The gray morning crept slowly over the capital,its light pale and heavy — as if even the sun hesitated to rise upon a kingdom hiding too many secrets.
Ken sat at his desk, papers from the long night scattered across the polished wood like fragments of a shattered thought.Marvin stood before the massive map pinned to the wall, tracing the crimson lines that connected the palace to banks, trade houses, and merchant guilds.
His voice broke the silence — quiet, uncertain, but sharp enough to cut through the air.
"The source of funding for the Royal Stability Fund, my lord… isn't external as we believed.It's coming from the palace treasury itself — funded without the king's knowledge."
Ken lifted his head slowly.For a heartbeat, he simply stared — the words sinking in like a blade between armor plates.
Then, with a voice as cold as steel, he said:
"He's using the crown's own gold to fortify himself…Buying the kingdom with its own blood."
Marvin took a seat, his fingers flipping open another thin file, eyes weary but alive with calculation.
"We need to know how deep his control runs — not just whether he funds it.I have an idea… though it carries risk."
Ken raised an eyebrow.
"Go on."
"We send a forged foreign transaction into one of the Fund's accounts.Small enough to seem real, large enough to cause alarm.If Darius reacts immediately, it means he's the one managing the accounts himself."
Ken leaned back, a faint ghost of a smile touching his lips.
"Money never lies, Marvin…"
Marvin smirked faintly.
"True — but it's good at hiding the truth."
Gray, who had remained silent until then, stepped forward and asked with calm precision:
"And if he doesn't react?"
Ken's gaze didn't move from the papers.
"Then he's smarter than we think."
The next day, the transfer was made — a small number, but enough to stir still waters.
Twenty-four hours later, the storm came.
Every account tied to the Royal Stability Fund was suddenly frozen.Transfers halted.Financial clerks received urgent orders to stay silent.
By nightfall, an emergency meeting was called — summoned by Darius himself.
He sat at the head of the long table, perfectly composed, his confidence a quiet menace.The royal finance minister tried to explain the situation, voice trembling, but Darius cut him off after only a few sentences.
"Errors in money cannot be forgiven.The minister holds full responsibility.Effective immediately — you are relieved of your position."
No one argued.No investigation followed.
An hour later, the minister left the palace, his head bowed, his future erased.
From the back row of the council chamber, Ken watched in silence.Marvin leaned closer, whispering:
"He didn't remove him for the mistake…He removed him before he could speak."
That night, Ken sent Gray to follow the dismissed minister.Through the dark alleys of the sleeping capital, Gray moved unseen — until he found a small convoy leaving through the northern gate.
Four carriages.The minister and his family in the first, surrounded by armed men — their armor bore no royal crest… only the insignia of Darius.
By dawn, Gray returned to the palace, his face shadowed with anger.
"He left the capital under Darius's protection.He wasn't fleeing, my lord…He was being escorted out."
Ken lowered his head for a brief moment, his voice quiet — steady as winter:
"So even silence has a price now."
The Plan
The following evening, the three of them gathered once again in the same dimly lit chamber.Marvin sat before the scattered documents, eyes following the endless loops of Darius's influence.
Finally, he spoke:
"We can't expose him from the outside anymore.Every thread ends with his name.If we want the truth… we'll need someone inside his circle."
Ken nodded slowly, his voice calm but sharp as a blade drawn in the dark.
"We won't uncover him from afar…We need eyes within his walls."
A heavy silence followed.Then Marvin exhaled, glancing between them.
"There's one man who might risk it."
Gray looked up.
"Who?"
"The son of the royal finance advisor.A young clerk — he works on Darius's ledgers.He sees the numbers, the signatures… and hears the things no one else notices."
Ken turned toward the window.The moonlight split the room in half — half in silver, half in shadow.
His voice came low, deliberate, final:
"Then we'll start where he feels strongest.Darius builds his kingdom from gold…and we'll bring it down with a single piece of paper."
Later that night, Marvin wrote a short letter on crisp white parchment.Its seal bore a forged insignia of the Royal Finance Council — perfect, precise.He folded it carefully, placed it in an unmarked envelope, and handed it to Gray.
"Deliver it to him.No one else sees it."
Gray nodded, tucked the letter under his cloak, and disappeared into the corridor's dark quiet.
Ken remained by the window, gazing out across the glittering lights of the capital.
Below, the city shimmered like gold dust on the surface of still water —beautiful, silent… and entirely under Darius's shadow.
He whispered to no one in particular:
"Let's see what happens when the light finally touches the dark."
End of Chapter.
(To clarify, by "money transfer" I mean putting money in an envelope and sending it by mail to a bank.)