Litigation

Will and the ambassadors from the Dukedom of Kro, the Kingdom of Zhekid, and The Kingdom of Icer met in his government office.

Will barely spoke as the envoys hawked their sovereignties. Will silence led them to begin competing against each other. This was a one-sided negotiation in Will's favor.

"Do we have your support?" the envoy from the Kingdom of Icer asked.

"Your sovereignties bordered between the Qhosnir and Rhaziesian Empire. I can tell you, Emperor Jacques-Louis has no plans on your territories, but can the same be made for the other emperors?" asked.

"Well, no," said the envoy to the Dukedom of Kro the smallest and most vulnerable sovereignty.

"Then I'm afraid I cannot do business with your sovereignties. Please give my good wishes to your rulers," Will said apologetically.

"You sir, are making a grave mistake," the envoy from the Kingdom of Zhekid warned.

"You understand, I do not mean offense? But I cannot invest your sovereignties in good faith until I know the Emperor of Qhosnir's after war plans. Surely, I'm not the first to have said the same such to you gentlemen," Will commented.

"You are not first, nor I doubt, shall you be the last," said the envoy from the Dukedom of Kro.

After the dejected men left, King Roland, Queen Rosalind, Duke Francis, Duchess Charlotte, Earl Francis II, his wife Lady Christiana, and Bryson entered Will's office.

"Sometimes I wondered if you plan these things out ahead of time, or you're just blessed by the gods?" Duke Francis II asked jokingly.

"Mostly a little of both," Will replied.

"Please open a gate to your manor, I want to congratulate Emperor Jacques-Louis," said King Roland.

Will quickly obliged letting them pass through the portal, but he chose to stay behind. Will looked around his office floor, except for the guards, everyone was gone.

Will enjoyed the silence and rare moment of solace. Instead of using teleportation, Will decided to catch a carriage to his newspaper. Inside the carriage, he wrote tomorrow's featured article to deliver to Diego.

By the time Will arrived back home. His house was a mad house, filled with guests.

Will noticed Jacques' manservant Mathéo and Melody's lady-in-waiting were hard at work collecting gifts.

The library was starting to fill with small piles of gifts. Will expected by evening the piles would reach the ceiling.

"Will, thank the gods you're here. Many men wish to see you and they don't look happy. Miles is entertaining them in your office, but I'm not sure he can buy time for much longer," Elizabeth said hastily.

Will walked into his office and saw several familiar faces, including Earl vont Hanover, his future brother-in-law.

"How can I help?" Will said taking a seat behind his desk and filling his pipe.

"Emperor Jacques-Louis's engagement to the Great Eastern Empire's princess and Emperor Kaiser's bond purchases make the Rhaziesian Empire an almost guaranteed investment," said an angry man.

"Brother-in-law, we want in?" Earl vont Hannover.

"You understand there is no guarantee in war. Nor did I plan for any of this to happen. What is so wrong with purchasing bonds like Emperor Kaiser and King Roland? Surely you men are not better than royalty?" Will said backing them into a corner.

"No, we are aware of our position. Each man here already owns Rhaziesian bond shares. We are also aware of the risk," Earl vont Hannover spoke up first.

"You've turned us away for far too long, this time we came to sue. If you do not let us join your contract then we'll petition his majesty and imperial nobles have agreed to petition the tyrant emperor," a man informed Will.

"I'd rather tear up the contract than let others join. Why not donate to Emperor Jacques-Louis surely, he'll remember you sincerely and pay you back with interest," Will suggested.

"What are you hiding in that contract that you're unwilling to let us see it much less join," inquired another man.

"The contract is a private matter between the Rhaziesian Emperor and me! It's not for me to share," Will explained.

"Then why did you add Duke von Mueller to the contract?" asked Earl vont Hannover calmly.

"He matched my investment, something that none of you can do in this room," Will explained.

"We could match it if we pulled our investments," yelled an offended man.

"And if the investment fell through and your estates went belly up, who would blame then?" Will asked.

"Ourselves," Earl vont Hannover said calmly.

"Yeah," the shouted at Will.

"You'd raise your voices at me in my own home!" Will released his aura with bloodlust, protecting only Miles and Earl vont Hanover.

"Please forgive them," Earl vont Hanover said bowing his head. He could see the other men suffocating.

"Fine," Will said concealing his aura. "But disrespect me again in my own home and you risk your lives."

"Might I suggest, I do the talking as planned," Earl vont Hannover said to his partners. "Earl vont Ballard you leave us no choice but to petition."

"Do as you feel, but know I'd rather tear up my contract with Emperor Jacques-Louis than add signatories," Will replied.

"And, I feel the same," Earl von Mueller said walking into Will's office.

Will would not risk losing his authority, and Christoph would not risk diluting his adviser position.

"Why not?" Earl vont Hanover inquired.

"Because without the contract, I won't invest in the Rhaziesian Empire," Will explained.

"What's in the contract?" asked a man.

"Now we're back full circle," Will sighed.

"It seems we're at a impasse. Then until the king rules over our petition your wagons are banned from Guidon from these 12 cities," Earl vont Hannover explained.

By midnight, Will and Christoph von Muller's trade caravans were banned from 57 Fermion cities and 383 imperial cities.

By the second night, the number doubled, causing supply shortages cross the kingdom and empire.

Of the two, Fermion was the hardest hit. The kingdom was so severely dependent on Will's Silver Phoenix trading company that the ban caused a food shortage.

With the influx of refugees, Fermion's food supply was already stretched thin. A day was enough to send people to panic.

Lords who ban Will's traders faced pressure from their citizens. No citizen could stand that their hunger was caused by their lord's greed.

The lords who didn't ban Will's goods were respected for their piety. The lord most praised was Viscount Claybaugh, who oversaw the eastern region's resurgence and vitality.

Neither Emperor Kaiser nor King Fermion could stand any civil disorder with their armies boarding ships to sell southward, there was no national army left to secure peace.

If a lord's city guard were overwhelmed there was no fighting force the monarchs could summon.

Emperor Kaiser, King Roland, Duke von Mueller, and Marquis von Ballard met in Annapolis to quickly put an end to the chaos.

"Find a way to add them to the contract!" the angry old tyrant, Emperor Kaiser declared.

"With due respect to your majesties, we cannot add additional people to the contract. It would cause too much strife. As you are well aware there can only be one supreme commander general," Duke von Mueller explained.

"Cousin, I'm sure you have a third solution?" said King Roland appealing to Will's familial duties. He also called him cousin, rather than use Will's imperial title.

"Is it wise to give in to these men, who cause a disturbance so close to war? These men are intentionally jeopardizing our chances of victory," Will asked.

"If you had heeded their demands, we wouldn't be in this situation! Now I command you to solve it.

If you don't, I'll imprison you, and if you do, I'll give your king the peace treaty he's always wanted," Emperor Kaiser fumed.

Several mages appeared after the emperor's command. Will could tell all the mages held grandmaster rank. There was also a sage mage present at well.

It was clear that Will lost this argument and was close to losing his freedom. Now, he had to focus on escaping with his freedom and life intact.