Civilization Chronicles: Rise of the Divine Creator

After the meeting to discuss the recent movements in the Darr Kingdom, Great Elder Pauline Balfour had buried herself in all the reports and documents detailing the changes which had occurred in the Rockwell Kingdom and more specifically in the Balfour March these past 2 years.

To say it had been an avalanche of events would be an understatement.

Pauline had seen some initial lists, but delving into the details had really opened her eyes to just how much the world had shifted while she was in seclusion.

The general changes to the kingdom were definitely eye-opening to the Great Elder, but what really shocked her was just how much the Balfour Family was involved in all of this, and how many new commitments the Marquess had made in the family’s name.

How much money they were burning through also nearly caused Pauline to faint.

As the one responsible for the day-to-day administration of both the Balfour Family and its territories, Pauline had always been very sensitive to their treasury and expenditures, never authorising any large-scale works or projects she did not deem necessary or at least more than likely to be beneficial.

Now, however, Celestina had allocated funding to more than 20 different pursuits, many of which were extremely light on detail and poorly described in the official records.

Pauline understood that certain information wasn’t suitable to be written down in semi-public documents, but the Great Elder had encountered the word ’experimental’ and ’classified’ so many times during her reading that she was beginning to grow frustrated. The only reason she managed to keep her composure was because the source of all this trouble would soon be giving her a full explanation.

Lucas, her mother’s First Disciple, was undoubtedly the origin of all these crazy projects, and Pauline was intent on wringing all the little details out of him when they met later to discuss the international trade conference he had proposed.

The part where he explained to her exactly how these projects would benefit the Balfour Family, and how they would be paid for was of particular interest to Pauline.

As Celestina’s eldest daughter, Pauline knew her mother extremely well, so she didn’t doubt that the former had the best interests of the Balfour Family and the Rockwell Kingdom at heart when she decided to support these endeavours, but she couldn’t help feeling some slight doubt when she realized that almost all of these were being headed by or pushed forward by Lucas.

So many massive and disparate works couldn’t possibly be handled by one person alone, let alone a 10-year-old boy who had yet to even reach maturity.

Lucas had displayed incredible intelligence, wit, and strategic thinking during their brief encounter that night in Celestina’s office, but that wasn’t enough to convince Pauline that he could manage all these projects or that his ideas were worth investing tens of millions of Gold Coins in.

Could the Balfour Family afford such expenditures?

Yes, it could; however, doing so would surely put a massive dent in their savings.

What’s more, Celestina had also committed their family to fully supporting the Second Queen’s new economic agenda, which would surely be another massive expense as infrastructure was never cheap to build.

That being said, the projects Lucas and her mother had initiated that were public and could be openly scrutinized had already produced some remarkable results.

The bathhouses which had opened in the Misty City Manor, and the bar soap which was offered in every shower stall, were the most obvious examples, and Pauline could easily tell that these were remarkable successes.

As such, despite her unease, Pauline decided to reserve her judgement until after she had gotten all the facts.

If, at that point, she found these various projects both feasible and worthwhile, she would fully endorse and support them.

If not, she wouldn’t hesitate to pull their funding, even if her mother objected.

Celestina was a great leader, and the woman Pauline loved and respected more than anyone else in the world, but she wasn’t perfect. If Celestina had made a mistake, it was her duty as her daughter and heir to correct it.

.....

10 days after the meeting in Celestina’s office, Pauline found herself in the loud, hot forges of the Misty City Manor.

Here, she was observing a number of different types of equipment being manufactured, ones that were very different from the normal swords, spears, shields, and armour that was usually produced in this smithy.

"I thought our Balfour Family wasn’t allowed to manufacture these agricultural machines ourselves?" The Great Elder commented as she inspected a recently completed seed drill.

Pauline had never tilled a farm field in her life, nor had she planted wheat or harvested grain before, but that didn’t mean she was ignorant of how much time, effort, and money was involved in this seemingly simple task.

In fact, nearly 75% of all labour in the South-East Province was dedicated entirely to farming!

What was even more shocking, though, was that despite the overwhelming majority of commoners being engaged in agriculture, the Balfour March still needed to import food from other provinces in order to feed its population and maintain its reserves!

As such, Pauline knew that even a small improvement in efficiency in farming would have a dramatic impact on the Rockwell Kingdom as a whole.

"Our agreement with the Carlson Family indeed forbids us to manufacture any of these machines for commercial purposes; however, when that contract was drafted, I made sure to include a clause that allows us to conduct independent research and development," Lucas explained, smiling innocently as he mused, "The only way to conduct large-scale endurance and performance tests, however, is to have multiple machines working on farms all across the South-East Province."

"In other words, this brat lied, schemed, and cheated those Carlsons," Old Braxton cackled, slapping the young boy on the back hard enough that Lucas winced.

Pauline, who was no stranger to such contract loopholes, raised her brow slightly as she asked, "And when the Carlson’s find out you deceived them?"

"They knew from the start," Lucas shrugged, "Or rather, Supreme Elder Elizabeth understood my intentions when she read the contract and signed it."

"Good," Pauline nodded. She hadn’t anticipated the Carlson’s making a fuss, especially since these farm machines were being jointly developed by their two families, but with this tacit understanding already in place, she could now completely relax.

As long as it wasn’t going to cause them problems in the future, she was fine with it.