Felix was currently in his own world. The throne room was filled with silence and the only sound was the sorry looking voice of the ambassador, who was trying to explain the trading issues of the empire to the court. Felix was long lost in his mind when he heard Peter's speech. They are still going with the investigation. There were no clues.
Felix didn't know, but he had a bad feeling about all this. The case from the start was just a puzzle. Then there was that mysterious letter. That letter gave him massive headaches for days. And even, after trying to resolve the best of his abilities, he wasn't able to find a single clue on how to decode it. It was very cleverly written. Damn, that person who wrote it. Exactly, how in the hell did they come with that.
There was one point that absolutely didn't make any sense. The letter was written in short orders. Just like the way, the palace gives out orders. So, the person is part of the Palace. Samuel was one of court officials and there is definitely a possibility of him writing this letter. But, who was he sending that too? Felix was completely sure, this code language or something wasn't created by Samuel or any people who were part of the Palace.
They weren't that smart enough to do that. Don't take him wrong. The people here are exceptional in whatever task they are given. But, things like these, they are just aren't capable of these kind of things.
He had a strong and nasty feeling that this was a big threat to the kingdom. So, now he needed proof to give fuel to his suspicions and alert everyone. He sighed heavily and decided to tune the conversation once again. The ambassador was still speaking and he observed everyone had a frown on their faces. "This might be serious" he thought and tried to listen to what the old man was saying.
".... The people are very agitated and a huge ruckus is created. They demand a fair price. The people want the mediators to be gone. This is becoming a serious issue, lately. We verified and it is indeed true that there is a double trade. The price are abnormally high now, that we see. This need to be addressed, your highness." The ambassador bowed his head down as if trying to convince the Emperor.
Alexander pondered on it a bit "You saw you verified about it. The people as mediators are needed for easy transportation, as I see the problem. I suggest the people, who taking money more than the required are to be arrested immediately." Everyone in the room seemed to be satisfied with the decision of the Emperor. The people troubled were Felix and Evan. Felix was lost, he tuned out most of the conversation so, naturally that whole thing didnt make sense to him. Though, he was trying his best to figure out the thing.
Evan was troubled by the problem. "Your highness. I want to say something. May I?" Evan suddenly questioned Alexander. With the Emperor nod, he started, "I don't see any harm with the mediators who, take the products and from producers and give it to the consumers. They make the task easy. So, I think we should assign certain people for this job. With definite rules. This would ensure the satisfaction of the consumers, as well as, the producers also. The employement opportunities also would be increased." Evan explained passionately, using his hand gestures for more emphasis.
He glanced up to his father and saw nothing but, pride practically written all over his face. Evan smiled a bit at this. He moved his gaze over to the people down and was filled with pride when they seemed to be satisfied with it. Alexander was so proud of his son, he was finally getting into work. He had to admit, Evan was one intelligent person. In every problem, he not only manages to find the solution for it but, also makes the faults in it to turn as favor to his country. What more can he say, other than that Evan is worthy to have the Seazle Empire's throne. Alexander's chest swelled with pride.
"This is a very good way of thinking. I appreciate the thinking. This can be very beneficial if put into practice. Mr. Jonathan, I want you to look into this and act accordingly." Alexander gave out a final order to the ambassador. The man bowed down towards both the royals seated on thrones and returned to his seat.
Evan's gaze found its way to Peter and couldn't help but crack a small smile, when he saw his best friend was grinning at him. And when their eyes met each other, Peter's eyes lit up even more and he sneakily showed a thumbs up.
While some were thinking about the proposal given by the prince and some other were very proud and happy about the prince giving such commitment towards his kingdom, Felix's brain was working in high gear. He finally understood the situation.
He certainly heard about the issue. The traders would sell their goods to the mediators and they would double or triple the price and resell to the local consumers. When the goods, went on to more mediators, the more the price would be. So, by the time it reaches the capital or the far away states of the empire, the price is unbelievably high. The poor farmers and citizens started several protests but, they went unnoticed. But, the incident recently, was big as, practically, half of village was burnt down due to the protests.
Suddenly, something clicked in Felix's brain while analyzing it. His eyes widened comically and all he wanted to do was rush out of the room. But, he knew better not to do that. So, he waited patiently. Waited till the court is dismissed.
He couldn't stop his leg from bouncing because of the excitement and curiosity and restlessness running through his veins. Andrew observed this and gently looked up at his son, who had a troubled expression on his face. Felix immediately changed his expression and flashed a smile to his father. His father frowned, silently asking what is wrong. Felix shook his, as if trying to say nothing. His father nodded and went back to listening to the report given by the security general.
Felix didnt want to say it to anyone. First, he had to figure out, if his assumptions were right or wrong. He couldn't risk others trust, if was to be proved wrong. And he certainly didnt want to upset his father and his uncle. So, he decided to keep his mouth shut, unless he figures it out himself.
As soon as, the Emperor dismissed the court the officials and generals all stood up to bow to Alexander. When the Emperor left and the officials were free to go, Felix practically ran out of the throne room. He was keen if his assumption was right or not. And if by any chance, it was right, then he was curious on what he was going to find.
Felix ran out of the room, unaware of the pair of eyes fixated only on him. The person knew something was up since the conversation on the trading was over. "Seems like more work along with the investigation to take care."