There once was a beautiful Queen named Camilla who lived with her servants in a large castle. 

She liked to take relaxing strolls through the vast fields and forests surrounding her home. Or she would sit by the fireplace and drink tea when the weather was bad.

Camilla also loved to host banquets or elegant balls for other royalties to attend. There was a lot of food, loud music, and people would dance until they couldn't any longer. Everyone always had a good time at these events.

However, there was one thing that Camilla loved to do the most, and that was to fawn over her riches.

She would sit for hours in the treasury, counting the pieces of gold and silver laying around. Or she would study all of the glimmering jewels that she had collected over the years.

The people of her village were upset with her. She was living in luxury while they were stuck living in squalor.

What made things worse was how Camilla collected her riches. The villagers were too poor to give her anything anymore, so she turned to thievery.

Whenever she had a ball or banquet, she would sneakily steal jewelry, coins, and more from her friends and guests. 

No one would really notice, and when they did realize that something of theirs was missing, they never actually suspected Camilla to be the culprit.

Hehehe...

This only fueled Camilla even more. She believed that she would never be caught and that what she was doing was right. She wanted all the riches that she could get her hands on, letting her desires grow and grow.

 During one fateful evening, a mysterious merchant showed up at the castle. 

"Why are you here?" Camilla asked. 

The merchant replied, "To sell my goods of course!"

Camilla was intrigued so she let him in.

Hmmm...sounds interesting.

"What do you have to offer?" Camilla questioned.

"Oh, I was hoping you'd ask! Why I have grand things, grand things indeed! I have practically anything you could ever want!"

Camilla thought about it. There were many things that she wanted, and she had the riches to support her, so she decided to take the bait.

"If you really have anything that I could ever want, then I would like my entire castle to be made of gold. I also want the furniture to be made of the most expensive material you have, and to be encrusted with sapphires and rubies..." 

Camilla went on and on and on until she could no longer think of anything else. The merchant wrote it all down on his scroll and added up the cost of everything.

Golden Castle

Silk + velvet material

Ruby + sapphire encrusting...

The merchant showed her what the price would be. Camilla gasped. "Oh my! I don't think I can afford that! I'll have to remove some things off my list."

"Nonsense!" The merchant exclaimed. "Just give me all the money you have, and I'll throw in a few extra things for free!"

The Queen smiled. "You would do that?" 

The merchant laughed in response, "Of course! How could I ever deny the Queen her wishes?"

Wow! This will cost me a lot of money!

Camilla was a little hesitant to give up all of her riches right away, but the merchant seemed trustworthy and she felt that what she was paying for was worth it. It would show off just how wealthy she is, and she could always continue stealing from others anyways.

The merchant had to make a few trips to and from the castle in order to collect all of his payment. When he finally had the last of it in his wagon, he said goodbye to Camilla and promised his return.

Hours turned to days, and days into weeks. The merchant never showed up again. Camilla became furious and sent for her advisor, who helped her make most of her decisions. 

"Queen Camilla, how can I be of service?" He asked with a bow after he entered the throne room. 

"That merchant who was here the other day, do we know his name? Or where he lives?"

The Advisor scratched his head. "Oddly, his name was never mentioned, but I believe he came from the neighboring village in the East."

"What do you think about the idea of attacking that village?" Camilla suddenly asked.

"For what reason, Your Majesty?" The Advisor sounded bewildered.

"Because he tricked me! He stole from me! I deserve to get my riches back and teach a lesson to that merchant!" Camilla shouted. 

The Advisor shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot support you or your decisions any longer. Good day, Your Majesty." He then left the room, feeling sorry for the Queen.

Wait, come back!

Next, the Queen called the war General into the throne room. "General, I order you to gather up the strongest troops we have and prepare to attack the village in the East."

"May I ask why, Your Majesty?" 

"I have to make an example out of an evil merchant there who made a fool out of me! He stole my precious riches and tricked me into believing his ploy!"

"With all due respect, Your Majesty...attacking an entire village because of one man is ridiculous." The General stated. 

"Excuse me? He robbed me of all my treasure!" The Queen replied.

"Yes, and he was wrong to do so, but haven't you done the same thing? You both should be ashamed!"

You have robbed people as well.

Camilla's face grew red in anger. "But I never stole someone's entire collection of riches!" 

The General sighed, "You most certainly have, Your Majesty. Just look at how your very own villagers live because of you." 

Camilla didn't want to hear any more of the general's nonsense. She exited the room and went for a walk to calm herself down.