The white pigeon flew from the night into the sunrise, then from the sunrise until high noon.
Finally, it flew into a magnificent castle and landed steadily on a wooden rack, lowering its head to peck at white bread croutons in a silver plate.
An attendant immediately stepped forward to catch the pigeon and removed the secret message from its back.
Then, with the greatest possible speed, the attendant presented the letter to the master of the castle: the Lord of the southern Audra Province, the First Prince of the Black Cross Kingdom, Anke’s older half-brother, and the most powerful heir to the throne, Spate He Meklund.
“A mysterious alchemy weapon shaped like a strange long rod that can make the sound of thunder? My dear fourth brother, you’ve certainly given me quite a surprise. Do you think you can turn things around with toys made by alchemy? I will let you know what a king’s victory truly is.”
Inside the castle, the candlelight flickered, casting shadows across Spate’s cold profile.
He looked at the mysterious alchemy creation described in the secret letter, his fingertips tapping light rhythms on the parchment.
He let out a cold sneer before turning to his close attendant.
“Immediately summon all vassals currently in the Golden City to the council chamber for a meeting.”
30 minutes later, all of Spate’s vassals present in the Golden City had arrived at the castle’s council chamber.
Civil and military officials stood on opposite sides of a long table, arranged in two rows according to their rank.
“Take a look at the new moves my dear fourth brother is making in the northwest. I am very interested in this mysterious weapon. Tell me, how should we ‘look after’ my dear brother?”
Spate tossed the secret letter onto the conference table, letting his vassals pass it around until it returned to his hand from the last man in line.
“Your Highness, I believe we should simply send another group to assassinate the Fourth Prince and seize the weapons! Last time, the Fourth Prince was lucky, and his Chief Knight fought desperately to protect him, which is why he narrowly escaped with his life. This time, there won’t be another knight that strong by his side. The chances of success are extremely high!”
Spate’s Chief Knight, Watt, who was also the leader of the military officials, proposed the boldest and most aggressive method.
“Excellent! A very bold plan!”
To any clear-headed observer, the method was crude, like a house built haphazardly of loose stones.
However, Spate did not publicly rebuke Watt. Instead, he praised him.
After all, Watt was his most loyal vassal. It did not matter if a loyal person was a bit dim-witted.
Besides, even if Spate didn’t speak up, someone else naturally would.
“You cannot, Your Highness! Do not listen to this brute! That is the idea of a donkey! The last time the Fourth Prince was assassinated, the Second Prince, Third Princess, and Fifth Princess joined forces to report the matter to His Majesty, which made him very angry! You must realize that the Fourth Prince is not our true rival; our real opponent is the Second Prince’s political alliance! If we strike at the Fourth Prince again, regardless of whether the assassination succeeds, the Second Prince and his lot will use it to attack Your Highness! You donkey-head inside a shiny tin can!”
The man at the head of the civil officials, a goatee-wearing elder named Cavens, pointed an accusing finger at the Chief Knight across the table.
“Then what do you say we do, you old goat? Do you have a better way to bring that mysterious weapon to His Highness?”
Watt lifted his head, aiming his nostrils at Cavens.
“Of course I do!”
Cavens brushed Watt off with a wave of his hand and turned toward Spate to describe his plan.
“Your Highness, alchemy weapons usually share a common flaw: the extreme manufacturing costs and the massive amounts of alchemy materials required due to their inherent uncertainty. We can start from that angle. We can regularly send merchant caravans to provide the Fourth Prince with the alchemy materials he needs at a very low price.”
“Isn’t that just aiding the enemy? What if the Fourth Prince grows too strong? Are you a mole sent by the Fourth Prince?” Watt roared, accusing Cavens of being a spy.
“Quiet. Let Cavens finish,” Spate commanded, silencing Watt and allowing Cavens to continue.
“Your Highness, this plan may indeed benefit the Fourth Prince in the early stages. However, as long as we use those low prices to monopolize the supply of his materials, we can begin the next phase: doubling or even tripling the prices! Because other merchant caravans will have been driven away by us, the Fourth Prince will have no choice but to buy from us at exorbitant rates. Based on the financial situation of Border City in Hanover Province — the only place he actually controls — the Fourth Prince’s finances will surely go bankrupt within one month. When that happens, I can use the excuse of an ‘investment’ to infiltrate his Alchemy Workshop and easily take all his research results, including the mysterious weapon. Furthermore, we can use the funding to control the Fourth Prince, turning him into our puppet to fracture the alliance between the Second Prince and the others.”
Cavens finished his outline of the plan.
*Clap, clap, clap — *
Spate led the applause, and everyone in the chamber, even Watt, followed suit. The sound of clapping echoed through the room.
“A very interesting plan. However, it takes too long. I cannot wait that long. According to news from the court, the Second Prince is currently trying to win over the Finance Minister. I must dismantle their alliance as soon as possible, or my throne will be in danger. Therefore, I’m going to add some fuel to this plan.”
“Watt. You are to organize a group of veterans and have them intercept and kill any merchant caravan other than our own! I don’t care how they do it; I only have one requirement: not a single iron nail is to reach the Fourth Prince’s hands.”
