Chương 105: A Declaration Of War

"You what?" Al asked in a deadly tone.

As soon as we got back from visiting his family we approached Franz to talk about potentially starting the reconstruction efforts in the spring. A stricken expression crossed his face when he explained that he couldn't just give away money and land without consulting the court first.

"My hands are tied! I thought I would be able to do things like this on my own but apparently I'm not…the archduke has been very clear on what is and is not allowed," he finished sourly.

I scowled. The archduke had been one of the biggest villains in the novel but hadn't been a major player up until this point. It seemed like he was finally making his move, no doubt wanting to continue exploiting the mountains for Annalaias's benefit like the former king.

"Who's the king here, you or the archduke?! Shouldn't you have more power than this?" I demanded.