The atmosphere in the grand conference hall was distinctly different. Normally, it would be abuzz with officials reviewing the day’s agenda or preparing for anticipated questions. Today, however, the only sounds were the grating tones of anger and humiliation.

BANG!

“He has crossed the line!”

“Yes, I couldn’t agree more! He may be a Duke, but this is an unacceptable transgression. Who does he think he is, dictating from the outside who should and should not be dismissed from their posts in the Imperial Palace?”

“Furthermore, by so openly targeting House Davion, he is creating nothing but unnecessary turmoil in the capital.”

“Honestly, in all my years, I have never endured such a contemptible insult.”

“Is there still no word from His Highness?”

“I heard he had left the palace. I suspect it may be some time before he returns.”

“The Minister of Magic is also absent. They must have gone out together. To think, with the palace in such a disarray! The nerve!”

“And all of you are just as much to blame!” an official from the Davion faction suddenly shouted, turning on the other ministers who had been standing at a distance. “As our fellow officials, you should have immediately refuted this external party’s overreach of authority! Instead, you take the very list the Duke wrote and submit it in a report to the Ministry of Magic?”

“Why are you taking your anger out on us?” one of the accused officials shot back. He was part of the group that had visited the Duke—the ‘Hollin faction’, men whose loyalties were tied more closely to the Duke, and whose finances were tied to the Ministry. “Do you honestly believe the Duke would have listened to a word we said? And regardless of the content, a report had to be submitted! Are we the ones with the power to make decisions here?”

The Davion official’s voice rose in disbelief. “Did you not go to him begging for your own survival because your positions were so precarious? Yet you return not with a solution, but as a messenger boy for his filth. It is deplorable!”

“Begging for our survival? Filth? Watch your words, sir!”

“We were the ones who were insulted first! Do you expect us to respond with pleasantries?”

“All of you, that is enough!” a neutral minister interjected. “This is the solemn Imperial Palace. And frankly, while I understand the anger of the Davion faction, were you not all content to watch the fire from across the river just yesterday? To now appeal to a sense of unity by invoking the title of ‘fellow officials’ is, I must say, a bit absurd.”

“What are you trying to imply?”

“When we were being throttled by the Ministry of Magic over the matter of our debts, you all stood by and watched. It made no difference to House Davion whether we were dismissed or House Hollin was forced to give up its land; you stood to lose nothing. And now you come to us with—”

“The debts were your own failing! Why do you now seek to blame us?”

“By that logic, is this current crisis not House Hollin’s problem? Why should it be ours?”

“What did you say? How old are you, boy!”

The situation had completely deteriorated. A sheaf of papers went flying, and soon the air was thick with pointed fingers and raised voices.

Maxim Tweller, who had remained silent through the chaos, finally let out a long sigh and lit a cigarette. Have they all forgotten we are on the brink of war? If it were up to him, he would cut all their heads off long before he ever faced the enemy. Across from him, the Minister of Technology Development simply rubbed his forehead, his face a mask of weary resignation.

“His Highness the Crown Prince enters!”

The attendant’s cry cut through the din with surgical precision. Tweller immediately extinguished his cigarette and rose to his feet. The officials, who had been on the verge of a physical brawl, hastily dusted off their uniforms and scrambled back to their seats, though the venom in their glares remained.

Jin paused at the entrance, sensing the superheated atmosphere. But it was only for a moment. He strode to his seat and gestured for everyone to be seated. Ian Hielo followed immediately behind him, taking his own place at the head of the Ministry’s section.

“To gather like this on a day of rest,” Jin commented, his voice dangerously mild. “You all have such remarkable energy.”

“Your Highness, this is an outrage, a humiliation of the highest order!”

“Yes,” Jin replied, his voice hardening. “I was made aware that you were all quite upset, which is why I postponed all my work to come here. So I suggest you stop making those grating noises.”

The more perceptive officials instantly recognized that the Crown Prince was in a foul mood. They didn’t know what ‘work’ he had been engaged in, but they knew they had interrupted it.

As Jin declared the conference open, Ian was the first to speak.

“Is it correct that the counter-proposal from House Hollin is the source of this controversy?”

