I snorted. “Nobles don’t look at the servants’ faces on the best of days. Today? When I’m trying to raise their taxes? You’ll be the least of their concerns.”
Ari laughed and patted my shoulder. “You’re right.”
Even his small laugh restored a bit of my confidence.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to channel my older sister’s spirit. Ysabel had a knack for walking into any setting and making herself heard. Despite coming from the same origins as me, she’d managed to fit in with the royal court. Ysabel would hold her head high, stride into that room, and talk them out of all their gold. People would open their purses to her and somehow like her even more afterward.
Yes, that was the spirit! Be a graceful swan, like Ysabel!
I lifted my chin, stepped through the door, and immediately banged my head on the chandelier.
Ow! Why did my new body have to be so tall?
Ari grabbed my hat before it could hit the floor and stuck it back on. Everyone stared at me. Despite my best efforts, my cheeks flushed. That had not been what Ysabel would have done. My perfect big sister had natural grace and balance. If only she was here, not me.
Behind me, Ari cleared his throat. “Presenting Duchess Hedri, the royal regent.”
Oops, I had been supposed to wait for him to introduce me before I went in. I had screwed up again. My blush deepened. My arms swinging awkwardly, I power-walked to the throne. The chorus in my head chanted,Let’s get this over with, let’s get this over with.
A row of Sherdan guards lined the carpet leading to the throne. I passed opulent marble pillars, paintings, and busts of deceased monarchs. The sheer amount of gold hurt my eyes. Several dozen noblemen and ladies sat on tall oak chairs with golden sun decorations on top. The weight of their eyes bore into my back. A bead of sweat slipped down my nose as I pushed aside a red curtain hanging around the throne. Then I sat down.
Light blazed down on me from a glowing relic shaped like a sun. It made this heavy dress even hotter. At least the last monarch had installed two layers of cushions on the throne. The whalebone of my corset dug into my bottom. A curl had slipped out of my braided hairstyle, probably when my hat fell off.
Keenly aware of every eye in the room on me, I tucked the curl back in.
Ari marched forward and stood at my right with his hand over his chest. “Our noble regent has an announcement to make.”
My mind went completely blank. I couldn’t remember a single word of my prepared speech. The bright lights from the chandeliers overhead spun.
Without missing a beat, Ari continued talking. “In light of the recent riot, Her Grace has made repaying the crown’s debt to our past employees a top priority.”
That had been the first line of my speech, and the prompt jogged my memory. I took a deep breath. “In order to host the World Games, the residents of this city worked overtime to construct a stadium and housing for dignitaries. Countless employees waited on the guests and supported the games. The Church generously agreed to pay for half the costs and has already fulfilled their end of the bargain. However, the royal treasury stands depleted, and we’ve been unable to pay the hardworking citizens who labored tirelessly to make the World Games a success.”
All the nobles stared at me. I couldn’t read their expressions easily behind their face powder and fans. But no one was smiling.
“This nonpayment has caused serious hardship among the citizens of Arahasnor. Many have gone into debt purchasing food for their families, only to be exploited when the Sashan Guild of Slavers”—I think I was supposed to use their new name, but I forgot it—“purchased the debt on a massive scale. Although I have taken swift action to prevent them from enslaving our citizens, our economy remains in a state of crisis. Several merchant companies are on the verge of shutting down because they weren’t paid for the royal purchases of food and building supplies during the Games. If we let them collapse, it will result in massive unemployment. The portion of the royal debt owed to Arahasnor private citizens is …” I subtly lifted up the top of my glove to check the number written on my skin. “One million aracoins.”
I could buy a third of the property in the city with a million aracoins. Holy shit, that was merely the debt that we owed on the World Games? Did that mean the total royal debt was even higher? Sweet Sun God, we were all so doomed.
The beating sun relic made perspiration drip down my forehead. “The nobility of Arahasnor benefitted greatly from hosting the World Games.” I think I accidentally skipped part of my speech about the poor citizens who couldn’t afford basic necessities and a family who froze to death from lack of firewood, but too late now. I had no choice but to keep forging ahead. “Countess Lealonie, you’ve made a fortune off the trade deals you negotiated with dignitaries.” Here, I’d been instructed to stare at a woman in a yellow dress, but I was so stressed out that my vision had gone blurry. I kept going. “Duke Pierre, you sold crops to feed our guests at a premium, but this drove up food prices for everyone else in your dukedom. All the nobles in the northern region sold lumber for construction. You all asked to be paid in advance and at double the market rate. What good luck for you pigeon pluckers—commoners can’t even refuse a royal building order, much less negotiate prices.” I hadn’t been instructed to say that last part. The sarcasm and country slang had slipped out. “If you don’t know, a pigeon plucker is Sherdan for a brilliant businessman, by the way.” Of the con artist variety.
My head hurt, and the overheating from my clothing was making me cranky. My next words came out clipped and sharp. “When Arahasnor agreed to host the World Games, we were told it would bring a flood of coins into our kingdom. Well, it did—except all the coins ended up in the pockets of the people in this room. The average citizen was forced to provide labor on credit, then the crown refused to pay them later. It’s been a long, hard winter. Just earlier this week, a family of six was found frozen to death in their house. The father had worked constructing the World Games Stadium while the motherserved food and drinks during the Games, but neither received pay, so they couldn’t afford firewood.” Good, I found a way to work that back in. “The crown requests a temporary tax hike to specifically apply to profits received from the World Games in order to pay our citizens the money they rightfully earned.”
Perfect! I managed to remember the entire speech! Proud of myself, I beamed at the crowd. No one smiled back.
A woman wearing a hat with a dove nestled on top snapped open her fan and peered at me from behind it. She raised her hand.
Donya had instructed me on how to recognize the most important nobles in the kingdom, but most of that information had deserted my memory. “Yes. You. Please speak,” I said.
“Is this a voluntary request for donations?” she asked.
Tough question. Donya had told me that I needed to convey the sentiment that it was voluntary, but they still had to do it. Not an easy line to straddle.
“Everyone in this room has the status of a noble, and the benefits that come with it. Traditionally, the nobility is supposed to pay for their daily privilege by defending the kingdom upon need. In practice, the nobility holds all the power, so it has always been easy to tax the citizenry as they—ahem, aswe—please and give nothing in return. If you look into your heart and consider your duty to your kingdom, then I believe you’ll find that you owe this to your people and your country.”
The eyes staring through the fan looked entirely unimpressed. “Tax rates are decided during the National Games. You can’t change them until the next year.”
“Unless those present vote in agreement.” I smiled the strained smile of someone who knew full well I was asking people to vote to raise their own taxes. “Please do consider that the current tax rates for nobility are the lowest in a decade.” Unreasonably low. According to Donya, the king had lost massive political support after the failed trade embargo against Conollia, and he’d been trying to bribe his vassals with low tribute rates.
