Chapter 11: Reforms, Paperwork and Reactions

As the now ex-duke was letting this question sink in, he tried looking directly in the eyes of Isaac. There, in the place where he wanted to search for answers, he only saw 2 things: hate, and determination. Deep inside those eyes dark green eyes, a bottomless pit of resentment, filled to the brim with dark memories, only not overflowing because of rationality, existed. Hope wasn't a word that could appear in such man's vocabulary. Hope was weakness. Preparation is key.

"I can't say for sure what you should do now… however, if our roles were reversed, one thing can be taken for granted: death is an merciful fate." The old man, still sitting in the throne, said, while glaring fiercely on the eyes of the now prince of Judea.

"...HAHAHHHAHAHHAHHa…." Isaac only laughed. "This is new. Honestly, considering how you reacted around the nobility, I thought you weren't brave enough for this demonstration. Well, I guess I was wrong, and happily so." Isaac said with a genuine smile.

"As for what will happen to you, you don't need to be very wary. You and your family will be reallocated to of your family homes. I won't interfere in what you will do there, but, try once to overthrow me or one of my descendants, and I swear to God that I will uphold the threat that I made during with demands. Got it?" Isaac finished with a very dark face, expressing that he could and would uphold that threat.

Seeing that look, Serwan could only nod in confirmation, and he still nearly thought that he would lose his head.

"Good." Isaac the turned and started walking in the direction of the door. "Also, take your butler with you. He seems like too much of your friend to still be around. You have 1 week to move out." After saying this, Isaac turned and got out of the room.

"Let's go to the office."

"Yes, sir." After a few minutes of walking, they got to a dark oak door, and soon entered the room. Once the door was closed, Isaac sat down in the leather chair behind the desk of the office and asked "Status report."

"Sir, all resistance has been wiped out. The south is completely controlled by us now, and we can start phase 1."

Phase 1 was the first of 3 phases of political, economical, social and financial development designed to accelerate the development of Judea. It consisted of a number of political acts and reforms, including military restructuring, bureaucratic purges, etc.

"Oh? Already? I thought it would take a few months before we could start phase 1. Where do you think we should start?"

"Sir, I think a reform of the government bureaucracy is a good place to start."

"Why?" Isaac said, with an confused face.

"Because there are over 75 thousand national government officials. 90% of these jobs is either redundant or completely unnecessary."

"…Is this a joke?" Isaac said while resting his face on his palm. "Are you saying to me that there were more politicians than soldiers on a national level?"

"Yes, sir. And if we consider the workers on a regional and municipal level, that number goes over to 110 thousand."

"Fire everyone that can be fired. Also, start to substitute everyone you can with androids, if possible." Isaac ordered. "By the way, how many new units can be manufactured?"

"we have acquired access to a normal-sized deposit of lithium. We can start exploring it now, and it will give us access to up to 5 million new units. How would you like to proceed."

"Extract the lithium, but do not manufacture new units. I want you to focus on the manufacture of textiles, fertilizers, electronics, pharmaceuticals, heavy industry and heavy machinery. Try to make everything automatic."

"And how about the infrastructure?"

"Follow the normal plan: roads, railways, electricity, etc." Isaac then looked out through the window. "As for financial reforms, I will mint a new coin, the shekel. I will be non-standardized. Also, I want you to nacionalize the money of the top 100 richest individuals. We can't allow that much money in the hands of so few people. I will also pass legislation on banking regulations."

"Sir, if this is all, I will relay your orders."

"Please do so."

——

Crash!!!

In another part of the palace, a woman in a very exquisite dress was throwing pieces of furniture and decorations on the carpeted floor of the castle. She was in an rampage.

Her name was Eleonor De Swor. Widow of the son of Serwan and mother of the now ex-heir to the throne.

She wasn't a native to the duchy. She was born in a neighboring country, the Duchy of Ker. She was the third princess, and was sold in a political marriage about 12 years ago, even though the engagement predated the marriage for at least a decade. She had, at first, a peaceful marriage. Her husband was an honest and good person, and he was able to fulfill her wishes. However, after he passed away, 10 years before this moment, she grew sore. She started to become greedy, violent, to the point her son needed to be taken away from her in order to protect him.

the only thing that comforted her was the idea that she was going to be the mother of the Duke, and would be able to make her dreams come true. Now, even that was taken away from her, and she grew insane.

"Isaac…ISaac… ISAAC!!!" She could only scream those words. She broke.

as she was screaming and shouting, she failed to notice a young boy watching the entire scene unfold, with a look of helplessness, tiredness and contempt. He was her son, Frederick.

He was a young boy, with 11 years. He was smart, decisive, and had a handsome face, with light brown hair and brown eyes. He was a good kid, and didn't deserve the family he had. As the years went by, he started to grow resentful of his mother, and now, he had finally steeled his resolve to stop being affected by his mother. If he would be able to uphold these world, this is another story.