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Chapter 96

I saw Vlad pale and his eyes met mine for a second before he lowered his head as several voices rang out simultaneously.

Sam Houston shouted "I object, Your Majesty."

Mike said "We need to have written laws before you take such a major step."

Joshua said "Father, no. We can't just kill him."

James and Erich both simply shouted "No, Sire, you can't."

I shifted my voice and the room vibrated as I roared "Silence!" Everyone froze.

I looked around at my counselors, then back to Vlad and said "As I said, the Crown has no choice but to sentence you to death. Your property is hereby forfeit to the Crown, and you are stripped of all titles. The Crown takes into consideration the recent change in attitude we see from the condemned, and as such, we offer you a parole." His head snapped up as I went on "Vlad Dracula, your sentence will be deferred if you faithfully serve as an advisor to the Crown for the rest of your life. You will remain on the island of Kasos unless you are traveling with, or at the direction of, the Crown. Specific conditions of this parole will be spelled out by the Ministry of Justice, in writing, within the week. This sentence, and the conditions of your parole, will be reviewed on January 1, 2100, and thereafter, every hundred years. Violation of this parole will result in your swift and immediate execution. Does the condemned desire to appeal the sentence?"

As I was spelling out the details of my offer, he was staring at me in shock. When I stopped, he continued to stare for a moment, then he dropped to a knee and bowed his head as he found his voice, saying "I do not, Your Majesty. You have my pledge of parole, and I thank the Crown for tempering justice with mercy. I will not let you down."

I looked around the room, then said "The Crown also rules that, as this matter has been adjudicated, discussion of this trial limited to the centennial reviews. Discussion of the sentence, however, is permitted. Is this understood?"

Everyone in the room said "Yes, Sire."

I nodded and said "This matter is closed; you are all dismissed. Mike, please remain."

Once everyone had left, I stood and helped Billy and Josh move the furniture back to its proper place. Niko asked if he needed to make a permanent record of what had happened, so I turned to Mike.

He said "For now, yes, but we will need to get a system in place for future cases. Do you plan to preside over all trials, Your Majesty?"

I shook my head and said "I do not know, Mike. This case, I felt I needed to handle personally. In the future, I suppose we will have to decide on what we do, depending on how often we have the need. I want to know what you think of my sentence, and please, be honest."

Mike stopped moving chairs and faced me as he said "I would never dishonor you by giving you false advice, Sire. I need to give you my honest opinions in order to best advise you, even if that advice makes you angry. As to the solution you came up with this morning, I think it was an excellent balance of justice, tempered with mercy. When word leaks out, and regardless of your gag order word will get out, Draculs will see that you wisely realized the limits of your authority, you refused to give in to revenge, and you handed down a sentence that fit the crimes. You then recognized the potential reformation of the guilty, and allowed for his rehabilitation. No justice system in the world could ask for more."

"Will they say I spared him out of nepotism?"

Mike nodded as he said "Some will, but those same will always find some reason to complain. I think most will support your decision and see it as a sign of the new future we have. Before you came along, I doubt many of the former council would have shown mercy."

"Thank you, Mike, I appreciate you more than I show. I could not have made it through all the changes in my life if not for you." He looked like he wanted to say something, but I could tell he was torn. I let him consider things for a few minutes, then I asked "Is there something else? You seem hesitant to speak."

He sighed, then nodded as he said "There is, Sire, and I am hesitant. I just said I would advise you honestly, and now I'm having an internal debate over whether this issue is mine to mention."

"Well, just speak your mind. In my opinion, your job is to advise me, regardless of the topic."

"Sire, I question the wisdom of using the former princes in any role that has authority over vampires."

That caught my attention, and Joshua's too. We both stopped moving the side table and turned to face him. "Would you care to go into your reasoning? Are you doubting their loyalty?."

"Oh no, Sire. Those men would die for you, and they are very wise. But they are accustomed to leading, and that is the issue. They are accustomed to leading, not following, and if they are in a leadership position, you risk them doing things their way and you having to correct them."

I nodded, considering his words as he went on "If you leave the former princes in place, vampires will wonder if there is indeed change on the horizon, or more of the same. Keep them around as advisors, counselors, and even Ministers if they fit a role, but name new vampires to serve as regional leaders around the world."

