“...”

Sol sighed before placing the business plan into her desk. Of the two ideas, she really wanted to implement the banking system. After discussing it with her assistants, they concluded that establishing a bank would allow Iridescent to grow its influence in regions other than Arcgate without having to establish themselves there first.

Such a situation could only benefit them since she eventually wanted to expand outside the Arcgate territory. Being well trusted and respected was a good first step to obtaining good shop locations and contacts.

But as her father and brother pointed out, such plans only made sense if the Reviarra family remained safe. There was no need to poke the sleeping giant called ‘Royals’. Sol grabbed the second business plan and dived in.

“I’m somewhat confused how the first plan is considered deadly to us yet this one isn’t. In my estimation, this is far more dangerous than establishing a banking system.”

Duke Reviarra glanced at his son with a questioning gaze. Clearly he wanted to hear his opinion on the deal. In recent months, he found his daughter’s business plans to be so wide ranging that they made for good study cases involving management.

Rather than discuss with her alone about the territory’s future, he decided to bring his son into the equation. Unlike those textbook examples with predetermined answers force fed to everyone at the school, Duke Reviarra found the fresh and conflictive plans his daughter thought up to be far more educational.

There were times when Duke Reviarra considered allowing his daughter to truly take control of the territory, however their family’s position could never allow it. Sol’s reputation amongst nobility was already as bad as it could be.

News of her diving into business had already spread among the lower nobility and in recent times, her name was a conversational topic during high nobility gatherings. Between her ill health and skewing the social norms, there were few women who looked favorably upon her.

Such things never hampered Sol though. She understood by how her mother had stopped frequenting tea ceremonies, despite being a Duchess, that there was contention higher up. Yet, her mother never complained to her, nor did she ask Sol to limit her activities.

Sol wasn’t blind. She had long surpassed the average 9 year old and held a clear understanding of her surroundings. Rather than wallow in despair or depression, she chose instead, to expand Iridescent to the extent that her mother could no longer be ignored.

The business plan Duke Reviarra was questioning his son about was Sol’s first step to make that goal reality. Lord Christopher furrowed his brows after skimming the document once more. His sister claimed the plan to be more dangerous than the previous, yet he couldn’t discover how.

Eyes brimming with curiosity looked to the Duke, however he understood immediately that his father had no intention of helping him yet. He could only surrender and speak as he understood it.

“Sister, I don’t understand how this plan would be more dangerous than the banking system. Can you go into more detail? Trails and travel routes already exist.”

“Sure. To be exact, it’s not this plan itself that’s dangerous, but the 2nd and 3rd order effects that would follow. If everything goes smoothly, Arcgate would soon become a major tradehub drawing commerce away from the capital.

The trails currently used are decrepit and dangerous. Caution must be taken against not only animals, bandits, and traveling rations but also the environment itself. Brother, our family is well off and so we don’t need to worry as much about it, however there are many deaths every year from people being forced off the beaten trail or isolated due to a broken cart.

Since we currently deal with agriculture, something that doesn’t conflict with the capital’s business model, we’ve been ignored up to this point. It would take about 2 years until our effects become noticeable, however savvy businessmen would likely take action prior to that and start targeting Iridescent at best, and the territory at worst.

Assuming we manage to overcome that danger, the more problematic situation will happen and it’s something that could potentially bring us into direct conflict with the Royals which is why I consider this more dangerous than the banking system.”

Sol took a moment to organize her thoughts while also pulling out a blank sheet of paper. She sketched an outline showing roughly the layout of territories in the Blonsall Kingdom. After drawing various lines through them, she caught the eyes of her brother widening in surprise.

“Have you noticed, brother?”

“Yeah… I see what you mean now…”

“Should we implement this plan, it would link all the major territories in such a way that the capital would lose the direct control they once held. Perhaps the Royal family would be kind to us as we’ve supported them for generations, however I think the more likely answer is they would protect their power.”

Christopher stared hard at Sol after hearing her response. He found it hard to understand why his sister would put forward a plan that she already saw extreme danger in. Sol smiled wryly after catching his stare.

“I’ve run this plan by father before including it, brother. Even if I hadn’t, though, this problem is more common than you might think. The Royal family, and likely most noble families, are alway playing a game of balance. Gain too much power and you have to sacrifice something lest you become a common enemy Too little and you become irrelevant..

Merchants are bound by those limits as well, however there’s a bit more flex allowed because the prevailing ideology is that merchants have little power outside of money. While they’re not wrong, it becomes tricky once a merchant is backed by a noble household, much like Iridescent currently is.

If I want to improve our territory, there’s many ways for me to go about it, however in the end, it will be temporary at best. The best methods tend to improve the targeted area while giving bonuses to the surrounding regions. This plan would increase our connectivity and cover our territory’s weakness.

Arcgate simply doesn’t have enough product variety to properly improve itself. Our territory is known for exporting grain and nothing more. That means to improve Arcgate, our territory requires a mechanism to attract external businesses and promote importing new products.

So brother, what are your thoughts?”

“You should put this idea away. It’s too dangerous.”

There was a subtle disappointment in Duke Reviarra’s gaze, however only Sol managed to glimpse it. Sol understood immediately and tried to educate her brother. It was her brother who would eventually inherit everything after all.

“Brother, the fundamental success of any business hinges on the concept of supply and demand. For a businessman, too much supply would damage his wallet while too little allows for other businessmen to encroach on the market. Too much demand could endanger his life if the businessman were the only source while too little demand would put him out of business.

In similar fashion, maintaining Royal authority hinges on balancing internal and external pressures. Each concept relies on the other just as supply and demand relate for a businessman. Do you understand?”

“You’re trying to say that by constructing these roads the Reviarra family can be positioned as an internal or external pressure regulator and so the threat to us is diminished?”

Duke Reviarra’s gaze became more satisfied at his answer. Without waiting for Sol to confirm, Duke Reviarra tooka step forward.

“I approved of Sol’s plan because the King is in the middle of selecting a successor. The Crown Prince has already lost his title and is on equal footing with the other Princes. The 2nd and 3rd Princes have started fighting in the shadows and the 4th Prince has started amassing weapons in secret.

The 5th and 6th Prince appear harmonious, however they’re both engaged in heavy bribery and political negotiations. Although they’ve yet to escalate their conflicts, it’s only a matter of time. In simpler terms, the Kingdom is very unstable right now and will only get worse moving forward.

King Blonsall tasked me with dampening the fallout should anything happen. Sol’s roadway project can be utilized in more ways than just transporting products. Keep this information to yourselves, it shouldn’t leave this room.”

““Yes.””