Thurin had also taken the time to do the second trial, leaving Carian to hold up the fort all by himself. He disliked the fact that all the work was pushed onto him again, but at least this time he had the support of certain nobles who joined their faction after they proved themselves on the battlefield.
Using their funds he was able to afford a few more decent Scholars who were adept at administration.
Coming out of the trial, Thurin had a slight smile on his face. Seems that the time spent in that separate place gave him a sort of break. Even Carian was surprised to see him show some of his previous behaviors.
'Looks like the boy just needed some time off. Going to war couldn't really be all that relaxing. I should schedule some fixed moments of time off... Although that will result in more work for me.'
Carian let out a slight sigh but pulled himself together. The future wasn't all bleak. With his new powers, most Scholars weren't against working under them. A lot of nobles also found him to be more worthy to rule. There were still a lot more who sided with Augustinus, but they were slowly being convinced.
A knock came from the large doors that led to the throne room, seems they had an uninvited guest. Looking over, Carian saw that Thurin had lost that little smile, turning it back to his cold, rational mask. Each time he saw that a sharp pain appeared in his heart. He practically raised the boy, seeing him change so drastically hurt his feelings.
Sending the guards to open the doors, a surprising visitor appeared.
"Thank you for letting me in, your majesty.", a beautiful woman was performing a perfect curtsy with her dress. Her appearance would enchant any man, coupled with her dress, she was a killer beauty.
"M-, What have you come here for?", Thurin spoke with slight hesitation. The woman closed in on Thurin without the guards reacting in the slightest, only staring at her.
"Oh, my poor boy, look what they did to you. You look so pale, have you been eating well?", bending down, her bosom was right in front of Thurin. Placing her pale hand on Thurin's cheek, her hands spread a soothing warmth, making him want to close his eyes for more than 1 reason. Carian, who was a bit surprised by her sudden visit sprang into action.
"My Lady, I can assure you that His Majesty gets his proper nutrition at fixed times. I've also started a draft on giving him a few more breaks to recover from his work.", Carian said in a polite and respectful manner.
The former Queen looked at Carian and smiled slightly. "Please look after him for me Carian, I'm afraid the boy doesn't know how to take care of himself yet.", she said as he straightened herself and placing her hands in one another.
"Seeing you all work so hard makes me want to help as well. I know I don't have any official power, but I have a lot of connections left to the wives and concubines of those stubborn nobles. If you want me to, I can give them messages."
It was clear she was being sincere, and thinking about it, her help could be quite beneficial in a certain sense. Due to a lack of response, since both were thinking about the utility of her strength, she added another incentive.
"I'm also willing to give up a lot of my inheritance if it can help the Empire survive. All those talks and rumors about the barbarians in the south keeps me up at night. I don't even mind if I don't get it back, as long as we don't have to worry about them anymore."
Hearing that he could get a bigger budget through a loan without any interest, Carian shot to action.
"That would be lovely! If you are willing to depart with some of your possessions, we would be able to help out a lot of smaller villages! Are you willing to set some time aside a bit later? I'll come by your room to discuss the details. And-"
"Carian. Keep it together. You can focus on that later.", Thurin waved his hand for a second, a movement that would've passed by anyone in the room, but Carian stopped in his tracks for a second.
Even for just a moment, the image of the former Emperor overlapped with Thurin, something he had wished would never happen. Yet, that feeling wasn't fully justified. Seeing the slight smile on his face, he shook his suspicions away. Thurin was starting to break out of his shell, leaving his cold persona behind. It would just take a lot of time and effort.
The queen looked at the empty throne next to Thurin and crossed her arms, emphasizing her bosom. "I see that this seat is still as empty as I left it. There would be a layer of dust if not for the maids. You've been Emperor for at least a few hundred cycles, no?"
The Queen was for many the perfect beauty, to find someone equal for Thurin would be almost impossible. "How come you don't have a partner yet? Is it because you can't choose, because I can help in that regard.", she pointed at herself as she stared Thurin in the eyes.
The room got eerily quiet as Thurin was losing his so well-trained poker face. "I.. I haven't found anyone yet, I'm too caught up in work. When we have achieved peace, only then will I have the time to start my search."
Finding a perfect excuse and immediately giving a solution to the current issue was starting to become a specialty of his. Now he was freed from bothering to look for a queen as long as the war lasts, and to Thurin, this meant almost forever, since the war with the barbarians has been going on for tens of thousands of cycles.
The former Queen stared at Thurin for a moment before suddenly having a revelation. "Ah, I see, you always stay with that other boy right? Lucas, was his name? I don't mind if you found someone to play around with, but that throne is exclusively for women."
She said with a playful tone. Her eyes made it clear she was being serious but both Carian and even Thurin had lost their composure. His cheeks tinted red which it had long forgotten.
