Stimulate the trade

In the end, all is silence. Eyes are fixed on you, while you sit on your throne, the goblet in your hand and a stern expression on your face. Your glances fall on Victorelli and the beauty behind him.

"Nothing is better for the friendship between kingdoms and people than good trade. Let us therefore take measures to stimulate the trade by reworking taxes and trade agreements. We suggest you or someone you know and trust about your paperwork stay behind while we begin to negotiate and implement a new decree."

The trader looks surpised, almost shocked, and you are not certain whether or not he is just acting. "Thank you, your Highness. I will tell Maria to stay behind in my villa here in the city, trusting her to send word of a successful agreement. My king, you will see that soon, your treasury will fill again with gold from foreign lands willing to buy the products of the fine craftsmen living under your rule!" He bows, accompanied by some murmurs and whispers in the court. There is a growing feeling that something just doesn't sit right with this character, but he is indeed right about something: if you want to continue what your parents and Lord Gilbert worked for so hard, then more gold is the way.

Maria courtsies elegantly and in a way that makes you almost sure she has experience in requesting, getting and successfully navigating audiences at court.

"For today, the court is ajourned." You declare. The usual commotion sets in: people get up and leave, their dresses and cloaks rustling while they move, cups are placed on trays, servants hurry about or whisper in the ears of their superiors. In an orderly, calm fashion the throne room empties, and you get up as well.

Lord Gilbert approaches you as you make your way to your chambers. "Wise, and not wise, my King."

You nod briefly. "Come, walk with me Lord Gilbert." Eyes on your neck, eyes on your back. And eyes, certainly, on the crown. This was not a good place to talk about delicate matters. Yet you knew where to go.

"So. What exactly are we looking at?" you ask while your bodyguards take station on each corner of the tower, staring in the land beyond the castle. Above your head, a flag with your family's crest sways ever so slightly in the east, north-east breeze.

"It's a mess, to be honest." The old man replies, "There's talk that most of the coins we spend will land up in that weasles pocket somehow, while he celebrates large feasts with ill repute on his manison somewhere in the south. Benefiting a mad king, some say. Others...well, not all rumors are primed for royal ears, your Highness."

You nod, resting your hands on the battlements. The stone is rough, yet still warm under your touch. Under your father's rule, the kingdom was reknown for his craftsmanship and the fine work it produced.
"I would like to call in the council and request they begin an investigation in the state of our economy, in the trades, and most importantly, in the state of our infrastructure. Also, I cannot have bandits treatening the borders or whomever - if we do not have the guards to solve the problem, craft a contract and let freelancers, mercenaries and adventurers solve it. I want a word to the magistrate, a report of the knight who should be ruling and guarding that corner of land, and at least two indepentend reports from somebody else." You look at him, sternly. "And you do not go, understand? I need you here."

Lord Gilbert lips form a thin, hard line before he begins to smile. "Good. Very good instinct there. I did raise you well, it seems. I might just have the right people for the job, don't you worry. Enjoy your evening and be safe, my lord."
With that, he turns and walks back inside. You wait a moment, looking at the crest swaying in the wind, before following him. You could enjoy your evening now, or continue to pull the strings for the future of your kingdom.