It was time for the enemies to gather. I left what was in my hand and headed toward the meeting hall; it was a little farther than I expected. After I entered, the conversations that had been taking place among the nobles stopped. Everyone was present here: the count representing the western sector, the marquis guarding the southwestern borders, and there were also the Duke of the North, the Duke of the East, and the Duke of the South, all in their seats near the emperor. There were also three marquises and one "marchioness." They were among the highest ranks, but that does not mean everyone stands on the duke's side. There are allies and neutrals.
The marchioness was the only woman with the rank of marquis in the hall, but she was not the only woman; there was also the widowed countess beside her, though neither of them had a voice that was truly heard. Then there was the court advisor and the representative of the common people; a total of twenty-four people. It was clear that they had turned the request for a private meeting into a public one that included all parties.
I sighed and sat down. I cannot retreat now; dealing with all of them is difficult, but let us see how this ends. The advisor began speaking about the reason for the meeting: discussing the situation and the betrayal of the Duke of the West. Then everyone began talking; each person saying something different while the dukes remained silent, merely observing.
What do we do now? This is a "miniature parliament" boiling with conflicts, and I am not fond of this atmosphere. The silence of the dukes is the most terrifying part; they let the "small ones" bark so they can observe the reaction of the "rabbit," and that is very irritating. It seems the marchioness is the only one who noticed that the "rabbit" is no longer trembling. As for the dukes, they were like silent mountains; fortunately the Dukes of the East and the South are currently neutral.
I underestimated the situation; these old men are cunning. I feel as if I am sitting in the palm of their hand at this moment. One wrong movement or a single miscalculated word means the end.
This… is somewhat amusing.
"Everyone!" I raised my hand and the voices calmed. "I understand that everyone believes the empire is heading toward destruction if we do not act quickly."
"And does Your Majesty have the solution?" Finally you speak, you cold old man. If you were not Morgana's father, I would have cursed you and your entire family.
"So Duke Vilet also agrees that the situation is bad."
"I will not deny that."
"What about the rest?" The nobles looked at one another and nodded, without knowing what I was planning. The confusion was clear.
But let us see how you deal with the next proposal.
"Well then, since the situation is bad, I have decided to follow the will of the First Emperor and use the inheritance chamber."
Whispers rose again, and even Duke Vilet frowned.
"Your Majesty, what are you talking about? We have never heard of such a will. And if it exists and contradicts the will of the Third Emperor, then why did no emperor before you use it?"
"Because it was kept in the vaults. Every emperor has the right to open the vault once after ascending the throne. I did not use my right before because of the situation. I thought I would obtain a weapon or armor to protect me, but what I found were the Ten Wills of the First Emperor."
Nonsense. Yes, that is what they will think. But let them try to say it. Even if they are all traitors, they will not stand on the same side. There are neutral parties, like the Duke of the East who spoke first, then the Duke of the North.
"Your Majesty, you know the danger of using the treasure chamber on the reputation of the throne. But if the wills of the First Emperor say so, then his words carry greater authority. We request to see these wills."
Thank you, Duke. I understand you are trying to help me. If someone else had asked, they would have tried to twist the matter.
"I did not say I would not present them. I invited you here for that reason."
I extended my palm. There was nothing in it, but the cube was ready. Above the table the words began to form. Everyone was stunned, realizing that this was not ordinary magic but a virtual projection they did not understand.
The letters became clear:
[Noise and debauchery in the palaces of Astra /
while all devour the thrones and bargain for them /
a duke who sees himself as lord of the mountains and victorious /
and an advisor selling illusion in the shadow of danger /
they thought the poor "rabbit" had fallen into a trap /
and that the crown upon the head was nothing but a pattern /
O ministers… O hungry for gold /
you who planted sighs of exhaustion in the hearts of the people /
you speak of "treason" while the nation is lost /
and the people behind the wall of your hunger lie slain]
Damn you, cube. I stopped at the beginning of the poem to keep myself from laughing. I had asked it to display anything in the language of my previous world, and it used another language that did not exist in magical texts, something that looked like poetry or ancient chants. And just as I expected, no one understood anything.
"Your Majesty, can you read that?"
Time to pretend ignorance.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean these strange letters. How does Your Majesty read them?"
The marquis asked again, confused, so I continued pretending.
"What are you saying? I see nothing but the official Astra language."
Here the Duke of the South intervened, narrowing his eyes.
"Your Majesty, how do the letters appear to you?"
"I understand. It is strange that the will is written in Astra's common dialect, isn't it?"
"No, Your Majesty. I believe something prevents us from seeing the will, and that confirms it belongs to the First Emperor."
The Duke of the East smiled and pointed this out, but the Duke of the North was not satisfied.
"Your Majesty, why do you not read what is written to us? Perhaps you misunderstood its meaning."
"Are you saying I cannot distinguish letters? It clearly said that… ######."
I continued speaking in another language, shocking everyone.
"What did Your Majesty say?"
"I asked whether you believe I cannot distinguish letters."
Everyone frowned and whispered. It seemed as though I was unaware that I had spoken in a strange language.
The Duke of the East intervened again.
"Your Majesty, please read the will to us. Perhaps we will understand something."
I agreed and sighed.
"Very well. But this is only the first will. The rest will be revealed once a certain condition is fulfilled."
The Duke of the East nodded in understanding.
"That is the habit of the First Emperor. Let us hear it."
