As I entered the building, I could see the bustling lobby filled with traders of all walks of life. From peddlers to local merchants, all scampering to find an available employee to whom they could sell their goods. I turned right, passed a guard who recognized me and went up the stairs to our meeting room. There I found Paul doing battle with a mountain of paperwork, but he wasn’t alone.

“Aldry you returned already?!”

“But of course my dear lady. I your merchant extraordinaire have finished my trip around the continent and returned to be by your side. Though I dearly miss the kind ladies of Silta I prefer your noble visage, your shining silver hair and your piercing green eyes…”

“Pervert.”

“What did you say brat!”

“Last time you saw her she wasn’t even ten, so yes you are a pervert.”

“I can’t believe that you are considered the most wanted bachelor in high society. Don’t you know that praising a lady is what a gentle men should always do?” He’s not wrong I do like it when people praise my appearance, I do not know if G knew about my past relationships, but I look remarkably similar to my ideal female look. I inherited my father’s hair colour and eyes, but my facial characteristics are almost identical to those of my mother. I hope that once I mature, I will also inherit her physical characteristics as I do not wish to be heavy on top but not so small as to called flat.

“I can see that the two of you are getting along.”

“Not one bit!” “Not at all.” They answered in unison. Aldry is one of the first people I have employed. He used to be a servant of a merchant who came to me to be healed, during that merchant’s stay in the city I befriended Aldry at which point he shared with me his dream of traveling the world. It was the reason why he chose to serve a merchant as they travel to many of the most remote and wondrous regions. At that time, I was still a little girl who only recently got famous as an Alchemist, but I could understand his desire, I too wish to see more of this new fantastical world. Me joining the knight’s expeditions is the only way I found to do so without abandoning my position. Believing it to be fate I offered to finance his dream if he returned to me before my fifteenth birthday and in exchange, he would dazzle me with all his stories and the experiences he lived through during his adventure. I also had other reasons such as me wanting a map of the world, but they were secondary. I saw it as a fair price, and it would have been if it weren’t for the fact that if anyone caught him illegally making a map he would have to pay with his life. There are well documented trade roots but anything else pertaining to someone else’s domain is seen as a state secret. Nonetheless he agreed to my proposal, but I did not expect him to have traveled the continent in less than five years.

“I am glad to see you in good health. How about you tell me a little about your travels.”

“Oh, my lady, please allow this lowly one to chew your ear off.”

And chew my ears off he did, starting with the former territories of the kingdom of Marzouk he presented me with an exhibition of every land he traveled upon. His tales would have seemed a little exaggerated if it wasn’t for the fact that I have never gone beyond this duchy’s borders. Fantastical tales of mountains tens of times greater than those that make up our borders, extraordinary cities where hundreds of thousands of people live and magical forests that serve as impregnable borders. His tales truly made me wish I could have traveled alongside him. From the many wonders of the world to little stories of events that took place during his trip around the continent, I ended up imagining myself having the same experiences. I half started to dream it all until I noticed that something that should be a major part of his story is completely missing.

“So, you didn’t go to the Arialdian Empire?”

“I deemed it too dangerous, that is the land upon wish the gods walked. It is an inviolable domain, but I did collect a number of maps that are readily sold, I also used them to complete the world map you commissioned. Sadly, I cannot attest to their accuracy. During my stay in Realise I learned of the strict cultural norms and abnormally sharp secret services employed by the empire, I did not wish for my journey to be nothing but a memory that will die alongside me, I want to share it not only with you but with the world. As such during my stay there I decided to cut this trip into two parts that I will immortalize in two books I plan on writing in regard to this continent of ours.”

