Entering the President's quarters, Lucas found the atmosphere quite strange. On his way to the office, he didn't come across any maids or servants.
Julian had seven maids assisting her directly and under these, there are some servants whom Julian picked while touring around.
And all of them were women.
Being the only male here, at the beginning he would bear the scrutinizing gaze of the people working here. He felt suffocating and awkward to work around them.
Fortunately, none of them made things difficult for him as who knows what will happen if one day someone accuses him of molestation. Though Julian trusts her people, Lucas doesn't so he always has his spy camera activated. Even Julian commended him for his thoughtful thinking.
"I feel fresh," Lucas murmured, seeing no one.
He went straight towards the office without any hesitation. Previously, he used to inform a maid guarding the door but now he didn't need to do that.
After working for a few months, the distance between them had narrowed by a very slight margin.
Lucas was about to push the door when a cold sensation gave him a shiver. Halting his steps, Lucas looked through the keyhole and found someone meeting Julian.
"Strange, there wasn't any meeting scheduled today."Lucas rubbed his chin, deciding to eavesdrop a bit.
...…
"Student Julian, I hope you change your mind after listening to our pleas."
"What are you planning now?"
Calming herself, Julian silently looked at the four people led by Professor Lokov trying to discern the underlying intention.
What left the deepest impression on her was the subtle hidden meaning that lay behind their flattery and the display of vigilance, panic, and distrust.
"Student Julian, we have come here with a simple request. Things are not going well in the First Year and Vice Principal Josh is adamant about his decision. We can only place our hope on you."Professor Lokov spoke, representing the other two.
"Please stop going in circles and tell me the reason for your visit."Julian rebukes them with a sharp tone.
Lokov swallowed his saliva seeing her cold lifeless gaze and coughing a bit to shake away his embarrassment, he muttered"We are here to talk about Students Lucas."
A deep frown appears on Julian's face.
"What about him?"
"Student Julian, first you appointed Lucas as your Secretary and now he appears at the top of the rank so don't you think this is too much of a coincidence," Professor Noah said with an anxious expression.
Anticipation flashed in Lokov's eyes as he pressed further"I am not accusing you of helping him or saying that there is some kind of foul play. What I want to say is that this guy is destroying the honor of the Student Council. First thing, he is a commoner and second, he doesn't even qualify to enter the Student Council."
"He will only tarnish your reputation. Aside from being a student, you are the Princess, the highest in nobility so how can you stay with the commoner all day? So, we ask you to impeach him."Professor Noah supported Lokov.
With a low but not heavy tone, she spoke calmly"Hmm! Then whom do you think I should accept as my secretary?"
"You can take Ezekiel Homles from First Year or Sandra Hearts from Second Year."
Maintaining an unperturbed expression, Julian murmured faintly.
"As expected."
As soon as her words fell, the temperature of the room plunged by a few margins.
Noah and Lokov started to shiver in fright. Looking at them with a cold piercing gaze, Julian spoke with a smile.
A smile that tore their heart into shreds.
"You want to kick Lucas out or do you want to put your people in my place?"
"Tell him to come up with a better excuse next time. Please leave for now."
"Julia.."
"Leave!'' Julian's voice turned grim, sending chills down their spine.
Gulping their saliva, they stood up and walked back with trembling legs.
"As Professor, you should be maintaining neutrality instead of swaying to the side. If you advise me next time, you better be prepared."Julian paused a bit. Seeing no remorse on their face, her bloody eyes glowed fiercely.
"As a student, I can't do anything but as a Princess, I can surely do many things. Maybe your family will go bankrupt or they may disappear, who knows what will happen in the future."
"No, please."
"We beg.."
Swish!
A chilly aura blasted them away making them kneel.
The four of them looked at her in bewilderment. All of them were at 6-Star but the differences in strength between them were too vast.
"There is no next time. This is the last warning and my stance will not change no matter what.''
"Yes!"
Giving her a bow they ran away.
Julian heaved in relief seeing their departing figure.
"You dare threaten me with my reputation to force me to remove someone. You sure have grown a lot of guts."
