Mirabelle leaned slightly toward Lucien and lowered her voice.

"And? What would you recommend now?"

The fox Beastman thought for a moment, absently biting against his lower lip while staring at the map.

For some reason, Mirabelle found that unbelievably cute.

"I’m not sure continuing to sell food to the southern territory is a good idea," he admitted quietly. "If the drought continues and the famine worsens, your own territory will eventually start struggling too."

His gaze shifted toward the illustrated reservoir. "Same with the water."

Mirabelle nodded slowly.

"A good point." A small smile appeared on her lips. "But there are other ways to solve that problem."

Immediately she began scribbling eagerly across her parchment again.

Lucien leaned slightly closer, openly curious now.

This time he could finally see the additional information she had received earlier.

The southern territory reports poor harvests and declining wildlife populations.

The fox Beastman frowned.

That alone had made her predict drought and famine?

Poor harvests could result from countless problems.

Bad soil.

Inexperience.

Plant disease.

And wildlife migration could have many causes too.

Additional predators.

Environmental shifts.

Overhunting.

Yet somehow...

she had guessed correctly immediately.

Advisor Seraphel observed the table with an unreadable expression while the females discussed strategy with their assigned partners.

Only when his gaze landed on Mirabelle did something resembling quiet anticipation flicker briefly through his eyes.

"Lady Mirabelle," he announced calmly, "we shall begin with you this time."

The ink across the map shifted orange once more as Mirabelle’s territory appeared again. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The lynx female studied it carefully for another moment.

Then she nodded faintly to herself as though confirming her own thoughts.

When she finally spoke, her voice carried not the slightest trace of uncertainty.

"First, I order a covering to be constructed over the reservoir."

Advisor Seraphel interrupted her immediately.

To Lucien’s visible surprise.

Mirabelle noticed at once.

Apparently, interfering with strategies wasn’t considered normal.

"That is a very large structure," the advisor pointed out calmly. "How exactly do you intend to stabilize something like that?"

"There are several options," Mirabelle explained easily. "The simplest would probably be constructing a wooden framework around the reservoir, stretching ropes across it, and attaching dark fabric overhead to reduce direct sunlight exposure."

Nessa stared at her like she had completely lost her mind.

"What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?"

Mirabelle ignored her entirely.

Advisor Seraphel gave her a small nod signaling for her to continue.

"Next, I instruct the merchants we hired to begin importing durable food supplies from the north."

"Ha!" Nessa suddenly jumped to her feet. "So even you don’t believe your earlier promises to the south were sustainable."

The skunk female crossed her arms smugly.

"And how stupid to waste your profits instead of simply cutting off sales entirely."

"Lady Nessa." For the first time, Advisor Seraphel’s voice carried actual sharpness.

"Please refrain from interrupting and criticizing the strategies of other female nobles."

The skunk female immediately snapped her mouth shut and wrinkled her nose irritably.

Apparently she wasn’t used to being scolded.

Then she shot Garruk an angry glare.

He should have defended her.

Unfortunately, the buffalo Beastman looked deeply confused about why she was suddenly upset with him.

Beside Mirabelle, Lucien quietly smiled to himself.

Mirabelle meanwhile adopted a generous expression.

"It’s alright, Advisor Seraphel." Her tone remained perfectly polite. "I understand that more complex strategies aren’t easily understood by everyone."

It took Nessa several seconds to realize she had just been insulted.

Then the skunk female’s dark skin flushed red with fury.

Still, beneath Seraphel’s calm stare, she remained silent and merely pressed her lips into thin angry lines.

"The merchants should also invite healers and physicians from the north," Mirabelle continued calmly. "I will offer one third-stage feral core for every week they remain within the territory."

Freya inhaled sharply.

A third-stage feral core could feed an average family for an entire month.

That was an absurd amount of money.

Nessa and Garruk exchanged openly mocking looks.

Clearly, they thought Mirabelle had no idea what she was doing.

"Additionally," Mirabelle continued while writing more notes, "they are to bring medicinal herbs with them."

Now Lucien’s attention sharpened completely.

"Furthermore, soldiers will monitor all incoming southern merchants for signs of illness. Any individuals displaying symptoms are to be denied entry."

Freya slowly straightened in her seat.

Mirabelle continued calmly:

"All settlement residents should also immediately report any signs of disease among the population."

Lucien stared at her intently.

His expression remained unreadable.

But internally, his thoughts were racing.

He understood now what she was preparing for.

And honestly?

It was an incredibly dangerous gamble without certainty the situation would actually develop that way.

Nessa rolled her eyes dramatically and began inspecting her fingernails as though they were infinitely more interesting than the discussion.

In her opinion, the lynx female clearly knew nothing about governance.

Apparently the nobles of Luchsenstein weren’t very good at educating their daughters.

Freya, however, looked thoughtful now.

She had also begun realizing what Mirabelle was preparing for.

And suddenly wondered whether her own strategy had been far too conservative.

"Finally," Mirabelle concluded, "water from the overflow reservoir should regularly be used not only for farmland and livestock..." Her gaze shifted toward the young forest growing across the map. "...but also to irrigate the newly planted woodland."

Then she placed down her feather pen.

"That is all."

Advisor Seraphel’s expression returned to complete neutrality.

But internally, his thoughts were moving rapidly.

During the first round, he had dismissed her success as luck.

Now?

He was absolutely certain it wasn’t.

"Lady Nessa," he said calmly, "your strategy, please."

The skunk female flicked her hair back over her shoulder and smiled confidently.

The metallic ink shifted once more.

Purple spread rapidly across the map as Nessa’s territory reappeared.

The drought-stricken grasslands.

The shrinking forests.

The hostile southern border.

Nessa leaned back confidently in her chair before speaking.

"I will send additional soldiers south to suppress the enemy before they become a larger problem."

Several military markers immediately began moving across the map.

"Any resources captured during conflict will be claimed as war spoils and brought back into my territory.

Additionally, I will construct a reservoir to preserve our remaining water supply.

All able-bodied males will be conscripted into military service until the crisis ends."

Beside her, Garruk nodded approvingly.

"In desperate times, strength decides survival." His deep voice rumbled across the table. "The weak lose resources. The strong claim them."

Mirabelle felt faintly horrified.

Not only because of the cruelty.

But because this strategy would absolutely destroy long-term stability.

No trade.

No diplomacy.

No civilian support systems.

Everything depended entirely on military success.

Which meant one major failure could collapse the entire territory.

The map shifted again before she could think further.

Green spread across the parchment.