Interlude - Ronia Isabella Dantere Eulia

The world through the eyes of a normal person would be filled with vibrant colors and different shapes and sizes. This gave every single thing meaning.

A bird could fly because it has the wings to do so.

A human could speak because they had the vocal cords to do so.

A fish could breathe underwater because they had gills but no lungs.

Everything had a quality of their own: animals, monsters and humanoids alike. This was what made them unique and so interesting.

These were creations of the human gods and Timeline Gods. Every being created by them are given the opportunity to witness the power of the gods which belonged to a different plain.

A person would see the world as if it had different colors of rainbow. Each color had a different quality to it.

But one particular person only saw a gray world that was dull and uninteresting.

Ronia Isabella Dantere Eulia was such a person.

She had found life uninteresting ever since she could perceive the things around her.

That was why she wanted to change the empire into what she desires it to be. No, not just the empire but the entire world.

The first thing she would do was to make the entire empire, and the surrounding regions that belonged to the imperial family, into a matriarchal society.

It wasn't because the patriarchy was suffering. No, not at all. In fact, the empire was flourishing under her father's and his court nobles' leadership.

Ronia wanted to do it because she just despised men in general. They didn't deserve to be in power. She came to the conclusion that women were superior creatures to men.

The history books never showed the powerful women of the past, only the men. There was even a woman who others called a Hero like Promethius. She was powerful, beautiful and brave. She was a holy knight who Ronia grew up loving. She even fantasized about meeting the woman.

Her name was Guinevere, a Scripture Knight of the Holy Guard that was no more. The Holy Guard was an organization that trained knights to become Holy Knights using their power of divinity. The organization disbanded but the methods they used to train the knights were still being used today.

Guinevere was the first of these knights and the strongest female knight to ever live.

She became Promethius' first wife and bore tens of children for him.

She was already famous by the time she married him but was overshadowed not long after.

Guinevere disappeared from the face of this world and was never heard from again after the Demon-Human War concluded.

Why was it only Promethius that everyone talked about!?

That was what angered her so much that she wanted to change the empire's entire way of rule. The women deserve to be recognized!

Of course, she wouldn't resort to killing like she did before. That was a mistake she would never recover from. A simple rumor alone distorted the balance of power in the empire.

If she were to be honest, she was hoping her father would've died during the civil war so that people would've had no choice but to take her as their  Emperor due to the circumstances. But her brother made it back alive to stop the war.

The problems he faced at the border, that she created behind closed doors, were stopped by some unknown individual. Although Ronia wouldn't choose to act so drastically again, if she found the person who ruined all her plans then she would definitely kill them.

..

A woman with long hair was sitting by the balcony, overlooking the entire palace. Ronia chose to come live with the other concubines in the Inner Palace since she hated living among the manservants who were in the outer palace every day.

At least she was surrounded by beautiful women daily. Her mother even gave her cute maids, perhaps knowing that Ronia preferred them that way and not sweaty, stinky men.

Even her guards were all female.

Although Ronia liked sleeping around with her servants and guards, she couldn't marry another woman.

Same sex marriage was illegal in the Eulia Empire.

When Ronia becomes the Emperor then she'll have to marry a man-thing so that he can provide her heirs for the future. That wasn't the biggest problem at hand since she could endure it.

The biggest problem was that he would be named the Emperor and not her. She would be the Empress once she marries a man to join the family. There was a big difference between the two.

Her father typically chooses suitable partners for his children. It would be no different for Ronia. Her brother Julius was already married to Great Noble Ariane's eldest daughter.

Ronia was next.

She was planning on immediately changing the empire's laws once she rises to power. The Imperial Court held the highest authority when it came to the imperial laws so she will have a lot of work to do if she wants to achieve her dream.

By doing that she would have to use all the connections she made over the years.

The young woman stood up and threw off her nightgown which revealed her pristine naked body. She didn't like sleeping with clothes on, especially if she had a hot session with one of her lovers.

