Her breath hovered in the spring air. Despite the early hour, that breath was not alone. tless heavy breaths rose from the vast space before her and steam rose from the horses as if burning charcoal.

  This was not a pear Augstadt—nor was it far. Rather, it y precisely where it ought to, just far enough that the journey could be fortably made twice a day without rush. Far enough from the major road that it had simply been wooded before, which meant that a town could be fou that road for all the workers without infringing on the property itself. A town that, eventually, would thrive into the ty’s sed capital.

  For now, that town was mostly warehouses made from the very wood cut down to clear space. In that space stood a remarkable building.

  Her architect had a vision, she gave him that. Of course, she had been privy to every sketch he’d made for this project, every revisioher architect had suggested. Nor was this the first time she had seen it, such a projeecessary to personally visit if only to impress upon those w on it its personal importao her.

  She had thought he might struggle with brid crete. That, with his love of churches and cathedrals, he would try to use her materials as if stone and find the chiselled bricks crumbling. It turned out to be a needless worry. He had not only embraced these materials, but the sheer scale of her ambitions too.

  The tral building of the academy was already an impressive size, some fifty strides across and over ten along; the ihen, was made up of a grand hall and a pair of smaller halls either side, one of which was where students would be received in the m a from at the end of the day, the other where they would dine.

  The teag rooms occupied three of four wings that sprang from this tral building to make a shape between a H and X; each left the tre at an angle and curved to be straight at their respective ends. The st wing sisted of ste rooms and the kits.

  However, that was not the end of it. Those halls of the tral building only made up the ground floor, that above was aorey for the staff and then a tower, plete with a bell to strike on the hour. Fortuh the timing in the grand scheme of things, it had been designed for a pendulum meism rather than adapted to oer the fact. So of course he had one side of the tower made with tall, narrow windows to show off this eology.

  Altogether, something simir to a cathedral, a markedly different. Unique. Beautiful and intimidating and rich with care, both from him and from her other architect, as if both still worked to prove that they should be entrusted with any and every project.

  She softly smiled.

  The building only made up part of the property, that there still needed much gardening to be done, difficult to grow a tree in a year regardless of hoeople stared at it. There were pns to dig out a pond too. Stables would be important too, both for the students and for their travel.

  Not her pns, though, that the academy had already left her hands. There was to be a cil which would arrahese matters going forwards, whether that was matters of funding or choosing a headmaster. The charter which dictated all that was all the influence she needed.

  Of course, if she did happen to have a good idea, she had fidehat those who made up this cil would also see the merits.

  The other side of all this was that this was only the academy for boys. Although there hadn’t been as muthusiasm for an academy firls, she had insisted upon this being a joint project.

  Still, that academy hadn’t needed quite the same funding, nor quite the same prestige, relegated to a pce practically withiy’s limits. It also bore a certain resembh to her other architect’s pact housing design, albeit enrged so the rooms were suitable for teag, as well as a resembo vents—which was iional. Altogether, it made for a pce that nobility could feel fortable sending their daughters to. That they would also have a strong measure of trol over the academy through the cil further settled them.

  Even with that academy costio build, that did not make it, nor the nd it required, cheap. That only a fra of this cost had been personally covered by herself did not make it any cheaper either. After all, her pn a year ago had been for the city to cover this, that raising funds now would be bolstered by this proof of success. While she could have “told” the mayor to follow this pn, that posed a risk over something as insequential as money.

  The bank had always been there for su occasion. That she had waited so long simply reflected that it would succeed or die on her reputation. At least, whether it would meet her expectations depended upon her reputatiardless of how it pyed out, she khe city’s ats would only tio grow, that her judgement of the mayor was not infallible, nor was he infallible in his own judgement of those in his fidence.

  However, the bank didn’t o exist due to a ck of trust. She simply wished for people to do the work they excelled at. When they did this, when they realised that those they worked alongside with also excelled in their work, everything came together well.

  Footsteps sounded out behind her, came to a stop at her side. A sigh emerged into the air where it lingered alongside her rising breaths. “My Lady, as much as it paio admit it, I could not have aplished this without Master Haartsen.”

  “Nor could Master Haartsen have aplished this without My Lord,” she replied.

  He gave a chuckle. “Truly, he is incredible. A bit clumsy when speaking, yet one ot fault his pnning,” he said, his good mood clear in his voice. “It is as if he personally ted how many bricks we needed and knew how many would break.”

  “It would not surprise me if they did, that there is a beauty in bricks for which we know their size so precisely and how much mortar is needed betweeheir work on other projects has certainly given them an intuition on breakages too.”

