Chapter 465: Prince Soheil Nassour

Compared to the atmosphere in Brookhaven, Chent and the many cities of the old City States, it was tense. The massive influx of Ammary soldiers over the weeks was enough to tell anyone what was going on. Many had thought that the arrival would signal the end of their peaceful lives and the start of oppressive lifestyles that would control every minute of the day, but those fears weren’t realised.

The Ammary military under Marcus’s orders stayed out of civilian affairs, only interfering if it was completely necessary. Employment sharply rose as well. With the Chent land being turned into a fortress, adding onto its already sturdy defences, the Empire need more workers to speed up the process. Many flocked to the temporary work, knowing that war was coming. They would all be forced to leave their homes and expected to return to an empty shell, pillaged of its valuables.

Marcus watched the streets of Chent from the windows of the Golden Bank before turning to face Anton. "You have made yourself a nice little Kingdom, Anton."

"Calling it a Kingdom would be too much." Anton chuckled, "You know His Majesty is writing books?" Marcus nodded in response, "Well, I read one of them, the one about economy and governance. The concept he referred to as democracy was interesting, but it felt impossible in practice. I’ll try it on a smaller scale using the council to decide who will govern these lands, obviously after I have died, however."

Marcus took a seat and poured himself a drink, slightly interested in Anton’s experiments. "The council seems to like the idea quite a bit. But that wasn’t the main thing. Free Trade Marcus. It was fascinating to read such a concept. It is so easy to think of, but to actually put it into practice was a crazy idea. I asked His Majesty to allow the Chent lands to follow the policy. He agreed and, using my connections, I spread the word to merchants in neighbouring Kingdoms."

Anton exhaled and smiled, "At first, we lost money. Only the expected word hadn’t spread. I made up for it using my personal funds, so it was an acceptable loss." Anton poured himself a drink and downed it. "But then, once word got out, trade increased, and the money we lost in taxes and tariffs was made up in the amount of goods coming in. Business grew and more land sold, and now, I earn double compared to when I first took over. Business has never been so good."

"Then I’m sorry I’m bringing war to your lands, Anton." Marcus sighed and took a sip of his drink.

"Don’t be. War has its own benefits." With a greedy smile, Anton poured himself a second drink, sipping it this time. The two stared at one another, making Anton laugh when he saw Marcus’s suspicious look "Don’t worry. Out of those I sell to, our enemies are my worst customers. They prefer using the Crystal Bank for their loans." Sighing, he shook his head, imagining the loss in revenue.

"Of course, you fund them as well." Marcus dryly chuckled and finished his drink. Putting the glass down, he leane back and sighed, "I have come for a reason. You need to leave Chent. Whilst His Majesty has plans to avoid conflict on the land, we can’t avoid it all. You are, quite frankly, too important to be captured or killed."

"I am grateful for the importance placed on me, but I can’t leave. Not yet, at least. I am still required to ensure things run smoothly." Anton stood up and walked over to his desk. Grabbing a key from his pocket, he opened a locked drawer, taking a metal box out. Opening it with another key, he pulled out a piece of paper, the Deed to rule Chent. "I will hand this over to you when war is on the brink, but for now, I am still needed. My gold can do a lot for you."

"What do you propose?"

"You always think in terms of armies and weapons, but gold is the true thing we all run on, and I happen to be the second richest man in the Empire. I have already sent summons to all major mercenary companies in Chent, The Gotic Kingdom, The Lisaponic Empire and Severia. How many come, who knows? But I am also making deals with the major merchants in the Gotic Kingdom. I have purchased numerous spaces in their ports and flooded them with empty ships to delay the invasion, alongside acquiring a significant amount of weapons from our enemy to deny them supplies." Anton put the deed back and locked it up, returning to his seat, "I think this will give you a month at best."

"Is there anything more you can do?"

"Not with the amount of time we have, but this will be enough for now." Anton replied, pouring a third drink, "Let us see how this pans out. In the meantime, I will hand the supplies over, free of charge." Marcus didn’t believe there was a charge but chose to ignore it, pouring himself another drink.

"In that case, whilst I have time, shall we stop talking business. I have been interested in His Majesty’s writings for a while, but haven’t had the luxury of reading any."

"Of course." Sharing a friendly smile, Anton leaned back, "They are quite eye-opening. It has made me want to write my own books."

