Prologue

The Re-Estize Kingdom’s throne room was packed with nobles as usual. However, the mood permeating through the crowd was different than the normal lightly-hidden distrust the nobles would exhibit toward each other. No, the current atmosphere was that of glee and tension. And as the man who was the center of everyone’s attention continued to speak, these two feelings only intensified.

Philip was present as well. With a scowl on his face, he sent a look filled with hatred at the speaker. If looks could kill, the speaker would be long dead. Philip cursed silently. Can’t this bastard tell what’s happening? Yet he still falls for the trap set by the King. And the other nobles are just as bad. I am surrounded by idiots! Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do but continue to smile and listen respectfully.

Count Lytton was the head of one of the Six Great Noble Families. After Marquis Boullope died at the Katze Plains and Marquis Raeven fled back to his home and, seemingly, cut off all communications, showing no further interest in politics, Count Lytton became the leader of the Nobles’ Faction. Young and ambitious, he wasted no time when King Zanac appointed him as the new Minister of Commerce. He went straight for the jugular, declaring that all trade will now be regulated by his cabinet. After clashing with the Greenhorns Faction, he was asked to finalize the new trade rules he wished to impose on the Kingdom’s merchants.

It was clear that King Zanac was unhappy with the status quo, where the noble and royal factions clashed, as they did before, while the Greenhorns quietly grew in influence. By making this surprise appointment, he sought to redirect the focus of the noble faction onto the Greenhorns. Yet, despite such an obvious motive, Count Lytton swallowed the bait and went full throttle after Philip. Today, Lytton was delivering the new trade rules, and as expected they posed nothing but trouble for Philip and his faction.

“And there you have it, gentlemen, these are the new trade rules that all of the merchants in the Kingdom will have to observe,” Count Lytton concluded his presentation.

An avalanche of applause filled the room afterward, mostly coming from the noble faction members, though many of the royal faction joined in as well. After a while, the sound of clapping subsided and a noble from the royal faction added fuel to the fire.

“Minister-sama, what will happen to those who seek to ignore these rules and attempt to continue to trade like before?” He asked.

“Anyone who ignores the laws of the land will be prosecuted as a criminal. Prison and hanging are all that awaits anyone who chooses to go against the interests of the Kingdom,” Lytton proclaimed in a righteous tone.

“Hey, wait a minute. What right does the King have to interfere with the trade arrangement set up by us or our merchants?” “Are we not the lords of our own lands and people?” “I won’t give up on my rights so easily,” the various nobles of the Greenhorns faction began to yell and holler.

“Of course you have the right to make trade decisions for your lands and your people. But, we are not talking about selling some linen shorts here, we are talking about the grain trade, which is vital to the stability of this nation. Just like in times of war the King can call upon you to provide a fighting force, so can he call upon you to provide your trade connections since they pose the same importance,” the Count explained with a smirk.

There was a great commotion as the nobles from the Greenhorns faction insisted that the two scenarios were nothing alike, while the noble and royal faction shouted them down. In the end, it was King Zanac who called for silence before declaring his decision.

“While I do not wish to interfere into the private affairs of the nobles, we can all agree that the Kingdom is in very dire straits. Dire circumstances call for dire decisions. As such, I shall side with Count Lytton and the plan he proposed. We simply cannot allow the food supplies which hold the fate of this nation to remain in the hands and under control of a private individual. They must be overseen by the Crown or one of our departments,” Zanac announced his ruling.

“Then, Philip-dono, when will you be able to familiarize us with your trade operations with the Sorcerer Kingdom?” Count Lytton wouldn’t give the opposition a chance to voice their anger.

“You do realize that the Sorcerer Kingdom doesn’t wish to deal with anyone but me?” Philip could no longer hide his anger.

“That in itself seems very suspicious, a young noble from some remote estate, how did you make such strong connection to the Sorcerer Kingdom? And your meteoric rise to power? Could you be an agent of the undead king? This should be investigated,” the members of the noble faction wouldn’t miss their chance to push him down.

“Calm down everyone, I don’t doubt that Philip-dono is loyal to the Re-Estize Kingdom. I am sure he has only brought up the subject out of concern that the current trade arrangements might fall through if we push too forcefully,” Zanac said.

This damned fox! Now I can’t refute his words without looking like a traitor, Philip grimaced at the King’s words.

“It is as your majesty says, I am simply concerned that if Count Lytton plans to remove me from the picture, the Sorcerer Kingdom might choose to end our trade agreement,” he said.