“Understood, Your Highness!”
‘Intercepting merchant caravans might provoke the neutral nobles, but for the sake of His Highness’s throne, it is a risk worth taking!’ Cavens thought.
“Cavens, you are in charge of executing the plan you proposed. I will grant you everything you need. I have only one requirement: you must succeed.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
……
As Spate’s secret orders flew out of the castle, Anke, far away in Border City, remained completely unaware of the approaching storm.
However, Anke knew that if he didn’t solve the immediate problem, he would be in massive trouble anyway!
“What do you mean I’m almost bankrupt? I sold all my assets in the royal capital before I left and scraped together 60,000 Gold Markors! That’s a whole wheelbarrow full of gold coins! It’s been less than one month, and it’s already gone?”
Anke clutched his head in a silent scream.
A moment ago, he had been rejoicing because his Alchemy Workshop could mass-produce functional Breech-loading Rifles, allowing him to focus on other construction.
The next moment, the vassal in charge of finances had delivered a massive shock.
“The expenditures are as follows: 10,000 for grain from the capital, 20,000 for iron ingots, 10,000 for alchemy raw materials, and 5,000 to hire mercenaries. The construction of the Alchemy Workshop cost 15,000, and the total salaries for the territory’s personnel amounted to 1,600. However, the income was less than 200.”
Mustafa, who wore a distinctive, large, and ornate multi-layered turban, a dark blue kaftan robe, and black salwar harem pants, unrolled a long parchment.
He listed Anke’s financial expenses and income one by one. The man, who sported a thick beard, hailed from the southern Oros Empire and had once been a vassal to Anke’s mother, Princess Vanessa.
After Vanessa passed away from illness, Mustafa became Anke’s vassal — his very first one.
“Why is the income for the entire Hanover Province so low?”
Anke couldn’t believe his territory was this poor.
“Your Highness, this is not the monthly income for the entire Hanover Province; it is the monthly income for Border City. The area you actually control consists only of Border City and the surrounding Grey Wolf Forest. This accounts for less than ten percent of the province’s area and less than five percent of its population. The vast majority of the remaining land and people are the private property of several major noble families. Furthermore, Border City was never wealthy to begin with. Combined with the Beast Plague of recent years, trade has almost ceased and tax revenue is meager. The previous lord could only sustain himself on the 100 or so Gold Markors from the fur tax.”
“Hiss… Let me think. Where can I get some money?”
Anke sank into deep thought, searching for a way to break the deadlock using the wisdom of his predecessors.
“Borrow it!”
After thinking for a while, Anke stated his solution.
“Borrow? Who does Your Highness intend to borrow from?”
“I’ll borrow from whoever has money.”
“The only ones with money in this place are those noble families. But for Your Highness to borrow from them… it is truly beneath your dignity. Besides, these local tycoons are misers who only take and never give. Even His Majesty the King would find it difficult to get a single Copper Markor out of them.”
Mustafa shook his head. Anke was still too naive.
“Then I’ll make them an offer they can’t refuse. I’ll show them the goods produced by the Alchemy Workshop and let them see my capabilities. Then, I’ll tell those nobles: borrow 100 gold coins from them, and I’ll repay 110 gold coins with interest, using the entire Alchemy Workshop and the formulas for all its products as collateral!”
Anke spoke seriously, proving he was not joking.
‘Using all the formulas of the Alchemy Workshop as collateral?’ Vera thought as she watched Anke take a stand.
She felt that Anke finally looked like a decisive monarch, even if his plan was exceptionally reckless.
“This is the usury of the Wheel People! It’s poison, Your Highness! How could you come up with such a suicidal method? If there’s no other way, why not seek help from the Oros Empire? His Majesty Murad is your uncle; if you ask for his help, he will act.”
Mustafa had seen how the Wheel People used usury to crush and dismember the Holla Duchy, so he was extremely sensitive to high-interest loans.
“Uncle Murad is in the Oros Empire, which is too far from the Black Cross Kingdom. There are at least three countries in between us. If news leaks out, the Second Prince will never let the opportunity pass; he will definitely use it to frame me for treason. I cannot risk seeking help from my uncle. It’s fine, believe me, Mustafa. I’m not being foolish. Go and write the invitations. Invite the major families of Hanover Province to Border City. We must act quickly.”
“Vera, please talk some sense into His Highness! He cannot take a high-interest loan!”
Mustafa, seeing he couldn’t persuade Anke, tried to recruit Vera to his side.
“I believe in the Lord. He must have his reasons for doing this. All we can do is help him with all our might.”
Vera saw that Anke had made his decision and knew she couldn’t change his mind.
She silently resolved that if Anke’s plan failed, she would take action herself and rob the houses of those nobles.
No matter what, the prophecy had to be fulfilled. Anke had to become king.
This concerned the revival of Vera’s entire race!
“Sigh! Heavens! Princess Vanessa, please talk to your child!”
Seeing Anke insist on jumping into the fire, Mustafa couldn’t help but beat his chest and wail toward the sky.
Yet, despite his reluctance, he could only follow Anke’s orders and invite the major families to Border City.