Her thods also created political noise. She raided a concubine’s palace—sothing that wasn’t "proper," even if she had authority as a royal seat holder. Elara did it anyway because she believed the concubine had done sothing wrong, and she didn’t want palace rules to protect soone who was actively rotting the system from inside. That one move told everyone two things at once: she wasn’t scared of noble won with titles, and she wasn’t going to let "tradition" stop her from enforcing control.
Inside her own palace, she rebuilt like a CEO fixing a corrupted company. She treated missing staff as fraud, ordered her beast knights into teams, pulled back "ghost" employees who were being paid by palace but serving outside god kmows where , and started interrogations to find who authorized the theft
Week One: The Hiring Nightmare
Elara sat across from her twenty-third interview candidate of the day. A middle-aged man with impeccable credentials—forr treasury clerk, twelve years experience, references from three noble families.
"Your resu indicates expertise in tax collection administration," Elara said, reviewing his docunts. "Explain your approach to preventing revenue leakage in provincial collection systems."
The man smiled confidently. "Your Highness, the key is establishing trust with local administrators. Building relationships. Ensuring they feel valued and—"
"Incorrect." Elara set down the papers. "The key is independent auditing, randomized inspection schedules, and consequence enforcent for discrepancies. Relationships are irrelevant to accurate accounting."
The man’s smile faltered. "Well, yes, of course, but in practice—"
"In practice, the ’relationship building’ approach you describe enabled the exact corruption I’m eliminating. Previous administrators who prioritized personal connections over systematic verification created the forty million gold deficit I’m currently resolving." Elara’s voice stayed flat. "You’re not hired. Next candidate."
"But Your Highness, I have extensive experience—"
"Experience in the failed system I’m replacing. That’s disqualifying, not beneficial." She gestured toward the door. "Thank you for your ti."
The man left, clearly offended.
Petra, sitting in the corner and observing, sighed. "That’s the eighteenth person you’ve rejected today. At this rate, you’ll never fill the positions."
"I’ll fill them with competent people, not convenient ones. Quality over speed." Elara made notes on the candidate evaluation form. "Hiring corrupt or incompetent staff because I’m desperate for personnel defeats the entire purpose of administrative reform."
"But you need people *now*. The governnt is barely functioning!"
"Barely functioning with competent skeleton crew is superior to fully staffed with incompetent personnel who actively cause harm." Elara pulled the next candidate file. "Besides, I’ve already hired forty-seven people over the past six days. Productivity is acceptable."
"Forty-seven people to replace three hundred!"
"Forty-seven *competent* people accomplish more than three hundred incompetent ones. That’s basic efficiency mathematics."
The next candidate entered—a young woman, maybe twenty-five, with nervous energy and a portfolio of academic recomndations.
"Mira Chen," Elara read from her file. "Top of your class at the Imperial Academy. Specialized in administrative law and fiscal policy. No prior governnt experience."
"That’s correct, Your Highness." Mira’s voice was steady despite obvious nerves. "I graduated two years ago but couldn’t secure governnt position because I lack noble family connections."
"Good. Noble family connections are currently a liability in my assessnt." Elara reviewed her academic transcripts. "Your thesis proposed restructuring provincial tax collection to reduce corruption. Summarize your main argunt."
Mira took a breath. "The current system relies on appointed noble administrators who have personal financial interest in underreporting revenue. My proposal separated collection from reporting—independent auditors verify all collected amounts before noble administrators can access or distribute funds. Creates built-in accountability."
"Correct analysis. Implentation challenges?"
"Noble families would resist losing direct control over funds. Would require imperial authority to override traditional provincial autonomy. High political cost."
"Acceptable political cost given improved revenue accuracy. What’s your projected tiline for full implentation?"
"Eighteen to twenty-four months for comprehensive rollout, assuming adequate enforcent resources and—"
"You’re hired." Elara made a notation. "Starting position: Deputy Director of Revenue Verification. Salary: three thousand gold annually. Report to main treasury office tomorrow morning at dawn. You’ll be implenting your thesis proposal under my direct authorization."
Mira’s eyes went wide. "I—really? Just like that?"
"You demonstrated competent analysis, practical understanding of systemic problems, and realistic implentation planning. That’s exactly what I need. Why would I not hire you?" Elara handed her an official appointnt letter she’d already prepared. "Unless you’re declining the position?"
"No! No, I accept! Thank you, Your Highness!" Mira clutched the letter like it might disappear.
"Good. Next candidate can enter on your way out."
After Mira left, practically floating, Petra said quietly, "You gave her a massive amount of responsibility for soone with no experience."
"She has theoretical knowledge and analytical capability. Experience in the broken system would be detrintal. I’d rather train competent people in correct thods than retrain experienced people out of corrupt habits." Elara pulled the next file. "This is optimal hiring strategy given available candidate pool."
The interviews continued. By the end of week one, Elara had:
- Hired: 63 new administrators (mostly young academics with strong theoretical knowledge but no governnt experience)
- Rejected: 287 candidates (various reasons: corruption history, incompetence, noble family conflicts of interest)
- Still needed: Approximately 180 more positions to reach minimum operational capacity
Progress was slower than optimal. But quality was maintained.
---
## Week Two: The First Real Assassination Attempt
Elara was walking from the treasury building to the main palace when it happened.
She’d just finished a fourteen-hour day reviewing financial records and conducting more interviews. Exhausted but functional. Four beast knights accompanied her—standard security protocol.
The arrow ca from a rooftop. Silent. Aid at her throat.
One of the beast knights—a wolf-eared woman nad Kira—tackled Elara to the ground half a second before the arrow would have hit. The projectile embedded itself in the stone wall behind where Elara’s head had been.
"Ambush!" Kira shouted. "Formation defensive!"
The four knights imdiately surrounded Elara, shields raised. Two more arrows ca from different angles—both blocked by shields.
"Rooftop, northwest," one knight reported. "Multiple positions."
Elara’s mind shifted instantly from exhausted administrator to tactical analysis. "Crossfire setup. Professional coordination. Extract route?"
"East corridor, twenty ters. Can reach before reload window closes."
"Execute."
The knights moved as one unit—two in front, two behind, Elara in the center. They ran, shields still raised, boots pounding stone.
Another arrow—this one hit Kira’s shield, the impact strong enough to crack the wood. Poison-tipped, Elara noted. The green liquid dripping from the arrowhead confird it.
They reached the corridor. Relative safety. The narrow space prevented crossfire angles.
"Casualties?" Elara asked.
"None, Your Highness. Kira’s shield damaged but functional."
"Assassin identification?"
"Unknown. Professional technique. Coordinated timing." The lead knight—a fox-eared man nad Tomas—scanned the corridor. "This was planned. They knew your route."
"Information leak in security protocol. We’ll address that after imdiate threat resolution." Elara’s voice was steady despite her heart hamring. "Return to palace via secondary route. Alert all guard stations. Lockdown protocol until assassins located."
They moved quickly through servant corridors and back passages, arriving at Elara’s chambers without further incident.
Once inside, secured, Elara finally allowed herself to acknowledge the physiological stress response. Elevated heart rate. Mild trembling in hands. Adrenaline crash beginning.
"Your Highness, are you injured?" Kira asked, still alert despite having saved Elara’s life monts ago.
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