A carriage accompanied by only four Red Knights could be seen driving over the farmlands. These roads were quite smooth since the city made sure to pave it with cobblestone and cement
When the people saw the carriage and the face that peeked through the window, they stopped what they were doing and waved with smiles on their faces.
A woman with silver hair waved back with a kind smile. Though she would be unrecognizable without her crown and royal gown, many knew her to be Roseria von Eulia, the mother of Crown Prince Julius and Princess Ronia, and the Empress of the Eulia Empire.
What could such an esteemed figure be doing in a countryside such as this, has this noble woman been asked countless times.
Her answer has always been the same "To help Al".
It was such a simple answer.
Why would she go so far for this Al person? Is he her son? Her daughter's groom?
Turns out, to the shock of many that he's not even related to the imperial family. And yet the Empress adores him so, to the point where she points at things and says how "Al used to like them when he was little".
Roseria stuck her head back inside the carriage and glanced at Victoria who was reading through a document. She had been at this the whole ride now, without even feeling motion sickness. Roseria could never do such a thing since she gets lightheaded quite quicky.
The two of them have been separating the work that needs to be done. Roseria worked on the nobles and establishing connections with nobles, businesses and cities. Victoria, on the other hand, handles social, economic, and personal issues among the people.
"It seems like your work isn't easier than what I had to do," she said softly to the silent maid, "Are there any problems you need help with?"
Victoria let out a long, tired breath—the kind only someone who has spent weeks traveling between noble estates and merchant guilds could produce. Normally a maid wouldn't act like this in front of a noble but the empress had made it clear she left her royal title back in the capital and will be Victoria's colleague for the duration of her stay.
As such, the two grew a bit closer.
"More than one," she muttered, pulling out a folder thick with papers. "Whitage is growing faster than it can keep up with. The southern lords are displeased that more trade routes are shifting here instead of to their towns and villages. Some are threatening to raise tariffs on grain deliveries to spite us."
Roseria went 'tsk, tsk'. "Petty."
The gall to do such a thing when Whitage City possesses the larger army. Do they not fear a hostile response to their attitude?
"That's not all." Victoria flipped a page. "Three merchant guilds are in a price war over basic goods. If it continues, the very few small family-run shops in Whitage will collapse. And once the market destabilizes…"
"—larger guilds swoop in and monopolize, gaining more growth due to the ever-increasing population." Roseria finished. "We cannot allow that. Nothing good comes from letting a foreign conglomerate have a monopoly so we should limit the number of stores they're allowed to have."
Victoria nodded, "I agree."
"What about the farmlands?"
"A mess." Victoria rubbed her temples. "Half the irrigation channels are outdated. Two of the larger farms are using methods that waste water. If we don't fix it before summer, the harvest will drop by nearly a fifth. With the expansion happening on every farm that received a magic stone, trying to capitalize on the double growth rate, we have a lot more to lose than previously predicted if there isn't enough water."
Roseria sighed. "And I suppose the lords owning these lands claim everything is 'functioning perfectly'?"
Between the empire's border and Whitage City, there are a lot of similar independent towns and villages that aren't connected to the empire anymore, either because they serve no strategic purpose or there is no financial incentive to keep them and tax the citizens. Honestly, most of them are wastelands anyway so independents lords—second or third bastards—took control of these lands.
Victoria made sure to acquire these lands through a deal. They must prove they are profitable before Whitage invests in them. Roseria doesn't know the specifics but she heard some of the independent lords are very competent and were merely overlooked for their eldest siblings by their fathers.
The plan is to have the most competent of the bunch become nobles of Whitage City. The rest will be left alone.
"Of course they do. Because admitting a problem means admitting mismanagement and incompetence." Victoria's voice sharpened. "One of them even tried to blame the farmers for 'being lazy', when the man hasn't stepped foot outside his estate in years. If the slavery trade wasn't one of the dominant trades in our era, he would've long starved to death. Instead, he scams and sells humans for profit. He is the lowest of the low so I suggest we kick him out of his lands if he refuses to listen."
The Empress smiled dryly. "I will pay each of their lands a visit. I find incompetence evaporates when I show up in person."
She would like to believe it's her own reputation that she's built up over the years but it's actually just her title as empress, which bums her out slightly.
Victoria nodded again but then her brows creased slightly again.
"…There are more?"
