“But Princess, these are meant to be delivered to the Feather Pavillion tomorrow! It would be a scandal if we were unable to deliver their order on time!”

“That is not my concern.” I replied coldly. “I am leaving for the colonies today. I do not have the time to wait for supplies from elsewhere. Now either step aside, or I will have you removed by force.”

The warehouse manager smartly chose to stand off to the side after that. Even if he continued to wring his hands in worry as workers continued to empty out the insides. I had one soldier keep an eye on him to ensure he didn’t cause trouble before dismissing him from my thoughts.

Crate after crate of goods were moved from storage and onto the three ships waiting in the harbor. I was taking far more than what was needed for the journey, but that only meant I would have some trade materials on hand for any on site negotiations I needed to do when I arrived.

That this was giving me a great deal of catharsis was irrelevant.

Only a handful of crates were left in the entire warehouse when someone started making a commotion outside. The two soldiers at my sides accompanying me as an escort stiffened up and began to maneuver themselves between me and the source of the noise.

“No need to get worked up. This is just a sideshow.” I waved them back and moved towards the door. They dutifully fell in step behind me. It was somewhat cute how seriously they took their job, but if this was how clingy they would be in the colonies I foresaw this being a much bigger pain than it was worth.

Outside I saw a few of the sailors had stopped moving the crates onto the ships and were being yelled at by someone in rather fancy robes for this area of the docks. I allowed myself a small smile before forcing my expression into something neutral and making my way over.

The sailors caught sight of me and started shifting uncomfortably, casting glances between myself, the man yelling at them, and each other.

As I got closer, I started listening to the diatribe being hurled at the sailors.

“...will have you permanently assigned to the South Pole you incompetant idiots! Now get these supplies back in place and drag your idiot of a captain in front of me before I call the guards.” The man finished just as I came up behind him.

“Is there a problem here?” I asked innocently, finally making my presence known.

The man jumped at the sound of my voice, spinning around to let me get the first look at Magistrate Zheng since his visit to my estate a few days ago. He looked...disheveled...to say the least. His face was pale and gaunt, and even his hair looked thinner than from when I last saw him. A lack of sleep and stress no doubt. His robes were noticeably messy as well. He probably rushed down here as soon as someone reported something happening in his warehouse.

I remained silent while he gaped at my seemingly sudden appearance.

“Princess Azura,” he eventually managed. “No, no problem. Just some sailors that have been taking supplies from the wrong warehouse. Nothing you need to bother yourself with.”

“Oh? Sailor, have you been taking things from other places than I ordered?” I addressed the two Magistrate Zheng had been berating.

“No, Princess.” one of them dutifully replied.

“Then continue loading. I don’t want any reason for delay.” I dismissed them with a smile.

The two of them saluted before turning, picking up the crate they had set aside, and quickly left for one of the ships.

I watched them leave while the Magistrate gaped on. After a bit, I nodded at him and started walking off. My departure seemed to restart his brain, as he quickly followed after me.

“Princess, wait! What did you mean you ordered them to take those crates? What is going on?”

Hmm seems like he is not caught up on the latest gossip. Either he hasn’t kept up with the latest news or the courtly gossip network is moving slower recently.

“I will be leaving the capital soon for the colonies.” I said calmly. “My father gave me an urgent task so I was unable to gather supplies through the normal means, but this warehouse happened to contain everything I would need. If you are worried about reparations, I will make sure everything taken is replaced by the crown within the two month time limit.”

“T-two months?!” Magistrate Zheng stopped walking out of shock. “No no nonono, Princess I have trade deals hinging on these goods being delivered on time. Waiting two months would ruin me!” he forced out in a rush as he scampered to catch up with me.

“While it is a shame my task is interfering with your work, I cannot delay my own departure. You will simply need to rely on your own resources in the meantime.”

Magistrate Zheng looked like he swallowed a fly and I had to force myself to keep a smirk off my face. Forcefully appropriating goods with the permission of the crown was not a new tactic. It was commonly used to place checks on people who seemed to be gathering large amounts of favors from their allies. A bit of pressure on their business deals forced them to spend favors to meet expectations or lose reputation from failing to meet expectations.

The problem was Magistrate Zheng had cut ties with me to join Head Magistrate Zun’s party and naturally cut ties with all those loyal to me in the process. This was already an extremely costly move, the following collapse of Head Magistrate Zun’s power base made it ruinous.

He was still cut off from anyone allied with me, but without a significantly powerful backer even those that were not would hesitate to associate with him. He had definitely spent more favors than he could afford trying to get these deals set up in the first place. If things went as expected he would be establishing himself in his new circle. Now he was scrambling to buy himself enough time to find a new circle to join.

I didn’t expect he would find one soon. Abandoning one set of allies right before a big meeting, and then the side he joined collapsed in that same meeting? Nobles and officials were a superstitious lot.

Such a shame.

“I have some things to do before I leave. Have a nice day, Magistrate.”

With those words I leave the official behind and make my way to one of the ships. Magistrate Zheng continued to yell for my attention but was blocked by one of my escorts.

I wandered around the docks for a bit talking with the dockworkers and trying to get a clear understanding of any issues we run into. I’m not expecting interference with the preparations, especially since this trip is an order of the Fire Lord, but it doesn’t hurt to check. I’m finally pulled away from my distractions when someone approaches me.

“Bothering the underlings Princess?” An older man questions.

I turned to see Captain Mako, one of the captains of the three ships I was given and the normal commander of the 201st recon division. He certainly fits the image of a long serving sea captain. He has a wide and solid frame that fits with a career soldier and huge sideburns that stand out quite a bit. He also moves with this quiet intensity that if not for his solid grey hair, you would assume he was in his mid thirties rather than his fifties.

“Of course not Captain. Just ensuring no one is slacking off.”

“Like a brat like you would know the first thing about getting ready for a voyage.” Captain Mako scoffed “Ya probably finished your little scheme since I saw the guy with the fancy dress crying in a corner on the way in, so grab your milk drinkers and get them outta my boys’ way.”

If there was one thing that could be said about the captain it would certainly be about his blunt way of speaking. When I met with him and the other two captains the other day he made it very clear he wasn’t going to show me any respect for being a noble. Ironically, I seemed to earn it anyway when I told him as long as he followed orders and followed etiquette in public I couldn’t care less if he respected me or not.

I liked him.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m simply making sure everything is ready by our departure time.” I replied. “But I assume if you are here then we are almost ready to leave?”

“Un, those worthless boxes ya insisted on bringing are getting squared away in the holds. Once the last of them is loaded and final checks are complete, we can depart. If ya have any other business best get it done now or we’ll miss the tide.”

I smiled, “Giving orders to royalty now Captain?” It was infinitely refreshing to see something different than polite scorn or pitiful groveling. I got far too much of both in the Capital.

Captain Mako shrugged and grinned back, “I’ve had a full life. Might as well take a few risks before I drop dead, ‘sides ya seem ta have your head on straight for a Noble.”

Now it was my turn to scoff, “Most people want to keep living Captain. Come find me in my cabin when we are ready to depart. I’ll leave the final preparations to you.”