Marquis Krilos stepped down from his carriage and began making his way slowly toward the imperial palace. Every court guard on duty he encountered along the way solemnly offered him the hand-over-heart salute, a gesture of respect for the Marquis.
In just three short years, this man—disabled in body, bearing two fearsome sword scars across his face—had brought the finances of the reunited Krisen Empire into perfect order. He had not only assisted His Majesty the Emperor in reorganizing the empire's three great legions, but had even found the resources to develop several civilian industries, lifting the empire's economy out of the desperate state it had been in right after reunification. To the point that the Emperor and Empress had been able to host increasingly extravagant court events over the past two years.
"Your respects are well received, my lord Count Selig." The Chamberlain of the Palace Household, Sir Hendley, greeted him respectfully with a standard half-bow court greeting. "His Majesty is in the rear garden having afternoon tea with Her Majesty the Empress. The young prince's birthday anniversary is approaching, and the Empress wishes to host a grand celebration banquet. His Majesty has summoned you here to discuss allocating funds for the young prince's birthday celebration."
Sir Hendley led the way while revealing the full reason for the Emperor's summons without an ounce of reservation. Marquis Krilos smiled and nodded at him. "Thank you, Sir Hendley. I recall that your wife mentioned when she visited the trading company the other day that your thirtieth wedding anniversary is coming up at the beginning of next month. As it happens, I came into a bottle of Forest Moon Dew yesterday—said to be elven perfume. I think it would make quite a suitable anniversary gift."
Sir Hendley was delighted. Forest Moon Dew was a famous perfume on the continent, produced in very small quantities each year. A small bottle was worth about ten gold Fordes. He was certain that once his wife got her hands on this perfume, she'd have the capital to show off to her lady friends, and would surely leave him in peace for a while. "Thank you, my lord Count. I humbly accept your generous gift."
It was rather ironic. Marquis Krilos now held three positions simultaneously. First, he was the true head of the Antario Trading Company, having grown it into the largest commercial enterprise in the Krisen Empire—the mind behind a commercial colossus. Second, His Majesty the Emperor had forcibly conscripted and appointed him as the empire's Chief Financial Officer, responsible for reorganizing and managing all of the empire's fiscal revenues and expenditures. Third, the Marquis also managed the imperial family's private treasury—in other words, he was responsible for maintaining the Emperor's personal coffers. It was a thankless task: he could only earn money, never lose it.
To ensure Marquis Krilos would serve him with full dedication, His Highness the
In the Second Prince's mind, he had already been more than generous to this so-called son of a merchant who had fled into exile in the empire. He had recognized talent where others could not, overlooking the man's lowly birth and physical disability, and elevated him to the position of the empire's Chief Financial Officer. And to be fair, this merchant's son called Selig was remarkably gifted—he had not disappointed the Emperor's expectations, turning the entire empire's dire financial situation around in just three years. To the point that the Emperor and Empress now had the mood to throw a grand celebration for the young prince's seventh birthday.
Marquis Krilos did not enjoy visiting this palace, known as the heart of the empire's power. Just as he preferred to handle official business from the small building that served as the Antario Trading Company's headquarters—that was where he felt most at ease. But there was no choice. Every time he was summoned, it was by this empire's Emperor, the hidden enemy buried in his heart. He had to suppress the desire for vengeance that churned within him and come to play his part before the Emperor.
In the Second Prince's mind, he had long since forgotten all about Marquis Krilos—the man who had once served as an envoy for the Commercial Alliance and whom he had later denounced as a fraud. That was merely an insignificant nobody. But the constant pain of the Marquis's scars served as an ever-present reminder of why he had disfigured his own face, abandoned his identity, and infiltrated the imperial capital and the Second Prince's inner circle. Like a venomous serpent, he lay in wait for the moment to strike a killing blow.
After passing through several corridors and turning past a few side halls, a vista of lush greenery appeared before them. The November sunlight spilled gently through the sparse canopy, casting dappled, shimmering patterns of gold. Several court maids were playing on the lawn, tossing small sachets filled with fragrant herbs back and forth to one another. Their clear, melodic laughter rang out like silver bells, ceaseless and bright.
It was afternoon tea time—a period of rest and relaxation for the palace maids. Marquis Krilos seemed not to notice the beautiful scenery at all. With a grim expression, he drew a gray veil from inside his coat. Sir Hendley quickly took it and carefully tied it over the Marquis's face, knotting it at the back of his head.
This had started three years ago, the first time the Second Prince had summoned the Marquis to the palace. The two scars stretching from his forehead to his chin had startled the Empress and her ladies-in-waiting. The Second Prince had then graciously permitted Marquis Krilos to wear a veil during future visits. To others, it seemed like a gesture of imperial favor and affection toward Count Selig. But in Krilos's eyes, it was nothing more than another naked insult and humiliation—to avoid frightening his own wife and maids, he had been made to cover his face like some kind of monster.
"Ah ha! My finance minister has finally arrived!" The Second Prince held a golden cup and greeted Marquis Krilos's arrival with a broad smile. His mood and spirits were clearly excellent.
The Marquis maintained an expressionless face. He offered a slight bow toward the Second Prince, then turned to perform the formal audience greeting toward the Empress beside him. According to noble etiquette, the Empress should have extended her left hand for the Marquis to perform the hand-kiss, but the Empress merely returned a hasty half-bow and withdrew to the other side of the garden.
