Chapter 3, Part 4

Zanac Valleon Igana Ryle Vaiself was in a bad mood, which seemed to have become his normal state lately. Everything seemed to be going well at first. After the massacre at the Katza Plains, his older brother, Barbro went missing. And while Zanac mourned the loss of the Kingdom’s men, the fact that it placed his father in a precarious position was great news.

With Rampossa III’s abdication expected to come at any time, Zanac was eager to take control of the Kingdom. There would, of course, be many difficulties he’d have to overcome, none bigger than the Sorcerer Kingdom. Still, even if Marquis Raeven chose to give up politics, Zanac was quite sharp himself, and he did have his sister, Renner, to help solve the more difficult issues.

Unfortunately, such a happy scenario was not to be. His father hadn’t even abdicated the throne when the Prime Minister of the Sorcerer Kingdom paid them a visit. It was supposed to be just a routine, an envoy of their new neighbor meeting Kingdom’s political elite. Yet, in the power vacuum created by the deaths of so many prominent nobles and their heirs, a new faction made up of fools and idiots came to be.

The nobles from the old factions laughed at these grasshoppers and paid them no heed. Then, the news came, Philip – the leader of talentless morons, struck an exclusive deal with the Sorcerer Kingdom to buy grain and other foodstuffs. The undead’s Kingdom didn’t choose the royal faction, nor the noble faction, but the one comprised of nobodies who held no power.

The rumors spread far and wide, that the new faction was controlled by the Sorcerer Kingdom, that the members had sold their souls to the undead King, that they conducted sacrificial rituals and bathed in the blood of babies, in order to turn into undead themselves.

Laughable as some of the more bizarre rumors might be, it didn’t change the truth – the Re-Estize Kingdom was about to experience a famine, and Philip was the only one who could trade with the Sorcerer Kingdom. A moron he might be, but Philip let his faction buddies in on the deal, which made his faction, known as the Greenhorns faction, skyrocket in power and influence.

“Don’t want your serfs to die from starvation? Then you better make nice with the Greenhorns.” Within months, the other two factions became a joke, all they did was bicker. The Greenhorns, on the other hand, were directly responsible for saving thousands of lives. Somehow, the fact that this whole situation was brought about by that damnable Sorcerer King got lost in the process.

Zanac thought of opening trade with the Slane Theocracy and the Holy Kingdom. But the former turned his request down, while the later got attacked by Jaldabaoth and then became a vassal state of the Sorcerer Kingdom.

Amidst such terrible news, his father finally abdicated, and Zanac was pronounced the King. He was still somewhat hopeful, however, the circumstances were getting worse and worse. The Greenhorns grew in both number and power, while the royal and noble factions could do nothing but talk. He thought he saw a flash of light when Renner introduced him to a kid who, according to her, should become the next Warrior Captain.

The kid had talent, and after chatting with him, Zanac felt his honest desire to use his strength to serve the King and the Kingdom. So, he agreed, and Lemus Vitor became the new Warrior Captain. Zanac’s excitement was short-lived. Being a commoner, Lemus had no concept of the intricate web of intrigue that nobility engaged in, friends and enemies, spies and favors, it went right over his head. He behaved no different than he would in a tavern of his village – calling out bullshit when he saw it. Being a hot-head didn’t help either.

The nobles, as usual, started to talk down to Lemus because of him being a commoner, and what does he do? He goes and challenges the next noble to do so! Zanac wanted to cry. The Greenhorns, of course, played the situation masterfully. They didn’t engage in direct power struggles but instead tried their best to inflate any issues between the royal and the noble factions.

Murmurs like: “Hey, is that the guy that let a commoner talk down to him?” and “I sure wouldn’t take it laying down, if it was me,” resounded any time the members of the Noble faction showed their face. There was no way this incident would be forgotten, and the noble faction had no choice but to respond. There were even rumors that an assassin had been thought to get rid of the brazen commoner.

Walking through the corridors of the palace, Zanac felt sick. Who could’ve thought things would turn out like this? If only I could rule in the time of my father, dealing with two bickering factions would be a Godsend, compared to what I have to deal with, he complained mentally.

He had spent weeks trying to find a way to change things, but there were no answers. He even sent an envoy, requesting the royal family be allowed to trade grain with the Sorcerer Kingdom, but was told they were happy with Philip, and that Philip did a good job at preventing famine. It was a face slap, but he could not refute them.

