But notably didn’t argue.
Forty-five
James
Six very tense days had gone by waiting for this moment. I walked in step with Edwin as we headed for the council chambers. We had yet another session scheduled in ten minutes for the rent control, but Edwin had been given a concerning report this morning, so he filled me in as we traversed the hallways.
“It’s a mix of good and bad,” Edwin stated in his calm, oh-so-factual tone. “The good news is, the visitors at the demon portal have almost doubled in the past month. Tourism is at an all-time high, and the economy of the town has been nicely boosted in the process. The weird part is, no one’s quite sure why. Did this, uh, happen before?”
Allen and Sir Collins followed right behind me, so I appreciated the discreet way he asked this. “No, not that I can recall. Don’t look a gift horse too close in the mouth?”
“I’m inclined to say that, but at the same time, my gut says it’s trouble somehow. Or perhaps theothernews reported to me is the real problem. The river nearby has basically run dry.”
Now, that I did not like. Alarm bells started ringing like death knells.
The protective barrier around the demon portal operated on the running water of the river nearby and sunlight. If the river was running dry… “Why?”
“No one’s sure. The report from the ward specialist promises he’s already sending out foragers and scouts to find the cause. They suspect an overambitious beaver has dammed up the river, but they haven’t found the dam yet.”
“Send more people up there, including two more mages to offset any power drain until they can find a resolution. I am not taking chances.”
“Done. I’ll have people dispatched before end of day.”
Edwin made a note in his portfolio as if he wouldn’t remember what I’d said. I’d never understood why he made notes to himself when he never, ever even referenced them. Probably his cautious nature at work. That cautious nature had saved my life a good dozen times in our previous life together, so I wasn’t about to tease him for it.
In any case, we couldn’t do anything else at the moment. The hardest part about leading people was delegating and trusting them to do whatever was necessary. And not just do their job but to also exert the right amount of effort to truly fix the issue. My people were highly curated to be resourceful and active thinkers. I had to trust them to do what needed to be done.
With a deep breath, I opened the council chamber doors and stalked inside.
Helena was already in place, seated behind the front table next to the Speaker. She insisted on seeing her projects through, hence her still attending some of the sessions. Messalina Stanhope’s pink hair had been retouched to a more violet shade, and she had this sharklike expression. It made me wonder just what she was up to.
I went toward my own seat, gauging the crowd, and realized only one of Victor’s cronies had even bothered to attend. Oh.Thatwas what she was smiling about. The usual troublemakers weren’t here today. Well, now we might be able to get something done.
I carefully kept my own mouth from smiling, because that was sure to give the game away.
I sat, nodded to the Speaker, and Stanhope immediately called everyone to order.
“Places, everyone, we’ll now begin. This session is called to order by request of Prince James and Princess Helena. Your Highness, please state your petition.”
I rose and put it out straight. “I’m sure we all remember passing the petition in a prior session about capping the rent prices? This didn’t go as well as I had hoped. Instead, some very greedy people have found a loophole and are exploiting it.”
I pointed at the report I had prepared. “Look at page two. Landlords are now charging their renters property tax on top of the rent. I think it’s rather obvious and a given that the landlords should be in charge of their own property taxes.”
A few nods, some conferred with others, but not a single voice of dissent. The lack of Victor’s gang was quite loud.
“I also propose we limit how high interest can climb. It’s the high interest on properties preventing people from buying or building, and a stagnated housing market will devalue any properties already owned and make the housing market a bust. I’m sure we all want to avoid this outcome.”
For the majority of the nobility, owning land was their main income stream. Of course they wanted their properties to maintain their value; they’d be fucked otherwise.
Baroness Ariel pressed her desk light and was quickly given confirmation to speak. “Prince James, I see here on page fouryou have a breakdown of how much interest should be. Where did these numbers come from?”
“A few places. I invited Francis Mannerings—the head of our national bank, for those of you who don’t know his name—as well as Lew Bennett, our financial officer. I also interviewed a hundred heads of household from the citizens and asked for their breakdown of what they can actually afford and how much they’d need interest lowered before they could even dream of building or owning a house. Those three sources are where those numbers come from.”
“I see.” Clearly not done, she said, “On the next page, you have a prediction of how fast the market will crash if these changes aren’t implemented. Is it your opinion or theirs predicting a crash in five years?”
“Theirs. After listening to them talk for a whole afternoon, I believed them.”
She nodded in satisfaction and sat back down.
