By mid-day, a disgruntled crowd had gathered outside the palace, awaiting to be addressed by the Emperor. Honest waited behind the gigantic doors of the palace, reviewing the speech written for him by Tobias.

"This is utter dogshit!" Honest blurted out as he wafted the speech in Tobias's face "The public won't believe a word of this!"

"You told me to write a speech in twenty minutes." Tobias replied in a disgruntled but deadpan tone "Did you expect it to be any good."

"That's what you get paid for, you bloody idiot. You're supposed to make me look good!" Honest yelled as he kicked the pillar next to him. Simultaneously, a worn-out Bella ran down the hallway.

"Ah, Bella, did you manage to locate His Majesty!" Honest replied, his demeanour changed from angry to slightly more hopeful. After all, the public would be more likely eat up a shitty speech if it was given by their sovereign.

"I-I'm sorry!" Bella wailed, breaking down on the floor. "His majesty is currently in a m-meeting with the F-Frankian ambassadors. H-he won't be done until late this afternoon."

"Damn it" Honest screamed as he violently pulled his long white hair "This is all going to shit."

"I-it's my fault, I'm sorry" Bella continued wailing, her round glasses fogging up from her teary eyes; "I-if I was any faster, I could have a-acquired him before his meeting began!"

"No, no, no!" said Honest, putting on a calm demeanour as he knelt down and attempted to comfort Bella "If His Majesty is busy then it just means he had a packed schedule, there was nothing you could do about it."

"Ugh" Tobias uttered as he rolled his eyes, if he had failed to locate Emperor, Honest would have attempted to sack him, or even worse execute him. The only reason he was comforting Bella was that he wanted to sleep with her.

"Look" Honest continued to speak as he stood up "If His Majesty can't do the speech, I guess I'll have to do one in his place!"

"What!" Tobias and Bella both shouted in surprise.

"What's the worst that could happen!" Honest boomed foolhardily, "If I give a short speech about the glory of the empire, I can't do too much damage myself!"

"Prime Minister" Tobias replied as he stormed over to Honest, "You are already on Malcolm shitlist, if you give this speech, you might not have a job by the end of the day!"

"There is no time for debate!" Honest declared as he stomped towards the doors "Desperate times call for decisive action! I shall not be limited by the threats of a mear advisor, now let me through." The doors were opened before Honest, before closing almost immediately after him with a loud creak.

"Is he really that foolish" Bella sighed as her demeanour immediately changed.

"I believe so, Crocodile tears" Tobias sternly replied, "He seems to not know the meaning of the word consequences."

"Well I think he shall soon learn it," Bella lightly chuckled as she cleaned her round glasses.

"We shall see" Tobias declared as he proceeded to walk into the Palace hallways, towards the meeting room.

…

"Get me in, get me in!" Honest bellowed as he was frantically escorted into the palace by his guards, covering him from the many assortments of items that were being hurled in his direction. Bella just watched in confusion; she had been waiting in the same place since Honest had begun the speech, two minutes earlier.

"P-prime Minister" Bella nervously spoke up "W-what happened out there?"

"Ah Bella" Honest attempted to gain some composure and put on fake smile "-it seems the people didn't take too kindly to my speech, and small riot may have started." Honest then procced to walk over to Bella, looming over her. "Now, whatever happens, do not inform Malcolm about this speech."

"Well, uh" Bella nervously clasped her hands together and put on an awkward smile "I think he's already been informed."

"What!" Honest bellowed, a cold sweat broke out all over his face.

"Tobias left after you b-began your speech." Bella stuttered quickly, "The only reason I could think was to inform Malcolm". Honest stumbled backwards before putting his left arm on his forehead, his eyes appeared lifeless. He knew, he'd messed up really bad, too many things were happening for him to process.

"Oh my god" He whimpered "I'm fucked".

…

Honest waited outside of the throne room doors with bated breath, he knew that once they opened, he would have to answer to the Emperor and more worryingly, Malcolm.