Out of ideas, he was now seeking the aid of the one person who could solve his problems. Although I wonder if even a monster like my sister can find a way out of this pickle, Zanac sighed.

He finally came to a stop in front of a door and knocked on it. A moment later a well-dressed girl – one of the nobles serving as a maid for Princess Renner – opened the door and let him in.

“Older brother, I am honored by your visit,” Princess Renner greeted him. “Please, come, sit down, I hope you’ll find the tea I’ve made to be satisfactory.”

“Younger sister, it had been a while since I visited, I wanted to see how the orphanage was doing,” Zanac replied while taking a seat at the table.

Renner got up and began to prepare tea for him. She dismissed the maid, leaving the two of them alone. For a while neither one spoke, Zanac was focusing on what he wanted to say exactly while Renner was busy making the tea.

“Climb isn’t here?” Zanac asked after accepting a cup of tea.

“He’s training with Brain and Lemus.”

“That guy, I appreciate your help in finding the new Warrior Captain, but couldn’t he be more understanding of the noble etiquette and the importance of appearances?” Zanac couldn’t hold back his complaint.

“His way might be crude, but in time he will grow into a stalwart defender of Your Majesty, no worse than the late Gazef Stronoff.”

“If only I had more time,” Zanac sighed.

Renner looked at him inquisitively but didn’t say anything, letting him unload his problem at his own pace.

“The reason I visited you today is because of the current power struggles among the nobles. That damnable Philip and his Greenhorns, I don’t know how to deal with them. To make matters worse, the noble factions appears to be led by morons. It’s like they can’t see that things have changed, and are still stuck in their mindset to butt heads with the royal faction,” Zanac began. “No matter what we do, actions speak louder than words, and it’s thanks to the Greenhorns that the famine has been avoided. But their actions undermine the power of the other nobles, and even mine.”

“Indeed, their actions have led many people to question the worthiness of the other nobles.”

“If Philip was alone, then he’d have to trade with others, and both factions would be ale to appear as saviors to their people. Instead, he built his own faction, which is gaining power and influence among both the nobles and the commoners. But what can we do? We can’t find another nation to trade grain with, and Philip isn’t going to change the way he does things.”

“I can see this issue has been troubling you quite a bit,” Renner said. “I have spent some time thinking about this too.”

“And?” Zanac asked, his hope coming alive.

“There had been some… hidden developments. With that in mind, I think I have a solution that will solve this problem and more.”

After hearing her Zanac leaned back in his chair and gulped the tea from his cup, trying to calm down.

“Then, I am all ears,” he said.

“You should appoint a new Commerce Minister,” Renner said.

“Commerce Minister? Why? I mean, we already have one, besides, his role is nominal, to promote commerce with neighboring nations. In the end, each noble and merchant made their own deals, using their own connections,” Zanac looked at Renner with a puzzled expression.

“That is why you should bestow this Minister with the power to regulate commerce.”

“You want him to have the power to approve and decline trade deals made by nobles and merchants? I doubt that would go well. Not to mention, we barely have any trading partners left, except for the Sorcerer Kingdom, which has already chosen Philip as their official trader.”

“That’s exactly why you should do this now,” Renner said. “Here, let me give make you another cup of tea.”

While Zanac felt rather annoyed by Renner’s strange suggestion, She got up and began to prepare another cup of tea for him.

“If you appoint a new Commerce Minister, and grant him the power to regulate trade, what do you think will be the first thing he’ll try to do?” Renner asked while she worked her magic over a cup.

“Attempt to interfere with Philip’s trade deal, or at the very least the way Philip only sells to merchants representing Greenhorns’ nobles. So long as the Minister isn’t one of the Greenhorns, of course,” Zanac said with little hesitation.

“Which means that only the Greenhorns would complain about you doing so. Also, by appointing someone from the noble faction, you are assured of their support for this idea.”

“I see, so, you want to cause the nobles faction to clash with the Greenhorns, while also having the possibility that this new Minister might actually cut down on Philip’s monopoly of grain trade?”

“Exactly. You get to cut down the foundation of Philip’s faction while drawing their anger toward the noble faction,” Renner smiled.

This isn’t a bad move. All I am doing is bestowing some new powers unto the Commerce Minister, and replacing the current one. Given the present state of trade, it’s hard to argue that things need to change. By giving this position to one of the leaders of the noble faction, I am assured of their support. Then, the two sides will begin to clash… Zanac thought while he sipped the newly prepared tea. However, there is clearly something missing, there is no end here.