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A bird flew down into Adrian’s room, carrying on it a letter. Grabbing it, he saw Alfred’s, Isaac’s, and Alice’s seals. Reading it, he smiled and left the room, heading to see Darius. Walking through the Palace, the servants and guests gave him strange looks, still wary of the foreign guest they had been with for over a month now. Adrian paid them no mind and knocked on Darius’s doors, his guards scrutinising him before letting him in at Darius’s orders.

"Adrian. You have got a reply from your Emperor." Smiling, he handed the letter over to the Prince, letting him read the contents for himself. Darius stayed silent the entire time, re-reading it over and over, trying to place himself in his father’s shoes to see if it was an acceptable offer to bring to the negotiation table.

Playing with the pen in his fingers, drops of ink flew around, but Darius didn’t care, finally breathing out and putting the letter down, pausing his masterful twirling of the pen. "This is good enough to get into a room with my father." Getting up from his desk, Darius walked past Adrian and turned to have him follow behind, "But you won’t meet him at all. Instead, you will deal with my brother, and luckily for us, he arrived a few days ago."

Adrian didn’t let it show, but was shocked. Anytime Royalty moved, there was always a grand display, especially for the heir to the Empire. The fact that it had been kept so silent showed how isolated he had been from the outside. Following Darius, the number of guards increased with each corridor they travelled down until finally arriving at the deepest part of the palace, an area Adrian had been forbidden from entering.

Outside the door, a large guard, in light armour, stood. Hanging from the guard’s waist, a sabre, the length of a man’s arm, stood, guarding, glaring with suspicious eyes at both Adrian and Darius. Darius paid no mind and threw open the door, letting himself in, finding a seat and falling into it with a relaxed swagger.

Acting carefully, Adrian followed behind. He held his head high not to disappoint the Empire, but each step showed humility. Looking at the seat opposite Darius, he saw a middle-aged man with brown skin, with trimmed black hair, slicked over to the side. He wore thin glasses and read a book. Compared to Darius, who was brazen, he was a reserved scholar who didn’t match the appearance of a Prince.

"I greet His Highness, Soheil Nassour." Adrian gracefully bowed toward the man, not rising until told to.

"Duke Almaris. My brother has been unable to keep your name out of his letter recently." His voice was quiet, yet it carried a deep pride and power. Waiting a few seconds to look Adrian up and down, he thinly smiled, "Please rise." Holding his hand out to Darius, he took the letter Adrian had brought and read through it.

The room was silent, even Darius was not daring to make a sound. Soheil carefully read, weighing up the benefits of the deal and trying to find the hidden poison in the offer. His light laughter after a few minutes cut through the tense atmosphere like butter. "It’s a funny offer, Duke. A nice one but without any real power."

Adrian smiled behind his mask, "The faith of the Empire is united under one banner, but worshippers are split amongst the Gods, Your Highness. I believe there is power to be taken in the offer if one is wise enough. Of course, I have no doubts that you or Emperor Cyrus wouldn’t see this."

Soheil turned to Darius and smiled, "He spews pleasantries so easily." Speaking in his native tongue, Soheil didn’t care that Adrian obviously understood. Looking back at Adrian, nodded, "Yes, influencing Faith doctrine is a powerful tool in the right hands, look at the world right now." Pausing, the prince looked back at the letter, "But the safety of our representative in foreign lands can’t be left to foreign bodies. You must understand, your Empire’s reputation is quite barbaric compared to us."

"What would you like?"

"I will send my third brother as a Consul of Faith; he will be guarded by fifty Lisaponic soldiers, who you will provide housing and funds for during their stays in the Empire. He will be given complete immunity for any crimes committed and tried under Lisaponic law rather than the Empire’s. Adding to this, any and all changes to the Khorish doctrine cannot be tampered with by Emperor Lindonfall without the explicit approval of the Lisaponic throne. Finally, on my brother’s arrival, you will give us the knowledge on how the Empire mass produces documents and letters."

Adrian pretended to ponder the demands for a second before sighing in defeat and nodding, "This can be arranged, Your Highness. But obviously it will take time."

"That is fine." Soheil stood up and walked before Adrian, "I will see how my father feels about Severia. Whilst we wouldn’t dare let such filthy animals step foot into our home, I can assure you that this is good enough to keep us from helping them deal with you." Turning to face his brother, Soheil smiled, "I am going home, your way of life is too intense for me, brother."

"Be safe, brother." With a nod to one another, Soheil left quickly, not sparing a glance at Adrian. Looking at Darius, he sighed and lowered his head.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Highness."

"You will stay one more day. I will throw a feast in your honour." Jumping from his chair, Darius wrapped his arm around Adrian and smiled, "Come, we have a lot to talk about before you leave."