"Damn him, damn Malcolm" Honest angrily muttered his own thoughts under his breath; "if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't feel so weak." Honest wondered to himself, how did the Emperor manage to appoint Malcolm, was he finally outgrowing his influence, no, that couldn't be it, he was still a boy, something else must have been at play. At that moment, the door opened and draped in his purple servant robes, walked out Tobias.

"You damn snitch" Honest growled, clenching his teeth.

"I was merely doing my job" Tobias smirked in a monotone voice "His Majesty will see you now, and so will Mr Tucker." Honest scowled but kept his gaze down as he walked past Tobias, into the throne room. As Honest looked up, he saw the young Emperor sitting on the throne with a somewhat concerned look on his face. Standing below him was Malcolm Tucker, who looked furious, like a predator about to strike his victim down. Honest felt a sudden mix of fear, anger, and disgrace.

"Ah!" Malcolm spoke up in a cheery yet noticeably aggressive tone "Here he is, the greatest orator of our time." Honest slowly paced over towards the throne and knelt before the emperor.

"Your Majesty", Honest nervously addressed the boy; "I-"

"I have to say" Malcolm quickly interrupted "I'm half impressed that you managed to get a speech together so quickly, it's a shame it was complete and utter rubbish." Honest was somewhat taken aback by the lack of violent F-bombs from Malcolm; however, he guessed it was to do with them being in the presence of the young Emperor.

"Minister Honest" The Emperor addressed him in a somewhat dishearten manner. "It feels strange to say this, but this is the first time you have ever disappointed me." The Emperor spoke while resting his head on his right palm. "Although it was rather amusing watching Mr Tucker shouting and running out of the peace talks after that advisor told him about your speech."

"Your Majesty, I-" Honest desperately tried to speak up again.

"Oh, it may have been funny for you, Your Majesty" Malcolm chuckled, interrupting Honest once again; "but I've been trying to clean up the prime ministers shi- I mean mess for the entire afternoon, and on that matter, the entire week."

"Your Majesty!" Honest finally managed to get a word in as he quickly stood up; "What I did may have been a mistake, but I was simply working with the best interests of you and the empire in mind!" At that moment, Malcolm leapt into action, charging towards Honest and grabbing him by his shirt.

"Well, maybe you should consult His Majesty, before making idiotic policies in his best interest you stupid fu-!" Malcolm screwed his face and tried to hold in his rant, releasing his grip on a stunned Honest. He moved back, breathed in, and turned towards the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, if I may make a request of you?" Malcolm spoke up, his voice clearly oozing with repressed frustration.

"Yes, Mr Tucker, you may" the Emperor replied, copying Honest's voice a little.

"I'm going to have to be incredibly rude here, but I'll have to ask you to leave the throne room for the time being?" Honest was completely taken back by this statement, this man had the nerve to order the emperor to leave the room.

"Are you sure, Mr Tucker?" the Emperor responded gleefully, "I'm rather enjoying this conversation, I feel like an actual politician for once."

"You see, Your Majesty" Malcolm continued in a slow, explanatory manner; "In order for me to show the Prime Minister how … disappointed I am in him, I might have to use some rather explicit, vulgar, and maybe even violent language, which I really think you shouldn't be learning for a good few years."

"Well, if you say so," The Emperor sighed before leaping out of the throne, suddenly lighting up again "I will leave the throne room and go converse with General Buldo about the peace talks while you two discuss the grain." The Emperor then skipped down from the throne and paced towards the doors, leaving Honest at Malcolm's mercy.

"Malcolm, let me explain-" Honest began to almost beg to his captor, repeating his hollow, practiced lines, however a frustrated Malcolm angrily responded.

"No"

"Malcolm this war-"

"Shut it"

"This war is imperative to-"

"Shut it!"

"It's imperative to the suriv-"

"I said shut it!"

"It is imperative to the survival- Will you shut up and listen to me!" Honest finally lost it, lashing out at Malcolm.

