Thousands of armoured legionaries stood on a paved and white plaza. Looking ahead at the palace of the imperial family. Behind them were the residents of Lutetia, their capital and biggest city.

A man followed by twelve guards left the building and descendent the stairs to the plaza. He stopped on the last third of the steps. Beckoning to one of the guards. There was a light and then a voice boomed through the entire city.

"Head of house Francii, lord of Gaul and Britannia, protector of all elves. Kneel before your emperor. Kneel before Emperor Charlemagne Francii the Just."

There was one single loud noise as the legionaries dropped synchronized to one knee. The people behind them followed suit.

"My dear citizens", Charlemagne's voice was filled with warmth and resolve. "We have stood side by side for the last years. Defending our livelihood against greedy neighbours and pretenders. We fought long wars where all of us had to make heavy sacrifices."

A pause. Charlemagne nodded at the silence of the crowd. Mostly elves but plenty of humans and demi-humans were present as well.

"We prevailed. Our rival Britannia is no more. Their cities are ours. Rejoice!", Charlemagne shouted and raised his arms in the air.

The legionaries cheered. Some citizens joined in.

"But, and it pains me to say that, there is another war on the horizon."

The cheering stopped. A feeling of despair encased the mass.

"The archduke of Raetia has slaughtered innocent villages on our shared borders. Raped and killed woman and children alike. Salted the earth and denied the dead a burial."

Cries of outrage filled the plaza. People shouted for justice, for revenge. An eye for an eye.

"The queen of Aquitania has joined sides with the dwarves."

This time the outrage was smaller. Their southern neighbour was an elven realm. Many had families there and the countries were connected over a long history of fighting together against the Romans.

"It pains my heart to wage war against fellow elves. It saddens me deeply. But their actions leave us no choice", Charlemagne's voice was filled with sadness and pain. "Aquitania helped Raetia in raiding the very same innocent villages. Looked on as fellow elves, humans and demi-humans were killed and worse."

This time the outrage was as loud as with Raetia.

"This is why I made a decision. As emperor, I am the state. And I command to prepare our defences. It is time for justice and reckoning", Charlemagne proclamation made the mass cheer.

The emperor turned around and dismissed the heavy sweating air mage. He fulfilled his part splendidly.

"Inform the lords of my decision. I want every available adult mustered and equipped for war. That goes for Britannia as well. Inform my son"

Charlemagne ascended the stairs again. Disappearing in his palace.

The legionaries in the plaza were already recruiting volunteers for the upcoming conflict.

----------------------------------------

I looked at the Bracelet on my desk. Juladia would turn twenty-two in exactly 47 days. I planned to have my feelings sorted until then. Originally a single night should have been sufficient. It plagued me to admit, but there was no simple way to solve this. No expert to consult, no book to steal information from. Cycnus had advised to man up and just do it. I would. In 47 days that is.

I studied the bracelet and its design. It was a fine piece of craftsmanship. The width could even be adjusted if not for a lot. I was sure she would like the design. I hoped.

I touched the two fangs around my neck. A most particular present. There were few books in the library. And not one could answer my question if this gesture had a special meaning in dark-elven culture. Juladia had denied sharing information on it when asked.

My parent's gifts had arrived as well. They wanted to visit with the family. I advised them to postpone it. There were a few issues to solve first before I could guarantee their safety to 100 percent.

One ally was slowly nearing from the north. Quintus had paused his straight flight back home from time to time. Though he should arrive in around a month if he keeps this pace up. I wondered how much he had grown. I couldn't wait to see him again. In fact, I couldn't wait to see any of my family members.

The presents of my parents and grandparents had been for once simple and useful. They sent a collection of books to fill the library in the temple. Most of them were about some aspect of ruling a realm. The one I started to read first was the Strategikon of Maurikios. It was a military manual from the late emperor Maurikios. One of the most successful rulers of Rome, if you ignore everything not related to the legions.

Reading it should help to better my ability to lead my legions. The first pages showed that I had still a lot to learn.

Though there was another matter to tend to first. Problems had appeared. Two.

There had been two incidents. Somebody laid fire to an insula in an elven part of Roma. Thirty-one citizens died. A dozen still fighting for their lives or handicapped by their permanent wounds.

The second involved a mob of elves killing a group of builders. Resulting in ten dead and seven wounded. The perpetrator claimed those builders were the ones that had laid the fire.

People were placed in the dungeon and I was not a step closer to finding a solution for the tension between races in the city or to find out the truth behind both incidents.

The door opened and I hastily placed the Bracelet in one of the drawers.

"Constantine, Duvira", just then did I notice their tensed expressions. "What happened? Another incident?"

"You could put it that way", Constantine said. Looking at Duvira. "I was checking the performance of my guards when I met Duvira supervising a construction site. We … exchanged opinions on the council members' tasks."

Duvira seemed to glare at him for a moment.

"A builder tried to attack her from behind. With a poisoned trowel", the warden said.

"Did he..."

"He did not. We managed to prevent his attack. The poison is being investigated and the culprit is getting questioned as we speak."

