The next morning Varre woke up with a terrible headache. This was always the problem with feasts. They’re fun in the moment, but they bring painful consequences that will need to be dealt with the following day. He tried turning over in his bed, but that only brought on a powerful wave of dizziness and he decided to abort the maneuver.

  Benjamin meanwhile, was quietly sitting on a chair inside the bedroom, reading a book and waiting for his liege to awake. Hearing a tired groan, he realized that the moment had come. He slowly walked closer and pulled open the curtain surrounding the mattress.

  “Good morning, your majesty.”

  “Urgh. What time is it?” the king replied, covering his face with his palm.

  “It’s almost noon,” the chamberlain answered, holding out a glass of water.

  Varre waved towards the small bedside table and tried turned over to another side again. He immediately regretted it. The world spun, even through his shut eyes and he had to grab his head, as if trying to hold his brain in place.

  “I have prepared breakfast for you in the parlor. The bath is ready as well,” Benjamin explained and took a step back from the bed, giving the monarch some space.

  The sounds of chirping birds flew in through the open window, as if they were completely unaware of the tragedy happening inside. Hearing their happy tunes, the king finally decided it was time to get up. Slowly, as another wave of dizziness hit him almost immediately, he sat up and picked up the glass of water. He knew that drinking it was vital for his recovery and yet somehow his body refused to accept anything besides small, careful sips.

  Eventually he gave up and simply took the drink with him to the bathroom. As he washed himself, he savored the taste of the water, drinking no more than a spoonful at a time.

  When he finally got out, he felt slightly better, but he was still in no condition to move forward with his day. He looked towards his chamberlain who had already prepared a comfortable set of clothing for the day.

  “The council will meet in two hours, your majesty,” Benjamin said, “you still have some time to get ready.”

  “Think Elvira might have something for this?” Varre asked, with a gravelly voice.

  “I’ll admit, I do not know. But she is an expert alchemist. Would you like me to ask her while you eat?”

  Stepping into the other room, the king glanced at the table filled with food. He wasn’t in the mood for breakfast and decided to visit the mage personally. The sooner he could get over this hangover, the better.

  The pair walked through the quiet corridors of the castle. It seemed like half the city was still asleep, recovering after yesterday’s celebrations. There were fewer officials going about their business, and without them, the servants had less to do too. Aside from the couple of guards stationed around the king’s personal quarters, the king had only stumbled on a few people, mostly dusting furniture or carrying meals to others who were also waking up just now.

  After a short, but tiring walk Varre finally made it to the Court Mage’s laboratory. He closed his eyes, choosing to rest as much as he could as he waited for someone to open.

  A few moments later, a surprised Elvira welcomed him. “Your majesty? You don’t look so good. Please, come inside.”

  Unwilling to move his head too much, the king showed a thumbs up instead of nodding. He entered the room and sat down on one of the couches with a sigh.

  The last time he’s visited this area, before he left for his campaign, the chamber still bore the damage from Tobias’ escape. The dust had been cleaned up and all of the glass shards from the wizard’s laboratory were removed, but there was still a gaping hole in one of the walls.

  Fortunately, Marna managed to repair it over these last couple of months. Elvira’s absence only made it easier. Without the mage, the working crews didn’t have to worry about disrupting any dangerous experiments or inhaling some strange alchemical concoctions. The wall had even been covered in a new layer of plaster, completely covering up any signs of damage.

  “Feeling sick?” the Court Mage asked, observing her guest carefully.

  “Terrible,” Varre admitted, “damn it, how much did we even drink?”

  Elvira smiled. “A bit. I’ve lost count personally, but I’d guess it was enough to fell an ox.”

  The king looked her up and down. She seemed perfectly fine. “And what about you? Are you still drunk or do you have some secret medicine for cases like this one?”

  “Oh I was definitely dying when I first woke up. Luckily, I developed a solution,” she said and entered her laboratory. She rummaged through the cupboards, clinking some vials together, then yelled out, “did you eat yet?!”

  “No!” Varre replied, “I wanna deal with this first!”