Murmuring faintly, Julian raised her hands to stretch a bit but she froze sensing someone peeking at her.
"Lucas."
"Hi...Highess.I didn't see anything. I am blind."A bewildered scream echoed.
"Come out!'
Seeing her murderous glint, Lucas jumped out from the small passage.
Julian corrected her posture and sat there elegantly. There was no embarrassment on her face.
"Since when have you been here?"
"From the moment you threaten them."
"Hmm! What do you see?"
"I see nothing. I have poor vision," Lucas shook his head trying to calm his heart.
"How unfortunate? As my precious subordinate, how can I ignore this? I will help you sharpen your eyesight later."Julian's cold voice echoed.
"Okay," Lucas answered dryly.
He was just curious about the contents, so he eavesdrops through a narrow gap in the door and hides using shadow steps.
As he appeared again, he saw the heavenly sight of the Princess stretching.
He didn't want to see this but his body was frigid. She looked like a piece of art in that position that forced the onlooker to admire her.
And also she has nice curves.
'Noooo!Parth is influencing me. I shouldn't think like that. Parth is tainting my mind.'
'Amitabha, I am a good boy.'
Shaking his head Lucas asked"Was Senior Isaac behind them?
Lucas tried to steer away from the conversation and Julian didn't push this matter further.
Hearing Lucas's question, Julian just gave a small nod seeing which Lucas cursed inside.
'That damned guy will not let me rest in peace.'
"Princess, is there nothing we can use against him?"
"It's difficult. Duke White is quite stern and meticulous. We all knew about his involvement in shady business but we were never able to step on his trails. Issac is like him."
Lucas's heart warmed a little as Julian conveying this meant she started to trust him.
"Then why don't we hit them by reducing their income first?"
"What do you mean?"Julian's eyes glistened with interest."
"Your Highness, the tax policy of the Empire is quite bad. The nobles collect taxes from noble commoners and the Empire collects from nobles. Being the middleman, the nobles embezzled a lot, and on top of that, the tax rates were different all around the Empire of Cyprus. What if The Empire collects the tax directly?"
"No, we can't. This will lead to a strong clash of interests intensifying the friction between noble and Imperial factions."Julian responded calmly.
"There is another way. First, you should pass a bill to fix the tax rates creating a common tax rate throughout the Empire by basing them on income rather than class. For example, people who earn 10000R a month should pay 4% interest of which 2 should go to the Empire directly and 2 to nobles."
Julian silently contemplated the things.
"Your suggestion of creating a common tax rate and categorizing based on income is a good thing but dividing the tax into two,won't it create too much hassle? It would be quite troublesome and we have to set up a branch and hire more people to do this."Julian narrated the flaw.
Lucas, hearing it, shook his head with a smile.
Julian felt her heart strung for some reason seeing that smile.
'I always feel weird when he makes that kind of expression.'
"That's where the crux lies. Noble takes people's money and pays to the Empire and in doing so they hide their earnings. Most of the calculations are made based on noble earnings through tax but you all fail to note that nobles earn much more than that from other sources."
Julian's expression hardened as soon as she heard Lucas's words.
"Since they just take and pay the Empire, nobles don't need to show their income or the wealth under them but if they had to pay the tax directly, they need to show their properties. And before doing that, we can organize a large-scale search of all things under each noble. However, with a standard tax rate, nobles can increase taxes according to their will."
"Brilliant."Julian praised Lucas.
"If this came to fruition, you will be rewarded greatly for coming up with such an idea."
'White is one of the most corrupted nobles and would soon become cancerous in society. The tax rate in White territories is 80% and less tax will cut off their wings.
Once I gain Princess's trust and find a way to move the Secret Society under her, I could surely step on his tracks. Before he attacks, I need to make sure he is preoccupied with minor skirmishes and drive his attention away from me.'Lucas thought inwardly.
"Princess, there is another important thing I came here for."
"Yes, tell me."Julian nodded.
Lucas took a deep breath and spoke"Can we cancel our visit to the Parish Of Damita"
Hearing his words, Julian's expression cracked and she asked"What?"
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