Yulien forced a smile, nodding at another noble he met in the corridor but didn’t bother stopping to talk to them. He had left his office and stayed clear of the throne room to avoid them, but the more he tried, they seemed to find him. Everyone wanted something—a favor, a reward, a suggestion, or permission. And money. Everyone wanted money for this and that, and he was running out of excuses for postponing funding and payments.
He couldn’t let them know the Empire was in big financial trouble. He knew it wasn’t his fault; his father had been throwing money left and right and taking loans he couldn’t possibly cover in his lifetime, but Yulien was the Emperor now. A leader could not transfer the blame to someone else just because his subordinates or predecessors didn’t have the brains to