“Yes! That is precisely correct,” a Davion official erupted. “He stated he would sell the land on the condition that Lord Macro of the Administration and Lord Chiles of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are dismissed. Is that not utter madness?”

“Compose yourself! You are in the presence of the Crown Prince!” someone hissed, but the warning was lost on the enraged Davion faction.

“Lord Macro was appointed by the late Emperor himself, and Lord Chiles was appointed by His Highness the Crown Prince! How dare that man, under the guise of a business transaction, attempt to have them removed? If that is not madness, then what is?”

“He is right! This is no different from a direct challenge to the authority of the Crown Prince!”

The other departments glanced nervously at the Davion faction. If those two officials were simply gone, the entire debt issue would be resolved smoothly, yet here they were, screaming and resisting. The Davion officials felt their stares and shot back glares of their own.

It was then that Ian’s calm voice cut through the tension. “The departments with outstanding debts…” He paused, turning a page in his report. “…it seems you have ultimately failed to produce any results.”

His tone was soft and gentle, a jarring dissonance in the heated atmosphere. The officials of the Hollin faction flinched, then quickly countered.

“There is still time, Lord Ian.”

“Approximately twenty-one hours. Do you believe that will be meaningful?”

“O-of course. We may not have a final result, but we have opened a path. Considering the circumstances, we were hoping the Ministry of Magic might see fit to extend the deadline.”

“It seems the turmoil that has engulfed this palace is neither visible nor audible to you. To have thrown this place into such chaos and still remain so brazen… it is truly remarkable.”

“Well said! Ahem!”

“Yes, yes, remarkable indeed!”

The Davion faction eagerly chimed in, supporting Ian’s rebuke. He may have refused our request for a meeting, but at least the boy knows how to distinguish right from wrong!

Jin stroked his chin, his eyes sweeping the room as Ian’s advice echoed in his mind. ‘You must not take anyone’s side, Your Highness. This will lead to issues of fairness and will eventually magnify the dissatisfaction of one side, causing you to lose the benefit you could have gained from balance. This is not about the balance between you and the officials. It is about the balance between you, Davion, and Hollin. If we tilt, it means one side rises.’

He was doing his best to remain impartial, but the sheer absurdity of the situation made the words itch on the tip of his tongue. He desperately wanted to lash out.

Ian, sensing the prince’s intent, quickly continued. “By the way, I heard a rumor that the Davion faction is on strike. Is that true?”

“It is not a strike so much as a declaration,” a Davion minister clarified, “that we will not attend to our duties until Your Highness punishes House Hollin and re-establishes discipline. This is a matter of honor, you see. Ahem. As long as this problem remains unresolved, normal operations are impossible.”

“And why are you asking the Imperial Palace to take responsibility for that?” Ian asked, a look of genuine disbelief on his face. “The party that made the initial proposal was the Ministry of Magic.” They had all, in their anger, implicitly acknowledged that the Imperial House and the Ministry were acting as one. “If anyone is to take responsibility, it should be the Ministry. Perhaps the times have changed. Since our last meeting, these discussions of responsibility have become very strange indeed.”

“The Ministry of Magic? And what do you propose to do?” they scoffed. It was a department with no authority whatsoever in matters of personnel.

Ian lifted his chin slightly and paused, as if in deep thought. Then, a sly, disarming smile spread across his face.

“Ah, this is difficult. Honestly, if it were up to me, I would be tempted to accept Duke Hollin’s proposal.”

“What did you say? Lord Ian Hielo!”

“Do you have any idea what you are saying?”

“So you intend to condone the Hollins’ overreach of authority?”

As they shouted, ready to leap from their seats, Ian made a lazy, calming gesture with his hand.

“Please, compose yourselves. I said, ‘if it were up to me.’ You are all aware of the price of the land and the Ministry’s annual budget, are you not? Duke Hollin is demanding five times that amount, and I must question whether two officials are truly worth that much. As you know, I have been away for ten years.” If we can save an astronomical sum of money simply by dismissing two men, are they truly valuable enough to justify refusing?

At Ian’s brutally pragmatic question, the Davion faction was shocked into a sudden, complete silence. The value of those two men, the value of their entire house, could not possibly compare to such a staggering sum.

