"May I ask if there are assigned seats today?" I asked someone sitting near the door.
"Assigned seats in a conference room? There is nothing like that here," Prince Erik answered crisply.
...Weren't you the one who made assigned seats the first day?
I found his mood swing a bit odd, but decided not to pry any further. It seemed like bad manners to ask.
A girl had come up from behind me and began walking towards the seat I had sat at the other day.
"I suppose that His Highness will not mind if I sit by your side today," she said in a high pitched voice.
"Your perfume is too much," Prince Erik replied. "It is annoying, so move to a seat over there," Prince Erik pointed towards a seat more than four seats away.
He must be in a really foul mood to outright reject her like that.
"But! Your High–"
"If this is a game to you, then leave," Prince Erik said crisply.
The girl moved to the seat. It seemed that she would almost into tears. I almost pity her...
Prince Erik has been kind to me, so I almost forgot about this side of him. I had forgotten that he could be mean when he wanted to.
"Are you not going to sit, Lady Arielle?" Prince Erik asked me in a less sharp tone.
Lady Arielle?
"I apologize for blanking out," I said as I quickly looked around for a seat.
"...Just sit here," Prince Erik said as he pointed to the seat right next that he rejected to the girl earlier.
Seeing as though he asked me himself, I had to take the seat anyways. The saddened girl had begun to look at me with contempt.
How uncomfortable...
"Thank you for your benevolence, Your Highness," I told him before I sat down.
Again, I am sitting close to him...
I wonder why he seemed different today. Was it that we were taking too long or our ideas were not good enough for his tastes?
"I have gone over the budget with the people on bridge maintenance with the builders and have come up with a design," he said as he handed out a few sheets of architecture design. "You may all point any flaws that you may have against the design."
Upon closer inspection, I noticed some problematic areas that could be detrimental to the design and circled the areas and placed some notes by them on how to improve them.
Everyone else nodded in agreement that there was nothing to change. Seeing the group act like that, made me hide my paper away slightly. I can always present my paper after everyone leaves...
"The ongoing issue from last week then...We have leftover budget from fixing up the bridge. Seeing as though I was able to get building material at a much lower cost, it is even higher," Prince Erik said as he straightened the pile of papers on his desk.
The girl from earlier rose her hand.
"I believe that we should put the money towards the upcoming dance," she suggested.
She seemed proud of her suggestion from how she puffed up her chest.
Prince Erik glared at her.
"The budget for the dance already exceeds what we originally planned for due to the expensive orders of imported delicacies that were approved without my knowledge. There is no way that I am putting more money towards the upcoming dance."
The other day, he would only give one worded rejections or short rebuttals. His words today are like a blade.
A girl with straight long light brown hair, light green eyes, and a large pink flower ornament in her hair raised her hand. She seemed calm and refined in her movements. She was the only one absent the other day, so it was my first time hearing her speak. However, she feels familiar...
"I believe that we should add more light fixtures around the towns for as crime deterrents," she said.
Areas that had better lighting reportedly had lower crime rates. As for if they were related, no one could really make sure...
I was surprised that someone else shared my ideas of public safety.
"That is an excellent idea, Lady Elsie, but that would go under a different budget like public safety."
Elsie! A relative of Senior Glen Elsie?
She smiled in my direction. My heart thumped for a moment. The clan produces beautiful people as well.
I held my face for a moment to calm down.
"What should we do with the leftover budget?" Prince Erik asked. "Any ideas?"
The ideas that were presented suited only the benefit of other nobles. Lady Elsie decided to take a break with some tea. Occasionally, she would side with Prince Erik's decision and add on her own thoughts.
What an amazing young lady...She could have the capacity to become an Queen herself.
When I thought that, my heart began to hurt.
I am fine as long as the person he marries is anyone but Kaya Ouchi...
"Nothing..."
As expected, most of the ideas were placed to benefit the nobles. The student council held the same power as government officials of this island. Unfortunately, nobles are often closed minded towards matters that are outside of their expertise which include dancing and living in luxury...
"We should use the money to push the poor people out of their homes," Channing Wells suggested. "Lady Arielle is such a commoner pleaser...It would be difficult to continue looking over those people as long as they continue living there, right? Give them a bit of money and they will happily go away."
Again, he is putting out such an outlandish idea...
Even indirectly insulting me...
Prince Erik seemed as if he were about to burst with anger. I thought it would not be good for his image, so I quickly stood up.
"...We should take the land for ourselves. I agree with Sir Wells that those residents living in those areas should move out," I said.
"That is quite different from what you said earlier," Channing Wells noted.
"The Academy bought up some land and built up a large complex for students that want to live off campus and closer to town. It has been desolate since the new dorm wing was recently built on campus. The complex would be able to hold up all of these residents and moreover handle other renovations that include building more wings if necessary," I explained. "The islanders would be more willing to move out if we offer them something of that value in return for their land."
The island had a lot of land at our disposal. In other words, this island is a land of opportunity.
"How can you make sure that the residents will move there?" Prince Erik asked me.
