"What's the current status of the Aurelian proposal?" Silas asked, his voice carrying more strength than his body felt.
Duke Aldric leaned forward, his expression eager. "They've given us another week to consider their terms, Your Highness. I still maintain that acceptance is our only viable option. The Dominion offers protection, stability, and... "
"Slavery," Lady Elara interrupted, her voice sharp. "They offer slavery with prettier words. Look at what happened to the Kingdom of Westmarch after they 'accepted protection.' Their nobles were stripped of lands, their people conscripted into imperial armies, their resources drained to fund further conquests."
"At least their people are alive," Duke Aldric shot back. "Which is more than we can say for the kingdoms that chose to resist. The Dominion's legions number in the hundreds of thousands. Our entire military consists of barely five hundred men, most of whom haven't seen real combat in years."
Silas listened to the familiar arguments with growing frustration. These were the same debates that had been going on for months, according to his inherited memories.
The same circular reasoning, the same lack of creative solutions. It was like watching engineers argue about whether to use steel or concrete while ignoring the fact that the foundation itself was flawed.
"What about the other two empires?" Silas asked, interrupting the brewing argument. "The Obsidian Enclave and the Verdant Concord. What are their positions?"
Chancellor Marcus shuffled through a stack of papers. "The Enclave has made no formal overtures, but our spies report increased shadow mage activity along our eastern borders. As for the Concord, they've been expanding their influence through economic pressure rather than military threats. Several of our border villages have reported crop failures that seem... unnatural."
"So we're surrounded," Silas said, more to himself than to the council. "Three empires, each with their own agenda, each waiting for us to show weakness."
"Which is exactly why we should accept the Aurelian offer," Duke Aldric pressed. "At least with them, we know what we're getting. The Dominion values strength and order. If we prove our worth, we might retain some autonomy."
"And if we don't prove our worth?" Lady Elara asked pointedly. "What happens to our people then?"
The question hung in the air like a sword over their heads. Silas found himself studying the faces around the table, seeing the fear and desperation that they tried to hide behind political rhetoric.
These weren't evil people or incompetent leaders, they were simply overwhelmed by circumstances beyond their control.
But Kael Victor had spent his career solving impossible problems. He had designed structures that could withstand earthquakes, bridges that could span seemingly unbridgeable gaps, and buildings that could stand for centuries.
The principles were the same, even if the scale was different. You started with a solid foundation, you identified the key stress points, and you built solutions that could adapt to changing conditions.
"What are our actual resources?" Silas asked, his engineering mind automatically shifting into analysis mode. "Not what we had ten years ago, not what we wish we had, but what we actually have right now."
The question seemed to catch the council off guard. Chancellor Marcus fumbled with his papers again. "Well, the treasury contains approximately eight hundred gold crowns, though that includes funds earmarked for essential services. Our military, as Duke Aldric mentioned, numbers five hundred and twelve active soldiers. Our population has stabilized at around forty-two thousand, though we continue to lose skilled craftsmen to emigration."
"What about natural resources? Infrastructure? Trade relationships?"
"The iron mines in the eastern hills were abandoned three years ago when the Enclave's expansion made them too dangerous to operate," Lady Elara said. "We still have some agricultural output, though yields have been declining. As for trade..." She shrugged. "Most merchants consider our routes too risky now."
Silas nodded, filing away each piece of information. The picture that emerged was grim but not hopeless. Eldoria was like a building with a cracked foundation still standing, but requiring immediate and comprehensive repairs to prevent total collapse.
"I want detailed reports on everything," he said, surprising himself with the decisiveness in his voice. "Population demographics, resource surveys, infrastructure assessments, military capabilities. Everything. And I want them within three days."
Duke Aldric frowned. "Your Highness, with respect, we don't have time for extensive analysis. The Aurelian deadline... "
"Will be met," Silas interrupted. "But not with a decision based on fear and incomplete information. If we're going to choose our kingdom's fate, we're going to do it with full knowledge of our options."
The room fell silent. Silas could see the mixture of hope and skepticism in their faces. He was, after all, the same sickly prince who had spent most of his life confined to his chambers, more concerned with books than with statecraft.
They had no reason to believe he had suddenly developed the wisdom and strength to save their kingdom.
But they also had no other choice.
"Very well," Chancellor Marcus said finally. "We'll prepare the reports you've requested. But Your Highness, I must ask what do you hope to accomplish? Even with complete information, our fundamental situation remains unchanged. We're outnumbered, outgunned, and surrounded."
Silas leaned back in his chair, feeling the weight of exhaustion settling over him again. But beneath the physical weakness, his mind was already racing with possibilities. Structural engineering had taught him that the strongest solutions often came from understanding and working with existing forces rather than trying to oppose them directly.
"Maybe our situation isn't as hopeless as it appears," he said quietly. "Maybe we've been looking at this problem from the wrong angle."
As the council meeting concluded and the members filed out, Silas remained in his chair, staring at the empty seats around the table.
In his previous life, he had dreamed of building something that would last for generations, something that would make a real difference in the world. He had never imagined that dream would take the form of rebuilding an entire kingdom from the ground up.
But as he sat there in the fading candlelight, feeling the weight of a crown he had never asked for, Kael Victor, now Prince Silas Cinder, began to smile. He had been given the ultimate engineering challenge: how to build a kingdom strong enough to stand against empires.
And he had never backed down from a challenge in his life.