I turned to Billy, but he was already on his phone, so I turned back to Mike and said "I will take time to consider your thoughts, Mike. You make very valid points. If I were to name new, let's call them dukes for this conversation; if I were to name new dukes, how would I choose them? Other than those in this castle, most of the vampires I know live in the eastern US."

"That is simply an obstacle to overcome, not a barrier, Sire. I remember a conversation you had in which you said you wondered why there were no princes from Africa. And considering the population of Asia, why there are only two there. This would allow you to rectify that." Joshua said, seeming deep in thought.

We turned when there was a knock, and Andrew opened the door to say "Lucas and David, answering your summons Sire."

When they came in, I headed for the sofa that faced the ocean view. I pointed for them to sit opposite me, then indicated for Mike, Joshua, and Billy to sit as well. Niko rolled up and parked at the end of my sofa.

After Andrew had gotten everyone drinks, I looked at Lucas and asked "Has there been any action taken regarding the titles or deeds of the property of the former princes?"

Lucas looked confused for a moment, then understanding dawned and he said "We haven't had time to do more than start listing properties, vehicles, and aircraft, Sire. If I am understanding your concerns, nothing has been done that cannot be undone."

I turned to David, asking "If I were to return those funds surrendered by the former princes, could we afford to fund the Crown from the tax income?"

"The first thing you would have to do is establish what the Crown owns, independent of the funds and properties surrendered. After that, Lucas could provide me a budget and I would evaluate it. I feel certain that we could provide for the Crown, Sire."

I had a thought, but Billy had apparently beat me to it, as Andrew knocked, then announced "Vlad Dracula, as summoned, Sire."

I motioned Vlad to join us as Andrew refreshed everyone's drinks and got one for Vlad. Once he left, I said "How much did the Crown strip from you this morning, financially?"

"Personally? Or would the holdings of the businesses that my pack managed be included in this, Sire?"

"Personally. Those pack holdings will need to be managed for the good of the pack. I will also need your thoughts on whomever the fates choose to phase as your replacement Alpha, when that happens."

"I would estimate somewhere near $450 Billion, Sire. That excludes homes, aircraft, and vehicles, Sire. That is just stocks, bonds, metals, and hard currencies."

Lucas gasped and asked "How did you hide a fortune that size? That makes you the richest man on earth."

Vlad smiled and said "I believe that King Gregory is now the richest man on earth. I will teach you our tricks, young pup, but we've kept the existence of vampires secret for thousands of years. How much easier is it for us to keep our private fortunes hidden, especially when we have the assistance of the human governments."

"I will need you to work with Lucas in the next few days, to transfer the cash, stocks and bonds, as well as physically move the metals here. I will have Colonel Jennings discuss the aircraft with you at some point."

"Of course, Your Majesty. Was there anything more I can do for you?"

"Yes. Stay, listen, and advise, please?"

Vlad had been tense, and when I added please, I could tell he realized I intended to use him as an actual advisor, not just keep him imprisoned here for centuries. He sat straighter, and looked around the room. I turned to Lucas and said "If you had no other funds, could you fund the Crown on that?"

"That depends on what the Crown is funding, but yes Sire, we could present quite a respectable showing to the world."

Vlad interrupted, saying "Forgive me, Sire, but could you catch me up? So that I may advise based on correct knowledge."

I spent the next fifteen minutes explaining the many permutations of the former council that we have gone through, struggling to create a government. Lucas and David covered the separation of Crown funds from Government funds, then Lucas listed the Crown's known assets.

He took a moment to consider, then Vlad said "Sire, you spared my life that I may advise you, so I feel bound to give you my thoughts, regardless of how you might receive them." I nodded, so he continued "First, you need to disband both councils. You need to be in control, alone. Any remnant of the old council will suggest to vampires that you are a puppet. You can certainly keep us around to advise, and even represent you to the world, but do not give anyone from the old councils authority to act without your leave."

When he heard this, Mike gave me a slight nod. I could see the wisdom, but I still didn't know how to set things up.

Vlad went on "And, with respect to my former colleagues, it would seem they have not told you everything. I'm sure some their intentions were honorable, but you can't lead if you don't know the facts. They have failed to mention the old council's financial accounts and holdings, along with several... shall we call them `features' of the island."

