Chapter 37: Banquet Part 2
Everyone across the nation had gathered in the capital of the Principality of Leo to celebrate the Crown Prince, who would soon become Grand Prince after his official ascension to the throne. After such a long period of oppression and tyranny under the nobility, the celebration was welcomed as a truly joyous occasion by everyone, from children to elders, from commoners to merchants and nobles alike.
Yet for some, this was also a battle for the future of their noble houses, one that would decide their position within the upcoming regime of Grand Prince Alexius. And the place where that battle began was the grand ballroom.
The room was transformed into a blinding theater of absolute opulence. Crystal chandeliers the size of small carriages hung from the vaulted, frescoed ceilings, casting a warm golden glow over the sea of silk and velvet below. Fountains of imported southern wine flowed freely into crystal goblets, and a master orchestra played a relentless, sweeping symphony that drowned out any whispers of the brutal wars raging to the north and west.
The nobles of the realm—particularly the treacherous lords of the Eastern Faction—were completely disarmed by the luxury. As they gorged themselves on roasted boar, candied fruits, and vintage wines, their initial trepidation evaporated.
They saw this party as the act of a young and inexperienced Prince Regent, made soft by recent victories, throwing a grand banquet to win their support and protect his weak rule.
I played the part flawlessly.
I stood at the center of the ballroom, dressed in the immaculate midnight-blue coat Aelrue had selected, wearing a warm, inviting smile.
"Your Highness, the music is simply divine tonight."
"My father speaks of your brilliance constantly. We in the East have yearned for such... unified leadership."
"The East has always been a vital pillar of the Principality, Lady Luperia de Varcena," I said to the eldest daughter of an Eastern Count.
"I look forward to embracing all that your father's lands have to offer."
She beamed, believing she had just secured her family's future.
She had no idea that as I looked down at her, I had kept my System's [Analysis/Inspect] skill active from the very moment I was introduced to her by her father, Count Varcena. They had no loyalty to the Crown at all. Although keeping the skill active drained my mental stamina, the data it provided was the foundation of my entire strategy. I used the skill on every person I met in this room. It was the core of my plan.
I kissed the back of Lady Elara's hand, handed her off to a swooning courtier, and made my way toward the elevated high table at the back of the hall.
I needed to calibrate my parameters. I looked toward the center of the table, focusing my gaze on the imposing figure of an elderly man with a back as straight as a forged iron rod.
My grandfather.
[Target: Marquess Custodian][Title: Leader of the Southern Faction][Loyalty: 100% (Unwavering/Absolute)][Primary Stats: Martial Arts (Rank 7) | Leadership (Exceptional)][Alignment: The Crown]
A genuine feeling of warmth flickered in my chest.
The golden text of the system confirmed what I already knew in my blood. My grandfather was the immovable bedrock of my military power.
Sitting to his right was a fiercely scarred woman in her late thirties, drinking wine from a silver goblet with the rugged grace of a seasoned warlord.
[Target: Countess Lupus Custodias][Title: Provisional Governor-General of the North][Loyalty: 100% (Unwavering/Fanatical)][Primary Stats: Martial Arts (Rank 6) | Tactics (High)]
She had held the northern borders together through sheer willpower and bloodshed during the rebellion after her uncle, Duke Marius, died. Seeing the pure, uncorrupted blue and gold text of their loyalty metrics was a refreshing palate cleanser before I turned my attention to the more complicated assets in the room.
I shifted my gaze to the far end of the table, where a man with graying hair and deeply sunken eyes was frantically reviewing a ledger, completely ignoring the feast before him.
[Target: Count Ares Revalis][Title: Governor-General of the West][Loyalty: 100% (Gratitude for saving his entire family)][Primary Stats: Administration (Master-Tier) | Economics (High)][Status: Highly Stressed, Grateful for Mercy]
I smirked behind my wine glass. Ares was exactly what I needed him to be: a highly efficient, thoroughly useful tool. His loyalty was driven by gratitude for saving his entire family from the hands of an Imperial Swordmaster. Also by fear of what I would do to him and his daughter if he ever stepped out of line. It made his administrative skills entirely mine to command.
