The Royal court

As the royal family walked back through the oak balcony doors, Cassius Pompea, the steward of the kingdom from a merchant family that had supported the revolution from the start, met them.

"Congratulations on your first child, your Majesties. Unfortunately, we have a pressing matter to attend to with the northern Galicia kingdom," Cassius urgently told his king.

"What's happened, Steward Cassius." The king said in a hurry.

"The rest of the court is already waiting for us in the throne room, your Majesty," replied Cassius.

"Okay, Aurora, give Julius to your maid to take to his room. Unfortunately, duty calls," Junius said.

Immediately, Julius was put into the maid's arms and taken to his section of the castle. Unfortunately for Julius, he was already asleep after a busy morning in this new world called Vilmoria.

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Junius POV 

I hurriedly walked on the plush royal red carpets towards the throne room with my wife beside me. Through the long corridors ordained with paintings, a few portraits of past heroes and a few kings who cared about their people. 

Soon, the grand doors leading to the throne room were in front of me. Royal guardians opened the doors for me as soon as I got close, saluting by hitting their sword arm on their chest. Preceding the throne, I took in the room's four marble columns on each side, windows on either side letting the morning sunlight hit the throne, and columns adorned with flags of Romanium. 

On either side was a row of chairs, with my Royal court standing by their chairs awaiting my arrival. They were all dressed in red, gold, white, and black noble garments made of the finest silk.

In front of me was my pitch-black throne with a golden eagle glowing in the morning sun, I quickly made my way to the throne and sat on my royal red pillow. My head royal guardian approached me with a royal red pillow, my golden laurel leaf crown, and my wife's counterpart.

"Your Majesties, let me first congratulate you on your firstborn children and give you back your crowns after you gave me them for safekeeping during the birth and the speech," said Oracio, the head royal guardian. 

"Thank you, my friend, Head Guardian Oracio," I said as I grabbed my crown and put it on my head. I then grabbed my queen's crown and put it on her head, smiling at her before turning to my court and asking.

"What is the important matter that I had to be taken away from my son?" 

"Your Majesties it's about the northern kingdom of Galicia, they have started aggressive tactics towards our allies the ancient kingdom of Hesper. The Rex of Hesper has asked for economic aid in case of war, such as food and military supplies." Said Steward Cassius

"What is the likelihood of the barbarians up north attacking?" Asked Queen Aurora

"We believe that it is unlikely they will attack as Hesper is stronger, but the barbarians are crazy your Majesties. Our spies believe they are trying to pressure Hesper into an unfavorable economic pact. This would solve the barbarian Galicia food shortage, allowing their tribes to stop infighting, stabilizing their internal structure and the position of power for the High Chieftain of Galicia." Said the Marshal-General Helvius Accensus, leader of the kingdom's army.

"Interesting; they would be crazy to go to war with their current infighting, but they are barbarians and would expect nothing less from them. Our kingdom's coffers will be low after implementing my new schemes to improve its safety and security. Minister Pikus, how much food do we have stored in our warehouses?" Junius asked Pikus, the minister of agriculture.

"Your Majesties, we currently have around fifty tons of food stored up, ready for export. If they ration it, this can feed around 10,000 barbarians for about a month," replied Minister Pikus of Agriculture.

"How about we offer them a trade deal instead? Forty tons of food for 2000 golden coins? Hopefully, this will open an economic route to profit from those barbarians and relieve the pressure on our allies," Junius said.

"Your Majesties, this is feasible, but it won't leave us with much food reserve until harvest at the end of the month. The coins will pay for the whole expansion of our army as recruits are paid around 20 bronze a month depending on their current rank, equaling 50,000 new recruits and 1,000,000 bronze a year, equivalent to 1000 silver, which is only one gold. The border defenses will require much higher costs and upkeep but will allow us peace of mind. This could also allow us some breathing room in the treasury." Said Steward Cassius.

"Your Majesties, if I may, the country needs money right now as we still have cities and land to rebuild after our victory in the war. Trading with the barbarians is a good idea to refill our coffers and reinvest it into our kingdom, improving our services and infrastructure. We could also bring forward some of our plans, such as the bank of Romanium and building proper stone roads between our cities, allowing our merchants to travel more easily." Stated the Chancellor Octavius Flavius from one of the most powerful Duke families in the kingdom. 

"Hmm, that sounds like a plan. What are the potential repercussions from Hesper if we decide to trade with Galicia?" asked Junius.

"They will be fine with it as long as we relieve pressure from their borders and give them some breathing room," Steward Cassius replied.

"That sounds like a plan. Steward Cassius will meet with their delegation that came to view our birth ceremony and get the deal done. The royal court meeting adjured Steward Cassius to inform me of the negotiation results tomorrow morning," Junius said.

After I said this, I stood up, took my wife's hand, and walked out of the throne room to spend time with my newborn son.

Immediately, my royal court bowed and dispersed to get on with their duties. Steward Cassius going straight to the delegation from Galicia.