Chapter 269 - 261 The Beginning of Political Confrontation
Chapter 269: Chapter 261 The Beginning of Political Confrontation
Hush~
At that moment, a knock on the door echoed.
“Come in,”
Lis said in a deep voice, imitating the habits of Kenne Simon.
Now, Lis could take on the appearance of Kenne Simon partly because of the Advanced Disguise Mask Old Tangs provided, and in addition, Lis had used Four Rings Magic “Advanced Disguise Technique” and assassin skills “Breath Concealment.”
With double assurance, it was almost impossible to see through Lis’ disguise.
...
As long as Lis did not take action, even the detection and Protection Magic Array of the Ice Castle Palace could not identify his true identity.
A young man dressed in dark cyan clothing gently pushed the door open and said respectfully,
“Lord Simon, Lord Salas requests your presence.”
Lis nodded slightly to indicate he understood, the young man, knowing Simon’s temperament, dared not ask further and could only bow and leave the room.
“Why is this guy looking for me now?”
Lis wondered, quickly calculating in his mind.
Gilberto Salas, the incumbent Finance Minister of the Kingdom, has held the position for ten years and has earned great trust from His Majesty the King.
According to Kenne Simon, since assuming the role of Finance Officer a few months ago, he had hardly intervened in any specific work, nor had he had dealings with other officials in the department, as solitary as one could be.
While this was suitable for Lis’ disguise, should any unexpected events arise, there were no past experiences to draw upon.
Alas, do I have to play the role of a complete simpleton then?
Lis sighed inwardly, stood up from his room, and walked toward the Finance Minister’s office.
Thump, thump!
Lis knocked powerfully on the door of the Finance Minister’s office; two junior officials discussing nearby looked over in surprise, but quickly averted their eyes upon recognizing the Finance Officer.
“Is that you, Kenne? Come in,”
a somewhat deep voice came from within, and Lis, with no hesitation, pushed the door open and entered.
The room inside bore similar decorations, but was clearly larger than Lis’ office.
Of course, the biggest difference was the nearly full desk of papers in front of Gilberto Salas.
“Hehe, Kenne, have a seat,”
Gilberto, with somewhat gray hair, gestured toward the sofa by the fireplace; a side table was already prepared with steaming tea and pastries.
Lis nodded, strode to the sofa to sit down, and placed his cane aside.
As Gilberto also sat down across from him, he took a sip of tea, laughing as he said,
“Kenne, you look much more spirited than before; it seems you’ve been resting quite well lately.”
“Me, on the other hand, have more and more tasks from His Majesty the King lately.”
Lis merely remained silent and nodded, didn’t speak, nor did he touch the tea and pastries in front of him.
Observing Kenne Simon’s cold demeanor, Gilberto understood, not beating around the bush anymore; he took out a badge and a letter from his breast pocket and placed them before Lis.
Lis stared at the badge before him, Silver Moon Cedar—the symbol of the Duke Quik Garnar’s Family.
The very military bigwig who had appointed Kenne Simon as Finance Officer.
After a moment of silence, Lis picked up the letter and read it carefully.
Consistent with the letter Kenne Simon had provided, it was a personal letter from Quik Garnar.
The content of the letter was simple, it just instructed Kenne Simon to follow the orders of Gilberto Salas and unless it was a major issue, there was no need to report back to him.
What connection is there between Gilberto Salas, the Finance Minister, and Duke Quik Garnar?
Are they both officials from the Royal Faction?
After setting down the letter, Lis nodded at Gilberto, who was savoring the top-grade red tea.
“Is there something you need me to do?”
A hint of a smile appeared on Gilberto’s face as he nodded and spoke,
“His Majesty the King has many things to do, and we only need to do our own parts well.”
“Do you know Frue Philip?”
Lis nodded and briefly said,
“I know of him, but not well-acquainted.”
Frue Philip, an official in his thirties from the vigorous youth faction, was strong, vibrant, and quite astute.
Lis immediately recalled the material provided by Kenne.
The official structure of the Dillon Kingdom was not much different from that of the mainstream Human Kingdom, where each facet of the kingdom’s affairs was taken care of by specialized officials.
In the realm of finance, the most important three positions were the Finance Minister, Finance Officer, and Finance Assistant, ranked by status and power respectively.
And Frue Philip was the Dillon Kingdom’s Finance Deputy Officer, just ranking below Gilberto Salas and Kenne Simon.
“There will be some work coming up that you’ll probably need to interact more with him.”
Gilberto said cheerfully, appearing to be a kind and gentle old man, but Lis saw him as a sly old fox.
“So, what do you need me to do?”
Lis spoke straightforwardly, his resolute face betraying a hint of impatience.
Gilberto didn’t mind, he naturally knew that Kenne had once been a soldier; it was easy for them to charge into battle, but comprehending the intricate rules of the bureaucratic game was indeed a challenge for them.
After thinking it over, Gilberto decided to make it clearer.
“Frue Philip is Duke Stran Ward’s man.”
“His Majesty the King does not favor Duke Ward, he has been overreaching.”
Gilberto took a sip of his red tea and said lightly,
“You don’t need to bother with other matters, I will assign some of the responsibilities managed by Frue Philip to you.”
“Don’t worry about not doing well, I have only one request, to make life difficult for Frue Philip, and better yet, to find some issues with him.”
“I understand.”
Lis nodded, his expression unchanging.
Gilberto continued to instruct,
“You might not be familiar with some of those tasks, so I’ll have my subordinate Hans help you, you just need to make decisions.”
…
Lis returned to his office and leaned back on the sofa, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.
This is getting interesting!
Gilberto’s intention was obvious, have him stir things up, catch Frue Philip’s weak points, aiming to bring down this Finance Assistant, the number three person in the Kingdom’s finance.
So, is King Lukar preparing to take action against Duke Ward?
On my side it’s just one aspect, there may already be a silent and invisible confrontation starting in many other areas.
Looking at it now, the Kingdom appointing Kenne Simon as the Finance Officer was probably because the Finance Minister was getting on in years, to prevent Kingdom finance from being controlled by Duke Ward’s men, a balancing act.
Don’t find it strange; it may seem odd within the Feis Kingdom, how could a duke possibly contend with His Majesty the King?
But in the Dillon Kingdom, Duke Stran Ward holds a rather special position.
His father, the late Joey Ward, was the only Legendary Strongman of the Dillon Kingdom, a disciple of the Legendary Berserker “Northern Fury,” Hiti Whitman.