"He won't survive this time, he is already 122 years old," A doctor said.
"Oh, don't worry," An old man said, coughing repeatedly.
"Save your strength, grandpa, don't talk too much if it hurts," A young man beside him said.
"Don't worry, I have already done my part in this world *Cough*. From now on, you will be taking my post as councilman and helping this world progress to a better place," The Old man said, closing his eyes for the last time.
"Time of death, 7:23 pm," A nurse said, looking at the clock.
The Old Man's POV:
'Huh? Why can't I see anything? And why do I feel wet?' He thought.
'I can feel myself moving... why is my head dry?'
"The Baby is out!" A female voice shouted. By the looks of it, she must have been above him.
"WAAH!" The baby cried out in pain.
'OUCH! My lungs hurt!' He thought in pain.
"He is a boy," The person carrying him said.
"Ah, then his name shall be Luke Hordon Chestia," A gentle voice, this time being male, was heard.
"His magic level is quite high for a newborn, perhaps he would do well in the military," Another male voice, this time it was gruff and old.
"Oh, come on! Don't go choosing what he will do in the future already! For all we know, he might have no interest in the military," The person who named him replied.
The Old person scoffed.
'What the hell is going on in here? What are they talking about? And did I just hear magic?' Luke thought. He had been crying throughout the whole conversation since he was still in pain. He couldn't hear the conversation properly since his body hadn't adapted to the surroundings yet, so he was only able to hear bits and pieces of the conversation.
A Few Years passed,
Turns out, Luke was the fourth of the Emperor, Daniele Bis Chestia. Luke wasn't happy with the circumstances of his living.
'Gosh, getting into the library was such a hassle. Ughh, I hate books, but I have no other option but to go through them since I need to know more about this place,' Luke thought in annoyance.
Luke is now 5 years old. He had managed to learn about the world he had been born into. Here, several races dominated the planet. Magic was pretty important on this planet. The greater the number of magic users, the stronger the empire. Magic users can do things like healing, strengthening the body, elemental spells, and so much more.
Luke had an above-average amount of magic in his body, he would be a formidable foe if he trained enough in the art.
He was born as the 4th heir to the empire of Archasia. In total, he had 5 siblings, one of whom was born just months after he was born. Archasia was born 730 years ago. The empire was weakening severely due to rampant corruption, weakening of the army, and poor financing.
His father is also sick due to magic poisoning, which he had gotten during the War of Valmorte. This world is plagued by wars and conflicts.
'This empire won't even last a decade, my life would be in danger if it doesn't break in my favour,' He thought.
"Well, look who is here in the library, Lord Luke," An elderly man said, looking at Luke.
"Good Morning, Lord Eschel," Luke greeted back. Eschel Veristia was the Prime Minister of the Empire. He represents the Council of People, which represents the common people who are not of high status. The councilmen are selected through voting. The people who get to vote are of high status, or who pay their taxes. This encourages their population to pay taxes so they can be represented.
"My my, so young, yet so smart, only if you were the firstborn," Eschel said with a disappointed sigh, leaving the library.
'What's his problem?' Luke thought with a bit of anger at Eschel's remark.
"I must make sure to copy down as many exercises about the use of magic as I can before things go to hell. If my elder brother, Ottovan, gets the crown, the empire would fracture into many kingdoms. My dad is getting sicker every day, so Otto's position as emperor is coming soon," Luke was mumbling in a bit of worry. Luke had to skill up so he wouldn't be easily vanquished during any disputes that might arise due to Otto's coronation.
Chamber of Kings,
"Today's discussion is about the financial state of the Hershal Province." The Emperor said, initiating a round of discussion.
"Lord Rutherford, you must raise the taxes! Your citizens are well off, whilst the rest of the empire is dying of hunger!" The Finance Minister, Ravendier, said.
"Increasing taxes would only worsen the situation! If my people are back into poverty, then there would be no taxes to collect!" The provincial lord of Hershal Province replied in an agitated voice.
"Lord Ravendier is correct, during the time of great economic strife, we must band together and try to pay off the country's interest." Ottovan said in support of Ravendier.
"Alright, don't squabble over this issue, the council representatives will be given time to discuss with the council and vote on this issue after 2 hours. I order that this meeting is over." Daniele announced.
The cabinet usually brought up serious topics for the first 10 minutes, so they could go to lunch and discuss the policy or issue.
At The Royal Diner,
"What happened in the meeting, Father?" Adrienne, the second oldest child of Daniele, asked.
"It's about increasing taxes in the Hershal province. Their total revenue is usually around the same as the other provinces, despite having a wealthier population and lower taxes. So the Finance Minister and Otto want to increase their taxes so they can pull more weight in helping the economy stabilise," Daniele replied.
"Hmm, it does make sense, they should pull more weight since they have the ability to do so, we are at a very weak standpoint compared to the other nations," Adrienne replied in a serious tone.
'Gah, they can't even think long term, can they?!' Luke thought with annoyance.
"Dad, what services do we provide for the people with those taxes?" Luke asked in curiosity. He knew a lot of information would not be in the Royal library so as to keep unwanted eyes away from important information which are key for the protection of the empire.
"What do you mean by services? We are not some charity to give service to the people, Luke!" Otto said mockingly.
"Then wat do you do with the money? I mean other than paying of our debts, what expenses do we have?" Luke asked in a calm tone, not giving away his annoyance.
"We have to spend a lot on the military, we mustn't get invaded by the enemy nations. We also spend a lot on paying for the maintenance of the palaces we own," Daniele answered.
"Understood, father," Luke replied. He knew it was important to spend on the military since he had learnt that lesson when the world he came from barely made out through World War 3. Only the strongest nations, which spent a lot on their military, managed to survive the war, keeping them at the top of the world. But what he found annoying was the fact that the royal family had over 40 palaces and 20 mansions throughout the empire, costing the royal treasury a fortune to maintain.
'Father neglected to say one more thing, corruption, which most of the elites probably pocketed a huge portion of the taxes they collected,' Luke thought.