"Duke! Time for your daily lesson!" Vivian beamed as she dragged Duke into the study. Though Vivian didn't want to admit it, she quite enjoyed teaching Duke.
"But..." *Sigh* Duke wanted to tell her he was planning to train with the Knights today, but when Duke saw Vivian's smiling face, he just couldn't get himself to deny her.
"Alright, Duke!" *Thud* "I've got here a lot of important lessons we can learn about today!" Vivian enthusiastically dropped a mountain of books in front of Duke.
*Gulp* [M-Maybe it's not yet too late to stop this...] Duke regretted agreeing with the study session. But, once again, as he saw Vivian's expectant face, he just couldn't bring himself to say no. And so started Duke's trek into the mountain of books.
One by one Duke finished reading the parts Vivian pointed out to him until Duke chanced upon a peculiar section of a book about mercantile trade.
"Hey Vivian, didn't you say your plan to get Maine's economy up and running again was this Free trade you've been talking about, right?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Vivian tilted her head.
"I think it's a pretty smart move... But" Duke muttered.
"But?" Vivian asked.
"Why did you say we'll be making a lot of enemies because of that? Shouldn't the other nobles be thanking us instead?... You know, for making the economy better and stuff. Won't they get better taxes thanks to this?" Duke voiced his inquiry.
"..." Vivian stared at Duke, a little bit surprised at the nature of his inquiry.
"Wow, I never thought you understood what I was about to do... I'm sorry for thinking you were idiot before... You're pretty smart, huh..." Vivian said with a little bit of remorse as her view of Duke changed.
"Y-You what?! Well, I guess I was always kind've just the misunderstood genius, gehehe" Duke got distracted from Vivian's compliment.
"Hmmm, where do I start explaining... Well, you see Duke, people hate what they fear... And people fear what they don't understand" Vivian slowly went into storytelling mode. No matter how much Vivian denies it, she really enjoys teaching.
"This was why the early Emperors of Brune HATED trade between cities as too much buying here and a little bit too much selling there can radically change prices. This became increasingly problematic when the Empire started to expand further north and south. Merchants began to buy too much food down south where food is and sold them at extortionate prices up north where food was scarce. And so, what do you think happened?" Vivian tested Duke.
"The prices up north became cheaper, while the prices down south became more expensive? Why would that be a bad thing? Isn't it good that they balance each other out?" Duke's question deepened.
"Well, that would've been the best outcome for everyone, sadly, the economy just wasn't as simple as they thought it was. Merchants began hoarding grain to sell it more at a later time and this eventually led to a great economic collapse despite the Empire's great abundance... In fear the Emperors of old foolishly restricted trade all together..."
The old Emperors of Brune feared free trade as they saw the instability it produced, ignorant to the many great developmental benefits free trade had the Empire of Brune passed strict laws regarding trade between regions, in some cases, even between cities became hard to trade with.
At first, it was just food, then came basic necessities such as clothes, finally, even lavish trade goods like silk, fur, and spices were tariffed.
As the Empire grew, so did the duties of maintaining the tariffs and regulations. To counter this, the Emperor at the time increasingly gave the local Nobles authority to lord over the merchants and the flow of trade in their own domains. Over time the laws set in place became a nasty tool used by the Nobles to extort merchants for their hard-earned money.
"And so, that's why villagers in small rural areas like these still need to stockpile food for the winter, despite the Empire having ample supply of food"
"Wait, so it wasn't just because food can't grow during winter?" Duke asked with a tinge of anger.
"Of course not... The nobles in this region have been controlling prices in this area even before we were born. Brune is a great Empire, why would its coffers lack any grain? Unless the nobles themselves withhold the grain" Vivian explained.
"W-What will they do with all that grain?! Eat it all?"
"They hoard it, just like those merchants did in the past, only this time, the hoarding is 'regulated'... During winter the Nobles all sell the wheat for double the price, idiotically clinging on to the idea that hoarding grain till it sells for a bigger price will make them richer. Stupidly ignoring the damages it does to their lands. To them, selling Grain for double is practically a tradition already" Vivian snarked at the thought of those egotistical know-it-all nobles, with their outdated ideas...
"So... What you're planning is to sell a lot of cheap wheat during winter, so everyone buys from you instead!" Duke reiterated.
"Hm! Don't you mean from us? Hehe" Vivian happily praised Duke's rare show of genuine understanding about a topic as she happily clenched both his chubby cheeks.
"Who's a smart wittle boy, that's right, it's Duke! Hahaha" Vivian happily teased Duke like he was a baby.
"Ow Vivian, my cheeks..." Though, it would be a lie if Duke said he didn't enjoy Vivian's childish side.
As Duke left the room, Vivian was alone again inside the study as she sighed deeply, a sigh containing a tinge of sadness.
"Finally, it's quiet again..." *Sigh* Vivian murmured in relief, but her sad sigh gave away her hidden enjoyment of Duke's company.
"Dear Ms. Nuir, I might have just found a way to supply the whole south without the cooperation of the other fiefs and states. A new invention Duke calls it, from a certified Philosopher Candidate himself. I believe this invention might just be the miracle we need..."
Vivian began writing an important letter to her secret and most valuable connection, one of the many invaluable riches, Duke's mother, the Neiddraig herself. Of course, Vivian didn't know about Nuir's connection with the Neiddraig, she only knew Duke's mother as the Countess of Maine, nothing more nothing less...
In truth, Vivian would've never have pulled off a big stunt like this, buying most of the grain within the Southern Regions using the measly 450 Gold she had on her, but thanks to the mysterious connection who called herself "Ms. Nuir" Vivian even managed to get inside the nobles responsible for the yearly distribution of Grain and Wheat, and successfully disguised herself as another Noble looking to find a measly double profit from Winter Grains.
Vivian never knew who or why this contact she got from Duke's Mother supported her so much, with this much unconditional loyalty, but whoever they were, Vivian was extremely grateful, and:
[If they're there, why not use them?] Vivian thought...