“Philip-san, how could I even think of doing such a thing? That agreement was negotiated by you, by right it is yours. I simply wish for my department to oversee the trade, have a say in how the grain is distributed once inside the Kingdom, and to be introduced to the agents of the Sorcerer Kingdom, so that this trade can continue should something happen to you,” Lytton assured him.

“In case something happens to me? And what do you think will happen to me?” Philip asked as his smile twisted in a scowl. It’s bad enough they want to remove my faction’s monopoly over the food supplies, but he seems to be openly threatening me, he thought as the heat of anger rose within him.

“I didn’t mean anything by that. However, you should understand that by virtue of being the key person for the continuation of the grain trade with the Sorcerer Kingdom, you expose this entire nation to undue risk. I simply wish to remove such a risk, and to ensure that the grain trade is not in jeopardy, should something unforeseen happen to you,” Lytton explained.

“I concur with the Count. These are unstable times, anything can happen. We should not place such a burden on a single person,” Zanac said.

The other nobles made exclamations of their agreement, such as “here, here,” and “that’s right.” The Greenhorns Faction didn’t offer much opposition, this part of the Lytton’s scheme had nothing to do with them. In fact, since it was apparent that they would lose their monopoly on the food trade, they would want to see Philip lose his lucrative position as well. This fact angered Philip even more than the scheme that King Zanac came up with, or the Count who played his part perfectly.

“I need some time to put everything together,” Philip said dejectedly.

“I look forward to your cooperation, Philip-san,” the Count said with a bright smile on his face.

The meeting went on for another hour, as the nobles discussed various news, most of which had to do with the Slane Theocracy and the Elf Kingdom. Luckily, the Sorcerer Kingdom did not insist on going through the Re-Estize Kingdom in order to reach the elven lands. This issue was a major concern for the Kingdom, as both opposing or allowing the Sorcerer Kingdom such access posed huge potential dangers. So, to have it resolved in a matter which did not require the Kingdom to make a decision was the best possible outcome.

The news coming out of the Slane Theocracy was rather alarming. Apparently, the citizens of the Theocracy did not take kindly to releasing half of the elven slaves. The fact that the elves were now a part of a nation ruled by the hated undead didn’t help one bit. There were rumors of widespread unrest and that the more zealous among the populace even tried to attack the elves that still remained in the Theocracy. The citizens were demanding answers from the country’s top brass, who apparently did not have a satisfying answer. The Theocracy could not afford to fight the Sorcerer Kingdom, but they also couldn’t afford to state such a fact. Stuck in such a position, all the Cardinals could do was claim that this was a test of their faith by the Gods and urge the citizens to remain faithful.

The nobles of the Re-Estize Kingdom weren’t sure how well such an approach would work. Still, there was little chance of the Theocracy erupting into a civil war. The Cardinals held too much power, and would simply squash anyone who tried to oppose them. Still, doing so would lower the morale of the nation, so it wasn’t something the Theocracy’s brass wanted to do.

After discussing the news, the meeting was finally over and Philip could finally leave the throne room and go somewhere else, where he could vent his anger. However, before he could leave he was stopped by Samuel Elke Fenolio, the second most influential noble in Philip’s faction.

“We need to talk about this,” Samuel said while motioning at the other nobles.

“Why, do you have a solution?” Philip asked in anger. “But, you are right, we should discuss our response, come to my place three days from now, at noon,” he added after thinking about his actions for a moment.

Samuel agreed, and the two of them exited the throne room along with the rest of the nobles. Philip quickly left the Valencia Palace and got into his carriage. He didn’t dilly-dally and went straight to Hilma’s house to discuss this turn of events. Less than half an hour later he knocked on the door of his confidante. He was in luck — Hilma was home. A maid brought him inside and into the living room where Hilma was enjoying some tea.

“Welcome, Philip-sama,” she greeted him. “What brings you to my home today?”

“Hilma-san, I need your advice. Let me explain the situation,” Philip couldn’t spare the time for pleasantries, and instead dove right into it.

Hilma tilted her head as she listened to him explain about the plan which Count Lytton came up with, to first take away the power behind Philip’s faction, and then probably push Philip himself out. What’s with her face? She doesn’t seem to be concerned about my situation at all, Philip thought in anger. Although she did not appear concerned, after he finished, Hilma began asking questions and helping him calm down.