I am unsure as to how I should treat the religions and myths of this world, G implied that gods are real but due to my past experiences I have retained a dislike for all things related to gods. I wonder is those that are worship in this world do exist or if they too are no more than tools used to bring a semblance of harmony to our ever-warmongering humans. Being a member of the nobility, I had to study religious edicts and am officially a follower of the goddess of fortune and the god of harmony but in reality, I care very little and have not stepped foot in a church since my fifth birthday where I received the blessings of the gods I follow. G said that he would visit me from time to time. When he does, I should ask him a bit more about this world.

“A truly great idea, I will be the first to read them. Back to this map, did you visit these islands here in the west?”

“Once again, I did not but I was able to determine their location thanks to the maps I found, I also used the information I bought from a former sailor who helped me better determine their location. From what I learned those islands make up a country of almost independent lords, they are quite militaristic in nature and their culture revolves around war, as such few are able to trade with them, to be more precise only the empire is able to do so. It is quite a shame as their weapons are of the highest quality. The whole country is littered with iron mines although their production is low the sheer number of them makes their relationship with the material as close as can be. I have yet to mention the weapons they create with it as they are far superior to anything I have ever seen in this continent. To be more precise the best swords in this continent originate from that island nation.” Well, I doubt that they are comparable to my diamond sword, but I understand his point.

“Paul where are the others?”

“David and Damian have yet to arrive as for Jean she went to the kitchen to forage for something to eat, she will return once she’s had her breakfast.”

“Well, I have no chose but to wait for them, I have an announcement and I want everyone to be present for it.”

“I hope it’s not more work, I am already drowning in it.”

I laughed at how accurate his statement is “Hahaha, don’t worry yourself I will be the one most involved in what I am planning but I will need your help, or more precisely the support of the faction you built for me.”

“I am scared to ask but what are you planning?”

I gave him one of my brilliant smiles as an answer which sent shivers down his spine. Paul is my right-hand man; he is in charge of everything related to politics. He deals with the vassals in my stead and is usually aware of what I am thinking as such he is always able to act according to my wishes. The fact that there is something, no matter how big or small, that he hadn’t accounted for is likely seen by him as a crisis. Like his father he is a true perfectionist and does his duty like no other could.

Tristian is my personal guard, and I would never trust anyone other than him to guard my back. He is a fool and usually acts in ways unbefitting someone meant to protect a master but when the time comes, he is always serious and has proven that he would sacrifice himself for me. This does not mean that I can intrust him with my currently limited military power, instead Damian, a former mercenary, is in charge of my forces; limited as they are. I started by employing his mercenary band as guards for my merchant company but as we expanded, we started to require more manpower especially in the armed department. As such he utilized the contacts he builds during his years fighting alongside other mercenary groups and assembled those who retired from the profession but who still needed work along with entire mercenary companies who dissolved and assimilated them under my banner. In pure numbers I have enough solders to do battle with even a count’s retinue.

David and Jean are the faces of the trading company they are both in charge of managing it. David was the original owner but when we met, he agreed to sell all the owning rights in exchange for greater profits. Usually, he is not the type of person I would associate with but due to his lust for money and the knowledge that I can create it whenever I please, he decided to permanently become my subordinate. I can still remember how he convinced me to trust him, “Businesses can fail but a person who can create money is the greatest asset in the world, believe me my lady I am not so stupid as to abandon you no matter the amount presented to me when you are yourself are worth more than what anyone could offer me, please allow me to join you.” I can still imagine an almost forty years old man begging a little girl to allow him to work for her. I have many such experiences, but Jean is different, I was the one who begged her to join me. She is what can only be called a genius, her ability to read the market is reminiscent to that of modern traders, no she surpasses them, all without ever getting a proper education. Her spy network is also of note as it stretches form east to west and with my help it became without equal. When we first started, she was like a shadow who haunted us, whenever we made a deal, she would ether do the same but earn even more than us or she would act even before we could and steal everything from under our noses. Before I opened this company, she managed to drive David to the brink of madness, he had even tried to kill her. Thankfully he failed and I managed to bring her to my side.

For the first time in almost three months, we will all meet to discuss how we will proceed from now on.

