I am exhausted, who knew that bureaucratic work in the Middle Ages was so tiring. I mean can’t they clarify what their expenses and incomes are? I bet that it was designed to allow as much room as possible to hide or steal money. The first thing I am doing once I become Duchess, no, even before then, when I become Countess will be the restructuring of the bureaucratic and tax systems.

            “I finished the work pertaining to the city’s reconstruction along with other issues brought up by the local chief minister. It’s almost as though they dumped every issue the former lord refused to deal with on me. I mean I do pity them for having to serve a corrupt lord, especially since I also had to deal with my incompetent father, but couldn’t they divide the work into sections or maybe keep some of it for tomorrow?” I complained to Damian whom I encountered whilst on my way to that beautiful garden.

            “They probably see your being here as a one-time opportunity, of course they wouldn’t let go. I can relate to their plight, I told you when we met that I once served a lord in the principality who treated us like garbage and dumped all the work on me, even the things that his retinue were supposed to do was forced on us. As we were mercenaries in need of work, we had no choice but accept the work as it is. At that time, I would have given anything to serve a lord like you, one that cares, even if you rarely show it.”

            I couldn’t stop the blush that crept up my face at his words. Damian is a good man, we first met when some assassins tried to kill me and Tristian when we sneaked out of the castle. We of course were more than capable of defeating them on our own, but I appreciated his help and more than that, I liked his character. Damian is what I would call a true hero, he is loved by his subordinates and everyone who interacts with him. The man would do anything to protect those in need of help, no matter the obstacles in his way he would always help the weak and the needy, but he is also a realist who is able to see the big picture. He can accept that sacrifices have to be made if one wished for a better future. On the other hand, he would trample on anyone who does harm to others without decent intentions, this side of him usually puts him in great trouble. This can be seen by him killing the lord he spoke of earlier due to a command to attack his own people for the senseless reason that he wished to benefit from compensation money from the crown. This event brought him great hardship but when he told me this story as a child, he was smiling the entire time.

            Damian is like Sir Mayron in that I see him as being a sort of uncle like figure to me. Only in his case I can’t help but admire him, he is like one of those cool uncles who do a lot of mischief resulting in your mother not wanting you to associate with them because they can impart immoral lessons. On the other hand, Sir Mayron is like a person I can always rely on, a true family member and a man who would protect me no matter the danger.

            I am truly lucky; I grew up surrounded by good people and I have the best companions one can ask for. I am starting to wander if G isn’t looking after me somehow. Whatever the case maybe I am content with this new life of mine.

            “Tell me Elly, how was your first-time experiencing war in its truest form?” At his question I whipped my head and stared at him for I did not expect him to enquire as to my feelings regarding what I did, but this is Damian, if he is asking such a question then there must be a reason.

            “I don’t know, at first, I was shocked, I couldn’t help but tremble at the sight of what I had done… I even threw up when I first entered the city. However, it got easier as time went by, I grew accustomed to the feeling and stopped focusing on what I did and instead all I could see was my ideal in big shining letters. I can’t say that the feeling of disgust I first felt is completely gone but it’s bearable, whenever I start to remember the sight of those people suffering because of my actions I manage to calm myself by remembering that this is no more than a temporary moment and that the future I will create for them will be more bountiful than anything this world has ever offered them. May I present a query of my own, why are you asking me this question?”

            “I hope you won’t take it in the wrong way, I mean I know that you are a strong girl, but I can’t help but worry about you. Your appearance is that of an adult and most people treat you that way but, in my eyes, you are still a twelve-year-old girl that has dreamed of things bigger than anything I could imagine, and who’s shoulders carry far too much weight on them. You are a child and even if you are mature, I hope you can lean on me if you ever feel the need to. I know I can’t replace you, whether it be because I do not possess even a fraction of your power or because you are incomparably smarter than me, but if there is something I can do then don’t hesitate to ask. I know that what I am about to do is inappropriate, but I hope my little lady will forgive me.” He then took me into his arms and squeezed me tight, it was comfortable, so I hugged him back and for the first time in over a week sleep came and overtook me.

