Your humble servant Never Fights Unprepared Battles
The Emperor flipped through a few pages, and his expression immediately darkened.
"Is this all true?"
Cassidy Sterling straightened her back, lifting her chin with a proud look. "Don't you worry, Uncle, it's all completely true. We have witnesses and physical evidence. I never start a fight I'm not ready to win."
The Emperor's lip twitched as he listened to her go on, that self-satisfied, *aren't-I-great?* look plastered on her face.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Revenue, kneeling on the floor, felt his head spin as he stared at the thick stack of evidence in the Emperor's hand.
He couldn't figure out how he'd gotten on Princess Solana's bad side.
First, she'd bought a house and billed it to his account, and now she had somehow dug up a mountain of evidence against him.
It couldn't be a personal grudge, could it? Surely the Princess wasn't *still* mad about that thing from six months ago. Weren't people saying she'd lost her memory?
He couldn't stay quiet a second longer.
"Your Majesty!" he cried out, his voice laced with panic. "I have always been an honest public servant! How could I possibly be mixed up in corruption and bribery? This is just the Princess's side of the story. These so-called testimonies must be a setup!"
Before he could finish, footsteps echoed from outside the hall. Two guards walked in, dragging a man who was practically limp between them.
The Minister of Revenue looked up, and the color drained from his face. It was his own brother-in-law, Quentin Sutton.
"Help me! Please, you have to help me!" Quentin wailed the moment he saw the Minister, acting as if he'd just found his last hope on earth. He struggled to get to him, but the guards held him down tight.
A chill shot through the Minister, and his face went pale. He glared at Quentin, his teeth chattering as he hissed, "You fool! What have you been doing behind my back? How dare you cross the Princess!"
Quentin trembled under his glare, his lips quivering. He stammered for a long time, unable to string a sentence together, just repeating, "I was wrong," and "Help me."
The Emperor, sitting on the Dragon Throne, already looked like he was carved from ice. Without another word, he threw the stack of evidence down in front of the Minister of Revenue. The papers fluttered through the air and scattered across the floor, the handwriting on the top page clear as day.
With trembling hands, the Minister reached down, picked up the documents, and started flipping through them.
The pages were filled with detailed records of Quentin's crimes, bullying commoners, taking bribes, and seizing property by force, all done using the Minister's name and influence.
Every single incident was written down with chilling clarity.
He'd known for a long time that Quentin was up to no good, but he'd always looked the other way because his brother-in-law sent him a large cut of the money each time. But he never thought the fool would be arrogant enough to force people to pay a 'road toll.'
"Your Majesty, I... I..." The Minister of Revenue collapsed, the papers in his hand fluttering to the ground.
The Emperor looked down at him coldly. "Quentin Sutton has terrorized the people and committed countless crimes," he ordered in a flat tone. "The evidence is clear. He is to be exiled three thousand miles away, and he is never to return to Argent."
His gaze then shifted to the Minister. Considering the man's connections to the noble families and the fact that he wasn't directly involved, the Emperor decided to be lenient.
"As a high-ranking official of the Imperial Court, you let your own family get away with evil," the Emperor declared.
"Your negligence is undeniable. You are stripped of your title as Minister of Revenue and demoted to Vice Minister. You will remain in Argent to serve and atone for your crimes. Effective immediately, you are confined to your home to reflect.
You are forbidden from interfering with the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue."
After the Emperor finished speaking, he had them both dragged away. Then, he called out in a deep voice, "Vaughn Garrison."
A tall, straight-backed figure immediately appeared in the Imperial Study. Vaughn Garrison, dressed in a practical, close-fitting uniform, knelt on one knee. "I am here."
"Take your men to Quentin Sutton's home immediately. Recover all the funds listed in these papers and deposit them into the national treasury. If the amount is short, the Minister of Revenue's estate will make up the difference."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Vaughn stood, ready to leave.
"Wait!" Cassidy quickly called out. "Uncle, Quentin stole that money from the common people. Why should it go into the national treasury?"
She had promised those people she would help them get their money back. She had given her word, and she wasn't about to break it. She had her pride.
Hearing this, a muscle in the Emperor's temple twitched. What was that look for? Did she really think that he, the Emperor, would steal from his own people?
"I have my own plans for this," he said stiffly. "Once the money is recovered, the Onyx Guard will return all of it."
Cassidy accepted his answer with a nod, then turned to Vaughn. "Well then, Lord Garrison, you'd better get going."
"Yes, Princess."
After Vaughn left, Cassidy looked at the Emperor expectantly. "Uncle, what about my house? The seller is still waiting for an answer."
The Emperor frowned. "There are so many houses in Argent. Why do you have to buy the one right next to the Magistrate's Court? How about I find you another one?"
Cassidy shook her head. "No, I like being next to the Magistrate's Court. Besides, my Capital Inspection Bureau has already built up a reputation. It wouldn't be good to move now."
Now the Emperor was truly curious. "You've been on the job for one day. What kind of reputation could you possibly have?"
At this, Cassidy got excited and launched into a smug, detailed story of her recent triumphs. The more the Emperor listened, the deeper the crease between his brows became.
"You, a Princess, took people from your own household and paraded through the streets of Argent... chanting slogans?"
"Uh, yeah?" Cassidy replied, genuinely confused by his tone. "Is there a problem?"
The Emperor stared at her for a long moment, unable to believe how thick-skinned she was. He was starting to think that donkey hadn't just kicked her silly, but had kicked her skin a few layers thicker, too.
"I'm giving you a horse," he said flatly. "Stop riding that ridiculous donkey."
Cassidy blinked, wondering how the hell they'd gotten onto the topic of her donkey. "Uncle, he's not a ridiculous donkey. He's my good friend, Maserati."
The Emperor was now completely convinced: the donkey was the reason she had turned out this way. Sooner or later, he was going to have that Maserati put down.
Seeing that the Emperor hadn't said yes about the house and was trying to change the subject, Cassidy immediately started pleading her case.
"Uncle, I caught a corrupt official on my very first day and saved a lot of people. If it weren't for me, that old man from Merrifield Village might have been beaten to death by Quentin!"
she said, her voice rising with theatrical urgency.
"And think about it, if that old man had died, your reputation would have been ruined! How can you be a great and wise ruler if your reputation is in the toilet?"
She took a step closer. "If I hadn't stepped in and saved your good name, people would be whispering that you don't know what you're doing, letting corrupt officials run around your court. All I'm asking for is a house, not the moon and stars. You can't even agree to that?"
Her voice started to crack. "Other officials have a place to do their work, but I don't. Today, the Minister of Revenue looked down on me. Tomorrow, other officials will. Soon, the whole city of Argent will look down on me! A poor little thing like me... how am I supposed to survive?"
She squeezed her eyes shut, ready for the final act. "Oh, Grandmother! My poor, sweet Grandmother! I, "
"Stop! That's enough!" The Emperor rubbed his forehead, a headache already blooming behind his eyes. "Fine. I'll let you buy the house. But from now on, try to come to the palace a little less. Seeing you gives me a headache."
Cassidy immediately snapped to attention and gave him a perfect, cheeky salute. "By your command!"
Then, under the Emperor's thoroughly annoyed glare, she happily scurried out of the Imperial Study with her maid in tow.