The Empror's Trap

Guillaume Guerin received an imperial decree from Her Majesty today.

In the decree, Her Majesty ordered him to work alongside Duke Kenji to handle Camelot's military and political affairs effective immediately, and required him to fulfill his duties diligently while upholding the principles of public service.

Guillaume had no hesitation about this imperial order. After all, it was just working with Duke Kenji. Although their last encounter had been quite unpleasant, personal relationships were personal relationships, and official business was official business.

Since he had received Her Majesty's orders, Guillaume would do his duty properly. As for his relationship with Kenji, that wasn't his concern. At worst, they could simply avoid interfering with each other.

With this mindset, Guillaume entered the Spring Peace Palace.

The morning air in the Spring Peace Palace carried the fragrance of flowers and birdsong. The palace housed many small animals that ran freely in the courtyard. Several birds hopping about in the yard took flight when they heard the knock at the door.

Guillaume didn't waste much time knocking; the main door of the Spring Peace Palace opened quickly. He was greeted by a woman with short hair.

She wore a black guard's uniform that was both elaborately decorated and practical, with a ring-pommel saber at her waist. She looked at him and said, "Are you Counselor Guillaume?"

"I am. By Her Majesty's command, I've come to discuss work-related matters with Duke Anos."

Guillaume responded calmly. He certainly recognized this woman—the guard of demonic cultivation background who served Duke Kenji.

However, he hadn't come looking for trouble today, and so far, this person called Lina hadn't done anything reprehensible, so there was no need to create any conflict with her.

"The young master is already waiting inside."

"Mm."

Young master? He's already a Duke, why was this guard still calling him young master?

With this question in mind, Guillaume entered the study.

"Counselor Guillaume, you're here?" Kenji was sitting in the study reading. When he saw Guillaume enter, he didn't show the anger he had displayed previously in court. Instead, he behaved as if meeting him for the first time, politely gesturing toward a seat at the desk.

"I have come by Her Majesty's decree to assist Your Highness. What instructions do you have for me?"

Guillaume got straight to the point. He had prepared himself—if this Duke, who was about his own age, deliberately made things difficult for him, he could accept it as long as it didn't insult his dignity or require him to do anything immoral.

He would consider it a learning experience.

"Well, there is something I need you to handle right now," Kenji said, looking at the young man's wary expression without much concern, casually pointing to a document nearby. "This concerns the grain collection work that needs to be done soon. The court needs a supply of grain to support the army. We've already drawn some from the stored grain in various counties, but we're still short. We need to make up the difference from here."

"Grain collection? But it's not yet time for that..." Guillaume's expression immediately darkened.

It wasn't that he couldn't do this work. The main issue was that grain collection was typically done during harvest season when officials were sent to collect grain or taxes. But now it wasn't yet harvest time—how could they collect grain now? Where would the common people get grain at this time of year? The new crop hadn't come in yet.

"Don't the civilians have plenty of surplus grain? I've noticed that just a few of the big families in Hexi County have no shortage of food. During the disaster in Hexi County, certain officials there continued to eat and drink as they pleased. It seems they have plenty of grain."

Kenji gave a cold laugh.

Procuring grain supplies wasn't actually Kenji's responsibility. In fact, according to his calculations, the grain drawn from various local granaries was already sufficient.

But Kenji specifically wanted to squeeze those private grain hoards.

During the recent disaster, how much relief money and grain had the court spent on Hexi County? The imperial censors personally investigated and executed a large batch of officials who had profited from the national crisis. Yet even so, the local powerful families hadn't contributed a single grain.

They had even tried to take credit for the court's disaster relief efforts.

Kenji hadn't forgotten this matter. These bastards had done more than just one or two despicable things. Now that the situation was relatively stable and they were preparing for an expedition abroad, it was time to teach them a lesson.

"You mean to collect grain from these families?" Guillaume asked.

"I didn't say we should collect from these families specifically. But whoever has more grain should contribute more—that makes sense, doesn't it? Those with more grain contribute more, those with less contribute less, and those who struggle to feed themselves don't contribute at all. You should understand this principle."

"I understand, but Grand Marshal, what if they refuse to contribute?"

"That's why I'm assigning this task to you. Her Majesty sent you to learn from me, but following me would only count as learning, and I don't think you can copy my methods anyway. Better to give you something practical to do. I've read your examination essays—you don't lack ideas, just practical experience. So, give it a try."

Guillaume indeed couldn't stay by Kenji's side.

On one hand, Guillaume was sent by Her Majesty, and although according to Kenji's investigation he was indeed part of the pure stream faction, Kenji couldn't guarantee Guillaume wouldn't discover his secrets. On the other hand, having Guillaume here served little purpose. Kenji was ultimately a military officer who might soon go to war, and he didn't have the energy to manage too many administrative matters.

Having Guillaume by his side at this time wouldn't be very useful and might even restrict his effectiveness—or rather, would be more of a nuisance.

Given his personality, he definitely wouldn't get along with Kenji.

"I understand, but this will be difficult. Those local powerful families often wield considerable influence in their areas. Although they can't compete with the imperial court, if they want to stall, there's often little we can do about it."

Guillaume was straightforward about the difficulty of the task.

"I know, which is why this is a test for you. Don't worry—if you truly can't extract enough grain from them, I'll handle it personally."

Kenji still needed to provide a safety net for Guillaume. The matter of procuring grain was crucial to the future frontline situation, so he had to prepare for Guillaume's potential failure. If these wealthy grain owners truly refused to contribute, he would step in directly. At that point, he wouldn't care about their status as powerful families.

The impact might be somewhat negative, but as long as they won the war, such effects would quickly be forgotten. And if Guillaume failed and the war was lost... then Kenji would have to accept the misfortune.

Even then, he would only lose his prestige and reputation, and make some enemies among the powerful families.

Not a major problem.

"Very well. I will quickly draft appropriate procurement methods for the Grand Marshal to review."