            “You act so tough and yet look how exhausted you are. I never said it before since you despise the gods, but I am glad that they lead me to you.”

            Next thing I know I am in a large and richly decorated room.

            “Oh, I must have dosed off.” I murmured as I got up from bed and began to explore the room. The bed was both spacious and comfortable. The art decorating the walls was not to my taste, but it served to express the taste of the room’s previous owner. The wood working was richly decorated with gold and silver along with it being the work of talented artist. There was a large horizontal mirror the likes of which is rarely found any ware outside of the rooms of this world’s wealthiest people. From all that I have seen I can deduce that this room ether belongs to the lord or his heir. I continued to explore the room as I was interested in comparing it to the plans I have made along with Jean and her team to create a temporary palace in an area we deemed essential for trade. That castle will become my home in a few years as work has already started on both the preplanned city and my future home.

            To be honest, I am spending an absolute fortune in the construction of that city which I hope will become my capital city, even if it only serves that role for a few years. When I finish my first conquest, I will have to determine whether it would be more appropriate to move the capital to a more suitable area such as a preexisting business centre, an already existing city with history or a geographically strategic area. Then again for all I know it might really become my permanent capital. The plans Jean showed me before I left for the eastern subjugation did impress me greatly. The city will be built in the middle of the intersection of two major rivers. The first one is fed by the western part of the Tobb mountains and travels down the northern part of the duchy before making a sharp turn to the southeast and finishing its journey by feeding into the Iyana Sea. The second river starts inside of Aren’s territory but the specific tributary that feeds this part of the river is right on the border between Aren and us, making it a crucial trade point as well as the first marker that determines the border between both our domains. Right on the intersection between both rives is a large island that will be transformed into a castle the likes of which has never been seen before, I of course am not speaking about the existence of a mote but rather the design, architecture, and the separation along with the designation of space. In other words, it is a big castle with a lot of greenery, pools, fountains and only four main buildings.

            I once had a friend who majored in history and chose Rome as the subject for his master’s degree. As we were roommates, he used to annoy me with all his facts and explanations of how Rome is the most superior civilization in the history of mankind. We had so many discussions on the matter that I also became a sudo-expert on Rome. I too agree that the Rome was, in a sense, as great as a civilization can become without the help of modern technology, but it has to be said that Rome also had many flaws, least of which was its dependence on slaves, the size and the power held by the military, and the massive expenses of running the Roman Empire, but knowing the issues in advance I believe that I can overcome them and create an even greater society. That is why I intend to draw from the knowledge I have in economics, politics, and history to create a country where no one goes hungry, where social classes matter but where they do not determine the definite placement of an individual. I wish for a society where war is ether a part of history or, at the very least, reduce the scale and periodic occurrence of military conflict. I will make sure that people will have a roof over their heads and that they are clothed in appropriate garbs. Cleanliness is almost inexistent in this world, but I will introduce the Roman bath culture and reduce the spread of diseases.

            I will create institutions where some specialized occupations can take root. Medicine will be the first of them, but I am also debating the introduction of architectural schools along with basic studies such as reading, writing and mathematics but I intend to keep an eye on anything that could lead to a revolution, whether it be political or technological for I will never allow such things to take root, even if I must take the lives of the innocent. Democracy has its uses and I do intend to give the people localized power over their lives, but I will never allow democracy to take hold of my future country. I believe in freedom but not democracy at it more often than not lead to confrontations that are sure to escalate, instead I will form a pyramid structure with me at the top and local elected officials at the bottom. Those officials will not represent the need and desires of their people, instead their role will be that of curriers who transmit information of how a region is doing and what the people wish for, they will not be allowed to lobby or have any influence other than that which their role of messenger gives them. Decisions will be made by both their respective governors, a system I will soon start implementing, and my administration.

