"This is bad... just when I thought things couldn't get any worse," Charlie muttered to himself. holding his head with furrowed brows.
"I apologize for inconveniencing you, your majesty, but it's the truth. The rebels seem to have taken over the Aldreach Laboratory, with only Doctor Noran as their surviving captive."
The guard, who had relayed this news, then handed him a letter. "This seems to be from the rebels who took over the lab. It was given to me by a man in a black cloak."
Remaining seated in his throne, Charlie took the letter from the guard's hand and opened it, calmly taking the parchment out of the envelope before unfolding it, his hands trembling slightly.
As he began reading it, he narrowed his eyes. The rebels explained that they were taking everything that the lab controlled hostage. They weren't going to return it, nor were they going to be bribed into letting go of it.
The survivor would help them manage the lab, while the rebels would then use it to possess and make use of all of the lab's inventions and controls for all sorts of purposes.
If the king didn't want harm to come to Aethelgard, then he and his family must surrender to them immediately. That way, all citizens would remain unscathed, and Aethelgard wouldn't be an isolated wasteland devoid of civilization.
"Regards,
Manori the Greatessssst~" is what was written at the end of the letter.
Manori...
He couldn't care less about who this Manori was, though he knew that she wasn't the grandmaster of the rebels, since their leader wouldn't simply reveal themselves like this.
The real problem was the confiscation of the Aldreach Laboratory, which was the greatest disaster ever possible. It should've been expected, yet the security there was strong, so the king didn't think that the rebels could infiltrate the laboratory so easily.
"This is bad. Really bad, your majesty," the Minister of National Defense muttered in a low voice.
"I agree. Any other laboratory could have been fine, but the Aldreach Laboratory... they went exactly for our greatest asset," the Minister of Science and Technology added, his fingers curling into his white beard.
"Indeed. I doubt we can recover from this unless we can infiltrate the main headquarters of the rebels and then beat those guys for good," said the Minister of Wealth and Finance, his brows furrowed.
The others seemed to mutter to themselves, each standing before the king. They were in a meeting when the guard brought the letter, bringing the entire room to disarray.
"I am sure that they will use this new conquest of theirs to strengthen their troops with Vyr. The connection with Karsawa would be the most utilised, in my opinion, since it has more Vyr than even Varkana itself." Upon hearing Lynera's words, the rest of the ministers began murmuring again.
The fact that they could utilise the Vyr of a place that has more ambient Vyr than even the planet they inhabit was bad news. It gave them unstoppable leverage and power over the kingdom.
"If they strengthen their troops, then that would indeed be an extremely clever way of utilising Karsawa's Vyr. I'd say that it's an excellent tactic," the Minister of National Defense muttered once more, his eyes fixed on Lynera.
"If it's so interesting, then why didn't you use it for our military, Sir Mathew? Even General Vekas once remarked that this could've been a perfect buff for our soldiers, yet we never really used them," Lynera asked, turning her gaze towards Mathew, the National Defense Minister.
"That's because Sir Winkel didn't wish for me to use what the Aldreach Lab controlled for anything other than science and technology." He sneered, glancing at Winkel, the Science and Technology Minister.
Everyone turned their heads to Winkel, who shuddered slightly in response. "I-In my defense, the Aldreach Laboratory has existed for millions of years, serving only the purpose of being used for research purposes and inventing new forms of technology, evolving how the kingdom operates."
He stiffened further, his lips pursed, before continuing once more. "Not to mention that even after Karsawa was taken over, the idea of using it to strengthen military personnel was never truly raised by any of the kings of Aethelgard, so we can't really act on our own."
The rest lower their heads slightly, pondering over his words. He was right, and since no king had ordered Karsawa's Vyr reserves to be used in such a manner, they couldn't really argue about it.
"I see... but then why is it that Sir Mathew didn't even ask the king about it? Surely, he would have at least considered the positives of such an action." Zephiloth muttered, the minister turning to the one in charge of National Security.
"Simple. Sir Winkel didn't want me to 'disturb the king with such needless ideas'. I merely listened to him."
"Needless?" Lynera muttered, her eyes narrowed. "And you accepted his words? That this idea was 'needless'? I don't understand the thought process here."
"Well, you see—"
"You listened to him? Is he your king?" Charlie suddenly asked, interrupting the minister's words.
"N-no, your majesty. How could one possibly come to that conclusion—"
"Then why did you not come to me with such an idea, hmm?" the king asked, his eyes narrowed before turning to Winkel.
"And why did you call such a genius idea needless? No matter how great our military is, it should improve further." The king's words boomed throughout the chamber as Winkel's brows furrowed in discomfort.
"W-Well, your majesty. I-I—"
"Actually, may I speak of another matter while we are on this subject, your majesty?" Lynera suddenly spoke, her hand raised as she sought permission to continue.
Upon the king's nod, she turned to face the Wealth and Finance Minister. "Sir Vekas once told me that the military was receiving less funding throughout the past 100 years, and it only seems to be decreasing. Isn't this funding managed by Sir Mathew and Sir Shigoro?"
Her question made several heads jolt at the Wealth and Finance Minister, who lowered his head slightly at the number of gazes. He gulped before turning to Lynera.
"The military funding has indeed decreased over the last few years, but that's mainly because the treasury has far less money than before. Our state money is depleting fast due to lab spending, annual salaries, and several other programs. Decreasing funding for assets like military, construction, and research is necessary to keep the economy going."
