Chapter 129: The Road to Prosperity
"Hold off on any system notifications until I’m done here, okay?" Mirabelle whispered to Pebbles before turning toward the staircase.
A moment later, footsteps echoed upward.
Her mother emerged first through the circular opening in the floor, carefully guiding her grandmother by the elbow. One hand remained behind the older woman’s back, ready to catch her should she lose her balance.
It was the first time Mirabelle had ever seen her grandmother show any sign of weakness.
For just a fleeting moment the formidable Matriarch looked like nothing more than an elderly Beastwoman.
Her mother smiled warmly as she entered.
Even her grandmother’s expression was surprisingly gentle.
The elderly Matriarch straightened her back once she was fully inside the room, took a deep breath of the cool air, and slowly looked around.
"It’s strange... being back here after so many years."
Then she walked toward the map. The Duchess joined her at its side.
"Alright, Mirabelle," her mother said, getting straight to the point. "What did you want to discuss with us?"
Mirabelle cleared her throat.
Good. Apparently, there wouldn’t be any small talk. She preferred it that way.
"Well... brace yourselves." A grin spread across her face. "Because I have quite a few ideas."
One of her grandmother’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly. She said nothing.
Mirabelle took that as permission to continue.
"There are several areas where I’d like to develop Luchsenstein. She rested both hands lightly on the edge of the model. "And one of the biggest is trade."
She traced several roads with her fingertip.
"The majority of our future revenue should come from expanding our infrastructure and creating an economy that encourages both commerce and travel. To make that happen, there are several changes I’d like to introduce."
She pointed toward Steinstein.
"The first thing I noticed is that most craftsmen and merchants sell their goods directly from their homes. That’s certainly convenient for them...
...but it’s inconvenient for everyone else.
If people don’t already know a particular craftsman exists, they’ll never think to visit them. That means fewer customers and fewer opportunities for merchants to discover one another.
She tapped the miniature town.
"So I’d like to build a proper marketplace."
Her finger drew a rough square on the side of the settlement. "Or, even better, a covered market hall.
Every citizen should have the right to get a stall there, while additional stalls could be leased to traveling merchants from outside the duchy."
She looked between her mother and grandmother.
"The goal isn’t simply to create another place to sell goods. It’s to create a commercial hub. A destination.
If merchants know they can reliably find customers in Steinstein, they’ll come.
If travelers know they can buy products from dozens of villages in one place, they’ll come.
And if neighboring territories know that goods from across Luchsenstein pass through a single market..."
She smiled.
"...they’ll come too.
The entire region benefits.
And it won’t stop with the marketplace."
Mirabelle’s finger traced a small circle around Steinstein.
"Once merchants and visitors begin coming here regularly, they’ll need places to stay.
We’ll need inns. And those inns will need citizens to run them. They’ll need cooks.
They’ll need staff. They’ll need suppliers."
She smiled.
"Our visitors won’t just spend money at the market. They’ll spend money in our inns as well. And perhaps, one day...
People travel to Luchsenstein simply because they want to."
She chuckled softly.
"And once Beastmen start visiting just to spend time here, they’ll want entertainment. Perhaps more restaurants will open. Or we could establish an entertainment district.
A place where people can watch sparring tournaments, win prize money, enjoy performances, or simply spend time together."
For a brief moment, Mirabelle found herself carried away by her own imagination.
She only noticed the increasingly overwhelmed expressions on her mother and grandmother a heartbeat later.
With a sheepish smile, she reeled herself back in.
"What I’m trying to say is..."
She rested her hand on the place her miniature market square could be.
"This market hall won’t just be another building. It’ll be the first stone that sets countless other developments into motion."
She let that idea settle before continuing.
"Of course, none of that matters if getting here is difficult."
Her hand followed the roads branching away from Steinstein.
"So I’d like to improve our roads. Some should be paved with stone."
She looked at both women.
"I know that’s a large investment, but stone roads remain usable even after heavy rain. Wagons travel faster, maintenance becomes easier in the long run, and merchants can move significantly larger quantities of goods.
I’d also like to widen many of the existing roads. Not only to make travel easier, but to improve visibility."
She pointed toward the dense eastern forest.
"And here... I’d like to cut clearings through parts of the forest. Just enough to connect the villages more efficiently.
Clear routes are easier to patrol, harder to ambush, and much safer for ordinary travelers. Rogues lose many of the places where they can hide."
Her hand shifted west toward the marshlands.
"And here... I’d like to build raised wooden walkways. Boardwalks supported by timber posts that cross the marshes and wetlands.