            I thought of adopting some communist ideas since the only way they would ever work is if the world is stuck in one time period with technological advancements being entirely nonexistent or at least slow to be created and even slower in their implementation. Frankly it could work but as I previously said I believe in freedom and reducing everyone to one equal state is something I can only see as being detrimental. People need a drive for them to work and make something of their lives, as such communism is a fundamentally flawed theory that can only bring harm upon the populace. People need more than the basics of life for them to live fulfilling lives. You work for something because you wish to accomplish something, taking that away and forcing equality upon others is wrong. Fairness is the ideal whilst equality is a detriment to society.  

            I still intend to create a sort of social security net that will allow people some breading room but nothing that would reflect the ideals of communism. The distribution of bread for the poor along with some reforms requiring workplace environments to take better care of their workers by offering them work appropriate remunerations along with money in case of injury and an age limit on who can work in any given industry. All the reforms I have already decided on are things that would likely be called basic in the modern world. However, there is one area where I was unable to come up with an answer on whether or not I should intervene, even worst, if I do act then I will have no idea as to what the eventual consequences will be.

            The area of which I am speaking is slavery. Even those who only studied Roman history in middle school will know that the economy of the empire relied heavily on slave labor, the same is true in almost every region of this continent. Consequently freeing them will be hard and will create many problems. At the very least slavery in this world is not based on race but instead is the result of war where the loosing peoples are taken as slaves, Ariel was one such slave, and those who were unable to pay their debt along with those who chose to sell themselves for a hopefully better life. The best I could come up with was to create a sort of minimum threshold for slave owners on how to treat their slaves, I also wanted the children of slaves to be born as free peoples along with a system where slaves could ether earn or buy their freedom from their masters, but even then, it is impossible to make sure that any of those policies will be respected. This issue has been bothering me for years now and I have yet to come up with any concrete solution other than outright banning slavery or accepting its current form, there is also the possibility of me implementing the policies I previously mentioned and letting it play out. Even if only some slave owners respect those laws, then I would count it as a win, on the other hand it could exacerbate conflict between the slave and the master so I am not sure if doing so will truly be to the slaves’ benefits. Thankfully I still have time to come up with an answer.

            I do not know if I will be able to create the utopia of my dreams, but I will try and I will not give up until I find a definite answer. Ideals are no better than dreams without the power to support them and power is meaningless without ideals to guide it, I have both and I intend to make good use of them. I will create a bountiful country that will stand the test of time, bring prosperity to the people, and justice to this world.

            I finished exploring the room then moved to a connected area where I found a living room with a table covered with sweets. As those are rare delicacies, even for me, I took a couple and started eating them. Sugar is almost nonexistent in this world so I feared creating it would expose my powers as unlike spices there is no definite trading region that produces enough of it to become a staple trade good. These sweets are delicious, they remind me of some traditional sweets I tasted in the city of Fez, like them they must have been made with nuts and honey instead of sugar. There was also another kind that was a bit bitter but who’s taste oddly reminded me of Pretzels, this might be some ancient form of theirs. If there is one thing that I dearly miss from my old world then it’s the food, I rarely eat because the taste of food here is not to my liking. I rather not eat than force my poor tongue and stomach to have to deal with their atrocious cooking styles, the few times I do eat is when we have either meat or sweets on the menu. The issue isn’t always the food itself, in fact it usually has to do with the lack of spices, even with me introducing a new source for spices the price is still astronomically high forcing the chefs to ether use them sparingly or even avoiding them entirely. The staple foods in this world are extremely basic and unappealing to someone who’s lived a life filled with delicious dishes from all over the world. On the other hand, these people are trying to feed me Porridge, I mean where do they think we are, the Middle Ages? Ok, granted we are in the Middle Ages, but do they not have anything other than that gooey thing, I can still remember Ariel trying to feed it to me when I was still a baby, I gave her such a hard time that I can’t help but roll on the ground in both shame and regret. The poor women had to wipe herself down every time she fed me.

Azel35

Hey everyone, it's the author.

I wished to ask if you rather I shorten the chapters and put more emphasis on the characters or if I should keep the chapters long (3200 to 3700 words pet chapter) where you get more of the story, I would like to know your opinion so please feel free to leave a comment on the comment section.