Chapter 414: Creation of the Ministry of Foreign Territories

After being inside the palace for two weeks, Horace had come to learn the small habits of the councillors whom he had to target. He knew that Bardas was making his move, and now it was his turn. Walking into the large kitchen, numerous people walked around giving orders to one another. It was organised chaos that made you wonder how they managed to cook anything.

Horace walked over to the end of one of the tables and waited patiently. One of the chefs took a glance at him and grabbed a few herbs, sprinkling them on the slab of meat he had cooked. Carefully, he put it down on a tray and grabbed it, turned around. Barking at the man, he snatched a small truffle and put it next to the meat. Horace smiled and picked the tray up, walking out of the kitchen.

Walking through the halls, he looked around and realised no one was paying him attention. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small vial of brown powder and lightly tapped it, evenly pouring it onto the meat. His actions were quick and well-trained, completing the task within five seconds. As he put the poison powder back in his pocket, he walked for nearly a minute and stopped before a door. Knocking on it, he patiently waited.

"Enter." Horace saw one of the councillors sitting at the table, patiently waiting for his meal, neatly laid out beside him. He calmly drank a small glass of wine and thinly smiled at the meal. Horace woke over and laid the meal before him and took a step back.

"A fine cut of bloody steak and a small truffle." Horace stood still and looked into the councillor’s eyes. "Do you wish for me to explain the cooking process?" Horace patiently waited, hoping his strange accent would not be too noticeable.

The councillor didn’t even look up and waved his hand, his focus solely on the meal before him, "That will be all." Horace bowed and left the room. Standing outside the door after it closed, he fixed his appearance and walked off. He knew that for the next week, he couldn’t stay in the palace. It was perfect, giving him time to act outside the palace.

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A few days had passed, and the council gathered. Janus watched as the members of the Empre’s council gathered. Frowning, he looked at the empty seat. "Where is Lord Petrus?" At the head of the table, Janus softly asked.

"He is ill, Lord Regent. The change in weather seems to have affected him greatly." The Archbishop said softly, before making a symbol of Sol on his chest. With a silent prayer for him to recover soon, he pushed the matter out of his mind.

Janus peeked at Bardas. His eyes narrowed for a second, trying to read if he had any involvement in it, but unable to read his expression, he shook his head and refocused on the matter at hand. "Then let us begin. I’m sure Lord Petrus won’t mind."

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Alfred looked out the window, unaware of the actions his spymaster was getting up to within the Severia Empire. Although he had established a line of communication for Horace, anything he did whilst abroad would only reach him weeks later. Despite that, Alfred had complete faith in Horace. He had hardly known the man to fail, and even if he did and was caught, he trusted that he wouldn’t break under any circumstance, choosing death over treason.

A knock on the door awoke him from his thoughts, and spinning around, he called for whoever it was to enter. Issac took a step and lowered his head, "I have received words from Admiral Godwin, Your Grace."

"Sasha." Alfred softly said the name and nodded. Reaching out, he took the letter in Issac’s hand and quickly read through it. It was a brief letter informing him that she had arrived in the Tralon Kingdom and had scheduled a meeting with the local lords of the land. Although she was yet to meet the Tralon ruler, it was only a matter of time.

Throwing the letter aside, he smiled, realising he was one step closer to starting his colonial empire. Taking a seat, he invited Isaac to also have one. "We need to begin preparations for our first colonists."

"Your Grace? I thought you only wished to start once the musket was built." The surprise in his tone was obvious, and Alfred chuckled, understanding well.

"I’m already confident that there will be land that we can occupy across the sea, Issac. But we need to be prepared. If we stumble across any local resistance, we need to be ready to suppress it. The issue is that we can’t afford to send any to the military abroad. Not until we expand it once more."

"We can’t afford to expand it anymore." Alfred nodded, already knowing that.

"That’s why the creation of the musket is so integral to the Empire’s future. But even when it is created, we must prepare the colonists in advance."

"Are we not getting ahead of ourselves, Your Majesty. Whilst I don’t doubt there will be land free for the Empire to take, we have yet to see it. We need more information." Issac shook his head, trying to think of the logistical nightmare that was a colonial empire. He could already see his workload doubling, perhaps tripling.

Alfred chuckled, seeing the dread in his eyes from the increased workload. "Your worries are perfectly normal, Issac. I’m not rushing anything, I’m just preparing in advance." Alfred thought about Earth and how the European powers first established the colonial systems they had. "First and foremost, we must figure out how many people we need to send across the sea. It will be easy to get willing participants at that time if we make stories about the future wealth and glory it will bring. We also must start stockpiling gold and food for them."

Alfred closed his eyes and smiled, "Also, don’t worry about your workload increasing too much. Desmond has worked underneath you for a while now. How is he?"

Issac thought about his assistant and chuckled. "A true beurecrat. Whilst he loves power, he knows his limitations. After being made Duke and taking the name Mile, he is satisfied and won’t vie for what isn’t his. As for his work, he is efficient and doesn’t complain."

"Good." Alfred leaned back, "I plan on establishing a new post—the Ministry of Foreign Territories. I wish for Desmond to lead it."

"He has no..." Issac was about to question Desmond’s lack of experience, but quickly realised no one had experience managing a territory across the sea.

"Is he still in the Palace. If so, can you get him for me?" Issac nodded and quickly left the room. After waiting for a few minutes, the two returned. Desmond deeply bowed in Alfred’s direction as Issac retook his seat.

"Your Majesty."

"Duke Mile. Please take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. And please, call me Desmond." Alfred smiled and nodded as he watched Desmond.

"Do you know my plans for the future of the Empire?" Alfred asked Desmond. Watching him shake his head, he smiled and explained his plans to set up colonies abroad. He used the proof of the barbarian invasion from before to justify that land must exist beyond the Continent and that the only remaining powers, over the Gotics, were too powerful to seize land from to expand.

Desmond carefully listened and deeply nodded, feeling it should be possible but required a lot of perfect conditions. Alfred was happy to see him in such deep thought, "I have already been making the preparations. Whilst before it was just words and thoughts, they are now real. What I really need to know is, do you wish to play a crucial role in this, Desmond?"

Desmond felt his lips curling, but stopped them. "What type of role, Your Majesty?"

"Your own Ministry at the head of colonial affairs and foreign territories. Basically, I wish for you to run the colonial system. Obviously, when we first begin, I will have deep involvement, but once we have established settlements abroad, I will leave it to you."

Desmond felt his heart race, realising this was the moment he had been waiting for. He had worked under Issac for a few years now, patiently waiting to seize more power, and although he was made Duke in that time, it didn’t provide him with the power he wanted, only wealth. He was never arrogant enough to believe he would take Isaac’s place whilst he was alive, but he did hope for a major advisory role to the Empire.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and lowered his head, "It would be my honour to accept Your Majesty."

"Good. For now, your Ministry has no purpose. Your task is to build its administration and have it ready for when we need to begin. Issac will prepare your replacement." The two men stood up before Alfred and bowed, leaving the room.