Red Pine City, Lord’s Manor council chamber.
Sitting at the head of the long table was a very young Red-haired Girl.
Her face bore a visible expression of stiffness and constraint.
Yelena’s hands were resting on the table with her fingers tightly interlaced, her knuckles turning a faint shade of white.
Her vibrant eyes remained fixed on nothing in particular, lost in a daze.
Although her breathing wasn’t fast, it was deep.
Each long inhale and exhale seemed like an effort to calm the turmoil and nervousness within her.
Even though Yelena had been in this position for some time now, she still hadn’t fully adapted to this sudden shift in status.
Not long ago, she was merely an excluded Missy, a student at the school.
She had even made things difficult for others out of jealousy, only to be utterly humiliated after losing a duel.
For a time, she had even questioned the meaning of her own life, eventually being led to apologize to seek forgiveness…
But now, Yelena wasn’t just an Acting Lord; she had truly become the Mistress of Red Pine City and the Asades territory.
And yet, she was only 15 years old!
However, when she thought of her sister, Henna, who had turned into such a tiny form and could only briefly restore her strength through a Recovery Potion — her physical condition making it impossible to continue her duties as Lord — Yelena knew she had to step up.
Gulp.
Swallowing hard, she took a deep breath and slowly released it.
‘I can do this!’ Yelena told herself internally.
Having calmed her nerves, the young new Lord slowly raised her head to look at both sides of the long table.
On the right were the representatives of the military.
On the left were the administrative officials.
With both the civil and military leaders seated on either side, this was the governing body of Red Pine City.
This time, there were no annoying nobles present in the council chamber.
“Everyone…”
Just as Yelena began to speak, she suddenly saw a crimson figure appear.
Her eyes widened slightly as she looked toward the entrance.
The others also sensed the newcomer’s presence and turned to look.
A dress as vivid as blood, hair like an enchanting fire, and a pair of vertical pupils filled with regal majesty made everyone present feel a tightness in their chests.
They all reflexively averted their gazes.
Henna!
That name surfaced in everyone’s minds.
Although this woman, who possessed breathtaking beauty and long pointed ears much like an Elf from a storybook, was quite different from the Henna they knew before, the feeling she gave off upon her entrance was still strikingly familiar.
Wait…
‘Has the Lord broken through to the Seventh Tier!?’
Henna sensed everyone’s reaction.
She covered her mouth with her hand, coughed lightly, and reigned in her powerful aura.
At the same time, a trace of joy rose in her heart.
It was like a little girl who had finally received a long-awaited toy; seeing the shocked expressions of others brought a sense of pleasure that was difficult to describe in words.
Yes, Henna had reached the Seventh Tier.
Even she was surprised by this development.
After drinking the Recovery Potion given to her by Ms. Moth, Henna was astonished to find that her strength had made a massive leap forward without her realizing it.
Perhaps this was the reward that Ms. Moth had intended for her?
Henna couldn’t guess that person’s thoughts.
After all, she could only passively accept what was given, and the investigation she was supposed to conduct hadn’t even begun yet.
“Sister… why are you here?”
Looking at the grown Henna, Yelena was suddenly a bit uncomfortable.
She actually preferred her sister when she was smaller.
The woman before her was far too intimidating.
Seeing Henna walk over, Yelena prepared to give up her seat, but Henna pressed her down into the chair with one hand.
Yelena looked up, her face full of confusion.
Henna gave her a smile and then turned to look at her core subordinates, the thirteen Council Members.
“Everyone, please continue.”
After saying that, she lightly patted Yelena on the shoulder.
*Thump!*
Yelena’s heart skipped a beat.
Henna let go and sat down nearby.
Since she had handed the position of Lord to Yelena and chosen to retreat behind the scenes, she wouldn’t interfere or micromanage.
She wanted Yelena to have a free hand.
A ruler’s job was to steer the ship; the ones doing the actual work were the people on both sides of the table.
As long as they were capable, the ship was unlikely to capsize.
Furthermore, Henna was still right here.
Yelena breathed a sigh of relief and continued the meeting. Unexpectedly, she didn’t mess up due to nerves.
In fact, she performed even better than before.
Henna’s arrival hadn’t hindered her; instead, it ignited a competitive spirit, making her want to show off her best side in front of her sister.
Once the routine portion of the meeting concluded, Yelena slumped back into her chair, her body going limp as if she had lost all her strength.
Henna walked up and praised her. “Yelena, you did very well.”
“Sister…”
Hearing this praise, Yelena smiled happily.
If there weren’t other people present, she probably would have lunged into Henna’s arms.
Henna patted her head and then turned her gaze toward the old Headmaster, who was also her former Teacher.
This Old Mage had always served as the head of the former Red Pine City Magic School, which was now the Crimson Academy.
The old man looked at the blood-elf-like Henna and smiled. “You’ve exposed your strength.”
“Teacher, properly displaying one’s power is an effective way to reduce trouble.”
Henna raised her hand and slowly clenched it into a fist in front of her chest.
As her gaze fell upon it, her fist tightened.