“Dear sister, it seems like this is a good plan, but it’s incomplete. While pitting the noble and Greenhorns factions against each other is good, it doesn’t solve all of my problems,” he said after contemplating things for a short time.

“That is indeed correct. Therefore, we should do more than that,” Renner smiled at her brother.

“Such as?”

“Once the new Minister and the Greenhorns begin to clash, we should spread gossip of their mutual hatred. And even rumors that the noble faction wants to eliminate Philip.”

“Oh, even such? And then what?”

“Then an assassin can kill Philip. Without Philip, there will be no trade with the Sorcerer Kingdom, some of the commoners will starve, and the populace will be angry. You can then blame Philip’s death on the noble faction and channel the anger of the people toward these nobles, executing their leaders and scattering the rest,” Renner gave him an innocent smile that made his blood freeze.

“That’s quite a bold move,” Zanac said while his mind raced.

“Difficult times call for difficult solutions. This way you can get rid of both opposing factions while winning the gratitude of the people for punishing corrupt nobles who only think of their own gain.”

Scary, she can talk of hundreds, maybe thousands of people starving to death due to our actions without any emotions showing on her face. Zanac was surprised, but he already knew his sister had a soul of a twisted monster. That aside, her plan could work. If Philip dies, his faction will collapse. If the Sorcerer Kingdom still wants to trade with us, then a new deal can be made, one that would allow for a balance between the noble and royal factions. So, at worst I can get rid of the Greenhorns.

“But can we really put the blame on the noble faction? It will take more than rumors about conflicts and hatred,” Zanac said.

“Evidence is easy to plant – a maid who just happened to be within earshot when the assassin delivered his message, right before killing Philip. Some ruffian overhearing the two sides making a deal in a shady tavern. Perhaps some notes about the deal found at one of the nobles residences. There are many ways to implicate them,” Renner shrugged.

“Alright, let’s say everything goes as you say. Then, what happens next? I still have a famine on my hands and a lack of manpower, meanwhile the Sorcerer Kingdom and their food supplies are just waiting for the Re-Estize Kingdom to submit. How long will the commoners keep their anger on the noble faction, before pointing it at me, if I can’t solve the food issue?” Zanac wasn’t a fool, he understood that the real problem was the lack of food in the Kingdom.

“About that… have you heard that a meeting between the Slane Theocracy and Blue Rose took place recently?”

“I have not. What does it have to do with the food supply issue?” Zanac was surprised by Renner’s sudden change of subject.

“The Theocracy plans to launch a surprise attack against the Sorcerer Kingdom. They met with Blue Rose hoping for Evileye to participate.”

“So, the Theocracy finally plans their move, but how does that help me?”

“I was present at that meeting, and given the Theocracy’s plan, I believe they have a high probability of victory. So much so that I have committed Climb to their attack force,” Renner said.

“Climb? Then… I see.”

If she’s willing to send her dog on this attack then it means she is certain they will win, otherwise, she wouldn’t let Climb go. If they are successful and the Sorcerer Kingdom perishes then... Zanac was deep in contemplation as he thought about the implications of such an event.

“So, if Philip dies, and I blame and execute the noble faction’s nobles, then the Sorcerer Kingdom gets destroyed. The people will have to accept that there is nothing that could be done about the famine, and we’ll deal with it just like we would if it wasn’t for the Sorcerer Kingdom to begin with. Meanwhile, with both the Greenhorns and noble factions gone, I will be complete control,” Zanac said as he nodded his head, seemingly agreeing with the premise of this plan.

He suddenly thought of something and the smile which was appearing on his face froze.

“But what would happen if the Theocracy’s attack on the Sorcerer Kingdom fails?”

“You don’t have to worry brother, even if that attack fails, it won’t implicate the Re-Estize Kingdom. Blue Rose are adventurers and are not under the Kingdom’s control. Climb will take the fall by himself, even if it leads to me, I will take the full blame,” Renner assured him.

To sum up, once Philip dies, his faction will collapse. Then, either the Sorcerer Kingdom wants to continue their trade with us or not. If they do, we’ll go back to the two faction system of my father’s days. If they halt the trade, there will be a famine, the noble faction will take the blame and be executed. Then, regardless if the Sorcerer Kingdom falls or not, I will rule in complete control.

 

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