Gardenia of Blooming Desire

Chapter 192: Rhea's Maneuver

Gaum was pacing back and forth in his office. His devilishly charming smile was nowhere to be seen and his sleek raven hair was messy. He was restless because of the sudden political changes that Grand Duchy did and the Crown Prince's heavy pressure onto the political circle of Golden Camellia.

Aster announced the neutrality of Grand Duchy Stormhill, to maintain its autonomous presence and as a trading port, Aster released an announcement that Grand Duchy will not be aligned to anyone and will not help anyone unless necessary. All aids that would be sent to another region or houses would be counted as donation, not as a tribute or 'cooperative' money between two houses.

It was not okay for Gaum. Because the citizens of Rhea were very prideful despite their poverty, the king always announced that Grand Duchy of Stormhill was sending aid as food or money for the people because of the alliance created between Grand Duchy and Kingdom Rhea.

Citizens of Rhea would be insulted if the kingdom still accepted Grand Duchy's help, as Aster announced that every aid was counted as helping the poor.

'So, this is how he responds to Charles' pressure. By cutting all the cooperation with other houses, it made Grand Duchy a neutral party, and it also made his Grand Duchy untouchable for the time being.'

'I know he is playing his cards behind the curtain. He is getting this immunity so Charles couldn't touch him for a while.'

'But it also severed our relationship.'

Gaum had to find a quick way to get more aid. It was true that his kingdom had stabilized after Aster supplied the country for two years straight with money and food. But it quickly got destabilized after Crown Prince Charles returned.

"How about the Miriam Coast, is it still heavily guarded by Royal ships?" Gaum asked one of his ministers.

"Yes, my king, when we inquired about the ban of all sailors and travelers to go there, the navy general said that the Crown Prince directly ordered them to stay there for a while, because he got the information that there would be an attack from another country soon."

"What country?"

"Eliesen"

"THAT COUNTRY IS SO SMALL, WHAT KIND OF ATTACK WOULD THEY DO? WITH WATER GUN?!"

Gaum was frustrated, it was obviously a lie created by the Crown Prince to block any traveler or sailor to ever sail around Miriam Coast.

Miriam Coast was one of the most important parts of Rhea. Since the vassal kingdom was actually small, Miriam Coast contributed around thirty five percent of Rhea's income.

'Charles deliberately ruined some region's main income to force them to ally with him, what a bastard!'

"How about Grand Duke Aster's letter? Has he replied yet?"

"Yes, my king. This is his letter," the minister put a letter with Grand Duchy Stormhill's official stamp. Gaum impatiently opened the letter, he skipped all the unnecessary greetings and read the content;

- Grand Duchy Stormhill will not reconsider the proposal of excluding Vassal Kingdom Rhea from its current neutral status. If Vassal Kingdom Rhea requests an aid from Grand Duchy Stormhill. With our past history as mutual allies, we will send as much aid as possible, but it will still be counted as a charity for the poor and rightfully announced so.'

Gaum's hand trembled, he was so angry at Aster right now. That crafty little beauty dared to ignore him like this when he was pitted by Charles.

'You little shit! Just because you have the upper hand, you dared to ignore me like this!?' Gaum was furious. He slammed the table, which surprised all the ministers inside his office.

"GET OUT!" Gaum yelled. All of his ministers scurried and left the office as soon as possible. They were scared that King Gaum might punish them out of his anger.

Since Rhea was not doing well currently, it was up to his hand with whom he would be allied with. Would he still be allied with Grand Duchy Stormhill? Although the duchy didn't seem to see them as an ally anymore.

"Oh, Aster," Gaum sneered as he reread the content of the letter, "I'm so angry at you right now. You are just a stupid kid with rich parents. I will show you your place!"

Gaum gritted his teeth, he opened another letter that he hid inside his vest, this letter came before Aster's letter. But he didn't open it as he waited for Aster to respond first. It was an informal royal family letter, which was sent by no other than the Crown Prince himself.

He opened the letter and read the content immediately;

- I, Charles Audric Camellia, Crown Prince of Golden Camellia, would like to invite Gaum Cresthold, the King of Vassal Kingdom Rhea to my personal mansion near the Miriam Coast to discuss our potential alliance. I will stay until the day after tomorrow, I will wait for an answer. Thank you.

Gaum laughed at the 'thank you' in the end, "You don't need to say thank you just to be polite. When you are destroying the economy of Rhea without any sliver of guilt. Gaum took a deep breath, it was impossible to ally with Grand Duchy right now, because Rhea's citizens wouldn't accept anything plastered as 'donation'.

"Well, Aster, don't blame me for switching sides. Because you did this to me," Gaum said in a low tone. He stared at the bronze pin that Aster gave to him a while ago.

He grasped the pin tightly, "I will show you, Aster. You are just a little bitch, you belong in my room, serving me daily with your beauty. A spoiled little shit like you don't know how to play the game in Golden Camellia."

***

Charles was reading the military spending report inside his small mansion near the Miriam Coast. Because he had a big army for himself, he needed to manage their budget wisely. Something like overspending was inevitable, that was why he ordered his navy to patrol around the Miriam Coast owned by Vassal Kingdom Rhea.

Under the guise of skirmish between Golden Camellia and a small country called Eliesen, he could take over the coast and get as many natural resources as possible before leaving. This tactic was unstable, but he needed to do it until he could dethrone his father.

In fact, his father was already absent minded although he was still considered young enough to rule. Probably the death of Aunt Duchess hit him way too hard. He was locking himself inside the King Chamber and managed the king's duty, but he didn't leave his beautiful golden palace anymore.

He already lost his lustre.

Charles sneered, 'That's why I learn from your mistake, father. You let Aunt Duchess did all she wanted. In the name of love, you let her trample you and played around the golden camellia circle without any hindrance.'

Charles glanced at Aster's silver pin on his desk, 'I'm not stupid like you. I will trample Aster first, I will make sure that he will have me and only me in his heart. I will get him begging to be my lover under me. Then, he will be my perfect empress. The love of my life.'

"We have a few setbacks, but I know how to handle this," Charles assured himself.

Knock! Knock!

The door was knocked and Charles excused his subordinate to enter the room. His subordinate hurried and reported the news, "Your Highness, King Gaum sent an envoy and he said that King Gaum would personally visit this mansion tomorrow morning."

"Good, give the envoy some gold. You may leave now."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Charles chuckled slightly. He never saw Rhea as a potential ally, they didn't have any value except for their Miriam Coast. The soldiers of Rhea were headstrong and overly patriotic to their kingdom, and the kingdom constantly needed help to cover its financial loss.

But when he got the notice that Rhea was actually helping Aster to invade Lantern Palace, he knew that he had to destroy the relationship between these two.

'No hard feeling, my sweet Aster. I just need to make sure that you have nowhere to run away but to me, I will destroy Rhea too in the end. But for now, I will treat them as my close ally. Don't worry, I won't hurt you... physically'

After Aster announced that Grand Duchy Stormhill would be a neutral party, Charles was amused. Aster was smart enough to avoid entanglement with the Royal Family directly. He must've played behind the curtain. But Aster made one mistake, because he became neutral, he couldn't take control over many houses that played honestly and with direct approach.

"Some parties, like the Kingdom of Rhea, is an honest country with overly patriotic and honest people. Even though Gaum might be cunning, he couldn't avoid the demand that he had to be at least slightly transparent in his decision making. This is a mistake for you, Aster."

Charles laughed in mirth, "But, you do amuse me. You are so cute, trying to wiggle around in this jungle full of predators with your cute bunny butt. Don't worry, I will save you when I need to. But you are indeed fascinating, as always, you are fascinating."