The Emperor's Concubine

Chapter Thirty-Three

Emperor Cabel and Luna sit quietly.
The emperor's cheeks grow faintly red as he thinks to himself. Turning his chair around, he continues to read the documents on his desk.
His eyes shift over to Luna frequently, admiring her reading.
Her expression is calm with a gentle glimmer of excitement in her eyes, and a slight smile on her lips as she reads.
Gazing at her profile, his eyes shift down to stare at her slender neck.
Emperor Cabel gulps, shaking his head. He clenches his jaw, attempting to focus on his papers.

The door knocks.
Emperor Cabel raises his hand, a shadow rising to open the door.
"Come in." He speaks.

Duke Oslo enters the office, bowing as he walks in.
"Greetings, your highness-" Duke Oslo pauses as he notices Luna on the sofa, "Oh forgive me, I was unaware you had a guest."
"Hello, I'm Luna of the golden palace." Luna stands, curtsying calmly.
"I'm Duke Oslo, it's nice to properly meet you." He bows.
"Properly?" Luna repeats.
"Oh yes... I've heard a lot about you from his highness."
"I see." Luna's cheeks begin to blush.
A gentle smile on her lips, she curtsies.
"You must be here for business, allow me to leave-" She speaks, soon cut off.
"Stay as you are. We can start our meeting now." Emperor Cabel interrupts, calling for Duke Oslo to sit across from him.
"Yes, your highness." Duke Oslo speaks.
Walking to Emperor Cabel's desk, he sits as he places documents on the desk.
Luna grows conflicted, yet does as she's told. Slowly sitting back down on the sofa, she continues to read.

"We need to deploy Marquess Simone's knights in the East." Emperor Cabel speaks, his eyes scanning over a letter.
"The East is filled with troops on patrol from the Lunnex Kingdom. With how many knights the marquess can send, it won't be easy to pass them. I could send some of my knights, but if my squadron is deploy to the West, I won't have many knights to offer." Duke Oslo speaks, thinking to himself.
"I can contact the kingdom of Xiao. Their warriors can provide backup once we enter the central area of the East."
"You realize if you ask them, they'll use this as an excuse to bring their princess here to-"
"I know. We won't worry about it now, but I'll find a way through that. If we have support from Xiao's warriors, we won't need to worry about our knights being ambushed." Emperor Cabel interrupts.
"They'll surely be useful, but could potentially start a war if you refuse-"
"I said I know, didn't I? I'll face those consequences."
Emperor Cabel and Duke Oslo talk as the tension in the room grows heavy.

Luna sits, listening in on their conversation. Unable to focus on her book, she places her book onto the table before turning around to face them.
"May I intervene?" She asks.
Duke Oslo and Emperor Cabel turn to her.
"I have no problem with that." Duke Oslo smiles, looking back at Emperor Cabel.
"Come." Emperor Cabel points to the empty chair beside Duke Oslo.
Luna hesitates as she stands, walking over to the men.
She sits down, thinking to herself for a moment.
"I apologize for interrupting." Luna bows her head.
"Not at all, what would you like to say?" Emperor Cabel kindly speaks.
"Well, regarding Xiao... Might I suggest an alternative to avoid going to war or being in debt to them?"
"If you have an idea, go ahead and share." Emperor Cabel speaks, watching Luna closely.
"Xiao is described in history books as once a beautiful kingdom, but when King Tun passed, his eldest son was crowned. His eldest son was described to be selfish and cunning, and changed laws to only benefit him. Because they wanted more control, government officials voted him off the throne, placing his younger brother Shen to be crowned. King Shen lacks skills regarding politics, which made it easy for officials to pass laws that are inhumane. The laws they made caused their kingdom to rely on the taxes of the poor, making it so officials and the nobility didn't need to pay. Poverty rapidly increased, making job openings rare with very little pay. There's only one job in Xiao that provides a decent pay."
"Becoming a warrior." Duke Oslo speaks.
Giving a small nod, I sit up straight.
"Yes. Because it's the only decent job that's available, I'm sure it's rare to find a citizen who didn't try to apply. Except, there's a low rate of citizens who pass, around ten percent or less of those that apply, actually become a warrior. With their many different training styles, Xiao's primary use of combat is based on stealth. Their warriors are renown for their 'assassin' like skills. In the academy, they're taught the basic skills of a warrior, and since most citizens fail, they resort to dirty work like becoming a hired killer using what they've learned. I'm sure that Xiao's 'slums' are filled with citizens, who trained and couldn't pass the academy. I suggest you scour for the best trained citizens, recruit them to live here, and they would be apart of your army. If they're highly trained with Xiao's methods, they could even teach new recruits and strengthen your army with Xiao's renown methods." Luna takes a deep breath, after quickly explaining.