Ronia looked in the mirror.

She touched her body in every nook and cranny, admiring it like this was a routine she did daily.

This body was her own masterpiece.

"You were just some slave on the street that I found. Skinny and without shelter. Look at you now, you grew into a goddess with my help. I really do have great eyes when it comes to sensing potential in a woman's beauty." Ronia spoke to herself, though the contents of her words made it seem like she was speaking to someone else.    

A knock suddenly came from the door, interrupting her.

"—Your Highness, may I enter?"

"Come in." she said and picked up a brush to comb her hair.

"I-I apologize for coming so early in the morning—"

A familiar voice came from the door.

Tyran Ayried, the son of Duke Ayried.

His face froze and his words couldn't come out as he looked at Ronia's body.

"What are you doing here, Tyran?" Ronia didn't chase him out or scream that he was a pervert for coming in while she was naked. She invited him to come in after all.

"I-I… Boobs… Ahem! I mean, I came here to ask for your assistance, Your Highness!"

Ronia rolled her eyes as she crossed her legs. Tyran's eyes seemed like they were going to pop out. A tent pitched in his pants which Ronia chose to ignore.

"Assistance, is it? Do you think being part of the faction means I'll get you out of trouble whenever it's convenient for you? Don't be mistaken, young master. You're just a subordinate and a low priority."

"I-I understand that but…" his eyes kept glancing down at her long legs.

Ronia began finding this annoying so she stood up, grabbed a gown and put it on.

"But what?"

Tyran seemed disappointed but he carried on with the subject:

"The person I want to report is someone Your Highness knows very well." Tyran said with a smirk as he rubbed his hands together.

"Hmm… Go on."

She was bored with nothing else to do so hearing him out might lessen her boredom.

"It's that bastard Arnold von Berkley! He ruined my reputation at Lumourge the other day! I lost everyone's respect!"

"Arnold? Pft… Hahahaha!"

"D-Don't laugh!" Tyran shouted with a red face.

Ronia stopped laughing and looked at Tyran seriously, "Here I thought the young master and the one next in line to become Duke Ayried would be a capable fighter. Is this all you amount to?"

Tyran also had his own lackeys. How could he lose to Arnold in a fight if he had backup? Most of his henchmen were seniors who were 4th star knight and mage students. They should be able to overwhelm Arnold if they played dirty.

"H-He didn't defeat me in battle…" Tyran said timidly.

"What?" Ronia narrowed her eyes.

"H-He… interrupted me before I could punish a waiter who messed up my order. She gave me cold soup so I punished her!"

Ronia's eye twitched. She took a deep breath and walked over to Tyran.

"You stupid man-thing!" she slapped Tyran with such force that he flew towards the door, "Do you expect me to help you because of your stupid ego!?"

If Arnold had deliberately assaulted one of her faction members then she could take action but for something as simple as this? There was no way she would waste her time. Others will also look down on her if she—the leader of such a large faction—resolved such simple things.

This idiot. This stupid male creature!

"B-But the others won't follow me anymore! Please help me, Your Highness! I don't have protection against the gangs and enemy factions! I might die! Not even my big sister will help me!" Tyran crawled towards Ronia and grabbed her by the waist while begging.

She could feel him stealthily grope her butt as well.

Ronia's entire body had chills as her face twisted in disgust.

How dare a man touch her masterpiece creation with his filthy hands?

She stopped herself from slapping Tyran again.

"Everyone keeps bullying me at the academy! What did I do to them!? Even my former henchmen join in on the bullying!"

He cried as he held onto Ronia with a firm grip.

'Is… Is this person an idiot?'

He was an even worse bastard than Arnold ever was. At least Arnold bullied those who proclaimed themselves as strong but Tyran picks on the weak and people younger than himself. He would get mad even if a person accidentally bumped into him in the hallway.

Everyone would give way for this young master because he was not only from a powerful family but he was also a member of one of the empire's strongest factions.