They’d connect settlements that are currently difficult to reach while opening entirely new trade routes through the western part of the duchy."
She paused before adding one final point.
"And lastly... I’d like to introduce a tax incentive.
Any Beastman or Beastwoman who relocates their business to Steinstein should be exempt from taxes for the first five years."
Silence.
Mirabelle looked from her mother to her grandmother. Both women were simply staring at her.
Their mouths hung slightly open. She waited for one of them to respond.
Neither did.
It took several long moments before either of them seemed capable of finding their voice.
"Five years is a long time," her grandmother finally said. "That’s a great deal of tax revenue to give up."
Mirabelle smiled.
"What we gain from attracting new businesses will be worth far more than the taxes we’d collect from them during those first five years."
"Explain."
Her mother folded her arms across her chest.
Mirabelle nodded.
"The purpose of this law is to encourage skilled Beastmen and Beastwomen from outside Luchsenstein to relocate here because doing so will be more profitable for them."
She gestured toward Steinstein once more.
"But moving a business isn’t just about opening a shop. They’ll need land. They’ll hire local workers to build workshops and homes. They’ll buy food. They’ll purchase furniture, tools, clothing, and everything else they need for their daily lives.
They’ll source many of the materials for their craft from local suppliers whenever possible."
She looked at both women.
"None of that money goes directly into our treasury. It goes to our people.
Our farmers.
Our merchants.
Our craftsmen.
And once our citizens become wealthier, they’ll naturally spend more money themselves. They’ll expand their own businesses. They’ll hire more workers.
They’ll buy more goods.
The economy begins to grow.
She smiled.
"So this law doesn’t enrich us as a family.
It enriches us as a duchy.
Her grandmother slowly nodded.
A smile spread across the elderly Matriarch’s face.
"Good."
A heartbeat later, her smile widened.
"No... That’s very good."
Then she turned toward her daughter:
"Miranda... why didn’t you think of that?"
The Duchess nearly choked on the air she had just inhaled. She shot her mother an unmistakably irritated look.
Mirabelle quickly cleared her throat and hurried on before the conversation could drift in a dangerous direction.
"I’ve also come up with several more ideas...
The wealthier our families become, the easier it will be for them to support larger households. More families will be able to afford additional mates.
And with more stable households, more pups will be born into safe and secure homes.
The next step toward making our duchy truly prosperous... is schools."
"Schools?" Both her mother and grandmother looked at her in confusion.
The very concept didn’t exist in the Beast World.
Mirabelle smiled.
"Schools will ensure that the next generation of our citizens has the knowledge and skills to earn wealth, manage it wisely, and strengthen our duchy for decades to come."
She folded her hands behind her back.
"A school is a place where pups gather to learn. You could think of it as an apprenticeship. Except instead of a master teaching one or two apprentices, a single teacher instructs thirty... perhaps even fifty pups at once.
They would attend for a few hours each day.
The first subjects I’d teach are reading and writing."
"Reading and writing?" her grandmother repeated in disbelief. Until now, literacy had been a privilege almost exclusively reserved for the nobility.
"Yes. Reading and writing.
Because wisdom begins with knowledge. And knowledge becomes far easier to acquire when people can preserve and share information through books."
She gently rested a hand on the map.
"Literacy also improves trade. It makes bookkeeping possible. It allows merchants to keep accurate records. It helps craftsmen organize larger businesses. It enables officials to manage villages more efficiently.
And just as importantly..."
Her smile widened.
"It allows us to identify talented children at a very young age."
She pointed toward the castle.
"We’ll quickly discover which pups possess exceptional intelligence or leadership.
They could later serve as administrators, village chiefs, accountants, or officials here in the castle.
And if we expand the curriculum to include physical training, we’ll also recognize those with exceptional combat potential.
Our future soldiers.
Our future officers.
It certainly won’t hurt to teach every pup how to defend themselves from an early age."
She glanced between both women.
"These schools would be open to both males and females.
Once they’re older, I’d separate them into different classes for part of the curriculum.
The females should also learn the skills they’ll eventually need to manage households, estates, and families."
Her grandmother’s eyes grew wider with every sentence. Meanwhile, her mother slowly nodded.
"...This school system has potential."
After a moment her grandmother nodded as well. Without saying another word, she looked around the room, pulled over a nearby stool, and carefully sat down.
"I need a moment."
She stared silently at the model of Luchsenstein.
Mirabelle couldn’t help smiling.
"I’m still not finished."
Her grandmother slowly lifted her head.
"...You’re still not finished?"
She sounded dangerously close to surrender.