Adrian had finally taken charge as the new lord and administrator of Valewood.
But since he was still only four years old, everyone there saw him as a child, while Ronald was considered the real power, as he would be the one doing everything in the Prince’s name.
And Adrian now faced a another big problem.
Royal tribute.
Valewood had no real tax money to pay the tribute with, and if he didn’t pay, the land he had just received would be confiscated.
He thought that since he was a prince, he should get some leeway.
But he was no exception.
Ronald, wanting to warn the Prince about how necessary the Royal tribute was, told him the story of his maternal grandfather.
His grandfather had first given Adrian’s mother Lady Elara as tribute to the Crown.
Then, when he couldn’t pay the tribute a second time, he sold the people of his territory into slavery to pay it.
Eventually, no one was left in the territory, and it was confiscated on non payment of Royal tribute.
His grandfather died a beggar’s death.
Adrian had never even met his grandfather, so he felt no emotional attachment to him.
In his mind, the man had gotten what he deserved.
But what about him?
How was he supposed to pay the tribute?
Adrian then tried to conduct a rudimentary assessment of the taxes that should have been collected in Valewood.
He soon discovered the real problem.
The village was suffering from a drought.
There was almost no revenue.
His own finances had also thinned considerably because of the seven guards he had personally hired, along with Evran’s assassination unit.
He was on the verge of losing his land.
Adrian thought that perhaps he could temporarily tax the rich people of the territory to gather enough funds for the tribute and deal with the drought and agricultural tax problem later.
So, he announced new taxes on the wealthy.
As expected, they opposed them.
They gathered together to protest against the fresh taxes levied on them.
His name was Donald Stump.
He was furious that the Prince had suddenly raised taxes to pay the tribute.
He even went so far as to say that Adrian should whore out his mother like his grandfather had done instead of looting the people who worked hard to earn their money.
That irked Adrian very much.
He wanted to kill the man right then and there.
But he held himself back.
That very night, Adrian paid Donald Stump a visit with Evran.
When Donald was asleep, Adrian had everyone else in the house sedated by Evran.
Then he went to Donald’s bedroom.
Donald slept like a pig.
To wake him up, Adrian stabbed one of his legs with a knife while Evran covered his mouth to limit the noise.
Adrian then sat in a chair beside his bed and began speaking.
“You know what, I am a very rational man.
I don’t kill people for disagreeing with me, berating me, or insulting me.
“But my mother is off limits.”
After saying that, Adrian had Evran torture Donald throughout the night.
The torture was so brutal that even Evran, an assassin himself, was left stunned by how horrific it was.
Evran begged the Prince to stop many times.
Adrian didn’t.
Evran was terrified.
What kind of lunatic had he chosen to serve?
This supposedly four-year-old child never even batted an eye at the torcher taking place in front of him.
Before leaving, Adrian left a false evidence of how Donald was looting Valewood’s treasury.
Then they left before dawn broke.
The next day, the entire village was in an uproar over how brutally Donald had been murdered in his own house.
Some thought it was the work of the 33rd Prince.
But even the King had never killed someone so brutally for a mere remark.
Others believed it was the work of a maniacal killer, or perhaps the disgruntled husband of one of the women Donald had picked on.
But nothing conclusive was ever found.
Still, they refused to back down from their opposition to the increased taxes.
Adrian eventually withdrew his order for the new taxes.
But some evidence was found in Donald’s house that suggested he had stolen from the taxes of the village.
Taking advantage of this, Adrian confiscated his properties.
It gave him an excuse to confiscate Donald’s property and use it to pay the Royal tribute.
But after confiscating Donald’s property, Adrian discovered something horrifying.
It wasn’t nearly enough.
It couldn’t even pay a portion of the Royal tribute which was looming like dagger over him.
That’s when Adrian understood why that bastard opposing the taxes so much because he wouldn’t be able to pay them at all.
Adrian was heartbroken.
Taxes hadn’t worked.
Confiscation hadn’t worked.
And now he had no idea what to do other than perhaps printing fake currency himself to pay the tribute.
Then, suddenly, one man came to meet Ronald.
He offered to give a personal loan to Prince Adrian to pay the Royal tribute.
His name was Aldren Morcant.
He was the richest man in the village of Valewood.
He was also the previous tax collector.
Seeing the smug smile on his face, Adrian immediately knew that this bastard was probably the one stealing from the treasury.
Ronald, innocent as he was, immediately jumped at the offer without even consulting Adrian first.
Adrian, annoyed by Aldren’s smugness, approached him.
“You better be careful, or else there won’t be a next time.”
Aldren replied while patronizing the four-year-old Prince,
“Aww, I’m scared of the 33rd Prince. I will be careful next time your highness.” Aldren while replying this to the prince thought that the prince is just a 4 year old child and probably picked a few words from somewhere and is now repeating them at him.
But Adrian was absolutely angry.
And he decided that he was going to kill this bastard.