The Barony's convoy, having defeated bureaucracy with accelerated wax drying, delivered its high-grade steel to the Royal Foundry with a mere three-hour margin before the 90-day deadline expired.
Elias, exhausted but triumphant, stood two days later in the opulent, marble halls of the Royal Treasury. The Master of Coin, a fussy man named Lord Finn, reviewed the quality assay report with wide eyes.
"This is... remarkable, Baron Thorne," Finn stammered, tapping the document. "The purity of this steel is unheard of. It is 250% above the minimum standard. The Crown will happily accept this shipment, and pay you the Premium Price."
Lord Finn slid a small mountain of gold and silver coins across the desk—enough to pay off every last penny of the Thorne family debt, every outstanding fee, and then some.
MAOI Alert:
[Financial Status: Debt Paid. Capital Surplus: 12,000 Gold Crowns. Profit Margin: 350%.]
Elias couldn't help the ugly, joyous smirk that twisted his face. "Excellent. If you'll excuse me, Lord Finn, I need a notarized receipt of the Debt Nullification and the Finalized Deed to the Ironspur Mine Lease. Administrative compliance, you see."
He secured the documents, his heart soaring with the raw, exhilarating feeling of zero debt. The thrill was brief, however, because his eye caught a familiar, infuriated face across the hall.
Clerk Rellis, still dressed in his travel-worn clothes, was reporting the events of the inspection to a tall, imposing man cloaked in deep violet: Duke Vesper.
Duke Vesper was everything Elias was not: physically powerful, intimidatingly handsome, and radiating silent, lethal authority. He listened to Rellis's account of the defeated ambush and the Accelerated Curing Procedure with a calm that was far more terrifying than rage.
Vesper looked directly at Elias, ignoring the happy Master of Coin.
"The Thorne boy," Vesper's voice was low, smooth, and heavy with controlled contempt. "He paid his debt with perfectly measured efficiency. You may leave, Rellis."
Rellis scurried away. Vesper walked slowly toward Elias, stopping just short of invading his personal space.
"I admit, Baron Thorne, I misjudged you. I thought you were merely a drunkard. It appears you are a scab—a disgusting, unnatural patch of efficiency that has sprung up on the body of my well-ordered territory."
Elias met his gaze, his greedy smirk firmly in place. "Your territory is inefficiently managed, Duke. I am simply an investor optimizing my assets. And now that the debt is paid, the Ironspur lease is mine."
Vesper's eyes narrowed. "You misunderstand me. I wanted that lease because it was inefficient and easy to seize. Now, you have made the mine incredibly profitable. That makes the entire Barony a strategic asset... a potential threat."
He leaned in, his voice a cold whisper. "You have beaten me with your paperwork and your mud-science. But paper can be overturned. Now that you are rich, you have just given the Royal Treasury the power to demand more from you. Enjoy your freedom, Baron. I suspect it will be very short-lived."
Vesper turned and left, his purple cloak trailing dramatically.
Elias was left alone with his gold and the chilling realization that Vesper was right. He had exchanged the problem of Debt for the problem of Political Threat.
Just then, Lord Finn, the Master of Coin, approached, beaming.
"Baron Thorne! A true success story! The Crown is delighted! In fact, the King's Advisors have just reviewed your impressive income and the strategic location of the Ironspur Barony," Lord Finn announced happily. "Due to your proven financial competence and the clear need for modernizing our infrastructure, the Royal Treasury has decided to grant you a Mandatory Royal Commission!"
Elias's blood ran cold. "A... commission?"
"Yes! To improve the Crown's logistical nightmare! You, Baron Thorne, are hereby commanded to use your engineering expertise and your new funds to build a permanent, stone-bridge crossing over the treacherous Wyvern's Gorge within the next eight months! It is vital to trade and the army! The cost will be immense, but the prestige—!"
Lord Finn paused, leaning in with a conspiratorial smile. "And if you fail to complete this Royal Mandate on time and within the Crown's budget... the Crown will regretfully be forced to seize the Ironspur Barony to recoup the investment."
Elias looked at the document: a new deadline, a massive project with impossible logistics, and an implicit, lethal threat from the King—all engineered by Duke Vesper's quiet influence.
He was rich, free of debt, and now facing a project that was fifty times more complex than his entire mine operation.
Elias slumped onto the desk, his head in his hands. He whispered to the System that only he could see.
MAOI Status: [Status Title: Estate Developer: Scum Tier 2 (Mandatory Royal Mandate)]
Current Goal: Wyvern's Gorge Bridge Construction.
Deadline: 8 Months.
Estimated Cost: Catastrophic.
"I hate this fantasy world," Elias groaned into the cold marble. "I just wanted to be lazy and rich. Now I have to build a bridge."