  The Court Mage came back after a few more moments, holding a vial of brownish fluid and a rag. She passed the drink to her guest and he swirled it, watching the viscous material inside spin unnaturally.

  “What’s in it?” the king asked.

  She winked. “Try not to think about it. Or smell it. Just make sure to drink all of it.”

  He took one last look at her, but she really did appear to be completely recovered. Eager to achieve a similar status, Varre sighed and then bit the bullet.

  It tasted strange. It was just as heavy and viscous as it appeared. Not quite the consistency of honey, but almost there. It had a sharp aftertaste too, like spicy cuisine, and the taste reminded him of cinnamon. Ignoring the wizard’s advice, he decided to smell the concoction. It filled his nostrils, scratching his throat even harder, like tobacco smoke. He grimaced and decided to hold his breath until he finished.

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  Finally, once the vial was empty he set it aside on a nearby table and leaned back. The effect wasn’t immediate, but over the next few seconds, he slowly began feeling more energized. Elvira came closer with the moist rag and put it on his forehead.

  “I take it you’ve drank it too?” the king asked, relaxing with his eyes shut.

  She chuckled. “Of course. What, did you think I’m some heavyweight? I have another version of this potion, that should be taken right before you head to bed, but I was too out of it to care yesterday. This is the emergency version.”

  Varre turned to his chamberlain with an accusatory glare. To his surprise, the feeling of dizziness was almost gone already. “How come you didn’t bring it to me first thing in the morning then?”

  “Forgive me, your majesty,” Benjamin bowed, “I was not aware of such a wondrous cure.”

  “I’ll make sure to cook up some more for the future,” Elvira said, “it’s my own personal invention. Tobias was never a big fan of such feasts, so I imagine even your predecessor couldn’t enjoy such luxury.”

  After a few more moments on the sofa, the king finally stood up. He felt a little weaker than he should have been, as if he was recovering from a long marathon, but the sickness was gone. “It works fast!” he complemented the wizard.

  “Right? It’s one of my best inventions,” she joked, “but I’m glad to see you’re doing better.”

  “It’s miraculous! I’d say we need to start selling it, but I don’t mind offering it to members of my court for free.” Varre said, stretching out his tired muscles.

  “I think it’s a little bit too expensive for regular use, but I’m sure some wealthy nobles or merchants would accept that sacrifice,” Elvira replied and put the empty vial away.

  With his health on the rise again, the king returned to his room. He still wasn’t particularly hungry, but the mage had recommended eating something hearty after taking the potion. He dug into his breakfast. He was expecting to see leftovers from yesterday’s feast, but instead, everything was made fresh.

  “Benjamin, can you please commend the chefs for me? They did an excellent job,” Varre said, in between eating spoonfuls of food.

  The middle aged man bowed. “Of course, your majesty. I’m sure that a complement from their beloved monarch would be the highest reward they could wish for.”

  The way he said it, gave the former student pause. “Was that sarcasm? I didn’t think about it, but you’re right, they deserve something tangible.”

  “No!” the chamberlain quickly corrected himself, “absolutely not. You are their beloved monarch, and they want nothing more than to work for you.”

  Varre still frowned. He didn’t want to abuse his position of power. “I hope they want a little more than a kind word. I mean I am paying them right? Please tell me they’re not working for free.”

  “Of course, your majesty. And, if I may say so myself, the royal chefs’ salaries are far higher than your kitchen staff received back at your family’s manor. When you were just a prince,” Benjamin explained.

  “Okay, you had me worried there for a second,” the king chuckled and returned to his meal, “but maybe I should still offer them some actual reward?”

  He thought back to his previous experience. Back on Earth, he had a friend who occasionally worked as a waiter at a high class restaurant, delivering dishes to parties of some of the richest people in town. Some days, the staff was allowed to take the leftovers home. Though it may have looked a bit pathetic, or even insulting to some, that waiter always made sure to invite his friends on these occasions and make a small party out of it. He was very appreciative of the chance to try some top of the line food for himself.

