OBS Chapter 403 Co-rule of an entertainment zone?
Chapter 403 Co-rule of an entertainment zone?
"First off, I don't believe a simple brawl is something that we are the ones that should be responding to," Etaria spoke out while leaning back in her chair. "If we are to respond to every little altercation like that, we will never be able to solve all of the issues while also rendering ourselves too busy to work on the things that actually need our attention."
Hearing those words, I struggled to hold back a sigh.
"It's not about reacting to everything, but creating guidelines of what's allowed and not, what are the rewards for the actions we desire and what are the punishments for the actions we forbid."
Hearing Fay's voice, I raised my eyebrows in a mild surprise.
It was rare to see Fay include herself within meetings like that as anyone more than just a passive, silent observer.
To a degree, she attended those either to hear what her next task for the day or to be just as a form of moral support for me. That's why, hearing her low-key scold the princess for bringing up this issue yet again was more than I could handle, forcing me to lower my guard and allowing a chuckle to escape from my lips.
"And what is it that's so funny?!" Gritting her teeth in reaction to my laugh... or maybe in reaction to the way Fay sneakily reprimanded her for stalling, Etaria asked.
"I'm sorry, it's nothing," I shook my head only to then lean over the table and cup my hands together before resting my chin upon them. "But what Fay said is correct. We are not here to judge this particular case but to figure out what's the problem and solve it. Then, we also need to create laws that will replace Imperial law within the lands that we control."
My words instantly put an ugly grimace on Etaria's and some of her ministers' faces.
'Well, I wouldn't smile like an idiot if someone told me, straight in the face, that they are going to replace the laws and common sense in the lands that, just until a few weeks before, I considered to be my own.'
Etaria closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. Yet, rather than speaking out with renewed confidence after a moment of rest, she only ended up giving the men that she came to the negotiations with a furious stare.
"How do you want to solve the problems that we discussed, then?" one of the princess' ministers took Etaria's look personally and leaned over the table, in a gesture that silently grew akin to picking up the microphone and gaining the right to speak. "Gambling dens you can build, inns and taverns you can build and stock up yourself. But who... brothels?"
The minister changed the name he called the businesses centered around the oldest job in the world right as he felt Etaria's piercing stare on the side of his face.
The minister shook his head.
"It might be just me, but I can't recall seeing an appropriate amount of women anywhere in your camp. So, unless you are going to bring them over from wherever you came from..."
"How about we establish a co-ruled entertainment zone?" I spoke out before this particular minister could push his loosely hidden baits any further.
What followed was Makary's furious stare that I decided to ignore... because the minister was right.
There were many ways to start the process of integration between our camp and the rest of the imperial world. A process that just the exchange of prisoners wouldn't complete, assuming this process alone was enough to start it to begin with.
No, only when the imperials working directly for us would start to mingle with the imperials from the rest of the empire, would the word about the benefits we offer to those who are loyal to us would spread.
And if losing the potential ownership of several shops, brothels or taverns was the cost of doing so...
Then so be it!
"Is money all you think about?" Etaria asked in a strangely condescending tone. 'Two parts out of ten, one as a tax while the other..." She didn't even bother to properly finish up the sentence of mine she was quoting.
"No," Etaria then added only to lean forward in her chair, rest her elbows on the table, and cup her hands together to create a support on which she rested her chin. "What you are talking about is merely money. But what I want the answers for, are the way in which co-rule would work."
Hearing the question... I actually hesitated.
Not because I wasn't keen to share the answer, but simply because I didn't have one. Read latest chapters at empire
Just like Etaria pointed out, money was the only aspect of the situation that I've considered. And as a flawed yet ultimate form of expressing value, it could also serve as the source of power within the zone.
But Etaria, that damned imperial, golden princess, apparently didn't put gold in her eyes, remaining free from the hold it had over men throughout the ages.
"It's simple," right as I struggled to come up with a witty and actually smart answer, Makary finally came to my rescue. "If we want to cooperate on this, we need to agree to one thing."
Makary calmly raised his eyes, the hints of how he looked at me before now nowhere to be found and looked right into the princess' face.
"Whatever laws we end up establishing in the zone, they shall remain supreme. And regardless if it's a commoner, a noble, a princess, or me, all shall be obliged to respect those."
Etaria squinted her eyes and locked her arms on her chest.
"And you want me to blindly agree to follow, or at least accept, the laws that we didn't agree on yet?"
By now, rather than cheeky, Etaria appeared to be simply exhausted by how her common sense made it nearly impossible for her to follow the rapidly evolving debacle.
"No, not at all," Makary shook his head before gracing the princess with a small smile. "The laws that we agree on will dictate my behavior as much as yours, Peter's, Fay's, or a random commoner. As for what laws we agree on," Makary's smile only grew wider, "that's the topic for another meeting, isn't it?"