Yet he was now grovelling at Ronia's feet, begging to be helped. Didn't he dig this hole himself by antagonizing so many people? Ronia wouldn't even be surprised if someone already killed him.

"Hmm…" Ronia looked at Tyran with seductive eyes, "I might be able to help you get everyone's respect back by promoting you to a 5th rank member."

There were ranks in every faction in the empire. Ronia chose to divide her faction members into ranks with "1" being a New Member and going up to "9". She had three 9th rank members with two of them being students of the academy.

She was the sole 10th rank member.

It was difficult having to manage two organizations at once but she had to do it because she wanted to change the way this continent's politics and nobility works.

Because of this she wasn't afraid to rule criminals from the shadows either. Even if it meant her life would be in danger if she was ever revealed to be leading those criminals.

"You'll help me!?" Tyran stood up with sparkling eyes.

"I'll see what I can do. You're my valued faction member. Just like our bodies need every blood cell to keep it functioning, I need every member of my faction to make my dream come true. However, there comes a price."

Ronia's eyes narrowed as her smile seemed to tear her face in half. She opened one of her closets and pulled out a dress.

"A price? I'll pay it! So please help me!" Tyran was still enthusiastic.

"Let's see… Hmm… For a boy you have a face similar to that of a woman," said Ronia as she dusted off the dress. She grabbed one of her makeup kits and placed it on her dresser table.

"I… I have a woman's face…? Uhm, that's an odd thing to say…" Tyran looked confused at what she meant by that.

"Hmmm… Hmmm…" Ronia just hummed as she approached him with the dress, "Put this on."

She held the dress out to him.

"You'll become my little pet for a while. You want me to help you, don't you?" Ronia showed him the floppy big black thing in her other hand.

"…Eh?"

◇◇◇

Olivia stood silently in the Inner Palace halls.  

She was standing in front of a particular someone's room.

She was hesitating whether it was a good idea to knock.

She wanted to come here as soon as she could but many factors hindered her. The academy was on lockdown for two days so not even she could leave to come to the palace.

Exams were well underway now but Olivia chose to come here instead of studying.

Although not like Arnold, Olivia was capable when it came to her academics. That was what she was good in besides studying the [Book of War] that recorded every major fight in the continent's history.

Olivia learned the art of war from this book as well. She even came up with many of her own war tactics by drawing inspiration from old battles by famous generals.

Four of her notebooks were filled to the brim with plans on how to command soldiers, protect and increase the defences of a fortress and how to use guerrilla tactics effectively against a much larger army.

She was never able to put all the things in her head to practice though.

But maybe some day.

Because Olivia had been studying war from a young age, she was able to breeze through her military classes. The exams were also not a worry for her so she could come and go as she wanted. Well, she still had to ask permission to leave the academy since she wasn't exactly seen as a princess but rather a student just like everyone else.

The door to Ronia's room suddenly burst open while Olivia was deep in thought.

"Young master Tyran?"

A youth with flaming red hair stomped out of Ronia's room as he walked with unsteady steps. He didn't even acknowledge Olivia's existence and only walked down the hallway.

"Olivia?"

Ronia suddenly appeared in front of Olivia when she was looking down the hallway.

"...Hello, elder sister."

◇◇◇

Olivia and Ronia was sitting on the balcony, overlooking the capital.

There was a lot of smoke coming from the western part of the empire.

Olivia had already heard about the destruction that befell Nuaria City.

The city wasn't that important to the empire since only commoners lived there. They were the working-class people of the empire who only contributed by working in companies or doing manual labour.

The good thing about the destruction of the city was that the empire gained more people to work. The bad thing was that there was a rise in the capital's population.

Instead of going to the other cities, the Nuarians came here instead where the rich were. The shelters were already full and people were sleeping on the streets.

Just yesterday there was a big march consisting of all Nuarians who were affected by their city's destruction. They were protesting against the Emperor as well due to his inactivity regarding the monster wave.

