Mornings at Scarlet Keep were busy. At least, ever since Her Excellency the Scarlet Governor arrived at her office that morning, she had been beset by a steady stream of meetings and documents to approve. Fortunately, she had grown used to this way of working. In fact, she had even discovered, to her dismay, that this demanding work gave her a little pleasure.
It made Mirian seriously wonder whether she, too, had developed some damned psychological disorder. Unfortunately, she couldn't find the time to go see Doctor Crow for a consultation.
The Governor was really just venting, though.
She knew perfectly well that her "pleasure" came from the satisfaction of building something. Especially when she took a stroll through the city at noon or after work, seeing how much more prosperous it was than the day before gave her a sense of achievement and fulfillment that no foolish indulgence could replace.
Every day, when she had a spare moment at the office window and gazed out over all of Scarlet Keep, the buildings rising from the ground at all different heights always gave her the glorious feeling that I built this whole kingdom with my own hands.
But the ever-growing number of completed buildings also gave Mirian a few headaches.
She wasn't sure when it had started, but whenever a building meant for some purpose or other was completed, respected local figures would be invited to "cut the ribbon" and celebrate the new milestone. At first, it had been a purely ceremonial celebration. Before long, however, it had turned into a covert competition between the various factions across Transia, each trying to show off its "wealth" and "influence."
The direct result was that Mirian now had to attend three or four ribbon-cutting ceremonies almost every week.
She had repeatedly told