Turning the Page

I arrived at my chambers and saw the prime minister standing teasing some young maids. I approached him, but he was so engrossed with maids that he did not notice my presence.

"Cough….Cough" I coughed a little to get the attention of the old man.

Hearing some sound, they turned their heads in unison. Seeing me all the maids ran away and old man Reginald stood there frozen on the spot.

"Grandpa Reginald, It seems you are not happy with Grandma Eve"

He gave me a pitiful look and said "Your Highness, I was just teaching these maids some etiquettes."

"Oh, Really"

"Yes, Yes," He said hurriedly

"Then Granny Eve should also know about your good deeds"

"There is no need for that" Reginald replied stiffly.

Emily who was standing behind was trying very hard to control her laughter.

"Don't be so stiff grandpa, I am just playing with you"

"Haa..." Hearing this Reginald breathed a sigh of relief and said ""Your Highness, you a queen now. You should stop addressing us old bones as grandpa/grandma and should address me formally.

"You and Grandma Eveline were the ones who raised 'Late King Cedric' from childhood. He considered both of you as his elders. So how can you address you like you are my subordinates."

"Ok, you can call me Grandpa but only if there is no one around, but on formal occasions you will have to address us formally."

I hugged him and said "Thank you, Grandpa"

"Ok, ok, don't act like a kid and show some dignity of queen."

I separated and straightened my posture and with a serious face, I said "Is this ok?"

"Perfect"

"We should be on our way to court" 

"Yes" Saying that we both started walking towards the court.

"So, why did you come here personally, is there something urgent" I asked

"Nothing much, some nobles wanted to return to their respective territory and wanted your permission."

"Ok"

I arrived at the gate of the royal court.

"Her majesty, the queen is entering" Seeing me the guards announced my arrival.

Hearing the announcement everyone stood up.

I proceeded towards the throne and sat down and signaled everybody else to sit down too.

As I looked around the court, three of the seats were empty. It belonged to Countess Gwendolyn Harrington, Earl Dorian Lockwood, and Count Maldrick Havisham in which two of them are already cold.

"Why has Countess Gwendolyn not arrived yet" 

"Countess Gwendolyn has returned to the Harrington territory with your maid Seraphine on your orders" Isabella, Marchioness of Albion replied.

Hearing her words I realized I had sent Seraph and Seraphine to Eldoria (Maldrick's territory) and Harington.

"Ok, putting that matter aside, I heard from the prime minister that you want to return to your territories"

"Yes, your highness" Duke James replied.

"Your Highness, it's been quite a while since we arrived at the royal capital and since you have taken charge of the kingdom, it's time to return to our territories" Isabella added.

"In the absence of their Lord, their subjects are managing their estates poorly and it is affecting the lives of civilians. So they need to return." The royal advisor Elara Caelan suggested.

After hearing everyone I said "Ok, you can return to your respective estates after this court's proceedings"

"Since this matter is settled, we should proceed to the next subject".

Saying that I took out a paper scroll which I got from the system as a sample product from the system inventory.

Seeing a white scroll appear on my hands out of thin air, everyone was astonished. They wanted to voice their doubts but decided to remain silent thinking it may be the queen's secret and focused on the scroll.

"In my hand, there is a method that can solve our immediate financial crisis."

Hearing my words they got even more curious about the scroll.

Not making them wait I handed it down for everyone to see it for themselves.

Isabella came forward and took the scroll from my hands.

As Isabell was examining the scroll others also joined her, and everyone was astonished feeling the texture of the paper. It was smooth and clear unlike the parchments circulating in the market.

"What is this, it doesn't seem to be parchments circulating in the market." Reginald voiced his doubts on everyone's behalf

"This is called 'paper'. It is clearer than parchments and easy and cheaper to produce. With this, we will capture the market of parchments."

Francis turned towards me and said, "Indeed Yor Majesty, this is such a fine product. If we are able to produce it at large scale, we will be able to replace and monopolize the market of currently circulating parchments."

"So, let's discuss about it. How should we proceed."

"I think the production manual should be shared among all the lords present here. So that large-scale production plants can be established in all the estates. By doing so, many employment opportunities will be generated in each territory improving the livelihood of the citizens while also boosting the territory's economy which in the end benefits the kingdom." Elara, the royal advisor suggested.

After much discussion, I announced my decision.

"A company will be established under the royal family's name.- Solstoria Paper Company"

"I will share the production manual with everyone present here. They can produce it in their territories but they will have to pay half of the profit to the royal family apart from 15% taxes.

Hearing this no one voiced any complaints. Why you ask? 

Well because it was all the queen's idea. Even if she did not share the manual and monopolized all the profit, they could not do anything.

Even though they have to pay half of their profit and 15% tax on the remaining profit, they will still be able to make more money than they ever had, as they know the value of the product.

"Since no one has any complaints, I will present the production manual" 

I commanded Sylph to make several copies of the manual in my mind. 

I took out several copies of the manual from the inventory and passed them down to everyone.

They were not so surprised by a stack of papers appearing out of thin air since they had already witnessed it before. 

They took the manual and went through it.

Seeing the contents of the manual, they started to doubt its authenticity.

"I don't want to be rude but Your Majesty is this real" Duke James voiced everyone's doubts.

Hearing his words, I just smiled and said "I am well aware of your doubts. But I assure you that this is authentic and its results are in front of your eyes."

I already knew this was going to happen as the process of this revolutionary product was very simple. So simple that it can be made at home.

To make paper, one needs to find a suitable wood as a raw material. After finding a suitable wood, it will be chopped into smaller pieces. Peel off its outer bark and take the inner one. Then, pour it into a basin filled with water and beat it until they becomes pulp. This may take several hours since there is no machinery. After several hours of beating, check the consistency of the pulp. If it is okay then it can proceed to the next step, if not then continue the beating. Then, the wooden mould will be plunged into the pulp. Lift it and shake the wooden mould to even out the pulp to get the water out leaving only fibres on the mould surface. Transfer the fibre from the mould and put it on top of the fabric. Repeat the process with each sheet of paper separated by the fabric to prevent it from sticking together. Then, slowly apply pressure on the top of the stack of paper to draw the excess water out. Finally, hang the paper to dry. It was so simple that it was unbelievable.

After discussing on other trivial matters court ended. 

Royal advisor Elara Caelan, Vice commander Thaddeus Blackwood, and Prime Minister Reginald Ravenscroft and his wide Eve Ravenscroft returned to their chambers while Duchess Eveline Ravenscroft, Duke James Ranford, and Marchioness Isabella Albion returned to their estates.