Reborn as the Psycho Villainess Who Ate Her Slave Beasts' Contracts

But none of them looked unprepared.

"I’ve been summoned back to the capital in ten days," Elara said without preamble. "Imperial decree. Mandatory attendance for succession proceedings. No extensions possible."

The room absorbed this silently.

"Which means," she continued, "we have ten days to make every operation in Port Crestfall sustainable without my physical presence. The supermarket, the drink distribution, the vendor contracts, security, finances—everything must function independently."

Dimitri raised his hand slightly. "Your Highness, ten days is not enough time to—"

"It has to be." Elara’s voice was flat, factual. "I don’t control the timeline. I can only optimize within the constraints given."

She walked to a board where she’d drawn organizational charts.

"Current structure: everything flows through me. Every decision, every approval, every problem reaches my desk. This is unsustainable." She pointed to three names. "New structure: Dimitri handles all financial operations and vendor relations. Mira handles personnel and administrative functions. Gregor handles security coordination with the beast knights."

"Your Highness," Gregor said carefully, "that’s a significant amount of authority to delegate—"

"Yes. Which is why we’re implementing oversight mechanisms." Elara drew lines between the names. "Dimitri and Mira cross-check each other’s work weekly. Gregor reports security matters to both of them. Any expenditure over one hundred gold requires two signatures. Any new hire requires background verification from Mira and security clearance from Gregor."

She turned to face them.

"You three are now co-directors of Port Crestfall operations. Equal authority. Shared responsibility. If I die or am prevented from returning, you continue operations and split profits according to the partnership agreement Dimitri will draft today."