Derman could barely stop his mouth from opening wide, this was not far from what he expected, as the military and treasury were obvious demands. The former was a dream for the nobles to take control of the military again, and if he gave them that then probably before the year even ends he would find that the Army General had been deposed of and that a new one, most likely a noble, was put in charge in his place.
As for the treasury position, well the treasury was in control of all the kingdom's financial matters, from taxes to public revenue to crown debt, and currently it employed mostly experienced former merchants who accepted the former King's invitation to work in the treasury. If the nobles had more influence on it then reducing the tax rate for the nobles and raising taxes for the common people would be the least that they could do. They would practically rule the kingdom financially.
However, a personal assistant? They were just blatantly putting a spy next to him! Moreover, they knew that he had Angar, who he officially named as his secretary, so why would he even have any need for an untrustworthy assistant given to him by the most corrupt man in the kingdom?
Fuming inwardly, he tried his best to project an image of calmness and indifference on the outside, he would not let Roland fluster him, and even though he was the one at a disadvantage here, even though he was prepared to make concessions, he will not give them everything they wanted.
"Hmm, well, I thank you for your thoughtfulness, Lord Roland. However, I must decline your request, you see, maybe I could take an assistant, but the military and treasury…those I can't touch even if I wanted to, I am officially still just a prince after all, so I thank you for your time, I will be leaving now." He said with a regretful tone, and strode toward the door, restraining himself from the urge to turn and see Lord Roland's expression.
Before he walked out of the door though, Lord Roland spoke loudly, "The assistant and the treasury position, that's all I can do, my Prince,"
Derman stopped and turned around, after a moment of silence, he said, "What about Lord Falah, Lord Bayaz, and Lord Belma's military positions?"
"Rest assured, your Highness. I will take care of the Lords' requests myself"
'As if those lords had any requests' he thought angrily, in Amadal, the nobles' faction was split into two, one was headed by the Wayers, who basically absorbed the other families under their influence in all but name, both economically and politically, so from the first place those Lords' 'requests' were really just Rolland's requests, and now he wanted Derman to be grateful that he backed down on the his own demands!
The other faction was headed by the Delat family, who were equal in power with the Wayer family, and competed with each other in all sectors, the only difference between the two was that while the Wayers controlled and oppressed, the Delats had strategical alliances with the families in their faction. They were gentle with the ones under their influence. Under normal circumstances, they would be the Wayers's top enemy.
Derman knew that the assistant position was the only thing Roland would not budge on, due to the fact that he made the demand himself, in the name of his family, not the others, it was obvious he wanted to plant a spy next to Derman, which confused him more. A spy's worth was all about his anonymity, only when no one knew that he was a spy would he be a reliable spy. And if he was even suspected of being one, then he lost all his advantages.
Rolland must realize that Kamal's spying was worth nothing, as Derman would not reveal anything in front of him, he might even feed him false information, if so then why?
"I will expect your presence at the coronation the day after tomorrow, and kindly send my new assistant to me by then"
"I hear and obey, my Prince" the man said, his lips twitching.
Derman nodded, and then left the room. He would have to find a way to remove that treasury position in any way possible, or at least minimize its influence. It would have been best if Rolland backed off on it too, but anyhow, backing off on the Military positions was enough for him right now.
His next destination would be a meeting with the Army General. He needed to make sure that they are prepared for what comes next, thankfully, he did not have to give the General the news that three captain ranks would be given to unexperienced snobby nobles, it would have made the conversation a little awkward.
. , ,
After the Prince left the room, an angry Rolland turned to Kamal, shouting, "Why did we just give up on the military positions! This was a great opportunity! And he clearly was just bluffing!"
"Even if he had been just bluffing, which maybe he was, and maybe he wasn't, it doesn't really matter, he clearly is not a complete idiot, so if we pushed too hard he would have rejected everything and we would become enemies, and he already has the Delats as you already know"
"I don't care about the Delats! We could have controlled him completely! And we could have gotten rid of that filthy peasant of a General!"
Calmly, Kamal looked at him and said frankly, "I don't give a damn about your positions, Rolland, I got what I wanted today, and that is all that matters, now, go to your estate and keep quiet, don't do anything without my knowledge, keep in mind that I if you do anything, then you will be my enemy, and you do not want that, believe me you don't"
Lord Rolland turned red and almost exploded with rage.
Kamal left the room with a satisfied smile on his face. This part of the plan was all his own, and either way, whatever happens, it would still be in his advantage.
. . .