The monarchs always said to the people whenever there was a monster wave: "The adventurers are responsible for taking care of monsters. My armies shield us against enemy nations. I cannot protect our fronts and backs."    

Olivia had expected her father to try and calm the people down but he hadn't taken action at all. He was only holding meetings with his nobles and ministers. Olivia feared that this may lead to even more problems in the future.

If the people of a nation stood together against their ruler then a rebellion was highly likely. If it were just a kingdom then she wouldn't be that concerned but this was an empire that had multiple kingdoms and large cities under its rule. It had the biggest territory second only to the Fairy-Elven Territory.

Jurnick stood to lose a lot. His daughters, sons and wives will also be caught up in all of it. Olivia was a human like anyone else so she was also afraid of that happening.

"What did Tyran want from you?"

Olivia began speaking first since the silence was becoming too heavy.

"Apparently, your dog interfered in their business at Lumourge."

Dog.

She was talking about Arnold.

Olivia resisted the urge to facepalm herself.

"I don't care about what Arnold did. I only made sure Tyran Ayried doesn't get targeted by any of our faction's enemies."

"You're not going to do anything about Arnold?" asked Olivia cautiously.

"I could care less about what your dog is up to. He might be smart but he has no experience in political matters so he's basically an ant. So, what brings you here?"

"There's a matter I'd like to discuss with you."

"Olivia, I'm sure it's obvious that the two of us are not that close that I would do things for you at the cost of my position."

"It has nothing to do with us being siblings. It's purely to satiate my curiosity and gaining your insight. In short, I would like you to answer some questions."

Ronia was more informed about the internal affairs of the nation so she should be able to answer Olivia's questions.

"Curiosity? You've never expressed your curiosity on anything other than war-related matters."

"Nothing else has been of importance to me but will you hear me out?"

Ronia was silent for a moment as she drank her red wine and moved her mouth to taste it.

She glanced at Olivia and made a thoughtful expression, "Go ahead then."

"Thank you, elder sister," Olivia bowed her head, "The Berkleys and Penstons are going to unite by the marriage of Arnold and Celeste."

"Why should I care?"

Olivia was silent for a moment before continuing, "Both Houses are supporting big brother Julius. Aren't you concerned that their power might be used against you? A divided force is less dangerous even if they are on good terms with each other."

"Going by that logic, aren't you also a soon-to-be Berkley? If you marry Lucas or whatever his name is then you'll be expected to provide some degree of help." Ronia retorted.

"I've already made it clear that I won't get involved in politics. I'm not suited for it. Anyway, we're not discussing my involvement in the ascension but Celeste and Arnold's marriage."

"Hm… Arnold might become a problem if he decides to fight using the Penston Household's power. But I doubt Celeste will allow that. No, I know she won't."

"So you're not going to do anything?"

"No, their marriage is Julius' concern. How he uses it is up to him."

'Just like that? She's not even worried?'

Olivia seemed to have wasted her time coming here. She feared her sister would resort to drastic measures to stop the marriage.

"What about the households that are hostile to the Berkleys? If another civil war were to break out then it's unlikely that we'll recover like we had from the last one."

"I'm well aware of what could go wrong. However, I made precautions. I sent a list of requests to Father. The requests were to call all noble households to the palace so that I can have a meeting with them."

"…And what are you going to discuss with them?"

Olivia knew that Ronia was planning something. Ronia was the kind of person who only acted if something benefitted her.

"Does the process matter? Just be grateful that your little husband can sleep soundly when he becomes the duke."

"By calling all the nobles, do you mean each and every house regardless of their affiliations?"

"Yes. Instead of being at each other's throats it would be better to discuss terms with each other that benefits both sides. If they can do that then further aggression is unnecessary. Even a company's executives have employees who hate them and want to overthrow them. The aristocracy is no different from that. You and your husband want to prevent another James Caervil scheme, right?"