She looks at Emperor Cabel and Duke Oslo, who both stare at her dumbfoundedly.
"Where on earth did you learn this?" Duke Oslo asks.
"Well... I've read political history books on neighboring kingdoms to know more of their culture. I read that once King Shen was throned, the lower class began paying up to sixty percent of their salary for taxes, while nobles pay either five or none. The jobs there are scarce, but their warriors are highly revered, and I thought of this theory I suppose."
"Even so, how would we know we can trust them? If they're stuck in poverty, they could want to make quick money and turn on us." Duke Oslo speaks.
"Which is why you should send in spies to recruit them. If you find the loyal ones who're well trained, you can build this empire's army with the strongest defenses. You'll have knights who are skilled with hand to hand combat, archers who are trained for long distance attacks, and assassins who are experts in stealth and ambushing. If you find the best assassins they'll provide extra defenses, and if they're from the slums, they could be desperate to get back on their feet. If you're willing to provide a better life, they'll see his highness as a savior and will want to provide loyalty in return."
"It's brilliant. You thought of this from reading?" Emperor Cabel asks.
"Well, yes. I finished all the books at the golden palace's library, and read an abundance of books and journal's from the royal library so far... Have I made a mistake?" Luna cocks her head, thinking back on her words.
"Not at all, you had an amazing idea. Your highness, if this is successful you'll steal citizens from Xiao. They would see you as a larger threat, but more of their citizens would want to join your army. Once word spreads about the empire welcoming citizens of Xiao, there could be a revolt against King Shen. It would make overtaking them easier." Duke Oslo exclaims.
"I could kill two birds with one stone." Emperor Cabel whispers.
"How so?" Luna asks.
"Xiao has been a kingdom I wished to takeover. I don't necessarily care for it enough to go to war to overthrow them, but they've sent many spies and assassins to me. We had no physical evidence or reason to do so, but if this works, Xiao will be under my empire and it can be the first kingdom to be run by a woman." Emperor Cabel grins, amused.
"A woman? Who would run it?" Luna questions, surprised.
"House of Zelnia. Earl Pietro has four sons, and one daughter, Canella. She has the ability and intelligence to run the house of Zelnia, but her brothers out class her since they're older than her and are men. She's the smartest one out of all of those useless rats but is trapped. Her path for life is to marry wealthy. I can have her lead it. She has the qualifications, is loyal to me, and has...personal ties with Xiao." Emperor Cabel chuckles, thinking to himself.
"Personal ties?" Luna questions.
"You'll find out if your plan works. Duke Oslo, we'll carry on with Luna's plan. Decide out of the squadrons, which knights will perform best undercover."
"Yes, your highness." Duke Oslo stands and bows.
He bows again to Luna, taking her hand.
"My lady, your intelligence is very bewitching. I'll be sure to consult you in the future."
Luna's eyes widen as she notices the intrigued look in the duke's eyes.
"May glory of Helios rest upon you."
Duke Oslo leaves, an cunning expression on his face as the doors close behind him.