"Good. Inform me if you find out something new. I will have Juladia use her ears and eyes to look for hints."

"Do you have a guess why he did it?", Duvira asked.

"Yes. But only that, a guess. Raetia continues to suppress their new human subjects. They introduced a new tax for human citizens. Your builder might have been from the north. Forced to seek a new home because of Raetia."

"Great. People want to kill me over things that I have no control of. Great, just great", the dwarf looked shortly at the warden next to her. Then back at me.

"Constantine you will have to assign extra guards to all council members. Nobody is to leave the safety of the forum without a twenty man strong contingent of guards", I said. Constantine nodded, while Duvira seemed to swallow a reply. "Is there anything else to discuss?"

"No Lucius", answered Constantine.

"Good, then you may resume your duties. Inform me of any new developments. Be careful", I said.

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The pair left the office and I was left to think for my own.

The population in the province was growing. People came from the south. Most from the regions that had joined the short-lived uprising. The new nobles still had not established themselves properly. Some tried to stop their people from moving away. Few succeeded. Father's neutrality on that matter had helped.

The immigrants from the east, guaranteed from the peace treaty, had stopped coming. The east had fulfilled their side of the deal. The materials and people had not only helped in building up my province but also helped the rest of the duchy in rebuilding itself. You could even say that the duchy of Neapoli was prospering for once.

The peace treaty would hold for another four years. By then we needed to be ready to defend ourselves from eastern aggression.

Most immigrants came nowadays from the north. About seventy percent. This new group of people didn't interfere with the conflict between easterners and Neapolitans, but they were hostile against any dwarves as it seemed. For now not much of a problem. Few of them lived in Roma, but we still had to fix it somehow.

The immigrants helped in growing our population and economy but we would need to do more to integrate them. All of them need to identify as one people. Otherwise, incidents like the prior ones will repeat themselves. Worst case scenario a civil war between the faction breaks out.

I needed a plan to ease the tension. A method to ensure peace between the nationalities in Roma.

I had non. The council had non.

So I wrote letters to my family. Explaining the situation. I included all of them. Uncle, my cousins, all four of my grandparents and my own parents. Somebody must have an idea. Something that could work or at least help.

It took a few hours to finish writing them. The letter for Romulus also included my congratulations on his recovery. We still didn't know with what he had been poisoned, but it took him a year and the help of dozens of Medicus and mages to overcome it. I would like to avoid the same fate. If my parents would have been hit by this poison… would I be able to run the duchy for a year? I wasn't sure.

The finished letters were brought to a unit of scouts from the legion. They rode towards Napule without delay.

"Okay. What now?"

I settled behind my desk and looked at the plans for the province. We had five more council meetings. Everybody made progress with their duties. Some faster, some slower.

For now, food was in surplus. We were starting to fill the granaries. Small supplies from Neapoli or foreign countries are still arriving as well. The low tariffs on imports encourage merchants to come here.

The guards were performing splendidly. Corruption is being held to a minimum.

With the guards, we managed to keep order in the province. Laws were enforced and rarely was authority misused. Rumours, aided by Juladia, are spreading. People seeking new chances are heading here.

Duvira was performing good work in improving important infrastructure.

Valerius was negotiating a trade deal with the duchies of Sardinia and Corsica. His success would give us much needed raw ores. Relying solely on imports from the east would be foolish.

Things were going well if you ignored the situation in Roma.

It was time to make progress on another matter. Education. We had long spoken about making it available for all. Yet not much had been done until now. A meeting with Statilia has been set for today.

A knock on the door.

Speak of the fox.

"Enter Statilia."

The woman entered, and, as usual, a big stack of paper balanced on her arms. She closed the door with a kick of her foot.

"Greetings."

"Greetings."

The stack of papers was placed on the desk. She took a chair from the side and set it down in front of me.

"Taxes or education first?", she asked.

"Taxes."

Two-thirds of the papers were placed down onto the ground.

"We have several problems with the current tax collection."

I nodded.

"Firstly the income tax. Small deviations can't be punished. Only when they get too big do we find out."

"Nothing much we can do about that. Does finding out lead to back payments?"

"Yes that, and a penalty for trying to not pay taxes. On the other hand, we had a lot of cases where people made mistakes because they didn't know better. Villagers and poor commoners were mostly in that category."

"Did they receive punishment?"

"There were a few cases. But a warning is what most received and an explanation how to do it correctly."

"We need to start the education program soon."

"The land tax was more successful. The formulas allowed for fair assessments of value. This tax was collected without many incidents."

"None?"

"There were a few that wanted their land to be less valuable. We managed to reach an agreement with those though."

"Anybody that wanted his land to be worth more?", I asked with a smile.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"A rich merchant didn't believe that his land was less valuable than that of his neighbour. He demanded we increase his value. We did", Statilia smiled. I shook my head.

"What about the deficit?"

"Still there. We checked the numbers for next years collection. It is shrinking but still there. Too big to not worry about it."

"How big?"

"Last year? Over Twenty five thousand ducats"

That was a lot of money. We still had a small reserve…

"We have around ten thousand ducats in the treasury."

