Denk had finally made up his mind.
He had feared Aldren Morcant for years because of the power and control he had over Valewood.
But Adrian had stripped him of everything that had made him powerful.
Now, Denk had no longer any reason to fear him.
And more importantly…
He finally had a reason to seek revenge.
Denk bought a knife and went to Aldren’s house.
By the time he arrived, Aldren had already dealt with everything he wanted to.
He had sent his family away from Valewood to save them from the Prince.
But he himself had stayed behind.
There was nothing left for him to protect.
Aldren sat alone in his house.
Then he took out a bottle of wine he had hidden away for years.
There was no point in hiding it anymore.
He opened the bottle and began drinking.
Soon enough, he heard someone entering his house.
Aldren looked up.
He immediately recognized the man.
Denk.
For a moment, Aldren simply stared at him.
Then…
He began laughing.
Loudly.
Now he understood.
Now he understood why Adrian had refused to spare his family.
He had spared Tuton’s family all those years ago.
And now…
That family had produced the man who would end his life.
Aldren laughed again.
He had made a mistake.
A mistake that had taken decades to come back to him.
He looked at Denk.
Then he took another sip of his wine.
His final thought was simple.
I should have taken that bet when I was offered.
But it was too late for regrets now.
Adrian would become the tyrant no one could oppose.
With that thought…
Aldren closed his eyes for the last time.
On the other side of the town, Adrian already knew that Aldren would make his family leave Valewood during the week’s worth of time he had given him.
Evran was ordered to dispose of them.
And he did.
Once Aldren’s family had left the territory, Evran followed them and eventually killed them.
He buried their bodies outside Valewood so that everyone would believe they had simply run away after taking whatever valuables they had left.
Evran then brought those valuables back to Adrian, just as he had been ordered.
However, unbeknownst to Adrian, Evran secretly took a portion of them for himself.
He wanted to build an emergency fund in case he ever needed it.
The next day, Adrian went to the Valewood Bank.
He had gathered everyone who had deposited money in the bank.
Ronald stood before the crowd and announced:
“His Highness, Prince Adrian, will return all the money you deposited in the Valewood Bank.”
Cheers erupted throughout the crowd.
People began hailing the Prince for his generosity and greatness.
Ronald continued.
“However, because it will take some time to return everyone’s money, you will not be allowed to demand all of it back at once. You will eventually receive the full amount you deposited.”
The cheers grew even louder.
Adrian simply stood there, forcing a smile.
He wasn’t genuinely happy.
Soon after making the announcement, he left and returned to his residence.
A few days later, the report eventually reached the King.
According to the report, Aldren had defrauded the people of Valewood, while Prince Adrian had stepped in and saved the people of the village.
The report had not been sent by Adrian.
It had come from the King’s own spies, who reported directly to him.
King Aldric was impressed by how the situation had been handled.
He didn’t think that Adrian had actually orchestrated the entire thing.
In truth, he never cared much about who had done what.
What interested him far more was the banking system itself.
He had learned how banks worked.
And that was what impressed him the most.
Had he not already created the Royal Notes himself, he would have adopted the banking system much earlier.
But now that the Crown could create its own money, he was no longer particularly concerned about the matter.
Instead, he eased the Royal tributes considerably.
Taxes were also cut down heavily.
The Kingdom of Asterra’s economy began booming more than ever before.
Unfortunately for Aldric…
The economic boom also burdened him with even more work.
Adrian’s Royal Bank was now the only bank to survive the crisis he himself had created.
Its trustworthiness was higher than ever.
Adrian eventually employed all nineteen of the people he had trained.
He also allowed the five trainers to begin teaching a new batch.
But this time, he didn’t want to select only thirty people.
He wanted mass education.
Unfortunately…
Nobody agreed with him.
Ronald opposed the idea most strongly.
Mass education interfered with his religious teachings, and he was unwilling to simply teach everyone regardless of their social status.
Adrian eventually gave up on mass education for the time being.
Training bankers from scratch took a lot of time.
But he had no choice.
For now…
He would have to compromise.
The village had a few more people who were talented at reasoning, and Adrian selected all of them this time.
At least funding was no longer a problem.
The Royal Bank had begun booming.
Merchants from all over the kingdom were now coming to Valewood because Adrian offered comparatively cheaper interest rates on loans.
The merchants were eager to establish connections with Adrian.
After all, he was now the sole owner of the only surviving bank in Valewood.
He held a monopoly over banking.
And that meant he controlled the flow of capital.
He controlled the reins.
Adrian also became strict with those who had taken loans from the Valewood Bank.
Since he had taken over the bank’s assets and liabilities, those debts now belonged to him as well.
He threatened anyone who refused to repay their loans with their life.
He would recover everything owed to the Valewood Bank.
Adrian’s focus had now shifted.
Aldren was gone.
But his supporters remained.
Adrian began identifying everyone who had sided with Aldren and challenged his authority.
This time, however, he wasn’t going to eliminate their families as well.
He had learned his lesson.
He would punish only those who directly opposed him.
He wanted to send a message to the entire village:
Do whatever you want.
Earn money.
Become powerful.
Build your businesses.
Live your lives.
But do not challenge Adrian’s authority.