Year 3455 after Rostdor's foundation, Imperial palace, meeting room for nobles and officials in the east wing.
The Imperial palace was a magnificent and massive place. It reached so far, some would call it even a small town. It had its own ecosystem, and the east wing was one dedicated to bureaucratic work.
Albeit it was just one of many places, coincidence had it that almost no commoner was seen on the east wing, unless they were working as cleaning staff.
In such a space, one of the many dedicated rooms was for meetings between officials to discuss ideas and share opinions on unresolved matters.
-Welcome, my noble guests, I Cornelius Cicero Von Austfen, greet you with pleasure to discuss the matters of our great nation, and in an attempt to properly help our great Sun to govern his citizens.
-Oh great Archduke, you know it's our pleasure to be able to assist you in such affairs. I, Marquis Alexandre Plato Von Sargoth, will do my utmost.
The pleasantries exchange began, and the Archduke was able to space out and rethink his life a little.
The Archduke Von Austfen wasn't particularly charismatic. He wasn't specially tall either, he was aroun the 1'70 m Imperial average. He wasn't handsome either. His scar that blinded him and made half his mouth immobile would make most people argue that made him intimidating. He was unable to smile and always carried a stern expression. His remaining functional eye was ebony black, just as his small trimmed beard was. At 57 years of age, his muscles were still well built, indicating a Spartan way of life, that most nobles didn't share. He wasn't a brilliant mind, but he wasn't dumb either. He got his military college degree along with his noble training. His aura was that of a war veteran: because he indeed was a war veteran. He was one of the only two archdukes in the country, below only to the royal family.
A royal family that he himself put into place 33 years ago, after a long 7 years war. War that made them lose the last colonies they had, but that allowed the nobles not to lose their power. A war that kept Rostdor Pure, as it had always been. The last emperor was too much of a socialist, he even was rumoured to have been thinking to make the emperor's a purely religious based existence and leave the ruling to the masses.
But what good is there in giving power to mediocrity? Something mediocre is something average. And the average Rostdorian citizen was a fool. Dumb and easily scammed, they would most probably give power to fancy words and charismatic swindlers.
No, that's not the future of the greatest empire. It's future lay on the rule of the few superior intellectuals that the nobles were. That's what kept the empire over 3 thousand and almost five hundred years going. That was, the truth.
Finally, most people had introduced themselves and pledged to be happy to contribute, thing that was said out loud but that was annoyingly difficult to actually get them to do.
-Well, my fellow patricians -he said, for there was no commoner present in the room- I wish to clarify that anything and everything said from here onwards are critically related to the wellbeing of the state, and therefore strictly confidential, it's leakage would be highly detrimental to the country and would be considered an affront to his most illustrious Majesty, sun of our Empire.
This was a roundabout way of saying that it would be considered the highest form of treason. And there's only one punishment for the highest form of treason.
-Let us then, start with the most pressing matter: the illegal weapons trafficking from the merchants in the port city of Syrracum. We must alert our navy about this at once! Or find and equally efficient solution.
This was the most pressing matter, not because it was feeding other nation's conflict, but because lately, their cut off that same illegal trafficking was cut short by a large margin due to the bourgeoisie interfering, making it so was a lot less profitable for the nobles.
This was a direct attack to their pre-stablished business, which meant that it was a direct attack on their foreign influence. The navy was already aware of such a deal, therefore they didn't attack those vessels, but now the situation was different.
-Yes, the mere thought of providing help to the enemies of our great nation is horrendous! But, my lord, I've heard Flavius Quirinus Von Schaffgotsch is already dealing with it.
Flavius Quirinus Von Schaffgotsch. The other Archduke of the empire. A neutral figure that was for some reason obsessed with being an annoyance to every single noble in the Empire.
The fact that he was already "dealing" with the problem implied that he had a deal with the merchants, and his influence in the navy could protect them from a direct attack from the noble faction.
-What Marquis Von Sargoth is saying is true, my lord, but I'm sure they would be willing to cooperate with the Imperial legion in this instance...
Another count spoke, signalling and the increasingly heated rivalry between the land forces and navy, making it so that a direct intervention from the Legions would put pressure on the whole ordeal, making it more complicated but helping sustain their position... A mess. That's what this was. Why were nobles fighting amongst themselves while the ignorant gold seeking pigs made themselves stronger? Those young blood knew nothing about tradition, honour and loyalty. Their loyalty laid not on the nation, but on the gold they could move. Pathetic.
After a civil discussion about what actions to take, they decided that impossing some kind of exceptional taxation on provinces rich on iron or necessary minerals and metals, may make the merchants understand, while using the army to "cooperate" with the navy would make transport harder without their consent, therefore sending a clear message to the foreign countries: the nobles are who rule the country, stop trying to profit from the merchants.
This went on and on with different matters: what about the war on the western continent between the parliamentary kingdom of Yusra and the Republick of Danga, what about the newly made discoveries of the Xhing brothers about flight, what about the increasing hatred of the plebe towards them.
.. Until finally, Von Sargoth asked:
-Mylord, I've heard... "Wonderful" news about the fifth prince. They say he's a once in a generation genius. He's learnt at a progress with only heard a couple decades ago by only the best minds in the world. At this pace he...
Von Sargoth never really finished his sentence. He was about to say "a problem" but he was not allowed to say such a thing. Not in front of nobles. Every single one of them thought it, but saying it could make other people to snitch on them not because of loyalty but because they would have the opportunity to grab their assets. Truly a horrifying prospect.
Cornelius grimaced at the comment. The first prince was... Arrogant, dumb and thought himself above the law. The second prince was a scholar, but a wimpy shiny kid who would not be a good fit to rule, due to their duties to give speeches and meet with important ambassadors. The first princess was... Average at best, and the second princess was a revolutionary young woman who had given up her tittle just to become an imperial knight, something never heard of before. But she was now one of the best martial forces, and a (somehow?) loyal follower of the Daughter of Archduke Von Schaffgotsch. This... Could be the only hope of a usable pawn. But someone too smart could pose a problem by itself...
-We'll... Keep cheering for his Highness. And once we see him in his toga virilis six years from now on, we can give our opinions again. I just hope there are no... Unfortunate accidents.