Free Web NovelChapter 34: Holy Cow!!
Fate finished his first tour of Bloomspire Academy. He left with a very impressive list of improvements that he needed to make on Shadow Spire Citadel.
While walking back home, Fate thought about Hope Ends Academy again and decided to tell Ruby his interesting idea.
"Ruby, as far as the decoration for Hope Ends Academy—where hope goes to die—in keeping with this theme, we should make the school cold and oppressive to convey to the students: don’t get your hopes up about going to school here or dare to enjoy it. You are here to learn, not to have fun."
Ruby heard Fate’s words and considered them carefully. They could incorporate all of Fate’s previous ideas for Hope Ends Academy but, at the same time, make it extremely oppressive and cold to wear down the will and minds of those who resist their education.
"That’s a brilliant idea, Fate. I will make sure the new look is implemented immediately. I’m planning for the opening of your academy to be around the same time that Bloomspire Academy opens for classes."
Fate nodded his head. That was after the gathering of lords being held in several months’ time. Fate was excited to see the outcome of that meeting.
But as excited as Fate was, Ruby was even more excited. The poison was ready, and her troops were training around the clock to become half as capable as the Blood Maidens.
Fate returned home with a smile at the surprise he arranged for some leisure fun. Fate’s now gold-plated indoor pool happened to have a small leak in the wall that fell several hundred feet to the ground, creating a moat around Shadow Spire Citadel.
Ruby was kind enough to show him some Carnival Fish, which is this world’s name for extremely aggressive piranhas. These Carnival Fish are two inches long with tough outer hides and dozens of razor-sharp teeth in their mouths. The best part is that there are thousands of them.
Fate looked at Ruby and said, "Ruby, it’s time to feed the Carnival Fish. They look hungry from all the spots of red that I see in the water."
Ruby nodded her head and waved her hand, signaling for their toy to be loaded. Then Fate walked over to the man-made cow catapult and pulled the handle down.
*Pull*
*Moooh!*
Fate put his hand above his eyes to block the sun and get a better look.
*Splash*
While Fate watched the cow, he said to Ruby, "Damn, Ruby! That cow got some serious air on that shot. But now there are even more red spots in the water than before. Did you already use the new cow catapult earlier?"
Ruby shook her head with a knowing smile and said, "Of course not, Fate. This is the maiden voyage of the cow catapult, so how could I go before you?"
Then Ruby went to take her turn and pulled the lever down.
*Pull*
"Mooh!"
Fate looked at the cow and then said with a smile, "Damn, Ruby, you got more air than me. I guess I lose this round. Well, it’s time for your reward. Follow me to the pool room; the walls look like mirrors in there now. I have a secret ten-foot pole to show you how to fish with."
Ruby played ignorant and said naively to Fate, "What? You have a new toy to show me in the pool room, my lord? Oh, we better go and explore the depths of the pool together."
Then Fate chased Ruby to the pool room. They both ignored all the non-cow-related blood in the moat.
After an afternoon of teaching Ruby the basics of the backstroke, Fate was looking at his treasury deep in the heart of Shadow Spire Citadel. Fate sighed and looked at Ruby by his side. She had a noticeable limp in her step again.
"Ruby, the burden I must bear to spend this vast amount of wealth is not something a normal person can comprehend. I keep having to come up with ways to spend it. Now my damn treasury is full again after all those merchant bribes came into the treasury for ignoring their price gouging of the nobles. You have to love being a lord in this day and age. Merchants are always eager to pay me off as long as I don’t make them pay taxes to King Samuel Bloodsworn. I can tell that most of them still want me dead though."
Ruby nodded her head and said, "I don’t understand why they don’t like you, Fate. You don’t make them pay any taxes to the crown, but they still hate you just because you ask for three times the normal tax rate from them. They make at least a few gold crowns a day after paying their taxes to you." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Fate nodded his head in happiness and said, "Oh, Ruby, don’t let those sly bastards fool you. They are making at least three to five times the taxes they pay to me daily back from all the noble kids in this city. That’s why I came up with the idea of a transaction tax. I will make those sly bastards pay me a tax every time they sell something. I would like to see them cheat me since they pay my tax at the end of every business day now."
Ruby nodded her head and complimented Fate. "Yes, Fate, you really live up to your reputation as a just and generous ruler." fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Fate nodded his head, saying, "It’s true, it’s true, I’m too kind sometimes."
Meanwhile, the various merchants of Valoria were cursing Fate’s existence and the creation of his income tax, which is charged per transaction and collected daily.
One merchant in particular was very unhappy since he is close to Prince Nimrod Bloodsworn as one of his main financial backers. Bruno Pringle now not only has to maintain appearances by paying taxes to the king, but he can’t take advantage of the fact that Duke Fate Grimsever is not making the other merchants not close to the king pay the national income tax. Instead, he is collecting it all for himself. Doing it this way still cuts those bastards’ taxes in half since they don’t have to pay twice.
So instead of paying the king and Duke Fate, now they only have to pay the Duke. Everyone thought this was some kind of miracle until the city guard started to show up daily to look at their accounting books.
Due to the creation of the daily transaction tax, now not only are the merchants stuck paying income tax to Duke Fate, they are stuck with a second tax in the form of a transaction tax. But honest merchants like Bruno were bleeding gold crowns by paying the king and Duke Fate at the same time.
Bruno looked at his accounting books and the sexy female guard that just left his shop with a very heavy burlap sack full of gold crowns, then he said, "Dammit, how am I supposed to embezzle any money for myself if I’m forced to be an honest merchant and pay more taxes than those bastards that are sucking up to the Duke’s household. Lately, all of them seemed to enjoy wearing red for some reason as well. But who cares about fashion at a time like this? That bastard Fate Grimsever is affecting my bottom line. He needs to be dealt with harshly. If he continues to tax me even more than the king, how am I supposed to support my three wives and fifteen mistresses, not to mention my two dozen useless kids?"
Bruno finished looking at his account books for the day, so he put them away. Then, getting up from his chair, his fat belly got in his way as he put on his dress coat.
"Damn, I really need to stop buying those donuts to eat all the time. But those mysterious merchants in red outfits that showed up the last couple of days sell such good food and coffee."
That’s right, Bruno is not aware that the forces of Phoenix Rising are not just made up of soldiers anymore. Ruby has expanded her influence into the merchants and retail side of Valoria.
After his coat was on, Bruno walked out of his room and saw his useless son, Dimwit Pringle. Bruno hated this child because his only redeeming quality was his ability to suck up to people in important positions.
It’s lucky for Bruno that his son, Dimwit, has somehow found himself in the inner circle of Prince Nimrod’s friends.
Dimwit saw his dad, Bruno, leave the accounting room and ran up to him to ask, "Dad, I have some great news! Prince Nimrod has given me the opportunity to pay for his medical treatment at the church again. This means our family is sure to be given a title of nobility for this meager financial support once Prince Nimrod becomes king."
When Bruno heard this, he smiled at his genius of a son. His son may be stupid, but it was this one child that would secure the future of the Pringle family.
Now Bruno just needs to sell a few more items to afford the treatment for Prince Nimrod.
