Chapter 12: Educational momentThe Month of Noel, Day 18, Year 681 of the Second Holy Calendar

  Luce heard the knocking on her door. She gestured to the knight, who opened the door, and Dominic came walking in accompanied by two of his own bodyguards. Luce set down her gss pen, and when she saw him, she sighed softly. It was a conversation she knew had to happen but that didn't make it any more pleasant. “Leave us,” She told the knights and her secretary.

  After they departed with hesitation, she gestured for Dominic to take a seat and lit up a fresh cigarette. “So.”

  Dominic's indifferent mask was firmly in pce. “I would like to talk to you about our response to this recent assassination attempt.”

  “Look, I think of you two as my children, and I'm doing everything I can to keep you safe and will continue to do so in the future.”

  Dominic blinked. “That's not what I'm here to talk about. I believe your safety measures are more than adequate and have no particur compints about them.”

  Luce was surprised, although she tried her best not to show it. Dominic was typically so overprotective of Nora that her getting injured at sword practice was enough for Luce to earn one of these nighttime visits from Dominic, and it wasn't in a friendly manner. “Honestly this kid is so freaking creepy sometimes,” Dominic normally acted like a mature child but she knew on the inside he wasn't just a mature child he was a fully grown adult. But because he was still biologically a child, she still treated him as such, as did everyone else, and that weird sense of disconnect when he started acting, and what she privately dubbed his true form, was so creepy.

  “Like I said, I'm here to discuss our response, not me and Elder sister's security measures.”

  She quietly chewed over his words for a moment before giving a response. “So I suppose you would like a summary of what I've done so far.” She tried her best to accommodate his wishes when he got like this, partially because she knew rejecting him would be a massive pain for both of them, as he would do his absolute best to make her life complicated, and she would punish him, and he would ignore her, only for the cycle to repeat itself. And so she generally gave him what he wanted so long as he didn't ask for too much. Information on the recent political movements wasn't something she needed to keep secret from them, especially since she knew he wouldn't do anything with the information.

  She expined her meeting and their conclusions: “In summary, we're trying to rattle the traditionalist cage; see what we shake out.” Throughout their entire conversation, Dominic's expression remained completely impassive, so it was impossible to tell if he was impressed, surprised, shocked, or horrified by anything he heard. She lit a fresh cigarette and thought about putting on a pot of coffee, as it seemed he was going to be here a while.

  “You're not going to win that way,” Dominic said. Luce controlled her temper. “Rattling their cage won't accomplish anything.”

  “So what do you suggest?” She tried her absolute best to keep the passive-aggressive note out of her voice; she was very busy because of her role as the de facto leader of the militant faction. Ever since becoming a political leader, the type of person she hated most was the type who made suggestions or criticisms without coming up with counterproposals. Many lesser members of the militant faction constantly encouraged attacks on the Kingdom of Anttur but didn't bother accounting for the difference in National Power between their two countries. It was so bad that Luce just wanted to scream at them to shut up and stop being idiots, but was required by her position to humor them.

  “You need to attack their bottom line,” Dominic said. He either didn't notice or didn't care about her worsening mood. “I would suggest investigating House Norton and House Chester.” House Norton controlled the only Bank in the city, as the kingdom's economy was severely underdeveloped; they were the only people capable of banking properly. Due to their exploitative nature, they were generally hated by the public, coupled with national pride and general hatred for the traditional faction, only absolutely destitute people and foreigners were the ones who took loans from their Bank. House Chester controlled the rgest Transportation Company in the Kingdom. They kept a grip on their power by undercutting their rivals, and it was rumored that they had bandits in their employ who attacked rival companies.

  “At least he's suggesting something,” Luce thought. “Soldiers from the first division have already raided their houses, but they found nothing.”

  The soldiers of the first division were all too happy to raid the homes of the traditionalist faction members. They hated the traditionalist faction from the bottom of their heart and viewed them as traitors for supporting Francis and his children. Every year, soldiers traditionally swore their Oaths of fealty to the Monarch and the heir apparent. The soldiers of the first and second divisions had already taken to unofficially swearing an oath to Nora as Crown Princess, which was indirectly encouraged by the officer. Hearing of the assassination attempt, they were furious, and so when they were told to be as rough and violent as possible in their raids, they were. They also “confiscated” everything that seemed to be of particur value, at which point Luce had already made arrangements for the stuff to be “damaged” and not returned to the owners. So, needless to say, those raids were thorough and violent.

  “Not their homes, their pces of business, what's important here is to follow the paper trail. If you investigate a Noble's money, you'll eventually find some dirty dealings. That's why you need to investigate all of the papers at the bank, and for the same reason, you need to investigate the transportation business. Even if there's nothing illegal there, they temporarily shut it down by using martial w and keep it shut down. Eventually, house Chester will come crying to you of their own accord, and at that time, you can ask or request many things of them in exchange for being allowed to do business. You attack their money, you attack their livelihood, you bring them to their knees, at which point you can destroy them or incorporate them at your will.”

  Dominic stopped speaking to catch his breath. “Did you think of this idea yourself?” Dominic nodded. “You are one cruel 6-year-old.”

  “So are you going to do it?” Dominic said, finally, a bit of emotion creeping into his voice.

  She was about to say yes, and something crossed her mind, and she felt herself smirk. “This could be a good parenting opportunity,” “No, but you will,” she said.