She examined the gas line connections, the ventilation shaft placent, the drainage system. All positioned correctly according to her specifications.
"Produce section?" she asked.
"Shelving complete," Gregor said. "The refrigeration units are being assembled now. Should be operational in four days."
Elara nodded and moved to the eastern wall where fresh food would be displayed. The units were large—enchanted cooling boxes that used preservation magic similar to her drink anchors, but scaled up. Expensive, but necessary.
"These stay locked overnight," she said. "Only senior staff get keys. I don’t want theft becoming a pattern."
"Yes, Your Highness."
They continued through the space. Household goods section: half-finished, shelves going up steadily. Drinks area: complete, ready for stocking. Storage rooms in the back: structurally sound, doors reinforced.
Elara stopped at what would beco the main entrance.
Currently it was just a large opening with temporary boards. When finished, it would have double doors, wide enough for crowds.
"Signage," she said. "What’s the status?"
Dimitri flipped pages. "The sign maker confird the design. Large letters, visible from the street. ’Elara’s Market.’ Gold paint on white background."
"Change it."
Dimitri looked up. "Your Highness?"
"Don’t use my na," Elara said. "Call it ’The Central Market.’ Generic. Unthreatening. Makes it sound like it’s been here forever instead of being new."
Understanding crossed Dimitri’s face. "Reduces the association with you personally. If nobles want to attack it, they can’t fra it as attacking your vanity project."
"Correct."
Gregor made a note. "I’ll inform the sign maker. Should be a simple change."
They moved upstairs—two more floors that Elara hadn’t decided how to use yet. Currently empty, structurally sound, potential for expansion.
"Could be storage," Dimitri suggested. "Or office space for the vendors."
"Or nothing," Elara said. "Empty space costs us nothing. We fill it when we have a use for it. Not before."
She walked to a window overlooking the street below. From here, she could see the harbor, several other warehouses, and a slice of the market district where Baron Kessler’s properties sat.
Two weeks since his visit. No follow-up. No legal challenges. No sabotage attempts.
Either he’d given up, or he was planning sothing quieter.
Elara filed that thought away and returned her attention to the imdiate space.
"Tiline check," she said. "We’re at week three. Kitchen installation starts tomorrow. When does staff training begin?"
"Week five," Dimitri confird. "Lisa’s already started recruiting. We have eighteen confird hires so far—mix of shop workers, cooks, and general labor."
"Background checks?"
"Mira’s handling them personally. No one gets hired without verification."
Good. The last thing she needed was a spy or saboteur on her staff.
"What about vendor contracts?" Elara asked.
Gregor pulled out a thicker folder. "Twenty-three signed so far. Produce vendors, bakers, household goods suppliers, fabric rchants. Most of them are small operations that jumped at the guaranteed shelf space."
"Any pushback?"
"So." Gregor flipped through pages. "Three refused outright—said they didn’t want to be associated with sothing ’untested.’ Five wanted better terms than we offered. We declined."
"And the rest?"
"Waiting to see if we actually open before committing." Gregor smiled slightly. "Can’t bla them for caution."
Elara could, actually. Caution without calculation was just fear. But she didn’t argue the point.
"Twenty-three vendors is sufficient for opening," she said. "We add more as demand proves itself."
They descended back to the ground floor. Workers were hauling in more materials—wood planks for counters, stone slabs for the food prep areas, crates of tools.
Lisa appeared from the back storage area, looking harried. "Your Highness. There’s an issue with the refrigeration units."
Elara turned. "Explain."
"The enchantnts are stable, but the craftsman says they need recalibration every three days or they’ll drift. He’s asking for additional paynt to teach our staff the maintenance process."
"How much additional?"
"Fifty gold."
Elara considered this. Fifty gold wasn’t insignificant, but having refrigeration fail mid-operation would cost far more.
"Pay him," she said. "But I want written docuntation of the calibration process. Step by step. If he’s teaching staff, he’s teaching them thoroughly enough that we never need him again."
"Understood, Your Highness."
Lisa hurried off. Elara watched her go, then checked the position of the sun through the high windows. Late afternoon. Construction crews would work another two hours before stopping for the day.
"Dimitri, financial status."
He didn’t need to check his ledger. "We’re on budget. Barely. The kitchen equipnt cost more than projected, but we saved on lumber by negotiating bulk pricing. Current reserve is two hundred twelve gold."
"Palace funds?"
"Still no word, Your Highness."
Expected. Elara had stopped counting on that money arriving at all.
"Fine. If we stay on budget, we’ll be operational by week six with enough reserve for two weeks of operation before revenue needs to cover expenses."
"And if sothing goes wrong?" Gregor asked.
"Then we adapt." Elara started toward the exit. "We always adapt."
Outside, the street was busy with afternoon traffic. Workers heading ho. rchants closing shops. Normal comrce flowing around them while they built sothing that would disrupt all of it.
The fox knight fell into step beside her as she walked back toward her residence. The sun was setting, painting the warehouse district in orange and shadow.
"Your Highness," he said quietly. "Permission to ask a question?"
"Granted."
"Why do this?" He gestured vaguely back at the construction site. "You’re a princess. You could live comfortably without working. Why build a market?"
Elara glanced at him. "You think I’m doing this for comfort?"
"I think most people would choose the easier path."
"I’m not most people."
They walked in silence for a few steps. Then Elara decided to answer the real question.
"In the palace, I was useful," she said. "A piece on soone else’s board. Here, I’m building my own board. My own pieces. My own ga." She paused. "That’s not comfort. It’s control."
The fox knight’s ears twitched forward. "Control over what?"
"Everything I can reach." Her tone was matter-of-fact, clinical. "Starting with a market. Then a supply chain. Then production. Then distribution." She looked at the harbor ahead of them. "One piece at a ti until I have sothing no one can take away."
"Not even your sisters?"
"Especially not them."
They reached her building—still shabby, still deliberately cheap-looking. Inside, Lisa had dinner waiting. Elara ate quickly, efficiently, tasting nothing, while reviewing the day’s progress reports.
Twenty-three vendors signed. Kitchen installation starting tomorrow. Refrigeration units functional. Staff training beginning in two weeks.
Everything on schedule.
She set down her fork and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. Started drafting the grand opening announcent. Not a formal imperial proclamation—that would draw wrong kind of attention. Just a simple notice for the city ssage boards.
*The Central Market*
*Opening in Three Weeks*
*Fresh Food. Household Goods. Fair Prices.*
*All Welco.*
Short. Direct. No ntion of her na or status.
Let the market speak for itself.
Elara signed the notice and handed it to Lisa. "Post this in the market district, the harbor, and the craftsn’s quarter. Tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Lisa left. Elara sat alone in her shabby office, surrounded by progress reports and financial projections, while outside the city continued moving, unaware that in three weeks sothing was going to change.
The chair wobbled beneath her.
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