The sun had not yet crested the jagged peaks of the Ravenstone Mountains when I sat at the mahogany desk in the West Wing's solar. In my previous life, five in the morning was the "Golden Hour"—the time before the markets opened, when the world was quiet enough to hear the gears of global finance grinding.
I wasn't about to change my habits just because I had been transmigrated into a fantasy novel.
"Your Majesty... please," Lila whimpered, stifling a yawn as she set a tray of bitter herbal tea on the desk. "The sun isn't even up. The servants haven't finished cleaning the halls. If the Dowager Empress hears you're awake and working, she'll think I'm mistreating you."
"Let her think what she wants," I said, not looking up from the mountain of parchment I had demanded from the archives. "And Lila? Bring me more candles. I can barely see the decimals in this mess."
"Decimals, My Lady?"
"The little dots," I muttered, realizing the Empire likely used a primitive fractional system. "Never mind. Just the candles."
As Lila scurried away, I leaned back, rubbing my temples. My eyes burned. The "Imperial Ledger" was a disaster. It wasn't just poorly managed; it was a work of fiction. It was as if someone had taken the concept of accounting and decided to treat it like a creative writing exercise.
[System Prompt: Skill 'Sovereign's Audit' is active.] [Analysis: The Imperial Treasury shows a discrepancy of 42% between 'Tax Collected' and 'Gold Deposited'.] [Current Objective: Identify the 'Leak'.]
"Forty-two percent," I whispered to the empty room. "In New York, that would get you twenty years in a federal prison. Here, it's apparently just called 'Government.'"
I began to sort the scrolls into three piles: Essential, Questionable, and Outright Theft.
The Essential pile was dangerously small—mostly the cost of feeding the palace staff and basic maintenance. The Questionable pile grew by the minute. But the Outright Theft pile was a mountain. The biggest offender? The Royal Procurement Office.
According to these records, the Empire was paying 50 Gold Coins for a single loaf of bread for the Northern Army. In the markets outside the palace gates, that same loaf cost three copper.
The man in charge of these records was Duke Castellan, the Minister of Finance and a close ally of the Emperor's late father. He was a man who had enjoyed twenty years of unchecked power because the "original" Evelyn was too busy buying silk fans to notice the Empire was being bled dry.
Well, Duke, I thought, a cold smile touching my lips. Your easy ride just hit a wall.
The Morning Summons
By 10:00 AM, the Imperial Council Chamber was filled with the smell of expensive tobacco and the nervous rustle of silk.
Duke Castellan sat at the head of the long table, his belly straining against a vest embroidered with silver thread. He looked at me with a mixture of boredom and paternal condescension. Beside him sat three other ministers, all of whom looked like they had been caught in the middle of a very pleasant nap.
"Your Majesty," Castellan said, his voice a greasy baritone. "While we are honored by your... sudden interest in the state of the Empire, I must remind you that the treasury is a complex beast. Perhaps you would be more comfortable in the garden? I hear the roses are in bloom."
The other ministers chuckled.
"I prefer the smell of old ink to roses, Duke," I said, sliding into the chair at the opposite end of the table. I didn't wait for an invitation. "And as for the 'complexity' of the beast, I've found it's actually quite simple. It's just hungry. And it seems you've been feeding it with the blood of the commoners while pocketing the change."
The laughter died instantly.
Castellan's face flushed a deep, mottled purple. "I beg your pardon? I have served this Crown since before you were in swaddling clothes!"
"Then you've had plenty of time to learn how to hide your tracks better," I said. I pulled a single scroll from my pile and tossed it onto the center of the table. "This is the procurement report for the 4th Infantry. It says you spent 100,000 Gold on 'Magic-Infused Steel' for their swords last month."
"Quality is expensive, Your Majesty," one of the other ministers stammered.
"Indeed," I replied. "Which is why I sent Lila to the barracks this morning to borrow a sword from a returning soldier. Tell me, Duke, does this look like Magic-Infused Steel to you?"
I reached under the table and slammed a rusted, notched iron blade onto the mahogany. The metal was dull, the hilt was loose, and it looked like it would snap if it hit a particularly thick piece of cheese.
"This is common pig iron," I said, my voice dropping an octave. "Value: 2 Gold. You charged the Crown 50. Multiplied by two thousand soldiers... that's a 'leak' of 96,000 Gold in a single month. And that's just one regiment."
Castellan stood up, his chair screeching against the floor. "This is an insult! You are a girl playing at politics! You cannot come in here on your first day as Empress and accuse the highest-ranking nobles of—"
"I'm not just an Empress, Duke," I interrupted, standing up to meet his gaze. "I am the Imperial Chancellor of the Treasury. By the decree signed by the Emperor himself yesterday at the altar."
I tapped the parchment inside my sleeve. The System glowed gold, emphasizing my authority.
"As of this moment, the Ministry of Finance is under audit. No gold leaves the vaults without my signature. And you, Duke Castellan... you are going to explain to me where that 96,000 Gold went. Every. Single. Coin."
The Emperor's Entrance
"A bold claim for a woman who couldn't balance a checkbook a week ago."
The heavy oak doors of the chamber swung open. Alaric stood there, framed by the morning light. He wasn't in his wedding finery anymore; he wore black riding leathers and a cloak that smelled of rain and horses. He looked exhausted, but his eyes were as sharp as ever.
