Adelaide put down her quill and looked up. Her messy mind couldn''t produce anything at the moment so she needed reprieve, a way to console the stress while encouraging herself to do better. She looked at her reflection in the silver mirror in front of her desk.


    The woman within the oval furniture had a stoic face that betrayed the chaos storming within her skull, delicate cheeks held a high nose and warm amber eyes. Hair as gold as the sun''s rays ran down her scalp, one strand fell over her back while the other rested on the right side of her chest.


    A dress, white as a cloud with a matching pair of gloves wrapped around the reflection''s thin body. It wasn''t visible because she was seated but the person on the other side of the mirror was curvy, possessing a waist which did not warrant a need for corsets.


    She wore no jewelry for her features were finer than diamond and smoother than gold.


    Adelaide reminded herself that the person in the mirror, the genius, naturally superior, beautiful maiden working to protect her home from being ruined is the one she is doing this all for. Nothing else mattered in the face of the girl''s comfort, not even the gods themselves nor the king.


    Adelaide spoke to herself grimly, whispering mouthlessly into her own mind that failure has consequences and she didn''t need to be reminded of how those felt now did she? One time was enough for her to learn, and it had been years since then. Now? She would never falter, never get caught unguarded. That was the promise she made to herself.


    It was in her best interest to go back to the empty piece of paper and start working on the laws the territory will to pass so that they survive the upcoming strife. An increase in taxes by 10% spanning through the 120 mile wide territory would yield their house several thousand pounds more of wheat, meat, and other important resources to train and keep their army. It is at the cost of the farmers possibly getting all prickly but such a small increase is barely noticeable in the eyes of the peasants.


    So what if the collectors take half a cart more of resources from them? It''s such an abysmal amount that the people wouldn''t consider it strange, especially when their own stock wouldn''t change so drastically from its original amount. It is a small difference at an individual scale but a large gain for her family.


    And that boon will only increase over time, Adelaide did not know just how much time she still had left but she is certain it will be long before those who started ruining her peace would be able to set things in motion. Petty whispers and ruined names can only do so much, rightfully when compared to truly knowing how to play the royal court. Requiring the prince and other influential figures to move for you for any gain from your efforts is foolish, every noble knew that.


    But not the troublemakers even though they should. It is strange. And why now did those two grow their spine? Adelaide did not know. It is a mystery to everyone why and how the daughters of two families- a baron from the outskirts of the capital and the second eldest daughter of the Foxworth house, - shifted their personalities in such a short amount of time.


    And contrary to what most of them expected, the most ambitious one didn''t possess the blood of high nobility, another Duke to be exact, and instead had been some low borne in the middle of nowhere. Barons, as a rule, did not go to the castle during important events but if they were so close to the capital then why not? The king permitted it and his word was law.


    Strange as it may be, during the recent party, one dedicated to the second prince''s engagement, the youngest daughter of the Marlowe house decided to become a heavy flatterer. Mooching up various family heirs and even tried to play her hand with the crown prince himself but that didn''t go well.


    As for the other one...


    Adelaide knew Rosalind, she needed to due to the close status of both their families. It was but mandatory that the two of them connected with one another during childhood to ensure that future connections form between both daughters. And Rosalind was meek and reclusive but she never bothered to read books nor was she so adept at social situations.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    It was strange to see her social intelligence suddenly rise in Adelaide''s eyes- not just hers, but every other noble felt the same way. And after her sudden shift of attitude during the party, they all deemed her to be a potential political rival until Rosalind just one day decided to... Study magic. Why? Adelaide was not sure. Magic was weak unless you were born with talent and studying it rather than subjects such as economy, merchantdom, and ruling is simply pointless.


    Mages can always be hired. There is no shortage of powerful people who can be bought with coin but leaders? They are far and few between and it is their responsibility to keep that status quo for as long as possible. To do that, they needed to be proper leaders whose goals aligned with keeping their seat of power.


    How they acted as a ruler determined the opinions of their peers, if its for self benefit then they might be seen as a threat but no one will go out of their way to attack you if they think you''re ultimately on the Kingdom''s side. Except, they can.


    Sullying words, a growing alliance between opposing factions, and someone''s military might can be turned evil in the eyes of the crown. Seen as a problem that can overthrow the reigning king and depose of them in time. And if the sullied family had a history of being a Kingmaker? Then the situation goes from bad, to worse.


