The Game Ministers Lost Before It Began
Sabotage rarely announces itself.
It hides behind procedure.
In a private government chamber, several ministers convened without record. The port project threatened more than merchant profits—it threatened political influence itself.
The Minister of Commerce spoke first:
"If the ports are completed, economic authority shifts to the crown."
"We lose leverage," another minister added.
The Minister of Finance finally broke his silence:
"We cannot halt the project… but we can slow it through budget control."
The plan formed quickly:
delayed funding approvals
inflated cost reports
controlled media leaks
artificial fiscal pressure
"We will not stop it," one minister concluded. "We will let it fail."
But Lee Soo-yeon had expected resistance.
A King Waiting for Mistakes
Intelligence reports revealed the pattern: budget delays, altered allocations, unexplained financial gaps.
Lee Soo-yeon did not react with anger.
He smiled.
Shadow moves could be dragged into light.
A Lifeline to Merchants
Instead of confronting ministers, Lee Soo-yeon summoned leading merchants.
They entered cautiously.
"The ports will be built," he said.
Silence.
Then:
"Arcadia cannot prosper without its merchants."
Confusion spread.
"I grant you administration rights over five percent of Arcadia's mineral trade."
The room froze.
Five percent seemed small—but of a future mining superpower, it was enormous.
"This is not generosity," Lee Soo-yeon said. "It is stability."
Then, calmly:
"Stand against the project, and you lose even this."
The merchants left understanding one truth:
The king offered survival… in exchange for alignment.
The old alliance between ministers and merchants fractured overnight.
Collapse of the Plot
Merchant funding of anti-project narratives ceased. Supply chains resumed cooperation. Warehouses reopened.
Ministers realized too late that the economic foundation of their plan had dissolved.
"They betrayed us," one minister said.
"No," another replied bitterly. "They chose profit."
The Minister of Finance sensed danger most of all.
Because he held the operational center of the sabotage.
The Scapegoat
When royal auditors launched an investigation into budget irregularities, ministers required a sacrifice.
The Minister of Finance.
Privately, they reassured him.
But political reality had already decided his fate.
Leaks emerged:
suspicious transfers
delayed national project funding
questionable foreign communications
Part truth.
Part amplification.
Enough.
He was arrested.
Trial
The trial was controlled but visible.
Citizens saw a minister accused of treason.
Ministers performed shock.
Merchants remained silent.
The king observed.
Evidence showed deliberate obstruction harming national interests.
"Do you deny the charges?" the judge asked.
"I did not act alone—" the former minister began.
But silence answered him.
Political truth outweighed complete truth.
Judgment
The verdict:
Execution for treason and conspiracy against the kingdom and crown.
The sentence was not revenge.
It was a message.
A quiet execution followed, announced only through an official statement.
But fear spread.
Ending
Lee Soo-yeon stood by the palace window.
Not victorious.
Balanced.
Merchants aligned.
Ministers cautious.
Public trust strengthened.
The port project resumed momentum.
The system displayed:
Political stability: improved
Elite division: successful
Warning: remaining ministers recalculating
"The game changed," Lee Soo-yeon murmured.
In a dark government chamber, ministers gathered again—this time with fear present.
"The king is not weak."
"He is worse."
And deep underground, a dwarven hammer rang—echoing the quiet consolidation of a monarch finally grasping the kingdom's strings.
End of Chapter 11