"That means we won't be able to fund the next year?"

"Obviously."

The last thing I wanted was bankruptcy. My parents said they would intervene in an emergency. But that should be the last option. Asking them for help was like giving up on my ambitions to follow in my father's footsteps. I wouldn't … I couldn't fail at managing my fiances.

"Any ideas to prevent the deficit?"

"Cut funding."

I rolled my eyes.

"Our entire recovery relies on the current investments. Cutting funding is like shooting an arrow into a galloping horse. Any other ideas?"

"War?"

I glared at her.

"No war? Just asking. You never know with house Vespasianus", she pulled her feet up. Sitting cross-legged on the chair. One of her hands played with her red-furred ears. "Cut on funding not related to the recovery or ask for money or sell something?"

"We can't… you are a genius!"

I sprung up in excitement. Why didn't I think of it before?

"I know", Statilia had a smug expression on her face. "Why am I a genius again?"

"We have assets that we can sell. The trading network in the east", I explained.

"Isn't it part of the reason why the province is recovering? Selling it will mean you lose the profits. Doesn't it?"

"It depends."

She had a puzzled expression.

"Depends on what?", she asked.

"On who we sell to", I explained.

"Do you mean..."

"We sell it to my family, to the loyal houses, and to the residents of the province. The trading connections will remain. The goods will still be brought here."

"That could work. What about the information net you had built with it?"

"That would become useless. A sacrifice I am willing to make. Do inform Alaric of my plan. He is to contact Pyrrhus Ptolemy and Elddis Bilibin. They may be possible buyers as well."

"How ducats do you think that will earn you?"

"We invested about 150'000 ducats into the company. I hope to get at least a 100'000 back."

"Plenty. That would solve the problem for a few years. Education?"

"Education. I plan to give the task to somebody else. Any objection?"

Statilia seemed surprised. A bit of disappointment showed in her expression.

"Is it because of..."

"No. I want you to focus on the finances and the build-up of the administration. Though you do have a choice. Either lead the education project or the administration."

She seemed to think for a moment.

I was quite sure she would choose to continue…

"I choose the education project."

… her position as treasurer.

"Why? You always wanted to..."

"I want to give other people opportunities."

I looked at her. Controlling my expression. This was not good. I had no candidate to replace her as treasurer and steward. I was sure she would… Calm down. Deep breaths.

"Okay."

A long silence followed.

"You sure?", she asked.

I swear I didn't glare.

"Do you know by chance a talented individual that could take over your position?"

"No."

"Then we do have a problem. I fully support your choice, but as long as we don't have a replacement you will have to continue as treasurer and steward."

"For a month. Then I want to focus on giving the people the chance to change their lives."

I didn't sigh. I swear.

"Fine. I will inform the council. All of us will have to look for a replacement. Maybe my parents know someone?", I mused. I made a mental note to send another letter to Napule. I really need to gather more people for the council. I need to have replacements for them in case of emergencies. In fact, I need a replacement for myself in case of an emergency.

"So… Do we continue?", she interrupted my musing.

"Yes of course. Sorry… Just thinking about a few things."

"About a woman?", she asked smiling.

"No!", I stated just a tad too fast.

She shrugged. Something that looked like 'Can't help, if you don't ask'.

"So what was your plan for education?"

"I plan to use the temples in the cities and towns. The priests can read and write", she pulled out a map of the province showing the placements of temples.

"What do they want in return? What will we do about most of the villages?"

"Why would you think the servants of the gods would want something in return?"

I looked silently at her. Tilting my head lightly.

"A position on the council. And autonomy from the local governments.

I grumbled.

"The first is a pain, but they can have one. The second… is problematic."

"Perhaps a meeting would be desirable?"

"Quite. Alaric will organize one with the temple heads of the province. What do you plan on doing with the villages?"

"Send a teacher there regularly as an interim solution. Later build a school with permanent teachers."

"How many teachers can you organize? How much would they cost per year?"

"Hard to say. Up to 100? Around 8000 ducats per year."

"That is not enough. Perhaps… schedule back the start of the project in the villages."

"I don't want to..."

"Listen", she looked at me. Clearly, a bit displeased. "Search for individuals that want to become teachers. Gather them in Roma and have the hired teacher teach them the ropes. We get qualified teachers for our villages for a cheaper price."

"Fine. We will do it like that."

"Good. And forget the temples. We will do the same for the cities."

"That would push back the education."

"I don't trust the temples to just teach the children reading and writing. They would plant their own ideas into their heads."

"Why the dislike of temples? Do you not believe in the gods?"

"I do. But for that, I need no temple. Everybody has an agency. That includes the temple heads."

"If you think so. Does this conclude our meeting?"

"Yes. You may go", I answered. She made a point of bowing before leaving.

I wrote the second letter to my parents. Asking for a suitable candidate for treasurer and steward.

Then I went over the plans we had discussed. Alaric was instructed to plan the sale of the company.

I spent the rest of the day organizing and signing reports. Things were going good and I wanted them to continue going good.