ACT 6 Duke Sarkins Plot

What are you saying?

Ark couldnt understand what had gone wrong.The day before, Ark had painstakingly found a way to repair Silvana thanks to the help of Nagarans lords.If he used the funds that Schudenberg Kingdom promised to pay for the military supplies than it could be used to finance Silvanas recovery projects.

Thats it. Now I can raise the funds to repair Silvana!

The only thing left was to receive the money and start fixing the reservoir and farmlands.Of course, not all the problems could be solved with that amount of money. It would take time and effort before Silvana returned to normal. However, that money felt like he had come back alive from the brink of hell.

I cant afford to waste even one more second or minute!

So Ark hopefully ran to Selebrid.And he presented the document that Rokon drew up about the military supplies funding to the Finance Minister.However, the Finance Minister just tilted his head to one side and said.

What is this?

What? It is the bill for the funding of the military supplies that His Majesty promised for the Nagaran battle.

The bill for the military supplies?I dont know what youre saying.

Lipton who was the grey haired middle aged aristocrat in charge of the treasury muttered with a frown.

That is impossible. When the demons invaded Nagaran 10 days ago, Lord Haverstein who is the commander of the expedition couldnt give any support troops so he promised to pay for the necessary military supplies.

Hrmm

Lipton scanned the document after hearing Arks explanation.Then he nodded and said.

Okay. Then did you bring the issued form?

The issued form?

Yes, you raised 60,000 troops according to this form. The funding you require is more than 300,000 gold. If you were promised that type of funding then shouldnt a form have been issued?

T-that is

Ark was totally at a loss.He had been so busy at the time that he hadnt even thought about it. No, he didnt want to waste even one second so he hadnt thought about it. There was no time to collect such documents from his allies.Lipton asked in an outraged tone after seeing Arks panic.

What? You want the treasury to pay 300,000 gold without such documents?

But it is true. Cant you check it?

Check it? With who?

Lipton glared and asked.Ark replied.

Didnt I tell you? The communication office who contacted the expedition told us that His Majesty had promised to pay the funding. It must be an obvious mistake if the forms werent submitted to the Finance Minister. If you contact the communication officer then you can confirm it!

Liptons eyes suddenly narrowed and he said.

That would be the communication officer in charge of the expedition a month ago? He was dismissed from his position a week ago due to bribery charges. His actions after that are unclear.

Huh?

Ark was completely astonished by Liptons words.The communication officer had been accused of bribery and now his whereabouts was unknown? How was that possible? Ark made an absurd expression and said.

Viscount Haverstein, the expedition commander was also with me when I heard it.

Hey.

Lipton rubbed his face and asked in a tired voice.

You claimed that the King promised funding but you didnt bring any papers related to that. The witness you claimed is the communications officer who was stripped of his position due to bribery charges and ran away. And now you claim that another witness is Lord Haverstein who is the commander of the expedition who isnt here. Thats my summary of the situation. Yet you want the Schudenberg treasury to pay you 300,000 gold?

The situation was becoming dirty and twisted up. However, Ark couldnt possible give up the 300,000 gold. If he gave up 300,000 gold then Silvana would be ruined. Besides, the 300,000 gold wasnt just Arks money. It was the money he borrowed from the 60,000 Nagaran allied forces.In other words, if Ark couldnt obtain the 300,000 gold then he would be in debt.Silvana would fail and Ark would be sitting on a pile of debt. In addition, it wasnt any different from betraying the faith of the allied forces.He couldnt just leave it like this.

Then His Majesty, please check with the King!

The cornered Ark shouted.Liptons eyes became even more incredulous.

You want me to check with His Majesty? Are you serious?

Yes, if you check with His Majesty then you will know the truth

Ark suddenly flinched and held his tongue.He had been desperate after hearing Liptons words. But now that he thought about it, he sensed a somewhat subtle nuance.Haverstein who knew Ark wasnt here. Therefore it sounded like Ark was just trying to use Haversteins name to rip off money from the kingdom.

..There is something strange.

Ark had clearly confirmed the message in the headquarters of the expedition force. Yet the Finance Minister wasnt convinced no matter what he said. Furthermore, the communication officer in charge of that communication had been stripped of his position due to bribery charges.What was the chance that such a coincidence could happen?

Is this someones scheme?

Ark suddenly had that idea.Thats right. Someone had deliberately removed the communications officer who had talked to Ark.The communications officer then disappeared with a bad name.Ark had no choice but to receive confirmation from either Haverstein or the king. However, if this was someones scheme then the king wouldnt know the details about the funding.If the Finance Minister talked to the king and he didnt know anything then it would be like Ark tried to embezzle 300,000 gold.If the King then asked Haverstein then he might become known as Arks accomplice and be forced to resign from the position of the expedition commander.And if Haverstein was removed from the position then the person that would profit the most was

Duke Sarkin!

The name popped into his head and all his doubts were gone.Duke Sarkin could easily bribe the communication officer to deliver the message and then remove him. Moreover, the Finance Minister Lipton was an aristocrat who belonged in Sarkins faction. Then wouldnt the picture naturally emerge?