"Count Selig, please forgive my Empress's discourtesy. She grew up on the Eastern Wasteland steppes as a child. Those two scars on your forehead always remind her of the barbarian steppe raiders. Those savages liked to carve blades across their own faces to display their ferocity. When my Empress was only six years old, she hid in a haystack and witnessed those brutal barbarian riders invade her homeland. Right before her eyes, they murdered her parents. It is an inescapable nightmare that has haunted her ever since—and so she is particularly sensitive to the scars on your face." The Second Prince apologized for the Empress's rudeness.
"I am deeply sorry," Marquis Krilos said, betraying no emotion. "But these scars were not of my choosing. Your Majesty, you are well aware of my escape. For me, it was precisely these two scars that made those who were hunting me believe I had perished, and it was that which allowed me to flee to safety. Therefore, for the fright that Her Majesty the Empress suffered at the sight of my scars, I can only offer my apologies."
"It's nothing." The Second Prince raised his golden cup, and a court maid quickly brought a silver cup filled with fine wine for Marquis Krilos as well.
"The main reason I've called you here today is to discuss the matter of Herleist's seventh birthday. It's only two or three months away now, and the Empress and I have decided to hold a grand New Year's celebration banquet at the end of this year, followed by a birthday celebration for Herleist, inviting all the nobles of the empire to attend. So regarding the budget for these two events, the Empress and I would like to hear your thoughts. Naturally, within our means, we would like these celebrations to be as grand as possible."
Marquis Krilos was speechless. Was there really such a rush to make such a grand fuss? Prince Herleist's birthday was on March seventh, and it was only mid-November now—there were still more than three months to go. There was absolutely no need to begin preparations this early. But upon reflection, Krilos quickly understood: March was the rainy season, the worst time of year for travel.
Generally speaking, even if the New Year's celebration held on January first lasted ten days or so, the nobles and their families who attended would not remain in the capital through the rainy season. They would return to their fiefdoms or estates before the February thaw to spend the rest of winter and the rainy season at home. What the Second Prince and his Empress feared was that when the rainy season arrived, many nobles would refuse to brave the rain to attend the little prince's birthday celebration. That would be a tremendous loss of face for the imperial couple, who were hosting such an event for the first time.
One could only blame young Prince Herleist for being born in the wrong month—right in the middle of the rainy season. So no grand birthday celebration had ever been held for the young prince before; at most, the Second Prince and Empress had shared a modest celebration in the palace with a few ladies-in-waiting. Now, perhaps out of a sense of compensation, the imperial couple had decided that when Herleist turned seven, they would host a grand birthday celebration and invite nobles from across the empire.
The Second Prince's intention in linking the New Year's celebration with the young prince's birthday was to keep the attending nobles and their families in the capital until March for the birthday event, which would make for a much livelier affair. But hosting these imperial nobles and their relatives was no simple matter. One had to provide event venues, organize all manner of activities and banquets, to ensure that people would not grow bored and restless during the long winter and rainy season. All of this required a great many gold coins.
"Your Majesty, the empire's fiscal situation is still somewhat tight. More investment is needed in roads, infrastructure, and civilian sectors to offset the destruction wrought by the wars of previous years. While I would personally advise against Your Majesty and Her Majesty spending vast sums on such banquets and celebrations, I do recall that Your Majesty's private treasury holds ample gold Forde reserves—more than sufficient to cover the costs of such events. Could it be—"
Marquis Krilos stopped abruptly, a thought striking him. By linking the New Year's celebration with the prince's birthday, the total expenditure could easily reach hundreds of thousands of gold Fordes. The Second Prince clearly intended for this to come from the national treasury rather than the imperial private coffers—despite the fact that such celebrations should properly have been funded by the private treasury.
"Er, Count Selig, while under your guidance the imperial private treasury has accumulated nearly a million gold Fordes, greatly enriching the daily lives of our Krisen imperial family—I believe that hosting such a grand celebration is enormously beneficial to the unity and stability of the empire's entire noble class. Therefore, the expenses should be borne by the national treasury, just as with any official imperial ceremony. Don't you agree?" The Second Prince delivered this without the slightest blush.
Marquis Krilos sighed inwardly and gave a slight half-bow. "As Your Majesty wishes. I will expedite the funding for both the New Year's celebration and the young prince's birthday event, dispatch personnel to begin venue renovations immediately, arrange the stockpiling of various supplies, and recruit performers from across the land. I will have the complete budget report ready within three days for Your Majesty's review."
"I am also considering whether, on the day of Herleist's birthday, I should announce him as my Crown Prince—formally making him the empire's heir. That way, his first birthday celebration would truly be meaningful, and those nobles who waited so long to attend will feel the journey was worthwhile."
A flash of light crossed Marquis Krilos's eyes. After the Second Prince finished expounding on his plans at length, the Marquis lowered his head. "As Your Majesty's subject, I dare not question Your Majesty's decision. All I am thinking about now is how to return and prepare this celebration's budget proposal. Time is pressing—may I be excused?"
The Second Prince chuckled. What he liked and admired most about Marquis Krilos was precisely this earnest demeanor—focused solely on finances, indifferent to anything else. That was why he called Krilos his "finance minister." Naturally, what he needed from Krilos was precisely his skill in managing finances. He waved his hand. "Then go ahead, Count Selig. I leave this matter in your hands."
Marquis Krilos nodded, offered another bow, and then turned to leave with Sir Hendley, the Chamberlain, accompanying him.
Once outside the palace gates and back in his carriage, a flash of excitement appeared on Marquis Krilos's face. He knocked on the carriage wall, and the voice of his guard immediately came from outside. "My lord, what are your orders?"
"Find Count Vexas and have him come see me at once," said Marquis Krilos.
"Yes, my lord."