"Mother! Please don't joke around, we are strictly friends, nothing more!", panicked, Thurin almost got out of his chair trying to refute his stepmother.
"Hahaha,", she laughed, a laugh so contagious even Carian fell to it. "There you go, that's a lot better, no?", she held his face in her warm hands. "You always look so serious, you remind of me of him. Please don't go down that path, my boy. He was a great leader, but don't let the ghost of the past haunt you. Be yourself, not some manufactured person, it doesn't do you any good."
She kissed his forehead before leaving the throne room without saying a word. Carian stood by the side with his mouth shut tight. There were plenty of things he wanted for Thurin, but the former Queen was a lot better than him, it seemed. By forcefully pulling him into embarrassing situations, the mask cracked.
Looking at Thurin now, he had a slight smile that he was trying to hide behind his hand, but nothing escaped Carian's sight. Smiling as well, he was glad to see things change ever so slightly.
Not long after, Lucas entered the throne room. Carian gave a sign to the guards to leave them alone. Thurin was handling his papers as usual, the only difference now was that there was a strange light in his eyes.
Lucas felt the strength in his body, he was looking forward to the next step in his master plan for the Empire.
Carian, who knew both residents of the throne room all too well held back his nagging as he spoke flat out.
"There is nobody here, so tell us Lucas, what's next? Subduing the western nobles has proven to be a lot more beneficial for us than first expected. There were also some unexpected losses, but I have to admit I underestimated your plan. Now, you said that you had a way to move forward?"
"Yes, well, the initial goal is to subdue the internal war and then push back the barbarians. But I'm afraid that the barbarians will move soon. If I was the head of the barbarians and I heard that the forces were stabilizing, I would do something to prevent that."
Carian stroked the beard that had formed in his chin. "Considering they have been gathering their strength near the borders now for a long time, they might start an offensive. Should we start by reinforcing the troops or focus on Augustinus first?"
He had his own ideas, but Lucas proved to more capable on this front than him. Most of his strategies and plans were quite thought out, leaving Carian some breathing room to focus on internal issues.
"Well, to be frank, this will be a gamble. Augustinus will have made the same conclusion as we have, meaning that he will take advantage of our current situation. Considering he has contacts within the barbarians, it wouldn't surprise me if they acted at the same time. That, or when we engage one group, the other will spring in action."
Thurin, who had been reading some papers in the meantime suddenly lifted his head. "That doesn't answer the question."
Lucas smiled while Carian was a bit surprised. He rarely spoke back to either of them, yet now he was acting like it was the most normal thing.
"Great observation. I propose we take matters into our own hands. Before either party moves, we strike Augustinus with a small elite force while moving our army towards the border."
"Why not move our army towards Augustinus? I suggest you don't underestimate him."
"If we move all our assets in either direction, we'll get smacked from behind. On the other hand, if we split our army and fight on two fronts we're destined to fall."
Carian found decent reasoning in his words, but then the obvious next question was on everyone's mind. Carian was the first to speak it out aloud. "Who would this elite force comprise off?"
"Myself, Thurin, and the troops I gave specialized training schedules. While we go and keep Augustinus busy, I want you to prepare the troops to confront the barbarians in the south. Prepare the funds for provisions and the carriages and keep in contact with the Senate."
"You're leaving me again with all the work, aren't you? Can't we at least wait a few cycles? There's simply too many things that I need Thurin for. If you leave now and return in a good 30 cycles then I'll be swamped again."
Thurin put his papers down as he looked towards Carian. "We can forget about our sleep and just get as much done as possible. When do you propose we leave, Lucas?"
"Well, if I wanted to, as soon as possible, but even I have a few things to prepare. So let's try to get things done in 4 cycles or so."
"Only 4? You do realize I have about as much work for a 100 cycles lying around?", Carian, who had been the one to keep the Empire running, was often left behind to handle the issues by himself. To hear he only had the equivalent of 4 days to complete all of his work was asking for the impossible.
"Didn't some nobles join our sides? They should've given the funds to hire more Scholars for this kind of work."
"Yeah, I've already included the new workforce in my calculations."
"Oh, well...", Lucas needed a second to think it through. Every second wasted could possibly result in a surprise attack, if both groups suddenly shot in action, they would be in trouble. On the other hand, they did abandon a lot of work and certain decisions could only be made by the Emperor.
"Fine, I'll also help in my spare time. Any issue that takes up too much of your time you can give to me. I'll speak with the people in person and persuade them."
Carian felt the need to facepalm, but held it in. He hadn't seen Lucas's way of working in person, the stories of the people who did told him enough. It was effective at a cost. Thurin heard the same complaints, but he kept holding Lucas in high regard.
