Chapter 31: Economic Reformation (The Royal Bank of Leo)
The Kingdom of Leo was changing. The once-tattered roads were now broad arteries of stone and discipline, cutting through the wilds like veins of purpose. Borgin's new highways stitched the realm together. Lyra's district gleamed like a vision of the future. The 5 legions marched with mechanical precision, more akin to steel than men. It was a kingdom reborn.
ButGrand Prince Alexius knew—strength on the outside was nothing if the core remained feeble. Roads were bones, armies were muscle, but the true lifeblood of a state was its economy. And his kingdom's economy? It was a relic—a slow, clunky beast dragging iron chains of metal coins, debt, and guild monopolies.
The royal treasury mirrored this paradox. It was a chamber of riches—and rot. Piled to the ceiling were chests stuffed with Gold Lions and Silver Stags seized from traitorous nobles, glittering proof of the Crown's resurgence. Elara's new tax system poured fresh wealth into the vaults. But it all just sat there, gleaming and useless.
Alexius stood by the window, arms crossed, in his solar. Every important Ministers and persons are called to attend this meeting.
Chancellor Elias, ever careful and severe, laid down a parchment thick with requisitions. Below them in the courtyard, dozens of soldiers struggled to load heavy wagons.
"That," Elias said grimly, "is the Second Legion's quarterly pay—nearly three tons of coin. We need a company of Royal Guards to move it. The escort costs nearly as much as the money itself."
He shook his head, and Alexius could hear the frustration buried in his tone. "It's absurd. Every time we move the coin, we waste strength and time."
Elara stepped forward. Calm, exacting, and brilliant. Her tone was sharper than Elias's, but no less serious.
"The private sector is no better, Your Majesty. The merchants plan to employ five hundred people this year with the loans,since the government is promoting innovative industries with tax exemptions. But the moneylenders want high interest, and the guilds hoard their credit like dragons hoard gold. Innovation is suffocating. Our economy is trying to run... while breathing through a straw."
Alexius remained still. This was no surprise. He had foreseen this very moment when he took the throne. The military, the roads, the administrative reforms—those were merely the skeleton and sinew. But this?
This would be the kingdom's heart.
He unrolled a new parchment on the grand oak table, and diagrams—flowcharts, institutional organs, and financial arteries were written down on it.
"We are slaves to the weight of metal," Alexius said quietly. "And that must end. A kingdom's true power lies not in gold, but in the speed and confidence with which gold moves."
He tapped the first diagram.
"Pillar One: The Royal Bank of Leo."
He looked between Elara and Elias.
"This will be more than a treasury—it will be the engine of a new world. A state-backed central bank. It will lend, invest, and stabilize. Not for profit, but for growth. We will back it with the Crown's gold and silver reserves—every Lion and Stag we own. It will issue fair loans, secure vast transactions, and move capital without moving a single coin."
He smiled faintly. "Elias, your reputation is worth more than all the gold in these vaults. You will serve as its first Governor. Elara—you will design its systems. Your precision is the soul of this endeavor."
Elias's jaw tightened—honored, but wary. Elara, by contrast, looked as if she had just been handed a living puzzle box. Her eyes gleamed with possibility.
Alexius moved to the second scroll.
"Pillar Two: The Royal Mint and a New Currency."
On the paper: a delicate, engraved bill. Beautiful. Alien.
Elias squinted. "Paper? Your Majesty... you expect a farmer to trade a bushel of wheat for a scrap of paper?"
"It is not a scrap," Alexius replied gently. "It is a promise. A Crown Note. Each one backed by the gold in our vaults. Here—look at this." He pointed to the wording. "'The Royal Bank of Leo shall pay the bearer on demand the sum of One Gold Lion.' This note is lighter than metal, safer to transport, and guarded by dwarven engravings and magical seals. It is not the gold. It is the trust behind it."
He paused. "Trust in the Crown. In us."
The final scroll unfurled. A map of the continent. Red lines traced trade routes from Leo outward like a spreading flame.
"Pillar Three: Trade Dominance."
"We will make Aethelburg not just a city of power, but of money. Borgin will modernize the harbor. Our Crown Notes will circulate beyond our borders. Trade treaties with the southern friendly kingdoms—sealed not in coin, but in confidence. We will set the standard. The world will measure its wealth against ours."
It was ambitious.
And the plans began immediately.
The Royal Bank rose in the heart of Aethelburg like a fortress of finance—grey granite walls, twin stone lions guarding the gates, vaults deeper than any dungeon. Borgin built it like he would a citadel: impenetrable.
When the new "Crown Notes" were introduced, public reaction was as icy as expected. Farmers gripped their old coins with suspicion. Merchants whispered of scams and witchcraft.
Alexius didn't panic. He staged a spectacle.
"Royal Exchange Day" was declared. Ten wagons of gleaming gold arrived in the plaza before a crowd of thousands. Guards stacked them high before the Royal Bank.
Then, General Varrus, Minister Thorne, and other officials lined up and handed over sacks of heavy coins—publicly—receiving stacks of Crown Notes in return.
And to prove the notes were not a trick? A royal official marched up to the teller's window and exchanged them back for gold, right in front of everyone.
The people watched.
And slowly... they believed.
Then came the first real test: Alexius established the Aethelburg Weavers' Guild. The bank issued a massive, low-interest loan. The guild expanded overnight. Five hundred jobs. Dozens of new looms. A flood of income.
Other guilds—formerly smug—rushed to the bank's doors. Pride gave way to profit.
Weeks passed. Then months.
Change took root.
The Crown Notes became the preferred currency for large transactions. Easier. Safer. Trusted. The Royal Bank, under Elara's methodical eye, funded new glassworks, brick kilns, and river barge companies. Construction boomed. Jobs surged.
The harbor fills with trade. Caravans from southern friendly kingdoms arrived, trading silk for soap. Southern ships docked daily, drawn by Leo's stability. Traders accepted Crown Notes over foreign gold.
One quiet evening, Alexius stood with Elias and Elara in the counting hall. Tall windows looked over the glowing city. Below, lanterns lit the harbor. Bells rang faintly in the wind.
Elias held the quarterly report in trembling hands.
"Your Majesty…" he whispered. "The velocity of money… It's ten times what it was. Tariff revenues have surged. And our loans are turning a profit."
Beside him, the System chimed softly in Alexius's vision:
[New Institution Founded: The Royal Bank of Leo]
[New Currency Implemented: Paper Currency (Gold-Backed)]
[Economic Model Shift: Feudal → Mercantilist]
[Modifier Gained: Center of Commerce – Trade income increased.]
[Projected GDP Growth: +15% Annually]
Alexius looked out at the golden glow of the city.
They had once been a realm of broken roads and bitter nobles. Now, they were a kingdom of banks, industries, and bustling ports. And this money—this ever-flowing lifeblood—would fund his armies, his scholars, his war machines.
He had rebuilt the principality.
Now he would forge the sword, perhaps more than swords, to win the war. (Continue....)