"Your Highness, you should not lie!" Duke Maris countered with his face red and in anger. But for Victor, he only saw the real liar.

He then pulled out documents and presented them to the emperor, which was taken by one of his secretaries and the prime minister. They all looked through the documents.

"At your hand is the budget request of the White Lily for the past five years. It has been vetted and sealed by the Treasury. As a prince, I have access to those accounts. You can check the records of me taking them upon request." Victor explained.

It was one of the things he did when they arrived. He was thankful to have Rufus, who is the most informed and competent, to help him get that information. Victor has considered making arrangements to get the corresponding letters between the magic tower and Duke Maris to get them punished, but he can't. Getting those letters would require him to steal, which, if proven, would only downgrade his credibility and image to the emperor and the rest of the empire (not that it wasn't good already), and Duke Maris would only use it as an excuse that he is disrespecting his rights as a noble and gets away with it.

"Duke Maris, do you have an explanation for this?" The emperor asked.

"It must have been a mistake, your majesty." The man gulped. "We must have overlooked the budget."

"Yet without a budget, you can't support the blue rose yourselves." Prime Minister argued. "You have also passed the deadline already for any modifications." In the Claes government, the budget for the entire year has to be submitted on a specific day in the summer because most of the highest cost happens during the autumn (for the harvest of crops), winter (for potential sickness and survival), beast tide (to fight off the mutated beasts) and spring (which is for the planting of crops). Summer is one of the times that does not require a lot of work, so most budgets of the year are submitted during this period.

"Wha-what does that mean?" Duke Maris looked conflicted. "Can't we just adjust the deadline to modify the budget?"

Ernest frowned. "Duke Maris, might I remind you that we can't give extensions? If we give you an extension would mean giving the rest of us extensions, to be fair, and the fact that you have not prepared for a proper budget would mean either you don't plan to feed and pay your soldiers as the prince has asked or you are showing some incompetence." Some people were mumbling in agreement.

"The prime minister is correct, Duke Maris." The emperor said. "Since there is no need for the While Lily to take in additional members. I am willing to grant the blue rose to the prince. However, I am curious why?"

The emperor turned to his son. Most princes would rather build a new army for their own or guards over getting an already existing one. Mostly because the existing ones used to have their commanders and have different loyalties, could be old, and so on.

"Your majesty, I have spent ten years with these soldiers. I know their names and their lives and have fought with them. Some even died. I knew that being able to perform magic due to our journey through the rift during the battle of Berdun would also attract attention for them – mostly negative. And these are people that lack magical training or even resources to protect themselves. However, most of you might find this not a very wise decision for an army. These are people I respect and honor, and I know that they also feel the same for me." The prince answered straightforwardly.

There was silence in the throne room again. Some of the ministers are conflicted. They felt that the prince's speech made sense, but at the same time, they felt disappointed not to be able to have access to those soldiers. They wanted to learn how magic was able to flow down their veins when magic, in general, is something one is born with, not something one will acquire independently.

"That is understandable." The emperor stated. "And your second request?"

"Access to the family vault." Victor immediately answered.

This surprised a lot of the ministers, even the prime ministers. The empire has three important vaults. The imperial vaults, also known as the treasury, which is used to store the money needed to run the country. The royal vault is the money used to manage the royal family, and the family vault is simply a storage vault for every item, relic, or artifact the royal family has owned for generations. That place is historical, but some say it also stores very precious items, and many are curious as only the emperor can get in those vaults.

"Can I also ask why?" The emperor asked.

"I can't answer that at the moment." The prince answered.

"Hmmm." Most of the people in the throne room are curious about the outcome. Not many can get access to those vaults.

"I'll agree." The emperor said. "You can even get two items in the outer vault and one in the inner vault as part of your compensation as long as you also have to show and tell me what it is you have collected."

Victor smiled and nodded. "Yes, your majesty."

"Are you satisfied with this outcome?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"Jones, make the arrangements." The emperor's secretary in charge of scheduling and documentation wrote those down.

"We will schedule your trip to the family vault. Do you have any more to add?" The emperor asked.

"No more, your majesty. I am thankful for all you have given and considered." Victor bowed.

They were dismissed.

General Aster and Jason even wrapped their arms around his neck and grinned very happily. Victor, on the other hand, is still curious about this sudden change from his father, but he is just happy at the moment for getting what he needs in over a day.

Ernest Avington was still surprised by how eloquent the third prince was. He was never even fazed when he spoke, and he sounded so educated for someone who did not have a formal education at all. This did make him question his potential.

Duke Elrose and the rest of the other ministers from competing factions are seething.

The other ministers were more surprised because they all realized something. The third prince is very unpredictable.

As for the emperor, all he could do was given a short smile as he watched his son leave the throne room. He then glared at some of the ministers. Those ministers have demonic black shadows roaming around their bodies.