"You say that, but for random exhibitions or events, the money spent hasn't daddled even once. In fact, trends seem to show that the spending has been increasing, specifically by known nobles. If you really care about the nation's loss of money, then you should decrease spending on these things instead of our main assets like the military and research."
Ignoring Shigoro's tongue click, Lynera continued. "Moreover, let's address the notion of 'heavy depletion of the treasury' as from the latest analysis, the state treasury is, very much, far from being depleted. There's also the fact that most of the state money doesn't even enter the treasury in the first place. It seems that you let other nobles take state money before it even enters where it is meant to be."
Whispers began among the ministers. Some exchanged nervous glances, while some had their brows furrowed as they mulled over her words.
"With all due respect, Madam Lynera," Shigoro cleared his throat, his eyes narrowed. "I doubt you would be aware of the nation's financial situation as well as I am. I believe that you should not distrust me since I know about Aethelgard's financial state better than anyone."
"You may be in charge of handling Aethelgard's finances, but cold data analysis and documents don't lie, Sir Shigoro."
She narrowed her eyes, her composure intact. "What I say is not from assumptions or rumors, but from the documents that state the weekly analysis of the state money, which includes how, where, and why it is used."
"These documents are made independently and aren't under the financial minister's supervision, as a private team surveys the analysis. These documents don't lie, so if they go against what the Wealth and Finance Minister informs, then there is a clear attempt to spread false information."
These were Zephiloth's words. His eyes were narrowed as he addressed Shigoro, who had turned sharply to him, his face betraying discomfort.
"Indeed, Sir Zephiloth," Lynera affirmed, "And from what we know, it's highly unlikely that the private team is the one spreading misinformation. I suspect corruption from the Wealth and Finance Ministry, especially from its Minister Shigoro."
Almost everyone gasped at her words, with Shigoro finally standing up, his eyes widened, his brows furrowed, and his teeth gritted together.
"That is an outrageous claim, Madam Lynera. While my management of the Wealth and Finance Ministry may not be perfect, no evidence ties me to corruption and intentional sabotage of the nation's wealth," the minister reasoned, his voice slightly raised.
"Actually, Sir Shigoro... I see enough evidence to declare you corrupt." Shigoro's head turned sharply to the king, who seemed to be glaring daggers at him.
The whole room went silent. Why wouldn't it? Their king had just deemed a minister too corrupt. It was something that barely ever happened. Shigoro must truly be cursed with misfortune for this to happen to him.
"Y-Your majesty, please! How can I possibly be corrupt? I-I have done whatever I could to improve the kingdom's financial state."
"The evidence states otherwise," the king replied, "besides, I am anything but a fool. I have conducted my own observations over my ministers, and I have found you to be caring about yourself more than your nation, and while that can normally be excusable, it's to the point that I cannot simply ignore it."
Shigoro tried speaking, but the king halted him by holding out his hand. "However, you aren't the only corrupt minister among those here. The National Defense Minister, Mathew, and the Science and Technology Minister, Winkel, have also been deemed corrupt by the current evidence and observations conducted throughout these past few years."
Mathew stood up, his eyes wide and brows furrowed. "Your majesty, I am utterly disheartened to think that you suspect me of such a thing! I merely did whatever I could to help you, to help the military of this nation. If it weren't for me, we would've been conquered by nations like Broshasa by now!"
"It's exactly because of your management that a foreign man needed to help us win the war against Broshasa. And now, we are indebted to him for good. It speaks volumes about your incapabilities."
Mathew grew quiet at the king's words, while Winkel didn't even bother speaking, too stunned and frightened to do so as he trembled heavily, his teeth clattering together. His eyes remained wide, tears threatening to spill out.
As for the foreign man, they had all heard of him. He had not only wiped out the remainder of Broshasa's army — including their king — without much effort, but he had also rescued the princess from an assassination attempt. They could not say anything to him. Aethelgard was indeed indebted to him.
Charlie sighed before standing up, the rest of the ministers following his lead. "Minister Shigoro. Minister Winkel. Minister Mathew. You are now sentenced to death for committing corruption that has damaged the empire heavily. Right now, the rebels may be blamed for the empire's unrest, but it's because of corruption like this that such rebels even exist in the first place."
All three mentioned ministers widened their eyes in horror, with Winkel shivering in spasms, a panic attack coursing through him. Aethelgard never forgave corruption, always treating it with a death sentence.
And yet, it was rarely pointed out in recent years, so they believed that it would be easy to keep it hidden. Oh, how wrong they were.
"Your families will receive the adequate care they would require after your death." With that, the king let out his oathweight.
However, no one seemed to feel it.
But then, Shigoro, Mathew, and Winkel, all three of them, exploded into piles of blood and flesh. The ministers panicked, some even screamed, as the ones beside them were stained by the blood of the dead.
Only Lynera, who had activated her [Innate Barrier] beforehand in case any blood were to fall on her, remained calm. She was unaffected by the blood of the dead, as well as how they died.
She knew that the king was well capable of concentrating his oathweight on specific targets rather than whoever came in the way. It was a skill not many had, yet of course, it should be expected of the king.
"You are all dismissed." He declared, and as everyone left, he turned to one of his guards.
"Summon Sir Revan. I need to discuss something with him."