Grifting and Extortion

"Alright, I'll send a Magic Communication reply now. His Highness is probably worried sick!" Reno nodded. Though Roland could be unreliable at times, he did care deeply for his people.

At that moment, King Roland, who supposedly cared for his people, was lounging leisurely in a recliner beneath the sun. Nyx sat beside him, gently massaging his legs. Golden sunlight gleamed brilliantly on her dazzling golden hair, yet her brows were faintly furrowed, as if something weighed on her mind.

"Don't overthink it, silly girl. That thing Ismir won't die!" Roland snorted and patted Nyx's head.

"Since when did Lord Ismir become a thing? Your Highness, you can't talk about him like that!" Nyx pouted angrily.

"You are the king. You need to balance your relationships with the nobles. You can't alienate or slander any noble who hasn't done anything wrong, or the other nobles will gang up on him!" Nyx patiently explained the intricacies to Roland. Nobles were merely a pack of civilized hyenas. When everyone was evenly matched, they got along just fine, but the moment someone showed weakness, countless eyes would turn toward dividing up the spoils.

The kingdom's noble factions were still weak, so Roland could do whatever he wanted for now. But once the pie grew larger, this sort of behavior would become dangerous! After all, the king was the nation's largest shareholder and the weather vane of its political world. By acting this way, Roland was effectively telling the other nobles, I'm not close to this noble. I might even dislike him. Roland might not have meant anything by it, but the other nobles would understand and extend their claws. When you stood at the top, every word and action had to be considered carefully! This was especially deadly for lesser nobles. High-ranking nobles