The Dragon King's Heart

"So this is what we're left with?" Laina looked up at Finance Minister Nitser then back at the document he had handed her. 

He took out his handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the sweat off his brow as he replied, "Yes… yes your highness."

Margaret peeked at the numbers. They were not good. Not to mention, Kinshearth still owed money to several of their trading partners. They even borrowed money from the Galatix Bank, not to mention the high-interest rates that were not paid off. 

Laina put down the document and rubbed her temples, "So including the debts we owe for various expenses, we are deep in debt?"

Nitser gulped, "Yes, your highness. I… I have told the Royal Chancellor Lucinda, Grand General Tobias, multiple times…"

She raised her hand and stopped the Finance Minister from speaking. Her head was spinning from all these numbers, it felt as if she had a splitting headache. Looking over to the side, she could see the liquor cabinet. 

-Maybe a drink would calm my nerves.- Laina thought to herself. 

Alcohol would only dull her senses. 

"Margaret."

"Yes, your highness."

"Get me a fresh pot of earl grey tea with a touch of lavender," she ordered. 

Margaret bowed politely, "Right away. Would you like me to reschedule your dinner with Lord and Lady Nesling?"

Laina had forgotten about the dinner she was to have with the Kinshearth nobility. Right now, she had bigger problems to deal with. The dinner would just have to wait. 

"Yes please," she replied Margaret before looking back at the document she had before her. 

Kinshearth had two main exports, gemstones and agriculture. Since they are often sold in bulk, the profit from both exports has not been very high. Laina needed to find a way to increase the profit margins, as that would be the quickest way for them to get the most gains in a short period of time. 

Looking through the documents, she realized the mining of gemstones and geodes in Kinshearth was far more advanced compared to other nations. Furthermore, they had a rare secret technique they used for growing crystals and gemstones. 

While Laina was still deep in thought, Margaret returned with a silver tray in her hands. The pot of tea the crown princess had requested was here. Margaret quickly poured her a cup. Just as she was about to drink it, there was another knock on the door. 

A voice from the other side spoke up, "Your highness, there's a delivery for you. It's from the Dracona Kingdom."

Laina nearly spat out the tea in her mouth. She entered a coughing fit upon hearing where it was from. Margaret quickly pats Laina on the back as she tried to regain her composure. 

"A… a delivery from Dracona? Send the messenger in, Margaret."

The handmaiden did as she was told. She opened the door of the Royal Office and allowed the messenger to enter. Upon meeting the princess, the messenger immediately got onto his knees, keeping his eyes on the ground until Laina gave the order for him to stand. 

The messenger handed Laina a letter. On the envelope, there was a royal wax seal. This was only used by the members of the royal family in Dracona. This letter came directly from King Dante himself. 

Laina quickly opened the letter and read its contents. Upon finishing the letter, she put the letter down on the table and asked the messenger. 

"Where are the items?" 

"They are currently being moved to your personal vault, your highness," the messenger replied. 

"Personal vault?" Laina paused in thought. 

She never knew she had a personal vault. Laina decided to go and take a look herself. How could she have not known she had a vault of her own. Before she left her office, she dismissed Nitser for the day. 

"Have a good evening, Minister Nitser. We will continue our discussion tomorrow," she said to him before leaving with Margaret following closely behind. 

As they walked along the corridor, Laina could not help but ask, "Margaret, since when did I have a personal vault?" 

Margaret hid her laughter before she replied to the princess, "Every member of the royal family has their personal vault, your highness. Since your parents passed on, the entire Royal family's wealth has been combined and stored together in one central vault."

She went on to explain that when there was not enough space in the central vault, then the remainder will be moved to the smaller vaults. Laina could not believe her ears. 

"So we… I have more than one?!" she exclaimed in shock. 

"Of course, your highness." the handmaiden replied without skipping a beat, "As of the last record, you have one central vault that was originally three separate vaults combined into one. Then you have three other personal smaller vaults."

Just as their conversation came to an end, they arrived at one of Laina's personal vaults, where workers were hard at work moving the items that had just arrived into it. Upon seeing the crown princess, everyone stopped working immediately and got on their knees as they greeted her. 

"All may rise. Please, continue your work, don't mind me," Laina said as she walked up to the entrance of the vault. 

The entrance into the vault was over three meters in height and 2 meters in width. A normal human would not have been able to open the door on their own, hence the door is locked and guarded by three rotating shifts of specially trained mages. 

Looking in, everywhere is piled with precious metals of every kind, jewelry, antiques, and many more. Laina could not believe her eyes. She turned to look at Margaret and whispered to her. 

"All of this belongs to me?" she asked in disbelief. 

Margaret leaned in and whispered back, "Yes, princess."

"How much is all of this worth…" Laina muttered to herself in shock as she walked in to take a closer look. 

There was no organization, everything was strewn everywhere. But, for the items that had just been brought in, there was a clear distinction. All of the items that had been sent from Dracona were piled neatly in a corner near the entrance of the vault. 

Laina walked over to look at the items that had been sent. She carefully picked up a bar of gold. With one look, she knew this was no normal gold. The shine on the metal was brighter than any other gold bar she had seen. Not to mention, heavier too. 

"This… this is Heaven's Gold…" 

A bar of Heaven's Gold was equivalent to the value of 1,000 regular pure gold bars! 

Laina took out the letter that had been sent together with the items. In it, was a ledger that accounted for every item that had been sent. She read each item carefully, pausing at the amount of Heaven's Gold that was delivered. 

9,999 bars. 

The Crown Princess remembered the amount of debt the crown of Kinshearth owed to various debtors. The gift from Dracona would cover all of it with more to spare. Margaret looked on with delight. 

"Your Highness, with this you would not have to worry about money anymore!" she exclaimed with delight. 

"I am not accepting these," Laina muttered to herself. 

She looked up at Margaret, repeating her own words, "We are not accepting these."

The handmaiden was baffled. She knew the gift was from King Dante, which was less than ideal but it could save the crown from debt. Why does Laina want to reject this gift? Before she could even ask why Laina had already ordered the servants to remove the items from the vault. 

"I want everything to be accounted for based on this ledger. Not a single item missing.. We are returning these to Dracona at once," Laina instructed.