All of the North, West, and South nobles, as well as the court nobles, were highly loyal to me after the war with the Empire ended in my victory. However, not everyone in the room possessed such utility.
"Your Highness."
I turned to see a tall, elegantly dressed man approaching. He wore a doublet woven with pure gold thread and gemstone rings on all of his fingers.
It was Marquis Orientis, the de facto leader of the Eastern Faction.
"Marquis," I said. "I trust the accommodations are to your liking? The journey from the eastern hills is long."
"The accommodations are beyond magnificent, Your Highness," the Marquis said with a bow. "You honor us deeply with this invitation. The East has weathered many storms recently, but under the light of your upcoming twentieth nameday, we see only a prosperous, unified horizon."
I smiled warmly at him. "Unity is exactly what I desire, Marquis. I believe it is time we put the past behind us and focus on the wealth of the future."
"My thoughts exactly, Your Highness," the Marquis said, taking a step closer and whispering into my ear. "In fact, I have brought my youngest daughter, Octavia, with me. She is of age, and she possesses a keen mind for estate management. I would be deeply honored if you would grant her a dance later this evening."
"I would be delighted."
As he bowed again and turned to rejoin his entourage of sycophants, I locked my eyes onto his retreating back and triggered the skill.
[Inspect]
Instantly, my vision was flooded with a blinding, violently flashing crimson light. The system interface aggressively overrode my vision, warning me of imminent hostility.
[Target: Marquis Orientis][Title: Leader of the Eastern Faction][Loyalty: 0% (Actively Hostile)][Primary Traits: Immense Greed | Treachery | Arrogance][Current Thoughts: Convinced the Prince is a naive fool. Planning to leverage his daughter into the royal bedchamber to secure the East's future, while simultaneously finalizing a mercenary contract with the Kham Beastkin Horde to raid the capital's supply lines once the Prince is distracted. Planning to join the Federation of Libertas as an autonomous zone, yet still awaiting their answer.][Status: Dead Man Walking]
I took a slow sip of my wine, letting the cool liquid soothe my throat as the red warning screens faded from my vision.
Dead man walking, indeed.
The audacity of the man was almost impressive. He was standing in my palace, drinking my wine, breathing my air, and actively finalizing plans to slaughter my people. The Libertas intelligence dossier had given me the paper trail, and my system confirmed it.
He was rotten to his soul.
For the next two days, the festival continued. I moved through the ballroom. I danced, I toasted, I laughed at terrible jokes, and I listened to endless, boring conversations with nobles.
And with every handshake, every clinking glass, and every polite nod, my eyes flashed with the unseen light of the System.
[Target: Baron Vesper] -> Loyalty: 12% | Trait: Corrupt | Status: Skimming grain taxes.[Target: Viscountess Linnea] -> Loyalty: 78% | Trait: Pragmatic | Status: Useful administrator.[Target: Count Morvan] -> Loyalty: 5% | Trait: Treasonous | Status: Co-conspirator with Orientis.
Over the course of seventy-two hours, I mentally dragged and dropped every single one of the hundreds of nobles in the capital into two distinct, uncompromising columns in my mind.
The first category was Useful/Loyal. This group consisted of individuals who either genuinely believed in the Crown or possessed a specific high-level skill, such as engineering, logistics, or finance, coupled with enough fear of me to keep them in line.
The second category was Corrupt/Traitorous. These were the parasites. The ones whose loyalty metrics hovered near zero, whose primary traits were greed, sloth, or outright treason.
By the end of the third night, the last waltz faded through the ballroom, and the tired nobles slowly returned to their rich guest rooms. I stood on the grand staircase and looked down at the empty hall, still shining with light.
In my mind, I went over the final count one more time.
The result was shocking, though not surprising. This was a country that had been weakened by noble rule for hundreds of years. Out of nearly four hundred nobles, lords, and heirs now sleeping inside my palace, only around forty had earned a place in the first group.
Only ten percent.
The remaining ninety percent were utterly irredeemable. They contributed nothing to the nation, and they actively plotted to sell it to the highest bidder the moment my back was turned. They were a cancerous tumor.
I turned and walked up the stairs toward my private study, my footsteps echoing through the silent corridors.
The assessment was complete. I knew exactly who was who.
The board was perfectly mapped out.
Continue.....