"No! "Malcolm screamed loudly into a rage, violently poking his finger into Honest's chest "You shut the fuck up and listen to me you stupid fucking cunt!" Honest was winded into a silence as the echo of Malcolm's shout faded into the throne room halls.

"God, you are so fucking mindless!" Malcolm continued to rant, moving back from Honest "All you've done this week is fuck up, over and over again, and I have had to clean up your fucking mess, every single fucking day!" Honest breathed in an attempt to calm down, clearly trying not to get more frustrated than he already was.

"Malcolm" Honest responded in an annoyed but now somewhat calmer voice "What is your problem with me? Yes, I may have messed up, but all my actions were done with the survival of the Empire in mind!"

"Are you fucking serious!" Malcolm exasperated "You want to know what my fucking problem with you is? Well let's start with your ideas, they're fucking stupid. I mean taking the fucking grain supply away from the people in the middle of a depression and a war, only a fucking genius could come up with an idea like that." Honest grew visibly more frustrated by Malcolm's sarcastic and visceral rant.

"This empire has survived for thousands of years, I'm merely prioritizing its survival for the good of its people and the emperor." Honest repeated his previous line, gritting his teeth together violently as he spoke.

"Wow" Malcolm retorted "It's no wonder you are such a fucking idiot, you just keep parroting the words of your fucking predecessors. But now that they've been repeated for centuries upon end, they sound so fucking hollow. I mean who gives a single fucking about the survival of the empire when their fucking baby is starving.

"Malcolm" Honest angrily responded "Sometimes the people need to make sacrifices for their nation to survive. They may starve now, but in a few years' time they will be feasting plenty."

"Feasting plenty?" Malcolm shot Honest's own words back at him; "I guess all that fucking fat from all the meat you've been 'feasting plenty' on has run out of room in your fucking belly and moved its way up, all the way to your fucking brain, because it's clearly impairing your fucking thinking skills!" Honest jaw dropped in pure shock as he stumbled back at Malcolm remarks.

"My weight has no impairment on my ability to run the government Mr Tucker!" A bewildered Honest desperately attempted to counter Malcolm's disparage, but it was no use.

"Well, it sure seems like it fucking does!" Malcolm continued ranting, raising his finger into Honest's face "Which brings me to my next point, that speech was utter dogshit. I have shat violent diarrheas that can write better fucking speeches than that absolute shambles you spat out."

"I originally had a speech for His Majesty to read out" Honest objected desperately. "If you hadn't kept him locked in those peace talks, I wouldn't have had to come up with one on the spot!"

"Well fuck me silly!" Malcolm boomed, "Instead of the public fucking hating you, more than they already do, and yes they fucking despise you, they will just hate His Majesty instead, which would solve all our fucking problems wouldn't it?"

"No, I-" Honest tried to retort, but Malcolm quickly put him down.

"No matter how you fucking look at it" Malcolm responded decisively; "you are practically giving fucking fire to the flam that is the fucking Revolutionary Army every time you speak, and if you made His Majesty give that speech, you would have burnt down the whole fucking forest." Honest, wanted to fight back, but for some reason, his face was frozen, Malcolm had hit the spot.

"You know" Malcolm continued to rant "You can bellow about the good of the empire and declare that it has lasted a thousand fucking years, but it still won't change the fact that its people are poor. They're unemployed, they're starving, and they view you as the root of it all. It's no fucking wonder that the Revolutionary Army has so much fucking support right now! So, before you go and start a fucking war, or take away the fucking grain supply, or try to jerk yourself off while pretending you are giving a speech to calm them down, they are imagining themselves ripping you to fucking pieces, and impaling your head on a fucking spike!" Honest felt a lump in his throat, he knew he couldn't retort Malcolm. At last, he gave in and stopped fighting back, a look of despair was plastered on his face, he was beaten, by a mere advisor.

