"The wall reconstruction is proceeding smoothly, the aqueducts are ten percent done-"
"So quickly!? How? I thought It'd at least take a month?!" Vivian suddenly gasped interrupting her work and Benjamin's reports.
"Yes milady, your suggestion to pay them a fourth of the payment now and the other third after they've finished working apparently maximized their work ethics as they won't be getting money till they finish the job, they've begun to work faster... Plus with the number of workers, sir Duke had recruited, 6000 roughly estimated, has made Maine's revitalization miraculously fast!" Benjamin excitedly spouted.
"Maybe they've also been inspired by your decision in stopping taxes for 5 years, most of the caravan owning-merchants and some of the people who had received their early 1/4th pay have already begun buying up buildings to start their own businesses! Maine is suddenly experiencing an economic boom almost on the same level as the Capital! The Markets of Maine have become quite colorful lately! I must say, you're economic reforms are no short of God-like milady! If it was other lords, or even me! I would've raised taxes to pay for budget deficits, but instead, you removed Taxes! And even unrestricted trade! At first, I was truly skeptical... and even thought you had gone mad! But instead, the tax-free environment, coupled with the freedom of trade, encouraged even more merchants to stay and set up shop in Maine!" Benjamin added as he completed his report.
"Haha, it was Duke's suggestion to pay construction 1/4th you know, only the Tax Exemption was my idea hehe" Vivian felt happy quite pleased her ideas were getting validated.
"Just thinking of the Tax money we would get in 5 years after Maine has fully developed has me jittering in excitement and exhaustion for that future work... I just hope it wouldn't be just the three of us in the future, huhuhu" Benjamin cried. Of course, the three people Benjamin was referring to were Vivian, Benjamin himself, and Anna, who replied:
"Yes, ma'am! Please get more accountants! I'm sooo tired..." The third person inside the study room sitting next to Benjamin cried.
Anna, the young female bank employee under Benjamin who followed him towards Maine when she heard Benjamin was now working there, is now Vivian's personal Handmaiden AND the Pendragon Household's Headmaid!...
Well, the only maid actually...
Benjamin had become Head Butler, while Anna served as the Head Maid. (Galleo's title is Household Scholar)
"Done and done" Vivian smiled.
"You truly are worthy to be called the Countess!" Benjamin proudly beamed with his butler-like mustache.
"Hmm, a fourth of all construction project wages plus materials, civilian mandatory training, opening of the Sea Ports, AND rearming of the army... huh, no wonder all that income is barely making up for our expenses... It's like we make 500 Gold only to get 501 in debt..."
"Well, for the reconstruction of Maine's seaports, we have managed to convince merchants from all over to invest in some money, some of them even come from the Musani Khaliphates and an even smaller portion are Macedonoi Merchants from Thracia who have expressed their interest. Soon, Maine might just see a growth that surpasses the Capital in these 5 years, reviving, no SURPASSING, the Old City... The old Great City's walls might even be too small now..." Benjamin carefully expressed his expectations from the data he and Anna had been calculating about the Economy.
"Haha. Good! Very good..." Vivian happily nodded as she went back to the signing of more paperwork.
"Uhmm, milady... Although I think every one of these reforms are quite astonishing and breathtaking, I have a few concerns regarding this 'mandatory' training..." Benjamin honestly confronted Vivian.
"I feel that it's a waste to train every able-bodied man when we could just train better professional soldiers... I mean don't get me wrong, I too would like to value the life of our peasantry, but I feel that isn't it much more merciful to just not summon them as cannon-fodder, and just have a really strong professional army of retainers instead?" Benjamin asked.
"Well... I am not as educated in terms of war as Byran is, but I heard Galleo enthusiastically agree with Duke's suggestion, stating some long lost Empire once employed the same type of Tactics..."
Vivian remembered Galleo talk about an Empire in Antiquity named Remus:
[["Every civilian learning to protect themselves? Hmm, well, I think it's quite an intelligent policy if executed properly! Throughout my studies, I've read about an ancient Empire that once had this type of system... Maybe it was because of that policy of theirs that they came to conquer land far greater than that of Brune has, that stretched from the far reaches of the Novgrovan-Rus to the West, subjugating most of our Casprician ancestors till the cultured Macedenoi free island City-States of Thrace and even down to the very capital of the Musani!..." Galleo explained just how far-reaching this ancient Empire was...
"Woah! Such a large piece of land! How'd they do?! And who was its founder? Was he greater Gaiseric the Conqueror?!" Duke asked in excitement.
"No no no, no man has ever come close to Gaiseric's unbroken record of battles and land conquered... In truth, this ancient Empire was but a fraction of what Gaiseric would later conquer, but unlike the unbelievably titanic Empire that Gaiseric created that immediately fell after his death, Remus was far more stable and lasted longer... But no one knows why such little of that Empire remains in history..." Galleo mourned the loss of the ancient Empire's records.
"Tell me more of its founder" Duke asked.
"Remus started off as but a small city-state much like that of Maine. Its first Emperor or King, also named Remus, claimed that he had come from a different word, much similar to that of our own, and said he founded the City of Remus after he was nearly killed by his brother, named Romulus or something, who too founded a great city much like that of Remus which that brother called Roma... Or was it Rome? Hmm... But Remus was not content to just founding a single City. Unlike his lazy and jealous brother, he actually expanded into great heights! Becoming a legendary Emperor of history...
Ah! Did you know, the Praetorian Guards of Brune were inspired by the Remus Emperor's elite guards? Brune even right out shamelessly took the name for themselves!" Galleo laughed as his explanation ended]]
"Hmm... Maybe Duke's suggestion might make Maine as great as Remus one day... hehe" Vivian contemplated as she imagined Maine becoming as great an empire as the Empire of Remus was.
*BANG!*
"Hey, Vivi!" But her contemplation was cut short when a loud kick followed by a chubby man entered the study room.
"Speaking of the devil himself..." Vivian greeted Duke with a smile... as she thought of ways to discipline him for his rude habit of kicking down the Study's doors...
*GROWL~!*
It has been days now since the one bread rule was implemented within the Pendragon Household... But today, Duke's stomach was especially agitated, instinctively feeling Vivian's wrath and the consequent "dieting" to come thanks to Duke's rude habit...