  “I have an idea,” Varre finally said, “I mean I don’t know what they did with the leftovers from the feast, but I remember there was far still plenty left when we finished the celebration. I hope they didn’t throw it all away. Maybe we could offer it to them and their families?”

  “Your majesty, you truly are a kind monarch. And the people are so happy to have you ruling over them,” Benjamin smiled, “you already gave that order last night, right before returning to your quarters. They were overjoyed.”

  With that revelation out of the way, the king headed out towards the Council Room. The meeting wasn’t scheduled for another hour, but he could use this time productively, checking through the latest reports as he waited for the others. The advisors would also be made aware of the monarch’s earlier attendance and could join him as soon as they were ready.

  When he opened the doors, he half expected to see Marna already waiting there, with how absorbed she tended to be in her work, but instead, he saw Johan Gruber, the Treasurer. The balding man sat there, filling out some paperwork with his right hand, while he ate a buttered bagel with his left. He froze, holding the bread in midair, completely surprised to see his liege this early.

  “Don’t mind me, I’m the one who ignored the schedule,” the king assured him.

  “Your majesty,” the treasurer finally said, with his mouth full, and frantically set the bagel away. He wiped his hand on a nearby cloth and quickly stood up, bowing deeply.

  “Please, relax Johan,” Varre raised both hands, “I just wanted to catch up on some work. Read through some reports and the like.”

  Unwilling to break decorum even further, the glasses-wearing man nodded and chewed as quickly as he could. “You look very well, your majesty. You truly take after your uncle. Mikkel was also the kind of unshakeable man, who could recover from pretty much anything in record time.”

  “I appreciate the complement, but I’m afraid I had to rely on Elvira’s help to achieve these results. But you look completely fine too,” the king pointed out.

  “I had to call it early last night,” Johan explained, “I had to meet with some important merchants earlier today. And then I wanted to prepare some reports for today’s meeting.”

  “Commendable. I have been away for some time and I am very curious about what has been happening in our kingdom in my absence. Do you mind if we look through them together?”

  Naturally, the treasurer had no objections. After Varre’s insistence that it was fine, the man even returned to his bagel eventually.

  The reports concerned the state of the kingdom’s finances. Of course, with the war finally over, the true costs of the campaigns could now be tallied up. The soldiers’ salaries accounted to around 65 000 thalars over these last two months of fighting. Then, since Varre insisted that additional funds should be provided for families of fallen soldiers, another 30 000 were already set aside for that purpose.

  The troops acquired many of their supplies for themselves, but the crown still made purchases of its own. Additionally, the royal entourage accrued expenses as they travelled. The king was welcome to stay for free in each town he visited, but the servants spent coin on repairs and amenities. They didn’t want to overstay their welcome.

  All in all, the war had consumed a little over 100 000 thalars.

  Right before the army marched out, the vault had contained double that amount. Fortunately, it had only grown since. Lester estimated that his sales of grain from the harvest would bring in an additional 300 000 coin. That value was just an approximation, but it was substantial nonetheless.

  The final amount could vary, depending on the actual prices and supply, as well as the precise timing. So far, he had sold about half, bringing in a cool 150 000 thalars. Enough to cover the war effort and even bring in a small surplus.

  Of course, running the state wasn’t free either. And the crown had spent additional coin to quickly prepare the city for the siege right before Charles’ arrival. Then, even more to encourage people to join Varre’s army for the battle. In total, the defense of Westbridge consumed another 20 000.

  That left a balance of 230 000 coins in the vault as of today. Considering that it stood at a mere 70 000 when the former student first ascended the throne, this was an amazing success. Despite the expensive civil war and unusual tactics employed, increasing the crownlands to their current, impressive size, was a resounding success. The naysayers had been silenced, and the coffers were filled to the brim.

  Now, it was time to further invest these resources into the future.

  He receives help from Elvira, but the twins are not there to help her just yet.

  Then, the king meets with his Treasurer. We can now see a tally of the money spend on the fighting over the last several months.