"What do you expect me to do!" Honest replied in a voice that reeked of both submission and resentment."

"Here's what you're going to fucking do" Malcolm angrily ordered; "From now on, you aren't going to do a single fucking thing without consulting me about it first, nothing at all. I don't care what it is, a new policy, a trade agreement, or even if you wanna go to the toilet for a fucking wank, you consult me about it first." Malcolm then pulled a feather quill from out of the pocket of his robes. However, this was not just any feather, it was an Imperial quill from a Danger eagle.

"Next" Malcolm continued; "You are going to come over to the fucking meeting hall with me, then you are going to meet with the Frankian ambassadors, and then, you're going to sign the fucking peace treaty with them, and you'll end this war. Then, maybe we can finally get back on track to fixing this rusting corpse of a nation. At least, until his majesty gets to an age where he can run things without you constantly fucking up behind his back. Now, you have a fucking treaty to sign, and I haven't got all fucking day."

…

Honest stood at the end of the table in the meeting hall, the Frankian Ambassadors were sat on one side, while the Emperor, General Buldo, and other important officials sat along the other. Tobias and Bella stood in the corner of the room, the former looking smug while the latter looked somewhat guilty. The evening light streamed in through the windows to the right, giving the room an ominous feeling. Honest looked at the peace treaty before him, it was humiliating, all that the Empire had gained during the war would be given up, Frankian citizens in the Empire would no longer be oppressed, and the Empire would have to pay war reparations for around 5 years to Frankia. In return, Frankia would supply grain, and its traders would have free reign throughout the empire, in order to help rebuild it after the war. Honest could tell that treaty had Malcolm's handwriting all over it. He then felt the horrid sensation of warm breath down the back of his neck.

"What are you waiting for" Malcolm spoke quietly and aggressively; "Sign the treaty!" Honest, who was now biting his lip, lifted the quill over the paper, all he would have to was sign it, but it was too difficult for him. "Damn you, Malcolm" Honest thought, he desperately wanted to order this man dead, to have him hung drawn and quartered, and his head preserved in pickle next to his bed. He would then tear up this foolish treaty, and have Frankia absorbed into the Empire. Nevertheless, Honest was beaten, and this mere ambassador had out-maneuvered him, backing him into a corner. Suddenly, Honest had an idea, he would attack Malcolm here and now, calling him out on his bullshit, he'd then tear up this treaty. Yes, he could feel it, the words were about to come out. Honest braced himself, he wasn't going to fall to this ambassador now, he was going to fight back, he was going to take back control. Then he made his declaration.

"Nooo" Honest whimpered in a shrieking, high pitched tone, like a dog who had been punished. He looked around, everyone saw him do it. The Emperor giggled, Buldo smugly smirked, the Frankian's shook their heads with disapproval, Tobias kept smiling, and Bella had to cover her mouth to stop herself from either laughing or crying. Honest had never felt so embarrassed in his entire life.

"Well, I don't see how acting like a whimpering dog will help you sign the treaty" Malcolm commented snarkily; "Now get on with it." Honest had no options left, and he quickly signed the treaty. It felt like he was signing his own death warrant. Honest knew, at this moment, that he no longer was the most powerful person in this room, no, this empire. He was now only a mere puppet to this new advisor, unable to make his own laws or decisions without risk of losing whatever influence he had left. As of that time, Honest's era had come to an end.

…

The news of the war ending was quickly sent around the empire. It was a time of both celebration and sadness for the public. Many soldiers returned home, and the people where finally going to be supplied with even more food than before the war started. However, unemployment was still rife, and there was still animosity and dissent among the public, especially towards minister Honest, who still seemingly held onto power. Many were confused about why Honest would have reversed his decision on the war, since he was so supportive of it in the first place. Some hoped that he was on his way out, while other still thought that the Revolutionary Army should remove him. However, there was one person who did not support the ending of the war, the one who started it, and unlike Honest, she would not bow down to anyone, and certainly not a mere advisor.