The three of us spent about half an hour talking about Aldry’s journey and the troubles he had to go through but then Jean entered the room and we all stiffened up due to the menacing aura she was giving off.

“You brat what did you do?!”

Oh no I hoped that I could be the one to first explain myself and maybe twist some of the morning’s events, but her network of spies must have reported everything I did in detail.

 “Now, now, how about we calm down and discuss everything like the civilized people we are.” Man, she is scary when angry, usually she acts all calm and reserved but get her riled up and you better find yourself a sturdy shelter as this typhoon will imprint the fear of God in you. Not even Tristian would insult me to my face, but Jean is special. We need her more than she needs us and frankly she is like the big sister of the group, Paul does his best to keep everyone inline, but he more often fails than not. On the other hand, whenever Jean gets involved in anything we all turn into a bunch of crying children being scolded by their elder sibling. The one person that would dare challenge her is David but even he would succumb to her pressure. I think that in his case he is more spiteful of her than anything else, he knows that she is superior in all things she does, but he simply loathes her and would do just about anything to challenge her leadership.

“The longer you stay quiet the greater the punishment I will impose upon you, now speak!”

“Yes ma’am.” I couldn’t resist her and as such I revealed everything starting with the mineral deposits I found in the east to the morning’s events and the necessary changes to the plan. Halfway through my explanation both David and Damien joined in the meeting.

“I won’t lie you came up with a far better plan than the original, but you should at least give us a warning. Anyway, how will you proceed from now on?”

“First, I will take down the eastern rebels, I have enough proof to act even if I don’t consult my father. By the time I would have finished cleaning out the eastern territories the Viscount and the other nobles who’s spies I have uncovered would have ether presented themselves to me and received their punishments, by which I mostly mean monetary payments to the duke or if they possess territories in the east or south, relinquishing parts of their domain to their liege. If they also choose to rebel than I will need to dedicate another year or two for the clean-up, but it will also result in more benefits for us.” I grinned then continued “I of course will be the one responsible for both filling up the duchy’s coffers and expanding our personal domain as such I will make a public request to be named Countess of the eastern region of Oressa. My father having failed in his duties and having done none of the subjugating will have no choice but to accept my request. At that point we will relocate and restart the original plan of me becoming Duchess. When I have my own domain, I will be free to act in the open. Building up our troops, arming them with better equipment, expanding our trade roots and products, just about everything will become easier.”

“That’s quite the devilish plan you came up with.” Damian could only look at me with his mouth hanging. It’s a good thing that he agrees with me since I will need to take many of his best mercenaries with me for my campaign to subjugate the eastern lords.

“Hahaha, what else can we expect from the young lady.” David was the opposite, he kept laughing and slamming his hand on the table time and time again. I guess that’s what I would expect from him.

“Ugh, did you forget about who will take the place of the lords, I hope you aren’t thinking of throwing everything at me because I am already swamped.” Exactly what I would expect from Paul, it’s true that I didn’t give too much attention to what will happen after I overthrow them, but I thought that I could appoint temporary administrators to oversee the territories, at least until I can find more people I can trust. I will have to give it some more thought but at least I could name everyone in this room a Baron and divide the work between us.

“Damian I will need 600 of your best men along with the same number of war horses.”

“Cavalry? I don’t think that we have that number of horses, at best we have about 200 war horses the rest we can substitute with regular horses. Shouldn’t we get the entire mercenary corp ready?”

“No, I will do this as fast as possible, the eastern lords aren’t ready to rebel, so I want to take them down before they are. I will need an elite mobile unit that can travel at the same speed as the knights therefore cavalry is the best option. For the horses I leave you in charge of ether finding some more warhorses or an adequate replacement.”

“I am sorry but even if all the knights moved out the same way you described they wouldn’t be able to establish proper sieges.”

