Second Arc (His Art of War) – 30. Asteria's Financial Problem
After checking the city wall security and his troops' preparation, Angel quickly returned to the castle. His curiosity filled his mind, if Asteria was having financial problems why there wasn't any report from Dark Agents? And why there wasn't any news about this? He knew that the Reinheart family had a high pride but letting this situation for a long time would be tantamount to destroying the kingdom itself.
As soon as Angel got off his horse and entered the castle, Frost immediately greeted him.
"Is King Gervis finished talking to the nobles?" said Angel, his feet continued to rush into the castle in a hurry.
"Not yet, Your Majesty," replied Frost. From Angel's expression, he could guess that something had happened.
"Tell King Gervis to meet me in the study room with the finance minister and Chancellor Vello after they have finished," he ordered.
"Yes, Your Majesty," said Frost. He turned his gaze to one of the guards who followed them to carry out his orders. Which was answered with a nod, then the guard stopped and bowed.
"Your Majesty, what happened?" asked Frost without stopping his steps
Angel was silent for a few moments, he could only hope that his guess was wrong. If the capital's wall had not been repaired then it meant that Asteria's financial condition was bad and in such a state, how could they still be determined to wage a war with another kingdom?
"I can't say it now. I have to confirm something beforehand."
Angel and Frost entered the study, while the guards who followed them waited outside the room. King Gervis' assistant who was tidying up the documents in the room quickly approached and blocked their way.
"Your Majesty, you can't-"
But before the assistant finished his sentence, Frost took out his sword and pressed it to his neck. The assistant quickly pressed his lips and stiffened in silence.
Angel approached the desk, his hands moved swiftly, examining documents after documents that piled on the desk. His eyes moved from side to side reading and checking the documents quickly until he found the financial reports. He threw himself on the chair as his eyes focused on the paper in his hand. His eyes moved to read and process the numbers written on the report. Asteria's financial condition was very bad, even it was almost in deficit, but King Gervis tried to cover it up by selling some jewellery from the treasury.
'I don't understand, even though I'm the one who just lost my largest trading city but why Asteria's financial conditions are worse than Euphorion's?'
Pearl Gate City was destroyed and he made a declaration of war, of course, this would have an effect on his kingdom economy. But he could maintain Euphorion's economic stability since he had developed three other economic cities and was always preparing reserve funds to cope with unexpected disasters even though they were almost never used. Economic stability was also one of the reasons why he wanted to end the war quickly. Closing the trade routes for a long time would hamper economic growth for his kingdom.
He took another report sheet and examined it, his eyes widened in surprise as he read it.
-Tak!
He threw the reports hard on the desk, making the pile of documents on it scattered to the floor. His anger was clearly visible on his face.
'This is why they made Pearl Gate City as their first target. Because they thought I built it to attack Asteria economically.'
He paused for a moment when he felt there was something missing with the financial reports. He took it again and flipped the report, but he did not find what he was looking for. He turned his gaze to the assistant.
'Where is the war financing report?'
The assistant shook his head with a confused expression mixed with fear since Frost's swords were still attached to his neck.
"I - I don't know, Your Majesty."
Angel was silent for a moment as he recalled that King Gervis attacked without a declaration of war. So he could not make a war budget openly. He opened the drawer on the side of the desk and groped the bottom of the drawer and pulled it. A small space in the drawer was opened showing several documents inside it. He knew this secret storage since he used to play here to accompany his father to work.
He took the documents and examined them, after a while a tired sigh came out of his mouth.
'This is really crazy. He not only sold some treasures to cover Asteria's financial problems but also used it to finance the war. He not only tried to destroy Euphorion because of me but also almost destroyed his own kingdom.'
He flipped the report sheets in his hand again, suddenly a letter fell to the floor. He turned his gaze to the letter and realized that the letter had the dragon crest of Draconis stamp on it. He took the letter and read it, his eyes widened in surprise once more. In the letter, Draconis not only agreed about the marriage between Ophelia and Prince Artheur but also agreed to assist Asteria in the war against Euphorion on the condition that they would obtain half of Euphorion's territory. His hands clenched as he held his anger, his expression turned sour.
"Draconis ... How dare they!" he snorted irritably.
'Well then, I'll take care of them first before dealing with Zephyrus.'