Ravenna sat fortably in the of her ship, her gaze fixed on the rolling waves outside the small circur window.

  With a quiet scoff, she muttered to herself, "Ha... It’s absurd how vast the eic gap between peasants and ruly is."

  The Ronin family had agreed to pay the astonishing 1,300 mana s in reparations. It was an amount so immehat a peasant family could toil away feions and never see even a fra of it. A single mana was already beyond reaost oners, yet raded in thousands as if it were mere pocket ge.

  She let out a quiet breath, eyes flig back to the dot she had signed just ho.

  "Ohousand three hundred mana s…" she repeated under her breath, running her fingers along the elegant ink strokes of the agreement.

  The terms had been structured strategically. Instead of demanding full payment upfront, Ravenna had secured her pensation through tax exemptions. Over the five years, the Ronin family would be exempt from taxing the gambling houses she po build in Ronin Town. The amount waived would be deducted from the total sum they owed her.

  On top of that, she had also iated a prime piece of nd, a location of her choosing—to establish her gambling empire ierritory. It was a win-win for her; not only would she recover the debt, but she would also gain a perma foothold in the Ronin region’s ey.

  Her lips curled into a satisfied smile.

  “Well… I have 200 mana s now," she murmured, gng at the first payment she had received. The Ronin family had paid an initial 200 mana s upfront, with an additional 50 mana s set to arrive in the ing weeks—this amount serving as war reparations from the rger debt.

  Of course, she had spent some funds during this trip as well. Three mana s had gooward various purchases, leaving her with a gain of 196 mana s from this transa alone.

  Her firaced the edges of the part as she leaned back, settle in.

  Men Dukedom, Kingdom of Estra, Vassal Kingdom to Ana Empire, Far South from mainnd Ana b ley Empire.

  The howling blizzard raged on, thick sheets of snow swallowing the nd in a suffog white haze. Against the merciless storm, a group of soldiers stumbled forward, their breath ragged, their bodies trembling—not just from the cold, but from the terror chasing at their heels.

  Two monstrous orcs—hulking creatures nearly twice the size of a ma out guttural roars, their powerful legs tearing through the snow as they bore down on their prey. Their crude ons, massive spiked clubs, were already swinging downward, ready to crush the terrified meh them.

  And then—a fsh.

  Before the clubs could reach their targets, a silver streak cut through the air with lightning speed. A siing slice followed, and before the orcs even realized what had happeheir heads were already gone.

  The massive creatures tumbled forward, their lifeless bodies crashing into the frozen ground, sending a spray of snow and blood into the air. The soldiers, frozen in shock, barely had time to process what had happened before their savior stepped forward.

  Eugeood among the fallen monsters, wiping his gleaming sword of their tainted blood. His expression remained cold, ued by the age he had just wrought.

  Seated atop a sturdy warhorse nearby, Prince William observed the se, shaking his head in a mix of admiration and disbelief. o him, another horse—Eugene’s—stood waiting, evidehat the swordsman had dismounted mid-charge just to cut down the beasts in time.

  William let out a chuckle, his breath visible in the frigid air.

  “No matter how many times I witness it, I’m still fasated by the speed of your swordpy,” he remarked.

  Eugene, already climbing bato his horse, replied calmly without a hint of pride. “It’s all thanks to the Pendina Flower embedded in my sword, Yhness. I’ve told you this before.”

  William ughed again, his gaze lingering on the ornate on in Eugene’s grasp. “Perhaps, but no one else has magic as effortlessly as you.”

  Eugene offered no response. Instead, his focus shifted to the shadowed silhouette of a dungeoraning into view ahead.

  William sighed. “How long do we have to keep doing this, Eugene? You told me something important would happen, but for the past month and a half, all we’ve done is kill magical beasts. I uand that seg this dungeon helps stabilize the dukedom, and I know it bolsters my reputation… but—”

  Euge him off, his voiwavering.

  “Just a little longer, Yhness. Once we reach the sed floor today, the truth will be revealed.”

  William exhaled through his nose, frustration evident. He wasn’t blind—he khe political game that was being pyed.

  Prince Landon had somehow mao vihe cil of Vassal States to mobilize the Imperial Army. However, the task of leading the operation had fallen onto William.

  Landon was gaining the political merit for rallying the imperial army into vassal states region. Meanwhile, William was here in the freezing wastend, knee-deep in blood and snow, doing the dirty work.

  Of course, Emperor Andrew had arranged for this oute. The people’s champion, they had called William, ever since he dismantled several underground bck markets in the capital. The Emperor had seized the opportunity and decred that, since William was already in the region, he should personally lead the dungeoion. This was clearly his way of evening out the pying field since William was gaining too much of a stronghold in the capital.

  A… Eugene had predicted all of this.

  It was Eugene who had insisted they attend the cil meeting in the first pce. It was Eugene who had foreseen how the game would py out. And so, despite his mounting exhaustion, William chose to believe in him.

  “Fine,” William muttered, gripping the reins of his horse.

  Together, they desded into the dungeon once more—for what felt like the thousandth time in the past month.

  Meanwhile in the north estate, Jo isnd

  The North Estate’s courtyard was filled with people, the air heavy with an uneasy silence. Hundreds of sves stood gathered uhe open sky, their expressions a mix of fusion, uainty, and wary hope.

  Among them stood Bradon and his family, their eyes fixed on the makeshift stage at the ter of the courtyard. The wooden ptform, hastily structed yet sturdy, was where a single figure now stood, fag the crowd.

  Marie. She could feel their eyes on her—hundreds of them—each gaze heavy with expectation. She ched her fists, her palms damp with sweat, and forced herself to stand tall.

  This was her moment. Ravenna had given her guidelines, a few key points that o be addressed, but the speech itself—the words, the tohe delivery—was entirely up to Marie. And that realization only made the weight on her shoulders heavier.

  Her heart pounded against her ribs as she swallowed the lump ihroat. This was nothing like her past as a sve. She had never spoken before a crowd like this, never been the voice of ge for so many people.

  But Ravenna trusted her. That alone gave her the ce to push forward.

  Marie took a deep breath, steeling herself, before raising her voice over the murmuring crowd.

  “Hello, everyone.”

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