"As you wish. Let us begin: My name is Amon Ray Clint. I leave my will to the one chosen after me. I hope these ten wills guide you toward the truth I could not reach."
I said that in a normal language, then continued:
"The first will: $#####."
Words began to leave my mouth that sounded like incantations, yet flowed as if they were my native tongue, even though it was one of the five languages I had learned in my previous life. I chose it for deception because its mouth movements resemble the empire's language.
"So, is everyone certain now?"
A long silence followed. No one dared admit that they did not understand the "incantations." I felt a sense of psychological superiority; while I insult them, they nod like wise men as if they understand.
"By the way, Duke Vilet. It seems your family was a great support to the First Emperor. Do you know what the 'Jewel of the North' in the Mountains of Frost is? The will said it is a special artifact that might be needed to extract relics without limits."
I could read the thoughts on his amusing face. Everyone's defenses had lowered because of the First Emperor's name, and they began believing the story of the "will," focusing on the existence of a jewel that opens the vaults of relics.
"I will investigate that as soon as I return, Your Majesty."
The Duke of the North replied quickly, and his only mistake was not denying his ignorance.
"Very well. I will rely on you to bring it later. For now, the vault will be used only for the empire's benefit, and I am open to your suggestions."
With that I threw a stone that would shake this fragile alliance. The duke is now drowning in thoughts about what his ancestors left behind. What stupidity.
I know there is no place more dangerous than the Mountains of Frost: beasts, ghouls, frost giants, and the poison of cold that gnaws at bones. Yet that will not stop him from sending expeditions to verify the matter.
And I will gain time while he searches for illusions.
Suggestions began to pour in. Everyone forgot their opposition to using the vault and became excited about exploiting it. Most suggestions served their families' interests, except for a few. Some ideas were useful.
Then Duke Vilet said:
"What do you think about using the weapons and armor to cleanse the Mountains of Frost and recover the treasure?"
Smart, but foolish.
I asked calmly, "Why? There must be a secret passage known only to the descendants of Vilet. You know that the cold of those mountains is caused by that jewel."
I did not lie. I merely reinforced the legend of his family that they had abandoned.
"I will return and confirm it, Your Majesty."
"Very well. I rely on you to bring it. We will need it to overcome the Black Winter."
The meeting continued for hours until night fell. In the end they agreed to sell some items I did not need: books from the first chamber. I lowered the value of the book Body, Mind, and Soul to propose selling it to the Blue Tower. They agreed, after discussing the price, to divide the book among the external towers—the same agreement I had secretly signed with Malcolm.
Thus the tower master obtained what he wanted, and I obtained money and time, relieving the pressure on the treasury which was still holding.
Then I shifted the discussion toward dealing with the Duke of the West. Everyone fell silent and looked at the Duke of the North.
"Let us send only a warning. We do not have the strength for a wide civil war."
That was the Duke of the North's proposal, and he was right. At the moment I only care about freedom of movement.
We moved to the subject of the "live broadcast" and the cancellation of taxes. The nobles froze. They were the ones who had been sending false reports about the impossibility of collecting taxes. Here I recognized the traitor from the ally. The Dukes of the East and South had been sending taxes regularly despite the decline, while the disruption existed in the lands of the traitors and the imperial territories.
They objected, claiming it would cause greater harm. I manipulated the wording to indicate that the tax cancellation would apply to lands directly under the capital, while being reduced in the other provinces.
"To restore economic movement, we will reopen some institutions. For example, the Adventurers' Guild."
They agreed implicitly, even though the guilds had closed their doors eight years ago and moved to other nations because of the collapse of the currency. The guild is very useful; instead of consuming army resources to clear monsters, adventurers do it for a small payment while bringing valuable resources.
Everyone agreed except the Duke of the North, who remained silent because the idea is reckless if not managed properly. It seems the traitors forgot themselves and became more enthusiastic about reforms than the neutrals, which made me reconsider my decisions repeatedly.
"We will change the guild's name to the Star Guild so it aligns with the live broadcast, and so it is not seen as a mercenary group."
We moved to the dead currency, and here I faced objections to every proposal until we reached a compromise: converting gold into coins of 100% purity bearing the empire's seal in exchange for a percentage for the treasury, as well as silver and copper.
It is a huge gamble. The gold coin will be heavy—three hundred grams—and the copper coin will equal one gram of gold due to the lack of silver.
"This is a temporary plan until the Black Winter passes."
The Duke of the North seemed impressed. If all the gold is gathered it will become a problem, and then we will resort to mana stones and crystals as currency. That is what the Star Guild will provide.
In the end, everyone left the hall with a different mentality.
Cislin was trembling from the change that had happened to me. If not for my face, I might have forgotten that I am playing the role of the "rabbit." I am not good at playing the fool.
And since I feel satisfied, I will reduce one punishment for Cislin. He is useful for connecting the threads.
"What a cold night."
It was late. I headed to my office to organize the papers. It was almost midnight.
I looked at Cislin.
"You can go rest. Tomorrow we have another meeting and I need you at full energy."
"I will accompany Your Majesty for a while to finish the papers."
"No. I will return to my room. I forgot something."
I remembered Morgana. She was supposed to wait for me so we could talk about the secrets.
I left the office and followed my steps toward the room. I entered and found her sleeping peacefully.
But…
"What happened?"
There were more bruises clearly visible on her body.