Chapter 78: Roland’s Sneaky Plan
When King James silently signaled, Gautam, the Roland Kingdom’s main strategist, stepped forward a bit. He looked confident, and his sharp eyes scanned the nobles before looking back at his king. He started to explain his plan, his voice smooth and clear, easily heard in the tense throne room.
"My Lord," Gautam began, "in this tricky situation, we have two clear advantages. If we use them right, we can turn this seeming disaster into a smart win, at least lessen the damage a lot." He paused, making sure everyone was listening.
"First," he continued, "is how the Empire itself reacts. When the Emperor found out about this – an attack by one kingdom’s prince inside another’s borders, causing many deaths and destroying a... big business – he would have, as he usually does, acted fast."
"He would have dispatched one of his elite warriors, a messenger of his power, to the kingdom that caused the trouble, in this case, Estoria. An order, a summons, will surely have been sent for King Noor IV and his third son, Prince Eric, to go to the Imperial throne to answer for what they did"
"Importantly, My Lord, we have also received an order to go to that same meeting, not as the accused, but as the aggrieved party, the victims of this bad act."
King James nodded his head slowly. This part of Gautam’s thinking was correct. A little while ago, an Imperial messenger, dressed in the clear dark grey and silver of the Emperor’s personal messengers, had arrived at the Roland palace.
The messenger had personally given a sealed scroll to the King. It was a formal invitation – or rather, a command – to attend the Imperial meeting.
The message also had a carefully worded promise that justice would be done, and that they, the Roland Kingdom, should trust the Empire’s fairness and the Emperor’s wisdom. It was a standard Imperial nice-sounding phrase, but it gave them a bit of official standing.
Gautam went on, his voice becoming more like he was sharing a secret.