The night was too heavy to bear.Outside the royal wing, the palace lay drowned in silence,while the candles in Ken's study melted slowly,counting his breaths as if they too felt the weight of the air.
The wind whispered through the tall windows,gently stirring the curtains — a ghost of memories brushing past.
Across the desk sat Marvin,surrounded by stacks of ancient ledgers, yellowed papers, and faded royal seals.Beside him stood Gray, holding one of the files, waiting for a sign.
Ken finally lifted his gaze,his eyes gleaming with quiet command.His voice cut through the stillness like a blade drawn in the dark.
"Start, Marvin… I want to know everything."
Marvin drew in a long breath,as if exhaling years of secrets long buried.He opened the first ledger,his voice low and steady — the kind of tone used only for confessions.
"What happened, Your Highness… was no accident.Nor was it mere mismanagement.It was a chessboard —every crisis a move, every solution a trap —all leading toward one player's victory."
He lifted his eyes toward Ken.
"Seven economic crises struck the kingdom over the past few years.Each one destroyed a different sector…and each one ended the same way:the same savior emerged — Darius Orvallis."
The words fell heavy.The wind rattled the glass;the sound of turning pages mingled with the beating of three hearts.
It began seven years ago.Three major northern mines were suddenly shut down —the reason: "contaminated groundwater."Production halted.The royal forges ran dry.Weapon factories closed, and the price of iron tripled overnight.
The soldiers had no new blades.The carriages had no wheels.
And then — salvation.A new company appeared from nowhere: Metal Dawn,owned by a minor noble house called Randell.They imported iron, restarted industry, and stabilized the markets.
But when the contracts were reviewed later,each one carried a faint seal: D.O.
Ken whispered, his voice laced with a cold spark of realization.
"Darius… Orvallis."
It was the first sting of suspicion.
Counterfeit coins flooded the capital.People lost faith in money.Trade froze.The royal treasury went still — a heart without pulse.
Then came the savior again:a new Union of Secure Currency was formed,issuing a redesigned coin "impossible to forge."
The backers? Noble houses Havenar and Fitzberg.But when Marvin traced the funding trail —it all led back to one place: D.O. Finance.
Ken slammed his fist on the table.One candle flickered out.
"He made the kingdom's treasury depend on him!"
A year later, the largest royal bank fell apart.Merchants went bankrupt, savings vanished,panic consumed the streets.
Then Darius stepped into the light,announcing the creation of the Royal Financial Stability Fund,granting himself temporary authority over all banks.
Marvin smirked bitterly.
"From that day, Your Highness,the people no longer borrowed from banks —they borrowed from Darius himself."
After the economic storms, the noble families drowned in debt.They sold their lands, pawned their estates,and lost control of their companies.
Then came another miracle:the Royal Credit Council, offering to "restructure debts"with generous, almost merciful conditions.
But the council… was Darius's creation.He offered them loans — in exchange for ownership.
Gray flipped a page, astonished.
"He bought the nobility without paying a single coin…"
With their lands gone,noble families began turning on each other —accusations, betrayals, whispered plots.
The palace couldn't mediate.The king was exhausted — drowning in crises.
So Darius proposed unity:a Council of Noble Accord to settle disputes.Everyone agreed, desperate for order.
But Marvin's tone turned grim.
"From that moment on, no one conspired against him anymore…because they were already conspiring before him."
Silence swallowed the room.Ken leaned forward, resting his head in his hands.His voice came out low, trembling with restrained fury.
"Darius doesn't rule with power… he rules with gold."
Marvin nodded, his tone faintly shaking.
"Yes, Your Highness…he no longer needs the crown —because he owns it."
Marvin opened an old newspaper,its edges brittle, ink faded.On the front page, Darius smiled calmlyas he received the Royal Medal of Honor.
Marvin brushed his fingers over the image,his voice hollow with bitter irony.
"After every crisis, they praised him.They called him the savior who rescued Orvallis."
He lowered his hand, eyes dark.
"But gold doesn't disappear, my prince…it only changes direction.It no longer flows toward the throne —it flows away from it."
The candles crackled softly,their wax dripping like time itself.
Gray spoke carefully, eyes fixed on the ledgers.
"If he didn't cause the crises…he knew exactly when they would happen."
Ken stood slowly,his reflection caught in the moonlit glass of the window.His voice came quiet — deliberate —a vow wrapped in shadow.
"And that makes him even more dangerous."
That night, no one heard what he swore.But it was more than investigation —it was the birth of a silent war.
A war between the sword of gold… and the sword of blood.
"That night, Ken was no longer searching for the truth.He took his first step into a war against a brotherwho possessed everything —except a conscience."
End of Chapter .