  He shifted on the spot, his hands together as he rubbed some warmth into them. “A queer fellow. Oh how he dotes on his sister, so proud of his work that he often pushes her around here in that wheeled chair of hers. I wao have stairs leading up to the entra first, but, seeing hoard it was for him and the maid to carry her up the step, I decided on the slope instead. With crete, it is no less sturdy.”

  She gave no ent on that, knowing him well, that he often liked to boast and otherwise hear the sound of his own voice.

  Still, she was rather aware that he would only lower himself to praising “Master Haartsen”. In all likelihood, he did not know Holzer who mahe builders, nor Meyer who advised, havihrough what scraps of a knowledge on crete lingered. Nor would he lower himself to praise her, that those reliable bricks he now used came from her calcutions, the crete mixed with trass she imported for its likeo the pozzona whit Romans had used for their long-sting crete, not to mention the roads upon which all these materials had been delivered.

  No, this kind of man only wished to quer, to leave his mark upon the world—and his mark alone. If particurly beloved, a general may be graced with an honourable mention, perhaps a bodyguard noted for a particur service, yet the thousands of soldiers, the tens of thousands of farmers, the hundreds of armourers and onsmiths, none of them mattered. It was their own good fortuo be ruled by him, their reward to be wito his greatness.

  She khough. She knew all their tributions. It recisely because she did that she—not he—had been able to achieve this. That, iy, the only person in this entire project who could not have been repced was herself. That some other man could have stood at her side before airely different building, that it could have been pleted a few months ter, that tless other parts might have ged.

  However, without her, there would be nothing here.

  Just as important, what was here meant nothing without her. She gave it meaning. This academy for children of the nobility, as she had promised the new Lord Sstein, was a seed only she could nurture into something greater.

  “I am curious what exactly this academy should teach?” he half-asked, half-said, as if still unwilling to request anything from her.

  “That those boys of good birth shall be taught here, who would one day bee officers and even rulers of their own fiefs, I would think poetry, fi, and music, among other less important things,” she said, her voice perfectly level.

  Yet he ughed, a short ohat made clear his thoughts. “Is there such a need? Boys these days are already too soft,” he said lightly.

  “It is precisely that those who lead men into battle should uand the beauty of which they fight to protect, and it precisely those who produd patronise such works of beauty that should uand the sacrifices others make to ehem. God gave us these talents that we may share them with each other, as we share His bread, as we share His love.”

  She knew he would not cede the point, but sidestep it; sure enough, after a suitable pause, he asked, “Is His Royal Highness out on business?”

  “As, Sir is, that he has sought to train some promising few of the militia and takeo Austria for that purpose.” She then turo the other side with a small smile. “I hope Sir Ludwig enjoyed his time off, that I worry my husband shall be busy pying soldier for some time to e.”

  Her knight chuckled and gave no more reply than that.

  With her gaze that way already, it naturally fell upon the further area being cleared. Even though the funds had yet to be raised, this part required little money, simply axes and shovels for peasants to use and food for them to eat. A rge, ft area would be required, and a long, level road to join with the major road. In the wihere would be need for much firewood, that sprouting town hardly made of thick, stone houses, and workers would o warm up after a long day in the cold.

  The kinds of thoughts that made her irrepceable.

  Her gaze then turned back. While she khat the academy could have been designed by anyone, of course she had sought him out with a purpose. That she had sought out a few others of simir accim with a simir purpose and he happeo be the one who had proven amenable. His work with cathedrals had certainly prepared him to work on something of this scale, the academy proof that he could produething inal instead of merely tinuing that which already existed.

  “I have ily said as much already; however, I would take this moment to gratute My Lord on a most splendid work. Those curious ones who have visited have been full of praise and I have no doubt My Lord will find no she of willing hosts in Augstadt for years to e.”

  He did not ugh, such praise, to him, something natural and expected. She had been sure to pay him generously in these pliments. Her parents had been right to emphasise the importance of uanding motivations, that it then followed one should make use of this uanding.

  “My Lady is too kind. Of course, it is my privilege to be entrusted with such a project, my reward to see it e to fruition,” he said, held high.

  “Is that so? Then I shall put the st of My Lord’s pay towards a feast for all the workers,” she said, her hands ing together in a cp to punctuate her sentence.

  He stilled, a momehat he then said, “Let us not go that far.”

  “Truly? Those workers shall also be tributing to the library, so I would think it wise to keep them in good spirits. If My Lord is unwilling, though, it is hardly an expense I ot cover,” she said and then turned around.

  He could not keep himself from wing, remihat such praise from her was hardly natural. “I did not disagree as such….”

  Too subtle for any to notice, her lips curled.