Chapter 80: True Ruler

"...Tsk, those bastards think this is just going to blow over?" Without Nio around, Stelaria shows far more of her true personality. She rips a sheet of paper and throws it in the trash with rage. The matter that came up when she was taking Ryu to talk about runes with Nio was far more serious than she let on.

"The Kingdom of Ortyr must have lost its mind. They dared to invade the theocracy’s territory? It doesn’t matter if those ruins are irrelevant in my eyes—they still belong to my domain. It’s pure insolence to think they can send their soldiers there," she complains aloud.

"..." She glances at a letter from the Empire, tempted to accept their proposal for an alliance, considering the Kingdom of Ortyr invaded first—even if not for war.

"Perhaps I should accept the emperor’s agreement. If I offer general support without troops, it won’t drag the war to my side. Those Ortyr bastards have no right whatsoever to invade these sacred lands, even if it’s just to explore something." There’s an immense difference between adventurers exploring and soldiers exploring.

Adventurers have no direct affiliation to a country, so they can go to any kingdom they wish to explore. But soldiers are different—they serve a kingdom, so they don’t have that right.

The fact that the Kingdom of Ortyr sent soldiers, even just for observation, already constitutes a violation. And considering the theocracy’s religion, it escalates the problem even further, mainly because they stationed themselves within the territory instead of merely passing through it.

"The emperor seems to be attacking a small kingdom. The emperor is another piece of trash, but at least he doesn’t try to invade the Theocracy and knows how to respect international boundaries. A neutral passive agreement might be better—give him greater support and make everything far more expensive for the Kingdom of Ortyr." Stelaria obviously can’t just actively enter the war.

So she decides to do something different—deal a financial blow to the economy of the Kingdom of Ortyr. The theocracy is far more terrifying when it comes to financial control, because it provides massive support to most nearby kingdoms, and even to the Empire itself and the Kingdom of Ortyr.

Potions, artifacts, healers, trade routes, even materials—many things crucial for war and economic stability that the theocracy holds considerable control over.

"Yes, a 20% increase across the board sounds good. It seems that idiot king forgot who truly rules the economy. Even if the theocracy’s military power isn’t as great as the Empire’s, it doesn’t matter if I can squeeze their countries’ economies."

"Yes... hahaha... let’s show that wretched king who really shapes the world! He’s going to PAY for thinking religious faith can be trampled over like this." She grabs some papers and begins writing letters to pressure the merchants and all sales to the Kingdom of Ortyr.

"He... no... I bet this is the work of that impure viper..." Stelaria thinks of the princess—the one who truly holds power. Stelaria despises the princess for her disgusting relationship with her father.

"That stupid girl must be behind this, thinking I would just ignore it... she must have her eye on Nio too, as if I would ever allow her to marry her own father..." Stelaria makes an expression of pure disgust.

Years ago, the princess tried to speak with her, and Stelaria noticed immediately that she was a manipulator. She never accepted getting closer to her beyond what was diplomatically necessary, and she never accepted her requests to officialize that thing she wants.

"Months living with Nio almost made me forget that I still control everything. Nio has no power at all because she never tries to take anything from me..." Stelaria gains a wicked smile.

Having another saint would limit Stelaria’s power, and to make these current adjustments she would need the second saint’s approval. But with Nio barely doing anything besides studying, asking questions, or healing people, the controlling power remains 100% Stelaria’s.

"20% increase on everything... plus 3% taxes on all wartime commerce... 5% taxes on any healing items... and a 60% toll on all trade routes that need to pass through the Theocracy for safety..." The prices are literally abusive.

Something Stelaria knows will create enmity with the Kingdom of Ortyr, but she doesn’t care—they sent their soldiers into her territory without permission first.

"Additionally... a fine. Yes, I will charge a fine for every day their soldiers remain stationed in my territory. And to make them pay... I’ll block any item coming from their kingdom, halting their commerce until the fine is paid..."

"Forcing them to change routes or pay the fine. But changing routes means taking paths exposed to monster attacks or bandits—and worse, attacks from beastfolk who are enemies of the Kingdom of Ortyr."

"100... no, 500 thousand gold coins, so they really feel that blow to their public coffers. Plus 1,000 gold coins per day after confirmed receipt of the fine letter if they don’t remove their soldiers..."

"Justification? ...A foreign state violated the territorial sovereignty of the Theocracy... that’s enough for the idiot commoners who don’t understand politics. They can blame their king for allowing such audacity."

"As long as Ortyr’s soldiers remain on sacred territory, commercial relations will be partially suspended. This will undoubtedly stir revolt among the Kingdom of Ortyr’s population as the days pass." Stelaria doesn’t care about hurting the people.

A 60% toll will affect the population and merchants far more, which will generate anger from the people directed at the main culprit—the King who allowed this to happen.

"...The punishment is somewhat large. And if it were permanent, it would be disproportionate and would make other kingdoms and the Empire reduce their purchases to lessen their dependence on the theocracy... so... I should keep the punishment for only one month, and remove it if the Empire fulfills the demands of a formal apology and troop withdrawal... yes... that makes the punishment fair and makes it clear that it came only because of their rule-breaking."

"It will also give me the support of the people, who will pressure for the apology and troop removal if the Kingdom of Ortyr decides to be prideful and refuses to meet such demands."

"...Unfortunately, this will also impact my own economy... but it’s acceptable. Thanks to the new communication method developed thanks to Nio, the coffers are actually above green. With this, they should drop to orange and recover over time." Stelaria finds the cost acceptable.

Before Nio’s support, if she tried this, the money would drop to red. But now it will only fall to orange, which isn’t a problem.