Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 44: Small council(1)

Just like it has been for the last 150 years, the small council room kept being deprived of any sort of decoration, empty like the souls of those sitting within .

'Quite boring' Valeria thought as she looked at the small waves of wine in her cup. She tilted it and brought it to her rosy lips. One week had passed since the first meeting in the senate , the oath-swearing ceremony ended yesterday.All the nobles of the behind Gods' Finger had pledged fealty to her son,something that should have heartened her. Yet, the missive from the noble houses beyond the mountains broke that satisfaction . Their profuse praises and hollow declarations of loyalty were hollow and empty , their true intentions veiled behind diplomatic niceties. "They bide their time," she mused, a tinge of annoyance creeping into her thoughts. "Waiting to see how the winds of fortune blow before revealing their true allegiances."

''That would be the accountant report for this month , your grace'' Lord Isidor spoke as he brought down the parchment he was holding.He has been serving as the ministers of economy for the fifth year by now .

Before that, the role was of his father, but when his father unfortunately died it passed on to him . After dealing with some 'internal business' , allegedly kinslaying , he was then called by the emperor to fullfill the role , something that he did not refuse. And sure enough he had made the best choice, gaining many privileges from the crown as bribes by the empress to declare for her son. 'The patient one are always better rewarded' He had thought when she had received a royal decree exempting any taxation from his trade.Somethiing that would soon swell up his coffers with gold.

Valeria understood the importance of securing the loyalty of the nobles, especially those within the Gods' Finger, the key to maintaining stability and order within her realm. Yet, the cost of their allegiance was not low , a burden she bore in exchange for the crown. With each concession made, each promise extracted, she felt the feeling of control slipping away , binding her fate to the whims of those she sought to control.

The treasury, once brimming instead was now lay depleted and barren.

"A gift from that bastard," she thought bitterly, her resentment simmering beneath her regal composure. War after all were not cheap, and the emperor loved waging them to pass his time.Each two years there was to be a war, it was said. And each time he delivered it .

With a resigned sigh, Valeria set aside her empty cup, her thoughts turning to the task at hand. There were matters of state that demanded her attention, negotiations to be conducted, oath to be forged. "Soon Father shall come here and help with the treasury," she mused, her mind already thinking about the next move. She knew her father would have no choice but to recognise his daughter and her work. She alone had managed to oust the two elder brother, to put their blood on the throne. He had done so much for the family, he had to recognise that at least, wouldn't he?

''I thank you for your work, lord Isidor'' The empress-mother spoke as she gave the blonde lord a small smile ''Though I trust you enough not to report every small thing to us , I would prefer if you next time would read a small summary of the most important things, while leaving the full report to the servant that I will send to collect. Be certain that I shall read them in private. After all there are much more important things to do than count coins right now.''

Lord Isidor bowed ''Certainly your grace'' though the last comment irked him a bit. 'Count coins' was too demeaning for the job of minister of economy, though in actuality he was more of a loaner.

His main job was more to get the coins his liege required , rather than think on how to improve the economy of the empire.So his task required mostly to find merchants able and willing to loan some coins to the crown, and also deal with the consequences of paying back the loan by taking some small part of it from the annual budget.Something easier said than done , as increasing the annual budget was something that each member of the council always fought over.

After all, having an higher budget, meant improving their area of work and as such also their power and influence, so each meeting for the annual budget allocation, was more of a war than a discussion.

''Luckily the treasure is free of debt your grace, so the next report will be much shorter'' He said rising from his bow, and keeping any sign of the previous irritation in check.

"I count on your ability, my lord," the empress smiled warmly, her gaze resting on Lord Isidor as she raised her cup in a silent toast. Across the table, Lord Marcellus noticed the empty vessel and took it upon himself to refill it, his actions as smooth and graceful as his demeanor.

"Your cup is empty, your grace. Allow me, please," Marcellus offered, stepping forward with a decanter in hand.

"I thank you, my lord. You are kind," the empress replied graciously, passing her cup to Marcellus, their fingers briefly brushing as the exchange took place.

"It is my pleasure," Marcellus murmured, his gaze lingering on the empress with a subtle smile.

"Is there anything else to discuss, my lords?" the empress inquired, her gaze sweeping over the assembled nobles as she accepted the cup .

A collective silence greeted her query, the lords exchanging uncertain glances before shaking their heads in unison. "Well, it was a productive day. We can end this meet—" The empress's words were interrupted by a sudden knock on the door, her brow furrowing in irritation at the interruption.

"You may enter," she granted permission, expecting urgent news to warrant such an intrusion during council proceedings.

As the door swung open, a man stepped into the room, his features familiar to the empress though his name eluded her. She recalled seeing him in the company of Lord Vritinius on numerous occasions. The man appeared somewhat flustered as his gaze darted nervously around the room, prompting a wave of impatience to wash over the empress.

"Well?" she prompted sharply, her tone conveying her annoyance as she turned her attention to the intruder, her confusion mirrored by Lord Vritinius beside her.

"We were in the middle of an important meeting. I hope you have urgent business to share if you did not even bother to wait, Cleotonius?" Lord Vritinius interjected, his voice tinged with a hint of reproach as he regarded the kneeling man.

Cleotonius lowered his head in deference before extending an open letter to his lord. "I apologize for the interruption, my lord, but we have received important reports from the east," he explained, his voice respectful despite the urgency of his message.

Lord Vritinius snatched the letter from Cleotonius's hand, his movements brisk and urgent as he scanned the contents. His expression darkened, the lines of his jaw tightening with concern.

Raising his head, Lord Vritinius scanned the room . His gaze held a solemn intensity, as if he bore the the news of lady death itself . Clearing his throat, he addressed the assembled nobles and empress

"The eastern nobles have pledged their support to Prince Mavius," he announced, his words hanging heavy in the air like a looming storm cloud. "They are currently mustering their troops to march south."

The empress watched Vritinius closely, noting the calculated precision of his movements and the deliberate manner in which he delivered the news.

'He already knew' Valeria thought as she watched the lord. She recognised an act when she was seeing one , and this was hardly more than a clear way to display the lord's connection.She knew that a small private war was being fought between the lords, to decide on who would become spymaster, and right now Vritinius was flenching his spy-base in front of everybody and the empress. 'The fool are fighting against each other, while we are in the middle of a civil war' she thought though it was better than to fight against her that was to be sure.

Yet, amid the tumult of her thoughts, she recognized the urgency of the situation. The east was marching down towards them , the nobles were divided and his father still had not arrived.

She knew what this meant:

This was her moment to prove that she could be the ruler the empire needed.

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