The Art of the Squeeze

Yohanes replied, his expression betraying a sudden spark of interest. "And what might that be?"

Lately, during my meetings with the professors of the Imperial Academy, the single greatest issue plaguing the Empire had become abundantly clear: taxes.

"According to imperial law, the tax rates and collection rights of each region belong entirely to the noble who rules over it."

"Indeed. Is that not a right guaranteed to the nobility since time immemorial?"

They dress it up as a noble right, but in truth, it is nothing more than a shackle choking the Empire's future.

Currently, taxes across the Empire were a chaotic mess, varying wildly from region to region. Some areas charged as little as ten percent, while others extorted as much as sixty percent.

To make matters worse, that wasn't the end of it. There was an absurd system in place where merchants passing through city gates were forced to surrender ten percent of their actual goods as a transit tax.

This meant that while wheat was dirt cheap and plentiful in Egypt, it sold for exorbitant prices by the time it reached the Grand Duchy of Francesco on the other side of the Empire.

In the past, I had assumed the high prices were simply due to distribution and transport costs. I couldn't begin to describe the sheer shock I felt when I realized the truth: the price skyrocketed because local lords bled the merchants dry, taking a ten percent cut at every single gate and checkpoint along the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way.

Of course, those provincial lords did pay ten percent of their haul to the Imperial Family, but this preposterous tax system was undoubtedly the primary culprit disrupting the Empire's economy. There were plenty of other issues, of course, but I had to untangle this knot one thread at a time.

However, if I laid it out plainly like this, Yohanes—a staunch aristocrat to his core—would never agree to it. I had to play a little trick.

"To begin with, Your Majesty, you and I will have to bring many nobles to their knees in the days to come."

Yohanes nodded, gesturing for me to continue. I pressed on.

"If we attack them, they will desperately squeeze their subjects dry to fund their resistance, will they not? In other words, our enemies will hike up taxes to astronomical levels just to survive."

Yohanes rested his chin on his palm, falling into deep thought. After a moment, he spoke with a dry, indifferent shrug. "So, what do you propose? Are we to politely ask our rivals to stop collecting taxes?"

I shook my head. "No. A bill like that would never pass the Imperial Assembly."

The high nobles already possessed vast territories, meaning their base tax rates were relatively low. However, nobles of count rank and below had smaller lands, which forced them to levy incredibly high taxes. It was the only way they could manage their estates while maintaining their lavish, self-indulgent lifestyles.

"Therefore, what if we establish a Tax Ceiling Law and decree that transit taxes can only be collected once?"

"A tax ceiling?" Yohanes repeated. I offered a brief explanation.

"Yes. Currently, the nobility levies taxes under all sorts of absurd pretexts—the Window Tax, marriage taxes, and countless others. We will draft a law stating that the sum of all these taxes cannot exceed thirty percent of a taxpayer's total income."

Yohanes pondered my words slowly. "You do realize that our own revenues will decrease as well, yes?"

"But the mid-to-low-tier nobles will suffer far worse. Their estates will be shaken to their very foundations. While they flounder, we can swallow them whole."

In truth, if a thirty percent tax ceiling were actually enforced, a significant number of minor estates would go bankrupt. Of course, they would do everything in their power to block the bill. But I had already accounted for that.

In the Imperial Assembly, votes were weighted by title. Kingdoms and Grand Duchies held the most votes, followed by independent Duchies, Marquisates, and finally, Earldoms.

"Hmm... Will that truly work? I cannot yet cast the votes for Epirus and Egypt."

When I had run the numbers a few days ago, we were indeed slightly behind. But that didn't mean we would lose.

"And do you truly believe the other high nobles will meekly vote in favor of our bill?" I nodded, laying out my strategy.

"First of all, the high nobles will likely share our perspective. The minor nobles often band together to oppose them, after all. This is a golden opportunity for the high nobles to weaken and devour them. Even if they don't see it that way initially, we can easily sway public opinion among the high nobility to bring them to our side."

Yet, even if we coaxed most of the high nobles, victory wasn't guaranteed. Even with my votes, Yohanes's, and those of the other high nobles, my calculations showed we would still fall just short, resulting in a narrow defeat. But...

"But the free cities will also cast their votes in favor. They survive on commerce and industry, so they naturally despise transit taxes."

No matter how much they detested me, they would welcome this bill with open arms. This was the perfect opportunity to draw the free cities into my faction. In the end, if we combined my votes, Yohanes's, the high nobles', and the free cities', the minor nobility stood absolutely no chance.

Tap... Tap...

Yohanes fell silent, tapping his fingers against the table as he pondered my words. A cautious man like him would naturally need time to weigh the risks.

"Hmm... I shall give this some more thought and send you a letter. For now, I wish to focus entirely on securing Epirus and Egypt. Ah!" Yohanes paused, as if suddenly remembering something.

"I have informed the Emperor Faction that you will hand over Epirus and Egypt in a year's time. Tell them the delay is necessary to appease the Empress's wrath."

I smirked. "Of course, Your Majesty." I gave a bright smile and a nod. Yohanes returned the nod and rose from his seat.

"I shall take my leave now. Do not stay out too late yourself." At his words, the men seated nearby stood up and followed him out.

"Sigh... I'm exhausted." Was it because of my chronic lack of sleep? I felt exceptionally weary today.

But is this the right move? The sole reason we were holding these secret meetings was so Yohanes could quietly seize control of Epirus and Egypt without drawing the suspicion of the other nobles in the Emperor Faction.

