THIRTY FIVE: The Seven Princes pt 3

Esther gulped and slowly looked up.

"I did not realize you were here, My Lord," she offered as a late greeting.

"I only just arrived," the gray-eyed man replied. "You were so engrossed in your reading that you did not notice me."

"Ah.." Esther glanced embarrassedly at the book that had fallen to the ground.

The man followed her gaze and stepped toward her, stooping to retrieve it.

By the time she realized his intention, Esther had already hastily taken too large a step back, bumping clumsily into the chair she had been sitting in previously.

Clearing his throat awkwardly at her overreaction, the man quickly placed the book on the table and stepped back once again.

"You still have not told me your thoughts on the tax redistribution," he prodded.

"Oh.. I think.."

Esther paused, carefully considering his request. After several moments of thinking, she finally had a response for him.

"I believe a suitable method would be to forgo household taxes entirely," she explained, earning her an eyebrow raise from the man.

"I mean to add a tax on monetary exchanges instead," she hurriedly added.

"Hmm.." the man nodded thoughtfully. "Go on."

"By using that system, taxes would be collected proportionally based on wealth. Those who have money and buy much will pay more than those who have no money and buy little."

Esther was now deeply absorbed in her idea. She hardly remembered to listen for the man's response as she considered further details of her proposed solution.

"It is an interesting idea," the man spoke up, shaking her from her thoughts, "but how would those taxes be collected? The Empire cannot possibly accommodate having a tax collector present at every single monetary exchange."

"Right," Esther frowned. "Perhaps, taxes could be collected in intervals based on merchants' records of sold goods."

Unexpectedly, the man chuckled at her reply.

"You are mistaken in thinking the rest of the world is as truthful as you are," he shook his head. "Such a system would require meticulous records and honesty: two things this Empire is not in good supply of."

"Oh, I see," Esther sighed.

The man had made a good point, though his wording was a bit indelicate.

"That is not to say that your proposal is not innovative," the man added, seeing her dejected expression. "Perhaps in a different time, and among a different people."

"A different people.." Esther echoed.

Her perspective had been flawed from the beginning because of her upbringing among honest and frugal people. Though she had learned much about the ways of ordinary Persian citizens over the last few months, her view of the world had not shifted much.

"Would you care to hear the solution that was eventually decided upon?" the gray-eyed man asked.

Esther looked again at the record collection left on the table before turning to the man and nodding.

She couldn't deny that she was curious concerning the resolution, but she had already wasted too much time reading the records about it.

"A percentage method was the final agreement, but not for each individual household," the man explained, looking rather engrossed in the topic himself. "Rather, the percentage is to be set per city with Shushan as the base."

"So Shushan will be taxed at a certain rate but a richer city may be taxed at one and a half times that rate while a poorer city may be taxed at only two thirds of it?" Esther clarified.

"Exactly," the man smiled.

"But what of the outlying clans?" Esther questioned. "How will that issue be solved?"

"They will simply be taxed at the middle-ring rate of the city they are closest to," the man explained. "That part of the solution was thought of by one of the Princes, actually."

Esther froze.

The perfect time to ask a question about the man's origins had arrived.

Though she was still curious about which Prince had come up with the idea, she could read about it later on.

"You speak as if you are not one of the Princes, My Lord," she declared, her stomach immediately beginning to churn with apprehension.

"Because I am not."

To Esther's surprise, the man laughed at her boldness.

"Are you curious about me, then?" he smiled.

"I.. know not how I should address you, My Lord," Esther remarked, still trying her best to fish for information despite the burning of her cheeks.

"As you have been addressing me is fine," the man answered, once again foiling Esther's attempt.

The only thing she had actually gleaned from the man so far is that he supposedly was not one of the seven Princes. But as she thought on their conversation earlier regarding the short supply of honesty in the Empire, that statement could have been a lie.

"Prince Memucan."

"Pardon?" Esther jolted as the man suddenly spoke up again.

"The Prince who came up with that solution," the gray-eyed man detailed, answering his own earlier question. "He is an intelligent man but rather shrewd."

A bitter look flashed across his face as he described the Prince.

Prince Memucan.

Esther now had two men that she knew out of the seven. Prince Teresh who was bombastic and impolite, and now Prince Memucan who was, apparently, intelligent but shrewd.

And, still, there was the mysterious man in front of her, who refused to give any clues as to his identity, but seemed to know much of the King's Court and harbor strong negative feelings for a particular Prince.

"Now it is your turn," the gray-eyed man's expression suddenly turned serious. "What interest do you have in the records of the Golden Hall, and what is your position in the House of Women?"

She had already thought of a response in case she was questioned about the records of the Golden Hall, but the man's second question seemed strange to Esther.

Nearly every person she had crossed paths with since entering the Shushan Palace had known immediately that she was a Queen Candidate. Perhaps his ignorance toward her could be seen as a clue to his identity, after all.

"I am a Queen Candidate, My Lord," Esther announced.

"And I only wish to learn more of the palace outside the walls of the House of Women."