The study was as warm as early spring. A roaring fire in the hearth kept the entire room comfortably heated.
Outside, however, rain poured down and thunder rumbled incessantly, as though the entire Imperial Capital had been submerged in darkness.
Rhein, the Fourth Imperial Prince, sat beside the window, holding a pot of precious, delicate flowers in one hand and silver shears in the other.
The patter of rain against the glass mingled with the soft snip of the shears, yet neither disturbed him in the slightest.
He trimmed the branches and leaves with slow, elegant movements, each cut seemingly imbued with both patience and indifference.
Belier, the finance minister, stood beside him, gripping the thick financial report tightly enough to bend it slightly.
He cleared his throat, his voice respectful but tinged with urgency. "Your Highness, the commander of the Twenty-Second Legion just sent a trusted aide with a secret letter... He says he is willing to submit to you."
Rhein murmured an acknowledgment, as though he had heard something utterly inconsequential.
He lifted a flowering branch and snipped off a yellowing leaf, smiling faintly. "The iron guard my second brother prized most... So much for him."
He flicked the withered leaf with a fingertip and watched it fall onto a silver tray.
"Loyalty?" he said softly. "Heh. As brittle as this leaf."
Belier leaned forward, seemingly both agreeing and currying favor. "At first, that legion commander even tried to draw his sword and cut down our envoy. But his family's storehouses didn't even have enough fodder left for next spring.
"We erased his nephew's smuggling charges and paid three months of overdue military wages... He knelt faster than anyone. Military officers have always been like this."
Rhein chuckled, as though he had heard a perfectly self-evident truth.
He