Ulysses Renoux
D U K E
H O U S E • R E N O U X
Wearing: xxx
Tag:
Ariellyn Renoux
Clean, neat, orderly, and tidy, were words which often described the state of Ulysses’s office. Today they did not. Since the peace covenant was enacted, the Duke had been in a fury to open his trade routes faster than the other houses. Of course that meant repealing a lot of the bureaucratic obstacles that had been put in place by centuries of edicts to ensure House Amnen and House Draco would never benefit from any such provision. A free trade agreement between their houses was a grand gesture in theory, and a monumental task to achieve in reality.
He needed fresh eyes on everything. It was why he invited his daughter, Ari, to meet him for tea. Naturally the tea was brought to his office where he would not leave until the solution presented itself. He was a strategic thinker, as many of his house were, but that was to his detriment in this case. His predecessors had foreseen such an attempt for peace, and had made their economy too dependent on the tariffs made from the goods of sales imported. It was a tax they did not pass onto their people, but he feared they would have to unless a better way presented itself.
Ariellyn would see a way, or at least be able to offer some insight. Where Rexanne was content with learning how to kill, Ariellyn enjoyed advising on matters of government. Ulysses tried his best to not show a favoritism to her inclinations, but it did increase her chances of survival. He hoped she would at least be amiable to an arranged marriage should the need arise to explore the option.
“Come… we have a lot of work to get done.”
The Duke always seemed to have a lot of work to do. His children had often experienced his absenteeism. Despite the fact he was more than present in the house, he seemed to live in office and council chambers. The war room was not as busy as it had been in past weeks, but it remained active enough in monitoring the movements of the other houses.
So far everyone was cooperating.
“I need your advice on how we can untangle this web of impossible blockades around removing our import tariffs and still keeping our economy alive and well.”
There were options Ulysses had considered, but he was unwilling to embrace them as of yet. Perhaps he just wanted to hear some of them from his daughter.
“While you’re at it, I want you to tell me how long you think we can keep the peace. Realistically. Your sister does not have much hope that it will be enjoyed for a long time to come.”