“I feel like my power is much stronger than before, and the path ahead is wider. I might even be able to reach higher stages. This will provide Red Pine City with an extra layer of security in the future.”
“Hahaha, good!”
Upon hearing this, the old man laughed heartily, a rare look of joy appearing on his aged face. He then added, “I hope I live to see that day.”
“You will, Teacher.”
Henna’s gaze was firm, even though she didn’t yet know how to reach the eighth tier — in fact, even her breakthrough to the Seventh Tier had been a bit of a blur.
The old man didn’t ask how Henna had restored her body. Instead, he asked about something else.
“What do you think about the matter with White Stone City?”
“White Stone City…”
Henna’s narrow eyes drifted half-closed.
Her last impression of White Stone City involved a large number of fleeing refugees.
Now, news had arrived that the entire Lord’s castle in White Stone City had been reduced to a pile of rubble, and everyone inside had vanished without a trace.
Such an event was extremely rare.
Since it had only just happened, there were all sorts of rumors and speculations.
Some said Elves had crossed the Northern Mountains and destroyed the city, while others claimed the Lord of Mist Church had wiped out the Baron of White Stone City for conspiring with a Heretic Cult.
“That has nothing to do with us. Yelena, you must strictly screen anyone coming from White Stone City. Ensure no one with ulterior motives is lurking among them, waiting for a chance to harm our city. The towns and villages must also be patrolled to clear out outsiders. In addition, send people to guard the main border roads and inspect everyone…”
Henna gave Yelena many instructions.
With White Stone City in chaos, a large number of refugees would undoubtedly head her way.
To the east was Qingshui City, but that required crossing a large river.
The Zephyr Empire had built a towering Castle Wall on the border that stretched for over 100 miles, so refugees couldn’t possibly escape into there!
Because of all this, many people would flee toward Red Pine City.
They had to prepare early. Whether they decided to accept them or drive them away, they needed a clear and definite plan.
Henna’s decisions were cold, but her primary responsibility was to the people of Red Pine City.
Only after that could she consider the refugees fleeing from elsewhere.
Yelena noted everything down.
After finishing her instructions to Yelena, Henna headed to the training grounds with the old man, intending to show off some muscle to any restless elements.
As they walked, Henna suddenly asked the empty air beside her, “How has Phil been lately?”
The air remained silent for a moment before a female voice responded. “Everything is as usual, except…”
“Except what?”
Slap!
A finely carved rectangular tile was slammed onto the table by a fair, delicate hand.
“Mrs. Pulan, I heard your daughter has been getting very close to Baron Morris’s eldest son lately. Is that true?”
“Just common friends, haha.”
“If only my daughter were as ambitious as yours, Mrs. Pulan…”
“Oh, stop. Mrs. Nora, your daughter loves to study. Who knows, she might become a powerful Magic User in the future and be recruited by the Lord.”
“Hahaha, wouldn’t that just make her a servant?”
The beautiful noblewoman clearly had some resistance to working under the Lord. She rolled her eyes, and the other two noblewomen laughed.
Those who worked were servants.
Even those who worked for the Lord were ultimately servants.
Noblewomen were meant to live lives like theirs — spending their days being waited on by servants, and when bored, calling up a few like-minded friends to play cards and gossip about the interesting things they had seen or heard.
Mrs. Nora turned to her left, looking at the beautiful woman with silver hair and blue eyes.
Raising an eyebrow, she asked curiously, “Mrs. Phil, both of your daughters are so impressive. They’re the talk of the Academy right now.”
“Is that so?”
Phil slowly arranged her tiles, responding casually.
“Yes, my daughter even says she feels inferior just looking at them.”
“My daughter says the same thing.”
“My son has said it too.”
The noblewomen all fixed their gazes on Phil.
Phil glanced at her hand, picked up a tile, and discarded it.
Gossip was fine, but the game had to continue.
While playing with the noblewomen, Phil said with a smile, “Those two daughters of mine do tend to attract attention.”
The noblewomen felt a bit sour inside.
‘Tend to attract attention?’ This was a case of two suns in the sky making the stars vanish without a trace.
All the glory was being snatched away by your daughters — aren’t you going to do anything about it?
Mrs. Nora adjusted the order of the tiles in her hand, not forgetting to continue the conversation.
“Mrs. Phil, with your daughters being so outstanding, what are your plans for them? They’ll surely marry into good families, right?”
Phil couldn’t be bothered to entertain her.
Her daughters inherited her blood. Were they the type to just get married off?
‘You’d better keep a close eye on your own daughters!’
Phil pushed all her tiles down.
The noblewomen looked over and began pushing gold coins toward her.
She had earned over 20 gold coins in one go.
Sure enough, playing cards with wealthy noblewomen was much easier than refining a Potion.
Although Phil intentionally kept her winnings to just a few gold coins when she went home, this kind of leisure was indeed a good way to pass the time.
Except for when these ladies kept trying to bait her into revealing whether she was in ‘that’ kind of relationship with Henna…
That was when Phil found things very annoying.
‘If we’re playing cards, just play cards. Why dig into my privacy?’