As a CEO who had managed an entire company for years, handling people or listening to their nonsensical ideas was an everyday thing. Tim took the position when he was just twenty and had pulled out the company from a seventy-billion-dollar debt to profit in just five years using drastic methods which were never appreciated.
His plans were always complex yet simple to understand. Every plan was a success no matter how small or big it was except for some minor setbacks.
And now Tim was trying to implement some of his plannings in the duchy to survive the brewing large-scale unrest. Something had to be done and all these advisors were good for nothing. Their ideas were temporarily feasible but in the long run it was pointless.
Tim had to do something and after hours of researching he came up with an idea, which was a bit problematic for everyone to accept.
Four years ago, in the aftermath of the Thousand Days War, the emperor annexed the former Duchy of VIlestone to cover his losses and to blame his shortcomings. He recovered but his political strength decreased drastically.
Emperor Perthran not only destroyed the dukedom but crossed every rule this empire had to protect her nobles. He executed the whole ducal household without any trials, for their inability to stop the advances of the Northern Coalition. Not even little children were left. He mercilessly killed everyone which dishonored his own image.
Most nobles felt threatened for their life and land. They needed someone to protect them and in the meantime duke Esper appeared as a shining beacon of hope. He single handedly stopped the advances and saved half of the empire from falling.
His reputation was at an all time high and the military stronger than ever. So, the nobles flocked to Duke Esper for protection, as his political strength hit the roof. His influence grew so rapidly that the emperor became paranoid.
He felt insecure about his own throne. The thought of Duke Esper declaring himself as king and waging a civil war haunted him day and night. Anything could happen if one man became too powerful.
And to stop all that, the Emperor ordered the branch family of Elysium who went with the name Arlet and one of their most trusted vassals Carlstone to send less supplies to the duchy of Esper. A straight violation of Trinity but no one dared to ask any question. Not even the Espers.
His goal was to weaken the duchy from inside which would inevitably weaken the political strength of the duke. And it was working just fine for the past four years.
Tim realized all this instantly after just looking at the recent set of events. It was in the daylight for everyone to see and most advisors already knew it, but were too cowardly to raise their voice. It would be considered treason against the empire and no one wanted to stand in the line of guillotine.
---
"So, Leon. When did you become an experienced politician?" asked the duke, looking at his son with eyes full of curiosity. He was happy that his son was finally putting some interest in the duchy's affairs but at the same time it was a bit shocking.
He had tried countless times to get Leon into the matter to learn something but he never did. He would always find a way to escape. And soon the duke gave up until today.
"It is not politics. It is common sense. I am just using it to fix our situation." Tim replied, with a soft smile on his face, leaning on his chair before yawning. It was six-thirty in the evening and he was slowly getting sleepy from straining his already cluttered brain.
"You are right but, reforming Trinity will have its own fair share of consequences." The duke folded his arms before letting out a deep breath. "We can't act on our impulses and take drastic decisions. It can change everything. That moron can declare war against us. We will be labeled as oath breakers effectively turning the entire empire against us. Reputation is everything for a nobleman and being labeled as an oath breaker will not do any good to our family."
"I know. But still, we can't go with their plans to fast forward my marriage. It will solve nothing."
"You know if you think about it… It can work."
"What?"
"You are going to marry her anyway and Perth definitely will loosen up a bit for his only daughter." The duke chuckled in amusement hearing his own words and Tim frowned. "And you both can conceive some grandchildren for us to live our old times a little happily. Soon you will take my position, my son and you must have an heir before that."
"Let's not talk about that for now." Tim sighed. "We have important things at hand."
"That is important too. She is sixteen now. We will have to go ahead with the engagement soon or someone else will take her." Added Leon's father, resting both of his hands on the table as he leaned forward. "She is the future duchess of this duchy. The sooner she comes here, the more she will learn the ways of Espers."
"Present will take us to the future, so let's focus on the present." Tim smirked and the duke nodded with a thoughtful expression on his face. "So, tell me the consequences of Trinity?"
"Where should I start?"
"From the beginning."
"Okay then… So, it all started thirty years ago after the winter…"
---
Tim exited the meeting hall and went to his room where he threw himself into the bed. It had been a long day for him which was mostly spent in the library and recently talking with his father. His brain was overloaded with information about recent events.
And amongst them was Trinity which was basically an agreement signed between Espers, Arlets, and Carlstones, under the supervision of the previous emperor.
It came into effect just after the winter wars fought between the Northern Coalition and the Empire, where Espers were the spearhead due to their border sharing with the coalition states. They took the most damage in the span of eight years of constant fighting.
And when the war was finally over, the duchy was in ruins but had successfully defended herself.
But it all came at a heavy cost. Hundreds of thousands were dead, most lands were damaged, the economy was crashing, no food to feed the masses and finally inflation was at its peak. It seemed that was the end for the duchy of Esper but soon a helping hand was offered.
