In the heart of the Royal Palace of Astoria, the seat of power, things were not running as they should. At this moment, the atmosphere in the Throne Room felt incredibly tense.
A royal soldier was kneeling, his face deathly pale. Before him stood the supreme ruler of the kingdom, the 19th King of Astoria, Garland Yudavius En Astoria.
"How could you forget it? This letter is of utmost importance!" King Garland snapped, his voice echoing throughout the room.
The soldier trembled in fear. "Forgive me, Your Majesty! Yesterday, Prince Erland suddenly asked me to escort him to the library in the capital. I did not dare refuse him."
King Garland massaged his throbbing temples upon hearing his son's name. "Ah... never mind. Summon Yovlan here immediately!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The soldier rushed out of the throne room to summon Yovlan Vargas, the Minister of Finance.
Moments later, Yovlan arrived with steady steps and bowed respectfully before the king.
"I, Yovlan Vargas, report for duty, Your Majesty!"
King Garland immediately thrust out the piece of paper he had been holding. "Here, read this!" he commanded.
Yovlan took the paper in confusion, then began to read the writing inscribed there.
Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Arvin Vedegra.
I am writing this letter to lodge a formal complaint regarding the privileges of academy students, which I find utterly nonsensical.
Why are academy students exempt from taxes on all transactions? I just conducted a transaction worth 1,500,000 Gold Pieces but was not charged tax. Naturally, I protested to the Merchant Guild.
My transaction was substantial, and a 5% tax on it would also be substantial, amounting to 75,000 Gold Pieces. Although the Merchant Guild took no issue with it, I found it objectionable.
I insisted on paying that tax so the Kingdom of Astoria receives revenue to pay the salaries of all soldiers and royal officials.
Just imagine if I hadn't paid that tax; how much loss would this kingdom suffer?
You must revise that rule so no royal 'pests' intentionally exploit this student privilege solely to evade taxes.
You must limit that privilege to only 5 to 10 gold Pieces per year! No more, no less!
If you ignore my complaint, it means you are a very stupid king, or perhaps you are merely a king steered by those pests as a political puppet.
I look forward to the future developments of this kingdom.
Sincerely, Arvin Vedegra.
Yovlan was utterly shocked after reading the letter. His eyes widened behind his glasses.
Truly a bold child. Yovlan thought in shock. He didn't even hesitate to call His Majesty 'stupid' and a 'political puppet' at the end of his letter.
However, Yovlan could not deny the truth of the letter's contents. But the content of this letter is indeed true. There are many losses this kingdom will suffer if we do not act.
"What do you think, Yovlan?" asked King Garland, breaking the silence.
"Honestly, Your Majesty... I never expected he would dare to insult you like that."
King Garland snorted softly, then smirked. "The Vedegra family is indeed like that. Only they dare to protest and even insult a king. You don't need to think about the insults. Now, just tell me your opinion on the letter!"
Yovlan could not avoid the king's request. He then gave his professional analysis.
"In my opinion, what is written here is indeed true. If we don't revise the rule, there will be many unscrupulous individuals exploiting their children's status as academy students to make transactions."
Yovlan continued his explanation. "If Arvin Vedegra, who conducted a transaction of over 1,000,000 Gold Pieces, hadn't paid tax, the loss we would suffer would be enormous. His suggestion to limit it to 10 Gold Pieces per year also makes sense so that no one tries to exploit their children's status again!"
Suddenly, a soldier barged into the throne room, panting.
"F-Forgive me, Your Majesty! There is something I must report to you!"
King Garland turned sharply. "What is it? Speak quickly! We are having an important discussion."
"An academy student believed to be a member of the Vedegra family has raised a flag with his family crest in the middle of the city!"
King Garland and Yovlan were shocked after hearing the report.
"Why would he raise something terrible like that? Does he want to go to war?" asked King Garland warily.
"No, Your Majesty! He is moving more than 50 homeless people in the capital to the Vedegra territory. And on every wagon, a flag with the Vedegra family crest has been attached."
Hearing that, King Garland fell silent for a moment. Then...
"Hahaha."
The loud laughter could be heard by everyone in the room. Several soldiers on duty in the throne room looked at each other, confused by their king's behavior.
"Hahaha. No matter! He has done the right thing!" said King Garland amidst his laughter. "If he hadn't raised that flag, the convoy would certainly have been intercepted by border soldiers and most likely wouldn't be allowed to enter or exit the territory."
Not long after, another soldier came to face the throne room.
"Your Majesty, I wish to report!"
Of course, this made everyone even more surprised by the influx of news arriving at the palace at almost the same time.
"What do you wish to report?" asked the King, still with a lingering smile on his face.
"The academy student from the Vedegra family has bought up and even paid for all the merchandise of small traders with tens of gold coins, as well as killed 7 thugs who had been causing great unrest there."
King Garland laughed again after hearing the report. However, his laughter was different this time. It sounded hollow, a laugh to cover deep shame.
I didn't expect him to do that for the small traders in the capital as well, even though this isn't his territory. thought King Garland bitterly.
Shame enveloped his heart. We who live in the capital feel very ashamed because someone from the Vedegra territory is taking care of this kingdom. Would it be better if he just replaced my position as King? I am sure he would definitely bring prosperity to this kingdom.
"Thank you for the report! You may return!" ordered the King.
Then, the soldier left the throne room.
King Garland and Yovlan continued their discussion regarding the privileges of academy students. And the king had decided to revise the rule according to what was written in Arvin's letter.
"Then, what about this letter, Your Majesty?" asked Yovlan while showing the letter in his hand.
King Garland looked at the letter with a meaningful gaze.
"For now, just store it in the archive room. Someday, we will display it in a museum so everyone knows who truly cared about the fate of this kingdom!"
Yovlan bowed respectfully. "As you command, Your Majesty!"
Yovlan left the throne room and returned to his office to immediately handle the legislative documents regarding the revision of academy student privileges.