"They mentioned the accounts, but that is tax money that needs to be spent on helping the packs around the world as they establish schools and social services."

"Sire, from the first days of the council, we knew you were coming. The council, for over a thousand years, consistently diverted a percentage of the incomes to a fund for the crown. That fund paid for this castle, the staff here, as well as that jet Yuan presented to you. These expenses didn't make a dent in the interest on the fund that has been set aside. I haven't checked the books in thirty years, but the last I looked, there was just over $2 Trillion in investments. In addition, deep under your feet, the Royal Vaults held $5B in various currencies, 4000 metric tons of gold bullion, and many other secrets."

On hearing this, Lucas dropped his wine glass. I looked at him and said "Lucky that was empty." He blushed as I turned back to Vlad "Would you show me to these vaults?"

"I would walk down with you if I could, Sire. Only two men know the correct pathway. We on the council didn't trust each other, and as such, we vowed to remain ignorant of certain features of this castle. One is the Master Builder Silas Megalos, and the other is a Zurich banker by the name of Mathias Garb, who has acted as council treasurer for the last two centuries."

Before I could turn, Billy was on his phone directing Ted to get a plane to Zurich as Niko rolled towards the door to, I assume, fetch his great-grandfather. I called to him "Niko, remember, Leonard has all his drawings. He should be able to help us."

Niko nodded, then texted Leonard to join us. While we waited, Billy, Joshua, and I stepped into Joshua's office to discuss who we would trust with the location of these vaults. Did I want to keep them as closely hidden as the Council had? Or did I need to trust my group of advisors? Joshua was leaning towards trusting, while Billy felt we needed to be as guarded as ever, and only include those with a need to know. I made my decision, and we rejoined the group.

I looked at Vlad and said "To be clear, the contents of these vaults, as well as these accounts, were set aside for the Crown, not the vampires of the world?"

"There are Crown accounts and vaults, and there are Government accounts and vaults, Sire. I believe the Government accounts should have roughly $10 Trillion in investments, and another Trillion in cash, and, at roughly 10,000 tons of gold."

Lucas let out a whistle, then looked at David as he said "Together, that's almost twice the gold holdings of the US!"

David shook his head as he said "And, that's 13% of the world stock market, held by the Crown and the Nation of Dracul. Considering the wealth of the former princes, and many Super Alphas around the world, I would bet vampires own over half of all stocks and bonds."

Andrew knocked, and announced Leonard. He no sooner got through the door when I asked "Have you studied the drawings and blueprints Master Megalos shared with you?" When he nodded, I continued "And can you lead us to the vaults?"

Leonard nodded as he said "Master Megalos made a point of showing me their location, as well as swearing me to secrecy, Sire. He gave me an idea of what is down there, and as such, I would prefer to only show you."

"I appreciate your concerns, Leonard. I plan to bring Joshua, David, and Lucas with me. That will mean there will be 7 vampires alive, including myself, who know how to get to the vaults." I thought for a moment, then turned to Lucas "If you prefer, I will excuse you from this. Many would kill for access to so much money. You will be putting your life at risk knowing how to get in. In fact, everyone in this room has put their life at risk, just knowing the vaults exist."

Vlad said "His Majesty is correct. Those of us in this room, as well as those dukes who served in the past, are aware of parts of what is under this castle, and as such, are at risk of some misguided individual attempting to gain access through us."

Lucas stood, looking insulted as he said "The day you took me hunting, I swore my life to your service, Sire. As the Royal Treasurer, it falls to me to care for the treasures of the Crown. With respect, I am offended that you would consider excusing me from my sworn duty."

I nodded at him, then turned to Billy and said "And are you offended that I excluded you?"

Billy shook his head as he said "I have no need to know, Sire. Your Crown Prince does, I do not."

I told Mike he was dismissed, saying that I might need him after lunch. Billy and Niko headed to Billy's office as Vlad asked if he could have a private word. I listened to what he had to say. It took an hour for me to comprehend everything he had told me, and when he was finished, my head was spinning. I told him we would speak again this afternoon, but to keep this to himself, then Joshua, David, Lucas, Leonard, and I headed for the vaults.