“He wants to be annexed to our land.”
Tyler raised his lips with a complex expression.
“What?”
“Yeah. He doesn’t say it directly, but that’s what he wants to do.”
“I don’t quite…”
“Yeah, I’m shocked too.”
“What are you going to do?”
“It’s not up to me. I will meet up with him first and then report it.”
“Hmm…”
“Feels like it’s us who is giving the land to the king.”
“NO, sir, you cannot say that…”
“It’s okay. It’s the truth.”
Tyler stood up and walked to the window. The hot July wind passed through. Tyler wiped the sweat off his forehead and opened his mouth.
“It’s my second born’s birthday soon. We should hold a party and send out invitations.”
“Yes, sir.”
Berman bowed and moved out of the room. Tyler turned back to the window and dove into his thoughts.
‘Khalodian is so powerful, it can even unite the continent… this party will be interesting.’
Tyler smiled. It was a chance.
‘This will be the spark.’
*
Ten land regions near the Khalodian perimeter requested to be annexed into the kingdom. The world was surprised and countries began to send emissaries to complain and enforced restrictions on their land, but it was too late. It was the start of a new season.
The bell rang, signaling the early morning hour. Jackson woke up from an alarm clock and moaned. He rose from bed and looked out to the window.
“Summer is almost over.”
He approached the window and felt coolness seeping in from outside. He then opened the small refrigerator that was placed below the window and took out some water to drink.
“Hah.”
He shook his head to wake himself up and looked out to the window while tending to his hair. A proud smile filled his face.
‘I did this…!’
The sun began to rise and it shone upon the city and forest of buildings on the road.
‘I was just a lieutenant of the Guards back then…’
He remembered the days he spent guarding the village with his brother-in-law. But it began to change after he met Joonbum. He was only an errand boy at the beginning. Khalodian land had people who served the count for a long time already, but the same applied to Joonbum. He instead distanced himself from his father’s advisors and relatives. He even declared that he had no intention of being an heir to the land.
-Huh? No, I’m not interested. It’s for my brother and sister…-
‘…and he made a kingdom.’
Jackson smiled. The sun was shining more brightly and the city was now being uncovered from the darkness.
‘Look at all these buildings…’
The city was full of buildings and one of them was a hospital. The Khalodian Central Hospital was only three stories high, but it was wider than any of the nearby buildings. There were multiple buildings throughout the city to provide medical services to the people. Thousands of patients visited the hospital and there a lot of people were visiting the kingdom to be treated by the hospital and the doctors.
Next to it was the Khalodian Central Bank. It was a place to store the treasures of the continent. A vast amount of gold and treasures were stored within the vault below the bank. All trades made on Khalodian land were endorsed by the Khalodian Central Bank.
‘The world’s economy is in our hands. We will not need to fear anyone now.’
Khalodian Kingdom was now second to none. This was why they stopped expanding.
‘We have to go slow. We have too many parasites already.’
The kingdom worked hard to rout out any criminals and fight corruption, but it still existed. He turned to the huge statue holding a flail. It was a statue of the Goddess of Judgment. The twenty-foot-tall statue was placed in front of the Law Enforcement Building.
‘We should enforce it from the beginning.’
This was the part Jackson was mostly working on. The kingdom’s law was strict and the punishment was merciless because of this. All new laws were posted at the front of the Law Enforcement Building and the central plaza.
-Children five to ten years old need to learn how to read, write, and do math. If anyone neglects it or disrupts the education, he or she will be fined five hundred thousand gold coins and three years of service in the mines. A second occurrence will result in ten years of service, and after the third time, one will be sentenced for life.-
This was because of Jackson. Some considered it to be excessive, but he did not care.