And that hand was offered by the previous emperor who showed some gratitude. He proposed the plan and others just agreed.
Arlet got resources in exchange for money. Carlstone got money in exchange for food and Espers survived. Soon they were back on their feet again, recovering from the losses. They got enough money to get their economy slowly running and food for the masses to feed.
They prospered again, taking the infamous role of shield against the north to protect the empire.
It continued for years to come as each party respected the treaty until Perthran succeeded his father as the ruler of the Espedor. At the beginning it seemed like nothing could go wrong with him as he too respected Trinity but after some time everything went wrong.
Esper began getting less and less supplies with each passing year and that forced the duchy again into disorder. Now was the fifth year of them getting less from the desired amount but paying the prices for full quantity.
According to some clauses added by Perthran, Espers had to pay first to get the supplies and it only benefited their counterparts. If they failed to pay then some of their lands would be taken and would be given to the emperor who would hold it as leverage until they clear the dues.
A realistic loan shark from whom Espers could never escape. There could be war if they broke Trinity but it would be unnecessary as they would inevitably kill themselves without any involvement from anyone.
"This is messed up." Tim sighed massaging his eyelids. No matter how he thought there was no way out of this without breaking the contract. And if broken neither the Arlets nor the Cralstones would be happy as they would be cut off from valuable mines, where they could do whatever they want.
"There will be a lot of consequences but what about the military?" A sudden thought struck Tim as he remembered readings about the unfathomable forces of the duchy.
Due to being an island nation Espedor had one of the strongest navies in the entire continent and most of these forces came from the duchy of Esper whose most citizens were soldiers assigned to either navy or land armies.
Poor weather and infertile land stopped them from large-scale farming, so most men joined the military which provided a guaranteed salary for them to feed their families.
Their enormous army was good in providing safety but when things were not going well internally, it would carry the seed of chaos. They could rebel against the duke which would push the civil war way ahead of its estimated time.
"But… If I can use the military to take control of everything… then it could work… It will work." A faint smile appeared on Tim's lips as a not so legal idea formed in his head. Most people won't be happy with it but if the duke agrees then everything would work.
With an excited smile, Tim hurriedly got out of the room and ran towards the sleeping quarters of the duke. He barged in through the door, without knocking and found the duke half-naked, wearing just a towel and the duchess sitting on the cushioned stool, before the dressing table.
They were talking about something while laughing but their expression changed drastically when they saw their son, ramming through the door breathing heavily.
"What happened Leon, you okay?" The duchess moved away from the mirror and walked towards her son with a worried look.
"I am fine mother. I just wanted to talk." Leon answered, shifting his attention to the duke who nodded.
"So, I have an idea."
"Idea? About what? The Trinity?"
"Yes!"
"You know the consequences, right?" The duke warned Leon about the things he had told him just an hour ago. There were grave costs for which they were never prepared.
"I know, I know. My plan is to avoid that, without creating a shit show."
"But how did you even get a plan?" The duchess asked, with a questioning gaze. It was an entirely new thing for her, to see her son coming up with a so-called plan to solve a matter which even the biggest minds of the duchy could not handle.
"That was oddly offensive." Leon looked at his mother, as his lips tensed into a frown "But It is a long story but first hear me out."
The duke let out a deep breath before concentrating on what his son had to say. "Go on."
"So, we need to…"
---
"That is too risky, son. You know the price and still asking me to involve the military and…"
"But it can work right? Think a little. It's possible." Tim pitched his argument, not waiting for the duke to complete his words. He would do anything in his capacity to fix the matter, no matter how ludicrous the ideas could be.
The Lord sighed again. "Yes, it is possible, but…"
"Too risky, right?"
"Yes!"
"But tell me father, is there anything left to do except going with a solution that will not solve anything?" Tim spoke in a calm yet firm tone. "Things are already dire and if we don't do something radical we will succumb to the weight of our own guilt."
The muscle near the duke's eyes twitched a little hearing his son's too serious wording. Leon was talking about guilt and trying to solve matters. Something had to be wrong for that to happen.
"I will think about it, now go!"
The lord ordered and Leon gave a shallow bow before leaving the room with quick steps. Soon the door was closed and Duke Wilhelm looked at his wife the duchess Priscilla.
"You heard what Leon said?"
"Yes!" Priscilla said softly, swaying her raven hair to the side.
"So…"
"He is kind of right. We can't wait anymore or all will be lost."
"You mean, you agree with your son's plan."
"Yes, my love!" She stirred forward towards her husband as wrapped her hands around his neck. "I agree with our son. You?"
"I like his extreme ideas, but where did he get them? Till yesterday he was acting like a moron and now out of nowhere he is acting like he can handle this duchy all by himself." Wilhelm added as he slowly embraced his wife.
"Maybe he changed."
"Yeah… that will be the only answer."