"How's your mother?" Erich asked as Adam entered his study. It had been a month since the first prince's surrender. After the entire army swept through the entire northern region, the third prince proclaimed the end of the 'Crown Wars'. He then ordered the temporary dissolution of all armies, making it so only his 150,000 soldiers were recognized troops of the Kingdom. The prince then gathered capable ministers to form his temporary court to help run the kingdom while he sorts out his plans.

Having the armies dissolved, Adam returned back to JosefVille to await the orders from their superiors. "Well, she's calmed down a bit. You should be able to hold a conversation with her tomorrow. Seeing you with only one leg shocked the entire village. Adding on to the fact that most of the soldiers who followed us returned in ashes. The entire atmosphere in the village is depressing." Adam could only sigh.

"Well, that bastard Jason still has a bright career in the future, I couldn't have him die yet. I plan on retiring and living my days out with your mother and aunts. Though only the small children have the courage to come near me."

"Well, you did spoil them. Don't worry about the House, for now. Hunter will have you covered. Ted was able to gain experience with the northwestern army too after the prince's summons to gather that 500,000 strong armies. You should rest too. I'll handle things here for now." Adam assured his father before going to his bedroom to also rest.

....

The next few days, Adam had temporarily taken charge of the affairs of the village, such as pensions for the families of the soldiers, salaries for the past few months of work, reorganization of the properties in the village, distribution of farmland for next year, etc. Luckily, Erich's aids had acknowledged Adam's abilities and helped him sort through most of the work.

After a week, Adam's subordinates, aside from Seth who was given a break, gathered after they summarised their reports. During the past few months, Adam had his companies divert all their resources into helping the people wither through the war. They made zero income and even used up most of their reserves. With the reformations coming up, Adam had his companies hide all their blueprints and manuals. He didn't want to be bitten by some upcoming senatorial wannabee.

When Adam found out about the results of the Wolfgang Mercenaries, he was relieved to hear that they were assigned under Ted's command when they were drafted into the northwestern army. Adam then had his subordinates halt all operations and go on breaks with their savings.

After meeting his subordinates, Adam was surprised to find both Harold Smith and Iris Pol who followed his subordinates. After hearing their stories, Adam could only try to console them. Harold's father was killed in an alley in the noble district of the capital during the initial chaos. Harold then gathered the most loyal men, and money they had left and fled to Iceguard City where Harold met Simon and learnt of Adam's company. Harold then decided to temporarily find shelter under Simon until the war ended before renewing his life.

Iris had it worse. When the capital finally surrendered after the first prince's capture, the nobles in the dungeons have already been tortured to death by the soldiers. Marquis Pol was among the first to die as he had the strongest willpower among them. Iris was sobbing while she recalled what she had seen. As for her brothers, they had been deemed as traitors and been sentenced to death because they conspired to have their father killed. This was an act that could not be tolerated by the third prince. Essentially, only Iris was left of the Pol line. She needed a backer and had settled on temporarily making Adam her patron until she finds the strength to carry on. Adam's womanizing instinct suddenly flared up, so he decided to be her patron for now.

....

In the capital, the third prince was presenting his proposals to his court so they could integrate his plans into the Kingdom. He wanted to finalize the details before his coronation when he feels it's time. Some of his proposals were as follows:

"As part of the pact agreed upon by the son-in-law of the Nucia Emperor and the Emperor, the Snow Kingdom shall enter a protectorate status under the Nucia Empire. The Snow Kingdom will be obliged to send protection taxes to the Empire and send troops to their wars when requested upon. The Kingdom will be abolishing the Feudal System for the Nucia System of Governance. The Kingdom shall be divided into 9 provinces, which will be ruled by the new Capital City of Riverguard. Each province will be divided into cities which will encompass the neighboring villages and towns, as opposed to the old system of each village being independent. These cities will be under the direct control of the provincial capital cities, while these provincial capital cities will be under the direct control of the court. The court will also centralize all functions of the government under the King. With the abolishment of the feudal society, the migration of free people will be observed within the Kingdom. Taxes will be based on residence, businesses, etc. There will also be four main social classes, namely the nobles, servicemen, freemen, and criminals. The servicemen are those dignified individuals who are not nobles but have contributed greatly to the kingdom."

When these policies were posted all over the kingdom, it created a sensation among the freemen. They were now no longer subject to prisoner-like status. If they had the ability, they could even make a name for themselves.

....

When Adam read the report a month after his return home, he could only sigh as he had expected this much. Since it was stated that the policies were modeled after the Nucia Empire, Adam had an inkling that the Nucia Empire was a Roman-like society. He wanted to find some time to travel to that place. But that could only happen after he settles everything down.

Adam finally received the summon order from Count Symond. All the recognized contributors are being invited to the new capital city of Riverguard City which was mostly filled with tents and open areas at the moment as the city has yet to be rebuilt.