“I never said anything about a siege, information travels slowly as such I want to take advantage of that and strike whilst their guard is down. I know that this strategy will not work on all of them as some will receive the news before we arrive but for those who hold themselves in their fortresses and castles I will turn them into a pile of ash. I previously said that I will not participate in wars, but this opportunity is simply too good to pass on, so I am willing to make an exception.”

“It’s extremely rare to find a mage of any quality willing to use their powers for war but to have a master such as yourself means that we are guaranteed victory.” Damian grinned and whispered, “I can’t miss this campaign, it will truly be extraordinary, it’s finally time for me to return to the battlefield.”

Everyone was in agreement, and they all decided to support me within each of their fields of interest. Jean raised her hand asking to be given the floor then stood.

“Now that we finished cleaning up the young lady’s messes…” Ohh did you have to put it that way, “… I have something that everyone here should be told. About three weeks ago the Duke of Rubens agreed to marry his eldest daughter to some unnamed individual, from what my spies have reported that man was accompanied by an armed escort from the Principality of Walken.”

“Who do you think it could be? I hope that it wasn’t one of their princes.”

“No, the eldest prince is already married to the daughter of one of the great lords of the Principality, as for the second he is betrothed to a princess from Realise as part of the peace deal they signed after the principality lost its northern territories in the last war.”

“Jean if you don’t know how are we supposed to? You are the one with the spy network not us.”

“You dope! You should still have spies of your own.”

Oh no, the two of them are going to start fighting again, I need to switch the subject or find something relevant to say, I know…

“Could the man be a descendent of the royal family who fled to the Principality.” Honestly, I said that just to prevent them from fighting, but it does make sense.

“It is possible, I would even say that it is the most likely possibility. The Principality has always relied on its centuries old alliance with the kingdom to keep Realise at bay but now that the kingdom is fragmented they lost three consecutive wars and their position is at its weakest ever. If it wasn’t for their trade with the continent of Erimos then they might have already gone bankrupt and with us taking more of the market share of spices their coffers might be drying up even faster. Starting a war of reconquest might help with all of their problems, a reunited kingdom will once again stand alongside the principality thus ending the threat from Realise and at the same time, they could ask their puppet king to squash us so that they may regain their monopoly on spices.” That’s Jean for you, give her a tip and she will uncover all its secrets.

“It would be bad if a direct descendent were to claim the crown. We have yet to make a move for the crown but with the alliance of Rubens and Welkan we simply don’t stand a chance.”

I stood up to calm the mood and spoke “That’s not necessarily the case, Rubens and Welkan will focus most of their effort on the lesser nobles but mostly Aren and Gondar who are the ones responsible for the fall of the royal family. If anything, this might help us, if only we knew their agenda, we could time our reconquest of the lands taken by Aren with it. Scratch that, they might even try to convince my father to ally with them, promising our old lands as possible compensation.”

That’s what I would do if I was in their place, but I can’t have that. All of us ducal families have royal blood and as such we all have claims to the throne; with the exception of Aren as they were Marquesses that named themselves Dukes. My short-term goal was to first reconquer our old lands, then develop them thus attracting more people to settle thus leading us to my long-term plan of using the combined power of the reunified duchy in addition to the old lands of the marquessate that I plan on taking and my negotiation skills to attract as many lesser nobles as possible to my side, I planned on reunifying the kingdom under me. After which I would turn my sight on ether the newly independent Grand Duchy of Maroy or the principality, it all depends on which would be weaker at that time. I am full of hubris and my pride and desires know no bound, I plan to act accordingly and will continue my conquest until I unify this continent under me. I love gold, I love jewels, I want the finest things in life and as such I will use all that I have and do all that I can to stand above all others in this new world. The price is of no consequence as the end goal will be more than worth the pain and suffering the people will go through. I promise you an eternal era of peace under my dominion, I will grant you a life you could only dream of all I ask in return is your forgiveness for the actions I will take towards that ideal of mine.

Note: This map will evolve as the story progresses.