Emperor. The old man just stared down at him, his eyes completely serious and judging.

The Emperor did not speak. He just glanced at a man standing near the steps.

It was the Royal Arbiter. The guy opened a heavy looking scroll, but in reality, it barely held much information. It was something made just for the looks.

He cleared his throat loudly and announced, "Baron Adrian Sterling."

"You have launched a full scale military assault against a recognized territory of this Empire. You did this without sending advanced warning or requesting official permission from His Majesty."

Adrian just stared at him and didn’t even bother with offering an excuse.

"No matter how justified you believe your actions were," the Arbiter continued loudly. "You must respect the chain of command. Due to your reckless siege, we have lost a Viscount whose family has served this Empire loyally for over a century. You have also unlawfully seized all properties and lands belonging to the Halerius bloodline."

The nobles in the room murmured and whispered among themselves.

"Therefore," the Arbiter rolled the scroll up. "His Majesty has decided to strip you of his direct royal protection. You will be required to pay a severe penalty tax of fifty percent on all earnings generated by your territories directly to the royal treasury."

Adrian’s jaw tightened. Fifty percent? That was absolute robbery.

"Furthermore," the Arbiter added. "You will no longer operate as an independent Baron. You will be placed under the direct vassalage of a high noble present in this room today."

Adrian’s blood boiled.

He was already pissed about the insane tax rate, but forcing him to become a glorified servant to another noble was a complete insult.

"I will take him."

A smooth, arrogant voice echoed through the hall.

Adrian glanced sideways. Duke Anderson was looking up at the emperor and then, he turned to look at Adrian before standing up.

His older brother wore this totally fake smile that he thought looked "kind".

"As his elder brother," Anderson said, giving the Emperor a flawless bow. "I must fulfill my duty to guide him. I would gladly take him under my wing. He clearly needs a firm lesson in proper etiquette."

Anderson turned and locked eyes with Adrian.

"Of course," Anderson smirked. "As my vassal, you will be required to pay an additional fifty percent tax directly to my estate for my protection."

Adrian just stared at the man.

Fifty percent to the Emperor. Fifty percent to his brother. That equaled exactly one hundred percent. Anderson literally wanted to drain every single copper coin out of Oresfall and leave Adrian with absolutely nothing.

’What an absolute ass.’ Adrian thought. He just broke eye contact and looked away, completely ignoring his brother.

He looked up at the golden throne.

"Do I have no choice in who I pick?" Adrian asked flatly.

"No." the Emperor said coldly. "We do not trust you. You are a rogue element and who knows when you will launch another unprovoked attack on a neighboring Lord?"

Adrian bit his lip in anger. ’Whatever, bitch.’

Before he could argue, another noble stepped forward.

Marchioness Vaneira.

Vaneira just smoothed the wrinkles out of her expensive crimson dress with a wide smile. She looked way too happy about this.

"I will actually be much more generous than the Duke." his ex-wife smirked. "I only demand a forty percent cut."

Adrian glared at her. The Emperor was already taking fifty. If she took forty, Adrian would be left with a pathetic ten percent of his own profits. It was incredibly unfair and completely designed to ruin him.

The other nobles already had some information on how much money Oresfall was actually generating.

Suddenly, the greedy vultures swooped in.

A random Duke and a Duchess stepped forward. Six other Marquis and Marchionesses joined the bidding war.

They didn’t care about punishing Adrian. They just wanted to line their own pockets.

"I will take twenty percent!" one Duke offered.

"I only require fifteen!" a Duchess yelled out.

Adrian just stood there. He was stuck right in the center of the throne room while a bunch of rich leeches fought over his wallet. He was getting so irritated he almost wanted to laugh.

But then someone actually spoke up.

A deep, heavy voice just cut right through the noise and shut everyone up instantly.

"I want Baron Adrian Sterling under my banner."

Duke Silas Ashford stepped out from the crowd. The elegant, ridiculously powerful Duke walked right up to the center of the room and crossed his arms. He didn’t have the soft, fatherly look on his face anymore.

"I will take zero taxes from his territories." Silas announced clearly.

The other nobles gasped.

Silas turned his head. He stared right at Anderson, then Vaneira, and finally swept his gaze over the other nobles who just tried to bid.

"And if any of you want to argue about this," Silas said, dropping his tone to a flat, dangerous whisper. "Or if you actually want to fight me for his territory... we can start a war today."

Nobody breathed. The massive hall went totally silent.

So Silas just turned his back on the crowd and faced the throne again. He stared right into the Emperor’s eyes. It was a dare, a challenge.

The emperor tightened his grip on his gold armrests.