    Paranoia is a powerful thing when wielded properly, it can convince other nobles to be wary of you during negotiations, cause them to rely on that paranoia when they think you''re on their side, and ensure that any offense your way is not to be taken lightly. But it is also a double edged sword that when wielded by the enemy, causes the rest of the sheep to group up, marking you their enemy. A herd can be effective against a lone predator but at the end of the day, they are nothing more than meek sheep.


    And sheep, no matter how much they group, will always be stupid. Paranoid. Adelaide knew there is a way around the current predicament.


    She stopped writing when she heard a knock.


    "Come on in," Adelaide called out to the person outside of her study, had it been an hour already? She''s sure that she just left her father''s side just now. Oh well, dinner isn''t so bad at the moment, she''s made decent progress in writing the decree and would finish it after she''s done eating.


    A maid walked into her study, Adelaide eyed her. This one has been coming here for the past week, serving her shortly after the previous one got replaced. Adelaide did not see the need to swap her out until today for she has dressed well and nothing in her actions irritated Adelaide''s eye.


    Thus the fault in her bearing became glaringly obvious when Adelaide''s eyes landed on her. Her clothes were finely ironed but a part of the second layer of her dress is slightly ajar. One glance at it and Adelaide felt herself get angry, her new necklace, while beautiful and no doubt expensive did not fit the color of the rest of her jewelry. Her gait right now is ugly. Arrogant.


    Rushing, showing off, and a confident yet shaking demeanor.


    "Is your necklace new?" Adelaide asked with a soft smile, disarming the girl bad enough that the maid forgot her manners and nodded eagerly. Adelaide did not let her irritation show, instead she grew her smile, forcing her lips to perk up and show happiness for the maid.


    "Yes!" The voice was high pitched, annoying. It grated at her ears- and the way she placed Adelaide''s glass of milk onto the desk without a saucer!


    "Stop." Adelaide glared at the maid, causing her to shiver. Every ounce of happiness the girl felt dissipated moments after the command left Adelaide''s mouth and she paled, "what are you doing?"


    "I-is something wrong?" She asks, looking at the desk, "I''m sure the desk is empty-"


    "It is." Adelaide snapped, "well?"


    "Sorry." The maid bowed and placed a saucer on top of the smooth oak before finally delivering the milk. "I was careless."


    "It''s okay, you can work in the gardens from now on. That way you don''t have to worry about carelessness since the only one who cares about that place is my mother. And she''s merciful enough to let things like this go." Adelaide took the glass and sipped out a drop of milk, she licked the cream atop her lips and shooed the silent maid away. "Leave."


    A heated look caused the frozen maid to bow and hastily leave, Adelaide waited for the door to close to see if more of her night will get ruined by hearing the girl crying outside but that fortunately didn''t happen.


    Adelaide gave the cart of food in front of her desk an inspection, bread, meat, and soup. No vegetables? Adelaide frowned, why is her dinner packed with meat? Usually this would be greens with hints of meat so why the sudden change? Does her father want her to get fat?.. No- he wanted her to bulk up. Prepare.


    Adelaide finished her dinner and pushed the cart by the walls beside the entrance. She sipped her glass of milk, relishing the sourness. The tasteless liquid brought her mind out of turmoil through sheer disgust and Adelaide worked on the decree once more.


    Carefully crafting how a decree is viewed by the masses is something that she is used to, she knew her numbers well enough, and the lay of the land even more so. And people are simple creatures: give them comfort and reduce their discomfort and they will protect your land with their lives. Bad taxes can reduce their happiness until the peasants willingly stand aside as you get hanged, which is why a change in law needs careful consideration.


    Figure out what resource is scarce, learn the harvests per season, see if a coming famine is about to blow down on the crops, and make sure everything is given careful consideration. Take something the villagers lack too much of and it won''t be long before they revolt and take your head.


    Adelaide emptied her bottle way before she finished calculating the effects of her decree, when it was done, the noble left it on her desk. Her father would take care of passing it, assuming he deems the planned changes as good.


    Adelaide found herself staring out the window, her gaze fixated on a land which lay beyond the forest. Far ahead, the capital stood proud, its lights shining through the darkness of the night like a radiant beacon.


    But not for long. She needed to prepare, garner allies, and carefully lay out a foundation which will allow her to keep her comforts when everything settles down.