Chapter 103: The Next Assignment
The Emperor reached for the first document.
The parchment made a quiet sound as he broke the seal.
No one spoke.
Kael watched his father rather than the paper.
The Emperor’s expression remained unreadable as he scanned the contents.
Then he looked toward the First Prince.
"You will go east."
The First Prince stepped away from the window.
"For how long?"
"Until the matter is settled."
"What matters?"
The Emperor placed the document on the table.
"A dispute between three provincial houses has grown into something more serious. Their territories border one another, and each family claims the others have been stealing from their lands."
The First Prince picked up the report.
"And the local governor?"
"Has failed to resolve it."
The First Prince read through the document.
"Do you want me to judge who is responsible?"
"No."
The First Prince looked up.
"Then what do you want?"
"Find out why the governor couldn’t resolve it."
The First Prince understood.
He folded the document.
"I’ll go."
The Emperor nodded.
Kael watched quietly.
His father wasn’t giving his eldest son an enemy to defeat.
He was giving him a problem that required judgment.
The Emperor reached for another document.
This time, he looked toward the prince dressed in dark red.
"You will travel south."
The prince straightened.
"For what?"
"A port city has experienced repeated thefts."
"From merchants?"
"From the Imperial warehouses."
The prince’s expression changed.
"How much?"
"Enough that the local commander has begun blaming the merchants."
The prince leaned back.
"And you want me to investigate."
"I want you to determine whether the commander is incompetent, corrupt, or being deceived."
The prince smiled.
"That sounds entertaining."
The Emperor didn’t smile.
"It isn’t."
The prince’s expression faded.
"Understood."
Kael watched him carefully.
There was something different about this brother.
He carried himself with confidence.
Too much confidence, perhaps.
But Kael couldn’t tell whether it was simply arrogance or something deeper.
He hadn’t spent enough time around him.
The emperor turned toward the princess.
"You will remain in the capital."
She lowered the document she had been reading.
"Doing what?"
"You will oversee the Imperial relief offices for three months."
She blinked.
"Three months?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because the office has become inefficient."
She frowned.
"Who told you that?"
"I did."
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Then I suppose I’ll find out why."
"That’s the idea."
The Emperor’s gaze finally settled on Kael.
Kael waited.
His father didn’t immediately speak.
Instead, he reached for another document.
He slid it across the table.
Kael picked it up.
His eyes moved over the page.
Verenthian Western Territory—Agricultural Survey
Kael looked up.
"A farming region?"
"Yes."
The emperor leaned back.
"Your assignment is different."
Kael read further.
Several villages had reported poor harvests.
Some blamed the weather.
Others blamed the soil.
A few had already begun leaving their homes.
Kael looked at his father.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Find out why."
Kael glanced back at the document.
"That’s it?"
"That’s it."
Kael frowned.
"No military force?"
"No."
"No governor to remove?"
"No."
"No enemy to fight?"
The emperor smiled.
"Not everything needs a sword."
Kael looked down again.
The First Prince gave him a faint smile from across the table.
Kael ignored it.
The Emperor continued.
"You’ll have authority to speak with the local officials."
"You’re allowed to inspect the farms."
"You may speak with merchants and villagers."
"But you aren’t there to rule the territory."
Kael nodded.
"I’m there to understand it."
"Exactly."
Kael folded the document.
"When do I leave?"
"Three days."
Kael nodded.
Then the prince in red spoke.
"Why does Kael get another field assignment?"
Kael looked toward him.
The prince’s fingers tapped against the armrest again.
"He just returned."
The Emperor answered calmly.
"So did you."
"Mine is an investigation."
"So is his."
The prince looked toward Kael.
"A farming problem doesn’t seem like much of a test."
Kael said nothing.
The Emperor did.
"That is precisely why it is one."
The prince’s mouth tightened.
The Emperor looked across all of them.
"Do not measure another person’s assignment by how impressive it sounds."
He paused.
"You may find that the quietest problem is the one capable of causing the most damage."
The room became silent.
Kael looked down at his report again.
Poor harvests.
Villages leaving.
Merchants reporting shortages.
It suddenly seemed less simple.
He turned the page.
There was another detail.
The affected villages were all located along the same river.
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
"Father."
"Yes?"
"These villages..."
He pointed to the map.
"They all depend on the same river."
The Emperor nodded.
"Yes."
"Then why are they blaming the soil?"
"That is what you’re going to discover."
Kael looked at the map again.
A river connected several settlements.
Farther upstream was a large estate belonging to a provincial noble family.
Kael noticed the name.
He remembered it.
It had appeared in one of the reports from his father’s earlier discussion.
He looked up.
"There’s a noble estate upstream."
The Emperor nodded.
"Now you understand why I chose you."
Kael smiled slightly.
"Because I noticed the map."
"Because you asked the right question."
Kael folded the document.
"I’ll find the answer."
The Emperor nodded.
The meeting should have ended there.
But the First Prince remained standing.
"Father."
The emperor looked at him.
"Yes?"
"Before we leave..."
He glanced around the room.
"We should establish something."
The emperor waited.
The First Prince looked toward his siblings.
"We’re all being sent to different places."
"Each assignment is different."
"But eventually, we’re going to return."
Kael watched him.
The First Prince continued.
"When we do, we shouldn’t only report what we found."
His gaze moved toward the Emperor.
"We should report what we learned."
The emperor smiled.
"Good."
Kael understood why his brother was considered the strongest candidate among the siblings.
Not because he was the strongest fighter.
Not because he had the most soldiers.
Because he understood the purpose behind the Emperor’s tests.
The First Prince turned toward the others.
"Good luck."
The prince in red gave a short laugh.
"Don’t sound like you’re already winning."
The First Prince looked at him.
"I didn’t say that."
"Your face did."
A few seconds of silence followed.
Then the First Prince smiled.
"Then perhaps you should stop looking at my face."
The princess covered a small laugh.
Even Kael smiled.
The tension eased.
But only for a moment.
Because the Emperor spoke again.
"One final thing."
Everyone looked toward him.
"You will not interfere with one another’s assignments."
The First Prince nodded.
The others followed.
The emperor’s expression hardened.
"If one of your siblings succeeds, that does not make your own success smaller."
"And if one fails..."
He paused.
"Do not celebrate."
Kael looked around the room.
His father’s words were clear.
They were competitors.
But they were still family.
At least for now.
The meeting ended.
Kael stood and gathered his papers.
He had three days before leaving.
Three days to prepare.
Three days to study the region.
And three days to figure out why villages along the same river were losing their harvests.
As Kael walked toward the doors, he glanced once more at the map.
The river ran through several villages before reaching the estate upstream.
Something was wrong.
He could feel it.
But he wasn’t going to assume what.
This time, he would see it for himself.
Outside the chamber, Kael stopped.
He looked at the document in his hand.
Then toward the palace windows.
The expedition had taught him how to survive the unknown.
Now he would have to learn how to solve it.
And somewhere beyond the capital, an entire stretch of farmland was waiting for him.