"Your Majesty!" Castellan cried, throwing himself toward the Emperor. "The Empress is... she is delusional! She is accusing your loyal servants of theft! She has brought a dirty weapon into the sacred council chamber!"
Alaric didn't look at the Duke. He looked at the sword on the table. He walked over, picked it up, and ran a thumb along the notched edge.
His expression went from irritation to a cold, frightening stillness. He knew weapons. He knew this sword was trash.
"Is this from the 4th Infantry?" Alaric asked, his voice low.
"The 4th, the 2nd, and the 6th," I said, crossing my arms. "I had Lila check several. It seems your 'invincible' army is armed with scrap metal, Alaric. I wonder how many of your men died in the North because their blades shattered on the first strike?"
The room went ice-cold. Alaric turned to Castellan. The blue aura of his magic began to flicker around his hands—a sign of his rising temper.
"Duke," Alaric said. "Explain."
"Your Majesty, the... the suppliers! They must have cheated us! I had no idea—"
"You are the Minister of Finance," I cut in. "If you didn't know your soldiers were being armed with garbage while you paid for gold, you are incompetent. If you did know, you are a traitor. Which is it?"
Castellan began to sweat. "Evelyn, you bitch... you don't know the politics of this court—"
Smack.
The sound of Alaric's hand hitting the table was like a thunderclap.
"You will address the Empress by her title," Alaric said, his eyes glowing with a terrifying light. "And you will answer her question."
[System Prompt: Target 'Duke Castellan' is in a state of 'Extreme Fear'.] [New Skill Unlocked: 'Debt Seizure'.] [Description: You may now freeze the personal assets of any individual proven to owe a 'Life or Financial Debt' to the Crown.]
I felt the power of the skill settle into my mind. I didn't need a trial. I didn't need a jury. I had the math, and in this world, math was becoming a form of magic.
"I've already found the missing gold, Alaric," I said, looking at the Duke. "He didn't just hide it. He laundered it through the 'Orphanage Charity' his wife runs. They've been buying estates in the Southern Coast under the names of 'orphans' who don't exist."
"Lies!" Castellan screamed.
"Is it?" I reached out and touched the air in front of me. To the others, it looked like I was waving at nothing. To me, I was activating the [Sovereign's Audit].
A golden ledger appeared in the air, visible now to everyone in the room. It was a list of names, dates, and amounts—a perfect digital-style record of every bribe Castellan had ever taken.
"What... what is this sorcery?" the Duke gasped, backing away.
"It's called transparency," I said. "Alaric, as Chancellor, I am exercising my right to seize the Duke's assets to repay the debt he owes the Imperial Treasury. Including his townhouses, his carriage fleet, and the very clothes he's wearing."
I snapped my fingers.
[Skill Activated: 'Debt Seizure'!]
Outside in the palace courtyard, a sudden shimmering light surrounded the Duke's personal guards and his luxury carriage. Inside the room, the silver-threaded vest on Castellan's chest suddenly turned to dull, grey wool. The rings on his fingers vanished, replaced by streaks of dirt.
"My gold!" Castellan shrieked, looking at his bare hands. "Where is my gold?!"
"It's back in the national treasury, where it belongs," I said calmly. "Minus a 10% administrative fee for my trouble."
The Aftermath
Alaric watched as the Imperial Guards dragged the sobbing Duke out of the room. The other ministers were huddled in the corner, staring at me as if I were a ghost.
I sat back down, picked up my tea, and took a sip. It was cold, but the taste of victory made it sweet.
Alaric didn't leave. He stood by the table, looking at the rusted sword and then at me.
"You really did it," he said, his voice stripped of its usual mockery. "You found in three hours what my spies couldn't find in three years."
"Your spies were looking for assassins, Alaric," I said, seting the tea down. "I was looking for a decimal error. Assassins kill people. Bad math kills Empires."
Alaric stepped closer, leaning over the table. The smell of cedar and cold air followed him. "Where did you learn this, Evelyn? This 'magic'... this way of seeing the world in numbers? The woman I married couldn't even count her own fingers without getting distracted."
"Maybe the woman you married died of a broken heart," I said, my voice neutral. "And maybe the woman who replaced her is someone you can't afford to lose."
I stood up, gathering my scrolls. "I've cleared enough room in the budget to fund the Northern Army's rations for the next six months. But don't get comfortable. This was just the small fry. The real debt is held by the Church, and they won't be as easy to 'squeeze' as a fat Duke."
I started to walk past him, but Alaric reached out, his hand catching my wrist. His grip was firm, but not painful.
"Evelyn," he said, his voice a low vibration. "I still don't trust you. I still think you're playing a deeper game."
"I am," I said, looking him dead in the eye. "It's a game called 'Survival.' And right now, I'm winning."
I pulled my arm away and walked toward the door.
"Oh, and Alaric?" I paused, looking over my shoulder. "Since I've saved you nearly 100,000 Gold today, I'll be taking the West Wing's balcony as my personal office. The light is better for auditing."
I didn't wait for his answer. I walked out, the sound of my heels clicking against the marble like the ticking of a clock.
Behind me, the Emperor stood in the silent chamber, looking at the rusted sword and the empty chair where a "foolish" woman had just rewritten the laws of his Empire.
[System Notification!] [Imperial Reputation: -99 -> -85] [Alaric's Interest: 5% -> 12%] [Warning: The Church of the Sun has noticed your interference. A 'Holy Audit' is being prepared.]
I smiled. The Church? They were just another bank with a different name. And I had never met a bank I couldn't break.