"Unfortunately, there's corruption too. A minor fief lord who joined is a month ago was caught embezzling road funds. That's why the northern road going through the forest looks like a graveyard of broken carts. It should've been flattened months ago."
Roseria folded her arms, expression turning cold. "Remove him quietly. And compensate the affected traders who could not take the routes. If we let one corrupt official live comfortably after such a thing, twenty more will grow bold."
"Understood."
The Empress leaned back, watching the farmland pass by the window.
"So… in summary, besides the city's restoration phase," she said, ticking off her fingers, "We have:
• nobles playing political tug-of-war,
• merchant guilds on the verge of destabilizing the market,
• infrastructure failures,
• irrigation issues,
• a road network on the brink of collapse,
• and corruption."
"Oh, don't forget the labor shortage," Victoria added. "Whitage's population is increasing, but skilled workers aren't keeping up. We need masons, carpenters, blacksmiths—everything."
"Hmm, it's good that more commoners from all around the country are moving in but it's difficult to find skilled workers among them since it's not common for them to have an education. At least we have a lot of volunteer teachers and organizations that are willing to help educate everyone so you should forward that information to them so that they can arrange it all."
Roseria could talk to her connections but it's not certain if any of them will just let their skilled workers travel to another city. Maybe she'll ask for trained professionals to at least start workshops where practical skills can be learned, for a few years at minimum.
"We have a long road ahead before this city flourishes." sticking her head out the window and letting her hair flow in the wind, Roseria said with a mild sigh.
"Do you reckon we made enough connections in the neighboring regions?" Victoria asked, since that was Roseria's job so she should be able to answer it.
"I would say we're nearly there, dear. Going for independent lords won't be enough to establish a functioning aristocracy in this land so, just like I'm doing with business partners and merchants, we should branch out to other countries. We could benefit greatly from nobles of varying experiences."
The crystals should be able to entice most of them to invest in Whitage's future. What she's worried about, though, is the reaction of their home countries. But she made sure to make it look more like a business relationship and less like they're stealing nobles from many sides.
"Very true." Victoria agreed with her suggestion.
Just as the two wrapped up their conversation, the carriage pulled up to the outer settlements' gate. The fences around the outer settlements were quite primitive but this was just a temporary measure until they could build homes here.
"Elves, dwarves, demihumans, and humans—it seems like we have all sorts of races here in one place, merely looking for a place to call home."
Roseria smiled softly at the sight—children chasing each other between half-finished houses, dwarven builders arguing loudly over the alignment of a support beam, a pair of elven herbalists planting shrubs along the road.
"But that brings its own challenges," Victoria added. She glanced outside as well, taking her eyes off the documents for the first time this whole ride, "Mixed communities require mediators. Let's see: there are cultural disputes, trade rights, festivities that may overlap, and customs that may clash.
"I don't think we can avoid conflicts and make everyone happy but it's best if we create a council that has representatives from each race. People trusted by their communities. Let them guide us on what each group needs."
"They can make their own people happy without us lifting a finger? You truly know how to connect people, Your Majesty."
"Fufu, that's what I do best."
Before long, the carriage reached the palace's estate.
Roseria wanted to take a bath then a nap because she's been awake for five days now without a wink of sleep. It's something she's used to as she's always on her feet but she felt like she'll collapse any minute now if she closes her eyes for just a few seconds.
Noticing a commotion, she stared out of the window.
The place was crowded for some reason, even more than usual actually. The crowd there weren't the soldiers but ordinary people gathering around the sides of the cobblestone pathway as if they were awaiting a carriage that may go in or come out of the palace.
The two of them got off the carriage among that crowd.
"It couldn't be that someone is causing trouble in the estate, could it?"
"No, the Shadows would have handled it instantly. In addition, everyone here seems to be happy about something so a conflict can't be the reason—" Victoria suddenly stopped talking, her unblinking eyes looking up at the palace.
"That signature… Could it be …?" Victoria was in a daze. Before Roseria could ask what she sensed, Victoria walked a little faster through the crowd of people.
She managed to catch up and grab Victoria by the arm.
"W-What is it?"
"If it's who I think it is, it's best that we freshen up first, dear." She said with a kind smile, "We've been on the road for quite some time and reek of sweat. No wife should welcome her husband home with an unwashed temple."
Victoria blushed, nodding vehemently, "Y-You're right…"