“Is it possible that the royal and the noble factions aligned against you?” She began.

“That, that would seem unlikely. There is just too much bad blood for them to put the past behind them,” Philip shook his head.

“Then, since they are just as divided as before, you can pull the same trick on them as King Zanac did,” Hilma said.

“Meaning what?”

“I am afraid keeping your previous monopoly is impossible, but you can still sow discord between the two factions while moving back into the shadows yourself. For instance, what would happen if you announced that you will transfer the trade deal to the royal family?” Hilma smiled at him.

“The royal faction’s power would increase immediately, while the noble faction would focus on them once again. But, I would have to give up this trade deal… and my Greenhorns would fall apart,” Philip didn’t feel this was as good of a solution as Hilma thought.

“You don’t need to give it up for free. You could ask for, say twenty percent of the profit, and also that the nobles you choose be allowed to engage in the trade, but only on their territories. It’s not as lucrative as what they have now, but at least it would keep their own territories safe from famine. And you still would be the one making a decision of who is allowed to join and who isn’t.”

“But the King would be in control of the contract and could add nobles as well,” Philip complained.

“And I am sure he will add the nobles from his faction. However, this would leave the noble faction in the cold. Their people would be saved from hunger by the nobles loyal to King Zanac.”

“I see. So, while the royal faction gains power and the noble faction fights for survival, my Greenhorns can stand to the side and observe the situation for any new moves. It’s certainly better than getting pushed out of the trade by that annoying Count. Still, this would greatly diminish my chances of marrying Albedo-sama. And I already had such a great plan,” Philip sighed dejectedly.

“Being able to change course while still making the best of your circumstances can also be seen as impressive. I am sure such an experienced diplomat as Albedo-sama would appreciate such flexibility,” Hilma said.

“So, you think I can still come out of this looking good?” Philip asked, a hint of hope in his voice.

“I do. Anyone can be given a winning position, but making the most of a situation, even one that is highly unfavorable to you is a different matter,” Hilma smiled at him, as she remembered how she managed to dodge the, no doubt, horrible experience which awaited her at Demiurge’s Happy Farm. Compared to that, serving as a counselor for the broken elven slaves was nothing short of a major victory.

Hilma looked at Philip, whose mood seemed to have done a 180, as he was now filled with hopes, daydreaming about his beloved Albedo-sama. This fool, Hilma felt a bit of pity for the moron. She knew Philip was going to die, and a terrible death at that. Still, the Sorcerer King is amazing. Did he predict that I would advise Philip this way? Sure, I know they plan to kill him, but I wasn’t given any specific orders on how to handle him in this situation. Hilma recalled her one-and-only meeting with the undead magic caster. The red dots in his eye sockets gazed at her as if peering into her very soul. Her body shuddered.

No matter what, I must not antagonize that thing, she thought. Yet, she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering. If Philip offers his contract to the King, but is then killed before he can do so, the blame will naturally fall onto the noble faction. The Sorcerer Kingdom will refuse to make a new trade deal, and the Re-Estize Kingdom will be hit by a famine. The King will launch an investigation into Philip’s death, declare the noble faction guilty and using the anger of the masses prosecute them. The Greenhorns would likely collapse by that point as well, which would leave King Zanac and his royal faction in full control. Interesting, but what will happen next? Or maybe… could it be that King Zanac was already working for the Sorcerer King? His older brother, Barbro, got killed not at the Katze Plains, but after going to some obscure village, where he should’ve been safe. And this scheme with Philip will result in all of Zanac’s opposition being removed… Hilma chuckled, it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that the Sorcerer King had everyone dancing in the palm of his hand, from the start.

“Hilma-san, are you alright?” She heard Philip’s voice, she focused her eyes and saw Philip looking at her with a concern.

“Ah, yes, I am fine,” she replied.

“You seemed to have spaced out for a moment. Anyway, I am going to take you up on your advice. I will meet with my Sorcerer Kingdom’s trade contact, and then announce that I plan to grant the contract to the King,” Philip said.

Afterward, he bid Hilma farewell and left her house in a great mood. He was quite happy that he could stick it to the Count and deny the man the power he wanted. As he entered his carriage, Philip laughed as he thought of King Zanac’s and Count Lytton’s designs.

You might have your petty schemes, he thought, but you are little more than puppets for me to play with. 

As the carriage drove him away, wide smile appeared on Philip’s face. He felt that his future was looking brighter than ever.

 

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