Urgent steps echoed through the hallway as a well dressed man carrying documents hurried to a door at the end of the hall. He took a moment to catch his breath and adjust himself before he knocked on the door. “Sir, this servant has come to make a report.”

“Enter.”

The man entered the office and genuflected. As soon as he was at ease, he raised a document and kicked off his report. “Prince Elric, we received information that some of our supporters have started to pull away. Duke King, Duke Lorence, and Duke Reymond have all indicated their stance was becoming neutral.”

“Have you found the reason why?”

“No, Sir. As far as we can tell, the Lords are being influenced by an external factor, however we’re unable to narrow it down further.”

“It should be obvious who would target this Prince. If it’s not this PRince’s brothers, then it would be Lady Reviarra. Investigate along those lines.”

“Yes…” The man seemed hesitant to continue, however his job forced him on. “Prince Elric… This servant also must report about the commoners… Information has been spreading throughout the capital and… it’s highly unfavorable to your position… This servant has brought a sample of the papers floating around.”

He stepped forward and handed the document over to Prince Elric. The Prince only took a quick glance at it before his expression contorted and he crumpled the paper. “Damn that woman! Look into any connections related to Lady Reviarra and the Reviarra household. They’re the most likely culprits.”

He tossed the crumpled document into the fire. His face remained distorted as he asked: “How many of these papers are spreading?” The servant was afraid to answer. The document was spread throughout the town and was even being used as a food wrapper.

Prince Elric didn’t even need to hear his answer to know how bad it was. “Collect everything and burn it. If anyone refuses to hand it over, buy it off them. You need to get rid of all of them as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Sir.” The man genuflected once more then rushed out the door. Prince Elric remained in thought. While he expected the Reviarra household to fight back, he was rather surprised Lady Reviarra was willing to leak news detrimental to herself.

In fact, he almost thought it was a plot by his brother if not that his brother was unable to come up with these backdoor style plans. ‘Perhaps I pushed Duke Reviarra too hard?’ The thought only crossed his mind for a moment before he dismissed it.

The moment Sol escaped his grasp and returned to her family unharmed, the inevitable clash between them could only push forward. Rather than back off, Prince Elric grabbed his pen and chose to press harder.

His baiting strategy no longer worked, however that didn’t mean he couldn’t affect Iridescent in other ways. Plotting with such things in mind, his mind wandered to his brother who was rather subdued for the past 2 months.

Initially, the brothers worked together after being approached by a third party, however after their primary plan fell through, they split up to tackle the problem on their own. Had the brothers shared any overlap in their strengths, they might have chosen to continue working together.

Unfortunately, Prince Elric was accustomed to schemes and political clout while Prince Roland’s strengths were economics and wars. While the two could cooperate, neither of them would gain advantage over the other through teamwork.

Instead, it was more likely that one of the two would backstab the other in order to gain a lead in the fight for the throne. As it stood, the two Princes still owed a debt to that mysterious 3rd party. While the timeline was vague, the brothers understood that they only had a year or so before that party would come calling.

Prince Roland was, in fact, considering the same issue on his side. He sat at a table and received the latest news from the capital while also watching his army cultivate. The many members were all seated cross legged and practicing the Militia Burst cognitive model.

Few of his men were compatible with it and that mysterious 3rd party withdrew the specialized help he provided previously. As such, Prince Roland was forced to press his men on and promote those who succeeded while reassuring those who failed to progress.

He knew from the moment he implemented this regimen that his army would be restructured with Assemblers in charge of the troops and initial success Assemblers leading the different regiments. Even so, progress was slow.

Rather than make the same mistake as last time, Prince Roland chose to bulk his army up first and take the throne immediately after. Once stabilizing his reign, it would be child’s play to destroy the Reviarra household.

As his thoughts drifted to that stubborn Lady with exceptional intelligence, Prince Roland hesitated in his planning. Perhaps there would be a chance to pull her to his side. For now, he could only act along with that 3rd party’s initiative until he had the power to shatter their contract one sidedly.

Another report flowed in and after he read the document, a wry smile crossed his face. He was laughing inside originally after the plight his brother was going through, however the latest report showed that he, too, was within the sights of someone.

Who was targeting him? Unlike Prince Elric who had a list of enemies, Prince Roland was rather confident it was Lady Reviarra attacking him. In fact, he wagered it was the girl herself directing the attacks and not the Reviarra household.

His business was already on the backpedal from Iridescent’s aggressive marketing moves. In order to survive, Prince Roland took an aggressive stance with the local governors and enacted startup laws that inhibited market expansion.

In short, he cheated. In order to preserve his pride, the Prince rationalized his inability to compete in the market with having to also manage and grow an army. Those territorial laws created to limit Iridescent’s expansion were exactly what Sol hit him on this time.

The document he just set down on the table was part of an exposé that revealed his part in having the law created. Not only were the repercussions on the long term market laid out for those with a mercantile background, there was also a layman’s summary listing the fallout for the average commoner.

In short, Prince Roland’s reputation was smeared. Perhaps the greatest damage wasn’t against his reputation however, and instead was for those in office he originally worked with to get the laws passed. Not two weeks after the exposé, Prince Roland received two visitors at his utility estate.

Although the two men were polite during the encounter, it was clear they were trying to distance themselves from the Prince. Prince Roland’s eyes drifted between the two lazily. “Are you aware what it would mean for this Prince to stop supporting you?”

“Prince Roland… This servant is unable to support you under current conditions.”

“This servant is the same. Should Prince Roland manage to clean his house, this servant will be open to cooperation in the future.”

Prince Roland just waved the two men off and allowed them to leave without issue. He doubted the men would believe him if he told them the truth and so just let them walk away after a few obligatory sentences.

After the two men left, Prince Roland grabbed the nearest item and launched it against the wall. The frustration of the general situation left him at a loss. While he wanted to fight back against Iridescent, he no longer had the capital or pressure.

There were plenty of extra methods he could use to pressure Iridescent, however the fallout of such methods if publicized would only wreck his reputation further. His heavy breathing slowed as he calmed down and his thoughts started turning once more.

If attacking Iridescent through mercantile vectors wasn’t an option, he might as well try the physical way. After calling two teams into his office, Prince Roland issued his orders. “Split into two teams and destroy any shops related to Iridescent.”

The team leaders exchanged glances with each other, however they kept their mouths shut and listened to the end. “Expect resistance and remain cautious. Your goal is to destroy the storefronts and prevent Iridescent from consolidating its resources. If you can track down their warehouses, take them down as well.”

Prince Roland sent the two teams off then called in another two teams. He knew that with this move, Iridescent would likely punch back. Images of the young girl’s arrogant look flickered through his mind and he continued to order defensive teams to protect Lunar Supply’s warehouses and storefronts.

While he couldn’t protect them all, he could at least protect the most valuable fronts. The two teams reviewed their plans before setting off. Resting back in his chair, Prince Roland’s eyes closed with a hint of regret. He knew he was in for a rough time, but it was too late to back off.