Chapter 38 meeting (end)

Valarissa nodded and continued, "As for the various lords' willingness to provide those lands for free, I don't care about their generosity. Whether they want it or not, give them 25% of the harvest in their territory." She gestured to Gideon to continue.

Gideon nodded, providing details about the various resources. Due to the production of farm and construction tools, the reserves of iron and wood brought from Valarissa's father were running low. He also reported on the reconstruction of all warehouses, ready to receive goods at any time.

Valarissa nodded in acknowledgment and then instructed, "I will find a way to replenish the wood and iron reserves. You can focus on your responsibilities. I have visited and checked the warehouse buildings. As for the grains and other essentials for the workers, they have already been transported to the warehouse by my men. Arrange for guards to protect the warehouse and make proper records of everything inside and its allocations." Valarissa's instructions surprised everyone in the room.

"Princess, have you really transferred enough to feed that many recruited workers?" Gideon asked in surprise.

"No," Valarissa's words made everyone shake, but her following words stunned them, "Transferred enough grain and other essentials, including spices, vegetables, meat, milk, and eggs, to feed the entire King's Landing three meals a day for three weeks."

"What!" Everyone exclaimed simultaneously, forgetting their occasion and status. They couldn't believe it.

"Yes, I have, and you don't need to be surprised. I can do it because I know what I'm doing. Now, let's get back to our meeting at hand. Cerdic, speak up," Valarissa said, waking up the six stunned individuals.

Cerdic stood up, in charge of acquiring the orphanage buildings and collecting orphans under the age of 15.

"Princess, before I was detained, I had already negotiated with the nobles and acquired four large mansions and the surrounding areas to build the orphanages. I've also recruited the necessary people for the reconstruction according to the blueprint you provided. As for the current progress, I don't know, as it was taken care of by my two friends," Cerdic said honestly, with a hint of helplessness.

"I see. I'm sorry about what happened to you. You have done well. You may continue to lead this, and both Alistair and Rowen will be directly under you," Valarissa explained as she looked around the table.

After Cerdic finished his report and sat down, Alistair and Rowen exchanged nods before turning to Valarissa. Rowen stood up to report, "Princess Valarissa, I am in charge of the reconstruction and renovation, including the internal facilities for the orphanages. The reconstruction of the four acquired buildings has already started, with one of the mansions assianed more workers to complete as soon as possible.

"But because of the lack of workers and the need to demolish a large part of the existing building to follow the Princess's blueprint, it would take at least a month and a half to complete the orphanage building at the latest," Rowen explained.

"Grace, from the new recruits, assign as many workers as needed to meet Rowen's requirements," Valarissa ordered.

Grace nodded in understanding. "Yes, Princess."

"Anything else, Rowen?" She asked.

"Yes, Princess, but when all the demolishing work is completed, I would need enough wood, stone, and tools for the reconstruction," Rowen revealed his concern.

"You don't have to worry about things that aren't of your concern; you are to focus on your duties and responsibilities," Valarissa assured Rowen.

After Rowen reported his progress and sat down, the next one to report was Alistair. He stood up, and from Cerdic, Valarissa knew Alistair was in charge of picking up, receiving, and taking care of the children.

"Princess, Ser Cerdic has already sent words to all surrounding and beyond territories, informing about the orphanage and its details. However, it doesn't seem to have much effect as people are still skeptical about these generous terms and policies, causing zero direct registrations of orphans.

But indirectly there have been a total of 2,000 registrations of orphanages, mostly from King's Landing itself. In addition to this, I also recruited widows and some women to take care of these children. Because the orphanages are still in the construction phase, the children are kept within one of your palaces in King's Landing," Alistair reported, bringing a bit of relief to everyone in the room as they realized they had already made some progress, even though it wasn't what they expected.

Valarissa immediately asked what Alistair meant by "indirectly registered," and Alistair promptly explained. He clarified that the children under the age of 15 who registered as workers under Grace and Elena were sent to him by them, and these 2000 registrations were part of this indirect process. Valarissa nodded in understanding.

"Excellent, keep up the good work, everyone," she said to everyone in the room, hoping to boost morale. "I'll be sending you all the necessary documents and paperwork in the coming days, so make sure to have them ready. Now, before we adjourn for today, I'd like to address something. Everyone, I don't care if the work is delayed by a month or two, but the workers shouldn't be exploited or overworked, as your every action represents House Targaryen," Valarissa explained seriously.

"Now, everyone else can get on with their work. The three of you, stay." She smiled warmly at everyone, her eyes focused on Cerdic, Alistair, and Rowen.

The other four left to take care of their own responsibilities. After everyone left the chamber, she glanced at the three as she spoke, "The three of you will be training with me starting tomorrow, and you should be ready at the training field early morning."

Cerdic "??"

Alistair "??" 

Rowen "??"

The three looked puzzled as they gazed at Valarissa's small figure. Rowen and Alistair didn't say anything, but internally, they wanted to scold. They knew their identity—training a noble daughter, much less a princess. They felt unworthy, and if, by accident, they hurt her, the king would have their heads. They exchanged glances, both silently looking at Cerdic.

Cerdic noticed this and reluctantly spoke, "Princess, if you want to train in swords, I can train you," offering his assistance.

Valarissa turned to Cerdic with a smile. "Oh! It seems you misunderstood me, Cerdic. It is not you three who will train me, but I will be training you three."