Oh my god, if so

In the end, the funding that had been promised was only Duke Sarkins plot to entrap Ark and Haverstein?Ark immediately realized his intentions after thinking about it.The only way to solve this problem was to reveal Sarkins scheme. However, the communications officer had disappeared and the only other people who knew about it were Lariette and Nadin. Nadin was in Sarkins pocket so it wasnt necessary to speak about it but Lariette was a user so her word wouldnt be accepted.The only remaining person was Haverstein.However, there wasnt anyone who didnt know the relationship between Ark and Haverstein. Since Duke Sarkin controlled the communications officer, the evidence didnt exist and Ark and Haverstein would be accused of embezzlement.

If I ask the check with the King then it wont be fixed!

He knew that.But Ark couldnt just give up.If he withdrew without the recovery funds then Silvana would be ruined. However, that was nothing.The Nagaran allied forces had promised the war funds to Ark. If he didnt receive the funding then Ark would have to pay 300,000 gold to Nagarans allied forces instead. And if he couldnt pay the 300,000 gold..Then the 60,000 allied forces would become his enemy!Ark and Haverstein would be dropped into hell.It was a well thought out scheme from the beginning.

There has absolutely been a mistake.I will check and come back again.

Ark said after worrying for a while.Lipton who had expected Arks destruction just nodded.

It is still too early to conclude.

Ark exited the building and muttered while shaking his head.Although he was suspicious inside the office, he wasnt 100% sure that this was Duke Sarkins plot.Maybe it was just some error?

The first thing I need to check is whether the king actually granted the funding.

Ark came to that conclusion. If the king was aware of it then this situation would be simply resolved. The problem was how to confirm it.

If this is indeed Duke Sarkins scheme then asking the Finance Minister to check will open me to accusations of embezzlement. I have to confirm it without going through the Finance Minister.

Therefore Ark went straight to the residence of Marquis Daltin. It was possible for him to meet the king in Selebrid and he had helped Ark before.After Ark explained the circumstances to Daltin..

I visited him.

Marquis Daltin took off his coat and said with a bitter voice.

I consulted with His Majesty about the problems in the Sinius Principality and tried to stealthily ask about Nagaran. I said that they 100,000 demons were defeated so the army should be somewhat compensated. But Duke Sarkin decisively disagreed. And His Majesty didnt show any special interest.

Then

His Majesty didnt know about the military support funding.

Ark felt like the sky was crashing down after hearing those words. If the King had decided to grant funding to Nagaran and then decided to pull it then he would have a reaction to Daltins words. The fact that he showed no reaction meant he didnt hear anything in regards to funding Nagaran.Arks speculation that it was a plot had come true.

Its good that you didnt respond to Liptons provocation and visited me first. If he tried to confirm it with the king then you and Haverstein would be accused of embezzlement. Haverstein would be instantly dismissed from the commanders position. You havent completely fallen into Duke Sarkins plot.

He was indeed fortunate.But the results didnt really change for Ark.If he couldnt secure the funds then Arks worst case situation would soon become a reality.Silvana would soon collapse without the recovery funds and he would owe the 60,000 allied forces a 300,000 debt.Of course, if he explained the circumstances to the lords then they would probably understand. But their good impression of him would be gone and Silvana would also disappear.

What did I spend 10 days barely sleeping for?

He felt his anger explode.

Duke Sarkin..!

He grinded his teeth together.This was the first time he felt such fury against a NPC. Right now he was tempted to go visit Sarkin and just stab him. No, if Silvana was ruined then he really would cut off Sarkins neck.But now wasnt the time to be thinking about something like that.

Is there another way?

If we find the communication officer that Duke Sarkin bribed then the situation would be simple to fix. Then it wouldnt be a problem. That officer impersonated His Majesty and sent a false message to the battlefield. If that was revealed then even Duke Sarkin wouldnt be safe. Do you understand?

He understood.This was Duke Sarkins scheme.It was a scheme that he prepared carefully.Then wasnt the key to this scheme the communication officer? Lipton said that the communications officer had been charged with bribery but he had probably been removed by Sarkin.The problem was that the communication officer had disappeared. While Ark had fallen into despair, he grasped Daltins hand and said.

Will the Marquis help me?

What did you say? I cant do anything unless you find the communications officer.

It is no use revealing Duke Sarkins scheme.

Then what can I do to help?

Needless to say, the promise of support money for Nagaran was all Duke Sarkins scheme. But no matter the scheme, doesnt Nagarans allied forces deserve Schudenbergs support? If Nagarans allied forces hadnt stopped the 100,000 demons and the Hell River from flooding then the demons within the Sinius Principality would become even stronger. Didnt Nagarans allied forces stop that? Cant you remind His Majesty and suggest the possibility of some support funding?

This was the final method that Ark came up with.Even if he wanted to now, assassinating Sarkin wouldnt solve Arks problem.More than Sarkins neck, Ark needed to obtain 300,000 gold. It didnt matter how he got it. Getting 300,000 gold from the kingdom was the most urgent problem.

