In the council hall, the core of the Duval Territory's power was seated around a long, heavy oak table.
Seven years had carved deep marks upon the Former Lady Baron. At sixty, she was considered old for this era, but her graying hair was still impeccably styled.
Murphy sat to her right, his expression calm.
He didn't know what the real Sylvan would have done, but the Sylvan that Murphy portrayed had, over the years, gradually ceded power to the Former Lady Baron.
Firstly, Murphy didn't want to get his energy tangled up in power struggles, nor did he want busy official duties to take up his time.
Secondly, he wanted to do some good for the territory, such as cutting taxes, which inevitably required making necessary compromises.
Cutting taxes seemed simple, but in reality, it affected the entire territory's balance of interests.
One of the biggest problems was: where would the money come from?
Every time a tax was cut, it meant stepping on someone's toes.