It was a shallow trick—telling the Emperor Faction that I would hand over the territories next year, while he secretly consolidated his grip on Epirus and Egypt starting now. However, I had no intention of exposing this scheme. If I blew the whistle now, it would only trigger infighting within the Emperor Faction and drive Yohanes out. It wouldn't help me reclaim Epirus and Egypt.

Therefore, I decided to play along with Yohanes's wishes for now. That was the only way I could reclaim Epirus and Egypt in their entirety later. After all, we wouldn't be sitting idly by while Yohanes consolidated his power and swallowed the Emperor Faction whole.

As I lost myself in these complex calculations, the peaceful, mundane scenes of the city caught my eye. Seeing the people out and about, enjoying their lives, brought a faint warmth to my chest. It made me feel, if only for a fleeting moment, that what I was doing was right.

"Maybe I should come out more often," I murmured to myself, turning back toward the Imperial Palace.

Creak.

"You're back?" As I opened the door to my office, I saw a woman sitting on the sofa, sipping tea.

"Theodora?"

"You are late. Where did you go today?"

I shrugged off my overcoat. "I had some business to attend to."

I sat down across from her as she gently closed her eyes and took another sip of her tea. "So, you wanted to know how Ipa is still alive?"

There was only one reason she would visit my office at this ungodly hour. She must have been dying to know how Ipa had appeared alive during the tournament. As if confirming my suspicion, she gave a slow nod.

"Indeed. You clearly told me that Ipa was dead..."

I waved my hand dismissively, cutting her off. "No, I never said whether she was dead or alive. I simply showed you a lock of her hair."

Her brow furrowed at my words. "Is that not the exact same thing?"

I chuckled. "Hardly. I never had any intention of killing Ipa in the first place."

Theodora looked utterly bewildered. "Then... why...?"

"Do you remember the day you demanded I release Ipa?"

She rested her chin on her fingers, her eyes narrowing as the memory returned. "You... forced me to sign a contract transferring my authority to you."

"Exactly. And what do you think I would have done if you had refused to sign it?"

Her face darkened. "Then you would have... my mother and Joy..." The words caught in her throat, too painful to utter.

"No, I couldn't have done that. Doing so would have turned the entire Emperor Faction—with whom I had just signed a truce—and the citizens of the Empire against me."

"Th-then...?"

Ignoring the tremor in her voice, I continued. "In the end, my threat was a bluff. Ipa's hair was merely a prop to sell the lie. Besides, I had caught wind that she was passing my secrets to someone else."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

A flash of resentment crossed her features. She closed her eyes, taking a moment to process the revelation, before snapping them open. Her striking red eyes locked onto mine.

"I see... But then, why did you spare her? Knowing you, I assumed you would want her dead precisely because she was loyal to me."

I scoffed, genuinely amused. "What do you take me for, some kind of bloodthirsty monster? Quite the contrary—I actually quite like Ipa."

Her unwavering loyalty and integrity were qualities I deeply respected; I only wished I had more people like her by my side. She might have detested me, but there was no reason to execute a maid simply for being fiercely loyal to her mistress. Theodora, however, looked entirely unconvinced. "You... like her?"

"Yes. She is incredibly loyal, willing to brave any danger for her master. Honestly, I only wish I had a servant like that of my own."

As she fell into deep thought, digesting my words, I asked, "So, does that satisfy your curiosity?"

Theodora gave a small, quiet nod. "Yes. I shall take my leave then."

She rose from her seat. Looking at her retreating shoulders as she turned toward the door, I said, "Go on ahead and get some rest. I'll likely be back late tonight."

I had absolutely no intention of returning to our shared bedchamber, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I offered the words to put her at ease. Yet, to my surprise, her shoulders flinched, a subtle tremor running down her spine.

Click.

The door closed behind her without a word. I stared at the empty doorway, lost in thought. Does she really hate the idea of me returning to our room that much? Well, I suppose it's only natural. Having to spend the night alone with a man you despise would be a nightmare for anyone. Her reaction is perfectly normal.

Shaking off the idle thoughts, I sat down at my desk to get to work.

Rustle.

I spread out the mountain of reports and documents that had piled up in my absence. The tax reform would benefit Yohanes as well, so that plan was bound to succeed.

"Phew. Time to get to work."

Since I had neglected my duties for quite some time, the sheer volume of paperwork was staggering. I also needed to clean up the mess within the Anti-Emperor Faction. And then, there were the war materials we had stockpiled in preparation for a conflict with the Emperor Faction.

"Hmm... Should I convene the entire Anti-Emperor Faction for the first time in a while?"

The turncoat nobles who had abandoned our faction during Valorang's mad rampage had crawled back the moment Yohanes and I signed our truce, acting as if nothing had happened. They were undoubtedly begging for mercy... but I needed their lands. I couldn't afford to let them off the hook.

I opened a drawer and searched for a specific document. Ah, there it was.

Rustle.

I pulled out the inventory of war materials stockpiled for the potential clash with the Emperor Faction. "More than enough."

Surely, no other faction had managed to hoard this level of military supplies. The turncoats who fled must have assumed I would be crushed by the Emperor Faction. With Agrippa, the Grand Ducal forces, and the remaining loyalists of the Anti-Emperor Faction, subjugating those traitors would be child's play.

As I stared down at the preparation logs for the upcoming war, the peaceful scenery of the cafe from earlier flashed through my mind. I let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "I'm no different from a monster."

Just hours ago, I had patted myself on the back for preventing a war and preserving the smiles of the common folk. Now, I was plotting to instigate an unprovoked war of my own. A wave of profound self-loathing washed over me, but I quickly suppressed it. I was simply doing what had to be done. Pushing the emotional clutter aside, I flipped to the next page.

Rustle.