That is difficult.

Daltin sighed and shook his head.

Duke Sarkin wanted to hang you and Haverstein with this scheme. But you didnt give into Liptons provocation so he missed the chance to get Haverstein. Cant you be satisfied that you dealt some damage to Sarkins plot? Duke Sarkin is the one who arranged everything about this scheme. Of course you want to make a desperate stand against Duke Sarkin. Even if I try to oppose it, Duke Sarkin is the one who controls the kingdoms finances so the King wont easily agree.

But if you and Marquis Halben join together

It was the only thing he could believe in.Ark desperately entreated.However, Daltins reaction was still sceptical.

.It might be possible. But the timing right now isnt really good.

The timing isnt good?

You just came from Nagaran so you wouldnt know about it yet.

Daltin scratched his beard and murmured.

Not long ago, the Bristania and Schudenberg expeditions managed to drive all the demons from the Sinius Principality. No, to be exact the demons felt a crisis after the expeditions advanced and retreated.

Of course Ark knew that information.He had received it from the Dark Eden members who were delivering supplies to the Sinius Principality. In addition, the news about New World on the TV and internet were all concentrated on the Demonic War.The demons retreating from the Sinius Principality was a major event. However, the reason why the demons retreated was still unknown.The expedition armies had gained consecutive victories and managed to control the Silrinad area but there were still lots of demons left. Yet all the demons had suddenly retreated from the Sinius Principality like a flood.Therefore the users had many differing opinions about why the demons disappeared.It was the same for the NPCs.

There are various theories but nothing is certain.But thanks to that, the Bristania-Schudenberg expeditions succeeded in regaining the Sinius Principality.

And a new problem began from this.

It isnt an exaggeration to say that the Sinius Principality is impoverished and on the verge of collapse thanks to the demons. Furthermore, most of the royal family and nobles were killed.Only several royalty and local lords barely survived. So Bristania and Schudenberg has agreed to divide the Sinius Principality and govern it for the next 10 years.

Daltin spoke while tapping his finger on the table.Ark immediately grasped the aims of Bristania and Schudenberg after hearing Daltins speech.Bristania and Schudenberg had sent military expeditions to regain the Sinius Principality from the demons. While it was to stop the demons, they had another reason for saving the Sinius Principality. It was the right to request a reward from the Sinius Principality.However, the Sinius Principality was devastated by the demons and couldnt afford to give anything. Therefore Bristania and Schudenberg gained the right to split the Sinius Principality and govern it for the next 10 years.But that was just a pretext.The Sinius Principality had been completely destroyed by the demons. The atmosphere was polluted after being exposed to the black fog for a long time so there was no guarantee it would be properly restored in 10 years. Even if Bristania and Schudenberg governed for 10 years, there was no benefit in it for them.No, they actually had to invest a lot of money into the recovery work. Yet there was a simple reason why the two controls divided it up.

This is a chance to swallow up the territory of the impoverished Sinius Principality.

Daltin laughed as he laid both elbows on the table.Thats right. Bristania and the Schudenberg kingdoms intended to colonize the Sinius Principality.On the pretext of dividing the territories, the Governor of each estate intended to fully absorb it. From the moment they organized the military expedition, they hadnt been thinking about profit.But it wasnt as easy as it sounded.

Didnt you say that some of the royal family survived? If some royalty is still alive then wouldnt the two kingdoms have no justification for absorbing the territories?

That is normally the case. But this is the Sinius Principality.

Daltin smiled and explained.The land in a kingdom was basically the property of the king.While the reality is a little different but each Lord and general citizen is just borrowing the real estate from the King. Thats why no other country could claim the territory if the Lord died.But the Sinius Principality was different from other kingdoms.

Sinius is not a kingdom. It is a principality where dozens of species combined together. The royal family of the Sinius Principality are nothing but representatives of the species. And the representatives of each species each have a territory. But after a long time, the various species mixed together.

Thats why the Sinius Principality was engulfed in chaos.With the territories deprived of their representative, chaos and anarchy crept in and there were quite few cases of aggression against neighbouring territories. Therefore the Sinius Principality felt it was necessary to establish leadership for each territory.

Those with the right tokens will gain ownership of the territory in the Sinius Principality.

Tokens?

Yes, look at this.

Daltin opened a piece of silk fabric and showed a piece of jewellery.Inside was a ring with a glowing purple stone.

-Soul Ring (Legendary)

Item type: Ring

User Restriction: NPC aristocrats only

A ring inlaid with a brilliantly shining ore.

The residents who live in the northeast area of Morai on the continent believe that the soul of their ancestors reside in the ore. A long time ago, the King of the Sinius Principality was asked to pick a symbol to represent Morai and he picked this ore ring with no hesitation. When shown this ring then all Morai residents will pledge vows of loyalty.Those who own this ring will be given the right to govern Morai territory.However, this is impossible for foreigners as a large majority of residents in New World dont respect them. Therefore it is only for NPCs. Only a noble NPC with a high status can use this ring to claim ownership of the territory.

<Special Option: It is possible to claim ownership of the Morai territory>