"Bending a bit of the truth...The land will be deemed unlivable and that the ground would be giving out some time soon due to the recent rainy seasons," I suggested. "That is where our generous Crown Prince will be willing to offer residency at no cost to them or be willing to buy them out for lower than the market value."
"Spare the flattery...Do you have a plan for what you want to do there?" Prince Erik asked me.
"Widening the roads would make it easier to access larger carriages and better walkways. In any case, those homes will have to be torn down as they are unlivable. When the drainage system is improved on, we can try to build more amenities or parks based mostly around sightseeing and enhancing the beauty of the land," I said as I highlighted the areas that would be the best for sightseeing. "We can hire architecture specialists for designs and create jobs for those in favor of hard labor and pay them reasonably for their work. It would be best to move the residents out as soon as possible before the rain season starts and makes things difficult for construction and reconstruction of the drainage system."
When I looked back the rest of them, my audience had grown silent.
Did I make a mistake?
This goes a bit beyond just beautification now. This is stepping into government intervention and affairs...
"This is the kind of plan that would benefit us the most...I am impressed," Prince Erik said. "What you are asking is impressive, but from where should we get the funding?"
We had a board for writing, but really did not use it much.
I picked up pink chalk and began writing some numbers.
"The budget for land development and repairs are set for this much...As you can see, there have been dips into the budget in the recent years towards excessive food and clubs that obviously do not need that much money. However, the most insensible use of the budget is towards this place called the Diamond Room...It is not a sports club or a club of the arts. As for what it is, I am not really sure about what it is, but it has gotten approval through your Treasurer for a budget increase for some reason."
Even Prince Erik did not seem aware of what the room was.
"Explain, Treasurer Han Mayes," Prince Erik said as he sent a glare towards a male with glasses and a stick like figure.
"The Diamond Room is a special club room for higher nobles. The room offers special treats from other lands and expensive teas for a more luxurious experience. Of course we would need a higher budget," Treasurer Han Meyes said as he readjusted his glasses.
"Ho? For what purpose is this club for? Looking down on other nobles?" Prince Erik asked in a domineering voice.
Many of us were beginning to feel the pressure of his tone.
"That is not it at all..."
"The club is not based on sports, arts, and even socialization is minimal...Give me one legitimate reason as to why I should not destroy the club as of right now," Prince Erik said.
He is too frightened to speak...
"May I make a suggestion?" I asked Prince Erik.
"Speak," he ordered.
"I think it would be fine to remove all of the budget from the club seeing as though they offer nothing to the school other than exclusion..." I said.
"I agree," Prince Erik said.
"I do not think that we should get rid of it entirely since it has been a long established club. Closing it without a major reason may anger the students. We can make profit by making it an exclusive society with a certain number of students, make the members pay a hefty fee to maintain membership, and use the money towards governmental fees."
Prince Erik finally gave a small smile.
His smile was devilishly charming today. Everyone was scared of him just a moment ago, but now we were in awe of his smile.
"Nobles do love anything that is exclusive," Prince Erik said. "I will keep the club as is then. You can thank Lady Arielle for that, Treasurer Han Mayes."
"Thank you very much, Lady Arielle," Treasurer Han Mayes said as he quickly bowed his head in my direction.
"You do not need to attend the club anymore, Treasurer Han Mayes," Prince Erik said.
"Why? Your Highness!"
"A club for higher nobles...Why should someone of a baron class become supervisor or even a club member of such an organization?" Prince Erik asked with a very cold glare in his eyes.
Treasurer Han Mayes was quickly silenced from speaking any further.
I felt a bit worried about whether this would progress into something bad. I felt like I caught Prince Erik's gaze for a moment before he turned away from me.
"Let's end things here...I will gather some people to discuss about buying up the land and renovations. The people here no longer have to attend the next meeting," Prince Erik said as he stood up.
Some people abruptly stood up.
"Your Highness, please elaborate what you mean by that?" Channing Wells asked.
"What I mean? I mean exactly what I said earlier. I will appoint new people to office. Some will stay and others will leave," Prince Erik said as he gathered his things and walked towards the exit.
Treasurer Han Mayes stood in Prince Erik's path.
"I am one of the people to stay, right? Your Highness?" Treasurer Han Mayes asked.
"...Do you really think that you are vital enough that I would let myself be disgraced for someone like you?" Prince Erik asked. His overwhelming presence and gaze made Treasurer Han Mayes fall to his knees. Prince Erik loomed over his figure and grabbed him by the collar. "You undermined my authority and placed yourself before a pedestal in order to ensure that you were able to make a place for yourself among higher nobles. If that is not what I call trying to usurp me, than I do not know what is...There are times where being too ambitious is a double-edged sword."
Prince Erik tossed him aside with the flick of his wrist as he exited.
Everyone else stood in complete silence.
They knew if they were to speak out, they could possibly lose their head. Even I had unknowingly placed my hand over my neck to check if my head was still connected to my body.
Prince Erik could be scary if he wanted to...I had just forgotten about it.