Olivia nodded.

They weren't even aware that there was someone who would try and overthrow their household. There would usually be signs.

'Maybe it's because James decided to attack the castle and not use a political move.' 

Some political moves included starting a rebellion by manipulating the commoners or lesser nobles through spreading propaganda, using ethics to start conflicts, and harming the lands which causes famines. Regardless of the method, each of them will harm the duke's city in some way.

They had been expecting political moves like those all along yet James was aiming to use force, something that was rarely seen these days after the civil war.

"Just tell your husband to be careful in the future. If he thinks of opposing me then I won't idly sit by."

"…?"

Why would Luke do that? He doesn't seem like the kind of person to be aggressive with others.

Noticing Olivia's expression, Ronia decided to elaborate.

"Vance is going to become your husband's advisor, right?"

"He's the one most likely to be, yes."  

Vance was a former general so his knowledge in military warfare would be beneficial once Luke is expected to do his first campaign. Marcus had already expressed to them that he wanted someone to advise Luke since he won't be there all the time.

Sebastian was one option since he was very intelligent and handled most of the city's inner affairs if non of the wives were present. He also became a soldier after he left the gladiator rings. His combat strength was also valuable.

Olivia had heard that Sebastian was once a slave who grew up in the Republic of Zrek. He lived in battle every day and survived by killing others. He was also an assassin in his prime after he quit being a soldier. He used to work for many assassin guilds across the continent.

With a man having that many qualities, he was definitely a good candidate to become Luke's advisor. 

However, he didn't have any knowledge of large-scale warfare like Vance had. Vance commanded thousands of knights and soldiers in his own territory. He could teach Luke valuable lessons about war and how to manage his army. Whereas Sebastian had only fought in wars and followed orders.

Vance beats Sebastian by a small margin but he was more suited to be Luke's advisor.

This naturally meant that Vance would have the most authority in the family. Even the First Lady and second concubine didn't have as much power as him.

Of course, it was still undecided but Vance was definitely the best choice. 

"Is that a bad thing for you?" asked Olivia.

"Olivia, I am the Imperial Faction's leader. I have many plans for this empire that Vance won't support. It isn't just because of his careful nature but also how he is a member of the Crown Faction, my natural enemy. He is my biggest threat, not some marriage. This gives him two reasons to want to get rid of my faction."

"…?" Olivia suddenly remembered something that Ronia said earlier, "Didn't you say that Celeste wouldn't allow Arnold to oppose you? She should have every reason to despise you as well so I don't quite understand why you would say that?"

Ronia shrugged, "Simply because I won't allow her to. But her father is another issue. I only have her around my little finger, not her father as well."

"What…"

'What does she mean she has Celeste around her little finger? Don't tell me she's blackmailing Celeste…!'

Olivia might've been estranged from Celeste but that didn't mean she wanted her to get hurt. Celeste was still a valuable acquaintance of hers.

"Calm down. I don't mean that in a literal sense, Olivia," Ronia seemed to have noticed Olivia's collapsed expression and deduced what she was thinking about.

'Dammit, I shouldn't reveal my expressions to her so easily.'

Olivia wasn't usually like this. Given the current situation, though, she couldn't help but get shaken up.

"…I take it you won't tell me?"

"Never. If you want to go that far then I'll have to kick you out." Ronia smirked.

"I see… Thank you for answering my questions." Olivia said calmly as she stood up. "Until we meet again, elder sister." She bowed her head towards Ronia.

"When we do then we won't be having tea and talking so peacefully like sisters do nowadays. Oh, and say 'hi' to your second mother-in-law for me, okay?"

"Judith?" Olivia turned around at that but Ronia was already looking away from her which meant their conversation was done.

Well, whatever. She was also done asking her questions so staying here any longer will only waste her time.

She was a little relieved that the marriage between Arnold and Celeste won't cause an uproar with the other Houses like she thought it would.

Olivia left her sister's room silently.