Herald of Steel



"What!" As soon as Alexander said his offer, it got this particular loud shout not actually from Amenheraft, but from Ptolomy himself, who was astounded.

Promising other nobles deals and concessions was his privilege.

When did Alexander get that power?

Ptolomy was incensed.

And so the favorable impression he had developed just now when Alexander helped strengthen his claim to the throne instantly went down the drain.

Even Pasha Farzah and the Queen Mother were surprised by this announcement and this time they actually sided with Ptolomy as they felt it was quite unwise of Alexander to declare such a huge commitment without consulting them first.

This was not only being rude to them but even foolish.

Thus along with Ptolomy, they too sent angry scowls toward them.

While Alexander being all such negative emotions being directed towards him remained unmoved.

He had done so even knowing such a reaction would likely occur.

Because he knew if he were to talk to the others about it, there would be endless talking and discussion, and before they could come up with an answer, the time would have already passed and the nobles would leave the capital.

Thus Alexander decided to make the offer seemingly out of the blue offer.

And it was quite the offer, as the tithes were one of the main and most time even the only real obligations they had to the royal family.

And in exchange, the royal family officially guaranteed them safe access to the afterlife.

While in this life, a large portion of the money was actually used in service of the nobles themselves, like using it to pay for the maintenance of the temples in one's territory, the wages of its priests and priestesses, and the services like free food and medicine, even education they sometimes provided to its people.

But still, when the remaining donations from all eleven provinces were added up, it did end up being a significant amount of money landing in the royal family's coffers.

It was a major contributor to making the royal family become the richest family.

And Ptolomy had held off promising on reduction of the tithes even till now, declining to promise that to sway potential nobles to his side knowing full well that Amenheraft's faction was clearly the stronger one as he still held hope to subjugate the nobles and institute the same ruling institution that his forefathers had implemented.

And it was because of this that Alexander's promise got Ptolomy really riled up.

"No! That will not happen!" And so overriding Alexander's arbitrary decision, Ptolomy shouted to rebuke the offer.

Which Alexander did not actually find surprising.

If Ptolomy had not done it even when faced with the current situation, he was not going to do it with simply a sentence from Alexander.

So with a chuckle, he turned to face Ptolomy and say, "Of course, I'm not saying we should do that now."

"But that we should keep that door open."

"Over the coming years, we will have some major battles which will claim who knows how many lives."

"Who can say how the results will turn out?"

"Hence I believe it should be prudent to leave a way out for those who do not want to be a part of it."

"Of course, there might be many nobles right now itching for a fight."

"But who can say how things will turn out in the future?"

"Maybe some will want out."

"Maybe some will be too devastated."

"Maybe some will simply be unable to continue."

"For those nobles, I believe a pre-existing peace offering should exist."

At this point, Alexander turned to Ptolomy to say, "Thus I do hope that the court will soon make a concrete list of benefits offers to those who are willing to stay out, or even want to change sides during this conflict."

Here Alexander was clearly indicating to Ptolomy to use the tithes system to attract or at least strip away Amenheraft's allies.

And as if that plot was not enough, Alexander then turned to target the big boss himself, as he then quickly turned to look at Amenheraft to say, "And you, Lord Amenheraft, please know that we do not wish to necessarily kill now."

This surprised Amenheraft for the moment, as Alexander had very much tried to kill him back at the gates of Adhna, and likely would have killed him during the battle for Adhan.

But putting those doubts to the side for now, Amenheraft concentrated on what his sly fox of a man was saying, as Alexander continued,

"We are aware that many in Adhnaia see as the divine envoy of the gods or even a god in mortal flesh."

"Many believe worshipping and following you will lead her to eternal happiness, both in this world and the hereafter."

"So killing you would be politically too unsavory."

"And something we would like to avoid at all costs if possible."

"That is why we are proposing to offer you the position of Grand Priest of the Grand Temple of Adhan, and as such the leader of all the temples in Adhania, if you just simply abdicate all your and your progeny's rights to the Adhanian throne!"

Alexander's offer was a momentous one, as the position being offered to Amenheraft was similar to the Christian Pope.

Typically, it was the King of Adhania that held that title, and so for Alexander to make that offer was like him spitting the authority of the king.

And hearing the offer, Amenheraft would be lying if he said he was not even at the least bit tempted, as evidenced by his eyes slightly shivering when Alexander's deep eyes gazed at him.

As for Ptolomy, his lips quivered with the desire to say 'Hell no! He dies,' when Alexander turned to greet him with the same deep eyes.

According to him, agreeing to such an offer would simply mean dividing his power in two, and if Amenheraft got all the temples under him and the influence that came with it, him fomenting a rebellion just like Ptolomy did was given.

Ptolomy at least had that little bit of sense in him to understand that if he agreed to such a deal, then he would never be able to sleep easy knowing his far more capable brother was not only still alive but was likely actively plotting against him.

But before Ptolomy could rain on Alexander's parade once again, this time the Queen Mother quickly stepped forward in his stead to loudly say, "We can agree to that! If you Amenheraft relinquish your right to the throne, the royal family will make adequate arrangements for you and your family, and promises to guarantee them an honorable and dignified life."

The Queen Mother roughly could guess what Alexander was trying to do here, that was trying to undermine Amenheraft's, or at least his faction's will to fight.

As the genuineness of these offers was something to discuss else entirely.

And as so she decided to match her tune with him for the time being, though unlike Alexander, Seelima did not make any specific promises to any post or peerages but only gave a general promise of her word.

Because the promise that Alexander had specifically made was really too much, even as bait to get Amenheraft to step down.

But the unindented consequence of this lukewarm reply with no grand prize was that Amenheraft understood that Alexander's offer was not serious, and was likely made up by the man on the spot without consulting Ptolomy first,

So Amenheraft too offered a similar kind of counteroffer with a scoff, "Heh! Then if Ptolomy abdicates the thrones, I too will give him the title of Grand Priest of the Grand Temple of Adhan." which diluted the initial one's impact.

But Alexander knew how to take the good with the bad.

So he simply laughed, "Hahahaha," without retorting to Amenheraft, and then decided to end this little conversation there.

So he turned to the surrounding noble to say his closing statements,

"Well, esteemed nobles of Adhania. You have heard what we had to say."

"But to reiterate again, please be assured that His Majesty does not have any conflict with any of you."

"That is if choose not to fight and simply stay neutral, nothing will change around you."

"You will continue to thrive as you always have."

"And the country of Adhania will continue to function as it did for the past thousand years."

"So I hope that you will please consider carefully before wanting to go to war with us and produce needless bloodshed."

"And that goes for you too Lord Amenheraft. The door to peace and negotiations is always open for you."

Alexander gave a deep look and a slight nod with his chin at the former king, who only scowled and gripped his goblet tightly, as the veteran politician saw the young man finish his speech, before turning away to rejoin the crowd.

And for the rest of the party, much of the conversation only revolved around what was just said.

Many of the nobles in Ptolomy's court were approached by neutral, and even those wishing to be neutral, as they asked for the details of what Alexander had just said, while the nobles from Amenheraft's faction convened to try and figure out the opposite side's angle.

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