“They have been in their posts for some time, but they do not seem to be in charge of any particularly critical duties, and I must wonder if they even show up for work on a regular basis. Is Lord Macro not over seventy years of age? It seems he has his eye on the next Minister’s seat, but… well.”

“Not while Minister Quintana stands so strong, haha.”

“Right? That is what I think as well. She is competent, and above all, she is still young.”

As other departments subtly sided with Ian, the Davion faction’s anger boiled over. So that’s it? We should just dismiss them? We should bow our heads before money, even when a noble’s transgression is so blatant?

They had heard enough. They were just about to storm out of the hall when Ian spoke again.

“However, we cannot dismiss members of the Imperial Palace on the word of a Duke alone.”

Now everyone was confused.

Is he on our side, or their side?

“Lord Ian, what exactly is your position?”

“The victims in this current situation are the two individuals whom Duke Hollin has singled out for removal. Therefore, those two should file a formal complaint themselves. The Ministry of Magic will offer its full support.”

“A formal complaint?”

“Regarding the overstepping of authority. As for the charge…” Ian paused, as if considering, then smiled. “There are several possibilities, but since your initial request was for redress from the palace, it would be best to file the primary charge as a violation of Imperial Law.”

At this, the officials from the Judiciary, who had been listening in silence, looked up in shock. If a trial were to proceed under the charge of violating Imperial Law, any damages awarded in a victory would be paid directly to the Imperial Palace. The victims were Lord Macro and Lord Chiles, but the compensation would go to the throne. Does he know this?

“Is there a problem?” Ian asked, his eyes meeting those of the Minister of Justice.

Ah. He knows.

“…No. There is no problem.”

“Excellent.”

A scenario was already playing out in the Minister of Justice’s mind. With a high probability, the damages would be claimed in the form of House Hollin’s land. And that gain would then flow directly to the Ministry of Magic. It was all so… terrifyingly brilliant.

“For now, that is the Ministry’s official position,” Ian stated. “But I would like you to be aware of one thing. In terms of pure value, I would still very much like to accept Duke Hollin’s offer immediately.”

“By what standard do you judge ‘value,’ Lord Ian? Lord Macro is indispensable to the Administration, as is Lord Chiles to the Ministry of Internal Affairs! As for the other departments—”

“Oh, you’re right. There is no standard.” Seizing on the official’s words, Ian pressed his advantage. “If there were a quantified standard, then everyone could understand and accept the situation. Your Highness, I would like to make a suggestion.”

“Speak,” Jin said, straightening from his previously slouched posture.

“Although this is a conflict between Davion and Hollin, it is also a situation involving a massive budget. The Ministry of Magic would like to accept the Duke’s offer to acquire the land, but as that would be unjust, I propose a compromise.”

“A compromise? What kind?”

“How about we introduce an evaluation system,” Ian said, his voice ringing with a calm, revolutionary clarity, “a system that can quantify the ‘value’ of all officials, including Lord Macro and Lord Chiles?”

Eyes widened around the room as if they were about to pop from their sockets. Every head swiveled toward Ian. Has he gone completely mad?

“If we do that, it will be far easier for the palace to judge what is more valuable. And if we decide on promotions and appointments through a system of periodic evaluations, House Hollin will also feel that their proposal has been, to some extent, accepted. It should make it much easier to coordinate the deal.”

“W-wait a moment, Lord Ian?” You are an official, just like the rest of us! Do you have any idea what you are saying?

“If the deal is coordinated, we will no longer have an immediate need for the funds, and—” Ian’s gaze swept over the officials from the indebted departments. If they could not pay within the next twenty-one hours, they, too, would face charges. Be dismissed from their posts, or wear a leash. It was their choice. “—it also means I will not be forced into the unjust position of agreeing to dismiss two officials. Would that not be better in many ways?”

For the Ministry of Magic, cutting two officials to save a fortune was the more logical and profitable choice. I am taking the righteous path and siding with Davion. In return, you will put on your own leashes.

“What do you all think?” Jin asked, his tone deceptively nonchalant.

Not a single voice answered him. Silence was consent. Jin shrugged once.

“Very well. We shall do as you all wish.”