Still, that didn't mean he had nothing to say. "You can use whatever tactic, but you can't threaten them with force anymore. With the other nobles slowly starting to join our side, we have to also show some level of flexibility and carry some losses."
"Threatening with force? What do you take me for? All I was doing was following the rules, nothing more.", Lucas spoke the truth, there were some cases where he did cross the line sometimes, but those were the exceptions. To Lucas, results were all that mattered.
Thurin put his papers down before signing it and using his ring to seal it. "Lucas, your reputation is already competing with Augustinus to see who can get the lowest. I've received a report from Carian where he gathered the testimonies of our partners, and they weren't great."
To hear that from Thurin, Lucas was stumped. He never expected to be rebuked by one of his so-called friends.
"Listen, do what you can, but try to keep it civil, you are part of my inner circle and my friend. It's just that many nobles are starting to question our way of working. If you can be a bit more flexible, then we would be able to get more aid."
"Sheesh, I get it, I get it. I'll stop pressuring them. I'll ask them nicely and if that doesn't work I'll pull out the law book."
"Thanks, Lucas."
Time passed quickly as everyone was working non-stop, all three tried to keep sleep to a minimum, even if that did limit their efficiency a bit. They were all people who had long surpassed normal humans, making them durable enough to keep going.
Lucas was extremely busy with certain plans and keeping an eye on both Augustinus and the border. Carian had rounded up every decent Scholar that could perform decent work to govern the Empire while Thurin was the decision maker.
As the cycles passed, Lucas started to get worried about the current stalemate, something needed to happen. So he requested to leave again to venture towards Augustinus. Carian, who had been able to resolve most of the internal issues had finally caught up with the current problems.
Seeing Lucas now wanting to slow his speed wasn't pleasant to say the least. Still, he knew that this took priority. "Firstly, how are you planning on accusing Augustinus, we can't just suddenly attack him without some kind of reason. Otherwise, we would lose our standing with the nobles."
"Well," taking out a few papers, "what I have here are some documents instructing the nobles in the west to cause an uproar and try to usurp the throne. Coincidentally, it was signed with Augustinus's sign and seal. Thus, we have plenty of reason to start a fight."
Thurin looked at the papers and inspected the seal closely. It was accurate, it was without a doubt from Augustinus. The strange thing is, this wasn't discovered when they raided the homes of the nobles.
Carian, who held his forehead tightly, could already feel the headache coming. "Lucas, where did you get that from?"
Lucas stayed silent as he gave Carian a big grin that elicited the oncoming headache. "Of course."
"No one will know, especially if we succeed. If we fail, then everything will come to light, yes, but then the Empire will be overrun by the barbarians. In that case we'll have bigger things to worry about."
"You're playing with fire.", Thurin interjected, but Lucas was happy to see this kind of reaction. Neither of them refused it right away, all he had to do was open the door.
"We're fighting against a con-man, a lying cheater who is ruling the underworld of the Empire by pulling some strings. If I didn't foil their plans for the assassination then we would be in trouble. Against evil, a lesser evil is necessary."
"Necessity is perhaps reaching a bit. I believe there are other ways to deal with them, no?", Thurin cocked his head as he looked for optional paths. Lucas didn't like it one bit, but knew it wasn't the time to be hiding something.
"There are other ways as well, we can visit them under the guise of handling their taxes in person since last visit went wrong. In theory, you can use your power to ask Augustus to personally visit us, although I believe that will only create more turmoil."
Thurin nodded his head before deciding on what they would do. "We'll visit Augustinus with a small group, not to accuse him of anything or to talk about their tax evasion, but rather to investigate. If we believe the nobles have ties to Augustinus, it only makes sense to question him about it in person. So burn that piece of parchment, don't let the Stars see it again for our own integrity."
"Hmm, we might not be able to push them a lot, but I guess it's better than nothing. Then, for the people going, are you going to follow my proposal?"
Thurin remembered the list clearly and was happy with it. "I'll make sure we also have a few members of the Hidden Order to help around as servants who can spring into action when possible."
Hearing that, Carian felt the need to jump in, "Thurin, I don't mind that you're going to use some of the Hidden Order, but please remember what I told you. Right now, the Hidden Order isn't only following you."
"Indeed, the only other person they would find worthy is Augustinus, no other great noble has the influence he does. If we bring them together, then their true colors will be shown."
Lucas, who had been nodding along added, "Won't that put your own life at risk? I'm pretty confident in my own abilities when it comes to handling them, but what about you?"
Thurin summoned his armor. The light blue armor donned his body and covered every single inch. The wolf head covered his head, but still allowed him to speak. It was an upgraded version, this time, nothing could touch his body directly.
"I see, then I don't see any problems.", Lucas smiled as Carian worried a little bit about his highness's hubris. It didn't take long before they finished their letter to Augustinus to let him know about their visit, but it wasn't received well.